Boundaries

July 7, 2013

Our focus for today was "boundaries." We have some boundaries in the garden...the large planters and rocks that define part of the garden space, the edging in parts of the garden, the pathway, and the raised beds. But boy, do we need more of them in the garden! It's hard to see in this picture, but there is a little stick - it's what's left of a cucumber plant in the top of one of the bags. A few days ago there were 6 or 7 cucumber plants around the top. Now, there's one little stick.

Rabbits have nibbled on the corn and there are a few tender, young corn stalks completely gone.

What we've learned is that next year we need more boundaries - a short fence around

the corn, and chicken wire over every tender, little sprout!

For the time being, we have happy rabbits, and a challenge to get creative to fill in the blank spaces.

Stephanie found a great project for flowers that critters won't be able to eat. They're made out of soda cans. They shine in the sunlight and move with the breeze.

It was fun and fairly easy. We have some creative double blooms,
fancy petal shapes and centers made from glass or wooden beads, or a circle cut out of the aluminum can. Attaching the flowers to the dowel stems was a little challenging, but with a little experimenting we got it done!

Even our youngest visitors got it done with a little help from grandpa and grandma.

TA DA!

Lisa, from DOVES led a discussion about the importance of boundaries in our relationships. She told us that each person has a right to determine their own boundaries and that they need to communicate those to others.

She led us through an exercise to demonstrate that each person has different boundaries - and that's ok!

So, week 5 of Hands for Growing, 2013. Early rain that kept us out of the garden and hungry rabbits have slowed us down a bit, but with good humor, work, play and creativity we see the growth of our garden and our friendships.