Garden of Daily Living

The Only Garden Everyone Needs to Own

“First, you come to the garden alone

while the dew is still on the roses.”

Plant 3 rows of Peas:  Peace of Mind...Peace of Heart...Peace of Soul.

Plant 4 rows of Squash:  Squash Gossip...Squash Indifference...Squash Selfishness.

Plant 4 rows of Lettuce:  Let us be Faithful...Let us be kind...Let us be Patient.

No Garden is without Turnips: 

                                                 Turn up for Meetings. Turn up for Service.

Turn up to Help One Another.

To Complete our Garden, we must have Thyme:

Time for Each Other...Time for Family...Time for Friends.

Water Freely...have Willful Patience...Cultivate with Love.

(with appreciation to an ardent follower for the foregoing)

Magic of Gardening

A garden is always a series of losses

set against  a few triumphs ~ like LIFE itself.

(Mary Sarton

* * * * * * * * * * *

When the above garden is flourishing, consider

Ten Things You Should Know About Gardens

Kathy Renwald, horticulturalist guru from the Hamilton Spectator, writes:

“I've been gardening a long time, but I was green as grass when I started.

Here are 10 things I wish I knew when I started gardening”:

Plant trees:  The best $100 you will spend.  Trees add value to your property, provide shade and structure and add fragrance and flowers if you choose wisely.  Add them first, to a new yard.

Plant shrubs:  They come in all sizes and shapes and take up space in a pretty , practical way.  High impact with low maintenance.

Be careful with perennials:  Plant them judiciously, as part of a mix of tress, shrubs, ground covers and annuals.

Plant bulbs:  A few special daffodils or tulips coming up in spring is magic.  It's a reward for days of cold and gray and it will get you out in the garden for pure pleasure of their beauty. Be imaginative ~

try colours of pink, burgundy and fuchsia.

Put seating in the garden:  A chair in the garden gives you a place to view  the garden, contemplate the design...or just meditate.

Borrow ground covers:  If you have a friend who has periwinkle, pachysandra or European ginger, dig a few shovels full to start your own beds.  Also watch for garden club and horticultural sales.  Mulch between plants to cut down on weeding.

Scatter potted plants:  Take a big pot, put one or two mature hostas in it...or coral bells...or tropicals from inside...and plunk it in one of the beds.  Elevate it on something sturdy...and suddenly, you have a new focal point.

Watch out for invasives:  Do some research so you know what you are planting.  Go to the Royal Botanical Gardens website (rbg.ca) and learn what to avoid.

Know how big things get:  Shrubs and beautiful shapes need space to display their shapely  forms.  If your shrubs grow into a tangled blob, you've wasted  money and lost a design opportunity.

Take  photos:  Photos document the things you planted, if you aren't the type to take notes.  Framing a photograph also is a test of how your design is working.  Shooting in black and white shows if the garden has good bones!

Gertrude Jekyll, an influential British garden designer, writer and artist who died in 1932, said, “There is no part of ground…however arid, bare or ugly…that cannot be formed into such a state as may give an impression of beauty and delight.

Crafted by Merle Baird-Kerr … June 30, 2013

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