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It’s spring! It’s time for my senior mom to start gardening. BUT last week, the temperatures were in the high 70s. Now, it’s dropping to the 30s with a possibility of snow! That didn’t stop my mom! She started some vegetable seeds in pots outside when the weather was great. (I had such a fun chuckle with her last night when I discovered that these “tomato plants” are really “Mammoth Sunflowers.” She just put the tomato sign in for one of the grandchildren! 🙂 )
Once the first storm started, she used her handy dandy garden wagons to trundle everything to safety in the garage. Both this little “easy go cart” garden wagon and her larger utility garden wagon.
She even made portable homemade mini greenhouses with plastic bag covers over each individual little plant – and they’re working well!
Notice the twigs? She caught a neighborhood cat sitting on her plants! So she layered the twigs to make it a tad uncomfortable and discourage the kitty from that particular spot.
She loves all the wildlife that comes into our yards. The kitties (except for when they sit on the seeds), the bunnies, and the birds. EXCEPT that the birds also seem to be pulled toward the plants. But she solved that easily as well. My easy to use Canon Powershot digital camera stalked and shot this nasty looking varmint —
No worries, though. It’s one of the many FAUX snakes from my senior moms gardening supplies – it scares the birds away from plants. Then they can go over near the tree where she puts all the yummy food they love to eat. 🙂
As you can tell, my senior mom really loves gardening. And since garden activities are wonderful, healthy, fun and physical senior citizen activities, it’s an excellent hobby for her. How about your senior parents? Do they love gardening? Or perhaps their hobby is photography, like one of mine. In that case, you might want to share Sweet Shot Tuesday with them to give them, and you, some fun and creative ideas for taking more photos of grandkids and gardens. 🙂
P.S. If you are looking for creative gifts for elderly parents or relatives to encourage them in their senior gardening, how about a handy dandy Rubbermaid garden tool cart on wheels? For more information, or to find other Rubbermaid carts, just click here.
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That small cart looks very handy. I’m hoping to plant some flowers today. Not only did spring arrive, but it’s starting to feel like summer or at least what I wish summer felt like with highs in the 80s.
Your mom sounds like such a fun, industrious lady!! Love that she placed the tomato sign for the kids!! 🙂
Oh Deb, wouldn’t it be GREAT is summer stayed in the 80s… and no humidity. 🙂 Ah well, enjoy those temps – we’re back in the 40s – so cold my grandchildren tried a walk with me and turned back coz of cold. They NEVER do that. 🙂 But soon… 🙂
Wasn’t that cute, Kathleen. And it was so sweet. They came over this morning, and my youngest grandchild headed straight for the garden wagons, looked for the tomato sign, and proudly proclaimed, “Those are mine!” The tomato plant was his way of marking the ones he had helped plant. 🙂
Thanks for the visit, Kaye! I visited your site and I think what you’re doing is amazing! It is so important that we honor and care for our parents as they grow older, as this is something the Bible tells us to do. Sadly, my husband and I have both lost all of our grandparents, but we are so thankful for both of our sets of parents and that they are such amazing, loving grandparents to our kids!
My mom is an avid gardener and I hope to learn and glean from her when I get the chance to start my own garden. I’m still trying to figure out where I could squeeze a garden into my yard and when I could squeeze in the time to care for it. 🙂 Also, I might be trying to find ways to protect my garden from my young children, as opposed to birds and cats!
Wow – she is a busy gal! Love the “kitty-no-more” twig idea! Kaye does the snake trick work? I have a ton of birds right near my raised veggie bed and I think they are eating all of the seeds because NOTHING came up! 🙁 I am raiding my son’s toy box for plastic snakes right now!!
Quite a few interesting tips… will have to keep them in mind when I next have a garden to play with!
Hi Jacquie, Thank you so much! What a wonderful family you have and such great family memories. 🙂 And I know just what you mean on the gardening side of things. I’m very grateful for my senior mom as she has the primary gardening skills in our family – tho I am pretty good with roses and hydrangeas 🙂 We are, indeed, so blessed by our parents and grandparents and what we can learn from them. 🙂
Hi Paula, I doublechecked with my senior mom and she says for her gardening projects, it has indeed worked well! She also puts bird seed out for the birds regularly in an area a ways over from her garden, as she does love to see the birds. But that combined with the snakes does the trick for her so far. 🙂
Thanks Serline! 🙂
Look at that green thumb you have! I have so much to learn!
What a green thumb you have; great gardening tips. However, those faux snakes—my first time picking my own strawberries at a local farm–I became an instant idiot–I ran screaming from the field “snake, snake”–the the owners told me they put out the fake snakes to keep the birds from eating the berries. I never went back.
Oh Patty – what a great story! I’m sorry you were so scared, but how encouraging that they really do work. 🙂 Have a great day with no snakes – faux or otherwise. 🙂
You and me both, MaryJane. It’s a constant process – and oh so fun! 🙂
Great thrifty garden tips. love her plastic bag mini greenhouses! And the garden snake is a great idea! thank you for joining me for TTF! I hope you are having a wonderufl weekend!