The House Team Of Mortgage Intellingence asked:


Many perfectly sensible and sociable adults will confess that they had a secret, private hiding place in some garden of their childhood: a hidden corner in a grandmother’s garden, a secret spot in a grove of trees, or even a shrubby nook in a vacant lot. In the rush to ensure that we create environments for socializing and for family activities, we can forget the joy we found in those secret garden hideaways.

Sure, it’s great to have “together” spaces: like a pool for the family to splash in… or a swingset and sandbox for the youngsters. But more than one parent with a beautifully groomed yard has listened to their child speak reverently of the “hideout” at a friend’s place: a bank of towering, unkempt weeds where a child can hide from the world.

Children have it figured out: the more hectic our lives, the more we need a place for renewal and rejuvenation. Creating your own garden hideaway need not involve major construction projects or expensive plantings. Instead, scan your garden for the three key criteria:

1. Hidden from the world.

Look for privacy, or a sense of enclosure or hidden-ness. You’ll need space for a comfortable chair for one. Is there a spot where you can grow a screen of morning glories… or maybe moonflowers if you plan to enjoy your oasis in the evening? The perfect kids’ hideout allows you to remain hidden while preserving at least a glimpse of the outside world. Use the same principles.

2. The sounds of silence

You’re a very lucky homeowner if birdsong and rustling leaves are your natural sound environment. For the rest of us, we need to improvise. Wind chimes are a popular way to create a more peaceful soundscape. But to many, the sound of water is incomparably soothing, and you can achieve the effect with only a babbling fountain in a large ceramic pot. Even a gurgle can help conceal or counteract the noise of traffic or humming air conditioners.

3. Eye-level beauty

Create a focal point that you can enjoy from your chair. Flowering vines - like the morning glory or moonflowers - can be helpful. Or put a pot of pretty annuals on a short pillar or stand. Consider some scented flowers to appeal to the senses. Only a fence to keep you company? Try mounting a framed mirror that reflects a pretty area of the garden.

From daycare to office work, our lives are overwhelmingly communal - and solitude is a quality which easily goes missing in our lives. Each day, try to disappear for a few minutes - with an early morning coffee, a mid-afternoon lemonade or a late-night glass of wine. Bring a favourite book, a summer journal, or happy thoughts… but leave your roam phone in the house.

Kid’s Corner

Don’t forget that children still love their own little secret spaces. It’s not too late to grow a Green Bean Hideout: in a corner of the garden (out of the way but not too shaded) outline a circle about 5′ ‘in diameter. Build a temporary teepee frame with 8 or more long bamboo poles, nestled firmly into the ground around the circle, and simply secured at the top with twine. At the base of each pole, plant 1 or 2 seeds of Scarlet Runner or other pole beans. Kids will love watching their secret hideout grow to the rafters and beyond. And this hideout has a built-in kitchen!



THIERRY

Laura Thomas asked:


In 2004 I had major surgery. I remember when I got home one of the don’ts on my doctor’s list was gardening. So, I immediately got interested in gardening. What was it that they don’t want you to do? My uneducated mind tells me that that is probably the best thing for you.. Well, I was part wrong. Yes I admit it. After the major surgery that I had one does not need to do all the bending and stooping that gardening requires. However, I did a lot of planning for my flower beds. Planning is half the work. Then as I got the strength and could gradually work into it, I found a new love.

Did you know that a flower is an accent. It is an adjective which enhances, a young girl at her first high school dance, or a woman on a blind date, or a house when you need to spruce it up for an event or to put it on the market for sale. Flowers do wonders. The color and beauty which is added to a memorable event or to show off the many things which God has given us to enjoy.

One can use relatively inexpensive items such as birdbaths, birdfeeders, fountains, garden statuary and garden décor, etc… Of course one could go overboard but, you don’t have to. My biggest problem is knowing when to plant what so I have color all year long. That’s especially difficult when planning for the winter season. I make sure I have lots of evergreens so at the very least things don’t look dead. Brown and droopy is not my idea of pretty.

Remember I said to show off the many things which God has given us to enjoy? Well, start counting the different birds and creatures which your garden or flower bed draws to it. Set our a few birdfeeders and maybe a birdbath or two. I put up 3 small hummingbird feeders on one end of my porch. I also have a swing on my front porch which along with a cup of coffee provides a place of seclusion when its needed or a place for an intimate talk with my spouse, or a place to gather and visit and remember the good old days. That’s called nostalgia I think. Now I’m getting off track. From that swing I can view God’s handy work. I give him full credit for what is produced.

I took my camera out the other day and took a few pictures. My climbing roses are in full bloom and reach to the roof of the house. I have 3 colors of primroses in a flower bed on one side of my porch along with a “Texas purple sage”, and a mum, and some multi-color gladiolas. On the other side I have some fern and 2 colors of petunias along with some holly bushes. I have a birdbath, similar to one of those on HeavenlyTidbits.com separating the petunias and holly bushes from two hydrangeas bushes and an elephant ear plant. They get the morning sun. I also have two hanging strawberry plants and one hanging ivy plant. I am visited daily by the hummingbirds (they love the flowers) and various other birds as I have two large feeders on the opposite end from the hummingbird feeders. (Red birds (cardinals), black birds, blue birds, finches, wrens, sparrows, blue jays, red wing black birds, etc…………And at certain times of the year one sees Robins. We even have a couple of resident doves.) The squirrels and rabbits come up to the porch. Squirrels can be pesky creatures. Occasionally one might see an armadillo. You know they are there because of the ruts they create in the yard. And during particular times of the year you can see the deer roaming from grove to grove. And I can’t leave out the butterflies. WOW what color! But the most amazing thing is that this is all God’s creation. As you go through your day, take time to enjoy the wonderful gifts of nature.



ENRICO