Thoughts on Gardening

The orange glow of a sunset on a hot summer's evening.  The small heads of flowers bobbing in the wind.  The heat of the topsoil and the coolness of the soil underneath.  Dirt under my fingernails.  My favorite music blasting in my headphones.  These are just some of the outdoor things I love and live for. 

Grasses in the Wind

Gardening is a hobby, but it is also a release of sorts.  I can be outside in the breeze and the heat, covered in dirt and sweat and be just as happy as a lark.  There is something about being outside in the garden that just gives me a freedom that I don't experience anywhere else.

I have just come in from outside and I am trying to cool off.  Actually, I got out early this morning, so it wasn't too hot. 

Daffodil

We have had a couple weeks of 100+ degree temperatures, so it has been pretty uncomfortable outside. Then in the evenings, it turns to thunder, wind and lightning storms, but it doesn’t rain. Welcome to the desert!

The nice thing about the desert, though, is that the temperatures usually drop at night by about 30 degrees or so. That means early mornings are basically comfortable, until about noon or so. Then the air heats up again.

The evening winds are very strong. Last night, they pulled our patio umbrella right out of the table. Luckily, it dropped it right next to the table this time. It has picked it up and hauled it into the alley behind our house and even into the neighbor’s yard. I put it away in the garage so that couldn’t happen again. Our basketball hoop got knocked over last night, too. I just left it tipped over, since the same thing is forecast for tonight. The storms are ferocious, but no rain, so watering is still a necessity.

Spider Lily

While I was out, I cut the flowering tops off my basil plants so they can start again from the bottom. Otherwise, I understand that once they go to seed, they will just die off. We can’t have that happening. I also cut the spent flowering tops off the Tropicannas, too, in hopes that they will bloom again. The bright orange against their reddish-brown leaves is so beautiful. I want to keep them going for the whole season, if possible.

My pot of mint seems to have grown itself out, since it was turning yellow and looked like it was sick. But I cut that all out, too. It is coming back from the bottom, so I’m sure it will flourish again now. I gave it a good solid drink to get it going. I will be keeping an eye on it.

Passion Flower

My project for tomorrow is to go to my neighbor’s with my mom so I can harvest their lavender plants. Yay! Fresh lavender to do some creativity with! I love lavender sooooo much! Be sure to check out my Lavender Herb Journal post for some info on this beautiful, fragrant plant! Once I get all my fresh lavender, I will be posting some recipes and projects that you can try, too.

Fern

This crazy weather seems to be good for all the plants as they seem to be thriving for the most part. Unfortunately, so are the weeds. I need to get back out there and get them pulled up. There really are only a couple types of weeds that spring up in my flower beds, but they really can take over if I don’t stay on top of them!

I will be doing a post on common weeds soon. I am researching it now, so it’s in the works. Sounds like I have a lot on my plate, and I guess I do, but that is how I like things—always looking ahead to the next project!

Well, I’m cooled off now, so I had better get back at it!

Let me know what gardening does for your state of mind!

Happy Maintenance!

Peace and Love Always,

Hen and Chicks

Photo Credits:  Grasses in the Wind:  Photo via Visualhunt;  Daffodil:  Photo credit: McMac70 via Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND;  Spider Lily:  Photo credit: mclcbooks via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND;  Passion Flower:  Photo credit: CameliaTWU via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND;  Fern:  Photo credit: Walter A. Aue via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND;  Hen and Chicks:  Photo credit: Bill Gracey via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-ND