This spring, our outdoor living space has come to life like never before. It is popping with bright colors, tasty treats, and little buzzing friends. Admittedly, I cannot take any of the credit since I actually do not have a green thumb. My husband is the gardener who is responsible for all the plants in our garden. When the weather is nice though, I feel compelled to partake in some gardening activities. Today, we are sharing what we have learned from our little piece of earth and the items that helped us along the way.
There are two ways to add a plant to your garden; plant a seed or plant the plant. We have done it both ways.
When visiting your local nursery or home improvement store, you know it is hard to look away at all the beautiful blooms displayed. We frequently visit Lowes Improvement Store on a monthly basis, and there is a 99% chance that we will purchase a garden item. It could be a small flower plant, seeds, fertilizer, a pot, a shovel, or even a young tree. However, you do not always need to visit a plant nursery for seeds because some seeds are right in your kitchen.
Creating a space for a garden, whether it be for flowers or veggies, has several benefits. Firstly, many gardeners say that gardening is therapeutic. I would imagine that once you slip on some gardening gloves and start doing some upkeeping, you are in the green zone. Secondly, if you are growing your own food, that is already a huge benefit. My husband and I enjoy picking green beans from our raised bed for our evening salads and for treating the pups. Hanzo is a green bean thief. This spring, we have also had a lot of baby romaine lettuce, summer squash, and even a red kohlrabi. The third best thing about having a garden is enjoying its beauty. In the morning, after the dew has evaporated from the grass, I enjoy sitting in the middle of our flower garden. We put a chair there to be fully immersed in the petals and the bees. Our wildflower garden has attracted so many beneficial pollinators, we put a little pollinator home for them.
When we began planning our veggie garden, we knew we didn't want the plants at ground level. Finding raised beds online was incredibly easy and affordable. After putting them all together, we filled them up with dirt, leaves, perlite, and black cow fertilizer. After all that hard work, we added different seeds to each bed and then let the water sprinkler run for a few minutes. On occasion, we also add compost to the soil of the beds. Basically, once you have all this done, you just have to water the soil daily until you start seeing some sprouts shoot up.
Since we live in North Florida and the winters here can go below 40 degrees, it is not ideal for growing any citrus. We purchased a small greenhouse to store gardening equipment and for our tropical plants to live in during winter. We even installed an automatic watering system that would mist the plants a few minutes every day. Ultimately, we resigned from growing any citrus since we were fighting a losing battle. Every year, we discover what endures and what doesn't. Same goes for florals and other greenery. If they can stand the test of winter, then we'll keep investing in them. If not, then we move on.
One very useful item we have is a rainwater barrel. It collects water every time it rains and when you need some water, it has a spigot at the bottom for an easy pour. The next best item you can add to your garden is a few plant stakes to support leaning plants from falling over. A little garden fence is highly recommended to keep out pets and deer. We don't have a fence, but some plants do have some fencing to keep them safe from the local wildlife. I love seeing the deer roaming around, but they can be destructive in a garden. So, we also got some censored water sprinklers that will react when it detects movement from a certain distance. I'll admit, we've all been hit by the sprinkler. Me, hubby, and both pups! In which case, I turn them off during the day.
Getting rid of other pests, such as aphids, using a nontoxic spray on your plants is crucial. My husband uses a homemade spray that is a mix of: cooper fungicide, neem oil, insectoidal soap, some of water. Spray freely on the affected plants. This product is not harmful to pets or pollinators, which is obviously really important in our garden.
Keep in mind that gardens come in all shapes and sizes; meaning you don't need a huge backyard. If this post has inspired you to grow a few plants, please let me know in the comments. A special thanks to my husband who has made this beautiful environment possible. The items I mentioned in this post can be found in my LTK store front.
Happy planting!
XoXo, Ody!
Comments