I’m itching to get outside and start my Spring Garden! First things first though, I have started the pruning and turning the mulch that is already in my garden. Good grief the number of weeds that have emerged even among the mulch is astounding. Lots of work to the beds to prepare for my longed for flowers! I picked up the Better Homes and Gardens Gardening Made Easy that will be on display until March 13th. If you don’t have one yet, I found mine at Krogers. One of the articles that catches my eye right away is 10 ‘Whys’ to Garden As I read through this article I have so much input combining the gardening I have learned with home ownership and my Realtor training. Especially the #1! So here we go from the bottom up:
#10. Cut your bills. Refers to using herbs to add to your summer salads. My take on cutting bills comes around the air conditioner. Be sure to allow for allot of circulation, but consider the fact that our units work terrible hard during the hot summer months. I have been taught numerous times to consider plants that will provide shade over the unit without becoming intrusive. Let’s extend the life of those AC units as long as possible!
#9. Nurture the earth. Well ok for the connection to nature… I’m thinking more about the wildlife. What will the birds enjoy? What will attract the hummingbirds and butterflies? Even the bees are an important part to my garden. Oh Yes let’s bring in nurturing the wildlife!
#8. Escape to your own retreat. I totally agree! Nothing is as peaceful as my garden areas. I have a wall hanging that says, “No where on earth is as close to God as in my garden.” My garden is where the quiet moments happen and conversations with God spill from my heart.
#7. Give yourself the gift of blooms. Blooms are, “True spirit-lifters that can be had for free once you step into your garden.” If you are lucky you can catch pictures that won’t ever fade away. Some of my friends take professional pictures and turn them into works of art! “Spirit lifters” that last a lifetime.
#6. Kick-start your calorie-burning. Very encouraging! But once I sit down and drink my tall glass of lemonade, I wonder if the hour of 250 calories that were burned matter? I guess that solution can be handled with a reduced calorie drink.
#5. Boost satisfaction. “Have a wretched day at the office?” Whether it’s events with work … whether it’s business, family related, or simply reducing the craving of my sweet tooth while attempting to diet … nothing relieves frustration more than to weed the garden! It’s my therapy that I actually look forward to and then enjoy the results of my labor. Try it, You’ll Like it! Getting physical is better than meds!
#4. Skip the stress. Well, yes, I leave behind the desktop computer and television. However, my clients do know that I answer my cell phone. So while I monitor the email between flower beds from my Blackberry, my cell phone will be carefully placed on a table nearby. I can always manage to sit on my handy dandy rolling garden buddy while I take a breather and answer phone calls.
#3. Sow your artistic side. My gardening style is not the “rigor of a formal garden” but instead my entire being is a bit “eclectic and whimsical.” I do love reds and purples with spots of yellows. However, when something absolutely beautiful catches my eye, there is always room in my garden no matter what the color.
#2. Eat – and relish – what you grow. Hard as I might try, tomatoes turn out more expensive to grow than to pick them up at the farmer’s market. So I will punt growing the fresh vegetables and do the modern thing of shopping for summertime treats. I have been very successful with fruit trees in my garden. They are some of the first spring time fragrant blooms. There is nothing better than a Christmas time orange straight off my own tree!
#1. Boost your home’s curb appeal. Bingo! If there is a For Sale sign in your front yard you must great those Buyers with curb appeal. Truly, I have been in the car with my buyer and when we pull up to the front of a home (that caught their attention with great pictures on the Internet) with no flowers and a yard that isn’t maintained … well those buyers don’t even want to step out of the car. Green it up people and add color with flowers. It doesn’t have to be fancy … just well kept!
New growth is emerging on the plants here in plant zone 9. New leaf buds are forming and some of the perennials already have flowers on them. According to plantmaps.com our last frost is from March 1 – 10. I’m going to trust our cool weather blooms and go with Snapdragons, Petunias, and Alysum in my ‘spirit lifting,’ curb appeal garden right away.
Whether your dream is a lake home in Conroe, a home in The Woodlands, or in Spring with easy access to the city life of Houston; If you are moving to Texas and looking for a spot of soil to call Home where you can plan, plant and take pleasure from a garden that produces year round color then contact me without delay!
