Funny Garden Moments

I am in Need of a Distraction

I am in need of a distraction, so this weekend I am getting out the new seed catalogs and making lists, and checking them twice. I start with a fixed amount which becomes a small percentage of what I will spend. This is something I go through every year, knowing the plants I come to cannot be found at area greenhouses or on store shelves.

Selection of Catalogs

I will buy a rare and exotic seed packet, something just to try. They usually contain 10 seeds with only one that will germinate. This happened last year to some double coreopsis, one plant made it and was transplanted last spring in which the dog decided to anoint the plant. It died.

I will make a vow not to make the garden and flowerbed bigger to accommodate the surplus plants. I will not germinate too many seeds, if I do, throw some away.

Garden Tools

What do you do with Your Old Garden Tools

As you are going through your old garden tools, what do you do with your old garden tools? Take your old tools and repurpose them into “new” garden items.

Garden planter make out of an old hog pan

Rusty spades and hand tools can be reborn in new items for your garden. An old spade handle glued or screwed to an old hog pan creates a planter for your deck.

Bird feeders from shovel heads

I seen someone remove the top off of an cable roller and made a clock out of old hand tools. Take shovels heads and make a plant stand or bird feeder.

Garden gate make from old garden tools

Create a garden gate out of garden tools or make a trellis for the clematis to climb on. Then take that leaky hose can even make a nice wreath for your front door or garden shed.

Take those old tools, the rustier the better, and incorporate back into your garden.

Garden hacks

7 Tips for gardeners in 2021 by Eliza Brooks

Eliza Brooks weathertightidaho.com 

7 Tips for gardeners in 2021: The last couple of years have seen more and more people turning to gardening as a new hobby. Despite the lack of space for most, newbies are keen on making both their outdoor and indoor space as natural as possible. For this new year, new trends for gardening are emerging. Below are a few of them.

  1. Sustainable gardening
    One of the many reasons why people get into gardening is in hopes that they might incorporate it into a sustainable lifestyle. Instead of purely caring for plants for aesthetics, they hope to nurture plants that they might make use of. A lot of indoor plants can be used as natural air purifiers while certain vegetables can be grown in the backyard to supplement the diet of the family.
  2. Learn to compost
    If your goal in gardening is to grow lush and healthy plants as quickly as possible, there are a number of fertilizers, both organic and manufactured, that you can buy to get the job done. But if you want plants that are more naturally grown yet still healthy, you should learn to
    make your own compost. Composting isn’t as hard as people think. With the right soil chemical mixture, you’ll be able to grow healthy soil for healthy plants.
  3. Plant native
    There is a growing problem within the gardening community wherein people only choose plants that are beautiful to look at, not minding that they don’t necessarily fit the environment. Not only is this not sustainable, it only wreaks havoc when these new plants are introduced to the environment.
  4. Use mulch
    Mulching serves a lot of purposes. It can:

● stabilize the soil and prevent erosion;
● help soil retain its moisture;
● helps prevent the growth of weeds; and,
● mixes organic compound back into the soil.

Just like composting, mulching can be done right in your own back yard. Mulching is also a sustainable way to introduce nutrients back into the soil using unwanted plant materials.

  1. Colorful containers
    Ideally, gardening should be done directly into the soil but some people don’t have space for it. The next best thing would be to use containers. This could be a good thing since there are various containers to choose from, all in different colors, patterns, and materials. Containers also make it easy to transport plants around the house.
  2. Buying online
    The internet is not just a place to buy non-organic things. It has expanded to include offerings of plants and, in some cases, even live animals. Getting your plants online, like those from a landscape contractor website, is a convenient way to get a hold of rare species
    that your local nursery doesn’t have. And if you have a little bit of skill in negotiation, you might even get a good deal for a plant.
  3. More house plants
    House plants have seen a recent surge in popularity owing to the fact that people have been forced to spend more time indoors. To add a touch of nature inside, people turned to indoor plants. These plants are perfect for new into growing plants as they require very little maintenance. They beautify the space as well as ensure the air inside is kept clean.

Thank you Eliza Brooks for the great article!