If You Give A Girl a Newsletter
It started out innocently enough. I wanted to provide you all with some new stuff to read, but then I thought that I might as well start updating the old pages (way back from when I first began this website venture pre-2000 AD).
...Well, I couldn't very well update those articles without improving some of the other old pages I was looking at.... and then all bets were off on getting back to writing the newsletter.
Because you know, there is posting the updates on FB, and the excitement of new likes, and, -and !
Then it spread to changing
The Garden Librarian to match with the main site, adding easier rating capabilities, linking to other reviews I had scattered elsewhere on the net (
example). And finally deciding that Joomla is not for me and I will incorporate all of the Gazebo into the main site this year.
Yeah, it got crazy. But I am vastly improving my site - eventually all for your benefit, my beloved readers. (Let's face it, a website without readers is sort of futile).
But now, whew! I'm back.
Garden Theming
It is the New Year, and midwinter is when I cuddle up under a cozy throw and plan the coming gardening year.
There were years that an English Country Garden was the goal for my garden, then I transitioned to lower maintenance and elements of the New American look, with grasses and swathes of prairie plants.
This year will be more food gardening, continued emphasis on containers for front yard color, and cleaning up the overgrown parts of the yard that weren't addressed last year.
On one sad note, my neighbor who had started a greenhouse, passed away. I will be sad not to see her when getting my spring plants. She had such a joy in growing things, and blessed our entire community with the
greenhouse dream that became her business.
Things I Learned - That Will Help You
If you put together a vision board, or paste ideas into a journal, make notes of new plants to try, it will guide you to prioritize your tasks and choose which plants you most desire to buy from the nursery.
Make a Scrapbooking Garden Journal
If you plan now, you can be sure to get your order into the catalogs. They often reward an early order with discounts and bonus plants.
My Garden
My garden is more of a wild one one now, and the last few years have seen some terrible losses. The Hinoki Cypress had to be topped off and I still don't know if it will survive its deformed state.
One Arborvitae that had been growing nicely and was quite tall, decimated by the bagworm invasion it suffered while I was on one of my family travels.
A peach tree broke in half, in the winds.
In fact I am hard-pressed to find highlights, but let me consider....
- The cucumbers were wonderful, in growth, size, and taste. I will plant them this year, too.
- My wildflowers from American Meadows did nicely, considering my neglect while traveling hither and yon. I intend to repeat wildflower plantings in a cleared spot of the garden this coming season.
- My Rosa Therese Bugnet recovered from dieback ( I had then cut it to the ground).
Yes, I Have New Pages
New writings? Sort of,
Updates that have new writing inside. And some all new, too. I'm not going to list all the updated ones- there are more than twenty.
I believe the consistent moisture was key to the fabulous cukes.
Remember not to start seeds too early. February to March is best for Zone 5.
However it is time to order from catalogs- don't wait.
