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  1. These pictures mean to me “Dreaming of Possibilities”. Looking forward to sharing in your journey in your garden. You make it so fun!

  2. Very creative way to decorate a not remarkable space and made it into something beautiful, Brenda!! I like the water fountain idea most!! And having a couple of moveable trees is a great idea too!! Hope all your plants do well this year!! I would recommend planting some rainbow swiss chard…that is the most incredible tasting veggie, simply by adding a capful of balsamic vinegar and some onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil or grapeseed oil!! I FINALLY tried it out last year and to me, it is THE tastiest green. And I have heard that chard will grow a long time too…

  3. Brenda your garden makes me so happy! I do not have a green thumb and frankly I do not even like to plant all of my containers. I enjoy them but I don’t like to do it. I am taking your advice and breaking down each area in segments otherwise I will be overwhelmed. Have a wonderful week.

  4. Buy yourself a shop vac to clean up those leaves and debris. They aren’t that expensive and come in several sizes. Look for one with as wide a hose mouth as possible to suck up those leaves. They are a bit noisy but the work is done in a fraction of the time and a lot less work.

  5. Maybe instead of taking, sweeping and bagging leaves, you could use a blower to move them out into the alley? My Mom has a small inexpensive one that is very handy and not very noisy. Just a thought. I love your layered tubs!
    Kate

  6. I think back from time to time on the very helpful former maintenance man your apartment building had before it was sold to this new owner and how much he did for you. It’s too bad he isn’t available to help you with clean-up. I’m going to turn 70 in 5 months (EEK!) and I’ve slowed down, no denying it, from what I used to be able to do even a few years ago. I have to force myself to slow down even more so I don’t injure myself – my back has gotten more tetchy, for instance, although before I never had any issues with it. I am also leery of suffering a bad sciatica attack; fortunately, my last bad one was in 2016. Since then, I’ve educated myself on natural remedies to prevent muscle inflammation and they’ve helped tremendously. I remain as active as possible and do my chores as safely as possible (I have to pace myself because of heart/lung issues) because I believe that once you stop moving you deteriorate faster. Physically not being able to do what I once was able to do is frustrating and slows the entire garden and yard clean-up and planting process down, but on the other hand being older and wiser I’ve learned to take a strategic and purposeful approach to yard clean-up. As my garden is 99% perennials that come up helter skelter and spread where they will, once clean-up is done, I pretty much just stay out of Mother Nature’s way, and sit back and enjoy what happens in the garden beds. The bulk of my time is spent on the lawn, but I broke down this year and hired a lawn service to do weed control and fertilization. I’ll see how that works. I want to spend more time sitting in my screened Shezebo with my feet up and a glass of wine reading and writing, with my exercise being hiking to the supermarket and back loaded with groceries and cutting the grass every 5-6 days! I am going to look for a plug-in water fountain that will have to stay pretty much situated near my patio rather than in the middle of the back yard lawn area. The one you linked to at Amazon is such a beautiful color, but I prefer a somewhat more traditional style. The solar fountain I bought some years ago didn’t last, and neither did any of the replacement solar pumps I bought. Frustrating.

  7. Big plans you have there! I especially like to include plants that attract the pollinators. Zinnias are my favorite summer flower. I also love geraniums, and it has always surprised me that they don’t seem to be that popular down here in the South, at least in my area. My grandmother was able to grow nasturtiums in the sandy soil in Michigan’s UP.

  8. Brenda, I don’t remember you posting before about your roses, I must have missed that post, I am anxious to hear how it blooms this year. Roses are so beautiful, and smell so so good, but I have NEVER had any luck with them. I love the number of herbs in your garden. Last year I had Rosemary and Oregano in a small container. I’ve had lavender many times, but it never comes back again after winter. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I’ll plant it again this year, and hopefully, it’ll make it more than one year.

    1. I’ve had the same problem with lavender in my Zone 5 area. The plants are graded for Zone 5, which is the area I live in, but I’ve planted 3 and none of them have survived over the past 2 years.

  9. Brenda~
    You’ve often mentioned your grandson, who in the past has helped move the heavy pots onto Plant Caddies. Why not enlist him to clear the leaves and debris from your patio?

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