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how does your garden grow?

Gardening Promotes Physical & Emotional Well Being

by Charlie Nardozzi, National Gardening Association

Any gardener will tell you that gardening is exercise. All the digging, lifting, pulling & twisting that happens as we work in our backyard oases uses major muscle groups & helps us stay in shape.

Studies performed at Stanford University Center for Research in Disease Prevention shows that gardening is a good form of light to moderate exercise. Depending on what activities youre doing, 30 minutes in the garden can burn the equivalent amount of calories as 30 minutes of light jogging.

Gardening, in the form of horticultural therapy, has also been used for decades to help people w/physical injuries or disabilities regain physical mobility & dexterity. Being around & working with plants can help patients heal from emotional trauma as well.

During National Garden Month (www.nationalgardenmonth.org), we celebrate individuals & groups who are using gardens & plants as tools for healing.

One example is the American Horticultural Therapy Association, (www.ahta.org), a non-profit organization devoted to supporting professionals in field of hort therapy by providing educational programs, updates on the latest research & networking opportunities.

Here's one story of the difference a garden can make for someone recuperating from serious illness.

Life After Cancer

Gie Hough was a professional landscaper who owned her own company in the Seattle area when she was struck by cancer in 1997. Due to cancer & its treatment, she had to stop working. After a second bout w/cancer in 1998, she suffered nerve damage in her spine, lost strength in her hands & had to use a cane to walk.

Gie went from being a fully capable landscaper who also had beautiful gardens at her home to being disabled, having to leave her home & move into an apartment. It was devastating for her.

It has been hard for Gie to recover from the physical effects of cancer, but the emotional pain due to losing her gardens has been equally difficult. Her saving grace was finding the Cancer Lifeline Center in Seattle.

This nonprofit organization provides support groups, classes, & activities aimed at optimizing the quality of life for cancer victims & their families.

Gies Gardens

Gie enthusiastically pursued the idea of creating gardens at the Center. In 2000, w/the help of local volunteers, college students & professors from the University of Washington, the Center constructed 3 raised beds.

Staff & patients were involved in the design process, which reflected the need to create a natural place for healing & communing w/nature.

From the beginning Gie drew from her years as a landscaper to offer plant suggestions & advice. It was bittersweet, though, because she realized she could no longer physically do the work she loved. But over time the three gardens, measuring about 3,500 square feet, became her oasis, helping her rediscover her joy & love of plants.

The area includes The Celebration Garden, an herb & kitchen garden near the lunch room where patients & staff can harvest fresh greens & herbs for cooking.

Theres a Reflection Garden featuring a quiet nook enclosed w/bamboo, containing benches & even a heater for keeping warm in winter. Its a place Gie often goes to write poetry or sketch the plants.

The Earth & Sky Garden includes a large space w/a fountain & is planted w/annual & perennial flowers & shrubs. Theres a healing circle where people go to paint or draw, or take workshops that Gie has sometimes facilitated.

Gie now spends hours working in these specially designed raised beds that allow her to garden without bending over. But often she just sits & enjoys the peace. Rain or shine, shes out there 3 to 4 times a week. The gardens center me when Im stressed. Its like a meditation for me. I can get lost in them, Gie says. Theyve given back to me something that was lost.

Remember Me Rose Gardens

The concept for another group of healing gardens also sprouted in the Pacific Northwest, but the gardens themselves will grow on the other side of the country.

In the weeks following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Sue Casey of Portland, Oregon, was struggling to find a way that she could help w/the process rebuilding & healing. Being from the City of Roses, it wasn't long before she received inspiration from the blooms that surrounded her & "Remember Me" Rose Gardens were conceived.

Sue is spearheading this effort to plant roses gardens at each of the 9/11 crash sites: New York, Washington, DC & Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. Each garden will be home to more than 3,000 roses (one for each victim of the attacks) along w/plants native to each region. Families of victims, survivors of the tragedy, anyone who was touched by the attacks, can come to these flowering oases to seek peace.

Volunteers helping Sue coordinate the Remember Me Rose Gardens & several rose companies have committed to creating new rose varieties in tribute to victims & heroes of the 9/11 attacks.

A portion of the profits from the sale of these varieties will be dedicated to maintaining "Remember Me" Rose Gardens. 'Firefighter', a fragrant scarlet rose grown by Edmunds Roses, is the first one available.

Whether its an individual container garden for cancer victims or a large rose garden to help a nation heal, a garden can help restore strength to our bodies, minds & spirits.

To learn more about Remember Me Rose Gardens, go to the National Garden Month Web site at http://www.nationalgardenmonth.org/community/partners/rmrg.php

National Garden Month® is a registered trademark of the National Gardening Association.

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Gardening to Feed Your Community

Rebuilding Communities One Garden at a Time

Gardens Infuse Our Lives with Beauty

Gardens Are Tools for Learning

slowly absorb the information....

Container Gardening.....

it's anyone's jar of dirt!

 

click below for full details!
learn more about it here!
and....
at national gardening's website! just click on the following links to read their informaiton about container gardening!

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Small space?

Limited Energy? Try a Mini Garden!

The whole point in creating mini-gardens is simple: little gardens allow you to focus your efforts on one small area at a time & when you are finished, you can move on the next.

 

As you create each mini-garden, aim for low-maintenance plantings. Then add mulch to conserve moisture, suppress weeds & add contrast.

Mini-Gardens are great because:

  • they reduce frustration
  • less overwhelming
  • use small amount of space
  • encourages a greater sense of accomplishment
  • save money and time

Read the information on the Container Gardening Page for more information about a mini garden!

 

Click the links below to visit the page that offers information about growing specific veggies at your home, to determine which ones you may be feasible for you to grow. Planning your garden is an important aspect for success. Check the "Planning your Garden Page" also to get some ideas on what you should consider before starting!

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Community Programs

America in Bloom

This volunteer-based nonprofit is dedicated to "Planting Pride in Our Communities."

American Community Gardening Association

The ACGA helps gardening programs share resources & benefit from each other's experience.

American Horticultural Society

One of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country, AHS has been providing horticultural education since 1922.

Garden Mosaics

An exemplary project for youth focusing on science education & cultural understanding through gardening & community action.

The Garden Project

Thanks to this innovative post-release program, former prisoners are growing a better future for themselves & their neighbors.

Green Guerillas

This advocacy group & resource center supports New York City's community gardening groups.

National Wildlife Federation

NWF unites individuals & organizations to protect wildlife & the environment.

Plant A Row for the Hungry

PAR is rooted in the tradition of sharing a bountiful harvest with others.

"Remember Me" Rose Gardens

"Remember Me" Rose Gardens will stand as living tributes to the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Slow Food USA

Focusing on wholesome, regionally & sustainably produced foods, the slow food movement seeks to rejuvenate culture, community & the environment

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Are you looking for summer color or a permanent display?

If you want summer color, look to the wide selection of annual and perennial plants. (Some of the best-known annuals are actually perennials marketed as annuals.) For permanent display, consider dwarf trees and small shrubs. Dwarf conifers generally are tolerant of root restriction; when planted as single specimens, they provide dramatic year-round display.

 

What are your space and weight requirements?

All but the smallest dwarf trees need relatively large containers -at least 50-gallon. Generally, shrubs and woody vines require at least 10-gallon containers. Cherry tomatoes can be grown in baskets and 1-gallon pots. Dwarf tomatoes typically require 3- to 5-gallon pots, but old-fashioned slicing tomato varieties need barrels or 30-gallon cans. If your space is very limited and you want to grow as many different kinds of plants as possible, you might consider growing troughs or dishes of alpine or rock plants. These require excellent drainage but need less soil and space than most other plants.

 

Where will your containers be located?

If they are outside the kitchen, you might want to grow herbs and your favorite vegetables. If they're located next to your front door, you might be more interested in creating a dramatic visual effect.

 

Will you be able to provide cold-weather protection for plants?

With container gardening, cold hardiness is even more important to consider than when planting in the ground. Some plants will be more vulnerable in a container because their roots are above ground and will freeze more easily. If you are willing to move plants to shelter during cold weather, you will be able to choose from a wider range of plants.

Gardening Basics Series

from national gardening's website

Gardening Climates 101

Garden Design 101

Lawn Grass

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vegetable gardening at home!
click here to go to the vegetable gardening pages....

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gardening navigational menu
 
gardening - the main page - you are here!
 
container gardening - what plants to grow & pots to use
 
container gardening - the dirt about gardening
 
container gardening - putting it all together - planting your garden
 
container gardening - tools you need
 
container garderning - watering methods
 
 
the perfect greenhouse

Gardening is exercise. Most anything that's work is exercise. You that are already gardening know that it takes some energy to produce a healthy garden. That's what this page is all about.
 
Gardening can be a lifestyle exercise choice & you can tie into your plans for a healthy lifestyle.
  • No room outside for a garden?
  • Live in a city apartment?
  • Do you only a small space or a courtyard to use?

changes covers it all. What you can do to love, nurture & grow the most amazing plants that can benefit your lifestyle in other ways as well as exercise is all contained here for your convenience. Gardening offers an opportunity to exercise every part of your body all at the same time. It does more than build muscle & endurance; it fine-tunes balance & it's a fun & very worthwhile exercise!

cleaning & maintaining your garden tools & supplies....
 
it's very important that you maintain your garden tools & take care of them so that they last you a long time & keep the costs of gardening down to a minimum.
 
Learning not to procrastinate is part of living a healthy & balanced lifestyle.Gardening can teach you that if you are a procrastinator, you'll have some difficulties being successful.
 
Taking care of your possessions will allow you to have a sense of pride about your gardening skills. Learning to have order in your life is part of recovery from mental illness also!
 
so... take good care of what you have & when you need what you have, it will be ready for you. click the link below to find out how to care for your gardening tools & supplies!
 
click here for good gardening clean ups!

The Healing Power of Gardening

by Holly H. Shimizu

Gardening is the way I participate in nature & feel closer & more connected to the Earth, the seasons & to a spiritual awareness.

It's the way that I heal myself when my teenager is rude to me, or after an argument. After the September 11th attacks, the first thing I had to do was go into the garden to prune & pull weeds in order to feel safer.

I'm not alone. I have encountered many people w/powerful stories related to gardening. One of my gardening friends who lost her will to live after the suicide of her child felt that she had no reason to get up in the morning.

One sunny day something made her get up & take a spade & just start digging. The result was a large hole that became a glorious water garden that eventually expanded into a nationally recognized home garden.

What was it that made the difference for her? It was the feeling of the sun on her back & the smell of the newly turned earth that began the healing process.

Once started, the continuity of the gardening provided her w/the motivation & energy to live again.

A coworker tells the story of how gardening was her salvation. She felt tortured by a terrible relationship, but gardening put her in contact w/nature & a higher power & she was able to refocus her energy & her life. Through gardening she began to get a sense of the balance of life, that change is a necessary part of life & that it can begin again.

The act of gardening is in itself powerful, but so are the many sensual occurrences within a garden: the humming & buzzing of busy pollinators at work, scents that evoke memories, the sight of beams of light on velvet textures, swaying movements of blades in the wind. It all conveys a sense of renewal & an understanding of the more important aspects of life.

Holly Shimizu is the Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. She is also known nationally & internationally through her previous work as a host of The Victory Garden. Holly has written & lectured extensively in her field & led international botanical & horticultural trips to Europe, Japan, Costa Rica & Bermuda.

the perfect greenhouse! i think you may be surprised!

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it's e-mail from you all .... you who visit my sites that keeps me encouraged to work these sites & motivated to continue to update them....  
 
take some time to think about the fact that i began with one website, a few years ago....
 
i was depressed, anxious, dissociating regularly....   i found the counselor that could diagnose me with ptsd......   & i realized that my recovery depended on me helping myself thru helping others....  click here to send me an e-mail & say hello!
 
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**disclaimer**
this is simply an informational website concerning emotions & feelings. it does not advise anyone to perform methods -treatments - practice described within, endorse methods described anywhere within or advise any visitor with medical or psychological treatment that should be considered only thru a medical doctor, medical professional, or mental health professional.  in no way are we a medical professional or mental health professional.