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Gardening is the word of the day. It could be because of the economy, but mostly it is because people realize that their food supply is not what they would like it to be - pure, and wholesome. Gardening is consumers telling the large chemical companies - no thanks.
If you start with a blueprint for your garden, when it is time to take shovel to earth, you will be ready. Whatever your "plot" of garden might be, if you work with what you have you will have success. Take into account what your property's natural beauty and areas are. You want to combine two very important aspects of gardening - beauty for the soul and utility for the body. If you have areas of "explosive" color and activity, then you can balance it with some quiet areas of solitude and peace.
A garden journal is a time saver and a future saver. It can be anything as simple as a shoe box with a tablet. Save your seed packets so that what works can be duplicated with the actual name of the plant you enjoyed so much, as well as the company or store where you purchased it. Write the dates that you planted and see if maybe it was too early because frost might have nipped some of your seedlings. Your box of plans, ideas, possibilities and hopes is a natural treasure and a gold mine. You can expand from what you have done, or scale back because maybe time was an issue with some work extensive plants. This is your primer to edit, delete, and add to. It is invaluable and a money saver. If something just did not work well in your area, then you don't want to spend your money on similar plants that probably won't do as well either.
Have assortment in mind as you select seeds and plants. It saves you from boredom when summer's heat isn't kind when you have to weed and feed. Diversity also keeps your garden safer from pests and diseases. It is also a safeguard - one very important word of advice. If you enjoy hot peppers, do not plant them near your bell peppers. Bees don't really know the difference and your everyday bell peppers will be a trip into spice land. Believe me this is not something you want to surprise your dinner menu with.
If you live where winter comes with a vengence, don't forget to plant evergreens around your garden area. They will protect your plot from winter's wind and in the spring, your ground will be ready to go with a few touches. If winter has its way, and there is not enough snow cover, your little garden will look like a relative of the desert areas you see in movies.
Think "specialty" gardens that can be incorporated into your overall plans. If you have small children, then you might want a red wagon type garden of fast growing plants that a child can enjoy and find success with. Take any old red wagon with wheels and a handle for moving around. Drill some holes in the bottom for drainage and fill with good dirt. Plant cherry tomatoes, a few string beans, maybe a cucumber plant, and strawberries. These can delight your child from blossom to fruit and it will prove a true gardening experience. If your area is tight, then you can move your red wagon garden to more suitable spots or even bring it on a patio or other area.
Try a salad garden raised bed around your yard. In this specialty garden, plant a tomato plant or two, some varied lettuce seeds, as well as carrots and some herbs. Then when dinner time comes around, you can get instant salad mix and fresh is just the beginning of this meal time wonder.
In your "quiet" garden, try lavender, and some tea roses for scent and beauty. Pansies with their tiny faces are a joy to behold when you just want to sit and rest. There are plants just made to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. These will add quality to your "quiet" garden as you marvel at the beauty of nature and its wonder. Reading in this area is a summer time luxury.
Teen agers might enjoy a "pizza" garden. Here is where you grow your heirloom tomatoes with their vibrant flavor and diversity of color. Add oregano, thyme, and some parsley to add to your meat toppings. If your teens love onions, garlic, and even green peppers on their pizza, add a few of these plants. Even teenagers will enjoy "picking" up their pizza ingredients.
Whatever your family enjoys and finds fun eating, you can incorporate it into small garden plots. The first rule of gardening - enjoy it and diversify. While fruits and vegetables are the main course of any garden, don't forget the flowers and decorative leaves for that dinner table centerpiece. In the fall, if you planned ahead and had your Halloween Garden in place, you can imagine the enjoyment of not ghosts and goblins but jack-o-lanterns right there at your finger tips, not to mention assorted gourds and squashes. There are even glow in the dark white pumpkins that shimmer in the moonlight. Gardening is fun, profitable, and a happy event.
Enjoy. ©Arleen M. Kaptur April, 2009
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A Very Enjoyable Lesson in Life
Gardeners are really very sage and knowledgeable people no matter their skill at the past time that they truly enjoy. It seems that life itself is in that warm soil heated by the rays of a brilliant sun and cooled by gentle breezes that relax, yet invigorate, calm yet bring new enthusiasm, and allow the gardener to reach new heights by stooping low and picking even pesky weeds and dead-heading blossoms.
When you head out to your garden area, it really does not matter the acres, yards, or even feet that is yours to maintain. In fact, it could be containers set on your patio, or a table facing the sun lined with pots of your favorite plants - this is your garden space and it is special indeed. While the place, size, and choice of plants is important to you, there are lessons to be learned and messages to be understood and taken to heart.
Gardens are not only stepping stones to life lessons, they are ladders that raise the playing field and allow inner beauty, sensitivity, and creativity to emerge and help bring about bountiful harvests and succulent food, one of life's necessities. Flowers allow you to take in the aroma of spring mornings, and summer delicacies. It is something as simple as taking a petal from a brilliant rose bloom and placing it in waxed paper and using it as a bookmark. This small gesture is thanks to the patch that adds so much charm and elegance to your day to day living, no matter the cir-cumstances or the voices on the evening news. A garden is your space to stop running and truly take the moment to smell the roses.
Some of the lessons that a garden will allow you to learn and experience is the ability to observe and not just look. You can stop and look at an emerald green pepper, or a magical ear of corn, but do you understand the forces that had to come about in order to produce this perfection of nature? Water could not do it alone, nor the sun. The roots that are hidden by the soil are not forgotten by the plant nor would the plant be there if it's past of seed, soil, and growth were not part of its history. Anyone can pass by and "see" the plants as they reach toward the morning sun, but a gardener cannot put aside the mysteries and the awe of what nature and man together can accomplish.
Understanding comes right along with trowel in hand and fingers that carefully pull the weeds but delicately press the soil around a stem. This understanding is that work is not drudgery and can, in its own right, be enjoyable and pleasurable. The gardener truly understands that learning is an on-going process and it never ends with the season. Plans are truly made in heaven and optimism convinces the flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables to give their all. With effort, a dry patch of dirt can be transformed into a living, breathing work of art. Barren is not an option but abundance and overflowing are words that come to life, with a gardener's cup always half full and reaching for more.
If you are gardening for the first time or for the tenth or twentieth season, each page of the calendar year brings new challenges, accomplishments, possibilities, and discoveries. As in life, nothing stays the same and if wind and rain tear down and destroy, the sun, man, and gentle care can cure and rearrange.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
When you head out to your garden area, it really does not matter the acres, yards, or even feet that is yours to maintain. In fact, it could be containers set on your patio, or a table facing the sun lined with pots of your favorite plants - this is your garden space and it is special indeed. While the place, size, and choice of plants is important to you, there are lessons to be learned and messages to be understood and taken to heart.
Gardens are not only stepping stones to life lessons, they are ladders that raise the playing field and allow inner beauty, sensitivity, and creativity to emerge and help bring about bountiful harvests and succulent food, one of life's necessities. Flowers allow you to take in the aroma of spring mornings, and summer delicacies. It is something as simple as taking a petal from a brilliant rose bloom and placing it in waxed paper and using it as a bookmark. This small gesture is thanks to the patch that adds so much charm and elegance to your day to day living, no matter the cir-cumstances or the voices on the evening news. A garden is your space to stop running and truly take the moment to smell the roses.
Some of the lessons that a garden will allow you to learn and experience is the ability to observe and not just look. You can stop and look at an emerald green pepper, or a magical ear of corn, but do you understand the forces that had to come about in order to produce this perfection of nature? Water could not do it alone, nor the sun. The roots that are hidden by the soil are not forgotten by the plant nor would the plant be there if it's past of seed, soil, and growth were not part of its history. Anyone can pass by and "see" the plants as they reach toward the morning sun, but a gardener cannot put aside the mysteries and the awe of what nature and man together can accomplish.
Understanding comes right along with trowel in hand and fingers that carefully pull the weeds but delicately press the soil around a stem. This understanding is that work is not drudgery and can, in its own right, be enjoyable and pleasurable. The gardener truly understands that learning is an on-going process and it never ends with the season. Plans are truly made in heaven and optimism convinces the flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables to give their all. With effort, a dry patch of dirt can be transformed into a living, breathing work of art. Barren is not an option but abundance and overflowing are words that come to life, with a gardener's cup always half full and reaching for more.
If you are gardening for the first time or for the tenth or twentieth season, each page of the calendar year brings new challenges, accomplishments, possibilities, and discoveries. As in life, nothing stays the same and if wind and rain tear down and destroy, the sun, man, and gentle care can cure and rearrange.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Shopping Trip You Can Be Proud Of
More people are turning to gardening this year than in any other year before. Most will rush to nurseries and plant stores and buy up all the plants their cart can haul - but before you do this, if you were planning on such a venture:
Even the best of nurseries will have plants that are just not feeling too well. Even if all you do is pick plants by their "looks", healthy plants should have roots that are white. If it is alright with the shop you are in, gently lift the plant from the container to check out the root system. If the roots are spiraling around each other and they look like a ball of white yarn, they are rootbound and should be left where they are. These types of plants will dry out very quickly and will just suffocate themselves and produce nothing. If the roots are very very dark in color and appear "matted", then the plant has a rotting problem and it is best to pass these by as well. If the soil just literally falls away from the roots and you have nothing but a straggle of roots, then these plants are immature and will most likely not bloom in the season you have available.
Everyone loves to see the "flower" on the plant because it is usually bright and enticing. However, plants that are already blooming are using much more energy to keep that flower intact and are not putting the energy into the root system. Buying plants with "buds" is the very best buy and check out that root system. You will be well rewarded with fantastic blooms and harvest because the "calories" are going where they should and life is good for this plant.
An A-1 plant that is healthy will have a rich green color, it will be growing upright and it will "fit" the pot in which it is kept. Yellow leaves are not a good sign and this could come from too much water, not enough water, or a disease. One major rule is that you never buy plants with yellow leaves in the main body of the plant. Like humans, plants can become stressed for a lot of different reasons, and yellow leaves are the indicator that this plant need a "plant doctor."
If a plant you fall in love with just wants to lean to one side, it is not only tired, but in any breeze or wind in the outdoors, it will be not be able to hold its head up high and drink in all the goodness of the sunshine and the rain. Another indication that all is not too well with your plant is a powdery mildew that appears on the upper side of the leaves and resembles a grayish white powder. Other sightings such as brown, fuzzy spots are a no-no and gray or brown spotting on leaves or flowers is a call to put this one back on the shelve.
It may seem that all of this would makes you think that not too many plants out there are vital and healthy. Not true at all - in fact, try to shop for your plants in several trips. This gives you the amount of time you need to really examine your plant choices and come home with an armful of healthy stock, instead of a car load of plant hospital patients. In fact, if trees and shrubs are in your planning, even if you wait until late summer, sale prices are in full swing and there is more than ample time to plant and enjoy. This applies to herbs as well. They are quick growers except if you start from seed, which will take a while longer. Another quick tip is to ask your discount store what day the plants arrive - then plan on shopping on that day. Discount stores do not have the time to take tender loving care of their plants and they are often neglected. This way, off the truck, and you have the pick of your choice.
It is guaranteed that after your first trip, you will have all of this down pat. If the plant looks healthy, and the roots are healthy, then you are well on your way. Planning and preparing a garden is only the beginning of a very rewarding venture. It is in the harvest that you can proudly say, "I grew that", and you can be rightfully proud.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur
Even the best of nurseries will have plants that are just not feeling too well. Even if all you do is pick plants by their "looks", healthy plants should have roots that are white. If it is alright with the shop you are in, gently lift the plant from the container to check out the root system. If the roots are spiraling around each other and they look like a ball of white yarn, they are rootbound and should be left where they are. These types of plants will dry out very quickly and will just suffocate themselves and produce nothing. If the roots are very very dark in color and appear "matted", then the plant has a rotting problem and it is best to pass these by as well. If the soil just literally falls away from the roots and you have nothing but a straggle of roots, then these plants are immature and will most likely not bloom in the season you have available.
Everyone loves to see the "flower" on the plant because it is usually bright and enticing. However, plants that are already blooming are using much more energy to keep that flower intact and are not putting the energy into the root system. Buying plants with "buds" is the very best buy and check out that root system. You will be well rewarded with fantastic blooms and harvest because the "calories" are going where they should and life is good for this plant.
An A-1 plant that is healthy will have a rich green color, it will be growing upright and it will "fit" the pot in which it is kept. Yellow leaves are not a good sign and this could come from too much water, not enough water, or a disease. One major rule is that you never buy plants with yellow leaves in the main body of the plant. Like humans, plants can become stressed for a lot of different reasons, and yellow leaves are the indicator that this plant need a "plant doctor."
If a plant you fall in love with just wants to lean to one side, it is not only tired, but in any breeze or wind in the outdoors, it will be not be able to hold its head up high and drink in all the goodness of the sunshine and the rain. Another indication that all is not too well with your plant is a powdery mildew that appears on the upper side of the leaves and resembles a grayish white powder. Other sightings such as brown, fuzzy spots are a no-no and gray or brown spotting on leaves or flowers is a call to put this one back on the shelve.
It may seem that all of this would makes you think that not too many plants out there are vital and healthy. Not true at all - in fact, try to shop for your plants in several trips. This gives you the amount of time you need to really examine your plant choices and come home with an armful of healthy stock, instead of a car load of plant hospital patients. In fact, if trees and shrubs are in your planning, even if you wait until late summer, sale prices are in full swing and there is more than ample time to plant and enjoy. This applies to herbs as well. They are quick growers except if you start from seed, which will take a while longer. Another quick tip is to ask your discount store what day the plants arrive - then plan on shopping on that day. Discount stores do not have the time to take tender loving care of their plants and they are often neglected. This way, off the truck, and you have the pick of your choice.
It is guaranteed that after your first trip, you will have all of this down pat. If the plant looks healthy, and the roots are healthy, then you are well on your way. Planning and preparing a garden is only the beginning of a very rewarding venture. It is in the harvest that you can proudly say, "I grew that", and you can be rightfully proud.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Blueberries are Definitely Keepers
Personal gardening this year is booming. More and more people are realizing that they can control what additives or chemicals are put into their food supply. Besides the nutritional and health benefits, gardening is just plain fun. The work can be tedious and tiring, but the rewards are in the harvest - you experience a thrill during the "growing" season as your menu plans include "just picked" and couldn't be any fresher fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Home grown flowers adorn your table and even children can pick and enjoy tossing a sun warmed cherry tomato into their mouths, instead of candy or other sugar-laden treats.
There is one fruit that can be grown with a lot of success wherever you might live. In fact, certain varieties can even be grown in containers on a patio, porch, or deck. Blueberries have come into their own because of the beneficial properties they contain. You can find "wild" blueberries in forests and along waysides when you go camping, hiking, or fishing. These are tasty morsels that will get your inspiration headed to pies, tarts, cereal toppers, french toast, etc.
In the local stores, they can run up to $5.00 a pint when the season is early. However, if you freeze your bounty from one year to the next - and they do freeze beautifully - you can feature "blueberries" at your Easter celebrations. If you choose the early or mid-blooming varieties, you will have edible blue-berries quicker, to add to breakfast, dinner, and even picnics.
Blueberries thrive in acidic soil, much like azaleas, and rhododendrons. A quick trick if your soil may not be just perfect, add your used morning coffee grounds to the base of your blueberry plants and you will see them thrive and blossom beautifully. Low bush blueberry plants make excellent and very edible land-scaping plants. They are one of nature's "gorgeous" members - you will be very impressed.
You can purchase your blueberry plants from reliable nurseries or through garden catalogs, but now is the best time to order them. Read the planting instructions carefully, and remember, if you care for your plant, it will last many, many years. They are definitely a "keeper" and will reward your choice with luscious, juicy, deep blue berries that enliven many recipes.
Blueberries are one of the top sources of antioxidants, which are translated into cancer prevention and a reduction in cell damage in your body. It has also been studied as to blueberries being rich sources of anthocyanins that help ward off heart attacks and can even slow macular degeneration. Blueberries contain vitamin C and are about 40 calories for an entire cup of these berries. They taste great, are nature sweetened, and they add lunch bucket enjoyment to carry lunches or even snack choices for car trips and extra energy when you are hiking or walking in your favorite park or forest area.
Blueberries are fun, healthy, and even kids won't turn them down. Fresh off the bush or in a bowl of cereal, you have a berry that delivers what today's families can't find in processed or packaged foods - freshness, easy to grow, and a delight to serve to family and friends.
It's almost blueberry time - what are you waiting for?
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
There is one fruit that can be grown with a lot of success wherever you might live. In fact, certain varieties can even be grown in containers on a patio, porch, or deck. Blueberries have come into their own because of the beneficial properties they contain. You can find "wild" blueberries in forests and along waysides when you go camping, hiking, or fishing. These are tasty morsels that will get your inspiration headed to pies, tarts, cereal toppers, french toast, etc.
In the local stores, they can run up to $5.00 a pint when the season is early. However, if you freeze your bounty from one year to the next - and they do freeze beautifully - you can feature "blueberries" at your Easter celebrations. If you choose the early or mid-blooming varieties, you will have edible blue-berries quicker, to add to breakfast, dinner, and even picnics.
Blueberries thrive in acidic soil, much like azaleas, and rhododendrons. A quick trick if your soil may not be just perfect, add your used morning coffee grounds to the base of your blueberry plants and you will see them thrive and blossom beautifully. Low bush blueberry plants make excellent and very edible land-scaping plants. They are one of nature's "gorgeous" members - you will be very impressed.
You can purchase your blueberry plants from reliable nurseries or through garden catalogs, but now is the best time to order them. Read the planting instructions carefully, and remember, if you care for your plant, it will last many, many years. They are definitely a "keeper" and will reward your choice with luscious, juicy, deep blue berries that enliven many recipes.
Blueberries are one of the top sources of antioxidants, which are translated into cancer prevention and a reduction in cell damage in your body. It has also been studied as to blueberries being rich sources of anthocyanins that help ward off heart attacks and can even slow macular degeneration. Blueberries contain vitamin C and are about 40 calories for an entire cup of these berries. They taste great, are nature sweetened, and they add lunch bucket enjoyment to carry lunches or even snack choices for car trips and extra energy when you are hiking or walking in your favorite park or forest area.
Blueberries are fun, healthy, and even kids won't turn them down. Fresh off the bush or in a bowl of cereal, you have a berry that delivers what today's families can't find in processed or packaged foods - freshness, easy to grow, and a delight to serve to family and friends.
It's almost blueberry time - what are you waiting for?
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Today Is Just the Beginning
It's not a perfect time in history, but it is a "turning" point in life. The situation is world-wide and basically, no matter the country, color, age, or lifestyle, we are all facing a very major change - in some ways for the better.
Here in the United States, we did find out that we don't have to "drive" to the corner for the paper, and that our children can walk to events and school. While saving at the pump, we found a healthy excuse to use our feet and find out just how exhilarating walking with our kids can be. They even enjoyed it which was no surprise. Kids are resilient and they appreciate the "time" not the "method" of getting from here to there.
We now find that the metal box holding the morning newspaper just might become a part of past history as newspapers find readership slowing and advertising money fading away. However, meeting the neighbors and "getting the news" from your area is more pleasant, more personal, and gives you a "heads up" to what is going to affect your area. In the process, you begin to bring together friendships and acquaintances that were "missed" as you sped by with your to-do list in hand every morning.
Now we come to stores closing and major chains locking their doors for the last time. This is sad for the workers but this also eliminates the excuse for that "quick" gift or card that you grabbed, probably never reading it, but knowing it was important only in the fact that you sent it. Not so in today's mindset. Everyone has boxes of "supplies" whether they are sewing, scrapbooking, or just plain a little of this or that. It is a perfect setting for meeting with family, friends, or neighbors and "creating" your own invitations, birthday cards, anniversary remembrances, or even "sunshine" tokens, such as Get Well, and "We are here for you" type of cards. When someone has suffered a major mishap or just let the economy and world situation hit them like a brick wall, going to the mail box and finding a "strange" envelope there is a bright beginning to healing. It is, of course, hand made but so creatively done and signed by the neighborhood, your church, or a group of friends that only knew each other by name but never by heart. Now things are different - meeting for coffee is not "gossip" time but a chance to share and find out how a bit of "give and take" will make children's parties a combined effort and really more fun for the kids. It is welcoming the holidays as "home and family" time and making sure that fun, and togetherness are the active ingredients in your festive undertakings.
It is looking around your home, taking note, and realizing that your pillows on the sofa need a bit of refurbishing and curtain tie-backs that are "seasonal" would give your windows a lift. Don't grab your purse with the charge cards in it, that's a big no-no today. Grab your library card and head out to that impressive building with the walls filled with books. Ideas are between two covers, and pages are just waiting to be turned as innovation and creativity practically grab you by the hand and lead you down a path of "I can do this."
Whether your new found excitement is in gardening (to save on food bills), on sewing (even an apron for when you begin baking again) or scrapbooking (making memories that won't be put on a shelf but in a picture frame or card that will not only highlight an event but give it a lasting, pleasant impression), it is time to use your "natural" resources and make-do, make-new, and make-it-better abilities.
No time is better than now to dust off the cobwebs that may have gathered because "convenience" was easier. It never was quite right and you know it. Hand made or better known as heart-made is the mantra for today and it has so many strings attached to it. There are strings of accomplishment, completion, enjoyment, and togetherness. Not bad for getting up in the morning and realizing that life does go forward and so can you. It is seeing the sunshine and ignoring the storm clouds for a bit. It is looking at your hands and realizing that yes, they are the finest tools this old world ever had - and that yes, you can do it, but you need to get started. Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Here in the United States, we did find out that we don't have to "drive" to the corner for the paper, and that our children can walk to events and school. While saving at the pump, we found a healthy excuse to use our feet and find out just how exhilarating walking with our kids can be. They even enjoyed it which was no surprise. Kids are resilient and they appreciate the "time" not the "method" of getting from here to there.
We now find that the metal box holding the morning newspaper just might become a part of past history as newspapers find readership slowing and advertising money fading away. However, meeting the neighbors and "getting the news" from your area is more pleasant, more personal, and gives you a "heads up" to what is going to affect your area. In the process, you begin to bring together friendships and acquaintances that were "missed" as you sped by with your to-do list in hand every morning.
Now we come to stores closing and major chains locking their doors for the last time. This is sad for the workers but this also eliminates the excuse for that "quick" gift or card that you grabbed, probably never reading it, but knowing it was important only in the fact that you sent it. Not so in today's mindset. Everyone has boxes of "supplies" whether they are sewing, scrapbooking, or just plain a little of this or that. It is a perfect setting for meeting with family, friends, or neighbors and "creating" your own invitations, birthday cards, anniversary remembrances, or even "sunshine" tokens, such as Get Well, and "We are here for you" type of cards. When someone has suffered a major mishap or just let the economy and world situation hit them like a brick wall, going to the mail box and finding a "strange" envelope there is a bright beginning to healing. It is, of course, hand made but so creatively done and signed by the neighborhood, your church, or a group of friends that only knew each other by name but never by heart. Now things are different - meeting for coffee is not "gossip" time but a chance to share and find out how a bit of "give and take" will make children's parties a combined effort and really more fun for the kids. It is welcoming the holidays as "home and family" time and making sure that fun, and togetherness are the active ingredients in your festive undertakings.
It is looking around your home, taking note, and realizing that your pillows on the sofa need a bit of refurbishing and curtain tie-backs that are "seasonal" would give your windows a lift. Don't grab your purse with the charge cards in it, that's a big no-no today. Grab your library card and head out to that impressive building with the walls filled with books. Ideas are between two covers, and pages are just waiting to be turned as innovation and creativity practically grab you by the hand and lead you down a path of "I can do this."
Whether your new found excitement is in gardening (to save on food bills), on sewing (even an apron for when you begin baking again) or scrapbooking (making memories that won't be put on a shelf but in a picture frame or card that will not only highlight an event but give it a lasting, pleasant impression), it is time to use your "natural" resources and make-do, make-new, and make-it-better abilities.
No time is better than now to dust off the cobwebs that may have gathered because "convenience" was easier. It never was quite right and you know it. Hand made or better known as heart-made is the mantra for today and it has so many strings attached to it. There are strings of accomplishment, completion, enjoyment, and togetherness. Not bad for getting up in the morning and realizing that life does go forward and so can you. It is seeing the sunshine and ignoring the storm clouds for a bit. It is looking at your hands and realizing that yes, they are the finest tools this old world ever had - and that yes, you can do it, but you need to get started. Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Gardening with our Feathered Friends
It's the time of year when everyone just wants to get outside and enjoy some warm weather. Garden catalogs are filled with colorful pictures of plants, trees, and shrubs. Ideas come from all over for landscaping your land to growing that perfect tomato or fragrant rose. Spring is the perfect time to enjoy the many birds that return to your area as they follow the seasons. They make the "outside" more fascinating and they can help you with your gardening chores.
You can have the best of both worlds - a luscious and bountiful garden and a paradise for birds of all species. It may take a bit of extra work, but the rewards, as the saying goes, are priceless.
Hummingbird feeders at both ends of your garden will give you the opportunity to view these tiny creatures as they zoom in and out. So tiny and yet so very busy all day long. If you have a pea trellis in your garden, you will not only attract the hummingbirds because of the white blossoms that are sweet and full of nectar, but other birds will join them. Bluebirds will perch on the trellis and their snack of choice is caterpillars. Their eyes will catch them and they will snatch them up quicker than you can. They get a taste treat and you get rid of some pesty critters.
A compost pile near your garden with attract a myriad of birds that look for bugs. Allowing the "weeds" in your compost pile to grow, especially those that produce seeds will keep the birds healthy and your garden safe as well.
While you may worry about damage from some birds sampling your garden victories, scattering a few "treats" will take care of any worries. Blue jays love peanuts and dropping a few in your garden aisles will satisfy their cravings. If blackbirds or ravens bother your corn stalks, leave some field corn on the outskirts of your garden and that will keep them busy and occupied outside of your garden space.
Other tips to keep birds nearby but your produce safe, use untreated wood for trellis items and wooden cages. Woodpeckers won't peck and other birds prefer trees to test their beaks on. Hallowed out gourds that you grew last year will blend in perfectly in your tomato patch if allowed to hang from a line just above your plants. The gourd will be hidden by the foliage of the plants, and soon the soft sounds of tiny birds will fill the air while you work in your garden. A perching post somewhere in your garden will give birds a perfect place to keep a keen eye over your hard work and eliminate pests for you. These morsels give them the nutrients they need and birds are great workers. They never tire and best of all - you don't have to pay them.
If you have the room in your garden, placing a bird bath in the middle, surrounded by a patch of gravel, sand, or plain soil will allow the birds a bit of relief from the noonday sun and heat, and the sand will keep lice out of their feathers. They are also a bit safer from predators kept out by your garden fence.
After the first hard frost many of us love to "clean up" the garden of the past year's vines, and leaves. If you enjoy birds, don't pull up the plants - this can be done next Spring. Grosbeaks, goldfinches, wrens, and even robins that may stay a bit longer than other birds will enjoy doing the "cleaning" for you. Cardinals, nuthatches, and woodpeckers will also thank you for the winter food supply. Whether it is left over herbs or even a green tomato left in a tomato cage, this will give them food when the snow covers the rest of the land.
Birds, like many of us, are creatures of habit. They know the "good spots" and are just a bit uneasy to try new places. However, they do venture and while they may not flock to your first attempt to attract them, they will find your garden and its added features that you included just for them. After that, you will be on their flight path and will enjoy their beauty, songs, and help for years to come. That's a great way to join with nature and enjoy the great outdoors.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
You can have the best of both worlds - a luscious and bountiful garden and a paradise for birds of all species. It may take a bit of extra work, but the rewards, as the saying goes, are priceless.
Hummingbird feeders at both ends of your garden will give you the opportunity to view these tiny creatures as they zoom in and out. So tiny and yet so very busy all day long. If you have a pea trellis in your garden, you will not only attract the hummingbirds because of the white blossoms that are sweet and full of nectar, but other birds will join them. Bluebirds will perch on the trellis and their snack of choice is caterpillars. Their eyes will catch them and they will snatch them up quicker than you can. They get a taste treat and you get rid of some pesty critters.
A compost pile near your garden with attract a myriad of birds that look for bugs. Allowing the "weeds" in your compost pile to grow, especially those that produce seeds will keep the birds healthy and your garden safe as well.
While you may worry about damage from some birds sampling your garden victories, scattering a few "treats" will take care of any worries. Blue jays love peanuts and dropping a few in your garden aisles will satisfy their cravings. If blackbirds or ravens bother your corn stalks, leave some field corn on the outskirts of your garden and that will keep them busy and occupied outside of your garden space.
Other tips to keep birds nearby but your produce safe, use untreated wood for trellis items and wooden cages. Woodpeckers won't peck and other birds prefer trees to test their beaks on. Hallowed out gourds that you grew last year will blend in perfectly in your tomato patch if allowed to hang from a line just above your plants. The gourd will be hidden by the foliage of the plants, and soon the soft sounds of tiny birds will fill the air while you work in your garden. A perching post somewhere in your garden will give birds a perfect place to keep a keen eye over your hard work and eliminate pests for you. These morsels give them the nutrients they need and birds are great workers. They never tire and best of all - you don't have to pay them.
If you have the room in your garden, placing a bird bath in the middle, surrounded by a patch of gravel, sand, or plain soil will allow the birds a bit of relief from the noonday sun and heat, and the sand will keep lice out of their feathers. They are also a bit safer from predators kept out by your garden fence.
After the first hard frost many of us love to "clean up" the garden of the past year's vines, and leaves. If you enjoy birds, don't pull up the plants - this can be done next Spring. Grosbeaks, goldfinches, wrens, and even robins that may stay a bit longer than other birds will enjoy doing the "cleaning" for you. Cardinals, nuthatches, and woodpeckers will also thank you for the winter food supply. Whether it is left over herbs or even a green tomato left in a tomato cage, this will give them food when the snow covers the rest of the land.
Birds, like many of us, are creatures of habit. They know the "good spots" and are just a bit uneasy to try new places. However, they do venture and while they may not flock to your first attempt to attract them, they will find your garden and its added features that you included just for them. After that, you will be on their flight path and will enjoy their beauty, songs, and help for years to come. That's a great way to join with nature and enjoy the great outdoors.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Making "Good" Out of a "Bad" Economy
Lifestyles change with every page of newspaper headlines or a new televised report of stocks falling or companies closing. It's sad and for many it is heartbreaking.
There can be a bright side to every sad disheartening tale but they are sometimes hard to find and still harder to take in. One of the best changes that is occuring because of the economy is a turn around to home-cooked meals, more natural food and less chemically laced ingre-dients. It can even include growing your own fruits, herbs, and vegetables. By sharing the knowledge of how foods started with simple seeds can and do turn into fantastic meal entrees and delectable desserts, you and your family have new inroads into healthy and sustainable eating habits.
Holidays are also getting a "change" when it comes to entertaining, gifts, and decorations. Families are finding out that home-made has and always will be heart-made and that something given that is unique, and one of a kind, not manufactured or mass produced will give lasting memories. A meal served simply but with mouth-watering tastes, colors, and textures can surpass an expensive restaurant experience. How many times have we been disappointed with a meal that we thought would take our breath away and instead just took the dollars out of our wallets? It happens and this does not mean that eating out is a no-no. It only represents the fact that you can, with a little effort and planning, prepare feasts when monetary famine rears its ugly head.
Remember that cookbooks and recipes are maps or guidelines for certain dishes. You can and should include your family's favorites when you prepare a meal. If your family prefers corn to artichokes, make the change if it is appropriate for the dish. Improvise and tuck and trim and you will be delighted with the results. If not, and the family gives you the thumbs-down, then you know from this experience that these ingredients just did not go well together. There is nothing wrong in trying because "tried and true" recipes have evolved from many false starts and "maybe" ingredients, until the final result is a passed down to generations "keeper."
Going to garden shows or nurseries as a family, you will find that the kids enjoy the varieties of vegetable plants and flowering treasures and would consider it more "personal" if you let them pick and choose a few varieties. Their interest will be more in tune because they had input and their choice just may be the stellar star of your own garden show.
In home decor, let the children try their hand at decorations from vacations past or tidbits just lying in boxes collecting dust. If you enjoyed a vacation at the seashore a few years back, those shells may be re-invented to be used as curtain tie-backs, or even glued to a vase or tray. Glass balls from a tourist trap, placed in a clear bowl, can be a colorful and eye-catching mantle piece that reflects colors and rainbow accents. A skirt from a spa venture just never fitted right but was just too good to toss. It can now cover a pillow for porch or deck and its new life will bring back memories once again.
It's all a matter of choosing how to deal with down-turns and making sure that they don't turn your life downward. An old saying of "This too shall pass" is a wonderful mantra, but in the meantime, using your creativity and talent, your inspiration and dedication to trying your hand at new ventures, is the right "recipe" for dealing with anything the economy or this life can throw at you.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
There can be a bright side to every sad disheartening tale but they are sometimes hard to find and still harder to take in. One of the best changes that is occuring because of the economy is a turn around to home-cooked meals, more natural food and less chemically laced ingre-dients. It can even include growing your own fruits, herbs, and vegetables. By sharing the knowledge of how foods started with simple seeds can and do turn into fantastic meal entrees and delectable desserts, you and your family have new inroads into healthy and sustainable eating habits.
Holidays are also getting a "change" when it comes to entertaining, gifts, and decorations. Families are finding out that home-made has and always will be heart-made and that something given that is unique, and one of a kind, not manufactured or mass produced will give lasting memories. A meal served simply but with mouth-watering tastes, colors, and textures can surpass an expensive restaurant experience. How many times have we been disappointed with a meal that we thought would take our breath away and instead just took the dollars out of our wallets? It happens and this does not mean that eating out is a no-no. It only represents the fact that you can, with a little effort and planning, prepare feasts when monetary famine rears its ugly head.
Remember that cookbooks and recipes are maps or guidelines for certain dishes. You can and should include your family's favorites when you prepare a meal. If your family prefers corn to artichokes, make the change if it is appropriate for the dish. Improvise and tuck and trim and you will be delighted with the results. If not, and the family gives you the thumbs-down, then you know from this experience that these ingredients just did not go well together. There is nothing wrong in trying because "tried and true" recipes have evolved from many false starts and "maybe" ingredients, until the final result is a passed down to generations "keeper."
Going to garden shows or nurseries as a family, you will find that the kids enjoy the varieties of vegetable plants and flowering treasures and would consider it more "personal" if you let them pick and choose a few varieties. Their interest will be more in tune because they had input and their choice just may be the stellar star of your own garden show.
In home decor, let the children try their hand at decorations from vacations past or tidbits just lying in boxes collecting dust. If you enjoyed a vacation at the seashore a few years back, those shells may be re-invented to be used as curtain tie-backs, or even glued to a vase or tray. Glass balls from a tourist trap, placed in a clear bowl, can be a colorful and eye-catching mantle piece that reflects colors and rainbow accents. A skirt from a spa venture just never fitted right but was just too good to toss. It can now cover a pillow for porch or deck and its new life will bring back memories once again.
It's all a matter of choosing how to deal with down-turns and making sure that they don't turn your life downward. An old saying of "This too shall pass" is a wonderful mantra, but in the meantime, using your creativity and talent, your inspiration and dedication to trying your hand at new ventures, is the right "recipe" for dealing with anything the economy or this life can throw at you.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Gardening - A History of Love and Life
When warm breezes blow and the sun shines on more days than not, it is time to begin the task of preparing and getting a garden together. It might just be a small plot, a container garden on a patio or porch, or several acres if you are so blessed. Whatever the space available, it is one of the most enjoyable, and healthiest pasttimes around. There is actually something "spiritual" about a handful of soil and a seed - each attending to a task of producting fantastic blooms of color and aroma, crisp and tasty vegetables and fruits, and herbs to tantalize and set any dish to higher standards.
Many who garden also enjoy scrapbooking or crafting. These ventures can be joined together and you can have the best of all worlds right there at your fingertips. If you garden with children, then the sense of unity, ancestry, and shared quality time is priceless. Many years ago, I visited a garden that gave me an incentive to try my hand at "naming" the wondrous flowers and succulent vegetables that I grew. While the packages of seeds already come with names, they really had no meaning to me or to anyone I gave the "Grand Tour" of my garden plot to. It just seemed like the perfect melting together of personal history and gardening success. Scrapbooking supplies provide the material for some fantastic yard signs at the end of a row of peas, or green peppers. They also can decorate a rose garden or a planter filled with fragrant flowers and set on a porch just outside the entry way of a house. These "markers" can give a hint of fun and laughter or a sentimental reminder of those we love and cherish. If roses were Grandpa's favorite gardening pursuit, then a small sign highlighting his love of tea roses can give him the honor of having his name on a banner proclaiming to all that he did have a hand in keeping the tradition of sachet scents greeting visitors to his home a while back. So "Grandpa Mike's American Beauty Roses" is a tribute, and one that will bring back fond memories as you work in the garden or just admire the unbelievable floral treasures that are yours in the height of summer. In the vegetable garden, cherry tomatoes are a quick snack and a very tasty treat as you well remember when you visited Aunt Betty's house for a Fourth of July picnic. So a garden sign giving her the "honor" of Aunt Betty's Red Ruby Tomato Gems will make you smile every time you pop one in your mouth delighting in the warmth from the sun and the "splash" of juice and tomato goodness with just one bite. There could be signposts for your best friend who lives miles away (Sherry's Green Goddess Green Peppers) or for a friend who always makes the best pies (Lydia's Azure Blue Blueberries).
This is not only a whole lot of fun, it makes your daily gardening chores a trip into friendship and family. It allows small children to relate to being part of the success and accomplishment of family and friends, who they may never have met, but whose lives they can now touch through something as simple as a garden signpost. A venture like this combines gardening with crafting and scrapbooking and those photographs of your child standing in a patch of Uncle Harvey's Candy Sweet Strawberries is another contribution from the garden.
So using your imagination and creativity just got a bit more "personal" but a whole lot more fun - now that's a harvest of some very good things all put together.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur February, 2008
Many who garden also enjoy scrapbooking or crafting. These ventures can be joined together and you can have the best of all worlds right there at your fingertips. If you garden with children, then the sense of unity, ancestry, and shared quality time is priceless. Many years ago, I visited a garden that gave me an incentive to try my hand at "naming" the wondrous flowers and succulent vegetables that I grew. While the packages of seeds already come with names, they really had no meaning to me or to anyone I gave the "Grand Tour" of my garden plot to. It just seemed like the perfect melting together of personal history and gardening success. Scrapbooking supplies provide the material for some fantastic yard signs at the end of a row of peas, or green peppers. They also can decorate a rose garden or a planter filled with fragrant flowers and set on a porch just outside the entry way of a house. These "markers" can give a hint of fun and laughter or a sentimental reminder of those we love and cherish. If roses were Grandpa's favorite gardening pursuit, then a small sign highlighting his love of tea roses can give him the honor of having his name on a banner proclaiming to all that he did have a hand in keeping the tradition of sachet scents greeting visitors to his home a while back. So "Grandpa Mike's American Beauty Roses" is a tribute, and one that will bring back fond memories as you work in the garden or just admire the unbelievable floral treasures that are yours in the height of summer. In the vegetable garden, cherry tomatoes are a quick snack and a very tasty treat as you well remember when you visited Aunt Betty's house for a Fourth of July picnic. So a garden sign giving her the "honor" of Aunt Betty's Red Ruby Tomato Gems will make you smile every time you pop one in your mouth delighting in the warmth from the sun and the "splash" of juice and tomato goodness with just one bite. There could be signposts for your best friend who lives miles away (Sherry's Green Goddess Green Peppers) or for a friend who always makes the best pies (Lydia's Azure Blue Blueberries).
This is not only a whole lot of fun, it makes your daily gardening chores a trip into friendship and family. It allows small children to relate to being part of the success and accomplishment of family and friends, who they may never have met, but whose lives they can now touch through something as simple as a garden signpost. A venture like this combines gardening with crafting and scrapbooking and those photographs of your child standing in a patch of Uncle Harvey's Candy Sweet Strawberries is another contribution from the garden.
So using your imagination and creativity just got a bit more "personal" but a whole lot more fun - now that's a harvest of some very good things all put together.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur February, 2008
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