The Year of Living Kindly -Kind Woman Blog - Kind Gardening

04/29/2018

This is my blog about living kindly being kind to the planet, kind to others and kind to myself. It has become a little easier to be kind, I find myself less negative and more inclined to see everything from a different angle and in a more positive light. This makes me feel better about myself, about the world and about those around me.

Gardening in Florida, from my perspective is fun for a couple of months of the year, when it is warm, not cold and definitely not hot! My philosophy on a garden is that is should be a space where we can give back to the flora and fauna of the local area but also be a place that we can enjoy looking at and relaxing in. High maintenance gardens that rely on mowing grass and spraying chemicals are a no-no. In poisoning the insects, we are killing the birds, the butterflies, the bees and contaminating the ground water and poisoning ourselves. Even if you don't care for bugs, poisoning your children and grandchildren seems like a high price to pay for a green weed free lawn.

My front garden is extremely zen, I inherited it when I purchase the home and have since dug up all of the ratty old grass and replaced it with pine mulch. The pros: it is really easy to maintain, it is different, it is lucky bamboo. The cons: there are no green areas for birds and butterflies.

The back garden is the opposite to the front garden, I am trying to create organized chaos, I want a space where birds and bees find plenty to eat, I am growing out an ugly lawn and trying to turn it into a butterfly meadow! I added the stepping stone paths and made borders using planks of cheap wood. I reused some palettes to add some potted plants and I have been busy planting pineapple tops, avocado stones and lettuces. The compost has also been a source of tomato plants and squash! I also spread some wild flower seed that I hope will bring me some more blanket flower. This is a work in progress and I am nervous about keeping everything under control but it feels good to have a kind garden!