How do I stop a garden from dying in 110-degree weather?
A: Here are my tips on caring for a garden in the heat:
Water. Water in the morning before the heat of the day to avoid evaporation.
Depending on the duration of extreme heat, it might be time to plant drought-resistant plants, especially native plants that adapted to our climate.
Place containers and hanging baskets in a shady area during a heat wave.
Add mulch to garden beds to help retain moisture and keep the soil cool. If extreme heat is coupled with high humidity, evapotranspiration slows as does plant growth.
A: In this case, it is best to remove the grass first. You can remove turfgrass by hand with a shovel, but it’s so easy to rent a sod kicker from your local hardware store. If time is on your side, you can cover the area with plastic for several weeks to kill grass for easy removal by hand. Herbicides would not be our preferred method.
After the grass is removed, rent a tiller and work in compost at a rate of one cubic foot per ten square feet. Next, lay edging and then it’s time to plant!
[Kids] made fun of me. [Called me] liver lips. Ugly. Said my nose was too broad. I was too dark. I was too this. I was too that. And my mother said look in the mirror. Give yourself some time. Be patient. Oh my god. I have to thank my mother for me giving me that relationship with what I see in the mirror. – Sheryl Lee Ralph
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real-life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging”, as I know each of these pieces represents something…
It felt like a crime to hide all of these pretty dishes in a cabinet, so I wanted to find a practical way to display them
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real-life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging”, as I know each of these pieces represents something…
As someone who lives alone, I found the early days of the pandemic challenging. But as time wore on, I became accustomed to a new routine of walks before logging on to work in the morning, and walks at noon and in the evening. While the anxiety of the pandemic was a constant white noise, I was more intentional about the practice of gratitude, especially for my health. The pandemic taught me about the stillness inside myself, a fullness and aliveness that knows how to be, even in the glory of watching a sunset alone. The beauty of nature was the one attraction always open during the pandemic, and my appreciation for wild and wondrous spaces deepened in a way I might never have known possible. I now make ample time for solo walks, excited to encounter myself and the natural world anew each time. —Jenny Kuderer, Goodview, Minn.
On turning inward I am an extroverted mother of five and grandmother of 12. The pandemic, surprisingly, made me appreciate staying home, expecting no one and doing little. People of all ages who went into lockdown came out approximately two years later and changed in some way. I believe seniors aged more quickly — slowing down came naturally, cleaning up became less necessary, and the couch fit too well. I could have read books, exercised and decluttered my surroundings. I did not. I commiserate, wrote a weekly whining observation and aged. I did not return as a fine wine or a nuanced bourbon — more old-fashioned with a bitter twist of lemon. Getting out there, more and more, does feel better every time. But it seems to take more effort. — Lynn McIntosh, Columbia, Mo.
