Category Archives: Gardening

Fill. Plant. Grow!

When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden. 

~Minnie Aumonier

Despite the frigid Michigan zone 5b temperatures, gardening lives on 365 days a year in my world even when I am indoors!

Greeted with a cold gush of air in the dead of winter, can you imagine how delighted I was to discover The Little Acre™ ?!?

Here’s what I love about The Little Acre™:  It is truly so simple and convenient to set up.  It has multiple uses and appeals to a very large audience!  So perfectly designed to engage and encourage growing!

Follow these simple steps to start gardening:

1. Unfold the bag, set it in a sunny place, fill it with 10-11 cubic feet of  soil/compost combo

2. Plant your favorite veggies, herbs, berries and flowers – seeds or plants

3. Water!

Yep, it’s that easy.  For me, it is perfect for growing herbs!  Until spring arrives and warmer temperatures, I will patiently wait and develop my planting strategies!

 May all your gardens grow,

 

Healthy Back…Happy Gardener! A Guest Post from Dr. Anna!

What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.

~Charles Dudley Warner

I am so excited to share the helpful tips below from my very own Chiropractor, Dr. Anna Saylor!   Dr. Anna is credited for keeping my back healthy so I can do what I love,  and I am forever grateful!  Thank you Dr. Anna!

 Five Tips for a “Healthy Back”

Many spinal related injuries like back pain come not as a result of accidents, but more as a result of awkward posture, over-use or unconditioned muscles. Here are a few tips to keep your spine and back feeling great as you garden.

1. Warm your muscles before starting any project. Even walking for a few minutes will help.

2. Wear the proper shoes. Make sure they are flat, comfortable and offer firm support.

3. Make sure you avoid awkward positions, such as bending forward at your waist for a long period of time. Get down on your hands and knees and try to keep your spine in a neutral position.

4. Using the proper tools for each job can go a long way in keeping you pain free.

5. Do not lift more than you can handle. If you think it might be too heavy, it probably is!

And the final tip:  if you injure yourself, see your chiropractor as soon as possible!

Wishing you Health, Happiness and Beautiful Gardens,

Dr. Anna Saylor

Van Every Family Chiropractic Center

Do Your Gloves Stand the Test of Time?

You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves.

~Joseph Stalin

I think we all agree most garden gloves look lovely and tempting on the store rack!  But, do they truly stand the test of time?

As you can imagine our team of gardeners go through gloves like water!  Eventually and predictably, fingers pop through the glove tips like pesky weeds bursting through soil!

This year I agreed to “test” Atlas® Gloves.  I am delighted to report they passed with flying colors!  Washed and used on a daily basis with much wear and tear, they held up beautifully!  Highlights:  hands breathe and bend with every movement, thin nitrile coating ensures great “feel” and protection with an extended cuff for comfort.

I can NOW confidently say Atlas® Nitrile Fit garden gloves are definitely my favorites!  Thank you Atlas® Glove for keeping our hard-working gardening hands soft to the touch!

May all your gardens grow,

Today’s Thought

If the day and night be such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more immortal – that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself.

~Henry David Thoreau

Alessi Giardino Garden Tools for Tots

What’s not to love?  Chris Armstrong, the designer of these FUN garden tools for tots, is determined to get kids involved in a healthy lifestyle early on!

This colorful garden tool set includes a shovel shaped like a snail, a watermelon sprinkler attachment and a parrot- looking pruner. Alessi Giardino tools are safe for play and a brilliant idea!  Heck, I think I would have fun using these in my garden!

May all your gardens grow,

 

 

 

Light Up Your Gardens!

The ‘Amen!’ of Nature is always a flower.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

I simply adore this time of year when hydrangeas make their stunning debut and steal the show in the garden!  This is exactly what I wait for all season long!  The beauty of all hydrangeas take my breath away…but the exciting and unique ‘Limelight’ Hydrangea paniculata brings out the giddy gardener in me!

‘Limelight’ hydrangea’s soft lime green blooms held above the dark green foliage resemble a triple scoop of soft-serve ice cream. To me, the luscious tapered blooms just scream “Summer time!” The impressive flower heads can get up to 12 inches long and stand upright on the shrub for an extraordinary and lovely display with no drooping! It’s a strong shrub with flower power! Another thriller with this beauty… as autumn approaches, the blooms gracefully change to a rich deep pink that lasts through late fall and offers wonderful winter interest.

Of all the hydrangeas, the ‘Limelight’ is the most adaptable to different soil types and prefers full sun to light shade. In fact, they are extremely hardy and very tricky to kill…oh yes, my kind of ornamental shrub! The beautiful ‘Limelight’ can be easily maintained as a small shrub or trained into a small tree. I prefer pruning my ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas in early spring by simply cutting off the spent flowers to make way for new ones! Bonus: the spent flowers add great winter interest and are a constant reminder of what’s to come. A hard pruning in spring will produce larger flowers…just cut the shrub back by 1/3 to 1/2. I will prune my ‘Limelights’ back very hard this spring and as a result the foliage will be much denser.

Interested in attracting attention to your landscape and gardens with an outrageously gorgeous effect? I recommend planting the ‘Limelight’ in groupings or masses. Hands down you’ll not be sorry and you, too, will wait for their coming out party each season like I do!

GROW IT:

Botanical name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
Common name: ‘Limelight’ hydrangea
Hardiness: USDA Zone 3 -8
Bloom Time: Begins in late July – early August. Blooms last through late fall.
Height: 6′-8′
May all  your gardens grow!