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Seeds for Change Wellness
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Elemental Garden Retreat Project Also See Project Blue Sky
July in the Garden...Coming Soon
Will Be Back in August!
Each year when July rolls around, I usually throw my hands up in disgust and
say, "I give up!" ...the weeds have taken over well beyond the manageable
stage... the heat and humidity are also in full swing, causing more than the literal
headache...and I readily admit defeat...BUT not this year...July is still more than
a week away and I feel confident this year will be different...
What I have learned:
Putting a little bit of time in the garden each day to do some weeding
keeps me ahead of the game....I always thought you put your plants in,
admire the work and walkaway until fall....even though that strategy never
worked I would hold onto it like the size 6 jeans stuffed in the back of my
closet I used to fit into a zillion years ago, hoping for the day...well you
know the rest of the story.
Putting the time in to really prepare my beds in the beginning has paid off
with less weeds than previous years..
Careful planting to fill in where weeds would take over helps, although,
much of the results won't be seen until next year...
TO Really enjoy the garden, have fun with it, work with nature, and it
becomes a spiritual, meditative activity for me rather than a chore.
The benefits from these gardens is affecting the entire environment in a
very positive way...the sky...the wildlife ...the plant life...
I hope if you have come this far with me on this journey, that you have
been inspired to begin a joint project with nature yourself.
See You in July!
say, "I give up!" ...the weeds have taken over well beyond the manageable
stage... the heat and humidity are also in full swing, causing more than the literal
headache...and I readily admit defeat...BUT not this year...July is still more than
a week away and I feel confident this year will be different...
What I have learned:
Putting a little bit of time in the garden each day to do some weeding
keeps me ahead of the game....I always thought you put your plants in,
admire the work and walkaway until fall....even though that strategy never
worked I would hold onto it like the size 6 jeans stuffed in the back of my
closet I used to fit into a zillion years ago, hoping for the day...well you
know the rest of the story.
Putting the time in to really prepare my beds in the beginning has paid off
with less weeds than previous years..
Careful planting to fill in where weeds would take over helps, although,
much of the results won't be seen until next year...
TO Really enjoy the garden, have fun with it, work with nature, and it
becomes a spiritual, meditative activity for me rather than a chore.
The benefits from these gardens is affecting the entire environment in a
very positive way...the sky...the wildlife ...the plant life...
I hope if you have come this far with me on this journey, that you have
been inspired to begin a joint project with nature yourself.
See You in July!
July 1st...Judgement Day
Well the day has finally arrived, or should I say the month...JULY...the dreaded Weed Month...as
usual, I started my day with a 16 oz cup of Hazelnut Coffee from the local Wawa....took in the
breathtaking beauty of the crisp blue sky, filled with amazing looking clouds as I drove a few minutes
up the road to check in with my other fellow Wawa Traveller's....
Upon returning, I headed to the garden to sit and enjoy the brew, then remembered...I needed to
get the camera to take some photos, after all it is JULY 1ST!...For me this is a big, momentous
occasion...I felt like the trumpets should be heralding in this news all over the land, or at least our
neighborhood....It's JULY in Susan's garden and you can actually see it's beauty without it being
impeded by the weeds. Yahoo! Whipee! Yeah!
Do you get the feeling that I'm excited, no scratch that... ecstatic...I have reached a lifetime
milestone...with the help of the nature spirits who are working tirelessly, this place has never looked
so loved!
Below is a glimpse of what the gardens look like today....yes there are some weeds, but I would say
it is about 10%...
usual, I started my day with a 16 oz cup of Hazelnut Coffee from the local Wawa....took in the
breathtaking beauty of the crisp blue sky, filled with amazing looking clouds as I drove a few minutes
up the road to check in with my other fellow Wawa Traveller's....
Upon returning, I headed to the garden to sit and enjoy the brew, then remembered...I needed to
get the camera to take some photos, after all it is JULY 1ST!...For me this is a big, momentous
occasion...I felt like the trumpets should be heralding in this news all over the land, or at least our
neighborhood....It's JULY in Susan's garden and you can actually see it's beauty without it being
impeded by the weeds. Yahoo! Whipee! Yeah!
Do you get the feeling that I'm excited, no scratch that... ecstatic...I have reached a lifetime
milestone...with the help of the nature spirits who are working tirelessly, this place has never looked
so loved!
Below is a glimpse of what the gardens look like today....yes there are some weeds, but I would say
it is about 10%...
Coleus and Ivy...the
ivy is starting to fill in
nicely, by next year, it
should be a good
ground cover for the
bed.
ivy is starting to fill in
nicely, by next year, it
should be a good
ground cover for the
bed.
Morning Glories growing along the compost fencing...Dianthus below that...off to
the right are my neighbors plants peeping over the fence to get into the garden. Up
the shoe rack trellis the hollyhocks are getting bigger...
the right are my neighbors plants peeping over the fence to get into the garden. Up
the shoe rack trellis the hollyhocks are getting bigger...
Up close shot of the
zucchini plant
zucchini plant
Cone Flowers Opening
My 10 % Weeds are in the walkways...haven't tackled that problem yet..we use an
organic weed killer to spray but have only done that a few times...
organic weed killer to spray but have only done that a few times...
Salvia in back, Statice up front
Sugar Peas growing up trellis
One of our Tomato Plants
View While Standing on Top of Compost Pile
Daylilies Showing their Beauty
Blueberry Patch
Yum! A Little Bit of Breakfast to Go with My Java
Our Grapevines that Never Produced Anything Big Enough to Eat is Packed
What we call Tiger Country...we let nature run free, no mowing here...is filling in with
tons of Milkweed this year.
tons of Milkweed this year.
Scott's Golf Green
We planted 2 Black
Raspberry Bushes
this year...we have
eaten all of the ripe
berries so far,,
Raspberry Bushes
this year...we have
eaten all of the ripe
berries so far,,
A Few More Tomato Plants...Starting to Get Little Baby Fruits
Bee Balm
Astilbes
Hostas
New Trellis System for tomato...
Well not too shabby for a July
Garden!
I'll post a few more pictures at
mid-month and then again in August...
I am intent on breaking all records
this season....
Hope you are growing and
nurturing some plants of your
own...regardless of the amount of
space, incorporating nature into our
environment is the way we are meant
to live...and it makes all the difference
in the world...
Well not too shabby for a July
Garden!
I'll post a few more pictures at
mid-month and then again in August...
I am intent on breaking all records
this season....
Hope you are growing and
nurturing some plants of your
own...regardless of the amount of
space, incorporating nature into our
environment is the way we are meant
to live...and it makes all the difference
in the world...
Our New Thrift Store Find...Converted into a Compost Tea Brewer
Bird in the Garden...had these 2 birds that
kept posing for pictures but the lighting just
made it impossible to capture both of them..
kept posing for pictures but the lighting just
made it impossible to capture both of them..
July 10, 2007....Done! Yeah! Yahoo! Yipee!....
After a 2 1/2 month journey, I am finally finished putting the garden in for this
year...I am still in awe at it's beauty! Of course, it is now all maintenance but
the way I have designed it, it will not require endless hours of caretaking, but will supply
endless hours of enjoyment...
year...I am still in awe at it's beauty! Of course, it is now all maintenance but
the way I have designed it, it will not require endless hours of caretaking, but will supply
endless hours of enjoyment...
Update on our Boidynamic
Tomato Plants...
We can not believe the size of
these plants...they look so
majestic as they sit in the
garden...we have about 10 of
these plants scattered through
out the property...only this one
has been prepared the way
described on the instructions with
the compost hole...but the others
are looking wonderful and a few
are about the same size so we'll
see what we end up with as a
crop...but the fruit, although still
green is plentiful and large for
cherry tomatoes..
Tomato Plants...
We can not believe the size of
these plants...they look so
majestic as they sit in the
garden...we have about 10 of
these plants scattered through
out the property...only this one
has been prepared the way
described on the instructions with
the compost hole...but the others
are looking wonderful and a few
are about the same size so we'll
see what we end up with as a
crop...but the fruit, although still
green is plentiful and large for
cherry tomatoes..
Potted Biodynamic Tomato Plant
Bee Balm in Bloom!
Sunflowers Beginning to Pop!
The Final Section
I cleared out the strawberry patch, which I decided to move to another location instead
of keeping it in this garden...I think it will be happier near the fruit trees and berry bushes.
So after that the question was, What now? After thinking and asking for inspiration from
nature, the decision was to put in another trellis area with clematis...this time I faced the 2
trellis' toward each other...then thought, why now put bamboo over top between the 2 to
create some shade...and next year when the clematis really takes off it can create a living
shade cover...
Next some perennials were put in (grasses,speedwell, lambs ear, and a trumpet vine was
planted in the corner earlier in the planning) and then filled in with annuals, simply because I
may want to shift some things around next spring and want to have some space available to
do so...
So now I needed a bench to put in to sit between the trellis' and found a nice
weathered looking one to do the job...a trip to Walmart garnered two wooden -looking solar
lights that I have placed standing guard to this meditation corner and two bamboo tikki lights...
The neighbors were getting rid of stone that was around their pool so I was able to get alot of
the rocks and create little areas of definition around the beds and to create walkways.
of keeping it in this garden...I think it will be happier near the fruit trees and berry bushes.
So after that the question was, What now? After thinking and asking for inspiration from
nature, the decision was to put in another trellis area with clematis...this time I faced the 2
trellis' toward each other...then thought, why now put bamboo over top between the 2 to
create some shade...and next year when the clematis really takes off it can create a living
shade cover...
Next some perennials were put in (grasses,speedwell, lambs ear, and a trumpet vine was
planted in the corner earlier in the planning) and then filled in with annuals, simply because I
may want to shift some things around next spring and want to have some space available to
do so...
So now I needed a bench to put in to sit between the trellis' and found a nice
weathered looking one to do the job...a trip to Walmart garnered two wooden -looking solar
lights that I have placed standing guard to this meditation corner and two bamboo tikki lights...
The neighbors were getting rid of stone that was around their pool so I was able to get alot of
the rocks and create little areas of definition around the beds and to create walkways.
Some More Updates of the Garden
Hot Peppers Growing in the Garden
Look at the Size of these Cherry Tomatoes!
Mandavilla...a New Plant for me that I am trying this year