container garden – Bronze Butterfly

I can’t believe it’s the first day of spring already! It feels like New Years Day happened just a couple of weeks ago. The time is moving quickly, and, quite honestly, I wish things would slow down a bit. That’s not my normal opinion, by the way: I’m a summer baby so I always greet the spring season happily, as I know it will quickly give way to my favorite time of year. But this year, because my life has been especially hectic and not going exactly as planned, I find myself yearning for an extension of the winter season. I would love just a few more weeks to transition into springtime at a pace that works better for me.

In any case, my time-controlling powers have not yet kicked in, so today remains the vernal equinox. While I wish for a little more winter, I am delighted to be closer to the warm, sunny days I crave. I have been eager to do a proper garden project, and this will be my year to do it. I’ve reviewed the Old Farmer’s Almanac website to see which plants I need to start this month. I’ll also be taking a few visits to Home Depot, Lowe’s, Southern States, and any other garden shop that can help me get a solid start.

Part of my garden planning is thinking of a theme. It’s a lot easier for me to wrap my mind around what I want to grow if I can see that it all works harmoniously together. I’m thinking I’ll stick to lilies for this year: day lilies, true lilies, lily of the valley, and canna lilies (my favorite, calla lilies, don’t do well in my hardiness zone, so I’ll skip these for now). I’m envisioning lily of the valley hanging over my balcony, with the rest of the lilies on the sunniest side of my home. I’ll probably also add another rose bush or two, as well as planting another jasmine plant and peony plant to give more volume to the jasmine and peony plants I currently have.

I’ll keep you posted as my garden project comes together. I’m particularly excited for this year’s garden, as I’m hoping that being in the yard will help me savor the spring and feel like time is moving a bit slower. . . As I think about it, maybe time isn’t moving faster: maybe it’s me that needs to slow down. I can make slower, more intentional movement and activity a priority, and I think that will make the difference for me.

That’s it for today. I’ll talk to you all soon, and Happy Vernal Equinox!

Hi friends! I’m really excited to discuss today’s book with you all. As you all may know, I’m still a new(ish) homeowner, and I love flowers and gardening. So instead of waiting until March or April to start thinking about my garden, I decided to begin my garden planning now, so that I can hit the ground running after the first frost.

The book I’m reviewing is Lunar and Biodynamic Gardening by Matt Jackson. The book focuses on gardening in a way that allows you to create an optimum environment that supports the plants organically. This focus on healthy soil, working with nature’s natural rhythms, and disturbing the environment as little as possible makes it so that both the plants and all wildlife thrive.

Unfortunately, I got this book from the Dollar Tree and I’m unable to locate it on Amazon. However, the author has another book on Amazon that may be worth checking out (it covers the lunar phases and their effects on plants). Make sure to check that out if you enjoy this sort of content.

This book is broken down into six, easy-to-read chapters. The first chapter teaches the basics, explaining what lunar gardening and biodynamics are, and how these two differ from one another. The next chapter outlines what you need to start, depending on the size of your intended garden. The next chapters focus on soil and compost, growing food, growing flowers, and container gardening.

The author resides in the UK, so he is located in the Northern Hemisphere like me. But, he has generously provided resources for readers that may be in the Southern Hemisphere. He also shares resources to help readers get further clarification on certain principles.

I love how accessible lunar and biodynamic gardening approaches can be for novices. Jackson does a great job explaining how to work with various yard/garden sizes. My yard is medium sized, but my garden will be planned as if I have a small yard, and if I’m inspired, I will expand in future years. It’ll be great to start small so I can really master the concepts before I dive deeper.

In this world of law of attraction/conscious creation, it’s really easy to focus on the spiritual or esoteric sides of things to the point where we may not see the practical side of tuning into nature. But this book is a great reminder of how energy works, and how everything works together. I’m fascinated by the moon cycles, and I’m eager to see how these principles influence my garden’s success. I’ll be writing about this in upcoming posts, so look out for updates!

That’s it for today. I hope you all are staying safe and having a great day. Take care!

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Tag: container garden

Spring Plans

Book Review: Lunar and Biodynamic Gardening