About

 A garden is good for the body and soul.

 I live in Louisiana (zone 8b) and have been gardening in Covington since 1976, but I have really only done this seriously for the last 15 years - after child started high school and I had more time.  I come from a long line of gardeners and have many plants from relatives.  In fact, I often refer to my garden as “Passalong Gardens” because most of my plants have not been purchased but given to me by generous family and friends.  It is nice to walk by all the plants and remember the people who have shared with me.

I called this blog Always Growing because 1) I am literally growing things and always puttering around the garden, and 2) I am growing as a gardener and person.

 INTEREST:  Gardening, reading, yoga, birding, spiritual growth, cooking, anything Irish, nature, cats, and now photography.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jan

7 Comments

  1. Patricia Louque said,

    January 5, 2008 at 10:17 pm

    This is a great blog. I am so lucky to have come across it. Hope you keep it going for a long time. Thanks

    Patricia, I hope to keep this up regularly. Thanks for stopping by.

  2. Bana Malik said,

    March 25, 2008 at 12:15 pm

    Dear Kim,

    This week Mother Jones magazine released the article Mulch Madness about Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Dean Wilson’s efforts to stop the illegal and unsustainable cutting of cypress for cheap mulch. Right now the cypress mulch industry is destroying wetlands that protect coastal Louisiana from hurricanes. The article is online at:
    http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/03/louisianas-mulch-madness.html

    Waterkeeper has been working with Dean and organizations across the Gulf Coast to save our cypress forests. We’ve made great progress. In June 2007, more than 200 Louisiana cities, universities, churches and other organizations pledged to stop using cypress mulch. Month later, Wal-Mart and Lowes announced they would stop or limit buying and selling cypress mulch from Louisiana. This is a great start but the threat remains. We have a long way to go to stop the mulching of the nation’s coastal wetland forests.
    Our gardeners hold the key. We believe that gardeners must know the truth about cypress mulch, and will stop using cypress mulch when presented with the facts.

    Again, thank you for your help spreading the word: Say NO to Cypress Mulch. I am also happy to provide more information for you.

    Bana Malik

    Bana Malik
    Communications Associate
    Waterkeeper Alliance
    50 S. Buckhout St., Ste 302
    Irvington, NY 10533
    914.674.0622 x23
    bmalik@waterkeeper.org

    Thanks for the input. I know we have been waging a battle over the use of cypress mulch & it drives me crazy when I see it. I am lucky to have pine trees, so that is the only mulch I use.

  3. Jeffrey from saveourcypress.org said,

    March 26, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    Jan,

    Thanks for your post on the cypress mulch issue. The method of clear cutting these companies are using to harvest the trees for mulch is truly disgusting and permanently changes the ecology and in many cases changes it from forest to what is essentially open water.

    Regardless of industry claims, the cypress trees are not growing back and cannot due to salt water intrusion and other changes in hydrology.

    Please have your visitors check the Save Our Cypress Coalition website at http://SaveOurCypress.org and tell all of them to Say No To Cypress Mulch!

    Thanks again and happy gardening!
    Jeffrey
    Internet Organizer
    Save Our Cypress Coalition

    Always happy to help, Jeffrey. I have known about this problem for a while now, and I am glad to tell more people about not using cypress mulch.

  4. Bill Stanley said,

    April 14, 2008 at 7:57 am

    Hi Jan,

    I really enjoy reading your blog posts. May I add your website http://alwaysgrowing.wordpress.com to my blog roll?

    My blog is at: http://www.home-gardening-tips.com

    Thanks!
    Bill Stanley

  5. Jan said,

    April 14, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Thanks, Bill. I appreciate the feedback. Of course, you may add my blog to your blog roll. It is nice of you to include me.

  6. cindydyer said,

    April 21, 2008 at 9:14 pm

    Hi Jan,

    Thank you for your comment on my snowdrops photo. I visited your blog and have added you to my “gardening blog” roll. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve just posted more garden photos from my recent visit to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond this past weekend at http://www.cindydyer.wordpress.com. Happy gardening!

  7. Jan said,

    April 22, 2008 at 5:09 am

    Thanks, Cindy. I’m on my way to your blog to check out the new photos.

Post a Comment