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.
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.
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.
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.
