Imagination: Seeing The Possibilities

A day is Eternity's seed, and we are its Gardeners. 
~Erika Harris, lifeblazing.com

This morning we had a Maggie 911 so I called Karen and made an appointment.  At 10:30 we arrive (it wasn't an emergency or they would have taken us immediately).  Maggie is wearing her Oklahoma State University hoodie because she knows that will make Stacey happy since that is her Alma Mater. (Maggie was right, we got a two paws up from Stacey.)  I always enjoy my visits with the ladies.  We all think they are just great.  It's always a good sign when you pull up at a Vet's office and there is every animal imaginable running around happy and healthy.  The work is hard, the hours are long and still the compassion and humor never ceases with this team.  They really are more like part of our family.

Hubler Vet Clinic
Maggie and her Dream Team
Karen, Berta, Stacey

Mags gets an allergy shot and some medicine for her ear.  Stacey tells me to bathe her in Dawn Antibacterial Dish Soap.  Mags skin is very red and my other medicated dog shampoos could do more damage than good. Will need to stop at Dollar Store to pick it up but first it's a trip to McDonald's. 

 Injection=McDonald's Chicken Nuggets for Maggie.

Don't even think about touching my chicken!!!

After lunch, I began surfing the web for inspiration.  Don't you just love saying that!  It just sounds so up to date cool.  Anyway, back to my surfing.  I came across some ideas that really did inspire me and got me to thinking (just a little heads up David because when I starting thinking it means work for you).  

My front porch faces South and the summertime afternoon sun has always been a problem because it creates a lot of heat coming in the front door (100 degrees in the shade). 

Solution:  Make a living wall (also known as a vertical garden) of plants for the porch and the two windows that face South.

I had already thought of vertical vegetable gardening for out in the yard but now I say "why not as a screen to insulate the house?" There is no need to buy any materials for this project because I have all the stuff needed out in my scary barn.  And I have some great ideas for an original design and David's labor is real cheap (free).  He, of course, will have to bring some common sense and practicality to my idea.  I can never look at anything and see junk.  With a little imagination, almost anything has possibilities. Apparently, I have a great imagination because I imagined I was happily married (twice). Wrong answer!



Blueberry Hill has some unique and creative ideas.  This French (wine) riddling  rack was transformed into a vertical garden for lettuces, arugula, Swiss chard, mustard, strawberries and herbs by Anne Phillips and her landscape design firm Go Green Gardeners.

I also have room for this from the Blueberry Hill website.

Oh, David, we are going to have so much fun unless you are a party pooper and say it can't be done.  There is also the critter factor to consider.  Around here we always have to be mindful of snakes (I hate snakes), scorpions, ants, wasps and a whole sub-species of other creepy crawlies.

But before I can begin any outside projects, I have to complete the inside projects that I started.  Also, have to get David to do all the heavy lifting before he and Vicky hit the road this Spring with their concession stand.  So much to do, so little time!

The Possible's slow fuse is lit
By the Imagination.
~Emily Dickinson

Anticipating Spring

"Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream."-   Barbara Winkler

There is a reason I don't have outside animals.  I hate going out in the extreme cold and heat that we have here in Oklahoma.  Perhaps I will change my mind (I do that a lot) sometime in the future, however; today I will be staying indoors and planning my Spring planting.  If I don't have to look at the snow outside, I can pretend it's not there.  Just for today in my world, it is already Spring.

First, I will decide what veggies we like best and plan my garden around these.  Also, it is necessary for me to keep in mind that I do not have the usual tools that country folk have (tractor, plow, a strong back).  This eliminates a lot of gardening options but opens the door for others.  I can do a vertical garden and container garden or veggies in old plastic bottles. I really like this idea because it involves reusing materials that junk up the planet ( and go easy on my bad back). Here is a quick summary:

(1) Plastic bottle with stop on top and perforated bottom (drainage); (2) Stop taken off and conical part of the bottle cut away; small slit cut in the cone; (3) Cone pushed to the bottom in the bottle; (4) Bottle filled with potting soil mixed with the water absorbing soil conditioner TerraCottem, well compacted up to 5 cm from the bottle top; (5) Seed(s) or seedling(s) in the soaked potting soil.

Prepared bottle : Through the cone, air is penetrating in the potting soil via the hole in the bottom of the bottle; it enables also the evacuation of an excess of water (drainage).

Bottles of different dimensions with vegetables.

And then there is the vertical garden:

"Confounded by vegetable digging cats and toiling in the vegetable patch, Instructables member pippa5 came up with this cool DIY vertical garden  solution.  In case you don't recognize it, she used an old closet shoe organizer.  Meant to keep your shoes off the floor and save you some space, this new use saves some space by getting your veggies or herbs off the ground."

There are several interesting ideas at this website 4 Amazing Vertical Garden Designs. 

This is one of my favorites and entirely doable for me. It is from one of my favorite websites with a link on this page (Vegetable Gardening On-Line).

There are so many choices that I never knew existed.  I just needed to think outside the box (or the type of garden my Dad grew).  There is the chain link fence I can use to grow climbing vegetables, the old bathtub camouflaged in the weeds, my front porch not to mention utilizing the green house frame.   

I can't wait to get started!  Through the sweat and tears I will be able to grow my own (not in the same context as the 1970's mind you).  Ain't this fun?

Simple Living doesn't mean living without working it just means living more productively.  Now that I have a plan for the garden, tomorrow I will choose our veggies and Herbs to plant.  Have a great day and hope to see you again soon.