When we first moved to Winston Salem, we rented a house two blocks from here.  We wanted to explore the city for a year or two, learn the neighborhoods, test the commutes, before we decided on where to buy a home.  Two blocks makes a lot of difference.
Understand that two blocks from here is perfectly [...]

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Well…. we had quite a bit of snow this week.   As the song says, “the weather outside is frightful…”  We don’t know if the kids (and grandkids) will be able to come home this week or not.  We’re playing it by ear.  The weather channel calls for rain on Christmas day, but it’s going to [...]

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If you grow vegetables in your city garden, then you might consider home canning.  Even just a couple of plants can produce more food than you can eat.  Once the tomatoes start coming in (or squash or anything else), they really start coming in.  If you’re like us, you either have to make sure all [...]

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When we started this site, it was sort of a test.  I guess we weren’t really sure what it was going to be.  People have always expressed an interest in our garden, and we love to share gardening stories.  And we wanted to explore the joys and pains of gardening in the city, but we [...]

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Take a break and look at some garden photos.   Here are some links that connect you to garden websites that represent gardens around the world.  Take a look.  If you have a favorite, let us know and we’ll post it’s address.
Butchart Gardens, Gardens and Parks Around the World, Butterfly Gardens, Around the World in 80 [...]

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So how much space do you need for a meditation garden? And what elements work best?
Actually, you don’t need much space. Once, in Houston, we turned a “patio” that was really just a 6′ x 8′ space between our apartment and the parking lot (separated by a 10′ fence) into a fairly nice little meditative garden. And with two small children and two intense jobs, we needed it. Since we didn’t have time for upkeep, that space was basically raked gravel, a couple of comfortable chairs, some decoration on the fence, a large umbrella for shade, and …. wait for it….. a wind chime (no wind, though…. HA). So you don’t need a lot of space, money or work to have a little bit of calm somewhere

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If you’re thinking about building a meditation garden, then you’ve got a lot of thinking to do. Some of that thinking is even meditative, in the sense that you need to look into yourself and see what gives you peace. It’s not the same for everyone, you know. A lot of people must love wind chimes. I don’t. Oh, I don’t mind them if they’re at the other end of the yard and I can faintly hear them on a windy day. That’s nice. But for a calm, meditative place to have wind chimes, for me that’s a distraction. And a distraction in a meditation garden soon becomes an irritant.

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