 As a little girl, I watched my mother and grandmother garden. At the beginning of Spring, I knew it was time for the ritual of turning the soil, clearing out weeds, and planting seeds. The idea and chore behind it all never seemed appealing. Play in the dirt where critters live and breed? Nah, I'll pass.
To my surprise about 30 years later I was doing the very thing I said I would never do. Cultivating and loving my garden while running from the occasional bug or two. Hobbies are meant to ease your sanity and bring instant joy to your soul. If not, it's time to find a new hobby. There is a certain level of peace that comes along with gardening and yard work and I completely lose myself when I'm putting my green thumb to work. It's the therapist you never knew you needed. But don't get it twisted! Gardening is truly backbreaking work, however, the end result is well worth it. Get your notepad ready, take notes, because we are getting down and dirty! So, you've decided to try your hand at growing something. You've killed more plants than you can count and you have sworn to stick with the plastic plants that are forever green while requiring zero water. Doesn't get easier than that! But it does. Following rules are important for most things, and gardening is certainly no exception.
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For the last 25 years, I have played in the dirt in Georgia. The soil is easy to work with and the temperature was always on my side when it came to a longer season of warm weather. My planting would typically start somewhere around the end of March, to the beginning of April. I applied this rule for flowering plants as well as vegetables. This allows the plants enough time to get adjusted to the new soil, environment, and temperature. By mid-summer, my garden was always flourishing, and quite thirsty. The more my garden grew, the more water my precious plants required. As the temperatures soared closer to 90 degrees in late July this was a daily chore to ensure the plants didn't dry out.
Relocating to an entirely different climate gives me a brand new challenge and adventure. Like a kid in a candy store, I can't wait to dive in! I have a few ideas in store...  If you know anything about me, you know how much I love every single aspect of gardening. With the exception of a few insects here and there, however, that is par for the course. It's an acquired taste. Gardening that is. With it comes a natural endorphin releasing, stress relieving, and therapeutic hobby that will either leave you vowing to never attempt to plant again or will ignite a passion within you that will become both addictive and unstoppable. On a scale of things that are healthy addictions, this is without question, one of them.
Do you like playing in the dirt? Or are you afraid to get your hands dirty? Well, grab a pair of cute garden gloves or get down and dirty with it and feel the earth between your fingers. The choice is all yours my friends.
 It's spring, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and the sun is out! So there is a natural urge to plant something. At least that is how I feel. I get the desire to plant flowers and garden from my mother and sister who are always in the yard and clearly it rubbed off on me. I used to do it every year but of course life gets in the way and sometimes you just don't feel like it. Planting a garden requires dedication and it can be very time-consuming. Either way, it's very rewarding in the end because you can always say, "I grew that!"
I personally love rose bushes and my favorite variety is the Double Knockout Rose which will give you twice the blooms along with very vibrant colors. The Hybrid Tea Rose is another favorite and it is one of thee most fragrant flowers I have ever smelled. Both varieties are very beautiful and heat-resistant as well as being a perennial which means it will return year after year. The key to a successful garden are my 10 easy steps below. Now, let's play in the dirt! |
AuthorAJ is a creative writer and storyteller writing from her home in Indiana. Archives
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"This is how you do it; you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard." -Neil Gaiman
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