Garden Designs and Ideas: Part 3

Looking at pictures of gardens can be quite calming. When I feel the need to relax, I enjoy to change my pace by looking at calming pictures of plants and flowers. My goal one day soon is to plant a few tomato plants and some lettuce in containers in my own small backyard, but the the meantime I enjoy looking at pictures of my mom's garden.  This year my parents used raised bed planters for their tomatoes, which is a good way to keep the gophers from burrowing at the roots of the plants.  I have also learned from the little bit of research I have done that raised bed planters mean you do not have to bend over as much, which might be useful for gardeners that suffer from knee and back pain.  Recently I have had a bit of trouble with my knee, and although I am not a gardener, I can admire how raised bed planters would mean I would have to bend down less.  When I was younger I always enjoyed looking at the plants and eating homegrown vegetables, but I rarely wanted to pull weeds in the garden.  Occasionally I would pull weeds in the garden, but I always opted for cleaning the house instead as a child and teen.  Now looking back I wish I had helped out with the garden more so I could have learned tips about how to grow plants on my own.  It is my plan to start a little planter garden in my backyard as I have said, but I still admire looking at the pictures I took of a much larger garden.

Walking around the garden I love looking at the hollyhocks, which I used to put in my hair to pretend like I was in an exotic locale such as Hawaii. Hollyhocks have always done well in the San Bernardino Mountains because this plants can grow in very hard and clay like soil. Even though we do get moisture during the winter months in the San Bernardino Mountains, we are also prone to dry spells during the other three months of the year. I no longer live in the San Bernardino Mountains, but being a mountain girl will always be a pervasive part of my thinking.