My very favorite part of the front yard is seeing the occasional fox or deer, but also the regular squirrels and rabbits who visit.  Yes, I like taking photos of my flowers during the summer but so enjoy seeing other living creatures munch on the clover.

I haven’t seen a hawk yet like Benjamin over at The Deep Middle,

In the dead of winter I get the fullest, bare-bone understanding of where I am, and how I and my garden and little 1/4 acre homestead are connected to the larger world. A hawk passes over my yard in a second. In one minute how much more has it experienced than me? Whose perspective is deeper and richer? Whose life would suffer more for the lack of the other? The answer to that last question should be obvious.

He says it so much more beautifully than me.

I find the notion that a gardener’s shovel is to an artist’s brush so whimsical! I’ve always dreamed of a lovely walkway surrounded by trees, flowers, and bird feeders that leads to a gazebo sitting next to a weeping willow tree and pond.

The harsh reality is that I have a couple of rose bushes that are doing well, my azaleas are very pretty, but I can’t keep the ants off the Hydrangea long enough for a pretty bloom.  My river rock ground cover has itself been covered… by a creeping, gross vine. And my dreams of a water barrel have never come to fruition.

So when I read such beautiful words about gardening, I get a tad jealous,

A gardener’s shovel is to an artist’s brush. A gardener’s choice of colorful flowers, shrubs and trees is to an artist’s collection of paints, pencils and oils. An artist’s signature is to a gardener’s…hmmm?

The choice of garden decor that is placed throughout the landscape is undoubtedly the signature of a gardener. What does that mean? Simply, a gardener that chooses a sailboat weathervane over a rooster weathervane is more likely to be a water loving individual rather than a country/farm loving individual. It’s how they choose to express themselves in the garden.

My garden decor are some broken seashells that my daughters put down and and a frog statue that the previous owner left behind.  I think one of it’s legs has broken off.

Gazebo is one of those words that is always on the tip of my brain and/or my tongue, but I can never quite vocalize it.  It is a lovely word for a lovely yard feature, though.  We have a long front yard and have often talked about a gazebo for the very front so our daughter would have a place to sit while she waits for the school bus.  As it is now, I drive her up the driveway so she doesn’t get too cold during the winter months.  I like the idea of a gazebo much better!

Why get a gazebo?

We can conclude that a gazebo can enhance the beauty of your garden and your house. It not only gives a unique look at the region where is your booth, but also provides additional room for your home, you can use as a guesthouse. A garden gazebo provides a space for relaxation, meditation, meetings and other activities.

I can imagine how lovely one would be if you had bird feeders around it, along with a path or a pond. I’m adding it to my “someday” list.

Photo by Hickory Rose via Flickr Creative Commons.

It is possible to plant trees during the winter months, and the people at BBC Breathing Places, the Horticulture Trade Association, and Guinness World Records are teaming up to prove it on Saturday, December 5, 2009 between 11:00am - 12:00noon.  In that one hour period, they hope to plant 653,143 trees for an event called Tree O’Clock.

HTA Promotions Manager Jennifer Thwaites commented “This helps demonstrate that you can still plant during the winter period. Trees provide many solutions in garden design, as well as the structure for other planting. They also provide habitats and a food source for birds and wildlife.”

What a wonderful way to promote both gardening and a green environment!  Find more information about Tree O’Clock here.

One of my brothers used to go mushroom hunting every year at his local park.  He stopped when he found out it was a hang out for two vastly different types of undesirables … he didn’t want himself nor his children - um… - exposed we’ll say to these weirdos.

BUT sometimes you don’t have to leave home to find mushrooms, evidenced by The Germinatrix.

I was appalled. I’d just HAD a stinkhorn throwing its weight around, and now ANOTHER one? With an extremely offensive attachment? Surely the mycelium was having an enormous laugh at my expense … I can imagine the Mother Fungus oozing around under my garden, sending up her “blooms” and cackling with glee, knowing that they strain credulity and decorum. But do I keep them to myself, as a more demure garden blogger with good sense would? Of course not.

Ha… I don’t want Mother Fungus living in my yard.  It reminds me of the X-Files episode called Field Trip where hikers disappeared and skeletons were found.  The giant underground fungus had some sort of hallucinogen that caused people to dream they were safe all the while their bodies were being consumed by the giant life form.

My friend B. bought her house a little more than a year ago and has enthusiastically and wholeheartedly jumped into gardening and lawn work.  Where I do it because I have to, she does it because she loves getting her hands in the dirt and grooming seeds into lush, producing plants.  While she knows a lot, she sometimes needs help and is wishing for a garden signal.  Even without the signal there are answers,

Could I get salvia apiana to grow in my perennial herb garden? It’s only hardy to zone 7 and we’re zone 6. But I was thinking of putting it right up against the house.

And her gardening friends came through,

I was able to grow Salvia Divinorium and Salvia Lamiaceae in a south-facing bed against the wall of my house for the first two years I lived here. The bed was south-facing but shielded from some of the direct sun by the shadow of the house.

Sweet.  And.

Salvias are touchy here at best and you never know if they will keep going or not. I have several that are zoned for 7 that come back year after year, I have some that are zones 6 and 5 that died right off. The biggest key is drainage and you might be best off planting it in a pot with a cactus/succulent mix of soil and then moving the pot around and protecting it in the winter. Apiana will definitely want full sun.

Photo by Bludgeoner86 via Flickr Creative Commons.

As gardening season heat up, you may find a wheelbarrow handy for the numerous tasks that your yard demands. Canaian Tire has the Jobmate 6 cu. ft. wheelbarrow on sale.

Sale: $49.99 
            Reg: $69.99

Product #60-4514-0

Features

• Heavy-duty wheelbarrow with 6 cubic foot capacity
• 60" (150cm) hardwood handles, sealed for moisture resistance
• 6" (15cm) 2 ply pneumatic tires with inner tube for great maneuverability
• Rugged seamless steel tray with steel rod-reinforced rolled edge construction
• Powder-coated finish on tray for added rust-resistance
• Limited lifetime warranty

Gardening, no matter what you grow, will help you become healthy and
wise, as for wealthy well, that all depends upon how you define wealth.

If
you want to be healthy, then it is important to grow naturally which
means that you do not use any chemicals but rely on nature to guide you
and using the gardener’s footstep method to prevent problems before
they spread.

courtesy flickr/jackie-dee

Potatoes, mashed, baked, boiled scalloped and perhaps my favourite, potato salad
especially when it is made with new red potatoes, are a great food.
What is even better you can grow your own potatoes and make your
favourite dish with the freshest potatoes around.

You can grow potatoes on your patio or balcony in a container or in a community garden plot or your backyard.

courtesy flickr/Tony Austen

It is snowing outside and you are craving a few cherry tomatoes to
garnish the fresh green salad that you just made. You want it fresh not
from the store where the tomatoes and green may have traveled hundreds
and thousands of miles before they are offered for sale.

Instead you wander into the living room and pick them fresh just as you cut the greens a few minutes before.

courtesy flickr/angellina