Take a Break: Bring Nature Close to You

Years ago I had a friend who was planting window boxes outside of all of her windows. She told me while it improved the look of her house, it was the impact that it had in the various rooms that kept her planting. I didn’t really get this until this past Sunday.

On Mother’s Day, my husband surprised me with a gorgeous hanging plant. While in and of itself this was wonderful, it was where he placed it that made such an impact.

A bird feeder hangs just outside my office window. I can watch the birds come and go, plus chase away the occasional squirrel that shows up, from November to the beginning of April. Once the bears awake from their naps, it’s time to take the feeders down. It definitely creates a void. We’ve tried having hummingbird and Oriole feeders but it just doesn’t seem to attract all that much. My husband hung the plant where the bird feeder was. I couldn’t believe how much it lifted my spirits when I walked in my office. I’m also hoping that it will attract some summer birds.

So this week’s art break is to bring nature close to you. You can do it through window boxes or by hanging a plant outside a window where you spend a lot of time.

Figure out where you’d like to place something and ask your local garden shop about what is going to work best for your planting zone and for the particular area you’ve chosen. A lot of sun can impact plant selection as much as too little. How much does it need watering and will it be easy for you to do this on a regular basis?

Don’t shy away from trying upside down gardening. A friend that was quite ill last summer, knew she didn’t have the strength to garden, but she wanted to have fresh tomatoes. She purchased one of the upside down tomato plant holders and she not only had plenty of tomatoes, but she did not experience the blight that destroyed so many of the gardens in my town last year.