Building a “Little Garden”
Gardening is a great hobby that you can share with your children.
I remember as a child we were tasked with watering the lawn. In the heat of summer days it was a task that seemed impossible. But with the help of a bucket, trowel and fertilizer it was a job that seemed simple. In truth it wasn’t that difficult. Even though we made mistakes the whole process felt natural and effortless.
Then one day we realized we were making mistakes and making errors. My wife asked me how it was done. Then I told her, “Its easy my little flower”. Thereafter, it became more and more difficult as we improved our knowledge. My first feeling was a sense of pride. Then I became proud of my accomplishment. Now I had helped create something great. In retrospect I felt a sense of satisfaction. We began to enjoy the “how to” of the “little flower” instead of the accomplishment of “gardening”.
In order to recreate that sense of accomplishment you will need to build a “little garden” in your backyard. I recommend doing this over the hot summer days. Over the blazing sun in the shade. You can even gather seeds to use next year. You don’t need a lot of seeds, you only need a few for each plant. These seeds are the reason you want to collect them. If you have hundreds of pounds of seeds why collect a few? The purpose of the “little garden” is to duplicate the feeling of creating a garden with your own hands. That is exactly what you do when you collect your seeds.
A good “little garden” will be easy to make.
Once you get the hang of it you can expand it. You can create a “little garden” in a barrel, inside a shoe, inside a sock. It doesn’t matter where you place it. You can even have multiple “little gardens” in one location. They’re portable and small making them easy to move to new locations. You can do all this with the “little garden” you collect next year.
So you are now an “artisan”. Who knew? Your “little garden” will have been a wonderful thing to have been able to recreate the beauty of your own garden. After the first year that is.
It’s that simple. What a difference it makes. Imagine being able to collect seeds and use them next year. With a “little garden” you have the choice of what you want to recreate next year. For example you have some seeds of that herb plant that you use that season. Instead of buying seeds for that plant again next year you can collect seeds and use those instead. All you need to do is add water and nutrients and you are good to go.
If you collect your own seeds instead of buying them next spring its even easier. You collect the seeds you want to recreate next year, you add water and nutrients and bake them in the oven. All you have to do is measure and cut and tear and cut some more. When the seedlings appear remove them from the oven and plant them in pots. You have now created a mini garden. Its like doing a small garden, but with plants.
The “little garden” you collect has the same benefits as the large garden.
You can design the larger garden to create the beauty you desire. It’s easy, its fun and its portable. You can move it to any spot in your yard. So if you want to create a mini garden of blueberry bushes or grape vines or lemon trees its as easy as putting up the plants. The only difference is the amount of plants and the choice of plants. You can even have more than one garden and be able to select the plants you want next year.
There are lots of options for mini gardens and the best thing is its as easy as 1, 2, 3. Lets take a look at some of the different options.
Flower Bouquet:
Here you can pick flowers from a vase. Just open the vase, take some petals out and bake them in the oven. There are baking recipes for these too. You can do this with fresh flowers or dried flowers. Don’t forget to trim those petals and use them as a mulch around your lawn. The baking process will preserve the petals and make them usable for years. Plus you can use them for a bouquet to give to your loved ones next year.
Garden Stones:
The size and shape of these depend on the size of the garden. These will be very durable for a lifetime. You can drill or screw them into the ground for a formal garden or drill or screw them into the ground for a casual garden.
Gourds:
These are just like the ones you use on your deck or at the bar. Drill or screw these into the ground. Some have more options for size. For example a garden stones gets a bit wider drilling at a larger size and then a couple of smaller size garden stones. You can also drill or screw these into the ground. These will be sturdy and will hold up well to heavy traffic.
Gravel:
There are many options for these, some of these are very durable. For example you can make these with gravel and mortar for a more formal garden. You can mix gravel and soil and then stitch these together for a more casual garden. Or you can also make these out of stone and then drill some holes in them to let the water escape or to allow for drainage. You can also use this material for a decorative garden.
Concrete:
Another classic material, one of the most classic options is concrete. You can make this material by drilling gravel in concrete. The concrete can also be pre-drilled for the concrete gravel. The pre-drilled holes will allow for drainage as well as to allow the concrete to settle.
Other options for garden material are available. This material is great for the beach, pool decks and for pools. There are many different materials that can be used to create a garden. When you shop around you will see that they are durable and can be used for any garden you want.