Gardening: One of My Favourite Summer Past Times
Well, it’s the middle of summer (July 1st to be exact), and my garden is flourishing as it always does in the hot July weather. I think I’ve finally figured out the best places for my favourite plants to grow huge and vibrant.
My very first time having an “official” garden was maybe 9 years ago. I have done a “garden” (termed loosely here, because I plant more flowers than I do veggies), every single summer, usually starting around the May long weekend (Victoria Day). Sometimes I play around with dates, and sometimes I start plants early indoors - it all depends on what I’m planting.
I’ve experimented with a variety of different veggies - garlic, green onions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas , green peppers and even watermelons! I quickly realized I didn’t have the space for watermelons. I still remember the small one-inch watermelons that came out of that experiment! I find that the best veggies for my small yard are cucumbers, peas and green beans. They grow up and not out, and you can really utilize the space with a trellis or a fence.
As for flowers, I love petunias for their sturdiness and growing power. They have beautiful colour and there are so many varieties! They spread so easily, and can easily add that decorative touch to your yard. I usually have a variety of decorative baskets as well as a few hanging baskets on my garage to spruce up my yard easily without breaking the bank.
My favourite flowers of all time are hibiscus and fuchsia’s. I love fuchsias in a hanging basket. I have some really sturdy decorative hangers attached to my new fence and that’s where I hang my fuchsia’s. Now I don’t know the names of the particular hybrids, but I look at them as white and pink, purple and red, or red and white. My favourite ones are the white and pink, because the blooms are so fat and flowery.
Quite a few years ago now, I thought that if I bought my flowers from a greenhouse and spent a little more money on them, that I would get better quality. As it is, I purchased mine from Salisbury Greenhouse in Sherwood Park and had spider mites every single year. Currently, I find Canadian Tire has some of the best (and most expensive at $50.00 a hanging basket). Smaller and cheaper ones from Walmart ($24.99) are not quite as nice, but at least they don’t have spider mites, and if you fertilize properly, they grow quite nice after a month or so.
I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen hibiscus around as frequently as I used to. I think it all depends on the growing season where they come from. One year, I had a variety of different coloured blooms, and I planted them in an all sun area, which I called my “tropical area”, and they seemed to thrive there.
I usually do a yearly vlog of my garden on my YouTube channel. You can check that out here. I have only done three or four vlogs, and I realize that some of them aren’t the best. I’ll do another one this year, and I’ll make sure it’s sunny when I film that one!
Now for the purpose of gardening - there are a few, so let’s talk about it!
The first one is because I love having my yard look pretty. I’m usually the first one out in my neighborhood area outside planting. I love having people over for BBQ’s, and call it bragging rights, but I love when people admire how pretty my yard is.
The second reason is because I love working with my hands. I love building something from scratch, to have something substantial to show for my efforts. I love watching my seeds grow from the ground and I love the fact that my efforts of fertilizing and watering help those plants to grow.
Third, I feel an affinity for nature. I love watching the bugs in the dirt, and I love touching my plants and talking to them (even though that sounds crazy)! I love walking with my bare feet on the soil and the grass - it’s where I root and ground myself. I love feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, and hearing the deep buzz of the bumblebees as they fly around. When I see a bee land on my plants, I feel like I’ve contributed in some small way to helping nature. Being outside helps calm me down and helps me to relax.
Thanks for reading! If you want to know more, be sure to check out my gardening vlogs - remember to hit the bell button on my YouTube channel so you’ll be able to watch the one I post this summer too!
See you next time!
Sandra 🌼
