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Cynthia Brian’s May Gardening Guide

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Empowerment
Cynthia Brian’s May Gardening Guide

Cyn-lily pond

“MAY the sun bring you new energy by day.
MAY the moon softly restore you by night
MAY the rain wash away your worries
MAY the breeze blow new strength into your being
MAY you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”  An Apache Blessing

Dahlias and delphinium

May! What a glorious month, perhaps the most fragrant feast for our senses of the entire year. With only one evening of April rain, nature blossomed into May magnificence lavishing the landscape with color, texture, birdsong, and a painter’s palette of picturesque pleasures. Elegant and dainty bearded iris spread their alluring colors and intoxicating scents along driveways and paths. Azaleas and rhododendrons sparkle in the moonlight. This is the time to experiment with new plants to lift our zapped spirits to new heights.  If you like azaleas as I do, this is the time to get them in the ground, after they have completed their spring flowering. I planted a sampling of new azalea releases from J Berry Nursery including Fuchsia Parasol, Orchid Showers, Pink Ribbons, and Pink Jewel. These re-bloomers are set to offer a big show in late summer or early fall.

Oregon Grape with berries

In the 2015 Garden Trends Report, a new phenomenon in gardening was reported that I found intriguing. It’s called the “bed-head” garden.  President of Garden Media Group, Susan McCoy commented, “Purposefully un-styled outdoor spaces are the result of intentionally working within the natural landscape. This casual landscape style expresses an effortless personality with an ‘anything goes’ attitude.” The wild look of this new garden fashion will definitely be of interest to those of us who are harried, hurried, or interested in embracing a more natural, environmentally sustainable garden. Colors are whatever thrives, plantings are in drifts, maintenance is low, hardscapes are minimal, earthy-born or recycled elements, and the result is lush, overgrown, messy, yet beautiful. Seems like a great fit for these crazy, hectic times.

clivia-orange-yello - 1

Grab your gloves, shears, shovel, and a bucket. We have work to do outside before the play days begin. And we all look forward to the amusements of the season!
petunias and succulents
CUT BACK your daffodils. The foliage should be very dry and crispy now, meaning that plenty of nutrients have gone to next years’ blossoms. Time to clean up.

DEADHEAD all spring blooming flowers such as pansies and primroses. Petunias planted amongst your succulents will be especially beautiful in a rock garden.

CLEAN ponds, fountains, and bird feeders with non-toxic detergents for a fresh start. Make sure your re-circulating pump is working effectively.

ELIMINATE any standing water from gutters, pot saucers, old tires, or puddles to reduce breeding of mosquitoes.

MOW the top portion of leggy ground covers including Vinca Major and ivy.

ADD dandelions, calendula, and lemons to your daily food intake for a boost of vitamins A and C. Colds and flu are still rampant amongst us.

SEED for summer blooming annuals-cosmos, marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias,

COMPOST all of your green trimmings.  Add raked leaves as well as eggshells, shredded newspaper, vegetable peels, and wood ashes. Turn your compost pile or bin often and keep moist.

FEED azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias with a fertilizer for acid lovers after they have finished blooming. Continue to pour your coffee grinds mixed with water around the plants for an extra boost of energy.

PLANT tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beets, carrots, peas, and cabbage.
Also get summer blooming bulbs including gladiolas, lilies, and dahlias into the ground now.

DEADHEAD roses as blooms fade for continuous flowers throughout the year. Make sure to cut a few stems to cheer up your indoor spaces.

PLAN to include more drought tolerant species to your landscape, including succulents.

PICK UP the petals of fallen camellias as the season comes to an end. Leaving the flowers on the ground leads to diseased plants.

GROW South African clivia as a houseplant in indirect sunlight or a shade garden attraction.  Their shiny deep green foliage and bright orange, yellow, and white lily-like flowers encourage gazing.

PLANT an Oregon Grape as a deer proof perennial shrub. The blue berries are prominent in May and the leaves turn amber in the fall.

PRUNE spring-flowering clematis after the blooms are spent.

SPRUCE up your decks and patios by growing herbs and flowers in one container.

PICK mulberries as they turn from red to deep purple. You’ll have to work fast or the birds will do the picking for you.

RAKE lawns to help with de-thatching.  Aerate with a garden fork to help the penetration of water.

VISIT me at the Be the Star You Are!® booth at the Moraga Faire on May 9th to pick up your free hollyhock seeds and potpourri.  Make a $95 tax-deductible donation in the name of your Mom or Grandmother to have a case of brand new books valued at $720 donated in her honor to the library or school of her choice! She’s worth it!

BUY six packs of annual color for both sun and shade gardens. Most retailers are featuring big sales at the moment and these small packs add a big punch to your growing garden.

DESIGN a “bed head” garden area and give yourself a labor break.

TRANSPLANT any small trees or shrubs into desired areas before the end of the month.

KEEP doors closed on garages and sheds, or you may invite a slithery serpent to snoop.

LAVISH mom with a pot of pretties, perhaps dahlias, and delphiniums on Mother’s Day and thank her for being the wonderful woman she is.

MAY you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life! May Blessings!

clematis, brick

Happy Gardening, Happy Growing.
Read more HERE

mulberries ripening
©2015
Cynthia Brian
The Goddess Gardener
Starstyle® Productions, llc
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
www.GoddessGardener.com
925-377-STAR
I am available as a speaker, designer, and consultant.

camellia red

Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best selling author, speaker, coach, and host of the radio show, StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® broadcasting live every Wednesday from 4-5pm PT on the Voice America Network.. She also is the creator and producer of Express Yourself!™ Teen Radio and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501c3 charity.

Equinoxes, Eclipses and Portals For Change

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7th Wave
Equinoxes, Eclipses and Portals For Change

Equinoxes, Eclipses, and Portals for Change ©2014 Joan M. Newcomb

We’ve just come through the Equinox, which is a shift in seasons and a new cycle for Nature. And this month we’ve got two eclipses which bring sudden endings and sudden beginnings. They all happen every six months and launch us to a new level of growth, which lasts six months, two years, or more.

This occurs whether we’re aware of it or not, but if we’re operating from Consciousness we can take full advantage of them to accelerate our growth.

Eclipse Anular

Nature’s cycle begins with the Equinox after harvest time. It’s Nature’s New Year. You can align your cycle with Nature and call in a new phase of growth. Be amused to see what unfolds when you do! For the first three months there is ‘soil prep’. View your life as a garden, this is when you are tilling, removing rocks, and adding fertilizer.

Winter Solstice is when things seem to go dormant, but in actuality there’s a lot of activity happening on an unseen level. It may seem that you are daydreaming, but really there are seeds that are overwintering, waiting for the perfect time to sprout.

I find that my life speeds up after the Spring equinox. This is when the unseen architects bring their plans to nature, it’s when you can actually order seeds and start planting. In your life you can begin to move forward, giving roots to your dreams.

It culminates in the Summer, harvest time, you see the fruits of whatever you called in back last Fall.

Eclipses have similar cycles, they’re every six months, coinciding with the Full Moon and New Moon, and about every two years they shift to a different pair of signs. Full moon Eclipses bring sudden endings, it feels like the scaffolding of my life gives way and things collapse, to reveal how strong (or weak) my foundation actually is.

New Moon Eclipses bring beginnings. Opportunities will present themselves, and doors will open. It can seem traumatic. I find that things will suddenly occur, the last straw to ‘break the camel’s back’ and force me in a new direction.

Manifestation sometimes seems to take two years. “Stuck” or static energy held within for two years will show up with physical symptoms. Fantasies will show up in real life two years after they were first dreamt. It seems like one year is rebuilding, the next is deconstruction.

Everything is a creation of Consciousness, and it actually emanated from within. However, you can consciously work with these forces to set your intentions and bring things into form.

You can think of astrology like energy weather. If you want to build a house, you’d probably aim to do so during the dry season in your geographic area. If you’re sailing around the world, you’d choose to go with the wind and ocean currents (and avoid hurricane season)!

Realize that if something sudden or shocking ends or begins, you called it in from your highest Consciousness. Find a way to be in agreement with it, or in the least amount of resistance to it happening. See that behind everything is an opportunity to grow, expand, emotionally deepen, and gain greater awareness. Keep this in mind for the rest of the month and see what happens!

Listen to our show, Conscious Conversations with Joan and Janet, for more in-depth discussion on this topic!

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