I figured out a little trick. When my new chicken coop was finished being built, I began adding ground cover and other pretty plants as accent. The coop is in a shady part of Helen’s Haven, and because the chickens need fresh water ever day, the garden design took advantage of being in an oasis zone.

From an old project, I used stepping stones that were no longer being used, but then quickly realized I wanted to soften the area around these stones with a ground cover.  Since the area was in shade, I choose one of my favorite plants–dwarf mondo grass  (Ophiopogon japonicus) ‘Nana’.

Between the dogs, me, and the kids going back and forth checking on the chickens, we kept tripping over the new plantings, pulling them out of the ground. I had some landscape pins left over from securing wire for the underground dog fence, and I thought they would be the perfect thing to use to help hold down the dwarf mondo. Sure enough, We’ve not had a problem sense.

Troy-Bilt product review

With only a half-acre lawn, it may seem like I’m crazy to want a riding mower, but I’m not. I’m a practical person with logic that could decry the best trial attorney. Good thing I’m not on trial, though. I’d hate to have to show somebody just how good I am!

My readers know me as an avid (rabid) gardener. I even mentioned in my book,  Gardening with Confidence–50 Ways to add style for personal creativity; that I’m …. a lifelong outdoor enthusiast who would much rather spend a day in a garden than anywhere indoors. This is true. I’m the happiest when I’m actually gardening, not so much doing yard work.

I only get to spend one day a week in the garden, and I need to make the most of it. Sundays are my day; it’s my only day I have between family and my business, and that time has to be shared with yard work. Yep, yard work. To me, a necessary evil to make my garden look good.

Just because it’s an outside activity, it doesn’t mean it’s gardening. Yard work, to me, is a left brain chore–edging, trimming hedges, and mowing. I garden with my right brain–designing, deadheading, weeding, and planting. While I can clearly see the difference, my family does not. They think if I’m outside, then I’m gardening.

In any event, traditional roles have escaped our household. If it needs to be done outside, it’s my job. That includes mowing the lawn. Even though I’ve taught my son and two daughters how to mow, I’ve obviously failed to make it interesting enough for them to want to help me…until now. They would often say that they don’t want to take away any of my fun. Ha! They’re good.

It takes me 50 minutes to mow my yard with a 22” deck push mower. After 10 years and an estimated 850 mows, my Briggs and Stratton engine mower just keeps on going like an Energizer bunny. It doesn’t need replacing, so I didn’t really need a new mower.  But I did want more hours in the garden, so I was looking to buy time.

To be clear, I like to mow, and I love the bit of lawn I have. I’ve been mowing the lawn since I as 11 years old after I made a trade with my older brother, Jack. He hated yard work, I hated doing the dishes. It was a good trade. (To this day, he prefers cleaning the inside of the house; I prefer the lawn and garden.)

But as much as I like yard work, I like gardening more. As my garden grows, so does the time I want to spend in it. I needed to figure out how to spend less time doing yard work so I could spend more time gardening.

This is where the 30” TB30 Neighborhood Rider comes in. It shortens the time I spend mowing the lawn, leaving more time to garden. Even if I can cut off 20 minutes, that is 20 minutes of more time gardening, and less time doing yard work. Does this seem like a selfish reason to ask for a riding mower?  Not really; I am buying time.

I got a Troy-Bilt riding mower to save time, but I soon learned there were more benefits from having one than I’d anticipated.

1.   The lawn looks better after mowing; it’s smooth, professional looking
2.   It has a 30″ side discharge mowing deck; less passes
3.   With a 6-speed transmission; smooth ride
4.   And a manual PTO for fast and easy blade engagement; easy to operate
5.   There is a fuel sight window allows you to check gas level; able to prepare
6.   And a 344cc* Single Troy-Bilt® engine; will last a very long time
7.   With a 2-year limited warranty; good to know
8.   Best of all: my 12 year old son now wants to mow the lawn.

 I didn’t actually save 20 minutes of yard work to go towards gardening time, I got the whole shebang–a full 50 minutes, because my son now wants to mow the lawn.  And for an added bonus, I get to hang with my boy in the garden while he does his chores and I do mine. The only problem is, I want to ride it. Maybe I need to show son, Aster, how to deadhead faded booms instead ;~\

NOTE: Yes, indeedy, Troy-Bilt gave me the new TB30 Neighborhood mower as part payment for being a 2013 Saturday6 blogger. That doesn’t mean they own me or my opinion. I’ll share my experiences with you straight. There is no point in being anything but honest, and Troy-Bilt wouldn’t want it any other way. 

I clearly remember, years ago, standing at the window of a friend’s house noticing that all along her windowsill were treasures–a shell from a trip to the beach, a stamp from an old love letter, and a sweet potato with toothpicks stuck around its midsection so the bottom half could root in water. There were six to eight more of these kind of bits from life’s memorable moments lined up along the ledge. It occurred to me that she had accumulated. Here was a woman who never collected, someone who never wanted clutter in her life, and yet, now, after enough time, her bits become a collection of a life well lived.

Her life now was like new South in the movie, Gone with the Wind, the past has changed, a civilization gone with the wind.

That is my life today. The only difference is that I’ve always been a collector. It just took me a while to acquire a breathable kind.

My last animal was a cat named AC. I was 24 years old at the time. When I moved to London for graduate school, I had to give her away,

My life before AC was filled with the love of a dog. A succession of them, in fact–Josie, Sport, Little Sport, Ralph, and Honey.  Growing up with a dog, I believed  there was no better friend in the world. When my last dog passed on, I held off replacing her until I finished college. But then the cat came along, and then I moved.

My days in London were the first break in 20 years caring for an animal. As the years went by, I liked how liberating it was not to take care of an animal. I missed having a dog around, but I didn’t miss figuring out what to do if I had to go out of town, and in those days, I traveled for work a lot. It wasn’t practical.

Then I married a man who never had a pet. Ever. I find that sad, but he never knew what he was missing, so I got over it. However, this man would be the father of my children, and it wasn’t likely that I would be able to convince him to allow our kids to have a pet. But like Scarlett O’Hara, I figured tomorrow was another day. I’d work on that tomorrow.

Today, my husband and I have three kids, two lizards, six fish, a cat, and a dog. We were also brief guinea pig owners (no regrets finding a new home for those rascals.)

The kids eased my husband into pet ownership. First we rescued a green anole. We then added a fish tank. As the kids became bored with these pets, David, my husband,  became the lizard and fish caregiver.  The kids wanted something warm-blooded. They wanted a dog. They began the dance to pull at their daddy’s heartstrings. I was getting ready to come to their aid to discuss all the virtues of being a caregiver to a dog. Almost as if the big animal decision maker in the woods was about tell turn us down, Sunny walked into our lives. We needed to continue to ease into animal-hood. Baby steps. I was relieved, because cats are so much easier to care for than dogs. I needed to ease into this as well.

After a year passed, I began to frame a case for having chickens.

First I explained to the kids how lucky they were to have a cat, that now it was time for mommy to get chickens. I failed getting them excited about chickens. We got so far as coming up with names of the hens. Aster wanted to name his chicken Broiled. Lily wanted to name hers Roasted. Bud was committed to Fried. So you can see how this was going, right? Can you feel the love?

Those three kids of mine schemed and banded together laying on a huge guilt trip saying that I couldn’t get chickens unless they got a dog. It worked; Pepper entered our lives. And oh how I love that sweet pup. She is also known as Belle Pepper, Sweet Pepper, Princess Pepper, Pretty Pepper, and sometimes Banana Pepper just because it seems to fit.  She is so loved. I could almost forgo the chickens for the love of that one pup. Almost.

Taking care of animals is a lot of work. Each animal acquired started out with the kids promising to help, but like with all the other pets, the kids got over the promises to care and feed their new pet within an hour, so now I’m taking care of three kids, two lizards, six fish, a cat, and a dog. And in the case of the chickens, my kids aren’t interested, so I know not to expected even the first hour curiosity. But I still wanted chickens. With the other animals, I held out for the hope of kids pitching in from time to time. I don’t have the same expectation with the chickens. But this is good. There is no room for disappointment.

Gone are the days of civilization in my household. We have gone with the hens. Am I nuts to want to add more? Well yes, but the deal breaker was Jamie, our pet sitter. Jamie will also sit for chickens. When we travel, she is here anyway, so why not have more for her to do, right? And you never know, the chickens might just fascinated my three young ones enough to want to spend some time with them; at the very least, Sunny, Pepper, and I can chill each evening as we visit our girls.

Next week, I’ll introduce to you our girls…

The Power of Pollinators

For most of us, more time is spent admiring pollinators in our gardens, than giving thought to the fact that pollination is required to produce seeds and fruits in up to 80% of the world’s flowering plants.…read more.

Six Plants to Attract Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are indeed birds, but gardeners tend to put them into a classification of their own. They are not mere birds but rather flights of fancy.…read more.

Six Plants to Attract Bees

Bees and flowers have a symbiotic relationship–bees need the nectar and pollen from flowers, and flowers need bees to help pollinate.…read more.

Six Nectar Plants to Attract Butterflies

Attracting various butterflies to your garden, big or small, multicolored or not, from majestic swallowtails down to the little skippers, begins with having the kinds of plants butterflies need…read more.

Six Host Plants to Attract Butterflies

To attract butterflies, supply the necessary kinds of food they need. The more food sources you have on hand, the greater variety of butterflies you’ll attract. It’s one thing to attract butterflies; it’s another to create a habitat to sustain their lifecycle....read more.

Reprinted with permission from Carolina Gardener magazine.  

Labyrinths have always held a fascination for me–whether stones lain on grass in a simple spiral formation, a seven-circuit pattern, or even a more elaborate Chartres design–a labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool found in all religious traditions in various forms around the world. A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is also the way out. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again. Simply put, a labyrinth garden has pattern with a purpose.  It is a metaphor for life’s journey.

Unlike mazes which are more like a puzzle meant to challenge you, a labyrinth lends itself to a form of meditation to reduce stress and alleviate pain. This type of meditation has only recently (in the last 30 years) become mainstream in conventional health care.  From Hospice to hospitals, labyrinths are now being found in small quiet areas of large institutions.

Churches and childcare facilities are also providing a place to gather, either alone or with a group, to meditate along the labyrinth path. There is also a trend to add a labyrinth to one’s own private garden. Labyrinths are becoming more and more popular as a place to visit and release stress.

There is no right way to walk a labyrinth–just begin at the beginning, go to the center, and return again.  Even the reason to enter can vary from one day to the next. You may be seeking comfort from sorrow or rejoicing as you embrace the day.  You could journey alone or with a friend or a group.  But in all cases, pay attention to your experience.

It might be helpful to think about your labyrinth as having thee parts: releasing, receiving, and returning.

Releasing begins at the entrance as you walk towards the center shedding or letting go thoughts and emotions to empty and quiet the mind.

Receiving is when you reach the center. The center is the place to receive what is there for you. Here, you are in a meditative state.

Returning is the walk out empowering you to take what you have received and journey back into the world, energized.

For me, even the sight of labyrinth brings calmness.  My mind often goes to some medieval place and yet, I find it refreshing to know labyrinths are becoming increasing in popularity in today’s society. Whenever and wherever I find a labyrinth, I always begin the journey with one step forward.

DESIGNING A LABYRINTH AT HOME

Labyrinths come in many designs with lots of variations but three main styles are common:  The Chartes named after the designed found a the medieval French Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartes; the seven-circuit pattern which is detailed here; and a simple spiral in the grass with alternating paths of mown and un-mown grass or even simply laying rocks in a spiral pattern.

How-to make 20- by 20-foot, simple spiral labyrinth in a 25-foot area.

Step 1:  On existing turf or gravel, measure equal distances at four corners to make a square and mark with stakes.  Then tie two strings diagonally to find the center point, and hammer in a stake.

Step 2:  Create paths from the center point by first tying a knot with a length of garden twine around a 5-gallon plastic nursery pot.  Then wrap an additional 100 feet of twine around the pot.  At the loose end of the twine, attach a pointed stake to act as a stylus.  Holding the twine taunt, begin walking around in a perfect circle, unwrapping as you go.  Once the area is marked, spray with landscaper paint to highlight the spiral outline.

Step 3:  Then cover the markings with objects of your desire–stone, pebbles, mondo grass, shells, or whatever you fancy.

The amount of actual space required depends upon how wide you want the paths to be. Eighteen- to thirty-inch paths work well. An area of ground that measures about 45 feet by 45 feet is needed for paths that are 30-inches wide.

When selecting the entrance to your labyrinth, some believe the path’s beginning should face east. This is based on the idea that churches built their altars facing east. However, consider, too, the view. Having the entrance facing towards a calming vista or land feature will make the start of the inward journey more pleasing, thus, enhancing the walker’s experience.

This Labyrinth at Millbrook Baptist Church, off Millbrook Road in Raleigh, was established in 2002 to serve as a place of spiritual insight and renewal. The Labyrinth is frequented by Individuals and small groups of 3 – 4, and is open anytime. The gardens surrounding the Labyrinth are beautifully landscaped with benches for quite reflection and meditation.

Top photo credit: Brookgreen Gardens

To experience a medieval seven-circuit Chartres-style Labyrinth, be sure to visit Brookgreen Gardens in Pawleys Island, SC. Made from shell and natural grass located next a large tidal creek. The Brookgreen Gardens Labyrinth is a worthy destination.

Nature, in all her glory, has devised protections to sway the survival of the fittest. Like a perfect, protective shell shielding an unborn chick, nature is well-made.

However, there’s an inconsistency in nature that took me a while to finally figure out: bees loving red bee balm.

Intuitively I know in nature bees avoid red plants. It’s nature’s way to sway the survival of the hummingbird, protecting them from the bees. Hummingbirds are attracted to red; bees are not. This is why you don’t see bees hanging around a hummingbird feeder. Bees cannot see  the color red. Instead, red, to a bee, appears to be green, leaving most the red flowers for the hummingbirds, except bee balm, Monarda didyma. 

I have several varieties of bee balm in my wildlife habitat that are red, and the bees are around them as soon as the sun is up, and only rest when the sun sets. So how is that a bee sees my red Bee Balm?

In my quirky nature, where inconsistencies drive me mad, I had to know how bees were attracted to Bee Balm? If they can’t see the color red, how do they know to go there?

The answer was simple: bee balm has ultraviolet coloring mixed in which makes the flowers appear blue to bees.

So there was no inconsistency in nature after all. Nature had this covered, with me scratching my head until I finally did a little research.

You’re looking at your plant tag to see if it’s a plant you can grow. It tells you your plant wants partial sun. Do you know what means? Do you have the right sun requirements to grow this plant?

There are a lot of different definitions of sun levels, and they can be just as confusing to beginning gardeners as they are to seasoned ones.

I put the sun into the following categories: Full Sun, Partial Sun / Partial Shade, Dappled Sun, Full Shade.

It’s a good idea to know your sun. I recommend monitoring your garden beds every hour, from 9-5 to keep from guessing how much sun or shade your garden receives. It’s also best to do this during times specific plants are growing. Daffodils, for example, grow and flower best in full sun, yet they do well under the canopy of a deciduous tree. If you base the amount of sun in that bed during the summer, you would fail to recognize that the area under the canopy will be sunny in spring when the bulbs are blooming, and before the tree leaves out.

Although determining if a location will meet your plant’s sun requirements is not an exact science, it will give you a good idea of each garden area’s situation. When you go plant shopping, know what plants grow where, making better purchasing choices.

Below are some common standards for sun exposure.

• Full Sun: Fun sun means 6 full hours of direct sunlight. Those six hours could be from 8 – 3 or 12 – 6; anytime during the day. These hours can also be three morning hours, plus three afternoon hours.
• Partial Sun / Partial Shade: These two terms are often interchangeable to mean 3-6 hours of sunlight each day. While the terms are interchangeable, there is a default understanding.  Partial shade typically refers to morning and early afternoon sun, while a plant listed as partial sun, relief from the intense late afternoon sun is needed. This shade could be from a structure or the shade from an old oak tree.
• Dappled Sun: Dappled sunlight is my favorite kind of sun, if I had to choose. Dapple sun is similar to partial shade. The plants are getting partial sun as it makes it’s way through the branches of a deciduous tree. Woodland plants and under plantings, even for many mosses, prefer dappled sunlight more so than partial shade.
• Full Shade:  Full shade means less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, best if it’s morning light. But even in the absence of  direct sunlight, full shade can be a bright light. Plus, full shade likes a filtered  sunlight the remainder of the day. Every plant needs some sun; even those that thrive in full shade.

Know your sun!

Fertilizers: Basics
Many think of fertilizers as plant food when in fact it is food for the soil to be available for the plant. Understanding this will help you as a home gardener better comprehend what and how much added nutrients your garden needs.…read more.

Fertilizers: Choices
Many think of fertilizers as plant food when in fact it is food for the soil to be available for the plant. Understanding this will help you as a home gardener better comprehend what and how much added nutrients your garden needs.…read more.

Soil Testing
Soil sampling results are an easy way to decode your soil’s components, or more importantly, what your soil is lacking. It’s not something that is needed annually, every two to three years is fine.…read more.

Soil pH
Soil pH is affected by many environmental factors, such as vegetation type and temperature, but the amount of rainfall (and forest cover) has a major influence. Generally speaking, soil pH will vary depending on the region where you live.…read more.

It’s frustrating, I know. The critters like your bulbs as much as you do. Here are some ideas to keep bulb robbers at bay:

Voles: For starters, volves are my nemeses. They are my worse garden enemy. Have you tried spraying your bulbs with Ropel, Deer Off, Plantskydd, or another bad-tasting concoction? Spray a ready-made product or a home-made, garlic based mix, allow to dry before planting, then surround the bulbs with a sharp crushed gravel or product like PermaTill.

Deer: I feel your pain, although I’m not plagued with deer. I do have many clients with deer problems, I have a few tricks up my sleeves. Try folding a piece of poultry wire around the edge of your garden. Some gardening friends have had success with putting human hair and soap in the area to deter deer from investigating further. Pepper stray can help once the bulb is up, just be sure to reapply after it rains.

Squirrels and chipmunks: Poultry wire will also work well here too. Place wire over the buried bulb area and cover to hide with mulch or leaves.