Here is a great resource site for butterfly gardening.
http://www.butterfly--garden.com/articles.html
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Gardeners give tips on preparing for spring
Tips to follow so that you will be ready for spring...
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090117/NEWS/90117004
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090117/NEWS/90117004
Things to know before you start growing vegetables
A good Chicago Tribune article to read before you start growing vegetables
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/advice/chi-cover-veggies-tips-0118jan18,0,6872198.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/advice/chi-cover-veggies-tips-0118jan18,0,6872198.story
In troubled times, Americans rediscover the vegetable garden
An interesting observation....
In troubled times, Americans rediscover the vegetable garden
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=102048§ion=Columnists&columnist=Darrel%20Koehler
In troubled times, Americans rediscover the vegetable garden
Published Sunday, January 18, 2009
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=102048§ion=Columnists&columnist=Darrel%20Koehler
Walter Reeves - Landscaping Index Tips
Walter is retired from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, where he worked for 29 years. Here is a index listing of landscaping tips from his website
http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/
http://www.walterreeves.com/landscaping/
Closest Dekalb County Park to Wonderland Gardens
Wonderland Gardens is a passive recreational greenspace, but it is adjacent to the 173 acre Dekalb County Park, Exchange Park, located at 2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30032. Exchange Park has Baseball, softball, football, multi-use field, tennis courts, playground,picnic area, lake and trails. For more information on Dekalb County Parks, http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/index.htm
Intersted in Organics
The Georgia Organics, http://www.georgiaorganics.org/, is a member supported non-profit organization working to integrate healthy, sustainable and locally grown food into the lives of all Georgians. Check out this website as a great source for the world of organic in Georgia.
How to Composte
Interested in learning how to composte. Here is a website on how to composte, http://www.howtocompost.org/, and everything else related that you either didn't know or were afraid to ask.
Wonderland Gardens Master Plan
Wonderland Gardens has developed 4.5 acrea of a 20 acres campus developing a year-round green space destination, which offers individual and group gardening, nature walks through breathtaking landscapes, fresh vegetables and fruits for public viewing and consumption. Wonderland Garden's components will includes community gardens, a cooperative gardening program, an outdoor classroom, a storytelling area, Life Skills seminars, a Wonder trail, lectures and workshop sessions.
The Master Plan features:
Garden Market – a place where Wonderland Gardens , local farmers and other community gardeners can sell organically grown vegetables to people in the neighborhood.
Multiple Gardens – gardens connecting the program areas.
George Washington Carver Crop Display – a display of the crops that Dr. Carver used in his experiments such as peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans.
George Washington Carver Learning Center – classrooms for science, agriculture, horticulture, art and music; a multipurpose center; and administrative offices.
Recycling – Walkways made of recycled tires; benches and railings made of recycled plastics; composting and more…
Click here for a rendering of the Master Plan http://www.wonderlandgardens.org/MasterPlan.pdf
Garden Market – a place where Wonderland Gardens , local farmers and other community gardeners can sell organically grown vegetables to people in the neighborhood.
Multiple Gardens – gardens connecting the program areas.
George Washington Carver Crop Display – a display of the crops that Dr. Carver used in his experiments such as peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans.
George Washington Carver Learning Center – classrooms for science, agriculture, horticulture, art and music; a multipurpose center; and administrative offices.
Recycling – Walkways made of recycled tires; benches and railings made of recycled plastics; composting and more…
Sustainability Information
With all of the discussion about sustainability, I thought I would share a website http://www.sustainer.org/ which is a "think-do-tank" focused on understanding the roots of unsustainable behavior in complex systems to help restructure systems and shift mindsets that will help move human society toward sustainability. The site references projects, services, tools and resources. Check it out.
The Benefits of Voluntering
The Corporation for National Community Service produced a good research report on the benefits of volunteering. Check it out and comment http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf
Pickens Wind Power Plan
There is a lot of talk about wind power as a viable energy option becuase it is renewable and inexhaustable energy source compared to fossil fuels. A major wind power proponent is T Boone Pickens, Billionaire who is the founder and chairman of BP Capital Management for energy futures investment strategies. He has developed what he calls a blueprint to reduce foreign oil dependence called the Pickens Plan. For your own review and evaluation, here is the aforementioned Pickens Plan http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/. The website, www.pickensplan.com, contains complete information for all aspects of his efforts on wind power.
The Green Collar Economy
The Van Jones book, "The Green Collar Economy" is getting a lot of buzz with the new wave of discussion about green and the creation of jobs. President Elect Barrack Obama has read the book and it is believed that the book has helped shaped his vision for green job creation. A good Q&A with Van Jone is on the HuffingtonPost website
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/20/van-jones-qa-about-his-ne_n_135928.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/20/van-jones-qa-about-his-ne_n_135928.html
What is Green Economics?
WHAT IS GREEN ECONOMICS?
By Brian Miliani -GreenEconomics.Net
Green economics is the economics of the real world—the world of work, human needs, the Earth’s materials, and how they mesh together most harmoniously. It is primarily about “use-value”, not “exchange-value” or money. It is about quality, not quantity for the sake of it. It is about regeneration---of individuals, communities and ecosystems---not about accumulation, of either money or material.
The industrial or capitalist definition of wealth has always been about the accumulation of money and matter. Any use-values generated (i.e. social needs met) have been secondary—a side-effect, by-product, spin-off or trickle-down—to the primary goal of monetary accumulation. For two centuries, the quest to accumulate money or capital drove a powerful industrialization process that actually did spin off many human benefits, however unfairly distributed. But blind material and monetary growth has reached a threshold where it is generating more destruction than real wealth. A postindustrial world requires an economics of quality, where both money and matter are returned to a status of means to an end. Green economics means a direct focus on meeting human and environmental need.
Tinkering with money, interest rates, or even state regulation is insufficient in creating sensible economies. One can scarcely imagine a more inefficient, irrational and wasteful way to organize any sector of the economy than what we actually have right now. Both the form and the content of sustainable agriculture, of green manufacturing, of soft energy, etc. are diametrically opposed to their current industrial counterparts, which are intrinsically wasteful. There is no justifiable rationale to be producing vast quantities of toxic materials; or generating more deskilled than skilled labour; or displacing labour rather than resources from production; or extending giant wasteful loops of production & consumption through globalization. These are economic inefficiencies, economic irrationalities that can only be righted by starting from scratch—to look at the most elegant and efficient ways of doing everything. As green economist Paul Hawken writes, our social and environmental crises are not problems of management, but of design. We need a system overhaul.
Green economics is not just about the environment. Certainly we must move to harmonize with natural systems, to make our economies flow benignly like sailboats in the wind of ecosystem processes. But doing this requires great human creativity, tremendous knowledge, and the widespread participation of everyone. Human beings and human workers can no longer serve as cogs in the machine of accumulation, be it capitalistic or socialistic. Ecological development requires an unleashing of human development and an extension of democracy. Social and ecological transformation go hand-in-hand.
Green economics and green politics both emphasize the creation of positive alternatives in all areas of life and every sector of the economy. Green economics does not prioritize support for either the "public" or the "private" sector. It argues that BOTH sectors must be transformed so that markets express social and ecological values, and the state becomes merged with grassroots networks of community innovation. For this to happen, new economic processes must be designed, and new rules of the game written, so that incentives for ecological conduct are built into everyday economic life. The state can then function less as a policeman, and more as a coordinator. This is a very different kind of "self-regulation" than current profit- and power- driven market forces. The basis for self-regulation in a green economy would be community, and intelligent design which provides incentives for the right things.
Here are ten interrelated principles that cover key dimensions of a green economy:
1. The Primacy of Use-value, Intrinsic Value & Quality: This is the fundamental principle of the green economy as a service economy, focused on end-use, or human and environment needs. Matter is a means to the end of satisfying real need, and can be radically conserved. Money similarly must be returned to a status as a means to facilitate regenerative exchanges, rather than an end in itself. When this is done in even a significant portion of the economy, it can undercut the totalitarian power of money in the entire economy.
2. Following Natural Flows: The economy moves like a proverbial sailboat in the wind of natural processes by flowing not only with solar, renewable and "negawatt" energy, but also with natural hydrological cycles, with regional vegetation and food webs, and with local materials. As society becomes more ecological, political and economic boundaries tend to coincide with ecosystem boundaries. That is, it becomes bioregional.
3. Waste Equals Food: In nature there is no waste, as every process output is an input for some other process. This principle implies not only a high degree of organizational complementarity, but also that outputs and by-products are nutritious and non-toxic enough to be food for something.
4. Elegance and Multifunctionality: Complex food webs are implied by the previous principle--integrated relationships which are antithetical to industrial society's segmentation and fragmentation. What Roberts & Brandum (1995) call "economics with peripheral vision", this elegance features "problem-solving strategies that develop multiple wins and positive side-effects from any one set of actions".
5. Appropriate Scale / Linked Scale: This does not simply mean "small is beautiful", but that every regenerative activity has its most appropriate scale of operation. Even the smallest activities have larger impacts, however, and truly ecological activity "integrates design across multiple scales", reflecting influence of larger on smaller and smaller on larger (Van der Ryn and Cowan, 1996).
6. Diversity: In a world of constant flux, health and stability seem to depend on diversity. This applies to all levels (diversity of species, of ecosystems, of regions), and to social as well as ecological organization.
7. Self-Reliance, Self-Organization, Self-Design: Complex systems necessarily rely on "nested hierarchies" of intelligence which coordinate among themselves in a kind of resonant dance. These hierarchies are built from the bottom up, and--in contrast to civilization's social hierarchies--the base levels are the most important. In an economy which moves with ecosystem processes, tremendous scope for local response, design and adaptation must be provided--although these local and regional domains must be attuned to larger processes. Self-reliance is not self-sufficiency, but facilitates a more flexible and holistic interdependence.
8. Participation & Direct Democracy: To enable flexibility and resilience, ecological economic design features a high "eyes to acres" ratio (Van der Ryn & Cowan, 1996)--that is, lots of local observation and participation. Conversely, ecological organization and new information/communications technologies can provide the means for deeper levels of participation in the decisions that count in society.
9. Human Creativity and Development: Displacing resources from production and tuning into
the spontaneous productivity of nature requires tremendous creativity. It requires all-round human development that entails great qualities of nurture. These are qualities of giving and real service that have been suppressed (especially in men) by the social and psychological conditioning of the industrial order. In green change, the personal and political, the social and ecological, go hand-in-hand. Social, aesthetic and spiritual capacities become central to attaining economic efficiency, and become important goals in themselves.
10. The Strategic role of the Built-environment, the Landscape & Spatial Design: As Permaculturalist Bill Mollison has emphasized, the greatest efficiency gains can often be achieved by a simple spatial rearrangement of system components. Elegant, mixed-use integrated design which moves with nature is place-based. In addition, our buildings, in one way or another, absorb around 40 per cent of materials and energy throughput in North America. Thus, conservation and efficiency improvements in this sector impact tremendously on the entire economy.
Green economic conversion must be radical, but it must also be incremental and organic. How is this possible? Rodale cites the need for a kind of economic succession which mimics ecological landscape change. We need "pioneer enterprises" which can thrive in today's hostile economic landscape, but also prepare the ground for more ecological and egalitarian enterprises to come. A vision of what each sector of the economy would look like in an ecological economy--based on the specifics of each place--is a starting point. This vision must be coupled with practical action in each of these sectors, gradually moving toward this vision. Enough practical activity can eventually generate the impetus for state action to level the playing field for ecological alternatives.
By Brian Miliani -GreenEconomics.Net
Green economics is the economics of the real world—the world of work, human needs, the Earth’s materials, and how they mesh together most harmoniously. It is primarily about “use-value”, not “exchange-value” or money. It is about quality, not quantity for the sake of it. It is about regeneration---of individuals, communities and ecosystems---not about accumulation, of either money or material.
The industrial or capitalist definition of wealth has always been about the accumulation of money and matter. Any use-values generated (i.e. social needs met) have been secondary—a side-effect, by-product, spin-off or trickle-down—to the primary goal of monetary accumulation. For two centuries, the quest to accumulate money or capital drove a powerful industrialization process that actually did spin off many human benefits, however unfairly distributed. But blind material and monetary growth has reached a threshold where it is generating more destruction than real wealth. A postindustrial world requires an economics of quality, where both money and matter are returned to a status of means to an end. Green economics means a direct focus on meeting human and environmental need.
Tinkering with money, interest rates, or even state regulation is insufficient in creating sensible economies. One can scarcely imagine a more inefficient, irrational and wasteful way to organize any sector of the economy than what we actually have right now. Both the form and the content of sustainable agriculture, of green manufacturing, of soft energy, etc. are diametrically opposed to their current industrial counterparts, which are intrinsically wasteful. There is no justifiable rationale to be producing vast quantities of toxic materials; or generating more deskilled than skilled labour; or displacing labour rather than resources from production; or extending giant wasteful loops of production & consumption through globalization. These are economic inefficiencies, economic irrationalities that can only be righted by starting from scratch—to look at the most elegant and efficient ways of doing everything. As green economist Paul Hawken writes, our social and environmental crises are not problems of management, but of design. We need a system overhaul.
Green economics is not just about the environment. Certainly we must move to harmonize with natural systems, to make our economies flow benignly like sailboats in the wind of ecosystem processes. But doing this requires great human creativity, tremendous knowledge, and the widespread participation of everyone. Human beings and human workers can no longer serve as cogs in the machine of accumulation, be it capitalistic or socialistic. Ecological development requires an unleashing of human development and an extension of democracy. Social and ecological transformation go hand-in-hand.
Green economics and green politics both emphasize the creation of positive alternatives in all areas of life and every sector of the economy. Green economics does not prioritize support for either the "public" or the "private" sector. It argues that BOTH sectors must be transformed so that markets express social and ecological values, and the state becomes merged with grassroots networks of community innovation. For this to happen, new economic processes must be designed, and new rules of the game written, so that incentives for ecological conduct are built into everyday economic life. The state can then function less as a policeman, and more as a coordinator. This is a very different kind of "self-regulation" than current profit- and power- driven market forces. The basis for self-regulation in a green economy would be community, and intelligent design which provides incentives for the right things.
Here are ten interrelated principles that cover key dimensions of a green economy:
1. The Primacy of Use-value, Intrinsic Value & Quality: This is the fundamental principle of the green economy as a service economy, focused on end-use, or human and environment needs. Matter is a means to the end of satisfying real need, and can be radically conserved. Money similarly must be returned to a status as a means to facilitate regenerative exchanges, rather than an end in itself. When this is done in even a significant portion of the economy, it can undercut the totalitarian power of money in the entire economy.
2. Following Natural Flows: The economy moves like a proverbial sailboat in the wind of natural processes by flowing not only with solar, renewable and "negawatt" energy, but also with natural hydrological cycles, with regional vegetation and food webs, and with local materials. As society becomes more ecological, political and economic boundaries tend to coincide with ecosystem boundaries. That is, it becomes bioregional.
3. Waste Equals Food: In nature there is no waste, as every process output is an input for some other process. This principle implies not only a high degree of organizational complementarity, but also that outputs and by-products are nutritious and non-toxic enough to be food for something.
4. Elegance and Multifunctionality: Complex food webs are implied by the previous principle--integrated relationships which are antithetical to industrial society's segmentation and fragmentation. What Roberts & Brandum (1995) call "economics with peripheral vision", this elegance features "problem-solving strategies that develop multiple wins and positive side-effects from any one set of actions".
5. Appropriate Scale / Linked Scale: This does not simply mean "small is beautiful", but that every regenerative activity has its most appropriate scale of operation. Even the smallest activities have larger impacts, however, and truly ecological activity "integrates design across multiple scales", reflecting influence of larger on smaller and smaller on larger (Van der Ryn and Cowan, 1996).
6. Diversity: In a world of constant flux, health and stability seem to depend on diversity. This applies to all levels (diversity of species, of ecosystems, of regions), and to social as well as ecological organization.
7. Self-Reliance, Self-Organization, Self-Design: Complex systems necessarily rely on "nested hierarchies" of intelligence which coordinate among themselves in a kind of resonant dance. These hierarchies are built from the bottom up, and--in contrast to civilization's social hierarchies--the base levels are the most important. In an economy which moves with ecosystem processes, tremendous scope for local response, design and adaptation must be provided--although these local and regional domains must be attuned to larger processes. Self-reliance is not self-sufficiency, but facilitates a more flexible and holistic interdependence.
8. Participation & Direct Democracy: To enable flexibility and resilience, ecological economic design features a high "eyes to acres" ratio (Van der Ryn & Cowan, 1996)--that is, lots of local observation and participation. Conversely, ecological organization and new information/communications technologies can provide the means for deeper levels of participation in the decisions that count in society.
9. Human Creativity and Development: Displacing resources from production and tuning into
the spontaneous productivity of nature requires tremendous creativity. It requires all-round human development that entails great qualities of nurture. These are qualities of giving and real service that have been suppressed (especially in men) by the social and psychological conditioning of the industrial order. In green change, the personal and political, the social and ecological, go hand-in-hand. Social, aesthetic and spiritual capacities become central to attaining economic efficiency, and become important goals in themselves.
10. The Strategic role of the Built-environment, the Landscape & Spatial Design: As Permaculturalist Bill Mollison has emphasized, the greatest efficiency gains can often be achieved by a simple spatial rearrangement of system components. Elegant, mixed-use integrated design which moves with nature is place-based. In addition, our buildings, in one way or another, absorb around 40 per cent of materials and energy throughput in North America. Thus, conservation and efficiency improvements in this sector impact tremendously on the entire economy.
Green economic conversion must be radical, but it must also be incremental and organic. How is this possible? Rodale cites the need for a kind of economic succession which mimics ecological landscape change. We need "pioneer enterprises" which can thrive in today's hostile economic landscape, but also prepare the ground for more ecological and egalitarian enterprises to come. A vision of what each sector of the economy would look like in an ecological economy--based on the specifics of each place--is a starting point. This vision must be coupled with practical action in each of these sectors, gradually moving toward this vision. Enough practical activity can eventually generate the impetus for state action to level the playing field for ecological alternatives.
Enabling Gardens
Wonderland Gardens has enabling gardens. Call 404 286 6163 and ask for Sheldon for more detail.
Enabling Gardens
(Source HGTV.com)
Gardening doesn't have to be a struggle for those with physical challenges. With accommodating designs and the right tools, almost anyone can enjoy the benefits of gardening.
No matter what your age or physical ability, gardening can be quite challenging. But it doesn't have to be a struggle. A perfect example of that is found in Chicago's Botanic Garden. This is a place where barriers are eliminated for people who thought they couldn't garden.
Here, plants are positioned in a safe, barrier-free way. Raised beds and containers are used at different heights — from six inches to up to 18 inches. Some ledges are wide, while others are thin. Some are cut out at the bottom for your feet — there is a toe space that you can slide your feet into, getting right up against the wall and using it for support.
It's not just design. The plant selection also plays a key role in stimulating the senses. A great effort is made to find plants with multi-season interest and/or sensory aspects such as fragrance, texture and color. Even ornamental grasses throughout the garden introduce movement and sound. Just touching these plants provides such a huge difference in texture from velvety to prickly. Bright, bold color contrasts are used, which are easier to see by folks with vision impairments, and the kids love it, too. For the taste buds, a wide variety of vegetables and salad greens are grown.
The soil is very important for healthy plants, and a light, easily worked mix is better for people with weakened hand grip (arthritis and so forth) to manipulate. The tools are a vital element in any enabling garden. The goal is to try to make every gardening chore easier. Whether someone needs a helping hand caring for the garden beds or with hanging baskets, there seems to be a tool for every need. So with good design and choosing plants and tools that match your abilities, there's no excuse.
All can benefit from the beauty and spirit that enabling gardens offer. It's living therapy.
Enabling Gardens
(Source HGTV.com)
Gardening doesn't have to be a struggle for those with physical challenges. With accommodating designs and the right tools, almost anyone can enjoy the benefits of gardening.
No matter what your age or physical ability, gardening can be quite challenging. But it doesn't have to be a struggle. A perfect example of that is found in Chicago's Botanic Garden. This is a place where barriers are eliminated for people who thought they couldn't garden.
Here, plants are positioned in a safe, barrier-free way. Raised beds and containers are used at different heights — from six inches to up to 18 inches. Some ledges are wide, while others are thin. Some are cut out at the bottom for your feet — there is a toe space that you can slide your feet into, getting right up against the wall and using it for support.
It's not just design. The plant selection also plays a key role in stimulating the senses. A great effort is made to find plants with multi-season interest and/or sensory aspects such as fragrance, texture and color. Even ornamental grasses throughout the garden introduce movement and sound. Just touching these plants provides such a huge difference in texture from velvety to prickly. Bright, bold color contrasts are used, which are easier to see by folks with vision impairments, and the kids love it, too. For the taste buds, a wide variety of vegetables and salad greens are grown.
The soil is very important for healthy plants, and a light, easily worked mix is better for people with weakened hand grip (arthritis and so forth) to manipulate. The tools are a vital element in any enabling garden. The goal is to try to make every gardening chore easier. Whether someone needs a helping hand caring for the garden beds or with hanging baskets, there seems to be a tool for every need. So with good design and choosing plants and tools that match your abilities, there's no excuse.
All can benefit from the beauty and spirit that enabling gardens offer. It's living therapy.
Revive the Victory Garden!
http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/
What is a Victory Garden?
During World War I and World War II, the United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens in order to support the war effort. Millions of people planted gardens. In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million Victory Gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country that year. Emphasis was placed on making gardening a family or community effort -- not a drudgery, but a pastime, and a national duty.
Why plant a victory garden?
Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy and contributes to the cause of global warming.
Planting a Victory Garden to fight global warming would reduce the amount of pollution your food contibutes to global warming. Instead of traveling many miles from farm to table, your food would travel from your own garden to your table.
The Legacy of George Washington Carver
The Legacy of George Washington Carver
by Toby Fishbein
From inauspicious and dramatic beginnings, George Washington Carver became one of the nation's greatest educators and agricultural researchers. He was born in about 1864 (the exact year is unknown) on the Moses Carver plantation in Diamond Grove, Mo. His father died in an accident shortly before his birth, and when he was still an infant, Carver and his mother were kidnapped by slave raiders. The baby was returned to the plantation, but his mother was never heard from again.
Carver grew to be a student of life and a scholar, despite the illness and frailty of his early childhood. Because he was not strong enough to work in the fields, he helped with household chores and gardening. Probably as a result of these duties and because of the hours he would spend exploring the woods around his home, he developed a keen interest in plants at an early age. He gathered and cared for a wide variety of flora from the land near his home and became known as the "plant doctor," helping neighbors and friends with ailing plants. He learned to read, write and spell at home because there were no schools for African Americans in Diamond Grove. From age 10, his thirst for knowledge and desire for formal education led him to several communities in Missouri and Kansas and finally, in 1890, to Indianola, Iowa, were he enrolled at Simpson College to study piano and painting.
He excelled in art and music, but art instructor Etta Budd, whose father was head of the Iowa State College Department of Horticulture, recognized Carver's horticultural talents. She convinced him to pursue a more pragmatic career in scientific agriculture and, in 1891, he became the first African American to enroll at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which today is Iowa State University.
Through quiet determination and perseverance, Carver soon became involved in all facets of campus life. He was a leader in the YMCA and the debate club. He worked in the dining rooms and as a trainer for the athletic teams. He was captain, the highest student rank, of the campus military regiment. His poetry was published in the student newspaper and two of his paintings were exhibited at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
Carver's interests in music and art remained strong, but it was his excellence in botany and horticulture that prompted professors Joseph Budd and Louis Pammel to encourage him to stay on as a graduate student after he completed his bachelor's degree in 1894. Because of his proficiency in plant breeding, Carver was appointed to the faculty, becoming Iowa State's first African American faculty member.
Over the next two years, as assistant botanist for the College Experiment Station, Carver quickly developed scientific skills in plant pathology and mycology, the branch of botany that deals with fungi. He published several articles on his work and gained national respect. In 1896, he completed his master's degree and was invited by Booker T. Washington to join the faculty of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute.
At Tuskegee, he gained an international reputation in research, teaching and outreach. Carver taught his students that nature is the greatest teacher and that by understanding the forces in nature, one can understand the dynamics of agriculture. He instilled in them the attitude of gentleness and taught that education should be "made common" --used for betterment of the people in the community.
Carver's work resulted in the creation of 325 products from peanuts, more than 100 products from sweet potatoes and hundreds more from a dozen other plants native to the South. These products contributed to rural economic improvement by offering alternative crops to cotton that were beneficial for the farmers and for the land. During this time, Carver also carried the Iowa State extension concept to the South and created "movable schools," bringing practical agricultural knowledge to farmers, thereby promoting health, sound nutrition and self-sufficiency. Dennis Keeney, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, writes in the Leopold Letter newsletter about Carver's contributions:
Carver worked on improving soils, growing crops with low inputs, and using species that fixed nitrogen (hence, the work on the cowpea and the peanut). Carver wrote in The Need of Scientific Agriculture in the South: "The virgin fertility of our soils and the vast amount of unskilled labor have been more of a curse than a blessing to agriculture. This exhaustive system for cultivation, the destruction of forest, the rapid and almost constant decomposition of organic matter, have made our agricultural problem one requiring more brains than of the North, East or West."
Carver died in 1943. He received many honors in his lifetime and after, including a 1938 feature film, Life of George Washington Carver; the George Washington Carver Museum, dedicated at Tuskegee Institute in 1941; the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture in 1939; a national monument in Diamond Grove, Mo.; commemorative postage stamps in 1947 and 1998; and a fifty-cent coin in 1951. He was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1977 and inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1994, Iowa State awarded him the degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. In recent years, Dr. Carver has also been recognized by being named to the USDA Hall of Heroes (2000) and one of 100 nominees for the "The Greatest American," series on the Discovery Channel (2005).
Revised March, 2007.
by Toby Fishbein
From inauspicious and dramatic beginnings, George Washington Carver became one of the nation's greatest educators and agricultural researchers. He was born in about 1864 (the exact year is unknown) on the Moses Carver plantation in Diamond Grove, Mo. His father died in an accident shortly before his birth, and when he was still an infant, Carver and his mother were kidnapped by slave raiders. The baby was returned to the plantation, but his mother was never heard from again.
Carver grew to be a student of life and a scholar, despite the illness and frailty of his early childhood. Because he was not strong enough to work in the fields, he helped with household chores and gardening. Probably as a result of these duties and because of the hours he would spend exploring the woods around his home, he developed a keen interest in plants at an early age. He gathered and cared for a wide variety of flora from the land near his home and became known as the "plant doctor," helping neighbors and friends with ailing plants. He learned to read, write and spell at home because there were no schools for African Americans in Diamond Grove. From age 10, his thirst for knowledge and desire for formal education led him to several communities in Missouri and Kansas and finally, in 1890, to Indianola, Iowa, were he enrolled at Simpson College to study piano and painting.
He excelled in art and music, but art instructor Etta Budd, whose father was head of the Iowa State College Department of Horticulture, recognized Carver's horticultural talents. She convinced him to pursue a more pragmatic career in scientific agriculture and, in 1891, he became the first African American to enroll at Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, which today is Iowa State University.
Through quiet determination and perseverance, Carver soon became involved in all facets of campus life. He was a leader in the YMCA and the debate club. He worked in the dining rooms and as a trainer for the athletic teams. He was captain, the highest student rank, of the campus military regiment. His poetry was published in the student newspaper and two of his paintings were exhibited at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
Carver's interests in music and art remained strong, but it was his excellence in botany and horticulture that prompted professors Joseph Budd and Louis Pammel to encourage him to stay on as a graduate student after he completed his bachelor's degree in 1894. Because of his proficiency in plant breeding, Carver was appointed to the faculty, becoming Iowa State's first African American faculty member.
Over the next two years, as assistant botanist for the College Experiment Station, Carver quickly developed scientific skills in plant pathology and mycology, the branch of botany that deals with fungi. He published several articles on his work and gained national respect. In 1896, he completed his master's degree and was invited by Booker T. Washington to join the faculty of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute.
At Tuskegee, he gained an international reputation in research, teaching and outreach. Carver taught his students that nature is the greatest teacher and that by understanding the forces in nature, one can understand the dynamics of agriculture. He instilled in them the attitude of gentleness and taught that education should be "made common" --used for betterment of the people in the community.
Carver's work resulted in the creation of 325 products from peanuts, more than 100 products from sweet potatoes and hundreds more from a dozen other plants native to the South. These products contributed to rural economic improvement by offering alternative crops to cotton that were beneficial for the farmers and for the land. During this time, Carver also carried the Iowa State extension concept to the South and created "movable schools," bringing practical agricultural knowledge to farmers, thereby promoting health, sound nutrition and self-sufficiency. Dennis Keeney, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, writes in the Leopold Letter newsletter about Carver's contributions:
Carver worked on improving soils, growing crops with low inputs, and using species that fixed nitrogen (hence, the work on the cowpea and the peanut). Carver wrote in The Need of Scientific Agriculture in the South: "The virgin fertility of our soils and the vast amount of unskilled labor have been more of a curse than a blessing to agriculture. This exhaustive system for cultivation, the destruction of forest, the rapid and almost constant decomposition of organic matter, have made our agricultural problem one requiring more brains than of the North, East or West."
Carver died in 1943. He received many honors in his lifetime and after, including a 1938 feature film, Life of George Washington Carver; the George Washington Carver Museum, dedicated at Tuskegee Institute in 1941; the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture in 1939; a national monument in Diamond Grove, Mo.; commemorative postage stamps in 1947 and 1998; and a fifty-cent coin in 1951. He was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1977 and inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1994, Iowa State awarded him the degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. In recent years, Dr. Carver has also been recognized by being named to the USDA Hall of Heroes (2000) and one of 100 nominees for the "The Greatest American," series on the Discovery Channel (2005).
Revised March, 2007.
In Our Own Words - Michael Davis
The Wonderland Gardens' co-founder share the inspiration and the meaning of Wonderland Gardens.
I moved back to Atlanta in the spring of 1994 and felt very unfulfilled because I had moved back to Atlanta prior to seeing an educational non-profit that I had founded in 1990 come to fruition. In June, I stopped by Sheldon's house to catch up and the discussion of experiences led to him sharing his dream for a Wonderland concept and to me sharing my non-profit experiences with youth. From that conversation, we knew we had something that was unique and something special. We have learned that Wonderland is bigger than our dreams and is meant to be in South DeKalb on the old Mathis dairy site. I see Wonderland as a way of giving back to the community that has given me so much.
I grew up two miles from the site that we chose for Wonderland Gardens in South DeKalb. I grew up and my parents still live across the street from Sheldon's family in Spring Valley. Growing up, the Fleming children and the Davis children were all close. I looked at Kelly as a big sister, so like for Sheldon, this project is in memory of Kelly and her spirit is with us. As Sheldon has stated Wonderland was a way to turn poison into medicine. My dream is for Wonderland be the destination in South DeKalb for the metropolitan Atlanta community for healing the mind, body, and spirit. I want to see the consciousness raised on the need to have and maintain these types of areas and the need to relieve stress and to for recreation not only for all people, but especially in African American communities where more green space is needed to escape from the day-to-day pressures. Wonderland is about bringing all people together to learn from each other, to learn about themselves all while communing with nature.
I moved back to Atlanta in the spring of 1994 and felt very unfulfilled because I had moved back to Atlanta prior to seeing an educational non-profit that I had founded in 1990 come to fruition. In June, I stopped by Sheldon's house to catch up and the discussion of experiences led to him sharing his dream for a Wonderland concept and to me sharing my non-profit experiences with youth. From that conversation, we knew we had something that was unique and something special. We have learned that Wonderland is bigger than our dreams and is meant to be in South DeKalb on the old Mathis dairy site. I see Wonderland as a way of giving back to the community that has given me so much.
I grew up two miles from the site that we chose for Wonderland Gardens in South DeKalb. I grew up and my parents still live across the street from Sheldon's family in Spring Valley. Growing up, the Fleming children and the Davis children were all close. I looked at Kelly as a big sister, so like for Sheldon, this project is in memory of Kelly and her spirit is with us. As Sheldon has stated Wonderland was a way to turn poison into medicine. My dream is for Wonderland be the destination in South DeKalb for the metropolitan Atlanta community for healing the mind, body, and spirit. I want to see the consciousness raised on the need to have and maintain these types of areas and the need to relieve stress and to for recreation not only for all people, but especially in African American communities where more green space is needed to escape from the day-to-day pressures. Wonderland is about bringing all people together to learn from each other, to learn about themselves all while communing with nature.
In Our Own Words - Sheldon Fleming
The Wonderland Gardens' co-founder share the inspiration and the meaning of Wonderland Gardens.
Wonderland Gardens (WG) has been a seed with in me, I just needed help. The loss of Kelly, my younger sister and my mother put organic fertilizer through my veins. The WG journey that has taken place has been a natural one for me, thanks for my parents. I have learned not to question why WG has grown so quickly, and just continue working the LAND.
I have always worked with the land planting flowers, trees, shrubs or just organic vegetables. Wonderland has given me the opportunity to redirect the anger inside me and grow these same plants on the historic Mathis Dairy land that cows grazed for over 50 years. Just as the Mathis family enriched so many lives, WG is using this same rich land as the catalyst for saving lives and healing some wounds.
I truly believe all people are on the wonderful earth have the right to be happy. So when I see little people from DeKalb Head Start or the Private Industry Program youth. Seniors from Greenforest or community gardens from the metro area and hundreds of volunteers from Hands on Atlanta walking through the garden with smiles on their faces, I want to believe for that one moment, they are happy. If this means growing vegetables and flowers the rest of my life to continue seeing those smiles and more, THEN SO BE IT.
Sheldon S. Fleming C0-Founder
Wonderland Gardens (WG) has been a seed with in me, I just needed help. The loss of Kelly, my younger sister and my mother put organic fertilizer through my veins. The WG journey that has taken place has been a natural one for me, thanks for my parents. I have learned not to question why WG has grown so quickly, and just continue working the LAND.
I have always worked with the land planting flowers, trees, shrubs or just organic vegetables. Wonderland has given me the opportunity to redirect the anger inside me and grow these same plants on the historic Mathis Dairy land that cows grazed for over 50 years. Just as the Mathis family enriched so many lives, WG is using this same rich land as the catalyst for saving lives and healing some wounds.
I truly believe all people are on the wonderful earth have the right to be happy. So when I see little people from DeKalb Head Start or the Private Industry Program youth. Seniors from Greenforest or community gardens from the metro area and hundreds of volunteers from Hands on Atlanta walking through the garden with smiles on their faces, I want to believe for that one moment, they are happy. If this means growing vegetables and flowers the rest of my life to continue seeing those smiles and more, THEN SO BE IT.
Sheldon S. Fleming C0-Founder
Greenspace and Sustainable
A neat website for checking out promote healthy and sustainable communities -
http://www.clfuture.org/
http://www.clfuture.org/
Any questions?
If you have any questions on gardening, landscaping, Wonderland Gardens, or website suggestions, contact Sheldon Fleming at contact@wonderlandgardens.org.
Botanical Gardens in Atlanta
Visiting a botanical conservatory is a great way to teach children about the different types of vegetation. Many botanical gardens keep endangered and rare plants in their collections, so you can have the opportunity to see trees, orchids, roses, and other plants that you would not otherwise get to experience. There are different types of botanical gardens, so you should learn a little bit about those in your area before you visit them. For instance, if you are mostly interested in looking at and learning about trees, then you should consider visiting an arboretum. If you are more interested in learning about plants like flowers, then you should consider visiting an herbarium. Many of the botanical gardens not only have beautiful orchids and roses that you can look at, they also have scientific teams that study rare and endangered plants. Studying these species gives scientists a way to find new ways to prevent them from going extinct. If they can propagate the plants in a conservatory, then they will always have representatives of the flowers. While this might not be ideal, it is certainly better than losing the species completely. Not only do some of the plants in the botanical gardens have beautiful flowers, they could also possess properties that make them useful as medicines. If you are interested in touring the scientific labs at a conservatory, then you should be sure to call ahead to see if the botanical gardens will allow you. You might also need to schedule an appointment.
Botanical gardens are places where people go to look at flora from all over the world. Some botanical gardens are open to the public and are run by cities. Some botanical gardens are privately-owned. Most botanical gardens charge admission prices. Many botanical gardens are in some way associated with zoos. Some botanical gardens specialize in having tropical plants while others specialize in flowering plants. Many botanical gardens do not specialize in showing one type of plant but instead have plants from all kinds of climates. Many botanical gardens have indoor gardens in greenhouses and outdoor gardens. Some botanical gardens are all outside or all indoors. Some botanical gardens are only open during the warm months while others are open year round. Some public gardens are botanical gardens and some public greenhouses are part of botanical gardens.
ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN1345 Piedmont Ave NEAtlanta,GA 30309 (404) 876-5859
WONDERLAND GARDENS INC3145 Rainbow DRDecatur,GA 300345.9MI from Atlanta (404) 286-6163
DUNAWAY GARDENS3218 Roscoe RDNewnan,GA 3026338.3MI from Atlanta (678) 423-4050
Botanical gardens are places where people go to look at flora from all over the world. Some botanical gardens are open to the public and are run by cities. Some botanical gardens are privately-owned. Most botanical gardens charge admission prices. Many botanical gardens are in some way associated with zoos. Some botanical gardens specialize in having tropical plants while others specialize in flowering plants. Many botanical gardens do not specialize in showing one type of plant but instead have plants from all kinds of climates. Many botanical gardens have indoor gardens in greenhouses and outdoor gardens. Some botanical gardens are all outside or all indoors. Some botanical gardens are only open during the warm months while others are open year round. Some public gardens are botanical gardens and some public greenhouses are part of botanical gardens.
ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN1345 Piedmont Ave NEAtlanta,GA 30309 (404) 876-5859
WONDERLAND GARDENS INC3145 Rainbow DRDecatur,GA 300345.9MI from Atlanta (404) 286-6163
DUNAWAY GARDENS3218 Roscoe RDNewnan,GA 3026338.3MI from Atlanta (678) 423-4050
Recycling
AIf you are you are looking for a guide to local recycling center resources where you live, check out http://earth911.com/
What is Community Gardening
Check out the website American Community Gardening Association http://communitygarden.org/ for the history and the big picture and then start a community garden with Wonderland Gardens.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Organic Gardening
If you are looking to learn about organic gardening or find solutions, check out this website http://www.organicgardening.com/channel/1,,s1-2,00.html
Practicing Plant Conservation: What can you do?
From the United States Botanical Gardens website
Practicing Plant Conservation: What can you do?Choose garden plants with conservation in mind.Collection of plants from wild populations can have very negative impacts on the survival of threatened plant species. For garden and landscaping projects, seek to purchase plants that have been certified to have been propagated from cultivated stock grown by a responsible nursery. Never purchase plants that may have been taken from wild populations. Some great resources for learning about how to be sure the garden plants you purchase from nurseries have been grown responsibly are:The Gardener’s Guide to Plant Conservation by Nina T. MarshallThe Vanishing Garden: A Conservation Guide to Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell and Fay Sharman
Avoid introducing invasive plants.In your own garden, avoid the introduction and spread of invasive exotic species. Controlling invasive weeds on your own property will reduce the opportunity for them to spread to nearby naturalized areas where they may compete with and overpower native plant populations. Be aware that many ornamental plants commonly grown in gardens and landscapes can become invasive. In their place, use native plants as beautiful substitutes to invasive ornamental plants in your garden. To learn about invasive weeds and ornamental plants and native plant alternatives, explore these web sites:National Park Service: Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas websiteInvasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Identification and Control website
Create habitat for plant pollinators.Moths, hummingbirds, bees, ants, beetles, birds, and bats are a few of more than two thousand avian, mammal, and invertebrate pollinators that are crucial to keeping our gardens beautiful and wild areas healthy. Pollinators are the basis of the reproductive cycle of plants and are critical to the survival of plant populations. By creating a pollinator-friendly habitat in you own garden, you can ensure that plant pollinators have the sustenance and shelter they need to be able to survive and perform their important ecological roles. To learn about the importance of pollinators and how you can provide habitat for them in your own backyard, check out these resources:The Forgotten Pollinators by Stephen L. Buchmann and Gary Paul NabhanNational Wildlife Federation: Backyard Wildlife Habitat website
Minimize your use of chemicals in the garden.Try to minimize the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals on lawns and other garden areas. Using good cultural practices to keep garden plants healthy and resistant to pest infestations, removing weeds regularly to prevent them from going to seed in your garden beds, and using plants that are known to have natural resistance to diseases are just a few of the preventative measures you can take to reduce the need to use chemicals in your garden. By cutting back on the use of harsh chemicals, you will reduce the risk of contamination of local waterways and wild areas. You will also allow your garden to become a more inviting environment for bugs, birds, frogs, and other garden residents that will help control pests naturally. The following are good resources for learning about measures that you can take in your garden that will help you reduce the need to use chemicals to control weeds, disease, and pests.Garden Web: Integrated Pest ManagementVirginia Cooperative Extension
Conservation
Applied Plant Conservation Training Program
Conservation
Gardens and Plant Collections
Integrating Sustainability Into Your Garden's Culture
Practicing Plant Conservation
Plant Rescue Center Program
Plant Rescue Center Program
Paphphiopedilum vietnamense Orchid Conservation Program
Rare and Endangered Plants of the Week
Rare and Endangered Plant of the Week
More Rare and Endangered Plants
Practicing Plant Conservation: What can you do?Choose garden plants with conservation in mind.Collection of plants from wild populations can have very negative impacts on the survival of threatened plant species. For garden and landscaping projects, seek to purchase plants that have been certified to have been propagated from cultivated stock grown by a responsible nursery. Never purchase plants that may have been taken from wild populations. Some great resources for learning about how to be sure the garden plants you purchase from nurseries have been grown responsibly are:The Gardener’s Guide to Plant Conservation by Nina T. MarshallThe Vanishing Garden: A Conservation Guide to Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell and Fay Sharman
Avoid introducing invasive plants.In your own garden, avoid the introduction and spread of invasive exotic species. Controlling invasive weeds on your own property will reduce the opportunity for them to spread to nearby naturalized areas where they may compete with and overpower native plant populations. Be aware that many ornamental plants commonly grown in gardens and landscapes can become invasive. In their place, use native plants as beautiful substitutes to invasive ornamental plants in your garden. To learn about invasive weeds and ornamental plants and native plant alternatives, explore these web sites:National Park Service: Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas websiteInvasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Identification and Control website
Create habitat for plant pollinators.Moths, hummingbirds, bees, ants, beetles, birds, and bats are a few of more than two thousand avian, mammal, and invertebrate pollinators that are crucial to keeping our gardens beautiful and wild areas healthy. Pollinators are the basis of the reproductive cycle of plants and are critical to the survival of plant populations. By creating a pollinator-friendly habitat in you own garden, you can ensure that plant pollinators have the sustenance and shelter they need to be able to survive and perform their important ecological roles. To learn about the importance of pollinators and how you can provide habitat for them in your own backyard, check out these resources:The Forgotten Pollinators by Stephen L. Buchmann and Gary Paul NabhanNational Wildlife Federation: Backyard Wildlife Habitat website
Minimize your use of chemicals in the garden.Try to minimize the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals on lawns and other garden areas. Using good cultural practices to keep garden plants healthy and resistant to pest infestations, removing weeds regularly to prevent them from going to seed in your garden beds, and using plants that are known to have natural resistance to diseases are just a few of the preventative measures you can take to reduce the need to use chemicals in your garden. By cutting back on the use of harsh chemicals, you will reduce the risk of contamination of local waterways and wild areas. You will also allow your garden to become a more inviting environment for bugs, birds, frogs, and other garden residents that will help control pests naturally. The following are good resources for learning about measures that you can take in your garden that will help you reduce the need to use chemicals to control weeds, disease, and pests.Garden Web: Integrated Pest ManagementVirginia Cooperative Extension
Conservation
Applied Plant Conservation Training Program
Conservation
Gardens and Plant Collections
Integrating Sustainability Into Your Garden's Culture
Practicing Plant Conservation
Plant Rescue Center Program
Plant Rescue Center Program
Paphphiopedilum vietnamense Orchid Conservation Program
Rare and Endangered Plants of the Week
Rare and Endangered Plant of the Week
More Rare and Endangered Plants
Gardening Tips for Seniors
Gardening Tips for Seniors
The aspects of gardening for seniors benefits their health and well being while being therapeutic and allowing them to stay active and productive.
Gardening in itself is an enjoyable pastime and an excellent form of exercise for mobility, flexibility, use of motor skills while helping to improve strength and endurance.
This type of physical activity also helps to prevent osteoporosis, reduces stress levels while promoting relaxation to help you rest better at night.
A few good words of advice for seniors who garden is to warm up by doing a few stretches before starting any gardening activities and working with your garden tools. Doing this will help reduce any muscle soreness you may experience later on.
* Also, drink plenty of liquids (avoiding alcohol), to keep your body well hydrated.
* Be sure to take care of cuts, bruises scrapes and insect bites right away to help avoid infection.
* Try and work in the garden early in the morning or late in the day to avoid blazing midday sun and heat which can make even the healthiest senior ill or weary.
* Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and add a hat, gloves to cover exposed skin and use sunscreen to protect against sunburn and sun damage.
However, in addition to these tips, it is also important to know your limitations. When you start to feel fatigued, take a break for a few moments.
Also, try rotating your gardening tasks every half hour or so, as this will help you to use your larger muscles and be less taxing on those smaller muscles that you really may not be aware that you're putting stress on until you become uncomfortable later on.
Also avoid using tools that will put you in awkward body positions. If possible, take advantage of the new breed of ergonomic garden tools which are designed to reduce strain and injury because they work in conjunction with your body movements.
These garden tools are pretty near perfect for the senior gardeners, due to the fact that they are lightweight and sturdy, thus giving better control. The shorter handles on ergonomic tools gives better leverage control while the longer tool handles give much better power and are better for jobs requiring full body motion.
Another gardening tip for seniors is to keep your tools sharp, well oiled and in good working condition. This will help avoid resistance when using them and cut down on the manpower needed to execute certain tasks. Remember that proper body positioning will minimize muscle soreness and fatigue.
Here are a few safety tips and easy steps that seniors should take into consideration when gardening to avoid injury and minor aches and pains:
* Be careful with power tools because even the smallest ones can become a burden in worn and weary hands.
* Bend at the knees and hips to help avoid injury
* Try to work below shoulder level when possible and keep tour elbows partially bent while gardening
* Definitely avoid twisting the forearm back and forth. Instead, try to work with your hands in a neutral position.
* Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands
* Plant vertical or raised garden beds to avoid bending or stooping
* Use adaptive tools ,garden tools can be modified to suit the needs of older people
* Provide yourself with shaded areas for working whenever possible
* Finally, if memory abilities are becoming affected, secure gates and fences can be an enormous advantage by helping to keep seniors with memory troubles secure while still allowing them to indulge in gardening.
The aspects of gardening for seniors benefits their health and well being while being therapeutic and allowing them to stay active and productive.
Gardening in itself is an enjoyable pastime and an excellent form of exercise for mobility, flexibility, use of motor skills while helping to improve strength and endurance.
This type of physical activity also helps to prevent osteoporosis, reduces stress levels while promoting relaxation to help you rest better at night.
A few good words of advice for seniors who garden is to warm up by doing a few stretches before starting any gardening activities and working with your garden tools. Doing this will help reduce any muscle soreness you may experience later on.
* Also, drink plenty of liquids (avoiding alcohol), to keep your body well hydrated.
* Be sure to take care of cuts, bruises scrapes and insect bites right away to help avoid infection.
* Try and work in the garden early in the morning or late in the day to avoid blazing midday sun and heat which can make even the healthiest senior ill or weary.
* Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and add a hat, gloves to cover exposed skin and use sunscreen to protect against sunburn and sun damage.
However, in addition to these tips, it is also important to know your limitations. When you start to feel fatigued, take a break for a few moments.
Also, try rotating your gardening tasks every half hour or so, as this will help you to use your larger muscles and be less taxing on those smaller muscles that you really may not be aware that you're putting stress on until you become uncomfortable later on.
Also avoid using tools that will put you in awkward body positions. If possible, take advantage of the new breed of ergonomic garden tools which are designed to reduce strain and injury because they work in conjunction with your body movements.
These garden tools are pretty near perfect for the senior gardeners, due to the fact that they are lightweight and sturdy, thus giving better control. The shorter handles on ergonomic tools gives better leverage control while the longer tool handles give much better power and are better for jobs requiring full body motion.
Another gardening tip for seniors is to keep your tools sharp, well oiled and in good working condition. This will help avoid resistance when using them and cut down on the manpower needed to execute certain tasks. Remember that proper body positioning will minimize muscle soreness and fatigue.
Here are a few safety tips and easy steps that seniors should take into consideration when gardening to avoid injury and minor aches and pains:
* Be careful with power tools because even the smallest ones can become a burden in worn and weary hands.
* Bend at the knees and hips to help avoid injury
* Try to work below shoulder level when possible and keep tour elbows partially bent while gardening
* Definitely avoid twisting the forearm back and forth. Instead, try to work with your hands in a neutral position.
* Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands
* Plant vertical or raised garden beds to avoid bending or stooping
* Use adaptive tools ,garden tools can be modified to suit the needs of older people
* Provide yourself with shaded areas for working whenever possible
* Finally, if memory abilities are becoming affected, secure gates and fences can be an enormous advantage by helping to keep seniors with memory troubles secure while still allowing them to indulge in gardening.
Inch by inch, row by row - popularity of gardening - The Big Picture
Gardening is one of the nation's most popular pastimes. One in four Americans says that gardening is a real hobby or interest of theirs. About one in four spends four or more hours per week tending lawns, flowers, and vegetables.
The share of adults citing gardening as a hobby has not changed significantly in recent years. Since 1988, it has fluctuated between 23 percent and 25 percent. Yet the large number of adults who will age into the prime gardening years in the next century suggests that the overall number of gardeners could increase, even if rates remain stable. The likelihood of gardening as a hobby increases with age, from 13 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds to 26 percent of those aged 30 to 44 and 30 percent of 45-to-59-year-olds. The oldest Americans have the highest gardening rates of all, at 33 percent of those aged 60 and older.
Owning a home is one of the best predictors of the likelihood of gardening, which is why young adults are less likely than average to prune shrubs and mow a lawn. Leisure time probably also has something to do with gardening's popularity among older Americans. Like most gardeners, older adults cite a variety of reasons for gardening. They are more likely than average to say they garden as a way to stay active or for aesthetic pleasure. They're less likely than average to pursue their hobby to spend time with family. So for many of these 60-plus Americans, gardening may be a peaceful, solitary pursuit.
COPYRIGHT 1997 Copyright by Media Central Inc., A PRIMEDIA Company. All rights reserved.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
The share of adults citing gardening as a hobby has not changed significantly in recent years. Since 1988, it has fluctuated between 23 percent and 25 percent. Yet the large number of adults who will age into the prime gardening years in the next century suggests that the overall number of gardeners could increase, even if rates remain stable. The likelihood of gardening as a hobby increases with age, from 13 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds to 26 percent of those aged 30 to 44 and 30 percent of 45-to-59-year-olds. The oldest Americans have the highest gardening rates of all, at 33 percent of those aged 60 and older.
Owning a home is one of the best predictors of the likelihood of gardening, which is why young adults are less likely than average to prune shrubs and mow a lawn. Leisure time probably also has something to do with gardening's popularity among older Americans. Like most gardeners, older adults cite a variety of reasons for gardening. They are more likely than average to say they garden as a way to stay active or for aesthetic pleasure. They're less likely than average to pursue their hobby to spend time with family. So for many of these 60-plus Americans, gardening may be a peaceful, solitary pursuit.
COPYRIGHT 1997 Copyright by Media Central Inc., A PRIMEDIA Company. All rights reserved.COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
The wonder of growing Man's dream blooms from tragedy
The wonder of growing Man's dreams blooms from tragedy
David Joyner STAFF WRITER
3 August 1995
Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Plagued by the painful memory of his sister's murder, Sheldon Fleming turned to gardening. During every spare minute - after work and on the weekends - he landscaped his father's yard into a small slice of paradise.
A plum tree was planted in the family's fruit garden in his sister's honor.
This year, as Fleming brings to the community the tool that helped him survive, the memorial arbor is bearing its fruit for the first time. And now Fleming is hoping to share with the community the tool that helped him survive. "Wonderland Gardens" could be planted on 20 acres that were once the Mathis Dairy - on Rainbow Drive near South DeKalb Mall - as early as this fall. Fleming's brainchild, the community garden will bring youth together with senior citizens to grow vegetables and wildflowers.
"I knew it would eventually come," said his wife, Deborah Fleming. "He has always talked of his visions and his ideas of how people are when they're outside."
The program will help to guard schoolchildren and urban youth from the ills that plague their generation, YMCA administrative assistant Libby West said.
West, who grew up on a farm, is involved in the group effort to create Wonderland Gardens.
"You just can't be violent - you just can't hold a gun and plant a seed and watch it grow," she said. "The two are just in conflict with each other."
On Feb. 26, 1987, Sheldon Fleming's sister, Kelly, was raped, robbed and murdered in a case that still has not been solved.
Sheldon and Kelly were close. They worked together at Fleming's Tropical Gardens, a nursery owned by their retired father, Samuel Fleming.
A basketball star, Kelly was the best shooter in a family with three athletic boys, Sheldon said.
She hit 89 percent from the free-throw line for the DeKalb College- South Campus team; she also played as a Lady Eagle at Columbia High School.
At 6:30 on the evening she died, Kelly went to get some ice cream. When she didn't return immediately, Sheldon thought she might be out with friends.
"The evening just passed by so quickly," he remembered.
At 1 a.m., the police knocked on the Flemings' door. Kelly had gotten the ice cream but never made it back home.
Kelly was found dead, tied up in her father's van.
The NAACP and governor's office both contributed to a reward fund, Sheldon said, but the killer was never found.
"Kelly was the type," Sheldon remembers, "she didn't care whether you had a quarter or a million dollars."
The pain, Sheldon said, spun like a spider's web, affecting everyone who knew his sister.
"This just didn't touch my life," Sheldon said. "It did touch a lot of people's lives." The tragedy took its toll on Sheldon's mother.
After the murder, Deborah Fleming would drop by to visit and talk with her mother-in-law for hours.
"That was what she needed," Deborah said. "But you could see that who she needed was not there."
Sheldon's mother died in her sleep three years after Kelly's death.
In 1988, the year after Kelly's death, Samuel Fleming bought a small, spring-fed lake on 10 acres of land near the South River.
He built a home there, in the middle of a neighborhood where houses range from the old, run-down and forgotten to the new, lavish and luxurious.
It's a generational community, Sheldon explains, where grandmothers and cousins live next door to sons and aunts. Sheldon, a landscape architect and garden enthusiast, helped to shape the land into a resort for his father.
Concrete and stone steps lead to finely manicured grass. Beside the lake, grapevines wrap around a trellis.
Blueberries grow in a fruit garden, along with the plum tree planted in honor of Kelly.
Painted white, blue and gray, wood benches and chairs stretch under a shelter on the side of the lake opposite the house. Sometimes the Flemings throw parties, Sheldon says, with live jazz and lots of friends.
Three small boats bob on the green water by a small, wooden dock. Catfish the size of small children race under them.
The lot, Sheldon explains, is a metaphor for the changes that went on within him.
After finding Buddhism, he realized a connection with nature. Digging, planting, watering and hammering, Sheldon rebuilt himself.
The inspiration for Wonderland Gardens came, Sheldon says, when he was working in his father's yard.
He met with his childhood friend, Michael Davis, who worked with youth at a nonprofit agency in Connecticut.
Sheldon's experience with community gardens grew from his work at the Cooperative Extension Service's Urban Gardening program and Atlanta's parks bureau.
One Sunday last September, Davis, Sheldon and Bettye Ludd - a special-events planner - gathered at the lake.
Brainstorming for most of the day, the three envisioned a project to team youth with senior citizens in a community garden.
The result was Wonderland Gardens. Conceptualized in a 22-page document, the project is slated to begin as early as this fall on land that once was the Mathis Dairy.
Libby West put Sheldon in contact with Ariel Williams, director of the Soapstone Center for the Arts in south DeKalb.
Planning a cultural center for the old Mathis land, Soapstone is looking for groups to share the spotlight.
Wonderland Gardens, Williams said, fits right in.
Bringing together a fruit garden in honor of Kelly, community- planted patches, a demonstration area and a place for storytelling, the gardens will also emphasize cultural diversity, Sheldon said.
The group has planned festivals celebrating the fauna of different regions of the world, complemented by demonstrations inside the center.
Memberships, admission fees and charges for taking flowers and fruits out of the garden will help to raise money, according to the overview draft.
Private contributors, Ludd said, have helped as well.
Those who have seen Sheldon's work at his father's home attest to his ability.
Davis saw Samuel's land in its infancy, before it was developed. Back then, it was just another lot.
But, near its completion, Davis said his reaction to the landscape was intense. It's a response, Sheldon says, shared by many visitors.
"There's a lot of love there," Davis said. "Kelly's spirit is certainly there. . . . There is really something in nature above what's pedestrian in life."
For more information, call 288-0142.
David Joyner STAFF WRITER
3 August 1995
Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Plagued by the painful memory of his sister's murder, Sheldon Fleming turned to gardening. During every spare minute - after work and on the weekends - he landscaped his father's yard into a small slice of paradise.
A plum tree was planted in the family's fruit garden in his sister's honor.
This year, as Fleming brings to the community the tool that helped him survive, the memorial arbor is bearing its fruit for the first time. And now Fleming is hoping to share with the community the tool that helped him survive. "Wonderland Gardens" could be planted on 20 acres that were once the Mathis Dairy - on Rainbow Drive near South DeKalb Mall - as early as this fall. Fleming's brainchild, the community garden will bring youth together with senior citizens to grow vegetables and wildflowers.
"I knew it would eventually come," said his wife, Deborah Fleming. "He has always talked of his visions and his ideas of how people are when they're outside."
The program will help to guard schoolchildren and urban youth from the ills that plague their generation, YMCA administrative assistant Libby West said.
West, who grew up on a farm, is involved in the group effort to create Wonderland Gardens.
"You just can't be violent - you just can't hold a gun and plant a seed and watch it grow," she said. "The two are just in conflict with each other."
On Feb. 26, 1987, Sheldon Fleming's sister, Kelly, was raped, robbed and murdered in a case that still has not been solved.
Sheldon and Kelly were close. They worked together at Fleming's Tropical Gardens, a nursery owned by their retired father, Samuel Fleming.
A basketball star, Kelly was the best shooter in a family with three athletic boys, Sheldon said.
She hit 89 percent from the free-throw line for the DeKalb College- South Campus team; she also played as a Lady Eagle at Columbia High School.
At 6:30 on the evening she died, Kelly went to get some ice cream. When she didn't return immediately, Sheldon thought she might be out with friends.
"The evening just passed by so quickly," he remembered.
At 1 a.m., the police knocked on the Flemings' door. Kelly had gotten the ice cream but never made it back home.
Kelly was found dead, tied up in her father's van.
The NAACP and governor's office both contributed to a reward fund, Sheldon said, but the killer was never found.
"Kelly was the type," Sheldon remembers, "she didn't care whether you had a quarter or a million dollars."
The pain, Sheldon said, spun like a spider's web, affecting everyone who knew his sister.
"This just didn't touch my life," Sheldon said. "It did touch a lot of people's lives." The tragedy took its toll on Sheldon's mother.
After the murder, Deborah Fleming would drop by to visit and talk with her mother-in-law for hours.
"That was what she needed," Deborah said. "But you could see that who she needed was not there."
Sheldon's mother died in her sleep three years after Kelly's death.
In 1988, the year after Kelly's death, Samuel Fleming bought a small, spring-fed lake on 10 acres of land near the South River.
He built a home there, in the middle of a neighborhood where houses range from the old, run-down and forgotten to the new, lavish and luxurious.
It's a generational community, Sheldon explains, where grandmothers and cousins live next door to sons and aunts. Sheldon, a landscape architect and garden enthusiast, helped to shape the land into a resort for his father.
Concrete and stone steps lead to finely manicured grass. Beside the lake, grapevines wrap around a trellis.
Blueberries grow in a fruit garden, along with the plum tree planted in honor of Kelly.
Painted white, blue and gray, wood benches and chairs stretch under a shelter on the side of the lake opposite the house. Sometimes the Flemings throw parties, Sheldon says, with live jazz and lots of friends.
Three small boats bob on the green water by a small, wooden dock. Catfish the size of small children race under them.
The lot, Sheldon explains, is a metaphor for the changes that went on within him.
After finding Buddhism, he realized a connection with nature. Digging, planting, watering and hammering, Sheldon rebuilt himself.
The inspiration for Wonderland Gardens came, Sheldon says, when he was working in his father's yard.
He met with his childhood friend, Michael Davis, who worked with youth at a nonprofit agency in Connecticut.
Sheldon's experience with community gardens grew from his work at the Cooperative Extension Service's Urban Gardening program and Atlanta's parks bureau.
One Sunday last September, Davis, Sheldon and Bettye Ludd - a special-events planner - gathered at the lake.
Brainstorming for most of the day, the three envisioned a project to team youth with senior citizens in a community garden.
The result was Wonderland Gardens. Conceptualized in a 22-page document, the project is slated to begin as early as this fall on land that once was the Mathis Dairy.
Libby West put Sheldon in contact with Ariel Williams, director of the Soapstone Center for the Arts in south DeKalb.
Planning a cultural center for the old Mathis land, Soapstone is looking for groups to share the spotlight.
Wonderland Gardens, Williams said, fits right in.
Bringing together a fruit garden in honor of Kelly, community- planted patches, a demonstration area and a place for storytelling, the gardens will also emphasize cultural diversity, Sheldon said.
The group has planned festivals celebrating the fauna of different regions of the world, complemented by demonstrations inside the center.
Memberships, admission fees and charges for taking flowers and fruits out of the garden will help to raise money, according to the overview draft.
Private contributors, Ludd said, have helped as well.
Those who have seen Sheldon's work at his father's home attest to his ability.
Davis saw Samuel's land in its infancy, before it was developed. Back then, it was just another lot.
But, near its completion, Davis said his reaction to the landscape was intense. It's a response, Sheldon says, shared by many visitors.
"There's a lot of love there," Davis said. "Kelly's spirit is certainly there. . . . There is really something in nature above what's pedestrian in life."
For more information, call 288-0142.
Dekalb Performance Center
The Dekalb Performing Arts Center is open for business on the campus adjacent to Wonderland Gardens. Here is a slide show that chronicles the journey for the Performing Arts Center.
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