The Joy of Gardening…Be the Envy of the Neighborhood

Alison Palmer • Nov 20, 2016

Gardening Can Be the Best Kind of Therapy The ground has thawed and nature has graced us with a week or so of brilliant sunny days.  This weekend is scheduled to be cool but sunny.  It’s time to get to the Spring gardening.  I have a friend who refers to this as dirt therapy.  The […] The post The Joy of Gardening…Be the Envy of the Neighborhood appeared first on Custom Maid.

Gardening Can Be the Best Kind of Therapy

The ground has thawed and nature has graced us with a week or so of brilliant sunny days.  This weekend is scheduled to be cool but sunny.  It’s time to get to the Spring gardening.  I have a friend who refers to this as dirt therapy.  The first step is to clean out the beds and remove dead leaves and weeds.  Gardening is hard work and cleaning out the beds is a good example of that.  But the final result is your blank canvas for ideas for this year’s flower beds.

Gardening Takes Some Imagination

Now that the beds are clear, divide your yard into quadrants and determine what areas get sunshine and what areas are shady.  Different plants need different degrees of sunlight. Then you need to look at the small plants available at the local nurseries and home stores and imagine what they will look like as they mature.  Will they spread out or will they grow upwards?  You want to plant a variety of plants for both blooms and foliage.  Go from taller plants in the back of the garden with lower ones towards the front.  Maybe find a climbing plant to wend its way up the mailbox or a trellis.

Lately I have been drawn to plants that need very little maintenance so I’m trying succulents for ground cover in a part of the yard where nothing wants to grow.  In another area I’m planting a new kind of day lilies that are reportedly “too dumb to die”.   My idea of gardening is to sit on my deck and enjoy the beauty of nature without too much interaction.  Gardening as therapy doesn’t do it for me.  I do, however enjoy gardening with perennials and using the blooms as cut flowers indoors, especially daffodils.

So put on your rubber gardening boots and gloves and enjoy!  And call Custom Maid to clean your home so you can spend more time with Mother Nature!

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Editor’s Note: we originally published this post in March 2015.  We have updated it for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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