Garden Club

Once again I have been asked to speak at the Sugar Grove Park District Garden Club. This is the third time I have been invited to kick of spring and share gardening motivation. Last year I showed the club members how to make a trellis using twigs from there own gardens. I also shared how to avoid rabbit damage to perennials by using Bunny Barricades.

I think this year I may talk about using wine bottle as garden art. My herb garden is edged with wine bottles. It ads a bit of flair and the bottoms fill with water for the butterflys. I have been wanting to create a pole or tree trunk (dead trunk of course) of spikes to display wine bottles. I think it will also have corks and a string or two of lights for evening pizazz.

Plant flowers in numbers to create impact

Its nice to have a variety of plants in our flower gardens, but when we have one of everything the garden can appear a bit busy or kaotic. Planting groups of the same plant can acheive visual unity. This is pleasing to the eye and really gives your garden impact from a distance. You can choose to plant a group of the same plant (3 or 5) or another option is to plant groups of 3 different plants together and then repeat this combination in other locations.

For example a spring combination of tulips and daffodils planted in numberous locations. These are nice in groups of 5 and 7. Did you know, you can choose Tulip varieties that bloom early, mid or late spring?

For summer you could plant Salvia (annual or perennial) repeated in groups of 3 or 5. Mixing plants in the same group are very lovely. I like a combination of 3 Salvia n. 'Marcus', 3 or 4 Echinacea 'Sunset' and 3 Origanum 'Herrenhausen'. This combination will have slightly different bloom times, with the Salvia blooming first. Trim back the Salvia after it blooms and you will get a second bloom in the same season.

This is a simple and fun way to add the impression of disign qualities to your flower garden.

The days are getting longer. I long for the smell of fresh cut grass. Everything is frozen. I am starting some new classes this week at the community college. I am so excited. It is a new path that I have been wanting to take. I am at a point in my life that I have a whole stack of experience. Its time to put them all to use. I am full of anticipation on how it will come together. I am going to put effort into organizing my schedule.

This week I have to make more soap. I need to increase my inventory. I need to make more candles and finish a final landscape design of Sarah's back yard. I must do some networking for Bunny Barricade. I definately have to exercise. I think that will be the key to making it all work.

When I Started Gardening

I am linda ruth. Some people were born to sing. Some people were born to be Doctors or Lawyers. I was born to garden!

I have photos of me at the age of two picking grass. I not only picked it, I studied it and generously shared it with my 9mo old sister. I liked to pull it and study the dark green blade and how it gradually changed color to its white root. The root is rather sweet tasting. I loved finding four leaf clovers too.

I can remember a summer that my Mother planted moss roses. I would dissect them. The seeds are so tiny. I must have been 4 or 5 years old.

My first garden was at age 7. My father bought seeds and gave my a small area of earth in the back yard. I watched it grow each day and here I am today many (many) years later watching my gardens grow.