Early Morning Gardening

Working in the garden in the cool of the evening is so therapeutic. All the stresses of the day evaporate and leave you feeling that life is really worth living. We weren’t meant to spend our lives locked up in a concrete jungle, but since that is where many people must work, it’s good to get the balance of being in a place where there are plants growing, fragrance drifting on the cool, evening breeze and bugs chirping happily as they decide what they’ll have for dinner. Oh well - everything has to eat something to survive. So long as they leave me a few plants to enjoy…. Unless you live where the summers are wet, then summer is the time when the garden dries out due to the extra heat. Saving water will also save you money, so mulching is the way to go. You can save your lawn clippings and tuck handfuls around the plants to keep the roots cool and conserve water. It keeps the weeds down too, killing two birds with one stone. I like things in the garden to look a bit untidy. Nature was not meant to be neat and tidy. Formal gardens may have their place - but not in my back yard. Give me glorious profusion any day. I love the way ivy geraniums and nasturtiums spill over a bank or ramble their way up a nearby shrub. Black-eyed Susan looks fantastic climbing up the apple tree near my kitchen window. I don’t mind in the least if violets sprout up between the rocks edging my shady garden.