Our Favorite Feeds, Apps, and Blogs

photo source: urbanturnip.com

This spring we're focusing on being rooted in wellness. It's been energizing to discover the connection between gardening and wellness. Last Saturday, March 30, we delved into the seven areas of wellness and discussed how gardening fulfills each of those seven aspects of being healthy in mind and body:
-physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, and occupational.

For those of you who were at that presentation, we asked you to fill in this blank:
'I garden, therefore I am more ______.  As recent studies have shown, most of us do not garden to save money, but rather for it's emotional benefits.  What a pleasure to hear your answers:'I garden, therefore I am more . . .  'at peace', 'centered', 'fulfilled', 'rooted'. Yes! This is why we garden! Yes, gardening can help fight depression. Yes, getting your hands in the soil can boost not only your mood, but also your immune system. And yes, gardening keeps us mindful and present in the moment. 

Last Saturday, we also shared a few of our favorite feeds, apps, and blogs that inspire us.
We share them again here with the hopes to inspire you to get excited about gardening  - whether you're growing your own food, planting a container of herbs or flowers, or decorating your home with houseplants and succulents. 

For those of you who grow your own food, particularly growing for the health of it, this app FROM SEED TO SPOON,is such a must. It helps you discover which vegetables, fruits, and herbs are good for whatever health problem you are dealing with: anemia, bone & joint health, brain & memory, cancer-fighting, energy, GI health, heart health, inflammation & pain, thyroid, and more. 

Not only does it list plants to grow for each area listed above, but it tells you how to grow them. 
​Learn more about this app here. 
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A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach is an award-winning website, blog, and podcast. We've been following her for years and every week learn something new. Lately Margaret has been interviewing specialists in each horticulture field which is always interesting to get advice from those who grow for a living! You'll find a wealth of information on her website here. 

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Epic Gardening is a newer find for me and I am enjoying Kevin Espiritu's daily podcasts. A young California gardener, his focus is urban farming, hydroponics, aquaponics, houseplants, and battling garden pests and diseases naturally.  Knowledgeable and enthusiastic about gardening. you'll find Epic Gardening here as well as on YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, and Facebook. 
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One of the most inspiring blogs on container gardening is written by Deborah Silver, owner of Detroit Garden Works. On her blog, Dirt Simple, she shares an honest and open look at how they construct their seasonal container plantings they create for upscale homeowners in the surrounding Detroit area. Discover her unique style here on her website. 

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And finally, a new one I came across this morning. Nature's Always Right is the blog/podcast of another young urban farmer in San Diego, California who has a ton of how-to videos on YouTube. I'm just fascinated with these young people who are growing for markets and finding ways to do it naturally. It's refreshing and exciting. Hope you'll take the time to look him up as well as a few of the others. 

Until next time, join us on Instagram @btowngardens and on Facebook.
Keep growing!

Tracy Hankwitz
Burlington Garden Center General Manager & Horticulturist