What do gardeners do when there is no gardening to do?

Even though the flowers are nearly finished and the lawn has slowed up I can always find something to do in my garden and even go out there when its raining (like now) and always have one of the cats to keep me company.
G.

 

Hi everyone.

I usually start my seeds indoors around mid-January and i also love to paint, i guess it would be called, Folk Art painting, that keeps me busy, that and 2 teenagers!!!

 

Listening and watching tropical rainststorms fall and thinking of the many years I miss them in USA, except in VA and LA, places in which the rain has the powerful
effect that reminds one of the Tropics.

 

I guess being able to enjoy the seasons is a good thing to do when not busy in the garden. I always tell my husband after a long day of work in the Spring to come outside with me and walk in the gardens. I tell him "to take time to smell the roses." I guess I need to take time to enjoy the vibrant colors of Fall and the bareness of Winter before it bursts with life again. There may be something to being still for a while.

 

I like the variety that comes from winter. I spent a couple years in Colombia (close to the equator) and the seasons never change. It gets boring really fast. I feel that winter is earth's time to relax It doesn't need it, but it gives me the warm fuzzies to think of it that way.

 

You are so right bradytimes, we take for granted that everyone has a chance to experience the seasons. I just met a fellow who said he missed the seasons while in Mexico, he said he cried at the beauty of a falling red leaf. I think I will look more kindly on winter this year. This site has done wonders to rejuvenate my gardening and life spirit.

 

There is some truth about gardening and weather changes in template climates. Perhaps the most important is that flowers, of most species are tender, not too tolerant of tropical heat.
The intense changes in foliage during fall in northern countries is really out of sight, making gardening, the most interesting outdoor activity one could share with others. Besides a nice snifter with a shot of single malt whiskey, a cigar or cigarette. Once in a while in my traditional humble opinion.

 

I am more of the tea or lemonade type for the hot day and I guess I should be a hot chocolate in the cool seasons. I can picture you though out and about with your soul warming drink. I love fall and I am cozying up to winter and your vivid idea helps. Enjoy!!

 

Pardon my interruption here

I always thought of the WestIndies as a place where RUM is to be had. When I went to Martinique (many years ago on a conference when I was still working at the University of the Western Cape) I tasted lovely stuff there. RHUM is what they called it and it was served warm with fruit juices, etc.

It was there that I learned to appreciate some gold rum of the Appleton variety.

Nowadays I am also a malt whiskey person. (Decadent hey)

 

Things are what they seem to be according to one's background, income, social status,college education, ethnicity, language skills, travels, etcetera.
Rum or no rum? One thing is certain, the Bacardi rum
sold in USA is made from molasses imported from Dominican Republic, since that island exporting it, has no sugar cane at all. I prefer Balvaine and you?

 

I go back to my favorite horticulture references
"Botany for Gardeners", "Soil Science", Pirone's "Tree Maintenance" and the 1918 "Farm Knowledge" edited by
E.L.D. Seymour. If not I check some seed catalogs,gardening magazines and write something on the secret blog.

 

I hope alcoholism is not how gardeners pass the time (lol, just kidding, we gardeners have fine taste in all things) Enjoying the Rum conversation. Any grape growers that dabble in the wine department? Maybe someone is enjoying a very good year that they bottled. Theres a secret blog. You are a man of mystery. Would enjoy a picture of your garden. I believe gardens reveal personalities. Enjoy nature and continue to enjoy life.

 

My garden is in a terrace facing the Atlantic, in fiberglass and plastic pots. I concur with you in this: a garden should be a reflection of someone's taste, personality in general. 90% of plants,bushes,trees and climbers in the collection have been acquired from trips, friends and relatives.
Some like: Adelfas,Guaiacum,Calliandras,Turnera Ulmiforme, are if not rare, not over used, another criteria that is important from my perspective.

I am not prone to buy in nurseries because the quality is not the best or really original. One thing that bothers me is that commercial plant propagators decide what to push in the market according to growth and disease issues every season, that may not be pertinent for the home gardener.

In the isle where I reside there is nothing like Monrovia or other high quality nurseries, with multiple options available in USA. To avoid boredom,
I often research what is happening in other parts.
Magazines and newspapers help to discover things.
Two examples: Vertical Gardening, Patrick Blanc, designer, and Cesar Manrique Cabrera, designer, are sites I visit often to learn what moves others to be creative, unusual with plant installations in any imaginable context.

 

Hi gardeninVanGogh
Balvaine not available here - so I stick to Johnnie Walker (the Green label and for very special occasions the Blue label) and Glenfiddich.

There is hardly time to get bored when one is not able to garden.

I stopped working formally (This was after several different types of work environments) and thought that I would be bored out of my skull, but then I decided to start surfing, making my own website, etc. And now it seems as if there is not enough hours in a day.

I wish I could purchase a few extra hours per day.
I also find that I do all the things that I otherwise would not even have dreamt about doing.
I started tobogganning (there is a park not too far away from us - the first one in South Africa - Yippee) I probably would not even have bothered to visit the park, but after it was advertised and after Stewing I decided to give it a go. (Major fun - will do it again this coming weekend). I entered a thriathlon (imagine - at my age) after I only started running in my forties.
Goodness, I dream of a vegetable garden, I want a white garden, oh man the list is endless.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I have all these plans when I am not in the garden itself.

 

I tidied up my yard and pruned some trees. The gardening shows are scarce. I watch the birds eat seeds now for enjoyment in the garden. I am starting to go through withdrawals.