Gardening is top of mind for a lot of people this time of year and it
seems that even though our weather has been very wet the gardeners are planting and plucking (as I write this the sky is getting darker as today’s rain storm moves in).
One thing we don’t think about often is the impact downsizing has on our gardening. We talk about all the other impacts of moving and downsizing that cause us stress, such as reducing our possessions and finding new doctors, dentists and other services. But moving away from the gardens that we may have worked on for years to where it probably feels like you are starting over.
When Mr. Blogger and I moved to Stillwaters ten years ago we moved into a new house with new landscaping and I remember feeling like it was an overwhelming task to make our yard our own. Really, when I look back on it now I just needed to be patient and break it all down into doable pieces. Year by year our yard (and vegetable garden) have come along to maturity and now have those special touches that, as a gardener, give me joy!
I ran across an article recently that gave some suggestions for making that adjustment just a little bit easier. This is from an online real estate publication found at Houzz.com, titled Ten Tips for Leaving a Garden. Here is what they suggest prior to the big move:
1. Make a record of the garden you are leaving. Keep details about
plants you love, descriptions of your special spots and notes about planting successes.
2. Take pictures or videos of your gardens.
3. Memorialize the different seasons if you can with photos and notes.
4. Make special note of things that worked well and those that didn’t. Detailing materials used can be useful as well.
5. Even record works in progress. What was your plan, what did you learn and how did you hope it would turn out?
6. Keep track of what attracted wildlife (good and bad) so purchasing plants to attract butterflies is not such a challenge. (In my case I have spent alot of time searching for plants that the deer will leave alone!)
7. Find out ahead of time what your new gardening opportunities will be. Here in Stillwaters you can garden as much or as little as you want around your house. For the non-gardeners this means sitting back and watching the yard crew weed, feed and cut that lovely grass! For avid gardeners you can even check out our three community gardens for a plot your own.
8. Decide what of your favorites you will take with you – finding out the right time of year and conditions to transplant is important.
9. Label your selections to make that move less chaotic.
10. Make sure your plants and transplants are taken care of. Just like you they need special care to survive the stress of the move.
Quote of the week:
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. -Greek Proverb
Happenings this week:
Saturday, May 12th: LUNAFEST, a fundraising film festival dedicated to promoting awareness about women’s issues, highlighting women filmmakers, and bringing women together in their communities.
This fundraiser will benefit The Human Response Network of Lewis County and the Breast Cancer Fund. The event will be hosted by the Lewis County Branch of Association of University Women at the Fox Theatre in Centralia on Saturday.
A reception/raffle will be at 1 p.m. and the film showing will be at 2 p.m. All proceeds from LUNAFEST will benefit the Human Response Network of Lewis County and the Breast Cancer Fund. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Book & Brush, Holley’s or at www.lunafest.org/centralia.
Have a good week ahead and enjoy all the green outside!
