Garden Wearables Plus

To all who have attempted to read many of my "unintelligible" posts, My apologies for not "saving" my proofread corrections. My apologies for excitedly moving so fast to express myself online that I skipped a step or two causing my post to appear as if a mad woman was posting. Again, my apologies. And thank you for your attempts to read my post. I believe I'm done with my corrections now. Have a great day, and happy gardening.♥️👍

Sometimes winter (cooler temps) can be a great time to dig and/or prep the ground for spring and summer plantings as long as the ground isn't hard but moist.Unfortunately, while digging in your garden you may strike tree roots and/or rocks, MATTOCK to the rescue.  Warning:  when you run to Lowe's, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware to purchase one.  It's HEAVY.    And when you handle it the way UK's Monty Don says would be best for women, you will receive a GOOD workout, so be ready, Girls.  However, I'd advice you to steer away from using this great tool, if you have a weak back or weak anything. It takes strength to raise it. And you want to put lots of force behind bringing it down. Keep your eyes on the root so you don't miss (the way you'd throw a ball).  If you do miss the root, you'll waste energy.  And you'll feel it.  Whether you're wrestling with large dead dry roots or live roots with smaller offshoots hunks of wood will fly, so wear saf...

  Remember, Morning glories are invasive, but I like and grow them in the center of my garden anyway. As you may have figured, I'm busy every spring and summer removing her seedlings, but I don't care.   Behold how beautiful this invasive plant is. Eventually, it will over take the birdhouses; and the wrens will find refuge and nest in those hidden houses.  I love that!  Even the solar light will be darkened for two seasons, but I don't care.   My morning glory is glorious; and I'm awake when she's most beautiful (early in the day) boasting her pink, blue, and purple blossoms.                                                      Have a great day, Ladies.

This picture shows that I've place this large planter as a focal point of my garden. Therefore, I raised it up from the ground with some leftover bricks.   Nonetheless, let's focus on the paving stone between the brick and the planter.  It allows free flow of water and liquid plant food.  I can see the water flow over the paver to the ground:  no leftover standing water. Try placing your vegetable and/or flower planters on stone pavers as oppose to the naked ground, for good drainage.  Matching planter saucers look great, but can be a haven for mosquito larvae.  Some gardeners prefer rocks that can also block drainage holes, so be careful that you don't drown your green babies.  They may turn yellow and die sometimes of "Root rot,"   (From Elite Tree Care )  "Root rot" symptoms are: Gradual or quick decline without an obvious reason.  Stunted or poor growth Small, pale leaves Wilted, yellowed, or browned leaves Plant stems or l...

One of our local mockingbirds is nesting again in our yard...Uh, oh.   The Northern Mockingbird is the Official State Bird of Texas  (the first to choose this bird), but Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi have also chosen it. With that information I asked myself, Why have so many states chosen the Northern Mockingbird to represent them?     Reason:  the male is very territorial after mating: protecting it's nest. I've seen a mockingbird chase a coyote out of the vicinity of its nest. Also, I've read that this bird was chosen for Texas (my present home state) for the very reason of his territorial spirit: in the "defense" of its home and would die protecting it.   Thankfully, because he chases away all other birds, it seems, God saw fit to give him the song of all those he's cast out of my yard. Therefore, outside the fact that I won't see other species of birds around the house for a while I'll still hear them.  How Precious, Lovely, an...

Hey, y'all. The reason I purchased this wrought iron sign (the size of a license plate) was because it reminded me of the day Jesus visited my finished garden.  One day, whilst I looked over all the work I'd done I felt the power of the Lord's touch (like a father strokes the head of His child): a sign to me that He approved. Initially, the sign was on back order, which was saddening for a moment, but when I thought about the issue of having to wait for those words of Truth to be on display in my garden, I realized that I wasn't the only person who believes that God has given us His stamp of approval on our work we couldn't have done without Him . And we can thank Him for the precious souls or the company that produced this special sign.                                          Happy ...

My friend's plants were so lush and healthy I had to ask her what she was doing. Is anyone else familiar with this white powdery wonder?  Years ago, I was losing too many seedlings after transplanting them.  I'm 65 years old and female. Y'all know I've dealt with and heard about HORMONES for a LONG time, but PLANTS needing them too??  Well, whatever this powder does to help those seedlings is a very good thing.   I also use Take Root  during transplanting my larger babies (like trays of petunias, marigolds, and such).  Now I don't lose them from weird sicknesses the way I use to. If you want to order it, Amazon carries it.  Or, you can pick it up at Lowe's, as well. 👍                                               ...

That fuzzy thing hanging from a stone ceiling is an Eastern Pipistrelle bat. This one's a loner.  Normally, it can hang out in groups of 1000 or more.  As you can see, no crowd there.  It weighs in at only 0.12 to 0.30 ounces. Small. However, the Eastern Pipistrelle's wingspan ranges from 7.1 to 9.8 inches.  That's big enough to spark a little fear in me when flapping around my head. I was allowed to take that shot (without the flash), while visiting the  Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas. We wouldn't want to awake it. Bats are bug-eaters, even the famous Vampire bat. One Eastern Pipistrelle will devour 3000 gnats and moth-like bugs per night. A bit of a weird trade-off.  Bats or bugs? Consider this: they'll work all night for you. I've experienced them darting around feasting high in the atmosphere at about dusk. They're so fast you could miss seeing them. Therefore, when you awake to workout in your garden spaces, you'll experience less fly...

This picture was posted on Facebook by one of my Soil Sisters. Information we all need to remember.  Presently, we have Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac in our yard, so having this detailed picture is very helpful.  In Tennessee, we had all three in our yard, as well. Therefore, I taught my children early on about the Poison Ivy that ran up many of the older tree trunks around our property. And thankfully, for 21 years the children never witnessed an incident.  Strangely, one of our male pygmy goats, Festus (below), loved pressing his head against the hard poison ivy stems that ran up the trees. Never knew why. However, all our goats loved to eat poison ivy leaves .   According to the National Wildlife Federation, goats are able to eat poison ivy because of their split hooves. This allows them to spread their weight more evenly, which prevents them from getting blisters or burns from the plants. In addition, their stomachs are able to down the plants better than ...

Yes, mosquitoes are drawn to us when we exhale carbon dioxide.  However, I try not to go the extra mile by looking like a walking streetlight at dusk. I avoid looking like things, I can plainly see them being drawn to.   Dusk is an unusual time for a morning-person to do yard work. However, I headed for the field wearing all grays with my head wrapped in a blue scarf.  I used my heavy loppers (long handled pruning shears) to chop down the milkweeds under bushes around the field instead of uprooting them, which would've been best.  The loppers were definitely over-kill, but heavy enough for a good workout. On my way back to the house I looked down and there was a fat gray striped female mosquito on my thigh. I slapped her dead. I've read, mosquitoes like hanging out under bushes (shrubs) and such like. I probably brought her back with me from the bushes.  Also, I remembered, spraying perfume on myself after my morning shower. Had no intentions of going into ...

Many people have tried hanging multiple bluebird houses around their gardens and houses. One lady hung them in a single tree like ornaments.  Whimsy. I hang one in my front yard and one for the back. The rest of my whimsical birdhouses are only for aesthetics, but could possibly house other species of birds between seasons of bluebird procreation. You can hang another bluebird nesting box after a single family of bluebirds grows up and flies away.  Place it yards away from the first house you hung.  And it'd be best to have a building between each house. Why?  The Bluebird is very territorial.  Best they don't see each other hunting or just hanging around.  Nothing's coming near their nests unless the bird is from their own family. When you see a bluebird constantly peaking in the holes of birdhouses. He's not looking in on the eggs yet.  God didn't give them the ability to build a nest.   He's waiting for another bird to build. Then the blu...

I read recently that there are debates on whether blue or yellow clothes repel flies.  Well, the answer is simple.  Ask yourself, which bugs bug you the most?  If your answer is a certain type of fly, then you need to dress accordingly.  By all means, wear yellow. I was watching television lately and saw a young scientist sporting a bold blue long-sleeved shirt with bright yellow wide stripes down the sleeves over a pair of gray shorts with burnt orange half circles on the sides of his shorts. The other scientist wore the traditional light gray and blue uniforms with logos.  I thought the younger guy could've been doing a sunrise-sunset look or something.  No.   Scientists have found that wearing yellow as opposed to blue will repel a certain fly.  Now that I know that, I can say that the young scientist knew exactly what he was doing.   However, flies are not my problem in my garden spaces.  The West Nile virus bearing mosquit...

Please, don't ask me what variety of dragonfly that is. I thought maybe a green darner. Now, I don't think so.  According to Google images the green darner sported other beautiful colors and designs.  That one's all green.  Whatever it is, it's cleaving to my unproductive tomato plant. I'll give it my own scientific name, "Aliena Tamata Luva."   Are those eyes? It seemed to be looking right into the camera lens. Nevertheless,  every few months, I have to throw a natural pesticide doughnut into an old nearby well.  Unfortunately, if I forget to do so, mosquitoes swarm between the well and our home.  Many coming to the screened in porch windows slamming their bodies against the screens and whining for us to come out and play. Thankfully, their high-pitched whining attracts their predator: dragonflies. They'll also swarm with their meal zipping back and forth in a hefty feast of old and young mosquitoes. It's a massacre. Each dragonfly eats from thir...

This sonic aqua golfing ensemble is great for gardening in cooler climates, because the aqua is one of my proven blues. Both blues are perfect.  Every golfer should know about wearing the right colors. I've not learned to play golf yet, but what I know about golfing is that distractions from flying bugs can throw off your swing and lead to you breaking your golf club over your knee in frustration. 😖 Fresh off the course?  Head for the garden to get more fresh air, Ladies.  You'll experience a c omfortable time in your garden wearing this ensemble or one similar to it.                                                  Happy Gardening/Shopping today!                      What Ad...

Ladies, watch what you do in your garden when it comes to birds' nests.  I discovered a scripture in the Old Testament, but let's say this first, it's what you KNOW, not what you don't know that God knows about you. Deuteronomy 22:6 (Amp. version) that reads: "If a bird's nest should chance to be before you in the way, in any tree, or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the young or only the eggs, you shall not take the mother bird with the young.  You shall surely let the mother bird go and take only the young that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days ." I told y'all in the beginning that we are being watched (monitored); however, God sees all, and He looks on our hearts, knowing our motives and intentions, in our gardens and in the fields surrounding our gardens.  He watches how we treat birds  on their nests.  That is a "family," y'all, so let's behave wisely considering...

 Sky blue is my favorite color.  Recently, I was browsing  Amazon online and saw they sold a sky-blue long-sleeved workout shirt.  I was pleasantly surprised, because I've never seen my favorite color on clothing before. Excitedly, I purchased two of these shirts (one in gray and my favorite blue).    I've tested Aqua-blue, both medium and light tones. Some refer to this hue as "light turquoise." I regularly wear aqua gloves with whitish leather palms made of washable leather.  Oh, believe me, the white doesn't stay white long. This blue works for deterring flying bugs. Steer clear of the purplish blues. In Texas, you may appear to be a Salvia Azurea Blue Sage (wildflower).  Bees LOVE them.  This is a pollinator that can be found according to Wikipedia.org "from Utah east to Connecticut and from Minnesota south to Florida. This wildflower tends to be found in the eastern and southeastern portion of this range..."   Check out my favorit...

Hi.  Again, my name is Vivian Masterson.  I've been married to a wonderful man named, Victor, for over thirty-nine years.  We have three beautiful adult children, who all live in far-away States.  Thankfully, they're all successful Black-Americans, whom we are very proud of.  The Lord is GOOD.   My husband and I were raised in Michigan.  That's where I started my first flower garden in 1984.  I had great neighbors then. I remember watching Helena, a Polish neighbor, daily sprinkling water over her seedlings in her backyard garden.  She began to share her produce with me and then she passed away.   "Big Ed," rented the house on the opposite side of us.  His dad owned the place. Eddie kept me informed about what my yard used to look like.  I tried so hard to get  it back to its former glory. Hard to do with dogs taking up half my space.  However, we completed the rearing up of our children near Ethridge, Tenne...

Let toads help you, by feasting on your garden  predators and flying bugs. If your garden has any or all of the bugs below, toads are around (whether you've seen them or not).   Toads will devour SLUGS, CRICKETS, GRASSHOPPERS, LOCUSTS, ROACHES, MEALWORMS, EARTHWORMS,  SUPERWORMS, CALCI-WORMS, HORNWORMS AND WAXWORMS, FLIES, GNATS, DRAIN FLIES, SPIDERS, CENTIPEDES, GRUBS, SNAILS, and MOSQUITOS, so buy or make a toad house for your garden friends.  And let a larger plant hang over it:  tuck it into the brush. Believe it or not, one of mines let me stroke his head between his eyes.  I was so honored.  I am weird?  😏 Remember, if you have plenty of the above listed insects then toads will find your garden.  You don't have to purchase toads.  Creatures always abide near food sources. Welcome toads into your bed 😴 lol...garden bed to help you out at night by investing in; or creating, a Toad House similar to the one below.  It is on...

    Watch this video, and know your options to "bee" safe, Ladies. Springtime  brings  bee  activity.  Many women have husbands, who know about  wearing  the  right colors outdoors, and that we shouldn't wear perfumes outdoors, because their sportsman.  I don't have such a husband as many  women don't have nature-knowledgeable men in their lives, so t ell your friends about my blog.  My first post goes into  more details about the colors.   (Click on "Colors/Perfumes Matter" in the tab  above.)   Thanks in advance.   However, years ago, I believe I was led of God to  watch/listen to a Master Gardener  before I even had a garden .  That guy expressed  the same rules I've written about in  my blog for coexisting with flying bugs, which  at the time made so  much sense.     Happy Gardening!

  Is wearing scrubs mandatory at your job?  Go from dirty to dirtier, feed the kids, cat, and/or dog, and head straight for your garden in your scrubs.  Unless, you'd feel more comfortable removing your scrubs for fear of bringing something highly contagious home.  Otherwise, if your scrub color's  right, you can have a bug-free time outside:  wind-down, relax, and get your necessary vitamin D, Girls. However,  if you want to minimize the presence  of flying bugs you should  steer clear of blues that are the color of any flower.  I'm really sorry about that,  because I love all blues, as well. I  know, the grays are blah and drab, but they  work to keep you comfortable in the garden by being a natural insect repellent. Do a little planting or weed pulling while you're out there.   Oh,  don't forget your airy garden crocks!                        ...