Tag Archives: gardening

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

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Argh. It’s that time of summer. Plants I put in the ground in mid May, whether flowering or vegetable, are winding down their life cycles. Some never made it much to my dismay. Regardless if they succumbed to invasion by a critter or too much sun or overwatering, those that have made it through these beautiful days of summer are slowly coming to an end. 

Beans I planted by seed germinated but were choked out by honeysuckle in the raised bed. I have no idea where that vine originated in our raised beds and regardless how many times I pull them out by their roots, they return sevenfold.

We’re enjoying a small harvest of fresh tomatoes. Thankfully in July we saw signs of invasive hornworms on the plants and due to my husband’s diligence we won that battle. However, in a bittersweet way, the tomato plants flourished enough to choke out the nearby green pepper plants. So, note to self–plan better next year.

Broccoli and cauliflower plants never stood a chance. At just the right time someone made a meal of them, chomping off quite nicely I’d say, leaving enough of the plant to let me know who won.

Volunteer dill seems to be one of the most successful things to grow in the raised bed. So, you can imagine my delight as each small sprig matures enough for me to use either fresh or gather in small bunches to dry, which in this year’s scheme of things is a fair amount.

My lone cucumber plant that I trained to climb a trellis has not disappointed. We’ve enjoyed fresh fruit from its vine once it began producing. My only caution has been to check it daily because whenever I turned my back on a soon-to-be-ready cuke, ignoring it for too long allowed it to become the size of a small torpedo. Not exactly what I have in mind for slicing. 

In late spring I noticed one of my small red potatoes purchased at the store had sprouted an eye. “What the heck” I thought. I plopped it in a pot of dirt and watched it form a beautiful leafy plant. Soon, I’ll turn the pot over and see what it produced.

I had a bare spot of ground next to the deck where hostas, spider lilies, and a couple of other perennials have grown for years now. Once again, I thought “what the heck” and scattered zinnia seeds, poppies, and daisies on dirt I prepared for their birth. Low and behold, many of the seeds germinated and I’m enjoying their variety of colors. Maybe chaos gardening is a better approach for this frustrated wanna-be gardener.

Marigolds, pansies, petunias, and geraniums have become my best friends. For whatever reason, they survived in mighty ways this summer. More dear to my heart is that the deer and bunnies must be leaving them alone. With regular attention by watering appropriately and dead heading wilted blooms they have provided beautiful pops of color among the greenery of shrubs and ground cover. O, but there was one occasion I needed to repot a porch planter when a raccoon decided to use it as a balancing pad to reach bird seed from a hanging feeder. Those cute feeders were soon relocated. 

Sadly, our raspberry and blackberry bushes have produced nothing except a few berries that filled a small saucer. I’ve heard from other folks they’ve had the same experience so maybe our late frosts have caused my disappointment. As a matter of fact when a favorite local farmer announced they wouldn’t have an abundance of strawberries or no peaches this year, I was sad. I’ve become a regular buyer of local produce that I enjoy prepping for storage to enjoy in winter months.

If you’ve become a regular reader of mine by now you’ll recognize that I often use the verse “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. With God’s help I have amply applied its truth to many circumstances in life. This week it’s a reminder that He IS good no matter what I’m facing. Life resembles my feeble attempts at gardening every year. I have great hopes, buy the seeds and plants, prepare the ground, sow when appropriate and wait. Battles come in the form of God’s creatures who are in search of food, too. Heat from the sun is either beneficial or detrimental. Watering is key. Patience is a virtue waiting for each plant to send its roots deep to become firmly established to support growth as flowers form to either bloom or create a luscious fruit on the vine. Weeds spring up and become a nuisance, sometimes achieving victory as they compete in the same dirt and conditions I’m relying upon for the success of my little garden.

Yes, the “dog days of summer” are here. When they arrive and I survey my attempts to grow some of our own vegetables or have grand displays of flowering plants to brighten our yard, only to be faced with setbacks or disappointments, I tell myself “not next year. I’m done trying to grow tomatoes, beans, peppers, and cucumbers.”

And then spring arrives the following year and I’m repeating my attempts with every trip to my favorite local greenhouse. Galatians 6: 9 says “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.”

I know when the Apostle Paul wrote this he didn’t have my lack of gardening skills in mind, however, I’m choosing to focus on not merely giving up trying to create something good. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll win the battles from hornworms, deer, bunnies, and honeysuckle. Otherwise, there’s always my favorite local farmers! 

BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED

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Before the current return with these much cooler temperatures we are experiencing–still calling our furnace to run, warming our home–enjoying sunny warm days prior to this week allowed for some outside yard work. Taking a few afternoons to work in short segments, I was able to rake debris, pull weeds, and locate perennial growth to ensure plants survived winter’s cold. In one area, after removing debris and weeds, I found a couple perennials that looked out of place and moved them for a more balanced “look”. I moved one plant from the west side of the house to the back, which gets morning sun.  I found hostas were crowding a columbine so that flowering plant was moved to an area next to the deck. As much as I would prefer more sun and higher temps, I’m watching these new transplants establish quickly to their new spots, perking up under recent gentle rains that fed their root systems. I’m still very much a novice gardner; I rely on learning from others who possess more knowledge than me or I search for advice via the internet. I learned years ago that moving a plant is beneficial. Though it will look tired and under stress, the presence of those actually causes the plant to fight for survival, driving its roots to action in order to survive. I can’t help but think I’ve experienced the same transition. I, too, was transplanted.

Our family moved from Saginaw to Fowlerville in 1989. A job opportunity came along for my husband that was much needed for us. We always thought we’d live our entire lives in Saginaw, raise our two children there, and retire. But God had other plans. Prior to our move, I was not familiar with Livingston County at all. I’d heard of Brighton. One of my aunts lived in Fenton for many years. When I told a childhood neighbor about our move he let me know he purchased a farm tractor in Fowlerville. These were the extent of what I knew about the county where we’ve now lived for 37 years.

Looking back over those thirty plus years I can definitely see God’s hand on my life when He picked me up and moved me 70 miles south of everything I had come to know. It was hard leaving behind our children’s two sets of grandparents and my husband’s elderly grandmother. We left a church family. I surrendered a 20 year banking career in order to begin my journey as a stay-at-home mom of our two young children. My husband was settled in his new job. We took occupancy of our home in January and by the end of February all our boxes were unpacked with everything put in place. On a cold wintry afternoon I found myself sitting alone in our living room, waiting for the school bus while our toddler son napped, suddenly wondering “what now?” Besides my husband’s employer, I knew absolutely no one. We’d been to a church in town for a few weeks with no connections made, other than a visit from the pastor to welcome us. For the first time in my life I felt truly alone and isolated. Like one of my transplants, I had a choice to make. Give up and into the dangers of isolation or take action. I chose the latter.

Within a few weeks following my afternoon alone in the living room I found a notice in the local paper about a Christian Women’s Club. Seeing that “free” childcare was an option–and much needed for a person like me with no friends to help–I jumped at the opportunity to swap comfy “mom” clothes to get “dressed” to be around other like minded women. This group became a lifeline for me and I formed several wonderful friendships that lasted a long time until the club disbanded.

At our church in town, the organist took a liking to me and invited me to a bible study that was composed of women from all ages and church backgrounds. We met every Wednesday to learn directly from scripture–no added curriculum–and prayed for one another’s requests. The wisdom and love I found in this group of women was nothing I had experienced in my Christian life. It was here that one of the older women told me her daughter lived around the corner from us who had a daughter the same age as ours, a possible playmate. Out of desperation I called to introduce myself and ask if a playdate could be arranged. The rest is a history of rich friendship between our families and although they’ve since relocated to South Carolina, we remain “tightly” knit together, sharing in life’s joys and sorrows.

After almost two years at the church in town we relocated to our current one, a decision that was difficult to make but necessary for the benefit of our spiritual growth. We quickly became more involved in ministry. We gained additional adult friends as well as our children’s ability to be around more kids their ages. As we became more established, I had the privilege to teach bible studies to women, be part of the worship team, attend retreats and send our kids to camp in the summer. All these activities took me away from the previous fear of being alone and isolated, to a thriving environment that nurtured not only me, but that of my family. Being a “newcomer” for a while in our new home also made me sensitive and aware when new families moved to our area, causing me to be intentional in saying “hello”  to “new faces” and several times I hosted small lunch dates in our home, inviting a new woman to meet some of my friends. I did this to help her begin her own process of being able to send her transplanted emotions and needs deeper and wider in order to thrive once again.

The Bible doesn’t have specific scriptures that define the common phrase “bloom where you’re planted” but there are those that reflect the image portrayed in “blooming”. Psalm 1: 3 says “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do”.  Who is the ‘they’? It’s those of us believers in God who don’t follow the advice of sinners, or stand around with them, or join in with mockers (verse 1).

What are the benefits of avoiding these kinds of people? We won’t wither. We will prosper. We will bear fruit in every season (verse 3).

So, was my sitting alone that cold wintry day a challenge? Definitely. Moreso, it became the very catalyst I needed in order to pursue an abundant life I could have missed out had I not found ways to step out of loneliness and discover the riches my newly found small town living quickly awarded me. As I said, that was 37 years ago and every year I maintain that “more of the best is yet to come!”

DON’T LET SIZE FOOL YOU

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I am a self admitting proscranitor along with inconsistency regarding exercise goals. My determination ebbs and flows like ocean tides that instinctively sync with our moon. I’d be ecstatic if my desire to walk outside was tied to a natural phenomena in God’s creation, but hope and wish all I want, the fact remains that I am in charge of my choices regarding exercise.

Before sitting down to write this week I laced up my reliable shoes and got outside on the paved road that loops in a “U” shape through a neighborhood that was built up with homes in recent years. Their road makes a very nice safe place to walk, even run, without danger of speeding cars. As much as I enjoy what my neighborhood offers in safety, I found that I’m not the only one benefiting from the road’s mostly smooth surface between well groomed lawns. Catching my eye as I strolled along were numerous small anthills between the road’s edge and multiple lawns. 

I knew we had gotten rain throughout the night as the ground was still wet under humid conditions. Collected dirt and lawn clippings swept along the road like a river were now flat and damp, displaying an appearance of a dried up river bed. Their bronzy hues made a perfect setting for the anthills that are standing small though erect with no apparant damage to carefully laid granules of dirt to create small pyramid shaped homes. I was curious about how these little creatures build the entrances to their tunnel homes. This is what I found: Ants are a superorganism. They have division of labor, use collective problem solving techniques. The nest is one of architecture with a variety of materials, use of soil mechanics, has built in defenses and includes drainage systems. The mound we see on surfaces is the entrance. Underground lies intricate tunnel systems.

In summary, the strength of an anthill lies not just in its physical structure but also in the collective power, sophisticated organization, and adaptable nature of the ant colony within it. (Source AI overview)

I’ve always thought watching ants at work is a fascinating pastime, especially when I was a kid sitting under a shade tree in our front yard. All these years later, now, in adulthood they still intrigue me. Naturally, I know that ants are even mentioned in scripture where in Proverbs 6: 6-9 we humans are admonished to “Go the ant, O lazy one; observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, overseer or ruler, she prepares her food in the summer and brings in her provisions (of food for the winter) in the harvest.” (Amplified Version

Ouch! To be thought of as lazy compared to a tiny ant. To be instructed that these little guys accomplish a lot of hard work without need of a supervisor! Lots of lessons to be learned, a lot of humble pie to eat comparing human nature to that of a small insect. How like God, though, to use anything in His creation in an attempt to impart wisdom to mankind.

In addition to my fascination with ants, I must also confess that I’m not overly happy when they make their way into our home. In past years, we’ve had our share of intruders, always in the same spot along a kitchen window over our sink. By using homemade remedies and careful re-caulking around obvious entry points I was thrilled we didn’t have our annual visitors scurrying across dirty dishes or on the floor in search of a crumb. As useful as ants are to our ecosystem, I have always drawn the line at them sharing living space with us. As long as they stay outside, I will not bother them. I make every attempt not to flatten the entrance mounds to their underground homes. I don’t wash them away with a garden hose or spray strong insecticides in the lushness of our lawn.

I’ll continue to be delighted by ants–as long as they stay put in their natural habitats –and remain humbled that God considers them to “be exceedingly wise”. (Proverbs 30: 24) Certainly you and I can learn a lot from these problem solving hard workers. If it wasn’t so, I dare say God would not have mentioned them in His written Word.