Advanced Herbal course textbooks
Merry meet all,
The textbooks for my advanced herbal course arrived today! I am so happy and the textbooks are now personalized with the stickers I bought from the fair. The textbooks are so amazing! The advanced herbal lessons are divided into 2 textbooks. The course is shorter than the previous advanced course. There are ten units, not fourteen. There is also a recipes and monographs book and a clinical skills herbal course which contains 3 units. I received four books in total. As I was reading the textbook, my cat scurried out of the way across the room. The physiology course book fell to the floor from the bookshelf. Interesting! A sign for sure!
My garden is so beautiful. The garden is so bountiful and fertile. There is barely an inch of space for me to even stand in it. I am amazed by my garden. I know it’s because I practice organic and sustainable methods. It is so hard to believe that my garden was once a large bare space. So today’s post will focus on tips to create your own amazing garden in a small space.
Use organic methods. There are enough toxic chemicals being dumped on poor Mother Earth. We need to recognize the impact of the chemicals. For every action there is a reaction. Six pack rings can choke a turtle. I never use any herbicides or insecticides in my garden. Then bees would not visit my garden. It would not be as productive as it is now.
Grow plants in your small space garden that will be suitable for a small space. The right side of my garden is graced by a huge rhododendron bush. A witch hazel sits regally in my garden near the other rhododendron bush. The raspberry canes are aggressively taking over the garden patch. I may have to trim back the canes.
Use every inch of the garden space that is available. My garden is a shade and sun garden. I have learned over the years how to use this to the best effect possible. There is an amazing saying, “Bare soil expresses the poverty of the soul.” You have to bear in mind that plants are not only growing large above the soil but that they have amazing root systems underground. That means that each plant needs to have its own space. Once the plants are established, then you can move them to a new space and rearrange plants around until you are happy with it.
Container gardening offers many options. If you are truly pressed for space, then containers can contain plants that may otherwise be relinquished to the compost. You could consider placing containers beneath trees. It removes the problem of root competition and competition for water.
I use trellises for the tomato, cucumber and herbs I grow in my garden. I have medium height bamboo sticks and larger bamboo sticks for cucumber and beans to grow up on. I have a ‘thing’ for plants that grow vines and trail up a bamboo stick. Once the vines can ‘latch on’ to a stick or the bamboo, they suddenly grow up overnight. I watched a bee pollinate the pickling cucumber flowers. Now I will get great pickling cucumbers! I plan to save them and make a pickling brine.
The scarlet runner bean is growing up the pole. I can’t wait to see the red flowers! I’m using two black cloth grow bags to grow potatoes in. The green stalks are growing up out of the grow bags, lush and such a gorgeous deep green. I even spotted a few flower buds. That tells me that the potatoes are going to be mature soon. I won’t harvest until the stalks until they die back and turn yellow.
I grow most of my veggies in pots. I want to grow them in the garden soil. However pests are the bane of the gardener. I’m using copper tape to deter slugs. It might be working. Slugs are tricky though. My cucumbers have survived because of the copper tape. Once the plants grow up and start to mature, then they are in not much danger from the slugs. Buying healthy plants from a good garden centre ensures that your plant will be healthy and resistant. I use string and twine to help secure the trellises.
I have a big patch where I grow my herbs. I do have a squash plant that hasn’t been killed from the slugs. My winter squash is flowering! I am sure the bees are enjoying the rich pollen. Or at least I hope so. I am not always in my garden to see them there. The nettle, lemon balm and sage are growing so beautiful and claiming their space in the garden.
Ferns, hostas, cranesbill, woodruff, lady’s mantle and astilbe grow in the shade section. The plants that need a ton of sun grow in the sunnier section of my garden.
I hope these tips help you plan a magickal and beautiful garden in your own small space. You don’t have to be daunted. Rather, see it as a challenge. I would love to have a bigger garden. I just work with what I have now. I am grateful to have a garden and to get to see how amazing it can be. There are not many people who can go from their own back door to a beautiful garden space. Not to mention it is next to a lovely nature trail. I am a very fortunate person.
Blessings, Spiderwitch
