Being outdoors in my garden, surrounded by the botanicals I’ve chosen to grow balances my brain chemistry and has a beautiful way of pulling me away from the confines of modern technology and stresses of social media. Below are ten ways to be productive while spending time in your garden.
For me, autumn is a time for tucking the garden in for a restful winter sleep. Unlike many, I find great joy in this part of gardening. I find it therapeutic to collect seeds, to clear and tidy my garden beds, and to tuck my perennials into their beds for a deep winter sleep. It gives me an opportunity to truly appreciate the cyclical journey I take with my garden, from germinating seeds to nurturing seedlings to cultivating flowers and herbs to harvesting them, and then to collect their seeds to begin the process once again. Winterizing my garden is a nod to the life cycle of each and every plant I grew that year.
But how did my garden transform from a plot of wooden beds to a tranquil backyard sanctuary? I’ve laid it all out below, and many of these same concepts can be applied to any outdoor space including back patios and apartment balconies.
Like many of you, my love affair with gardening began as a child. I have fond memories of my grandma walking me around her backyard, with my skinned knees and pigtails, showing me how beautiful it was to grow things. Since then, I’d always dreamed of a big garden. One with a maze of raised beds and archways, trellises and arbors, and gravel paths wide enough to pull a wagon for hauling bountiful harvests. A place to retreat to when I need a moment of solace. It would be the garden I would cherish the rest of my days.
Spring is for laying the foundation for a bountiful summer harvest. For sowing the seeds for a slower life. For taking time to appreciate all the waking days of spring has to offer. Lay the groundwork in your growing space with the following spring gardening tasks:
Ahhh...the question as old as time itself. Exactly what is “pinching” and what varieties of herbs and flowers should you pinch? Pinching, quite simply, is the practice of snipping off the top few inches of a young plant. But why?
Each year, I document in a garden journal all the details about what I grew, harvested, and enjoyed most. I write down my failures and well as my successes. What I fell in love with and want to grow more of, as well as what doesn’t make the cut for the next growing year or doesn’t grow well on our property’s unique microclimate. Garden journaling is a calming therapeutic process that I truly enjoy.
I have what is sometimes referred to as a pollinator garden. It is filled with colorful and fragrant flowers and herbs that attract and feed pollinators such as honey bees, native bees, moths and butterflies. When I harvest, I make sure to always leave plenty of blooms to keep them busy and happy. Yesterday, we watched countless butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bees, robins, chickadees, and a pair of Stellar Jays visit our garden, so it’s working.
Being outdoors in my garden, surrounded by the botanicals I’ve chosen to grow balances my brain chemistry and has a beautiful way of pulling me away from the confines of modern technology and stresses of social media. Below are ten ways to be productive while spending time in your garden.
For me, autumn is a time for tucking the garden in for a restful winter sleep. Unlike many, I find great joy in this part of gardening. I find it therapeutic to collect seeds, to clear and tidy my garden beds, and to tuck my perennials into their beds for a deep winter sleep. It gives me an opportunity to truly appreciate the cyclical journey I take with my garden, from germinating seeds to nurturing seedlings to cultivating flowers and herbs to harvesting them, and then to collect their seeds to begin the process once again. Winterizing my garden is a nod to the life cycle of each and every plant I grew that year.
But how did my garden transform from a plot of wooden beds to a tranquil backyard sanctuary? I’ve laid it all out below, and many of these same concepts can be applied to any outdoor space including back patios and apartment balconies.
Like many of you, my love affair with gardening began as a child. I have fond memories of my grandma walking me around her backyard, with my skinned knees and pigtails, showing me how beautiful it was to grow things. Since then, I’d always dreamed of a big garden. One with a maze of raised beds and archways, trellises and arbors, and gravel paths wide enough to pull a wagon for hauling bountiful harvests. A place to retreat to when I need a moment of solace. It would be the garden I would cherish the rest of my days.
Spring is for laying the foundation for a bountiful summer harvest. For sowing the seeds for a slower life. For taking time to appreciate all the waking days of spring has to offer. Lay the groundwork in your growing space with the following spring gardening tasks:
Ahhh...the question as old as time itself. Exactly what is “pinching” and what varieties of herbs and flowers should you pinch? Pinching, quite simply, is the practice of snipping off the top few inches of a young plant. But why?
Each year, I document in a garden journal all the details about what I grew, harvested, and enjoyed most. I write down my failures and well as my successes. What I fell in love with and want to grow more of, as well as what doesn’t make the cut for the next growing year or doesn’t grow well on our property’s unique microclimate. Garden journaling is a calming therapeutic process that I truly enjoy.
I have what is sometimes referred to as a pollinator garden. It is filled with colorful and fragrant flowers and herbs that attract and feed pollinators such as honey bees, native bees, moths and butterflies. When I harvest, I make sure to always leave plenty of blooms to keep them busy and happy. Yesterday, we watched countless butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, bees, robins, chickadees, and a pair of Stellar Jays visit our garden, so it’s working.
