As the Garden Grows

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Do you think Live Earth will make a difference?

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There’s an interesting conversation going on about the Live Earth concert at Go Smell the Flowers.

The blog author asks the question:

Live earth is kicking off around the world today with performance in all 7 continents with over 10,000 events promised globally. Will it really help? Are we too late or no need for concern?

There’s been quite a few replies to that post. Some people are being quite pessimistic stating that whatever we do now won’t make a difference and that the message of the concert won’t really get through to many people. Others are more optimistic stating the changes they’ve made in their own lives towards becoming more green and how every little bit will help.

What do you think?

Do you believe global warming exists?

Whether you believe in global warming or not, do you think that if we all made a few changes in our lives it might help the environment or that it might really be a better way to live?

Chris and I aren’t totally green, but we’ve made a lot of changes in our lives over the years toward living green.

Here’s just a few of the things that we do:

  1. Almost all of our lights are energy efficient, as are our appliances.
  2. We turn the heat down in the winter
  3. We live a few blocks from work so we walk to work
  4. Our car is a 4 cyl and because we live so close to work and many small shops we really only use our car once a week or so for short trips to get groceries etc.
  5. We have a few small trees in our yard
  6. Not all of our plants are drought resistant but many are so I don’t have to water a lot
  7. We grow many of our own veggies and fruit
  8. Our garden is organic
  9. What we do purchase in the grocery store is local whenever possible
  10. We don’t eat much meat
  11. We rarely eat processed foods,
  12. We recycle and use recycled products if they are available
  13. We dry many of our clothes on the line instead of using the dryer
  14. We bring our own reusable bags to the grocery store.
  15. We try to use eco-friendly products whenever possible ie no harsh cleaning chemicals etc.

Do you do any of these things? Perhaps you have some more ideas on how to live green for those who read this site?






My neighbor has become a pest

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I think my elderly neighbor Sofie is getting worse in her stalking ways.

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find a camera in my home that she’s placed there to watch me.

I mean, she knows every time I step outside my door – whether I go out the front of the back she’s there, seemingly waiting for me!

Honestly! She’s part of the reason why I’m not getting my garden work done.

All of our backyards are fairly open with short chain link fences between them. I don’t mind this so much and I don’t mind my neighbors being outdoors using their yards at the same time I am … but Sofie … Sofie literally follows me around. I’ll be in one portion of my backyard trying to work at something and she’ll be opposite me on her side of the fence digging in the earth or spraying her plants with water. I move, she moves.

When she finally does tire she’s sit on her steps and watch me work. If she only watched me work in my garden I wouldn’t be too upset … but no, she has to ask questions. Usually it’s the same ones over and over.

Trouble is I can’t usually hear her since the traffic at the front of the house is so loud and she’s talking low. She knows I can’t hear her too. So I’ll spend some time nodding my head but eventually she’ll say something repeatedly wanting me to truly respond and I’ll have to get up from what I’m doing, go over to her to find out what she’s saying “No rain???” and then go back to my work. She does this repeatedly.

Manipulative of her, isn’t it? She knows what she’s doing and I’m certain she knows she’s frustrating me.

Last night Chris went outside at 8 pm to grill some sausages. I could hear him talking to her while he cooked. At about 8:20 he came inside to tell me that Sofie had just brought out some hamburgers and a pepper for him to cook on the grill. Yes our dinner was done. She knew Chris was cooking yet she waiting until he was finished before asking him to cook her food. Grrrr

Almost every elderly person I know eats their dinner somewhere between 4 pm and 6 pm … what the heck did she want with a couple of hamburgers at 8:30 at night? There’s no way she ate them last night.

If you ever wonder why I talk about being outside at 10 pm planting plants, pruning and watering this is why. I hide until she’s closed up her doors and gone in and then I sneak out so I can do my gardening in peace – with the stray cats that wander through my yard and the raccoons.

Of course if I hide from her too long she literally peaks in my windows! Arghhh!

By Chive I think she’s got it!

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This is a photo of Chive buds and new Chive flowers that I took about two weeks ago. The chive flowers are actually beginning to wain now, but there’s still a few left.

I love growing Chives. They are one of the first plants to make an appearance each spring, often showing their green stems by the end of March. It’s not uncommon for us to be able to pick chives and use them in our cooking – salads, marinades, on top of foods – from mid April right through until the first snow fall in November or early December.

The flowers are just a lovely bonus! I love the buds before the flowers develop and bloom – they look a bit like garlic sections or tiny onion bulbs. Then the beautiful full petaled blossoms open and often stay around for two or three weeks.

Do you grow chives or other plants from the allium family? Edible or ornamental?

Check out the beautiful Hosta photo that I’ve got on Tricia’s Musings!

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

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