The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

Spring flowers that are blooming now, such as tulips and daffodils, need to be planted in the fall in order to produce flowers in the spring.

This is true for other not so well known spring bulbs such as these Grape Hyacinths…

and these Anenomes…

Now is a good time to pick out a spot in your yard where you might want some spring color next year.

Watch for bulbs being advertised in July through September in gardening publications. Bulbs are available in all Garden Centers September through November.

Bob

Those of us who enjoy gardening feel a certian relaxation and sense of well-being while plying our craft.

Recently, scientists have discovered a bacterium that lives in garden soil that can improve the symptoms of depression as effectively as anti-depressant drugs.

The findings were published in the medical journal Neuroscience. For an easy to read article on this story click here.

Somehow, these bacteria activate our brain cells to produce a chemical known as serotonin. A lack of serotonin in our systems is thought to be a cause of depression as well as anxiety, aggresssion, IBS and a number of other disorders.

Maybe there is something to the idea that past generations had fewer cases of mental health issues. After all, at one time, most of the population lived on farms and worked the soil.

It’s also said that people in poorer countries seem to be more contented and at peace. Could this be due to their close ties to the soil?

All this confims what gardeners already know…gardening is healthy for mind, body and spirit. We now have scientific proof! (as if we really needed it).

Bob

The combination of cool night-time temperatures and filtered sunlight in a wooded area turned out to be just the right growing conditions for these potted blue pansies

and these potted Johnny-jump-ups.

Bob

We get a lot of invited and uninvited guests in the greenhouse. Here is one visitor who decided to drop by…

… a Mourning Dove. Yes, the same bird that many hunters like to shoot. Looks calm doesn’t he? He seemed resigned to the fact that he was caught.

You know that old saying: “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”?…well that goes double for people, greenhouses and shot-guns

Actually, I wouldn’t shoot this guy anyway, he was just curious as to what was going on inside.

Mourning Doves don’t seem to be able to grasp the concept of glass as quickly as other birds we get in the greenhouse. That’s probably why I was able to catch him by hand so easily.

We often get other birds in the greenhouse: House Sparrows, Robins, Humming Birds… this was the first Mourning Dove.

The story has a happy ending: I let him go outside.

Bob

That’s the slogan Hound Dog Products uses to describe its Weed Hound dandelion weeder.

This tool is one of my favorites! It actually performs as adverised. As an added bonus, it’s made in the USA!

We don’t use herbicides to kill off dandelions, rather, we simply let them grow. Sometimes however, they show up in a garden bed where they can be disruptive. This is where the Weed Hound comes in.

You basically just step on the bottom of the tool and pull up…the dandelion pops right out, root and all. The Weed Hound seems to work best on weeds that grow in a rosette with a single tap root (like dandelions).

If you bring one of these weeders home, don’t tell your ol’ hound dog you have a new best friend!
Bob