ic Kathe With an E: #GrowSomething Social Media Takeover!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

#GrowSomething Social Media Takeover!

This is no way a sponsored post!
This is just one of those things
I am passionate about.
 I am participating in 
#GrowSomething: It's A Social Media Takeover
 
Why Social Media?
Because it's powerful.
The average Facebook user has 130 friends.
If 500 of us message, we have a reach of 65,000 people.
 The average Twitter user has 126 followers.
If 500 of us tweet, we can reach 63,000 more people.
 If they all retweet and share with their Facebook friends, we've reached 16 million people.
We're two degrees away from 16 million people!
That's better than Kevin Bacon!
We have the power to make our voices heard!

What do we want you to hear?
We want to cultivate
new gardeners.
 #GrowSomething is part of the Grow Initiative,
designed to get the horticulture industry growing again.
 Plants are good for us, for our health,
our spirits and our planet, but not everyone knows it.

I have always been one to
try to frequent the local
family owned garden centers near me.
The big box stores may have better prices
but, my local garden centers have
the knowledge of what grows best in our area
and are able to guide me to
the proper plants for more successful gardens.
They provide classes and the
professionals I can't get at the box hardware stores.


It is no secret I love to garden.
I'm not even sure love is a
strong enough word!
This time of year
there is no where else I want to be than out in my gardens!
Just this past weekend,
even though it was raining off and on
and oh so dreary out
I was still out there,
adding two Knockout rose bushes
to my back garden.


 I have also put dad's birdhouses
on posts and added them to the garden.

Gardening, for me,
is bringing beauty to my little world.
I am always happy to share
what works best for me.

And, gardening is good for my health!
"Gardening is a great way to maintain flexibility and tone muscles," says Melissa Roti,
an assistant professor in the department of
movement science, sport, and leisure studies
at Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Bending to pick flowers or reaching to prune a vine,
for example, can help you stay limber.
Digging, hoeing, and lifting build core body strength,
which protects against back problems and helps prevent falls.
The more you exert yourself, the greater the benefits.
"Household and yard activities increase metabolic rate threefold to fivefold,"
says Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science
at the University of South Carolina
and coauthor of "Active Living Every Day" (Human Kinetics Publishers; 2001).
That's enough to reduce blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels
when a gardener works for at least 30 minutes five days a week.
Tasks that are strenuous enough to leave a gardener feeling slightly winded,
pushing a hand mower or raking, for example,
will improve cardiovascular fitness.
Gardening, like more traditional forms of exercise,
has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease
and help ward off type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.
 Gardening helps to reduce stress too!
There is no doubt that after
a particularly hard day at work
I can go home and spend a half hour
attacking weeds, instead of a co-worker,
I feel sooo much calmer!

Gardening doesn't have to be expensive either.
Most of my plants can be divided,
giving me free plants to fill in bare spots.
Even my garden decor is thrifty!
All come from clearance racks,
thrift stores, dollar stores,
even, in the case of the cute red chair,
found abandoned on the curb.
It was a very fugly green and
had a broken leg that one of Mr. B's
buddies fixed with a spot weld.
A can of bright red spray paint and
she now offers me a place to
sit and enjoy my flowers.

 Ultimately, what may be best about flexing a green thumb is
that it's such a pleasure it hardly feels like exercise.
"When the first good weather arrives,
the biggest problem we see is people overdoing it," says Sandra Mason,
a horticulture educator at
the University of Illinois Extension in Champaign County.
"Once people get started, they don't want to stop."
(Raising my guilty hand to this!)
 Do you have a whole garden, a penchant for cut flowers
or a single orchid on your windowsill?
Then you, my friend, are a gardener.
Anytime you touch something
produced by Mother Earth
you are contributing to the
#GrowSomething movement.
Now get out there and
help us spread the word!


Click here to see where I may be partying this week.
 Don't forget to come by on Tuesday's
for the link party.




60 comments:

  1. WOW!!! Such Lovely blooms! I love your gardenand all the POPS of color that you have in there! I too LOVE to garden all day long if theyd just let me:) lol thanks so much! Deidre~ http://simplysimplisticated4.blogspot.com

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  2. I love to garden, too! Your flower garden looks really lovely with the picket fence edging. Looks like you have some glads about to bloom!

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  3. Oh, what pretty flowers. Love the birdhouses too. And I've always wanted some Alluim bulbs, yours are gorgeous!

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  4. Kathe, your garden is beautiful. Like you, I love to garden and support local businesses in our area - fresh produce, etc. yum! Thank you for sharing this great post at Project Queen's Link Party... love your Mother's Day table too!

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  5. Your garden is so pretty with the white picket fence. Gardening definitely benefits the heart, mind, and soul!
    Mary Alice

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  6. Great post about how exciting and healthy it is to garden. I am stopping by from Bloomin Tuesday. Off to tweet and FB your post. Twitter: @craftygrdenmama FB: facebook.com/CraftyGardenMama Have a great week!

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  7. What a wonderful post Kathe! I try hard at gardening - things grow so fast here it's hard to keep up!!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  8. Hello,
    Every Tuesday I have a garden party link up and am inviting you to come on over and share your love of plants and gardening! Come on by and link up. I love your Grow Initiative and your take on gardening. :)

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  9. Your garden makes me green with envy. Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays.

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  10. Hi Kathe!

    I love how lush your garden looks. I used to work in my garden in between rain showers when we lived in Washington State. It was my therapy! Looks like your Iris' will be blooming soon...

    Thanks for sharing at my party this week.

    xoxo Bunny Jean
    Wednesday's Bunny Hop Party!

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  11. I love your little white picket fence with all the pretty blooms behind it. Like you, I find much enjoyment in my home and garden too. Thanks for linking up this week at Your Cozy Home Party!

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  12. Your garden is gorgeous. I'm a newbie, but I'm trying.

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  13. OMG!!!! LOVE your garden!!!! I can't wait for things to start blooming here!!

    Thanks so much for sharing at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!!

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  14. What a beautiful garden you have--I especially liked the picture of the red rose, the red birdhouse and then the white statue! My garden is starting to take off with roses and clematis all in bloom or beginning to bloom--probably my favorite time of year in my garden.

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  15. I love your white picket fence and beautiful gardens.
    http://magnoliacottage7.blogspot.ca/2012/05/tea-time_16.html

    Lisa

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  16. Hi Kathe with an E,
    I could not live without a garden within my first 5 steps. Is there any better place to be than in a garden? Guess we agree..lovely pictures..

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  17. your garden is lovely! good for you.
    I too enjoy my garden...a fun hobby!

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  18. Gardening is my passion. It not only renews my soul but helps give me a bit of a workout. I have a hard time quitting once I get out there. Thanks for sharing your lovely garden with Share Your Cup!
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  19. What lovely flowers! Thanks for linking to Things I've Done Thursday!

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  20. What a beautiful garden. Love all of your pretty touches too.
    Be a sweetie,
    shelia ;)

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  21. Wow, your garden looks beautiful!!! Coming by to visit from Katherine's hop!
    Cheers,
    Char
    http://1epicmom.com

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  22. What a beautiful garden, a credit to you and all your hard work.Have a wonderful day! x

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  23. This is a fantastic idea - I just started tweeting - feel more like little chirps - I'll definitely join in! I appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday - I'll join you in your party next week!
    God Bless,
    Kathy

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  24. your gardens are beautiful, I wantta play in the yard more this year, love the little picket fence!
    helen

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  25. what a pretty little piece of heaven you have created!!!
    Thank you so much for linking in and sharing your post with my party today!
    I have shared your post this week with the Tootsie Time Facebook page.
    Have a wonderful weekend!
    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
    ¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

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  26. Gorgeous gardens...i am loving that red chair in your garden! hopping over from Common Ground to say Hello! would love to have you link up to the garden party going on now over at Fishtail Cottage! xoox, tracie

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  27. Loving the chair...I have one on the deck that I painted hunter green but that red really pops...might have to repaint mine. thanks for sharing

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  28. Hi,
    wonderful pictures !! I love the little bird houses ; )
    Have a great day.

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  29. All of your blooms are just gorgeous Kathe! And that red chair is wonderful! Thank you for sharing this with us this week at TTF. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  30. Hi Kathe! You Go!!! As a Master Floral Designer I too agree that the pro's outshine the box stores and Groceries. The plants at your local greenhouses..make sure they grow their own, cause they can get them from out of country....are area hardy, meaning they are acclimated to your specific area/zone. Floral shops too carry a better grade of botanical. Like eggs there are different grade of plants and cut flowers. That is why there are so many differences in prices and quality.....a rose can last 2 weeks and a carnation a month...cut! And, in the case of floral shops there are fresh flower color varieties you cannot get in the garden variety because they cannot be grown outside, but in a genetic lab first where they genetically create colors not found in the natural plants. They then must be cultivated in a special growing solution...hydroponically, etc. and blossoms are gathered and processed in special temps and chemicals..which also trickles down to additional care and handling by the floral designers...much too labor intensive for the box store to hire a pro to do...let's face it the boxboy cannot handle cleaning buckets with bleach in the cut flower area so bacteria won't grow on the sides I doubt he would appreciate the usefulness of silver thiosulfate. So, you Grow girl! with the help of your pro's

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  31. Yes. I hear you. Social Media has created a lot of jobs for us, and that is the positive move.

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  32. You've covered my same thoughts and ideas I've written about. We need to mentor the next generation so they'll know how to grow and prepare food from garden to table.
    Excellent post.

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  33. Beautiful Garden! Thanks for linking!

    Jen

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  34. Those are lovely photos! Thanks for linking up.

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  35. I love the little birdhouses!

    New follow from the blog hop :)

    Can't wait to catch up on all you're posts!!

    xo, Jersey Girl

    hairsprayandhighheels.blogspot.com

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  36. I will definitely tweet about this-what a great idea!

    My weekly Say G'Day Saturday Linky Party has just started and I would be honoured if you could join in and link up this fabulous post!

    Best wishes and I hope you have a great weekend in the garden!
    Natasha in Oz

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  37. Hi there.....
    what a Lovley Garden :)
    and do not miss...

    S
    A
    T
    U
    R
    D
    A
    Y

    S
    H
    O
    W

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    F
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    it is FUN :)
    WELCOME
    HÃ¥kan ( The Roseman)

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  38. So pretty, Kathe! I love the birdhouses sprinkled in the flowers.

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  39. Great message, Kathe. Love spending time in my garden!

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  40. This is a great message! I so agree and believe that gardens are good for the soul. Yours is very lovely.

    Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  41. Nice message and lovely flowers. I like the purple bloom.

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  42. Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - The Tablescaper

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  43. Oh your gardens are stunning. Very beautiful vibrant colors and varieties. Your birdhouses looks so nice among the flowers.
    Ann

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  44. Kathe,
    Beautiful garden! I sure wish I had a green thumb but NO such luck. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday :)

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  45. Your garden is lovely. Funny, I just came in to rest from planting our veggie garden. I guess I can check "grow something" off my list. Thanks for sharing at our party.

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  46. Love your garden space Kathe and the little red chair!:)

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  47. I love your garden Kathe! So much color! I love to garden too and I just had to pull myself away from checking in on all of my plants. Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!

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  48. Oh your gardens are so pretty! I need you to teach me everything you know. I'm the total opposite of a green thumb I only wish I could keep such a beautiful garden! Thanks so much for sharing at Sunday Round Up! Have a wonderful rest of the week!
    -Kayla :)

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  49. What a beautiful garden!! I just tweeted your post to help spread the word :) Thanks for linking up! Hope to see you again this week.

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  50. Thank you so much for linking up your beautiful garden at my Unveil Your Genius link party last week. I hope you'll link up again soon!
    http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/05/unveil-your-genius-link-party-12.html

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  51. Hi Kathe! I have loved plants and flowers my whole life and can proudly say that I have a green thumb. Once our wether clears up, I need to take some pictures of all of our people's in bloom! You've got a beautiful outside space, I love to use thrifty finds too! I'm so glad you linked up at Sunday Blog Love, I always enjoy reading your blog. Have a great weekend!

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  52. Hi Kathe,
    What a great post. Thank you for sharing it for Fresh-Cut-Friday. It is the perfect addition. :) I hope you will consider adding my link to your monthly party list. I'ld be honored.

    ~Liz

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  53. Great flowers and an excellent post about the love and benefits from getting out there and working in the garden! Definitely good for the soul!!
    I'm with you- I'm obsessed with it and dream about it through the winter and can hardly wait to see it come to life each spring!

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  54. *LOVE* all the red in your garden. When are we supposed to Tweet #GrowSomething? Is there a specific date and time?

    Linking from Rose Vignettes,
    ~Ricki Jill

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  55. Great message~ gardening does reduce stress!

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  56. I am a gardener! I qualify, Kathe!

    Your yard looks so pretty. Love those purple globe alliums. They make such a bold and fabulous statement! I really need to add some of those.
    I have a long flower bed along the street which is full of perennials, some in shade and some in full sun. I took a walk through the blooms this morning and I seem to have an overabundance of all things purple and blue! The alliums would feel right at home there I am certain.

    Such pretty pictures of your garden.
    Thanks so much for sharing at the Favorites on the First, Kathe!

    Alison

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  57. What gorgeous alliums! I find that mine have gotten smaller over the years. Do you feed yours? I agree with you -- I find gardening relaxing, too, as long as it doesn't get too hot out there!

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