Eco-friendly gardening is sexy – Valentines Day and Every Day

I can think of few things as sexy and romantic as lying in bed early in the morning and having my husband reach over and gently nudge me awake and whisper those words that always give me a little shiver.

"Hootie's outside," he'll say. And a huge smile crosses my face as I snuggle back into his arms and listen.

Hootie is the name that we have given to a large barred owl that lives on our property. The sound is often so faint through the windows, that I don’t know how my husband hears it. But he does. And knowing how it makes me feel, he wants me to hear it too.

Sharing the wonders of nature together has become a very special part of our relationship. It has made us more aware of our surroundings...more tuned in to the sights, sounds, smells and tactile sensations of the world around us. And of course, those feelings have spilled over into our relationship.

One of my favorite things in life is spending time in the yard with my husband. It’s not just that I enjoy watching him nurture and care for the plants. But he always takes a break from whatever he is doing if he finds some “wonder of nature” that he thinks I should see. Every time he shares something like this with me, it is as if he is giving me a gift, because he is reminding me of all that is special and wonderful in our lives.

We garden specifically to attract these wonders of nature. Our yard is very natural, filled with native plants and free of all chemicals and other dangers that would discourage the wildlife.

Albert Einstein once said “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Perhaps that is the secret to all of life's relationships. Never forget to be amazed by the wonders around you. Hold on to that incredible joy that you felt when you first saw your newborn infant, that heart-racing rush of love when you first kissed your spouse, and the incredible sense of wonder that you experienced when you first heard the call of a wolf late at night while camping under the stars or first saw a tiny iridescent hummingbird fluttering around your gardens. And remember, remember, remember that none of those things will last forever unless you make an effort to protect them and nurture them and let them know you care.

So next time you are in your garden, look for the wonders. Soak them up, savor them, and then share them with someone you love.  

Happy Valentines Day!

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees - Or Does It?

Sure the economy concerns me, but probably not as much as it concern others. Why?

Because I know that money loves me. Money doesn’t just love me. It is obsessed with me. Money stalks me. It sits up at night trying to find ways to catch my eye and come home with me.

Okay. I know those statements are a little extreme, but I’ve read a lot of books about the secret to using positive affirmations to get what you want, and those are the ones that I have made up to help attract money.

I also collect 4-leaf clovers and acorns and other items that are supposed to attract prosperity and even painted one room in my house money green, using the color matching machine at the hardware store and a hundred dollar bill.

Oh yeah. And I’ve been saving money since I was 14 and I’m as frugal as a packrat.

Still, we all need to be concerned about our finances. So in addition to scrimping and saving and cutting out all the extras in life that we don’t really need, here is some info I gleaned around the internet for things that are supposed to help attract prosperity:  

Plants :

• Money plant tree (Pachira Aquatica) is a houseplant that is said to attract wealth and prosperity, and bring good luck to those who have it. There are many places suitable for placing a money plant tree, however the most ideal places include areas where money is kept, such as cash registers and safe deposit boxes. Source
• Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) (pictured) . The Jade plant is the ultimate symbol of prosperity for the Chinese. It's flat round leaves and compact shape makes it the Asian equivalent of a money tree. (Source)
• Fruit Trees. Small orange, lemon or lime trees also contain money-drawing properties and are ideal to place in this sector. (Source)
• Dead or withering plants: BAD for prosperity. Anything obviously decomposing is antithetical to the energy of prosperity and should be removed.(Source)

Herbs and Spices: (source)

• Alfalfa – Known traditionally as the “good luck” herb.
• Allspice –It is thought to attract business luck or success.
• Bayberry – Bayberry candles or incense “bring luck to the home and puts money in the pocket.”
• Basil – Soaking basil leaves in water for three days and then sprinkling the water at your business premises is thought to attract financial success.
• Bay Leaves – Bay leaves increase intuition and are good if you are looking for a promotion or a job. Tuck some under your mattress or boil them and sprinkle the water around your home.
• Chamomile – Washing your hands in chamomile tea is thought to bring gamblers luck. Drinking the tea is thought to bring luck and prosperity.
• Cloves – Cloves can be burned on charcoal, tucked in a sachet or put in your purse to draw money. An ancient money and protection ritual is to stick an orange with the heads of cloves stuck on pins and hang it on a ribbon in the kitchen so your cupboards are never bare.
• Cinnamon: A very handy kitchen spice that can be used “in a pinch” to bring quick money, it can be bought as incense or burned on charcoal or sprinkled in a cash register or wallet to bring business.
• Citronella: The leaves are thought to be good for attracting business.
• Five-Finger Grass (also known as Cinquefoil): This lemony grass can be burned, hid in a potpourri or carried on your person. It is the standard ingredient in most money drawing incenses.
• Honeysuckle: The live and dried flowers are used to attract luck business and prosperity.
• Juniper Berries: Associated with Jupiter, the berries of the juniper tree are said to attract luck, good fortune and business success.
• Mint: All the mints (spearmint, peppermint) are used to attract good spirits and speed good fortune to the bearer.
• Strawberry Leaves: Carried on the person and used to draw fortunate circumstances into a person’s life.
• Squill Root: If you can find this, it is said to be one of the most powerful roots used to draw money to the bearer.

Feng Shui Elements for Prosperity (source)

• Water is the main element that brings wealth to your home. Water should always be clear, moving and free flowing. Never let your water get stagnant. A fish tank is one way to stimulate your wealth areas. Make sure fish are healthy and strong and always keep the tank clean. A fountain is also a great way to keep your abundance flowing.
• Enhance your wealth corners by hanging wind chimes, a mobile, or by hanging Chinese coins tied together with a red ribbon (if you do this make sure you use coins in the increments of 3, 6, or 8 with 8 being the most powerful money manifesting number).
• Add some plants with round leaves to your home. This is another good way to enhance your wealth area, according to feng shui guidelines. If the plants have red or purple flowers that is even better.
• Paint for prosperity. The best colors for the wealth area are green, red, purple, black and gold, with the most effective colors being red and green.
• Make sure your plumbing is in good working order. A dripping faucet is symbolically and literally money going down the drain. You should also keep your drains plugged when not in use. This keeps money in your possession. You do not want to accumulate wealth then have it go down the drain.
• Close toilet lids. You don’t want to flush your money down the toilet.
• Incorporate feng shui elements outside your home, in your yard, to attract wealth and prosperity. A fountain can be placed in front of your home; the water should flow inward towards your home. Place a windmill, weathervane, or any moving, spinning object in the far left corner of your backyard to stimulate energy and attract wealth.

Now if you don’t believe in any of that hooey, you can always go bury some of your money in the backyard until things in the stock market decide to settle down again.

If you do decide to bury your money, make sure that you do it correctly. You need to make sure you use a container that won’t fall apart underground. Old-timers used to use mason jars, but I found something that looks like a better solution :

Although it might seem excessively paranoid to some, Burying your cash might be the most bulletproof way of hiding cash. Using cache tubes involves getting some 6″ to 8″ PVC drain tubing several feet long, with two threaded end caps. Your stash can be placed in several plastic baggies, and then the end caps can be epoxied in place, or sealed with extreme pressure wheel bearing grease, both of which are also available at your local hardware store. This type of tubing, made out of PVC,is strong enough to withstand most natural elements, such as corrosives, salts and water. All one has to do, is to use a common pot hole digger to create a good hole to bury the tube. If you are burying money, make sure it is wrapped in layers of zip lock bags and throw in a silica pack from the inside of vitamin or supplement containers to avoid mildew or similar smells. (Source)

Answers to all of your gardening questions - a poem by Green Gardener

I've been receiving quite a few questions through the contact form on this website lately, so I thought that I would answer them all, in a poem.

Answers to your Gardening Questions                      A Poem, by Betsy. S. Franz (the Green Gardener) "Why won't it grow?"  Heck, I don't know "What can I plant?" Plant what you want "But will it grow?"  Heck, I don't know "What is this weed? What is this bug?"  Heck, I don't know. (And I'll add a shrug) "But I thought you were a garden pro?"  Well, here's all you really need to know. There's botanists, ecologist and  Lot's of horticulturists Of course, there're Master Gardeners too  And lots of other "Green" gurus Some know a little, some know a lot  But what you need to know is your own garden plot Learning to garden isn't hard  Just take the time to "Know" your yard And my best advice, for what it's worth Is do your best not to harm the earth.

To find answers to specific garden question, please use the Dig Here For Answers link on this website.

The Night Before Christmas (a gardener's point of view)

Here's another cute Christmas poem for gardeners, reprinted in full with permission of the author, Marianne Binetti  

The night before Christmas (a gardener's point of view)

’Twas the week before Christmas,
and all through the yard,
not a gift had been given,
not even a card.

The tools were all hung,
in the carport with care,
with hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would repair.

The shovel with blade
all rusty and cracked,
the pitchfork still shiny,
but handle it lacked.

When out on my lawn,
(it’s brown and abused)
I could see poor old Santa,
looking confused.

No list had been left
for Santa to see,
no gardening gifts
were under the tree.

But wait there’s still time,
it’s not Christmas yet,
and gardening gifts
are the quickest to get.

You can forget the silk tie,
the fluffy new sweater,
give something to make
the garden grow better.

If she wants a gift shiny,
then don’t be a fool,
it’s not a dumb diamond,
but a sparkling new tool.

If fragrance is listed
you can forget French perfume,
it’s a pile of manure
that’ll make gardeners swoon.

Give night crawlers, not nightgowns,
the type of hose that gives water.
(Anything for the kitchen
is not worth the bother.)

Give a great gift
that digs in the dirt,
it’s better than any
designer-brand shirt.

Now look quick at Santa,
this guy’s not so dumb,
Under his glove,
he hides a green thumb.

His knees are so dirty,
his back how it aches,
his boots stomp on slugs,
(he gives them no breaks).

Santa only works winter,
you can surely see why,
The rest of the year
it’s a gardening high.

Elves plant in the spring,
pull weeds merrily all summer,
in fall they all harvest,
but winter’s a bummer

And so Christmas gives Santa
a part-time employment,
till spring when the blooms
are his real life enjoyment.

So ask the big guy
for garden gifts this year,
Seeds, plants and tools,
Santa holds them all dear.

You see malls may be crowded,
vendors hawking their ware,
but visit a nursery,
stress-free shopping is there.

Now Santa’s flown off,
to the nursery he goes,
and his voice fills the night
with loud Hoe! Hoe! Hoes!**

Merry Christmas from Marianne Binetti

** And speaking of hoe, hoe, hoes. Don't forget that they make great eco-friendly gardening gifts by allowing gardeners an environmentally safe way to remove weeds from the garden.

Can I put *bleep* in my compost heap? Or, what to doo with poo

My husband and I live in a pretty unique area. Our own property is heavily wooded, so various species of wildlife wanders through. Some of our neighbors, however, have different types of animals. Some have dogs and cats and others have horses, goats, pigs, chickens and creatures typical of rural living. Sometimes these animals get loose and roam free, so we often find various animal droppings in the yard. In other words, sh*t happens.

There was a time when I would have thought that sh*t was a questionable word, but apparently it’s not. There is a popular book and TV show with the word in the title. It seems that when you add the asterisk, it changes the pronunciation of the word to “bleep”, which of course, is a perfectly acceptable word. But in the interest of the general reading public, I’ll go ahead and keep the “bleep”.

I’m not really crazy about all of the “bleep” we find in our yard. We have found everything from horse to goat “bleep” with an occasional pile which may be sheep “bleep”. As I said, the neighbor’s fences are often in disrepair and it is not unusual for a horse or other large animal to wander down the street.

I’m usually not looking down when I walk through my lawn, especially when I just wake from sleep, so I sometimes find myself toe deep in “bleep”. I have quite a bit of tolerance for wildlife “bleep”, since I am a nature lover. But when domesticate pets or rural livestock finds its way into our yard and leaves a heap of “bleep”, I sometime want to weep.

The question is, should I sweep the “bleep” and return it to the creep that allowed their animal to roam and leave the heap?

After all, we know that heaps of “bleep” can cause toxic substances to seep into our storm drains, polluting water bodies such as streams, rivers, bays, creeks and even the lovely Chesapeake.

Perhaps I should keep the “bleep”, adding the heap to make my compost pile complete. Are there benefits to reap from “bleep?” I decided to ask my “peeps”.

I was told that the answer to this question depends on two things: 1) What kind of animal created the heap and 2) what kind of foods that the animal eats.

Some sources say that waste from “barnyard” animals has benefits to reap, but not the poo from dogs and cats and other pets we keep. Others say that manure from plant eaters (herbivores), such as horses, cows, and sheep, is okay but not omnivores or carnivores – animals that eat meat.

Since many barnyard animals, including pigs, goats and chickens, sometimes eat meat, I believe that the herbivore/omnivore definition is a little more complete.

But what about wildlife poo? Perhaps I should consult a zoo!

Some zoos have found new ways to conquer their mountainous piles of poo. Miami Metrozoo and Woodland Park Zoo are making compost from their ever-present doo. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, is looking into ways to use elephant doo to power their entire zoo! But all of these sources seem to focus on the leaf-eating, herbivorous poo.

So what does all of this mean for me and you? Unless you are a scatologist – a scientist that is educated in various types of doo, it might be best to bid the unknown piles of poo adieu – carefully shoveling it into a plastic bag or two, and leaving it for the garbage crew. Placing the bag on your neighbors porch and running away, of course, is considered quite taboo.

For more of the scoop on what to do with piles of poop:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Composting Pet Poo – This post is on an EXCELLENT website called Confessions of a Composter!!
Composting: Do the Rot Thing (pdf file)
Guide to Composting
Can I Compost It?
Backyard Composting – It’s Only Natural (pdf file)
The Scoop on Poop – Safe Pest Waste Disposal (pdf file)

12 relationship rules for gardeners

“99% of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukebox play." ~ Willie Nelson, The Tao of Willie

I’m having a lot more success with my landscape now that I’ve started thinking of gardening as a relationship rather than a hobby.

When I was younger, I used to date a LOT. The reason that I dated so much was because I wasn’t very great at making relationships last. I chose men just for their looks or their popularity, when we obviously had nothing in common. And I expected the relationships to just click, without any real effort on my part. Several hundred men later (okay, I’m probably exaggerating there) I realized that just wasn’t how things worked.

For a long time, I was the same way with my gardens. I’d walk through a garden center and pick out whatever looked good, and take it home, give it a drink and feed it once or twice and then I’d ignore it until I got bored and wanted it to entertain me again. Usually by then, it would be long gone. So I’d head back to the garden center and try again. Several thousand plants later (and I may not be exaggerating there) I’ve started to learn a few things.

The number of failed marriages in our country is about 50%. There are no similar statistics for the number of failed gardens, but since gardening is a 36 billion dollar industry in our country, I would say that a lot of that is money spent by people trying over and over again to make their relationship with their garden work.

So in order to help save you some heartache and some money, over the next few weeks, I would like to share some of the knowledge I have acquired about relationships and gardening. Here are some of the most important things I have learned.

1) Get to know your site - Get to know what you have to offer before you jump into a relationship. In life, if you don’t really know who you are or what you have to offer, you’ll have a heck of a time finding someone that is right for you. In gardening, if you don’t get to know your garden site and what it has to offer, you will have a hard time finding plants that will be happy there.

2) Plan your landscape – Proper planning and design are essential for creating a healthy relationship with your landscape. What do you expect from the relationship? Is being surrounded by beauty enough for you or do you want something that will provide food (fruit and veggies) and shelter?

3) Get tested and get healthy – As is, your property might not be ready for a good relationship. Get the soil tested and take steps necessary to get it to its optimum health. Amend the soil, remove weeds and invasive plants.

4) Get to know the plants - All of those good looking, sweet young things that you pick up around town weren’t just put on this earth for your pleasure. They have wants and needs of their own. If you want any kind of long term relationship with them, you need to learn about their needs before you bring them home. Speed dating isn’t good for relationships and impulse buying isn’t great for gardening.

5) Choose plants compatible with your site conditions - If you want to be in a relationship with sweet things that you aren’t really compatible with just because they are beautiful, it might work but it is going to require a lot of effort. Probably neither one of you will ever be completely happy. Which leads me to number 6.

6) Caring for incompatible plants can harm the environment - Some relationships require so much effort that they are just toxic to you. In the garden, certain plants will require so much water and so much fertilizer and pesticides that they are going to hurt the environment. Also, if they aren’t really happy there, they may start running around on you.

7) Choose natives over exotics - Exotic, high cost beauties are often very high maintenance. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you may find yourself spending half your paycheck on things to help make them happy. Natives are rarely so restless.

8) Set some boundaries – Your plants might be very happy if you let them act unruly, run all over the place and do whatever they want. It’s up to you to nip things in the bud when you need to.

9) Devote time to your relationship - Good gardening takes time and effort. If you want to have a good relationship with people or with plants, you have to make an effort and put some work into it. Spend some time with them. Keep checking in. See if they are getting everything they need.

10) But don’t overdo it – There is sometimes a fine line between keeping your plants happy and spoiling them. If you have chosen plants that are compatible with your site conditions, they should be pretty happy without a lot of extras.

11) If you run into problems, seek advice – Relationships are challenging. Consult experts if needed.

12) Don’t be afraid to call it quits - And, if after all your best efforts, things just don’t seem to be working out, don’t be afraid to dump your current garden and start over. Relationships are supposed to be happy and fulfilling for both of you.

The psychology of "green" gardening – is taking care of the planet good for the soul?

“Peter Rabbit’s experience aside, gardeners are probably nicer people,” Richard Ryan, PhD. Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Education at the University of Rochester

We all know the benefits that environmentally friendly gardening can have on the planet: less pollution less waste of our valuable water supplies and improved habitat for local wildlife, to name a few. And of course, what’s good for the health of the planet is good for our own health, as well. But when I ran across some new studies that indicate that gardening is good for the soul, I was determined to help find out if that tied in to why more and more people are practicing environmentally friendly gardening.

Personally, I’ve always felt that spending time in my garden is far better than spending time with a therapist. There is just something about working outside in nature that gets me more in touch with my inner thoughts. I have learned the answers to many of life’s questions while I am out there with my hands in the dirt.

So I was intrigued when I began to see the quote “nature is fuel for the soul” popping up all over the internet because of several studies co-authored by Richard Ryan, PhD, a Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Education at the University of Rochester. Through their research, Ryan and his colleagues have concluded that spending time in nature not only makes people feel more energized but also leads them to be nicer, value their relationships more and to be more generous – definitely evidence that nature is good for the soul.

“When people are exposed to nature, it changes their attitudes,” Ryan said. “We’ve known for awhile that nature has an impact on people: in helping them heal faster and reducing their stress. But what our findings show is that it also makes people more pro-social. So when people are exposed to nature … they are more likely to have better feelings toward their community, want to give more to other people, and be more concerned with social outcomes.”

Since, for many working Americans, being in nature means working in the garden, I jokingly asked Ryan if he thought these studies indicate that gardeners are just nicer people. “I think it clearly stands to reason that gardeners are on average likely to be nicer people,” Ryan said with a bemused tone. “I don’t know if there is empirical evidence on this, (though I believe there are a few gardening studies out there), but it would be consistent with our research on positive relations between contact with nature and pro-social tendencies. So Peter Rabbit’s experience aside, gardeners are probably nicer people.”

Since being in nature (gardening) makes people more concerned with social outcomes, I wondered if this study could also help indicate why more and more people are starting to garden in a more environmentally friendly way. According to statistics collected in the National Gardening Association’s (NGA) 2004 and 2008 Environmental Lawn and Garden surveys, the number of households that practice environmentally friendly gardening increased from an estimated 5 million households in 2004 to 12 million in 2008. And this trend is expected to increase in the future. In fact, 89% of the households surveyed said that they thought practicing environmentally friendly landscaping was important.

“That could make sense,” Ryan said. “Our studies showed that when people are in nature, they are more in touch with their own core values and interests,” Ryan explained. “They feel more connected with the world as a whole. And this probably breeds more sense of responsibility for that larger whole.”

Since I had also read studies that indicated “doing good makes people feel good”, just for the sake of discussion, I asked Ryan if he thought that gardening in an environmentally friendly way might have its own emotional rewards.

“I think that theory is sound,” Ryan said. [Environmentally friendly gardeners could reap] “…both the wellness benefits of being in nature and the wellness benefits of being generative and good.”

To try to get more proof for my theory that environmentally friendly gardening provides extra “fuel for the soul”, I contacted Dr. Michael Steger, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Psychology and Applied Social Psychology programs at Colorado State University who has done extensive research on what makes people happy.

“My best guess would be that people gain the most happiness and meaning from gardening when they garden in a way that is most consistent with their values and what they want to get out of gardening,” Steger said. “If people are gardening to serve a societal need or to help the planet through eco-friendly means, then doing so will make them happiest.”

According to the NGA survey referenced above, 73% of the people surveyed said that they garden in that way because it is better for the environment, so perhaps for those gardeners, at least, green gardening may bring them extra happiness.

“As much as it would fit with my own values to say that the 'best' kind of gardening takes the earth's considerations to heart,” Dr. Steger said. “I really don't think there's evidence for it.” And indeed, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find any scientific studies that have been conducted to help prove that eco-friendly gardening is better “fuel for the soul” than any other kind of gardening.

But from my own experience, I know that it is. And so, I would like to challenge you to help me prove it.

Join me on this blog as we share tips and hints about how to take a little bit better care of the planet while tending to our landscapes. Spend some time getting to know your landscape on a deeper level and find out what you can do to be more eco-friendly while you are out there. And then share your thoughts with us along the way. I think that you will find that your soul will be happier for it. But if not, at least your soil will be.

“A lot of times, we don’t really take time to immerse ourselves in nature, to really appreciate the surroundings that we have, the green living things that exist everywhere around us,” Dr. Ryan said. “We’re pretty busy, we’re rushing through life and we aren’t in touch with those things. What our scientific studies showed is that, to the extent that we really pay attention to the living things that are around us, it connects us more closely with the human race. “