The Garden Just Keeps Going!!

 My garden is still producing lots of green beans and current tomatoes. The cherry plum tree is loaded and starting to ripen - and these strawberries!! They just keep coming!! It's so awesome to walk into my backyard and pick dinner!

 

Growing Lavender

Lavender. 

Who doesn't love the look and aroma of these spiked flowers. They represent purity, serenity, grace and devotion. They're fragrance can fill a room with quiet sweetness. 

 I love to cook with lavender. You can use any type, but English lavenders have the best oils and aromatics for cooking. It can be used in sweet or savory dishes. 

Lavender has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. A little lavender rubbed on a burn or a cut for a little relief and healing. 

It's great for keeping away mosquitos. Keep a plant on or near your deck or patio and rub some flowers on your skin. Mosquitos will move on!

Happy 4th - Late!

 Did everyone have a great 4th of July? I sure did! I was so excited to have people over and enjoy the fruits of my gardening labor. It was awesome. We ate berries from the garden. Enjoyed sitting on the new lawn. It was fabulous. Hope yours was too!

 

 

The Difference a Lawn Makes

 As many of you know, we've been renovation our backyard. We've been working on it for over a year. We let it go for over five years and the bamboo and ivy that was planted before we bought the place just went crazy!! Shortly after the covid shutdown, I sat in my yard and thought, enough of this!! I want my yard back. Read on to see our evolution, or jump to the bottom for information on planting a lawn.

Fashioning an Arbor

 When we started renovating the backyard, there was a sidewalk that went along the roses, under an arbor, and out to the shop. You couldn't really see it though. 

After we excavated, the sidewalk got pulled up and the arbor fence started dropping slats. 

I laid old rugs down to try to kill any weeds by Spring and when the dust settled, I stared at the old arbor and had a vision. I've always wanted a gazebo tea house. Why not an arbor coffee shelter? And I was on a roll!

In Remembrance

 Always remember why you were given this "day off" - It wasn't for free. 

Playing in Dirt for Mental Health

 Did you know that playing in the dirt is good for your mental health? Science says it is.

I've noticed over the last year, as I've working in my yard and planting seedlings, that my overall demeanor is different. I'm calmer. I feel less stressed. 

And when I miss a few days of dirt, I get tense and cranky. I've thought it was just the relaxing sounds and feels of being outdoors. But that's just part of it. 

Science has found microbes in soil that cause the brain to produce more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that sends information between the nerve cells. It effects mood and emotions to name just a couple functions. As you work in the soil, you inhale the microbes into your body and they do their thing in your brain.