Garden On! Thanks Y'all! (You All)

It's been a year since I really began Access to the Garden. My original intent with Access to the Garden was to spare my non-gardening friends on Facebook from my passion for gardening. (I also needed a cheap way to store my garden pictures.) As I've connected with more and more gardeners, I have discovered that there is a genuine interest on my page of people wanting to continue their passion for gardening as well, regardless of age or disability. We are all gardeners, some are farmers and some simply enjoy beautiful flowers. We share ways of making our passion for gardening a little easier, and often, ways of making it more affordable.

Unlike a lot of pages out there in Cyberland, I do this for free. Not for profit, and generally at a financial loss. If I can inspire anyone to do anything, then I have gained personally from this endeavor. My goal for the next year is to do something even more productive with my website and blog, and to maybe use them to show off even more affordable gardening stuff and cool gardening ideas. My other goal is to keep writing about GARDENING from my perspective, as a quadriplegic who is getting older. More tips and tricks from this Gimpy Gardener! Your feedback is always appreciated, unless you are a cat hater.....

This week in the garden, my husband and I (I can't take all of the credit) have been busy planting cool weather veggies and adding compost to our beds. We have also planted a few burlap bags with potatoes. My elevated tables are also ready for more crops. Roses and Butterfly Bushes have been pruned. Daffodils, Lorapetalums and Azaleas are starting to bloom as well. Spring is definitely in the air, although the temps are a little chilly today!

Potatoes in Sacks

Out of the garden this week, yet in the garden too because I met him cyberly on Access to the Garden,  I encountered a design professional who truly 'gets it'! I have never felt so encouraged in my life! I just wish there were more professionals with his kind of common sense attitude. Please check out Billy Goodnick's blog at www.edhat.com, KeepYour Garden Out of My Face. Excellent! This guy, this Landscape Architect,  certainly understands that if one cannot travel safely on a sidewalk, one cannot get to where they need to go, whether it is to a community garden, bus stop or restaurant. Blocked access prevents independence and can be quite dangerous!

Another rewarding experience for me last week was that a group of my friends with the SC Spinal Cord Injury Association had the opportunity to go to a Stingray's hockey game thanks to the goodwill of the City of North Charleston and the North Charleston Coliseum. One flying puck didn't stop my friends from having a terrific time. I'm glad I could help. Life with a disability isn't cheap, and many would have never have had the opportunity to go. Awesome!

If I don't get out soon to my new elevated gardens with my trowel in hand, I will not have a garden to take pictures of or one to eat from! Thank you all for a very REWARDING and SUCCESSFUL year!