Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

A memory garden commemorate life’s most important milestones:

Flowers for the birth of a child, and later on, for graduation, for the bridal bouquet or the groom’s lapel; flowers for anniversaries and retirements and speedy recoveries.

It encourage contemplation and meditation as well as remembrance.

A memory garden often serves as a place for remembering loved ones who have died, an outdoor sanctuary for personal prayer, and a garden for simply appreciating nature. It can also be a place where human ashes have been mixed in with the garden soil; & names of the deceased are displayed on a memorial plaque inside the garden.
Http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/gardenersguide/story.html?id=8d722038-3a8a-4926-8ffc-6e134b815bed&k=53340
In some places, stone walls in the garden contain niches to allow for sealed placement of cremains ( (cremated remains)) within.
Http://www.scc-ucc.org/governance/memorygardenQandA.html#What_is_the_Memory_Garden

According to Worth County Primary second graders, in thinking about memory gardens… A memory is:
” happy thoughts, things that make you laugh, something that you remember from long ago or a few minutes ago, something that you look at, something that you love, something that makes you sad, and is stuck in your mind and will never come out.”
Take a look at this one:
http://worth.k12.ga.us/wcps/oc/memory.html

Tips on creating a memory garden:
Plant favorite flowers of the person you’re dedicating the garden to, or choose flowers that you loved or has special significance and plant those.
Plant during their favorite season and choose flowers and plants that are in season at that time. For example, if they loved spring, plant bulbs.
Select flowers in colors that he/she loved.
Choose flowers with their favorite fragrances or certain scents they loved. For example, if they loved the smell of lavender, include a lavender plant in the garden.
Select flowers and plants with special meanings. For example, pink carnations mean “I’ll never forget you” and yellow roses represent friendship.
Include statues and remembrance gifts throughout the garden. If they loved dogs, include a small statue of their favorite breed.
Add a small plaque describing what is in the garden and its significance, or simply put their favorite phrase or poem.
If possible, try and include a bench in the area. This way, friends and family have a place to sit and reflect on special times that were shared.
Http://ww21.1800flowers.com/template.do?id=template8&page=2009

When my sister-in-law was in the hospital for a long time, I planted flowers in her favorite color…purple …in a special garden. This was in anticipation of her recovery …so she would have something to look forward to when she returned home. Purple tulips, grape hyacinths, & crocus for spring, lavender, daylilies, & liriope for summer, & all shades of purple mums for fall. Although she wasn’t able to see them, I hope I helped to contribute to a beautiful place in her honor.

P.S. Memory Garden is also the name of a heavy metal band from Kumla, Sweden:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_Garden

GardenersCardiff answers:

Japanese gardens often contain several of these elements to provide a beautiful & peaceful spot for contemplation:
Water, real or symbolic.
Rocks.
A lantern, typically of stone.
A teahouse or pavilion.
A enclosure device such as a hedge, fence, or wall of traditional character.
A bridge to the island, or stepping stones.
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_garden

Use plants, stone & water (or pebbles to represent water)
Stones can be used to construct the garden’s paths, bridges, and walkways.
You Tube videos of 5 Japanese gardens to give you some ideas:(click on the other garden videos at the end of “Strolling Pond Garden” Check out the low maintenance garden)
video preview http://www.japanesegarden.com/gardens/
http://www.japanesegarden.com/gardens/strolling

Watergardens: Click on photos for full view:
http://www.landscape-ontario.com/watergardens.htm

Images of Landscapes using water, stones, rocks & wood structure:
http://www.garden-view.com/design1.htm
http://www.landscaping-solutions.com/Asian_Landscaping.html

More Japanese Gardens:Click on each image to take a tour of each garden:
http://learn.bowdoin.edu/japanesegardens/gardens/intro/index.html

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on your garden because you can make use of natural elements already present. Just rearrange them so they are in harmony with the natural surroundings around them. A Japanese garden uses rocks, water and plants to recreate nature’s most beautiful vistas
“Rocks represent mountains and hills, water represents streams, rivers and the ocean, and the plants can represent forests and the abundance of nature”.
Stone features such as lanterns, water bowls and oriental statuary add a nice touch.
Http://www.all-free-samples.com/useful/japanese-garden.php

Make an arbor made of bent twigs:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_garden_structures/article/0,1785,HGTV_3588_1399803,00.html

Water features for any budget;
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_design_water_features/article/0,1785,HGTV_3575_4739570,00.html

P.S. Thanks! I really worked on this 🙂
Good Luck! Hope this is helpful.

GardenersCardiff answers:

In some schools, gardens are being integrated into the educational curriculum to teach children not only about plants, nature, and the outdoors, but other subjects as well. Gardens can teach children about history, economics, poetry, and math, and are also used for science studies. School gardens are also a fun way to expand curriculum and gain student interest, raising responsibility issues as the plants need daily care. They connect children to their food, physically and emotionally. The children will go home and teach their families about worm farming composting and seasonal harvesting. Classes can watch a plant grow from a seed to a harvestable resource that not only tasted better but feels better to eat. School gardens can also help celebrate cultural diversity and demonstrate the benefits of multiculturalism. Creating multicultural garden and cooking projects within the school can open children’s minds to different tastes and cultural experiences.
They are great for the environment and for the heart.
A few wonderful schools here in Australia have added gardens to the school grounds, including some that are also open to the public as community gardens.
All in all school gardens are an incredible resource and every High and Primary school should start a plot.