Gardening: Trying to do a lot with the little you have

Our eyes have been so blessed! Spring has burst with plush abundance and Summer is restless to lengthen it’s glow across my town (Monroe).

This is my very first year living in a house with an actual yard, and I was filled with an unquenchable desire to participate in the beauty— to make my home, too, an eden of sorts.

My families favorite street to walk down, after dinner on cool nights, is Walton Street. It’s a loop, quiet and slow, and the yards are charmingly garnished. It’s the kind of street that makes Monroe, Monroe! The feelings it arouses are the epitome of what is to love about our town. So I’ve followed it’s lead and filled my yard with flower bushes of deep orange and purple, bright yellow, green, and blue! My husband and I have opted for dark mulch to ensure the vibrant colors really pop and it sure does just that! Along with the visual beauty it’s brought so many more creatures to our property as well: birds with their peaceful music, chipmunks chasing one another and playing “hide and seek” with my children (really more-so running for their lives, I think), butterflies, ladybugs, worms, and bees have all become a subject of curiosity and enjoyment for our entire family! I never fully realized the power and effect that cultivating nature and then enjoying it would have on not only my mental health but also my spiritual peace. Who could have thought that putting a fire pit in the yard along with some chairs would become yet another place— not only for us to sit— but for birds to sit and for us to observe?

Fill your yards, not for the sake of investing in your property (even thought that’s not wrong), but for the sake of enjoyment! God is in the stillness as well as in the glory of nature and creation!

Fill your yards, fill your hearts, energize your spirit.

Some Trick’s Ive Picked up:

1. Water your garden daily and in the AM for best results.

A family member of mine waters her garden DAILY and has been for the majority of her homemaking days, and since her garden is the best i’ve ever laid eyes on I figured she probably knows a thing or two on the matter. My first thought was that it would be exhausting to have to remember to do this SO OFTEN, but i’ve found such joy peace in beginning my day with this. I water at the beginning of the day so that the plants that i do have that’s roots aren't deep enough to reach the stores of waters deep underground are nourished and ready for a day of scorching hot sun!

2. Mulch, Mulch, Mulch.

I love pine straw and topsoil as much as the next person but because some of these older downtown houses don't have gutters, the water that spills from the roof ends up creating craters in my flowerbeds where the topsoil is. Topsoil can also be very expensive, and the earth in Monroe is already rich enough so it feels like such a waste of money to me, personally. Pine straw on the other hand can be very dry looking if not replaced often. Mulch lays thick, its very cheap, comes in various colors, stays put, and looks nice!

2. If your schedule doesn’t allow for watering daily, opt for plants that are low water friendly so you can have a no fuss yard that still feels lush and that birds and butterflies love:

Here are a few perennial options [according to thegardenlove.com] : Purple Coneflower or Echinacea, Sombrero Baja Burgundy, Russian Sage, Butterfly Bush, Miss Moly, Coreopsis, Creeping thyme, Wormwood, and Penstemon. Then for those lush grass lovers looking to cover up electrical boxes or air conditioning units: Hameln and Lemongrass (which is a great snake and bug repellant, i hear).

3. Opt for Second Hand!

I love our local Fish store; Its right on East Spring Street! Every month or so they’ll have a friday where everything is 50% off, and you bet your left toe I’m there every time! Now, I love Magnolia, West Elm, and Crate and Barrel furniture and decor but if you’re like us and can’t afford to spend money on high quality items, no worries! You can find high quality, long lasting furniture at second hand stores and antique shops.. the key is being patient, knowing what to look for, and being sometimes willing to sand or smack a little paint on something! Resourcefulness is a great muscle to work here… You might even learn a little about yourself in how much you have to offer and how you choose to express yourself!

Just keep in mind, the memories you make in those spaces you create with your beautiful people are always going to be more valuable than how beautiful your furniture is.

I pray these serve tips serve you as well as they have me! May Monroe be a fruitful, opulent, and peace filled town!