Things that made me Happy in the Garden This Week

Gardening as a hobby, what could be better?

Having a Hobby

Having a hobby of any kind is beneficial to health. There are probably a few exceptions, like smoking a pipe, but these are generally few and far between and classed as “Bad habits” more than hobbies.  Having a hobby is perfect for reducing stress and allowing yourself to have time to pursue your own interests; some people actually turn them into money making ventures. 

We’re all different and have a multitude of ideas when it comes to passing the time constructively. Thankfully I found a hobby that I love, gets me out into the fresh air, exercise and on a yearly basis doesn’t really cost a lot of money, in fact it saves me money. Gardening.

Not having a hobby can actually lower your happiness levels. Research from the Gardener’s World magazine found that more than 90 per cent of gardeners think it improves their mood. It also found that gardeners are less likely to display signs associated with unhappiness or depression.

Recent Survey

The poll of 1,500 adults found that 80 per cent of gardeners feel satisfied with their lives compared with 67 per cent of non-gardeners. Gardeners’ World editor Lucy Hall said: ‘We have long suspected it, but our research means we can definitely say gardening makes you happy.’

‘Part of it comes from nurturing something but also a natural optimism that no matter how bad the weather, there’s always next year. It’s also about passing the seed of knowledge and the pleasure that gives.’

Overall, outdoor pursuits appear to bring the most happiness – 78 per cent of walkers are satisfied with their lives, as are 75 per cent of those who fish, according to the survey.

Keeping busy with any pastime, though, is important – of those with no hobbies, only 55 per cent were satisfied with their lives.

Green Exercise.

Green Exercise, or enjoying the benefits for the big outdoors is said to help mental health, this could be gardening but it also includes walking, sailing, tennis or anything else that’s done out of doors. Gardening especially provides a dose of nature as it can be done at any time of the year.

Professor of environment and society at the University of Essex, Jules Pretty, said: ‘Active living is more likely to be effective if physical activity becomes an inevitable part of life rather than a matter of daily choice. This could have significant long term impacts both on individual health and costs of health services.’ 

According to the research, gardening is known to have therapeutic effects on our stressed nerves. It helps us wind down. And that particular feeling, of having created something, is a powerful elixir that can take us a long way towards feeling happy, relaxed and totally de-stressed. 

Things in the garden that made me happy this week

Getting physical. I have enjoyed being out in the garden and being physical. There’s no need for me to go to a gym or do anything too strenuous. It helps keep me in a good mood and helps me sleep a lot better.

The Hounds of Love. I enjoy having the dogs with me when I am working. They cause more jobs of course as they rummage around for the ball in the vegetable patch but it’s so much fun to watch them I don’t mind.

Just taking time out. The garden is ever changing and being able to take time out just to enjoy the smells, sounds and colours is something that I am always grateful for.

New crops. Planting up new salad crops this week has given me the satisfaction to know that we will be eating fresh lettuce until well into the autumn.

Continual Harvesting. Harvesting the runner beans and tomatoes has been really enjoyable this week. Being able to pluck fresh vegetables and fruits from your garden is liberating. And of course, all the organic food will prove to be extremely beneficial, healthier and also tastier.

Added Vitamins. I’ve not been short of vitamin D this year and this week was no exception. The sunlight feels great on my bald patch (one of the advantages of hair loss)

Sweeping up.  Even mundane jobs like getting the brush out to sweep up some early autumn leaves is a joy!  And let’s not forget just sitting and drinking tea in the garden. I am easily pleased.

Forgetting the Baskets

Checking the dry baskets for damage after neglecting them.

Admit it, who has forgotten to water the hanging baskets?  I know I have.  There are tell tale signs when you compare the plants growing in the confined area of a basket to the plants growing in the ground. The most noticeable of these is the fact that the container ones are nearly dead. Geraniums are very drought hardy so apart from the discolouring of the bottom leaves they are practically untouched, and even seem to flourish in the harsh environment. Creeping Jenny, nasturtiums (surprisingly) and sweet peas are really looking sorry for themselves and I’m not sure where a few less tolerant plants have gone, they must have just upped and left in disgust.  The funny thing about this is that when it’s sunny I’d go out every evening and soak the soil. When it’s cloudy and not summery I just forget. It’s just as dry and the plants still need water, but I just don’t think.

I don’t think I am cut out for this constant attention lark and again am questioning just why I bother with growing in containers at all. It’s just that when they are healthy they are just so “pretty”.

I’ve had better luck in the tunnel, I have only watered about three times since the beginning of August. I’m not sure where the plants are getting their water from, it’s not through me I can tell you. They must be tapping into the groundwater with some very long roots. This is the type of gardening that suits me. 

Maybe a Butt

I’ve been pricing water butts up this week. I am putting a length of guttering at the edge of the the garage roof so rainwater can go straight into the barrel. I’ve found there’s a big variation in price, anything from €30 euro to €90 euro and if I were to set up a professional watering system I could (but won’t) spend over €3000! I have narrowed it down to a blue 56 gallon barrel made from plastic with the residue of an undisclosed substance lining the sides, or a genuine oak barrel straight from the Bushmills distillery still reeking of 10 year old whiskey. It’s a hard decision but I am going to go for an old leaky wooden barrel that will just need to be licked clean.  A snip at just €35.

Getting ready for winter

It’s time for us to be looking at things to do in autumn. apple and pear tree leaves seem to be leading the leaf drop and other trees are following closely. The weather has not only been really dry this summer, but I can’t remember the last time we had a good gust of wind to toughen up the branches of trees and leaves. The poor plants won’t know what’s hit them come the first storm.

Early autumn- Jobs to do list:

Plant or move evergreens and conifers, whilst the soil is still warm.

Plant spring bedding, such as wallflowers and polyanthus.

Remove annual plants that have finished flowering and pick off any damaged or diseased leaves.

Rake leaves, trim shrubs and divide the perennials ready for next year.

Check if any perennials want cutting back (I like to leave them if I can o for overwintering insects)Grassy perennials also look good over the winter.

During the winter months there are plenty of cuttings and leaves. So add them to your compost bin and give them a good chance to break down and produce nutrient-rich compost for next year.

Early autumn is the time to plant snowdrops, crocuses, hyacinths and daffodils for an early array of colour in spring.

Protect autumn crocuses, amaryllis and cyclamen which will last through to winter.

Plant for winter colour. Try Skimmia Japonica, a colourful evergreen leaf plant with compact buds which change colour from white to pink/red. Also try Viburnum Tinus. It produces large, fragrant clusters of white flowers from mid winter, followed by small metallic blue berries.

Hang bird boxes to offer shelter from the elements.

Berry-bearing plants provide an extra food-source for birds and other wildlife and add a lovely wintery look to colour-deprived winter gardens. Try firethorn, rowan, holly or berberis.

Provide extra winter food for nature's visitors. Hang fat balls or put bird mix in a food holder. Be sure to place the feeders near a tall shrub, fence or mature tree to provide protection from predators. I’m planting some of my beautiful handmade terracotta pots up with melted fat and seeds this year. 

Cabbage Whites in Abundance

It’s not a good idea to plant brassicas in a polytunnel. Not when you leave the door open all of the time like I do.  Every morning for weeks I have found myself removing cabbage white butterflies and then checking the broccoli and kale leaves for the small yellow eggs the butterflies lay under the leaves. I thought I was keeping up with them but have just realised that I hardly have any leaves left on the plants!

The pests are a trapped audience when they arrive in the tunnel and it never occurred to me to shut the door to stop them coming in. The top of the door has green netting on it so there would still be an air flow.  The caterpillars doing the damage fall like confetti when I shake the stems and I have had more than one of them crawling down my back when I come in for my tea. The plants outside are fine so I have learned another lesson this year what to grow (and not to grow)undercover.

Ripening Tomatoes

The tomatoes are ripening well and my initial fear that they would never go red was unfounded.  I have a lot of the small salad types growing bushy and the fruit is sprawling itself along the tunnel floor. Because of this I am putting down trays for them to sit on. Not because the damp ground is damaging them, but because there seems to be a rogue snail in there that only munches on the tomatoes on the ground. Lazy, that’s what I call it. I’m making them work for their food. 

Word is Spreading

I have fans of the tomato crop spreading from Ballymena to Dublin as I am taking a bag of these and also runner beans and broad beans all wrapped up with a few delicately scented sweet peas to relatives. It’s getting to the stage where they are expecting veggies now. I have even been asked what the problem is if I turn up without a goody bag full of home grown produce, maybe it’s because I can’t keep up on the demand.

Third Sowing

The third sowing of lettuce has just gone into the tunnel. I grew the seedlings in small multi cell modules until they were big enough to look after themselves. I think this might be the last sowing as it’s getting on in the season, but you never know, I might be able to stretch out a few more sowings if I can keep the frost away. I have been looking to get some form of protection and might go rooting around some furniture shops to see if I can find old bubble wrap.  I might as well be reusing it and keeping it out of the landfill for a few more years.

Deadheading the summer bedding this year has really paid dividends. It didn’t stop there either as I have been chopping off the old flowers of roses or any perennial I see.  I am observing second flushes of quite a few plants now. The nasturtiums didn’t play ball though as they were too busy forming seeds and I couldn’t keep up with them.  

Last Minute Bargains

I got a few packets of dahlia corms in the spring and they have proved to be very prolific. I waited until the last minute and bought them from a bargain shop for 10 cent each. It really can pay dividends if you wait for the last minute bargains. It isn’t just plants that you can pick up cheaply either. At the end of the season you will find a lot of things reduced to sell other than plants as garden centres clear spaces to make room for their winter/Christmas stock.  Some products, especially wooden structures will age over the winter and take some looking after so the shops are happy to see them go.

Plant Pots

I’ve had a great response from people about my vintage terracotta plant pots that have been hand made at the Carley’s Bridge Potteries in County Wexford. They are particularly well received in the US via my Facebook and newly set up gardening.ie page, where old Irish items evoke images of days gone by.  I still haven’t thought what to do with all 900 of them but I have planted a few up with summer bedding and they look wonderful. I’m thinking I might stick a couple of hundred up on the front room wall and call it an art installation. No-one seems very enthusiastic about it and think I have gone a bit (dare I say it) “potty” But that what they say about all free thinking artists -isn’t it?

18 Things To Do with Terracotta Plant Pots (other than put a houseplant in them)

Paint and varnish. The pots would be ideal to paint up and use for holding small houseplants.

Bird Feeder. Using a small bead on a string to seal the drainage hole and then fill the pot with seeds and fat for the birds. These can then be hung upside down on a tree in winter. The frost might damage the pot though.

Easter egg holder. The pots are attractive enough to be the base for a seasonal chocolate egg, all that is needed is a bow and a fluffy chic.

Christmas planter. There are so many small Christmas plants that could fit into the small pots and be given as a gift. There are poinsettia, Christmas cacti, ivy, cyclamen and even miniature conifers. If you really wanted to add to the Christmas tat you could spray the tree with some glitter and add a bit of tinsel.

Pin cushion. Just add a ball of soft filler in a sock and push into the pot for the pins to stick into.

Drinking Cup. This would take a bit of planning but I can’t see why I couldn’t put a glass or cup inside the pot and then use it as a drinking vessel. I’d have to get the moss and salt deposits off first mind you.

Low energy light shade. The small low energy bulbs fitted on ceiling brackets can be encased with the pots giving a warm, terracotta glow to the room.

Lamp Base. Ideal because of the weight. Perfect for small shades and the light reflects off them beautifully.

Plant up with cacti. As the pots are already vintage I like the idea of them being around for a long time and not just to give a gift then be discarded. One of the best long lived plants to put in the pot would be a cacti or succulent.  My brother had small “living stones” in pots this size and some of them were well over 100 years old!

Children can paint them. This would be entertaining for a while and could be varnished over so they could cope with being wet if used as a plant pot. 

 

Mozaic. Use small pieces of coloured pot to add a pattern to the side of the pot.

Windowsill herb planter. Basil will do well in the pots as will most small growing herbs. The plants can be taken out and replaced often.

Place them in the ground and make a drip feeder. The drain hole can be sealed up then sink the pot into the ground (especially useful in a polytunnel or greenhouse) the pot can be filled with water and this slowly seeps out into the soil giving plants a continual supply of water. 

Drill holes in them. The small holes could them be planted with small bulbs or plants.

Use broken ones in fish tanks. The fish will have a lifetime of entertainment swimming through the broken pots and hiding from their friends.

Make a clay pot person to sit in the garden. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here although it might look OK if done well. You could put them in poses like you would a garden gnome.

Planting up bulbs such as hyacinth. This idea would be very seasonal and I would only give these to people who would replant the pot with something else later in the growing season and not throw the pot away. If I sold them to the public I would have to vet them first for their suitability for ownership!

Make a useful gift case for gloves at Christmas/Birthdays.  I think the pot would make an interesting packing container for gardening gloves. Again, vetting would need to be done to make sure the pots were used.

If you would like some handmade terracotta plant pots please follow this link..  Gumtree advert offering 500 small pots or smaller quantities. 

Gift idea from Etsy..