What makes a good mother? In the wild, motherhood is a harsh reality of life. Correction must happen swiftly and decidedly, or death might ensue. A quick hoof to the head or a bite on the back seems harsh in today’s world of protective parenting. According to this article, even plants perform acts of motherhood …
Some of my best gifts ever have been Mother’s Day gifts. Some husbands don’t think it’s their responsibility to get their wives a Mother’s Day gift – she’s not my mother, they might think. But The Fixer has always honored Mother’s Day as a hallowed holiday. He modeled to our children that mothers should be …
In my post, Connect in Place, I talked about how plants communicate with each other. Today, I want to talk about how they communicate with us. Plants have physical ways to communicate their needs to caretakers. If they need water or have too much water, they droop. If they need nutrients or are under attack …
My friends’ children are all getting married these days and having babies themselves. When you get to a certain age, girlfriend conversations invariably turn to “what do you think is the most important thing to look for in a mate”. The amusing answers, rich and employed, are suggested and quickly turn to – loving, a …
Although we only have a 1.5-acre lot, we have enjoyed absolute privacy because our neighbors on all sides of us have large acreages. But recently there has been a change and now we have a new couple who live close by my gardens. In the mornings, they like to walk the driveway that lines many …
Do you talk to your plants? I am fascinated by the idea of plants communicating with us and with other plants. I’ll explore both topics this month. Today I will look at how plants communicate with one another and later this month, in The Language of Flowers, I’ll look at how plants communicate with us. …
Has chronic pain caused you to abandon your gardening dreams? The Garden Tower is a great way to reconnect to your gardening passion without digging. Although the Garden Tower was on my gift wish list a few years back, I was surprised and delighted to receive it. In the beginning, it was slow going, but …
Are you still trying to garden using traditional labor-intensive methods, but pain is inserting itself in the process and making your gardening life miserable? I know I was. As arthritis crept its way into my life, I suddenly found myself unable to do what I used to do. Did you know that arthritis is the …
Prescription drugs? NSAIDs? (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs i.e.: Ibuprofen, acetaminophen…) Are these the only answers to chronic pain? Wouldn’t it be nicer to have remedies that don’t come with a laundry list of side effects? Navigating the maze of alternative treatments is overwhelming. Unfortunately, the field is crowded with dubious salespeople and some vendors who genuinely …
Mulching beds recently, I realized I’d run over a plant with my cart. I propped it up with an extra helping of mulch and lamented that it was my poor, beleaguered, crinum lily. If plants, like cats, have nine lives, this one was close to meeting its maker. Years ago, my husband and I bought …