I am on my third summer of taking care of the landscaping at my house. This was always my husband's domain. The extent of my gardening was to buy hanging baskets. Occasionally, I would see a pretty plant and have my husband plant it. I was not keen on digging a hole. I didn't want to ruin my nails.
Unfortunately, due to his extensive illness, he is no longer able to do what he loved to do, and it has fallen on me to maintain our extensive landscaping. I had no idea what I was doing. It was daunting and exhausting. And the weeds! They just keep coming, don't they?
I didn't want to see any of it go to ruin so I did what I could and started to learn. First thing first though, buy gardening gloves. Because, you know, manicure. However, I did discover that there was something healing about having your bare hands in dirt. My mental wellbeing started to improve as I tended the plants. Getting your hands in the soil is a great way to de-stress. Soil contains microbes called Mycobacterium vaccae that is thought to mirror the effects of anti-depressants. You fellow gardeners get it. A woman in one of our classes calls it "soul care" rather than lawn care.
I started to follow the gardening gurus and master gardeners on Facebook. I knew I had to learn and learn fast. I bought new pruners. That was exciting. I knew I had to simplify everything to make it easy for me to maintain. I only hired out what I could not do, like ripping out invasive and difficult to take care of shrubs and plants. I found an app called Picture This that identifies and gives caregiving tips. The more I learned, the easier it became. I learned when to prune, when to fertilize, when to plant, etc. I just learned that in the ground perennial plants get nutrients and water out of the soil from their roots or the mycelium or the fungal network that's in the soil. You can get a soil test if needed, but most likely, it has what is needed. So, I don't waste the fertilizer on the perennials (unless they are showing a deficiency) but I do fertilize the potted plants. The attached picture is of my New England Aster. I didn't know what was wrong, so I consulted the app. It has mites and I had to tend to it ASAP!
OK! So, this is not a gardening blog. You know what is coming if you know me. When it comes to first learning about leading a healthy and optimal lifestyle, it certainly is daunting. It is hard at first, but you learn. The important part is doing it the way I looked at the landscaping.
Accessible. Sustainable. Defensible (with research and science)
First, everything had to be accessible. I did not want it to be so difficult that I could not do it myself, so you simplify. You learn what needs to go and what you can manage on your own. It becomes easy over time. With your optimal eating habits, there should not be any crazy "eat this or that at a certain time" or crazy rules to follow that do not make sense. When you come to our classes, you learn about the right foods to eat. You learn how the right exercise protects your immune system. You learn about your "soil" which is your gut health. This is all accessible to you so that you learn how to make your own decisions.
Next, everything had to be sustainable. The right plants that were easier to take care of, not invasive, and just need some pruning from time to time. Your diet and lifestyle also need to be sustainable for the rest of your life. You learn good habits that become easy to do on a daily basis. It takes practice, and the practice will lead to the skilled habit. And those habits will lead to results.
"Everyone wants better results.
Skill precedes results.
Practice precedes skill.
Attitude precedes practice.
It's the willingness to try (and keep trying) that leads to ability."
I love learning about plants and keeping them happy. (Yes, I talk to them) I love that I found the right gardening people to learn from and the science behind caretaking of beautiful plants.
Everything we teach in our classes is defensible with the research and science from Wellness Forum Health. Just like gardening, it is important to find the right tools so that you can learn to tend your healthy lifestyle. It is important to us that we share the information needed so that you can become an informed and healthy person.
If you are local, join our Food Over Medicine Club. If you are not local, contact me to see if there is a club in your area. You can also become a member of Wellness Forum Health and learn even more! There are a lot of benefits to being a member!
Now, get outside and pull some weeds!
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