This Gardening Thing…

Happy 2019, y’all!

I have absolutely been enjoying every bit of my annual “Disappearing Act” that I do at the end of every year and at the beginning of every year.

Very few people understand WHY I do it and I’ve mentioned time and time again that my presence online seems far more unnecessary these days. I can think of 400 things I’d rather be doing than catching up on Facebook, scrolling Instagram or mindlessly wasting time getting the Twitter tea. And not that I don’t mind doing those things occasionally but…they don’t bring me joy anymore.

What DOES bring me joy?

Gardening!

I’ve been asked for months now to really do a quick FAQ about my gardening journey. I’m so happy that I’ve inspired some of y’all to consider growing some herbs, flowers or even some vegetables.

Because GARDENING as a topic is so complex, I don’t want to be all over the place so for now, we’ll talk about what I’m doing, what I have done and my upcoming plans. If you’ve got any super specific questions, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Q: What do you prefer? Gardening in containers/pots or gardening in the ground?

I started growing in containers. It’s hard to recommend what people “should” do since everyone’s conditions/abilities are so different. Container gardening as a newbie just made sense for me because I felt better being able to control the quality of the soil and have the ability to move my plants around if I needed to. I’ve only JUST become comfortable with planting in the ground and surprisingly, I haven’t had any problems.  I recommend all newbies doing the same thing. If you have the space and the desire, toss seeds in and see what happens! If it grows, GREAT! If not, try again.

Q: Do you have houseplants?

YES! I’ve been caring for pothos for almost 5 years now. My office always has green in it and I recently purchased a prayer plant and propagated my Persian shield with the intentions to grow some of it indoors. I will also be doing some air plants and terrariums pretty soon!

How gorgeous is this Persian shield? I LOVE this low maintenance plant.

Q: What first purchases do you recommend for newbie gardeners?

It is easy to get excited about gardening and immediately start spending hundreds of dollars on random things that a YouTube’r you watched claimed is a must have. I highly recommend making a list. Be practical. If you want to grow from seed, make sure you are purchasing seeds for the right season and for your area. If you are buying transplants, make sure you purchase plants that look healthy and have a chance to thrive in your area/conditions. I spent very little money right out of the gate. Here were some of my favorite first purchases:

• Grow bags ($9) – LOVE these for tomatoes.
• Quality potting mix – I buy mine from a local nursery but for I did use MiracleGro for awhile.
• Gardening pruners ($15) – This are a must have! And don’t go cheap. I’ve broken TWO because I skimped on quality.
• Pots ($) – Technically, you can grow in almost anything! Wine bottles, clay pots, old shampoo bottles…you can get really creative. But if you want to keep it simple, a few plastic pots are a great start. In my attempts to use less plastic, I no longer purchase these but I still use what I have and they’ve been just fine.
• Watering can ($6)
• Gardening gloves ($10) –  I mostly go glove-free these days but when I’m pulling weeds, pruning and dealing with tougher plants, I always like to use gloves.
• Seeds, of course! Most are pretty affordable and can last for quite some time.

Q: What are your absolute FAVORITE things to grow?

I only like to grow things that I can’t kill. 😀 That said, I do not like succulents. Ha! I adore growing flowers. I didn’t get into flowers until months after starting herbs and vegetables. I suppose it’s a natural progression but there is something LOVELY about seeing hummingbirds, butterflies and bees flock around your garden because of the flowers you’ve been planting.  I love planting…

• Coleus
• Croton
• Geraniums
• Petunias
• Most herbs (I struggle with basil, though)
• Green beans
• Persian shield
• Lavender
• Salad greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula…I haven’t been able to really produce great harvests but I’m working on it)

Q: What were some of your biggest challenges?

Overthinking it. I did WAY too much research when I first started gardening. I listened to the opinions of so many people. I didn’t always consider their zones, sun exposure, weather and soil quality and how all of that played a role in their outcomes. Listening to so many people prevented me from taking risks. If I could recommend anything, I recommend joining groups of gardeners in your area. Visit local nurseries in your area.

Q: The biggest perks of gardening…

Gardening is glorious because it’s one hobby that produces so many benefits. You can not only feed yourself but you can feed others. You can move your body and work up a sweat. You can enjoy the sun. You can feel one with nature. You can enjoy quiet or veg out on a podcast or audiobook. You can see something thrive all because of you. It is incredibly gratifying. Gardening even encouraged me to do some landscaping. YES! Yours truly redid our entire front yard.

Q: Any plans for future seasons?

I would LOVE to do strawberries, more greens and perhaps even have a small greenhouse. I want to do a few more indoor plants (maybe a lemon tree) and tinker with hydroponics and terrariums. Indoor gardening intrigues me also intimidates me so I hope I can stop overthinking it and go for it.

That’s it for now.

Until next time…

 

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