Simple Gardening ~ 4 Methods to Get You Growing

I enjoy gardening.  I used to say I loved it, but if I'm honest, I love the idea of gorgeous gardens filled with flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs all growing with exuberance in neatly weeded garden beds connected by intertwining pathways, gates and rose covered arbors.  Lovely thought, but for someone who lives in an area with crazy weather patterns (drought or floods) and scorching summers ... someone with limited time and energy, and who also lives in a church parsonage- this beautiful, bountiful garden dream is simply that, a dream.  "Someday", I tell myself ... but honestly, I'm not certain I would invest the time and energy required to create my 'dream garden' even if all the other factors were in my favor.  Simple gardens are more my style and much more practical for my life.

 Below are my recommendations for methods for simple gardens that can be used in a variety of situations:

• Square Foot Gardening- Mel Bartholomew's famous square foot gardening method works well for people like me who are overwhelmed with large areas of tilled soil and need small manageable garden spaces.  I prefer the 4x4 beds.  They are large enough for growing an assortment of plants, but small enough not to be confusing to plant and maintain.

• Sheet Mulching- This is a good no-dig method for starting a garden.  I like combining small raised 4x4 square foot beds with sheet mulching to create fertile, easy to maintain garden beds.  Sheet mulching can be less expensive than filling beds with the soil mixture recommended in the square foot method, and if you collect kitchen waste, leaves and other compostables, it is quite frugal.  

• Ruth Stout Method- I love the idea of Ruth's No Work Gardening method, but I haven't fully implemented it in a garden, yet.  I do use a thick mulch around my plants when they are established which helps greatly with water conservation and weed control. If I ever plant another large 'in the ground' garden, I will do it Ruth's way!

• Container Gardens- You can grow almost anything in a container, even fruits and vegetables that you would normally consider needing more space will thrive in the right container.  I have citrus trees in pots and grow a variety of vegetables and herbs in various pots on the back porch.  I love the portability of container gardens.  If something is getting too little (or in my area, too much) sun, a container can be moved to a sunnier or shadier spot easily.  This is my all-time favorite way to garden.  Simple, portable, and doable in almost any situation.  Find a container, fill it with soil, put in a plant or a few seeds, water, and wait for it to grow! 

I hope these methods encourage you to plant a garden of your own.  There are few things as satisfying as snipping flowers and herbs or gathering the makings of a meal from your very own garden, be it a large in-ground plot or a variety of containers on the back patio.  I think I do love gardening; I just have to do it my way- the simple way!  

How do you garden?
Do you have a favorite method or way of growing things?
What is your favorite simple gardening tip?

Love,

Catherine Ann
 

Simple Beauty

 Seeking beauty in simple things today ...

such as this clearance sale cyclamen.

Vivid, scarlet beauty blooming on the windowsill, brightening winter days, all this for a mere 25 cents.

More simple beauty from my world today:

birds at the feeder
grape hyacinths in the grass
seeds sprouting in containers on the porch 


Where are you finding simple beauty today?
 

Merging and Emerging

In the spirit of my Return to Simplicity I am moving my Still Room Herbs blog here. 
Less is more this season. 
New ventures are unfurling ...
 

a new season is emerging ...

Return to Simplicity

2013 is my year of Return.

A return to the life I desire to live.

A life of simplicity; with less muchness and manyness, and more simply being.

Last year was busy.  Crazy busy, good busy mostly; but the busyness of last year sent my simple life spinning in too many directions for sanity.  

As I prayed and pondered about the new year, the word RETURN kept surfacing.

And as I've meditated on it, I realize that is exactly what I need- a return to simplicity.

Less doing and more being.

Less going and more staying.

Less working and more praying.

I also plan a return to writing regularly in this space.  I've missed being here ...

Happy Weekend!

The Complexity of Seeking a Simple Life

Loving this post at Simple Mom  today- The road to simplicity is marked by complexity.  But it's still worth it.  

Bottles collected on our wanderings- relics from simpler times

Do you also struggle with the complexity of purposing to live an intentional, simple life?

Some days seeking simplicity is anything but simple for me!  But, as Jamie said in her post, it is always worth it.

Wishing you a simply beautiful weekend!

Blessings,
Catherine

Simple Living Challenge

Seeing Deborah Jean's post  on Girl Gab  today was pure synchronicity for me.  So many thoughts, goals, plans, dreams for living more simply in this complicated world have been swirling through my mind and heart lately. Yes, I always try to live simply; but sometimes simple isn't so simple to achieve, especially in today's society.  This Simple Living Challenge is perfect to motivate doing (or not doing depending on the circumstance) rather than just think, think, thinking.  
Thank you Deborah Jean and Kanelstrand for the encouragement and inspiration today!

FREE

My word for 2012 is FREE ...
to do new things,
to revisit old paths,
to say no to things that aren't for me this season,
to simply be free in Him who sets the captives free.

More on my year to be FREE later, do you have a word for 2012?
If so, I'd love to know what it is.  

On Being Rich

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
~Henry David Thoreau
I am slowly learning that there are more and more things that I should let alone.  They may be good things, the new, "in"  things, tempting and very useful  things; just not for me things.  


Knowing what to embrace and what to let alone frees me to focus on those things that truly make one rich- treasures in heaven.  


What do you need to let alone these days?  Pondering that question more and more as the new year approaches ...


I wish you simple blessings and eternal treasures in 2012!


(and I will get this template issue ironed out sometime soon .. i hope!) 

Advent- Join the Conspiracy

[AC] Promo 2011 - International Justice Mission from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Yes.  :) 

Weekend Wishes

To find the universal elements enough;

to find the air and the water exhilarating;

to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;

to be thrilled by the stars at night;

to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring -

these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~ John Burroughs

Wherever you may wander this weekend, may you find delight in the simple beauty around you.

Tuesday Tip ~ Evaluate and Eliminate

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~Hans Hofmann

This is one of my favorite simple living quotes, but one of the hardest for me to follow. 

I find so many good things that I want to read, do, create, and so forth.  It is easy to get bogged down with good things, even in my spiritual life.  Chapter 1 of my newest read, Radical Together, titled Tyranny of the Good, addresses this very issue.  It states, "One of the worst enemies of Christians can be good things in the church."  I can so relate to this right now.



Spring is always a busy time of year for my family-
The garden demands daily watering and weeding.
We are working to finish up the year's homeschool stuff (though year-round learning is in the works for us).
There is a seemingly unending schedule of holidays and celebrations to plan for, attend, serve at, etc.

All good things, but after a while I find myself becoming increasingly stressed and ready to hide out in a very quiet cave for a month or so, something that sounds very tempting about now ... which tells me it is time to elminate some good things so I can joyfully enter into those that are best for me and mine. 

This is never an easy task, but a necessary one. 
Over the next few days I will be prayerfully taking an inventory of  all the good things on my family's to-do list, evaluating each one, and asking which need to go so that there will be time and space for us to fully enjoy His best things for us.   

How do you evaluate and elimate even good things in order to simplify your life?

More thoughts on this topic in this post.

For more Letter E Alphabe-Thursday fun, visit Jenny Matlock! 


 

Rewards of the Simple Life

To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring —
these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~ John Burroughs

Spring air, a morning walk, a wildflower or two, and time to enjoy them all ... beautiful rewards of living simply!

My Laundry Helper ~ Poky

Here is the latest creation in my quest to liven up the laundry routine, a clothespin bag. A friend told me that hanging her clothes out on the clothesline is something that she enjoys because she can hear the birds, see the garden, etc. while she's working.

I decided it might be fun to give it a try when it warms up enough that the clothes won't have to freeze dry. Taking the clothes out of the dryer is the worst part of the laundry for me anyway. If you saw my tiny laundry room you'd know why, but I'll share that with you another time.

Here's my quickie clothespin bag, which is just a tank top that trimmed the bottom off of and stitched up. I pinned my "bag" onto an old funky clothes hanger that I prettied up with some Peony Pink acrylic paint. I painted the clothespins the same shade and then gave them a swipe with some Whitewash to soften the color a bit.

Isn't he cute? I love The Poky Little Puppy.


My favorite thing about the bag is the label inside...


passing4sane ... some days I can only hope I am!

Garden and Christmas Ramblings

I loved this article on the benefits of small space gardening: Grow $700 of Food in 100 Square Feet .
The author's website has much to offer as well- gorgeous photos, articles, recipes, and more: Rosalind Creasy .
I'm ready to spend an afternoon curled up with a cup of tea, a few seed catalogs, and my Garden Wish List! I'm also thinking about starting seeds indoors ... very, very soon.

And now back to my simple Christmas plans ... I think we'll bake sugar cookies today, since it is f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g outside, and I'll certainly not be going anywhere until the thermometer rises another 25 degrees or so. Perhaps we will roll the dough, cut out shapes and decorate them with icing and/or sprinkles; or maybe we'll just make balls of dough, roll them in sugar and smash them down with a glass (or our fingers). They'll taste delicious and be eaten with joy, no matter what they look like!

My motto this season is one I try to live by throughout the year: Simplify, Simplify!

Christmas sometimes doesn't feel so simple to me (I hate the crowds, shopping malls, and all of the hype that comes with the season these days). I've determined not to let it become a burden this year; but rather keep it the joy-filled time to remember the birth of the Joy Giver that it should be.

I'll be attempting to spread a bit of joy myself, but in simple ways that don't stress me or our family budget!

Cookies - simple or fancy, tasty just the same and when made with love ... a blessing!
Cards - simple child (and mommy) crafted ones made with great love ... and lots of glitter(!)
Caring- simply taking time to listen, really listen, to those lonely souls who just need a listening ear, and perhaps a silent prayer. (If you pay attention, you will find them most everywhere. Amazing what joy this brings, to the listener as well as the speaker, and I know you'll learn some very interesting things, as well. Try this with a child ... oh the things they think!)

May your hearts and homes be filled with Hope, Peace, Joy and Love this season!

A Simple Shell

Pilgrimage into Prayer...

(Girls dancing on the beach as the sun rose...3 years have passed, but they still greet each day with singing and often dancing!)

Pondering these words from Gift from the Sea...

I mean to lead a simple life, to choose a simple shell I can carry easily- like a hermit crab. But I do not. I find that my frame of life does not foster simplicity.

I find that sometimes I take on more than I can carry easily...it is not hard to do in today's world, is it? There are so many good, worthwhile things to do.

When I notice myself (and my family) struggling under the weight of my "shell" it is time to do some unloading of excess baggage and simplify life a little.

As the hermit crab seeks out a new shell when his no longer fits, I may have to remove things and rearrange my life so that it almost seems that I have a "new shell", too. A life that fits my frame (and my family's)...a frame that can only handle so much, since I am (we are), after all... "just dust"! For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Psalm 103:14

It takes time...this soul searching and prayer that I must do in order to adjust my life to align with His Will. I may find it needful to retreat into my own shell for a little while...and just sit at His feet and listen. But, when I pray and wait, seek His counsel and His path for me...my life, my shell, becomes easy to carry...for His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30).

Then, there will be time for the important things...like greeting the sunrise with a dance on the beach.

I always come back to these words:

But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~Hans Hofmann

What is the necessary saying today?

(4 year-old Cana, offering Mommy a shell...She still collects shells for me, even though she's 7 now!)

Lord, give me ears to hear and eyes to see You today...in the little things, like a sunrise dance on the beach, or the gift of a shell from the hands of my child. As I spend time with You in prayer...sitting at Your feet; show me what is necessary this day. Help me create a shell that fits...for their sake as much as mine.

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. Thomas More

Food for Thought

Excellent post about living simply...and slowly!

On Living the Simple Life

Since starting this blog, I've not written much about Simplicity or Living Simply, as my blog title indicates. I guess I just try to do it, and don't think about writing about it much these days.

I have been pondering living even more simply and just how to accomplish that goal lately. By most people's standards, my family lives very simply; but I'm not so very concerned (OK, I'm really not concerned at all) about other people's standards. What I am concerned about is God's standards, and His desires for me and "mine".

With that in mind, I am going to begin prayerfully making some changes around here. Our grocery budget needs some work, and that means I will need to do more "work" in the kitchen so that there are meals prepared or that can be put together quickly on days that I don't have the time, energy, or desire to cook. Fast food is horrible for the budget and the body, and I've had far too much of it lately.

Budgeting in general needs a much more disciplined approach, especially as we are looking at possibly even more time on a limited income. My dh is a bi-vocational minister (which much of the time means "volunteer"), and his factory job that pays the bills has had serious hourly cuts.

Though a home/farm of our own is a common desire in our family; we are renting now, and may need to do so for a while longer. I am praying that if this be the case, we can at least find a rental that will allow us to have a few "critters", a larger garden space, and be a place that we can dwell in for a while. I am so sick of moving, that it isn't even funny. 9 times in 13 years is just too much, I'm sorry!

The house we live in now was supposedly going to provide those things; but it is not happening, for many reasons. No matter how simply you live, packing a family of 5, along with 3 birds, a "homeschool" and all of its necessary items, books, books, and more books, and the bare minimum of everything else, into a very small 2 bedroom mobile home is maddening. I also have to find room for a baby bed and other necessary baby items for my niece who stays with me during the day. She's tiny now, so she can nap anywhere, but that won't last long.

Life has not been so simple lately, and I am ready for that to change.

Simple Thoughts

"The simplification of anything is always sensational."
~ GK Chesterton

A new season

of blogging and other things. I will be updating things here and posting some of my favorite simplicities and other goodies as time allows. Until then, you can find recipes and my random ramblings on my homestead blog.