06 May 2011

Heaven is my Garden!


May 6, 2011 is the third annual National Public Gardens Day! It is a good time to revisit nature and explore the public gardens near you.

In my small house Heaven we filled the surrounding plots with plants to cool us during the hot months like this week which was almost 38 degrees centigrade super HOT! I had to water the plants three times yesterday and wet the dogs furs almost every hour. Poor Sumo, the heat exhausted him and he was lying down panting and later went limping! Sweepy looked drained as well but, like a true Superdog, Sweepy stayed close to his father. Dogs sense danger and I was glad to be home all day so I can water the surroundings for all exhausted beings.

Some of our plants are infested with something but they seem to survive the heat and attackers maybe because we do not use chemical fertilizers and the soil is naturally rich. This is a good time to remind everyone that this week is also International Compost Awareness Week! Compost helps soils retain rainwater, promotes healthy microbial activity, improves soil structure to prevent erosion, and compost-grown plants are nutrient rich!

Our chico tree, Chicky, is nourished by the recycled soil using my dogs manure. Somebody told me that dogs manure are not good for plants and I was surprised because the soil surrounding our trees are my dogs favorite poo plots (their litter bed!) and my job is to bury and mix the soil before I water the trees. For the record let me state that I am city-bred and my knowledge of plants and nature are purely by instinct.

And although it is Friday in my place as I type, it is Thursday morning in the west which is perfect for Self Sagacity's:
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1. What is the Public Garden near you and what is in your private garden?
2. Do you make your own compost pit and do you use compost for your garden?

7 comments:

Lui said...

And my own answers to my questions:

1. I'm afraid I have yet to check the public gardens (not the garden shops which abound in our subdivision) and the only one I know which is two towns away (one hour commute) is in Los Banos.

In our house Heaven, even with the limited space, we have several fruit and decorative trees and flower plants like orchids, hoya, lily, baby's breath, camia, birds of paradise, and the few herbs on pots are eaten by birds!

2. Yes, we tried composting but it is taking too long to process vegetable peelings etc. As I mentioned in my post, some of our plants benefit from my dogs manure! ;-)

Margaret Duarte said...

1. I don't visit local gardens, but love browsing through the local garden centers. In my garden, I have 20 years worth of cuttings and plants, too many to mention, my favorites, anything that can withstand draught and frost. Ha.
2. I use manure from our dairy and lawn clippings to fertilize my hardy plants. They more or less thrive on their own.

Self Sagacity said...

1) I know of a few public gardens, one is at the elementary school my son used to go to, one close to downtown, and the other is called Rose Garden.
I have some fruit trees, lots of roses and a lot of different kinds of flowers. Most have been featured on SS.
2) The thought and attempt both were in entertained, but not to the extend that I could use what it turned into. LOL

SquirrelQueen said...

One of our local city parks has a rose garden and two other garden areas with a variety of flowers. My own garden has a variety of roses, lilies, daisies and raspberries. I also have lots of plants in pots on my pation.

I have tried composting but I need a new container, the racoons have been at the old one.

DoanLegacy said...

We don't have public gardens around, but public parks. Some of these parks grow curb side flowers.

Living in the city, we don't have a compost pile, since this debris could bring rats to our yard..so no, we don't!

Stacy Uncorked said...

I don't know of any public gardens in our area - it is a small town. ;) I have an eclectic mix of flowers and plants in my private garden - one of these days I should make a list! :)

I have recently started making my own compost - can't wait to see how it makes my garden grow! :)

Colette S said...

A public garden that I know here (gotta drive a ways) is Avery island. It's not a fully garden but it's pretty.

I don't have a garden. I'd love one.

2. I do not compost. I have no idea how.

Happy Mother's Day weekend!