View Full Version : Gardening
I think I'm finally starting to get somewhere with my meds and feeling a little more human again. Most of my threads have been rather negative over the last few months and I thought I'd start a positive thread about the successes I'm making.
I've been trying to find a good excuse to get outside now the weather is starting to improve. I've decided to sort out our garden.
It should give me a bit of exercise and an excuse to be outside in the sunshine doing something. Hopefully by summer I will have lots of flowers and maybe even some vegies too. :flowers: :)
At the moment it's just a square patch of overgrown grass. I mowed it yesterday, nearly died of exaustion, and the strimmer blew up when I tried to do the edges, lol! But I feel good having done it.
Hopefully by summer, if I mow it and look after it enough, I'll have the grass like a 'putting green' and lots of relaxing plants so I can spend some time chilling out in the garden. :)
My plan today and tomorrow is to mark out a flower bed and start digging it over ready for some plants.
I'll try and post some pics as I go along.
Wish me luck. :)
Jim
Hi Jombo
Well done - gardening is a fantastic way to distract yourself - really positive and rewarding move forward. Even if the weather is not good enough to get outside, you can spend time sitting designing flower beds, looking thru magazines/books etc planned themed or coloured flower beds, determining what soil type you have and what plants/veg will grow well in that soil.
I love gardening - planning, digging, pruning, raking, weeding, scrubbing the patios etc, etc. Unfortunately for some years now I haven't been able to get into a garden and its ben very frustrating. Hopefully, that will change in coming months.
Well done, keep it up and keep us informed of your progress.
Take care
Sandie
Well done mate - gardening is a smashing way to have some alfresco therapy.
We should all have little allotments shouldn't we - a nomorepanic project and sell all our produce. I wonder how you grow Pringles? :yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
I wonder how you grow Pringles?
ROFL Piglet! :laugh:
Here's a pic of today. Still nice and sunny. :)
http://upload7.postimage.org/430017/P1010042.jpg (http://upload7.postimage.org/430017/photo_hosting.html)
Just the mow so far, sadly the grass is not too happy about it.
I'm thinking beds down each side and maybe something in front of the shed. Just have to get my housemates who actually own it to ok it before I start digging it all up. :) Trouble is the left side is the shady side and the grass is even struggling to grow there, but has the most space. The right side is the sunny side where the grass seems to be growing best, but I don't have much space for a bed and still be able to open the shed door.:shrug:
Jim :flowers:
Hi Jimbo
Good to see the pic. The garden has a very rectangular feel and appearance - maybe a few curves/circles would help make it more dimensional? Shade loving plants for the left side would be great (hostas would do well there and you can get a great variety - all with different leaf colourings/patterns.
It might help if you could do a scale plan and actually draw a few designs - perhaps help persuade your housemates to your ideas!!!
Have fun!!
Sandie
Jim, That's a great attitude - I have a big problem with the garden, but at least the last couple of days I have spent 10 minutes cutting some shrubs back (in the spring I know) as a token gesture.
I think planting some flowers will be a great way of livening up your garden and given you the chance to say to yourself "Hey, I did do that, I can do that!"
I'm hoping my occupational therapist will get me in touch with the allotment group that the Mental Health Team here are helping to set up. Maybe Piglet, you can send me some canisters of Pringle seeds for the project!
Oh wouldn't it be marvellous to grow pringles, oh and easter eggs too!
Piglet drifts off happily for a few moments there:D
Jim what a marvellous blank canvas to start off with. Much like Sandie says what about introducing some curved shaped beds to give a nice sense of flow and movement.
You could then do a half circle towards the top lefthand corner to the side of the shed and mirror it on the bottom righthand corner next to the patio.
Or stand in the middle of the garden and put a stick in the centre, attach a long peice of string and then walk round marking the shape you are making giving you a complete circle of grass. Cut the shape out so all that you are left with is a complete circle and then everything outside of this can be given over to beds. It will make the garden feel much bigger and you can keep the circle really big if you want a fair bit of lawn.
Piglet :flowers:
I like the idea of the curves and stuff, especially Piglet's idea with the circles. My housemates didn't like it tho :lac: , they want straight lines and formal looking stuff. So far I'm allowed to dig a straight bed up the left hand side and I think I've managed to talk them into having similar on the right hand side. I think they are a bit worried about 'upkeep' on it, so it's hard to talk them into having large bedded areas. Good thing I didn't just start digging today, lol!
I think I might draw up some plans tomorrow so I can show them some different ideas.
They want to get some decking to replace the dodgy patio you can see just at the bottom of the picture, so I'm thinking of keeping it symetrical to keep them happy and perhaps have some 1/4 circle beds in the corners by the decking and some stepping stones up the middle of the grass to the shed.
I'll just have to keep working on them. :winks:
I've also got to think about what sort of plants to get, that's something I know nothing about. It's probably going to be a bit tricky as the left side of the garden is so dark, and the right is so light. :shrug: I think I'll be googling for a good reason tomorrow.:winks:
Jim
groovygranny
28-03-07, 21:29
Oh, you're so lucky to have a garden Jimbo - and with all these good ideas it's going to look just great!!
GG has, what I, laughingly but lovingly, call a 'container garden' - a fairly large back yard with pots and wall baskets!!
The only grass I get to mow is the little tufts that sprout in me pots!! And I can do that with a pair of nail scissors !!
I just luv feeling the soil in my bare hands and planting what I have grown from seed.
If you want to see hope, then follow a plant's growth from seed to final bloom :flowers:
Have a great time in your garden! :)
How exciting Jimbo, gardening is a really positive thing to focus on!
Keep working on your housemates, the final results I'm sure will be amazing with all the thought you are putting into it and all the great advice you are getting from your friends here.
Keep up the good work!
Much as in life my darling, are those who like straight lines and those who like curves - hopefully a good compromise can be reached.
I could do them a design of crop circles if you like mate and then the idea of a normal circle will seem very tame by comparison. :shades: :yesyes:
Jim if you were a woman you would adopt a cunning plan at this point and have shown them a ridiculous design showing lots of major and scary changes involving water features and stone lions etc, then you go in a few days later with the design you wanted all along and BINGO!!!:yesyes: The jobs a good un!!
Piglet :D
ROFL Piglet,
I'll have to try some of those tips! I think if we could find a way to make them sprout, I'm sure they'd agree to the pringles. :D
Jim
:D :D :D
Piglet :flowers:
Hi Jimbo
Glad to hear you are still making plans for the garden. Try using some lengths of rope to mark out your beds before you dig; your housemates can then see exactly what will be left of the lawned area and what will be given over to beds. It will also help when it comes to the overall design. There are a lot of interesting plants/shrubs that will do well in shady areas. The Dr D G Hessayon books are great for gardeners (novice and the more experienced), I'd be lost without mine; you often seem them in garden centres, B & Q etc, and I've picked some up in charity shops. The internet sites are also brilliant for helpful advice.
The decking sounds like a really good idea particularly if its possible to raise it a little, thereby giving the garden another dimension. Ohhhhhh, I do envy you the blank canvas......... I'd love to be doing something similar right now!!!
Enjoy!!!!!
Sandie
nomorepanic
29-03-07, 20:37
Jim
Well done and great news
Get some plants in pots for height as well!
Happy gardening.
Got my pencil and paper out and did some designs yesterday, ranging from simple and straight to 'way out there' abstract.
Think I caused a 'domestic' between my housemates, as one liked the straight lines and the other liked the most abstract one, lol! :blush: Gonna let them fight out between them which we go for, as it's their garden. I was accused of watching to many gardening programs on daytime tv, lol! :blush:
I'm going to look at different plants today, see if I can work out which sorts we could have.:flowers:
Jim
Ooh well progress of a sort is being made now hun isn't it.
Let's see what they decide.
Piglet :flowers:
Well after a bit of badgering I think we came up with a compromise.
I haven't been feeling so great recently so I haven't managed to get out there till today. I did about an hour and was absolutely knackered. The ground is so hard and full of huge rocks. :mad:
I did do some tho, one step at a time I think. I'll try and do a bit more tomorrow. Hopefully There'll be some rain soon to soften the ground up a bit, otherwise it's gonna be hard going.
Jim
Well done Jim for making a start.:D
You know hun I would view this as more as theraputic sessions than an actual project to finish - gardening is an ever evolving thing and while it's great to have little goals in mind, it's more about getting down deep and dirty with nature really isn't it!!:blush: :winks: :yesyes:
Love Piglet :flowers:
Here is stage 2.
Compromise on the beds and many huge boulders later:
http://upload7.postimage.org/771550/P1010001.jpg (http://upload7.postimage.org/771550/photo_hosting.html)
My vegies are going to be banished to a planter just to the left of the shed and there's going to be another semicircular bed in front of the shed too.
It's coming on, slowly. :D
Jim
honeybee3939
21-04-07, 17:27
Wow Jim!
That looks great ! looks like you have been working so hard !:)
Can i hire you for a week?lol
So pleased the gardening is helping you.:)
love
Andrea
xxxxx
Oh wow Jim - how fun is this!!:shades:
I love seeing how things progress and this looks fab mate - well done!!
I look forward to watching how things go - you must feel a real sense of achievement mate and quite rightly so!!!:yesyes:
Piglet :flowers:
Plants is the next stage, which means a trip to the garden centre I think. :wacko:
This is great stuff! It's a fab thing you're doing Jim.
Hey, anyone here an expert with a veggie patch? I've just moved house and inherited a reasonable size veggie patch. There seems to be a row of potato plants and a couple of rows of onions doing ok at the moment but the rest (ie most of it) is not really in use. I'd like to add some new plants but am not sure whether to just carefully dig in between the existing stuff or if I should rethink the whole thing. I think I need to act soon, as it is planting time now isn't it?
Any helpful hints before I spend the weekend on Google looking for the answers?
Eeb xx
Hey Jim
only just come across this thread, it is fabby! As you know I have been doing the whole gardening thing as a form of therapy. I love that you have put photos, that is great!
Groovy granny
I just luv feeling the soil in my bare hands and planting what I have grown from seed.
If you want to see hope, then follow a plant's growth from seed to final bloom :flowers:
I felt quite emotional reading that! I never wear gardening gloves, I LOVE the feel of the soil in my hands! And as for planting something from seed, you were in my head there I am sure! I have planted so so much from seed this year and I love it! Every day, at least 3 times a day, I check on my seed trays and I get such a kick out of seeing another seedling poke through! It is quite overwhelming to see a little scrawny seedling reach for the sun, then get bigger and stronger with the care that is lavished on it. I think it might be an emotional wrench when I put them outside! (sadly, I am not joking!!!:wacko: )
My dad had an amazing way with plants. He could grow anything at all. People used to bring their houseplants to him, like people take an animal to the vet! he could bring any plant back to life, even if it looked dead beyond any more life! Plants oxygen making capabilities were always restored when he was around!
thanx for this Jim. Get yourself to the garden centre! it will be a trip you will be happy you made!
happyone
xx
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.