Tag Archives: Gardening

Old-School Tools . .

21 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by in aging, Attitude, Change, Gardening, Lessons, Nature, Outdoors, Patience

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I have a love/hate relationship with yard blowers! I can see the need for them, really I can. But they also create a lot of noise and racket in lieu of using the quieter, slightly less efficient rake. I am usually a rake person, choosing the quieter and less efficient means just because it’s an old school tool and doesn’t make so much racket! On mornings like this, however, I could have pulled out my leaf blower and gone to town!  

My neighbors aren’t as timely in leaf removal, so often times, what I am raking up is actually the leaf debris from trees on their side of the property line. This morning, I realized I have raked up leaves on one side of my property repeatedly the last few months. Today, it finally dawned on me that the majority of those leaves were from my neighbor’s tree. Upon examining the situation, I came to the conclusion that I would be raking every couple of weeks given how windy our Summers can be. The only solution is to rake up their leaves as well!

I would never tell my neighbors (who are also my dear friends) that this was my plan, as I wouldn’t want them to feel bad about any additional work I’m doing because of them. Since I have to rake up my yard anyway, why not take the extra time to rake up the leaves hovering nearby under their plants?! Those leaves would eventually find their way into my yard, so it just makes sense for both my neighbor and me! I’m raking the leaves up on my side anyway, so I might as well do theirs too!  

But as I started, I realized how much my leaf blower would have made efficient work of the effort. Leaves were piled high underneath several plants in the watering wells where the rake wouldn’t fit, and a blower would have done the job in mere minutes! Unfortunately for me, it was too early and far too quiet on our street to make that much racket! And so, I have again renewed my love/hate of the yard blower! I have one, but almost never use it because of the loud din it produces when doing so. My metal-tined rake is one of the most used tools I have! I’m sure all the landscaping crews working for all my other neighbors never give such things much thought, they are paid to do their job and use the tools necessary to do that work efficiently. I hear the sounds of lawn mowers and blowers almost daily on our street! But I obviously over think the noise produced by that pesky leaf blower to the point that it gathers dust on my garage shelving! 

I really hope to make peace with that gizmo, as it probably does make a gardener’s life easier and work more efficient! It’s the same inner turmoil I had last month when I borrowed my neighbor’s battery-powered pruning saw to make some quick cuts through a large fallen tree limb after sweating for a while on it with a hand-held tool. My manual pruning saw was a lot more fatiguing and time-consuming! One day, perhaps I will go new-school and realize how much easier my life will be in the process! Some day. 

Time to Flex My Creativity Muscles . .

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by in Change, Creativity, Gardening, Happiness, Inspiration, Opportunity, Outdoors, Purpose, Surprise, Uncategorized

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I’m going to take on a little bit of salvage and repurposing, it’s time to flex my creativity muscles! It’s not something I get to do every day, but I feel prompted to try after the completion of a household project! After having a tune-up and refresh of the outdoor, in-ground pool, I have a used fiberglass filter pod leftover. Now, it’s not an item of beauty, to say the least! It’s big, beige, round, with points of entry for various tubes and a piece removed on top where my pool man gained access to remove the sand which was held inside. To replace the filter with a new one means that a whole new pod has been located in the very spot this one sat, filled with clean, new sand and ready to begin a renewed phase of pool usage. So, with the old sizeable pod sitting there staring at me, I felt compelled to be creative and to discover a new use for it! Rather than seeing it find a home in some landfill, there must be a way to make this lackluster gizmo shine with reuse!  

It’s not the first thing I’ve nurtured into a new life. Last year, I took on the remodel of an antique wheelchair which was rusty, partially disassembled and rather ugly. It was purchased at a flea market years ago, almost forgotten, it sat in my outdoor shed for years. Now its wood seat, back, and arms gleam with coats of protective spar varnish, a cushion sits upon the seat for comfort. It’s useful in a new way, fortunately not as it was originally intended! After all, I would much rather not need a wheelchair anytime soon! It will never be perfect, but for my taste, it’s a charmer as an extra seat!

And so, I endeavor upon the repurposing of this strange pod-shaped thing. It’s not heavy, so I’ve moved it safely to another area of the yard until I figure out what it’s meant to be. It might be a water feature, as I can imagine all sorts of plumbing opportunities, given the natural openings it already has. Or it might become a planter of sorts, as it surely is a container of sizeable proportions. I might turn it into part of my edible garden next year, perhaps tomatoes or melons will find it a delightful growing space! Needless to say, it’s going to be reused. I just have that itch within to turn it into something unique! I’m pretty sure whatever I do, no one else will have the exact same “whatever”! 

That’s the fun of gardening and outdoor spaces for me! I’m not one of those people who want everything to be perfect and just so, as I realize life and all living things are never perfect. It’s the imperfections and the individuality of each person’s personal patch of nature that makes it special! In this domain of mine, I can paint a landscape of color, texture, and beauty all my own! And this pod will soon find a home among the plants and other elements which make up my landscape. I look forward to the dreaming, designing, planning, and implementation! It’s all part of the fun of creating!

 

Tickled Pink . .

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in Beauty, Change, Contentment, Gardening, God, Gratitude, Growing, Happiness, Hope, Joy, Life, Nature, Surprise

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I bought a small 4″ aloe a couple of weeks ago, just to fill an empty pot on my back patio. This particular aloe stood out for its coloring and unique appearance. Named, Pickled Pink, it has distinctive pink edging on the fleshy leaves and a mottled appearance which suggests pickling. This aloe is small yet beautiful, but what it is currently doing is the most rewarding surprise of all! The wee Pickled Pink aloe is sending out a future bloom shoot which has now surpassed the plant’s own height at least thrice over and I am tickled pink by this Pickled Pink! Yes, that little beauty has a bloom shooting up nearly four times higher than the mother plant.

  

Now, for a gardener, there is nothing quite as exciting as a plant thriving and developing from the original version we purchased or found! It’s the developmental stages of a plant, meeting and exceeding expectations as well as hopes which give a gardener and plant collector like me unbridled joy! Since this little aloe seemed to jump out at me with such unique beauty and a catchy name, from a rack of numerous cacti and succulents, purchasing it was inevitable. But I never had any expectation for such a rapid developmental change like this! I await the bloom now, as many aloes have utterly spectacular and colorful flowers on the inflorescence they produce. Some are known and named for their blooming habits or those magnificent flower stalks produced normally in Spring, a bit earlier than this, the first days of June! So, my surprise at it producing a bloom after my purchase is surpassed only by my expectation as to how the bloom will look! 

If I could, I would probably never limit my plant collection! I am an avid collector and have yet to meet a plant I don’t like! Even weeds in the mind of a gardener are merely unwanted plants. Everything was created for a place and a purpose. Some plants provide food sources for animals and humans, others are medicinal resources for living creatures, and others provide intricate assistance to the overall well-being of the planet as a whole – producing seeds and substances or by replenishing the soil and air with specific essential chemical elements! Plants are important, just as is every other creative matter! And so, my appreciation for plants and for gardening is linked to bringing things to life, to support a natural and intricate ecosystem of my own making, with God’s guiding hand!  

I’m so looking forward to this bloom shoot coming to fruition on this tiny aloe clump of mine! It’s always exciting to see the endless ebb and flow of life in a garden, particularly a desert garden! My appreciation for this purchase is increasing exponentially with each passing day, as it’s developing and changing right before my eyes! There is never any real disappointment in a garden, even when experiencing a loss, for a garden exemplifies the best qualities of God’s amazing creation and design for this world. It is ever-changing, ever-developing and we are ever-learning in turn!   

A Banner Year . .

22 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in Beauty, Blessings, God, Hope, Life, Nature, Patience, Seasons, Surprise

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This is truly a banner year for plants blooming! I found two plants in my yard today which haven’t bloomed in a really long time or ever. The joy in seeing something finally blooming which isn’t a common bloomer is significant. It took a patient mind, heart, and soul to wait for those plants to bloom! A gardener has to be patient though, for gardening is rife with uncontrollable uncertainties and living matter, including plants, has plentiful imperfections. The lifespan of plants isn’t really in our control, though we like to think we have a significant part in the health and well-being of our plants! There are weather extremes, irregular rainfall, disease and pest problems to worry about. Each day and every season bring new challenges, especially in a harsh desert environment like this!  

One of those plants blooming this Spring after a long period sans blooms is my Jacaranda tree, which just a few years after planting, suffered from a Winter of several touches of hard frost, requiring that it had to be severely cut back. After a slow, prolonged renewal, that Jacaranda is blooming once again! When I noticed the vibrant purple blooms, I ran outside to get a few photos. It’s been something I waited a long time to see, with hopeful expectancy! And this morning, there they were, glorious purple trumpet-shaped flowers in clusters upon several branches! For me, those blooms were answered prayers! That Jacaranda tree is one of my favorites, and I truly had to endure several years of waiting to see its beauty renewed. My patience was rewarded today for sure.

Another plant which is beginning to bloom today is a variegated Duranta which had never bloomed before. The foliage is stellar, the plant has been thriving and growing like gangbusters, but there were never any blooms prior to now! I’m not sure why this variety has never bloomed before. I have other Durantas which have bloomed every year and even several times a year. But I didn’t mind, as the foliage and shape of the plant have been very pleasing over the years. I almost forgot what the plant’s flowers were supposed to look like. But seeing the buds opening up now, I realize that the flowers of this variety are as special as the unique foliage! The smaller purple flowers on Wisteria-like clumps have white ruffled edges in this cultivar! I am so joyful after years of waiting to finally see this plant fulfilling all the expectations I surely had when I purchased it. 

Earlier this Spring, I wandered around my garden and took photos of whatever was blooming! I did that again today, although a lot of different plants are now showing off instead of the plants which had been a month or so ago. This has been a truly rewarding Spring for beauty, fragrance, and variety in desert gardens so impacted by significant Winter rainfall and now, seasonal warmth. Things are bursting with life and most landscapes around the city, both man-made and natural, are filled with flowers, flowering shrubs, and trees heavy-laden with blooms! It’s absolutely beautiful! Each new day is surprisingly promising for my landscape’s evolving beauty. And I take great joy in witnessing each and every beautiful transformation unfolding, especially those which required a bit of my patience to behold!  

The Early Bird . .

30 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Joy, Nature, Opportunity

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This week, I’m in the middle of my Spring-time yard clean up! And I’m exhausted. Now I must preface this whole tale by confessing to having a slew of plants, a pretty decent size yard and a great fondness for doing it all myself. Spring has sprung, it’s time to trim off the dead plant material and to rake up the debris left on the ground after Winter’s rages or seasonal changes. Each Spring, I have a list of prioritized items, beginning with the most crucial and ending with the least necessary. Crossing each item off the list would be wonderful, but I always end up adding to the list as I go! I have yet to begin a simple project without first having to do two or three minor things in preparation. For instance, I want to prune some tree branches, but first I must clean up under the tree or rake up after pruning the tree branches. There is often a bit of obscurity with seemingly simple list items, as projects are linked. Raking, pruning, bagging, hauling, planting, weeding, and the list goes on with the interconnected tasks! I’m an early bird, though, so I’ll get going early whenever I can to get it all done!  

Spring’s to-do list for the garden is never something I resent, no matter its length, as I so enjoy Spring! It’s probably my favorite season, as everything comes to life; and after Winter cold and rains, the warmth of Spring brings incredible beauty! There are shiny bright greens, all shades and types of flowers bursting from restless buds, and nature seems to awaken to all sorts of possibility. Animals are breeding, the baby bunnies, birds, and even lizards are all scurrying about! I have waited so patiently through colder months of inclement weather and plant dormancy to be this active in my garden again! I look forward to weeding, pruning, cleaning up, refreshing, and most of all, planting. There are holes to be filled wherever a plant didn’t make it, for whatever reason. During Winter, plants can succumb to frost or to animals snacking for survival. When they don’t green up after the warmth of Spring begins, it’s time to remove them and replace with something new. And after all the cleaning up, it’s as if the entire property got a haircut, a new style, a reshaping and a fresh look which gives it a lift for the new season and the rest of the year ahead!  

Even though my list makes for a lot of hard work physically, checking each item off produces significant joy within! I am pleased as punch to finish an item, even if it means I’ve had to add five more items as a result! I choose the best days to work based on the weather projected, the most opportune moments of those days, and work as long as I’m able before the aches and pains beset me! Each thing I finish on my list is the source of great satisfaction. One day, I plant. Another day, I rake up dead leaves in the front yard or under the fruit trees in the rear yard. And still another day, I take a pruning saw to a few tree branches which are not growing in the right direction or giving the tree the best form. My garbage can is always full in Spring with plant material raked up from the ground or pruned from my numerous plants.  

I even set my alarm to wake up extra early on those mornings I plan to be outdoors working just to get going on my Spring chores. The lengthening, warmer days offer an advantage for those of us who love the early-bird worms of Spring mornings! Tomorrow is another work day, as it’s slated to be warm enough but not too hot. It’s a day I’ve set aside to again tackle the burgeoning list I’ve created this Spring. And tonight when I retire, I’ll set my alarm for early in the morning just to ensure that I won’t miss an opportunity to get as much done as I can while I can! Beware worms, this early bird is coming for you tomorrow!   

Gardening Redemption . .

21 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Celebration, Nature, Surprise

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Such great delight the day last Spring when I realized that a quail family had decided to take over one of my hanging pots on the rear porch for its nesting purposes! I couldn’t believe it! At first, I presumed that the birds I had caught a quick glimpse of were doves, but then I saw the head of the bird and knew instantly that it was one of the Gambel’s quail which are prominent here where I live. My only issue was in imagining why they had chosen to roost so high off the ground, as I often have trouble reaching the pot and need a step ladder to access it when moving it from the hook on which it hangs. But choose it they did! And then I realized my second conundrum in the quail family’s selection, the life and well-being of the vine which was growing in the hanging pot!  

Now, normally I wouldn’t worry about a hanging pot or the contents when it comes to the excitement of impending baby anything, much less baby quail! Have you seen the little souls? They are incredibly cute and so tiny at first. Who wouldn’t root for them or want their parents to have the best place to roost?! But this particular pot contained a vine which I had gladly added to my collection of unusual plants, one I don’t see very often at the few remaining nurseries here in my city. It originally came from a plant sale at a private garden located about an hour outside of town, so it was already deemed “rare” to me! Of course, the pot which contained this particular vine was the only one suitable for the quail family! Now I had a real dilemma. Should I accept the impending birth by ignoring the health and well-being of my vine, or should I discourage the nesters by watering and fussing over my vine?  

The baby quail won! I decided to let the pot go un-watered as the quail parents rooted around, repeatedly kicking out the potting soil and eventually killing off the vine over the weeks they nested in the pot. I never got to see the quail babies when the time came for them to leave, but I did find broken shells nearby and even some still remaining in the pot. I was a bit heartbroken by the lack of fanfare over the birth, the parents hadn’t even bothered to keep the little family nearby for my benefit! But I also had a pot which once had a thriving and beautifully blooming vine which now sat empty. My heart also felt the loss of such a beautiful and easy-to-care-for plant, as most plant nerds, aka plant enthusiasts/collectors would!  

I tried to console myself with thoughts of the quail prospering somewhere as a family. It worked in part. But I always hoped to locate another sample of that vine and plant it anew! Well, I got my gardening redemption in part when I noticed a few months later several weeds sprouting in odd places nearby the patio on which the empty pot was still hanging. Some of the sprouts were just weeds, plants I didn’t want. But a couple of sprouts actually had the leaf shape and the form of my vine! It was back by the grace of either some other bird or the wind. It doesn’t even matter who or what brought it, it just matters that the vine is living still in my yard. It’s in a place I wouldn’t have probably chosen, but it’s there! The vine which was sacrificed for the comfort of the brooding quail is now living and developing again under the protection of another plant, itself a benevolent consequence of seeds gifted to me by birds carrying them or by the wind blowing them right there!  

 

And so goes the cycle of life in a garden! Nothing is forever, everything is constantly changing, and there is never perfection in the “plots” and plans of the garden or the gardener!