Happy Thanksgiving Gardeners – From Harry the Pug and Shawna!

Today I give you Harry the Pug fans a special thank you because your enthusiasm and love for Harry is inspiring! Above is a video of a typical day for Harry – it includes wagging, napping, and puggy  smiles. 

Since today is Thanksgiving, you can be assured, he will be spending the day gorging himself on food, then napping. Just like the rest of the pugs  - and people - in the United States.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone – and thank you for all the wonderful support you give Harry and me every single day of the year. We appreciate it!

::Hugs from Shawna and Harry!::

This blog is posted today on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

Garden In The Fall and Improve Mild Depression By Increasing Physical Activity

Although it is getting colder and darker out, now is the season to get off that couch and get outside more than ever. There are several reasons why I encourage you to keep working out in nature whenever you are able.

As the days shorten, our bodies receive less exposure to daylight. This triggers a chemical response in many which can cause mild depression. Simultaneously, the weather gets colder and we feel more hungry than usual. Scientists call this the “Heat-Production Theory”. Scientists have discovered that people eat more in Fall and Winter because instinctually we are trying to keep our bodies warm. Cavemen, by adding additional fat to their bodies, increased their chances of survival.

Add on top of the “Heat-production Theory” that less exposure to daylight can make us more depressed. That leads to subconsciously eating “comfort food” to try and stimulate the “feel good” chemicals in our brain.

There are many “feel good” chemicals which can make you feel better. Chief of these is serotonin (as well as other brain chemicals like norepinephrine). The average human being can improve levels of serotonin specifically by being exposed to daylight for approximately 20 minutes per day.

This is an important part of my health philosophy. It’s about teaching people how they can have more energy, be less depressed and improve their mindset. Getting outside in nature regularly is critical to the production of serotonin – this reduces stress and depression. Repeated studies have shown that simple exposure to trees and nature is enough to help a person feel better. According to Dr. Richard O’Connor, author of “Undoing Perpetual Stress”, “[A] study of ten years’ worth of patients recovering from gallbladder surgery at a particular hospital found that the patients who could see trees from their windows requested significantly less pain medication, got along better with the nurses, and had shorter hospital stays than those whose windows faced an airshaft.”

Physical activity compounds these positive benefits. For example, regular exercise reduces mild depression and does other amazing things – like reducing pain intensity, increasing positive emotional attitude and increase your chances of living longer. According to the Mayo Clinic website (www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676), there are 7 strong benefits of regular physical activity:

1. Exercise Improves Your Mood

2. Exercise Combats Chronic Diseases

3. Exercise Helps You Manage Your Weight

4. Exercise Strengthens Your Heart and Lungs

5. Exercise Promotes Better Sleep

6. Exercise Can Put The Spark Back Into Your Love Life

7. Exercise Can Be Fun

My personal favorite off-season activity is walking. If I’m not out moving rocks around in my garden or building a new bed of some sort, then I walk. Sometimes I walk in the neighborhood, but other times I use some common sense and walk more when running the regular errands I have in life. I take the stairs instead of the elevator. I might park my car in the farthest space in the parking lot when going to the mall or stop off at a Forest Preserve during lunch and walk around the lake.

I make sure that wherever I sit to do computer work I am able to see nature. From my office I can see a young Oak Tree and a Locust Tree out one window and a line of Maples out my back window. If you are not gifted with windows in your office then I would suggest a “daylight” lamp which exposes you to increased levels of broad spectrum light.

Why do I take these steps? Because I am worth it; and so are you! Being emotionally and physically healthy is important to you and your family. If it’s a downright blizzard outside I use my treadmill and read my favorite book under the gleam of a “daylight” lamp.

In the end, there is really no excuse for staying inside like a hermit in colder weather. If you have children, you will notice that schools encourage recess play during cold weather. It increases the children’s health and reduces germ levels inside – it’s healthy for children and it is healthy for adults as well.

If you are wondering what specifically to do in nature right now, a great place to start is in the garden. Projects can be done through most of Fall and Winter, with a halt happening only for the deepest snow. You can build a compost bin, creatively make your own pots for next years annuals, trim bushes and trees, repair arbors and trellises, feed the birds, help others in the community with all the outside work they might need assistance with. The list can go on and on.

This blog is posted today on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

Fall Color From A Gorgeous Cranesbill Geranium – Biokovo Karmina

Every spring the front sidewalk hosts the most beautiful pink blooms. Although it has no noticeable floral scent, the foliage is lightly scented and seems to be ground squirrel resistant in my garden. I love the long-blooming Cranesbill Geranium ‘Biokovo Karmina’ - it functions as a groundcover at the beginning of the walkway (see photo to the right) and is one of the only geranium’s I have which toughs it out with no extra water or babying in full-sun, full-heat conditions.

Originally, I purchased a dozen of the strong little perennials about six years ago through Bluestone Perennials because they were advertised as both a sun and shade plant which has a bloom of over four weeks – and indeed they do - sometimes blooming five weeks. I have rarely divided the plants in all these years, and they have become thick without becoming invasive. A simply wonderful no-tend plant which weathers low-water conditions very well.

In fact, I have grown to love the plant much more for it’s nearly six weeks of smashing orange, red, and yellow fall color (see photo at top of post) even more than the spring display.

If you want a gorgeous, all-purpose, tough little drought tolerant plant – then Geranium ‘Biokovo Karmina’ is for you!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

The Casual Gardener 2009 Garden Tool Of The Year – Be A Garden Ninja With The Kombi!

This season I was thrilled when I received three very special garden tools in my mail box; the Original Kombi shovel, the Mini-Handle Kombi Short, and the Kombi Hand Trowel.

In 2006, the Original Kombi won the special honor of being on Joe Lampl’s “Best of the Must-Have’s List”, and in my opinion it was a deserved award.

There are six varieties of Kombi shovels which all have the unique quality of having a super sharp cutting area enabling the shovels to easily slice through soil, plants, and grass – making easy work of most garden chores.

Testing the products for six months, I can say I have put these baby’s through the wringer. They have ridden in the back of my car across several states, gone into every garden bed I have, and helped me with community garden work this summer. Perfect for fall clean-up, the Kombi really digs in and helps pull out the roots in the vegetable garden.

My official review: two thumb’s up for a fantastic set of tools! My only caution is to be careful with the blade – it makes you feel like a garden ninja for sure – but it’s extremely sharp and must be used cautiously. See the above video for a demonstration.

A Kombi would be a great gift - If you would like to get a Kombi  for a favorite garden ninja (or for yourself), go to the Kombi online store at http://kombigardentool.com or phone (706)-754-2875.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

*These products were sent to me at no cost - I tested them rigorously for six months in the garden. My review is wholly honest, my own opinion, and not based on additional payment from the Kombi company in any form. In fact, my agreement with them is that I would review their product in a totally honest fashion, keeping my readers and viewers needs at the top of the priority list when considering this product’s recommendation and use.

Feed The Hungry – How You Can Make A Difference For A Food Bank With Your Garden

According to AmpleHarvest.org,”an estimated 100 billion pounds of food, enough to totally eliminate hunger, is thrown away annually in the United States.” Be shocked – and then make a difference for your community by stopping the waste.

Regularly clean out your food pantry - – if you are not eating the food in your home, donate it to a local food pantry before it gets outdated. If you grow a garden and have leftover vegetables, do not leave it standing on the plants; take it to a local food pantry and donate it to someone who could really use it like we  did in the above  video. Organizations like AmpleHarvest.org enable neighbors in need to obtain garden fresh produce that might be left standing unharvested due to over production in home and community gardens. Please send food pantry’s that are unregistered to this website to help make a difference for people in your community.

Above is a video my daughter and I made about collecting vegetables from the garden and taking it to be donated. Having my eight year old help plant and grow the plants, then film our trip, gave her a strong sense of ownership with the experience. Notice how excited and proud she is that she is bringing “her baby” the pumpkin to give to some other child.

All of our children should understand and identify with the feeling of caring for others, most especially those in need right in our very own neighborhoods. Building our community means building our economy and contributing to the emotional health of other human beings. Of all lessons in life, I believe this one should take priority for our children.  Grow a garden if you can because it can make a real difference for the world. Teach your family and neighbors how to grow a garden as well. Get started planning right NOW – at the end of this gardening season – to plan for next year’s vegetable garden. Purposely plant vegetables which are easy to grow and which might be mass producers so you can contribute more to help those who really need it. If you cannot grow a garden on your property, invite your neighbors to participate or build a community garden on a local community property.

What will you do to have your children understand the importance of helping the hungry?

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

How To Build A Rain Garden – A Solution For Soggy Wet Areas On Your Property

Dear Casual Gardener,

What the heck is a “Rain Garden”?

Signed, Curious on Country Ridge Road

= = = = = = = = = =

Dear Curious,

This is a timely question as we are entering a typical Fall rainy season. It is a good time to get a Rain Garden started, with the intention of completing the process in the Spring.

Do you have a wet spot on your residential or business property? Go with the flow and create a rain garden to help solve the problem. An existing wet spot is the perfect area to place a Rain Garden because it’s the area that naturally accepts a lot of rain water run-off. Fighting against this location and having the water run-off elsewhere might be an unending battle. My suggestion if you have an existing wet area in your yard, is to build a Rain Garden on top of the spot and redirect the water from your roof, home and driveway to the location.

A “Rain Garden” is a man-made depression in the ground. Rain gardens are suitable for any land use situation; residential, commercial and industrial. It is used as a way to improve water run-off while beautifying your landscape. A Rain Garden forms a “bioretention area” by collecting water runoff, storing it, than permitting it to be filtered through and slowly absorbed by the soil. Ultimately, by creating a rain garden you are assisting your community with Stormwater Management.

We suburban homeowners – or anyone for that matter – can creatively recycle all the wasted water which runs off our roofs and landscapes this way. Usually the water gets shuttled to the drain and eventually a river through the stormwater system, then sent off to the ocean. It is much better if we are able to replace the water to the water table after we “filter” it through a Rain Garden. By creating a “Rain Garden” you are truly contributing to the environment in a positive way. It also allows some people to grow beautiful wetland perennials – a magnificent contribution to your community.

Choosing the right place for your rain garden is important. A rain garden is a system of retention pond area, soil, plants and mulch that will retain water and soak it up instead of letting it run off of your property (even though your “pond” will be dry most of the time). So the most basic things are the “pond,” or depression into which water will flow, and the soils that will absorb the water. Each Rain Garden site should be considered unique. Microclimates (light, temperature and wind), and the size of the drainage area will influence the size of the rain garden and plant selection process.

The base layer of a Rain Garden should be a reservoir of gravel at the bottom of the garden bed. You can also add tiles or an under-drain that leads to another area. This will prevent a waterlogged rain garden. The idea is to create a living sponge of soil, plants, roots and mulch, not a soggy bog. Additional components of a Rain Garden include a base mulch/organic layer. It provides for the decomposition of organic material, and also plays an important role in the removal of metals. Shredded hardwood mulch is the preferred choice, since it allows for maximum surface area for binding and resists flotation/wash-out. Mix in planting soil. The best mix is probably organic matter in the form of leaf mulch (20%) blended into a sandy soil (50%) with and about 30% top soil. The planting soil mixture provides a source of water and nutrients for the plants to sustain growth.

A planting design should include species that tolerate extremes. My suggestion is to use native species. You can creatively plant them to be “naturalistic” in design or combine them with grasses and non-native perennials which might be more floral. There will be periods of water inundation and very dry periods, so plant selections must be able to survive all these conditions. Most river bank plant species will do well in rain gardens. The choice of species could include plants that mimic forest habitat and have an aesthetic landscape value such as flowers, berries, interesting leaves or bark. Groundcovers, perennials shrubs and trees can be incorporated into the planting design as well.

So go out there and work on that wet spot in your yard - - fix it by building a Rain Garden!!

For further information on Native Plants and Rain Gardens and how to build them, please contact Jim Kleinwachter of Conservation @ Home, a division of The Conservation Foundation (http://www.theconservationfoundation.org/), at 630-553-0687 x 302.

Jim’s website suggests the Rain Garden Manual  (which can be downloaded here in a PDF format) from The University of Wisconsin Extension Service .

Another good online resource for Rain Garden building with very detailed information is www.raingardens.org or this blog, which also has some marvelous photos - http://bit.ly/1DAjqw.

Special thanks - - The diagram photo above is credited to “The Family Handyman” section on Readers Digest.com and an article by Lucie B. Amundsen. What a great resource! Thank you very much for sharing this diagram with The Casual Gardener readers.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Gorgeousness In The Garden – Dolce Blackcurrant Heuchera

One of my favorite plants in the fall garden is the Coral Bell. Long past its spring flowering, the color comes from it’s magnificent leaf. Any variety keeps until the coldest weather and then pops back up in the spring in perfect form.

This is Proven Winners’ Dolce Blackcurrant Heuchera. Better Homes and Gardens listed this as one of the hottest new perennials of 2009 – and indeed it has been fabulous in my garden all season. Love it!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

2009 Shawna’s Garden Plant of the Year – White Licorice (‘Helichrysum Petiolare’)

Without a doubt the most fabulously non-stop, drought-tolerant, long-lasting, incredible annual of the season in my garden has been the White Licorice plant you see in the above photo.

It has outlasted almost every plant in the garden – surviving drought conditions and multiple frosts. In May I planted this White Licorice as a baby – it’s arms were less than the length of my fingers. The tag that came along with the plant said it would only grow to be 12” tall. Some of the vines hang at least 24” from the edge of the pot down to the ground, and have been full and gorgeous the entire summer and fall.

Utilizing my water-saving container planting technique, I planted “Monster” in a large pot in partial sun then promptly began neglecting him. Over the summer I only watered the plant maybe five times – he prefers to be ignored. While other more ordinary annuals like petunias were failing in the heat, this plant just kept on going and only wilted once when it was a particularly hot day three weeks after his last watering.

Downright amazing!

White Licorice combines with almost every plant imaginable and is an excellent container filler. Two thumbs up for the White Licorice (‘Helichrysum petiolare’) – a real Monster of a plant!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Save Money – A Top Ten List for Reducing Outdoor Water Waste

Studies show that 30% to 40% of all home water usage is utilized outdoors on the lawn and garden. This happens mostly during the summer months, but in warm states it happens all year long.

Here are my favorite Top 10 tips for saving water outdoors in the garden so you can make a difference with water conservation:

1. COMPOST! COMPOST! COMPOST! Compost often acts as a sponge; holding and retaining an incredible amount of water for your plants
2. MULCH! MULCH! MULCH! Mulching keeps moisture in the ground longer after watering.
3. Water before 10 AM and after 6 PM to prevent air and heat evaporation while watering.
4. Do not sprinkle the sidewalk or let broken sprinklers run – it leads to hundreds of gallons of wasted water.
5. Water your gardens heavily once a week instead of lightly every day.
6. Do NOT over fertilize your lawn; it leads to more water requirements. In fact, I do not fertilize my lawn at all.
7. Raise lawnmower blade to between 3” and 4” to allow for healthier grass that requires less water
8. #1 plant choice – native, #2 plant choice - drought tolerant
9. Grow the right plant in the right place. For example, place all drought tolerant plants together and all water-hungry plants together instead of mixing them.
10. Utilize a rain barrel - 1/4” of chlorine free rain on your roof equals approximately 200 gallons of fresh water for your garden.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Happy Halloween From Shawna and Harry the Franken-Pug – Thanks For Reading Our Garden Blog!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com