Garden Writing

Whether you are a horticulturist or a people horticulturist (nurse), writing is an important way to share your craft, your life, and your expertise. While a garden will nourish and care for your soul and your sustenance, the nutritional value of what you plant can be a boon to your health. Traveling Nurse Epi Larue makes sense of some of it in her blog at http://travelnurisnghighway.bogspot.com/

Planting a garden sometimes is like unraveling your family tree or a good mystery. Who gets along with whom (companion planting); who dunnit? (Insect pests); solving the crime (Organic Solutions to garden pests and weeds.); editing your work (tilling and enhancing your soil); marketing and promoting (What to do with all that zucchini or abundant harvest) once your work is finished. http://www.janetelainesmith.blogspot.com/ and http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com/ or http://printedwords.blogspot.com/ .

In a garden, you discover peace, you don’t wage wars you correct imbalances. You organically remove what refuses to coexist with your plants. Manifest destiny and gardening co-exist. A victory garden is about peace, about winning the war over high prices and contaminated foods. Just as war affects human lives http://www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com/ war in your garden is not waged successfully by spraying the whole garden with weed killer, or some heavy duty insecticide that is also harmful to people and pets not to mention birds and the environment. Plant gardens, send seeds not missiles.

My garden continually amazes me, calls me to exercise, get out in the sunshine, smell the flowers, commune with nature if you will. Look at that rainbow after a storm. It’s a promise. The harvests are mental, physical and nutritional. Finding peace and harmony in a garden nurtures your whole being. . Sun shine for plant growth and human growth.

When you have down time, when it rains or there is snow on the ground it’s an excellent time to read. You could find author interviews and book reviews help you learn what others already have found out. http://joyceanthony.tripod.com/blog or http://talkingallthingswrite.blogspot.com/. Answers about gardening or about some other interest you have are only a click away, into day's connected world. Checking an author’s pass times you may find they are gardeners also with advice you can use.

So grab that garden catalogue and begin planning and/or grab your pen and start writing.

Rose Pests - and Helpers

This morning when I stopped at our local Mathis Ace Hardware ( you know the jingle "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware - man" - er person) I needed a cure for my peonies - they haven't bloomed yet and I planted them years ago. Someone told me they need Oyster shells - I wasn't able to find any. (If any one has any ideas I'd be pleased as punch to hear them. I do have plenty of ants so that isn't the problem) Picture of Lady Bug and aphids on fennel

But speaking of ants they are a problem in another way. Every insect has a benefit - such as the need for ants to help open peony blooms. however, Ants do pose a problem in that they "farm" aphids -- aphids can mean disaster for your glads or roses. So whats a person to do? You could import some Lady Bugs - they have a special appetite for them. (not the asian beetle please, but the real Lady Bug)

A women next to me in the insecticide - fertilizer isle was searching for rose dust to kill the aphids and things bothering her roses.

I had a solution for her - since she seemed to prefer organic, but was desperate. We could use the lady bugs (we have many around here. They didn't seem to be doing their job) or at least something safe for pets, birds, people. My solution for pests is Mrs. Murphy's Oil Soap. I mix it with water in a spray bottle - about 1/8 to a 1/4 cup to a quart of water and mist my plants until the leaves drip. I've used it to get rid of the bugs in my grapevines, the bean and squash bugs. It works to spray it around my back door to keep asian beetles and box alder bugs from coming in everytime the door opens. It's a wonderful product and doesn't hurt the environment.

I love finding solutions to my gardening problems that can help others and not harm beneficial critters or people. If anyone knows a reason why my 10 year old transplanted Peonies are not blooming though - I'd appreciate a note. Thank you!

Happy Gardening.

Billie