Mike C's Blog ( 14 ) Thinking out loud...

I agree Mike. Our garden is a gift and a place of refuge when we return from our working trips. It feels like Paradise. It also has the function of giving us some exercise, and I just love being out in the fresh air.

I agree with you Mike. I don't let one day go by without looking at G O Y and I feel that I've met lots of friendly people who enjoy sharing their gardens.

Thanks for that, Mike! Absolutely true. I am always delighted when I get comments about what I've done. it spurs me on to looking critically at the garden to see what other 'improvements' I can make. Of course, as well, I get ideas from other members' gardens!

lovely blog mike , think you said what we all feel here on GOY

Great Blog Mikec & im sure youve z it all , Im Addited 2 Goy & love speaking2the members who are also may i say My Friends ? The Garden,Flower,Pets,Family Photos are Fantastic &add a Personal Touch 2 this Great Site :) Happy Gardening2one&all XXX

Yep thanks for that blog Mikec I feel the same , I love this site and I never feel there is miles between us all , like Spritz I love when you comment on my photos as I dont always keep to well and at times find the garden a struggle but its so so worth it , my own little place of comfort , love to you all x x

what a great blog mike like everyone as said you have said what we all think, great web site lovely people, infact everything about GOY is great. lots of love to everyone.

While we're at it, I too need to thank you all, each and everyone of you. It all started off as a joke really, but over the weeks, you have all, unknowingly, pulled me out of a dark hole, back into the sunshine. Your appreciatve freindly feedback is not only therapeutic but addictive too -in the nicest possible way - it has even helped me overcome my "can't do it" syndrome regarding digital photography and that's saying a lot! .... Heartfelt thanks to you all for making me realise that I am really a very lucky person.

Nice blog Mike. I too make a point of looking on here at the photo's every day, sometimes only briefly as it's a busy time, but have to have 'my fix' of GOY!

Me too Mikec, I am totally hooked at keeping up with the other GOY members, Even though we are miles apart, but I feel we are very close, I can even picture each person in their garden, tending their plants lovingly. For me, there is nowhere else I would rather be. My garden is my retreat and my sanctuary, as you quite rightly said from this crazy world we live in, there, I can reflect on what life is all about. Happy gardening to everyone too!

You said it all Mikec, so glad I found GOY!

Great Blog Mikec, I echo all that has been said, And would just like to add, I dont know anyone ( friends or family)as passionate about gardening as i Am, So its Great to Share my Garden with you all, And Thanks for letting Me Share yours.. Love Dee..

Some very thought provoking ideas Mike.

i think you got it spot on there mikec. exellent blog mate.

A big thank you to all of you for your comments on this blog. Youngdaisydee, you are so right about family and friends not being as passionate about garding. When my sister and most of my friends come by their first words are " what a lot of work ". Yes it is a lot of work but I'm not seeing it the way they do. Thanks again to all of you for sharing your gardens.

Oh, Mike - that's exactly what I get from my family! No compliments, just that. I don't want to live my life like they do - I want to improve and enjoy my garden! I feel like hanging a notice out when they come - not sure what to put on it, they might take offence!

Well said Mike, my garden is most definately a retreat from my stressfull life. Gardening for me is not so much an interest as an instinct- a need to keep in touch with the soil as an escape from the artificial life most of us lead.

One of my sisters once said, Ooooo why have you got flowers near the seat, (in an agitated voice) because there were bees around them... I just shake my head because im speechless, Another Sis only has evergreens in her garden, she wont have flowers, Unbelievable...Dee..

Welll... to each his own I say. Upon arriving home this evening from work as I got out of my car to open the gates, my neighbor who was coming out of his house said " I wish my front yard looked like yours " I looked at him and said " It didn't all come up by itself ". I have a day off tomorrow, I think I'm going to go to the nursery and buy more plants for the front garden.

What better way to spend a day off ?

Yep Mikec my friend also said to me " oh i wish I had a garden like yours " to which I replied " the only person stopping you from having a garden like mine is ....you ! "

You wrote this at the height of the summer, Mike... and here we are in September... and the warm days and blossoms are dwindling away... but thanks to our cameras and goY we will be able to plan for the next garden; see where we need to change things; map out a better colour scheme; talk over our ideas and compare notes with friends, etc. like we never could before ...Whenever I am distressed(or perhaps more accurately "stressed") by the outside world and the speed of it all...I just think how great it is that this instrument puts me in touch with the great people who share my joy and enthusiasm for gardens and nature...so maybe technology isn't so bad after all... cause I can be in the garden even when I'm not in my garden!!! And thanks to our cameras we have our gardens preserved ... I can now look back on three years of garden photos... what a resource!!
Like most other gardeners, I've been frustrated by envious people who only half listen when you tell them that starting a garden is installing a new source of joy in their lives... they need to have the experience themselves...to think that they invented the wheel, so to speak...and a few seasons on they will come to you with shining eyes talking about their plants, or the animals that enjoy their space...and thank you for pointing them in the right direction...lol... It's so wonderful when they finally 'get it'!!
Thanks for all your good suggestions and good sense...it's a pleasure gardening with you!

VERY well said. Thanks Lori

I just read your blog on this today...but you know I started off tody waking up with anxiety in my chest..feeling alone in the world and all and being in retail right now, whew..it is not a relaxing thing to think about when you first wake up. But I got up, made my coffee, then got on my computer and went to GOY and began to relax right away. I managed to get my thoughts together and have managed to make a prouctive day of it so far without feeling that angst. This is a wonderful placed to come to when you need to find natures peace...~Catfinch

Catfinch,
You're not alone in how you feel.
GOY is one of the best things I have in my life.