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Author Topic: Garden: Need some inspiration for my garden!  (Read 4227 times)

AradiaRose

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Need some inspiration for my garden!
« on: May 14, 2013, 10:56:39 pm »
My husband and I have finally moved into an apartment with an outdoor space - in fact, the outdoor space is a roughly 45 square feet.

We've already bought a beautiful jasmine plant that I couldn't resist and an African violet. We agreed to start with 4 herbs and each choose 2 - I went for rosemary and thyme, he chose oregano and lavender. Other than these plants, we have a bunch of succulents that came from various neighbors (love, love, love my new apartment building and the community here!)

Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2019, 10:36:11 am by RandallS »
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When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.Rumi

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Nerys53

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2013, 07:49:13 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
My husband and I have finally moved into an apartment with an outdoor space - in fact, the outdoor space is a roughly 45 square feet.

We've already bought a beautiful jasmine plant that I couldn't resist and an African violet. We agreed to start with 4 herbs and each choose 2 - I went for rosemary and thyme, he chose oregano and lavender. Other than these plants, we have a bunch of succulents that came from various neighbors (love, love, love my new apartment building and the community here!)

Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.

 
I like viewing places like regular garden websites and whatever photos of pagan gardens I find with google searches. See http://www.bhg.com/ and http://www.davesgarden.com/
From one on my holidays/vacations in Germany travelling by car up a mountain found some slate near a castle brought that home I also find stones minerals sometimes and bring those for my garden.
I have a garden statue that represents Flora goddess when she was a girl about 4 feet tall grey stone color.
I have from the garden center I shop at two chunky pieces of rose quartz placed on some of the slate pieces. I have a windchime.
An iron basket on 3 feet in which I make small fires with woods incense blends leftovers from previously done spells etc I have an outside incense burner waist high to burn incense in the garden.  Some lanterns & glass jars with candles. Nothing overtly pagan my  family is just atheist so I keep things simple.
Enjoy your new garden/outdoor space and good luck.:)

Altair

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2013, 11:40:04 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.

I'd recommend a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii or Buddleja davidii--I've seen both spellings). It's not native, but it works in containers and I think there are dwarf varieties (in fact, I'm pretty sure mine is one). That stuff is butterfly crack--I get loads once it starts blooming, even in the middle of Manhattan--so it will definitely add some life to the garden.

http://www.finegardening.com/plantguide/buddleia-davidii-butterfly-bush.aspx

As for herbs, grow parsley too. Not for you; it's a favorite larval food plant for various species of swallowtail butterflies, so you'll be helping them along in their reproductive cycle (not to mention you'll get the pleasure of seeing these big, beautiful visitors).

The only overtly pagan thing in my garden is a "green man" face sculpted from ceramic-encased Central Park leaves. He peers out from among the Virginia creeper on a chimney overlooking the roof garden and epitomizes its spirit; I've gone so far as to name him, and I alternate between considering him a local deity (*very* local, as in just my garden!) and an aspect of myself as I tend the garden. Or both.

As for other garden pagandom, I use mine for meditation, as you plan to do. When it's in season--about half the year--it's one of my key sites for communing with nature, esp. the sky, sun, moon, and stars.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2013, 11:40:41 am by Altair »
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The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Altair

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2013, 11:52:06 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
I'm looking to create a serene space


I forgot to mention: If you have power on the balcony, a small fountain with a recirculating pump is great. The sound of gurgling water does wonders for the whole serenity thing.

I probably don't need to mention wind chimes. (I went for a buoy bell myself; it gives a Zen-like gong as if from a great distance, far away out to sea.)
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

Nerys53

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2013, 03:33:16 pm »
Quote from: Altair;111330
I forgot to mention: If you have power on the balcony, a small fountain with a recirculating pump is great. The sound of gurgling water does wonders for the whole serenity thing.

I probably don't need to mention wind chimes. (I went for a buoy bell myself; it gives a Zen-like gong as if from a great distance, far away out to sea.)

 
A bell is also nice. You might place some solar charged lamps they come in interesting shapes and give a softer light during night time. A small raised bed for the herbs in a wheel shape with segments might be an idea. Or groups of herbs in terracotta pots.Some healing herbs, some cooking herbs etc:)

Leanan Sidhe

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2013, 09:50:21 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656


Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.

 
I'm so happy for you! We don't have an outdoor space for a garden right now, though I can't complain -- we have an empty lot next to our apartment, and if all goes well, we're in the process of buying a house where we will have tons of room for a garden.

How about a birdbath, birdfeeders or houses, or a sundial?

I'd personally like to build a faerie house out of a re-purposed birdhouse when we do have space again. Last time we had a garden, we had LOTS of herbs, snapdragons, pansys, salvia, and I don't remember what all else arranged in pots. We also had a pot specifically for wildflowers and weeds to do their thing.

I was trying to grow a Mimosa as a bonsai, for a Druidry thing, but most of the windows in our place are smoked glass and hardly any face adequate light -- the poor thing withered, and I'm going to try again when we move.

How about edible stuff besides herbs? Tomatoes, strawberries, etc?

If you're doing mediation and yoga out there, lavender will be great for relaxing. How about other herbs that are calming or cleansing, like chamomile and sage?

A table and chairs, or a bench would probably be good if you're going to be having coffee or tea out there -- unless you want to take a page from my book and just sit directly on the ground.

Also how about something that climbs, so you can twine it around the balcony. My grandmother does that with oleander and ivy. She used to do it with morning glories. It also gives some added privacy. The other things that really stuck with me about my grandmother's old balcony were that she had fig trees and angel statues.

If I was doing something for a space of mine, I would definitely have aloe.
"Modesty is an illusion" -- de Sade
"The call of death is a call of love. Death can be sweet if we answer it in the affirmative, if we accept it as one of the great eternal forms of life and transformation." -- Herman Hesse

ALiteraryLady

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2013, 11:24:21 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.


I've had a balcony garden for the last three summers and I love it! Some of the things I have growing this year are:

Petunias
Wildflowers local to my area
Sage (two years strong, I am excited that it came back, for a while there I was worried that it wasn't)
Spearmint (three years running!)
Yarrow
Tomatoes
Hot peppers
Strawberries
Quinoa (my boyfriend planted this and at first I was annoyed, but it's becoming a lovely plant very quickly)
Lavender (it's come back from last year and really starting to fill out nicely)
Lilac (it was one small twig, now it's starting to really branch off)

I personally don't have figurines, but I did start to make offerings to the land wights with honey I found from a local apiary and they did enjoy it last year, so I plan on doing it again this year. My herbs seem to speak more to my spirituality since I like taking small offerings and giving them to the God/desses. I'm starting to see that Frigg is enjoying the Petunias and I'm considering adding more flowers (mainly orchids since on another thread someone suggested a link to her) and herbs to honor her (and others) with.

My only advice would be to find a balance of plants that keep away annoying bugs and are visually appealing to you. Also, don't put too much out right away since I tend to find myself adding more plants each year. :D

AradiaRose

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2013, 10:24:55 pm »
Quote from: ALiteraryLady;111900
I've had a balcony garden for the last three summers and I love it! Some of the things I have growing this year are:

Petunias
Wildflowers local to my area
Sage (two years strong, I am excited that it came back, for a while there I was worried that it wasn't)
Spearmint (three years running!)
Yarrow
Tomatoes
Hot peppers
Strawberries
Quinoa (my boyfriend planted this and at first I was annoyed, but it's becoming a lovely plant very quickly)
Lavender (it's come back from last year and really starting to fill out nicely)
Lilac (it was one small twig, now it's starting to really branch off)

I personally don't have figurines, but I did start to make offerings to the land wights with honey I found from a local apiary and they did enjoy it last year, so I plan on doing it again this year. My herbs seem to speak more to my spirituality since I like taking small offerings and giving them to the God/desses. I'm starting to see that Frigg is enjoying the Petunias and I'm considering adding more flowers (mainly orchids since on another thread someone suggested a link to her) and herbs to honor her (and others) with.

My only advice would be to find a balance of plants that keep away annoying bugs and are visually appealing to you. Also, don't put too much out right away since I tend to find myself adding more plants each year. :D


Wow! I want to thank everyone for their replies - for some reason, I didn't receive notifications on this thread and when I didn't get any replies within the first few weeks, I figured I'd try again with an update. Then I saw you guys posted!

So far, I have a jasmine plant, some lavendar, rosemary, and thyme, along with a few tables, comfy chairs, and a hummingbird feeder. I have a lovely bamboo windchime that plays the most muted but beautiful tones. I also keep candles out here for night/dusk. With the view that overlooks hiking trails and a mountain in the distance, I feel incredibly blessed to be here.

Again, I'll be going through these replies with a fine tooth comb to incorporate more of your lovely suggestions. Off the top of my head, I love the suggestion of a gurgling fountain, as well as the idea of wrapping my balcony in some kind of plant (will run the idea by the landlord - although I've seen ivy growing on his other properties).
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When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.Rumi

Blogging at: aradiarose.tumblr.com

ALiteraryLady

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2013, 10:47:54 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;116113
Off the top of my head, I love the suggestion of a gurgling fountain, as well as the idea of wrapping my balcony in some kind of plant (will run the idea by the landlord - although I've seen ivy growing on his other properties).

 
I wish I could make ivy work on my balcony, but I think in my lease it isn't allowed. Also, your home sounds amazing and I'm glad that it makes you feel blessed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

LeaKyraWings

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2013, 01:43:01 am »
Quote from: ALiteraryLady;116115

 
I have a large deck and keep mint, basil, rosemary, and aloe Vera all year round in pots of various shapes.....also I keep fairy statues and lots of dangling sparkly things....and finally a small fountain that is a young girl holding a globe...the water comes out of her mouth and flows over the globe into a bowl....to me she stands for mother nature, I love to mediate out there....

Ginko

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2013, 11:01:31 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
My husband and I have finally moved into an apartment with an outdoor space - in fact, the outdoor space is a roughly 45 square feet.

We've already bought a beautiful jasmine plant that I couldn't resist and an African violet. We agreed to start with 4 herbs and each choose 2 - I went for rosemary and thyme, he chose oregano and lavender. Other than these plants, we have a bunch of succulents that came from various neighbors (love, love, love my new apartment building and the community here!)

Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.

 
I don't know if this is the type of inspiration that you are looking for, but this site has some great ideas for small spaces.

http://themicrogardener.com/
Ginko

Elementalist

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2014, 09:41:49 pm »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656

Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.

 
Mandarin or Cumquat tree. They grow well in pots and who can resist that citrus flower smell in spring? Would go well with your jasmine.

carillion

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Re: Need some inspiration for my garden!
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2014, 03:46:59 am »
Quote from: AradiaRose;108656
My husband and I have finally moved into an apartment with an outdoor space - in fact, the outdoor space is a roughly 45 square feet.

We've already bought a beautiful jasmine plant that I couldn't resist and an African violet. We agreed to start with 4 herbs and each choose 2 - I went for rosemary and thyme, he chose oregano and lavender. Other than these plants, we have a bunch of succulents that came from various neighbors (love, love, love my new apartment building and the community here!)

Just looking for some inspiration, I guess. What would you add to a balcony garden if you had a (mostly) blank canvas? I'm looking to create a serene space where I can do some yoga, meditate, and enjoy a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd also love to hear about how you've incorporated your spirituality into your garden.


I'll be working on mine come spring and the first thing is stands of bamboo in those big glazed tubs. Bamboo is an all weather plant, moves beautifully in the smallest breeze making a hypnotic sound. The other reason I'm going to have some is privacy.

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