Well I had quite the revelation this evening.  I finally got home before it was dark and had been gathering the dirt and plants and garden tools that I needed to fix the garden bed in front of my house.  I pulled weeds and removed the yucky stuff.  Planted some new things and spruced up some old.   To help my new lawnboy I pulled the weeds and grass from around the front.  That is when this giant revelation hit me.

Even my garden is re-used, recycled and yet still green!

The “Welcome” sign was purchased at a yard sale.  Think it was 50 cents.  The rocks and bricks and stones were gathered from around my yard and used to make an edging on the front.   An old tree stump (on the left) is used to put a potted plant on.   Weeds that flower are encouraged.  When I do weed it is awesome therapy for me and I really needed that after my long day/week/month of working hard.  My theory is that the weeding helps my brain to make room for new stuff.  Pull out the bad and allow room for the good.   There are actually a few Bible verses that support my theory.

The mums I planted several years ago and they just keep on coming back.  On the right is what I thought was a giant fern weed.  Last year it grew so much that it was hanging over onto my driveway.  That was all fine until I kept swapping myself in the head every time I walked by it.  So early this spring I had my old lawnboy extraordinaire (who doesn’t want to come here anymore) cut it down.  He left a 12″ stump which has started to grow all over again.  This time I am smarter and pruned a few branches off so it doesn’t get so huge again.  A friend told me that it really isn’t a fern at all but a mimosa tree.  Hmmmm – news to me!!!

I used broken up pine cones and bark that had falled off of nearby trees to make my own sort of “mulch”.  Pine cones are scattered throughout as well cause I have a lot of them collected from the neighbor’s pine tree that conveniently drops bunches of them on my side.  

The lawn ornaments are sort of a joke.  One year my sister thought it was funny to buy us all these wide mouth alligator and turtle and frog.  My other sister quickly put it into the yard sale pile.  Somehow they all ended up at my house!   They are funny looking for sure!!!   The little turtle below was found way in the back.  Someday he will come in and visit Jackson the Turtle and get a new coat of paint.  It would be good for these 2 turtle to become friends.

Other than buying plants and dirt occasionally, I really haven’t spent much on this little garden.  My neighbors would probably frown and say “yup-looks like it” but I think different.  It is a gathering of things that were left behind or discarded.   It is gardening on a shoestring.  It is using the natural things that have been provided for us.   It looks like MY garden.