Life Began In A Garden?

 

    There are two held explainations for the creation of the universe. One is the Big Bang Theory where there was a big explosion in the cosmos and atomic particles collided, stuck together, and began to form the smallest makeup of other planets, stars, astrological matter, and living matter which gradually, through time, evolved from plant life, aquatic life, animal life, and finally human life. 

    The second explaination for the formation of the universe lies in religion. In Christianity, it is believed God created everything the eye can view within seven days. Other religions have their own particular creation story with their own various gods, but it does not entail a 'big bang' as the first theory of creation does.

    For this post and as far as the theory I chose to believe, I go with the Christian biblical account in which God created the universe and all that is in it. This writing is not to persuade you in one direction or the next but to talk about the PLACE in which human life was placed to dwell according to Genisis 2: 8-9, "Now the Lord God HAD planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he HAD formed. and the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were PLEASING to the eye and GOOD for food..." It is from here the story of MAN BEGINS and continues even now. Earlier in Genesis 1:11, on day three of the Creation story it says, "Let the land produce vegegation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds," In Genesis two it says no SHRUB of the FIELD nor PLANT of the FEILD had yet appeared before he created man to put in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:5-7), but Genesis 1 says there WAS vegetation and trees, and once the first man was created, notice the tress were called pleasing to the eye and good for food.

    I had the wonderful opportunity to be with New Jerusalem Church for Children's Garden Day in which we encouraged the children to sow seeds. Of course this day had duel meaning. It was a day set aside to encourage children to enjoy gardening and nature and to also be mindful of the seeds they sow in their lives and to be a seed planter for the kingdom of God. I guess that was three purposes lol.

    The message I wanted to impart to them and to you the reader is (If you are of the biblical Creation story persausion) is: life BEGAN in a beautiful garden. It was intended for us to be surrounded by beauty and that defined beauty was PLANTS. To some, this may be an arbitrary coincidence that life began in a garden. But is it really?

    There are many benefits plants and gardening affords the human body and mind. Author Gretchen Rubin, penned a book, Life in Five Senses, where she said to have a happy life, live it through the five senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. She said we should use our five senses, tuning into the physical world and living in the present. A garden allows you to do just that on top of releiving stress and elevating mood. 

HEARING: Listening to music during exercise boosts performance and makes exertion seem less strenuous. Music improves our health, and it also makes us feel good. There’s a reason why we talk about “sex, drugs, and rock & roll.” Hearing a favorite song stimulates the same brain chemicals as drugs, sex, and good food. That’s why it’s one of the quickest ways to get a mood boost and relief from stress. Nature has its own UNIQUE MUSIC. The birds, crickets, frogs, bees, wind, and rain, SING a song waiting for your ears to hear. Water features in a garden mimics the soothing bubbling sound of a brook and relaxes the quiet listener. Studies show people who listened to nature sounds like crickets chirping and waves crashing performed better on demanding cognitive tests than those who listened to urban sounds like traffic and the clatter of a busy café.  

SMELL: By taking a quick sniff of fresh grapefruit or vanilla, your mood can be drastically changed. The smell of flowers or even herbs can be an uplifting experience. Certain floral scents are pretty famous for relieving headaches and insomnia. Jasmine, similar to lavender, is used to calm the nerves of those that are stressed out or overwhelmed. Not only does it reduce those feelings of stress, but it actually is able to stimulate feelings of positivity and energy. Peppermint is a great tool to be used during brainstorming, as it has been shown to invigorate the mind, while creating a feeling of clarity. Lavender is quite known for boosting energy and increasing mental activities. The aroma of rosemary is highly stimulating and can boost your levels of acetylcholine (a chemical that regulates your muscles and memory) and dopamine. Magnolia is especially popular in Chinese medicine as an effective treatment for tensions and stress. Roses are a famous symbol of love but also because they can lower your stress hormone, adrenaline. 

TOUCH: If we want to combat stress and distraction, we can turn to our sense of touch. Little kids, for example, hang on to stuffed animals for comfort and reassurance. It is a pure joy for me to walk on the cool grass barefoot. It just feels luxurious, sensuous, and calming. I also enjoy feeling the velvety smoothness of rose petals. Picking a firm ripened piece or fruit or vegatble I've grown myself fills me with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Just slowing down, reaching out, and touching nature yeilds surprising feelings. Even the simple act of holding a flower makes you feel better.

TASTE: When it comes to taste, many people love taste-related activities such as cooking, exploring farmers’ markets, trying new restaurants, or even watching TV shows about cooking and eating. What better way to explore food than to plant and grow your own? Plant and grow something you may have written off as NASTY. Maybe if you plant and nurture it to maturity, find a new way to cook it, invite friends or family over for a tasting party, you may find you now love it. Either way, let your tastebuds roam free and enjoy socializing and stregnthing relationships bonds at the same time. A plus plus endeavour. Taste also hold memories of  food favorites from childhood, a celebratory meal from a major event in your life, romantic meals once shared, or meals cooked and eaten at grandma's house. 

SIGHT: Have you ever heard the saying, "The eyes are the window to the soul?" This saying means you can see a person's soul by looking into their eyes. I say, "What you look at with your eyes affect your soul." Matthew 6:22, " The light of the body is the eye;" This Bible verse says what you focus your eye on affects you. It encourages you to focus on things that are right to avoid darkness within. What we focus our EYE ON IS IMPORTANT. How wonderful to give the eye a break from the ugliness of life and to look upon the beauty of a flower or plant.

    From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation. University of Chicago psychologist Marc Berman, PhD, and his student Kathryn Schertz explored in a 2019 review and reported, for instance, that green spaces near schools promote cognitive development in children and green views near children’s homes promote self-control behaviors. Experiments have found that being exposed to natural environments improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control. No wonder man was created and placed in a garden. Just a few moments of green can perk up a tired brain.

     Contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress. Gardens and gardening impacts children. Children who lived in neighborhoods with more green space had a reduced risk of many psychiatric disorders later in life, including depression, mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and substance use disorder. For those with the lowest levels of green space exposure during childhood, the risk of developing mental illness was 55% higher than for those who grew up with abundant green space. 

    As I stated in the beginning of this writing, this writing is not about religious beliefs but about my belief that GARDENING matters to LIFE. Hopefully I have convinced you that you were meant to be surrounded by the beauty of nature; planted and enjoyed by you everyday. The benefits are limitless and sharable. Getting this generation connected again with the understanding "Life BEGINS in a garden," is a mission I fully embrace. Thanks to the little gardeners of New Jerusalem church for being a participant in my blog sharing their images.

 

Can't Choose A Favorite Child? Choose A Favorite Plant

     

    One thing that is universally known almost without being said is, "Don't ask parents if they have a favorite child." The children may go back and forth in jest about being the favorite child, but parent's mouths are sealed when it comes to answering this question. They have become diplomatic, politician like when they do give a response to this question, "I love all of my children equally. There is not a favorite one. They are all my favorite."

    When you ask a gardener, "What is your favorite plant?" Most are ready and willing to tell you which plant they favor and why. But, you do run into the gardener who will say, "It's hard to decided. I love them all."   

    Just as with our children, flowers have their OUTSTANDING points and their TERRIBLE drawbacks. Take the rose for example, and yes, I chose it first because it is my favorite flower/plant. Roses have a wide range of colors, diferent types of flower petals, different fragrances, and different growth habits. They are a real show stopper when in bloom. It is hard for anyone to pass a rose without stopping to smell it or admire it. But we all know the number one drawback of roses: the THORNS.

    I can't tell you the countless times I have been ashamed handing a cashier money at a grocery store or department store when I extended my scratched hand, wrist, and arm. Sometimes I look as though I have been in a cat fight after planting, weeding, or pruning my roses. I almost feel an uncontrollable urge to explain all of the scratches I have acquired, but instead, I just kind of tuck my head and quickly exit. All rose growers look like they own a cat whether they do or don't. I don't. 

    Then of course the rose bush is susceptable to insect infestation and diseases. Aphids and blackspot are the rose gardener's nightmare. Careful watch has to be maintained to nip the problem in the bud early. So even the most precious beloved beautiful flower/plant, has reasons for it not to be loved. And there ARE many gardeners who just don't want this problem child.

    Another plant which people buy in mass is the petunia. Now I LIKE petunias but I don't love them. Settle down petunia lovers. I mean no harm. Why, you may ask? Because they require water daily, and sometimes several waterings when the weather becomes really hot in the summer. If you want continuous blooms, then deadheading is required. Deadheading is when you cut off the part where a blossom had died allowing for new buds and blooms to form. In spring and early summer you will see me humming around my plants deadheading with happiness. But soon as the thermomenter hits 90, I'm out of there leaving my plant to become scraggly and with fewer blooms.

    Dahlias are a winner. When I see this stately flower/plant in people's gardens I always wish I had planted some or more. They can grow over 5 feet tall and have flowers as big as your hand. The variety is limitless and the colors you can select are immense. But, they are tubers and have to be dug up each fall in Northern states because they cannot survive the winter's cold and freezing temperatures. Because of their height, they require staking so they will not fall over. I AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THAT! But, boy are they worth taking the time to stake.

Dahlias have other drawbacks such as stem rot (stems rot when dahlias are growing in heavy, poorly drained, wet soil), mosaic virus (drarfs plants and distorts leaves. You must destroy the plant because there is no cure), and botrytis ( covers the plant with powdery gray mold). Pests include aphids, thrips, mites, and leafhoppers. Insects enjoy the plant as much as the gardener does or more so. Slugs, snails, and cutworms enjoy feasting on this plant too.

    Some gardeners even get offended if you suggest you can't stand their favorite plant. They go into defense and protection mode in the same way as when defending their child. 

    While it is considered HORRIBLE for a parent to say they have a favorite child, it is okay and excepted that a gardener would have a faovrite flower/plant. Through the years they may switch from one plant to the next as a favorite. This is actually, in my proffessional view and experience, how the many and various garden beds are created in a garden.

    A gardener will CREATE a completely new bed with the right conditions for a plant they have fallen in love with. Adding the right soil, adding irrigation where there was no naturally occurring water, planting trees to create a shade area, or removing trees to create a sun baked location for sun loving plants. Nothing is too much or to difficult to achieve for our little darlings. We are willing to spoil and pamper them.

    What a minute! I almost forgot the fun part of gardening. If a plant you love is just misbehaving, can't be satisfied no matter what you do. Has been moved to different locations in the garden in an effort to get it to thrive and just won't live up to your expectations - you can THROW IT AWAY. Yeah!!

    You can't throw children away if they don't please you. You have to keep them and do the best you can and still love them. I know there is no one reading this that wishes they could just get rid of a less than perfect child, right?

    Having a favorite flower/plant, flaws and all is fun, but don't shut out maybe experiencing a new and different type of flower/plant. I read all of the time gardeners saying they were intimidated by my fave, the rose, until they planted their first one and realized how wondeful and beautiful they are. They were surprised that they could keep them alive easier than they had believed. Never say NEVER to a flower/plant. Don't get upset if your favorite isn't someone elses favorite. Just like our children have individual qualities that make us love them dearly, so do plants.

    I would love to know which flower/plant is your favorite and why. Leave me a comment here or on my Facebook page: Black People Garden Too in Mississippi (9) Black People Garden Too in Mississippi | Facebook as always follow me here and on Facebook. Twiiter Dorothy Guyton (@ndefenseofwomen) / Twitter Instagram Dorothy Guyton (@gift_of_god_2) | Instagram 

Flowers and Tattoos OMG

 

    What is it about flowers that people love so much that they are willing to have them tattooed on themselves? I mean if you look at men and women with tattooes, you're going to see a flower somewhere on them. The flower of choice most times is the ROSE.

    I had the wondeful opportunity of going to a Tattoo Fest and I decided to interview people who were getting tattoos, who had tattoos, and the artists giving tattoos. My number one question was "Why do people get flower tattoos?"

    The first lady I interviewed while she was going under the ink was getting several flowers tattooed for each of her family members. She had looked up the flower for each of their birth months and was having them tattood in a carfully thought out pattern on her left shoulder. To her, flowers represented the people she loved most in her life.

    I remember back in the day when I first wanted a tattoo. It was the early 90's and people, especially men, would tell me, "Ladies don't have tattoos and you are a lady." I was discouraged at every point in getting a tattoo. But boy, did I want one.

    People look at people with tattoos and make judgements about them. At one time, you would not be able to get a job if you had a visible tattoo. Man, how times have changed. almost everyone has one and they are even on people's FACES. Yes. I ran into a young tattoo artist who had a rose tattooed on her left temple. I interviewed her and asked her why did she put it there? She said she just felt like it and roses are so beautiful. She said she was a little afraid of what her mother might say so she asked her if it was okay for her to put a tattoo on her face. Her mother's response was that she was grown and she could make that decision if she wanted to. Mom was okay with it.

    Tattoos are a way people express themselves. Their tattoos have meaning to them. And in that same vein, their FLOWER tattoos mean something to them. 

    The energy at the Tattoo Fest was so alive and vibrant. Everyone there was so happy to be there and tattoos were everywhere. It seemed to me, some people did not have anymore room on their body for another tattoo. But, just like people who have gardens, there is always room for another beloved plant and there is alway room for another beloved tattoo.

    When you think of the highly favored ROSE, you think of love and romance. People have rose tattoos for their loved ones such as their mother, girlfriend, child, spouse, and even a deceased family member, friend, or loved one. Rose tattoos seem to be very meaningful to people.

    The rose has a long history and meaning The red rose symbolizes romance, love, beauty, and courage. A red rosebud signifies beauty and purity. A thornless red rose means love at first sight. Yellow roses symbolize friendship and joy, and new beginnings. Orange roses symbolize fascination, desire, and sensuality. People may not know the meanings for the color of the rose they choose to have as a tattoo, they just know they want that particular flower. If you  have a rose tattoo, more than likely it's red. Here is the meaning for the colors of roses:

                                        RED: love, passion, romance, desire.

                                        PINK: femininty, elegance, grace, admiration, gentleness.

                                        PEACH: gratitude.

                                        PURPLE: enchantment, love at first sight, adoration.

                                        BLUE: (yes there are roses classified as blue) mystery,

                                        unattainability.

                                        GREEN: nature, rejuvenation, fertility.

                                        WHITE: new beginnings, hope, innocence, purity, loyalty.

                                        ORANGE: energy, enthusiasm.

                                        YELLOW: friendship, warmth, caring.

    In religious history, the rose became identified with the Virgin Mary and the rose symbol eventually led to the creation of the rosary. The rose is the national flower of England. In 1986 the rose was adopted as the national floral emblem of the United States. The rose is also the state flower of New York, adopted in 1955. Portland Oregon has the nickname as the "City of Roses," since 1888 and has held an annual Rose Festival since 1905.

    So why not have a flower tattoo? Flowers hold so much meaning. So much meaning until it would be impoosible for me to go into all of them in this one post. Maybe I'll do a series on tattoos and flowers and write about the signifigance of other flower tattoos. I ran into one lady who was planning on getting a lotus flower tattoo. I found her mysterious and intriguing just because she wanted a "lotus" tattoo.

    As I said earlier, men and women both enjoy and have flower tattoos. I know you are wondering whether or not I ever got a tattoo and the answer is yes. After I returned to the States, after serving in the First Gulf War, I decided if I was able to go to war I DESERVED a tattoo. Since then the stigma of women having tattoos has all but vanished. Women freely express themselves in all kinds of ways with tattoos in private and public areas of their body and are not seen as masculine or 'unlady like.'

    Flowers and tattoos go hand in hand beautifully. And just like in a garden, the flowers of choice has a story to tell. I enjoyed my day at the Tattoo Fest held in Jackson, MS at the TradeMart Center and look forward to attending next year and I will be prepared to get a new tattoo. 

    You can see all of the wonderful interviews I did on my Facebook page: Black People Garden Too in Mississippi. Please follow me here on my blog and on Facebook as well. I am available in the Mississippi area to give presentations about flowers. Leave a comment bellow to contact me or use the information to the right on this blog or contact me on Facebook to book an appointment for a presentation for you church, flower club,or local library.

    As always on my adventures I run into wonderful people and get to experience wonderful things. Here I am with a bearded dragon. Great fun.