For most of Hive, or at least those in the Northern Hemisphere, their garden looks a little like @angryman's or @goldenoakfarm's, covered in snow. @edvprivat too has been complaining about the lack of sun - it must drive them all a little stir crazy, whilst giving them some rest from the garden. I know here in the Southern Hemisphere, in more temperate regions, we HAVE to garden all year around because we don't get snow to stop things in their tracks.

@porters house in the snow, however, offers a glimpse to what lies within - a well lit garden, away from the cold!

This hasn't stopped @goldenoakfarm joining in the fun though - she posted about her houseplants. Some are twenty odd years old, or nigh on. There's been a lot of house plant sharing on HIVE at the moment - must be a bit of a craze! But indoor gardening certainly gives people something to do when it's impossible to garden outside. Some have grow lights, some people just have the right ambient temperature and light to keep plants ticking along nicely and providing some winter green when all else is white.

@itsostylish used the challenge to take stock of the garden-that-no-long-was, lamenting over two overly shading trees and the lack of gardening effort she's put into her place. However, go give her a follow and some encouragement so that we can see how her gardening efforts improve the space over the next few months #gardenjournals! She also wrote about hydroponic gardening efforts, getting started with vegetables. If you'd like to see a cheap, recycled bottles system, go check out the post here. Gardening systems don't have to be expensive!

@sjarvie5 shared her round garden. What's a round garden, you ask? Well, just look at this photo! You can hear the excitement in a short youtube she made to show the tiny vegetables pushing up from the soil in her new whiskey barrel garden. There's also some lovely photos of agave and lavender - does anyone else enjoy taking photos of plants?

@discoveringarni told us about the term 'plantita/plantito' - someone who's obsessed with plants! And I think @plantstoplanks would appreciate the double entrendre in the name of the eggplant seeds she talks about: 'the eggplant that lasts'.. :P Her plant boxes look great and as if they've always been there (you might recall her writing about them last #gardenjournal). Absolutley love her very cute tissue roll seed pots - catch the post here.

@itfarmgirl wrote a little retrospective about her gardening in small cute pots and vegetable plants during 2020. She shared some really lovely photos of the garden - I'm always impressed with neat rows, which I can never manage!

@proto26 posted about his indoor plants - aint NOTHING going to stop this man gardening, not even permafrost, jajaja. I always learn a lot about bonsai from this plantito - if you'd like to learn more check his post out here.

@nikolina is super excited for Spring. I love it when people post about their gardens right at the beginning of the season when there's hardly anything going on - and then to see the efforts pay off mid summer and into Autumn, well, that's why I love the #gardenjournal!

@afterglow has been busy sorting out the drainage in his garden. He's been planting bell peppers and tomatoes, and harvested string beans.

Whilst @afterglow has been planting peppers outside, @bartolomee has been planting them INSIDE! They're looking gorgeous. Whilst in Indonesia or India they're happy outside, in Russia, they need the extra warmth! I find even here in southern Australia they do better for me in the greenhouse. How about you?

I thought I wouldn't get a selfie at all this time around, and finally got a great one of @umirais with bananas! Now that makes me jealous - she grows ginger and turmeric too! Like many HIVE gardeners, she knows that even if you don't have a lot of space there's lots of kitchen herb, fruit, vegetable and root plants you can grow - she uses polybags for many which seems to work pretty well!

@nikv, like me, is experiencing the wetter weather of La Nina, which is a bonus in our part of the world in summer (both Australia and South Africa can get bone dry in the summer usually). She's been (rightly) on a mission to fill her garden with native plants that fare better in the tougher weather. It's also the third post I've read today with grasshoppers in it - must be the season! @buckaroobaby in South Africa wrote about fire season and the sense of trepidation in the air as the air sizzles with dry heat:

In our area everyone has a two way radio on the hip, a hat on the head and heavy boots. My boots are a small comfort that I will be safe from the venomous snakes. At the moment the radios are very busy with chatter about the fires. We've offered to help should the crisis escalate. Our days continue as normal but the smoke hardly hides the reality of those fires that are destroying homes and farms. The gardens are beautiful early in the morning but then when the sun starts beating down again it is a sad, sad sight. The Jerusalem artichokes are a happy show as are the hardier herbs; my lavender, soapwort, rose geranium and the magnificent elder. I wonder how many will never see their gardens again.

But, there's also happy, good things happening on the Buckaroo homestead - the Buckaroo babies have been helping out with the fish fertiliser efforts by cleaning out the fish dam. Smelly but fun work, and rewarding too - and the garden is now flooded with liquid gold.

@luckylaica suffered the terrible typhoon that destroyed houes and crops. But as gardeners know, a little hard work means the plants will grow again. It's a devastating thing to happen but it's so good to see the plants coming back - something so important as prices will rise. If you can afford to please go and leave a tip on her post here which will help in rebuilding house and garden after such a devastating event. I think she sums up really well:

I'm very happy that my passion for planting gives me a remedy to move on and get up for what had happened to us and also it helps us provide fresh and healthy food on the table.

@alborhada shared some garden flowers. You'll also see her in the selfie wall!

@cesarj21 finally got his garden mowed which made him dream of a compost heap, but he's still finding time and resources to do so. Check him out in the garden selfie with the squash - great photo and smile. He says:

It is so rewarding when you take the seed of some fruit that you buy, you sow it, and after taking care of the plant you get fruits exactly like the one you bought.

And they look tasty indeed! @cesarj21 is passionate about growing trees from seed to give away - what a wonderful thing to do.

Phew! There were so many entries this week that I'm finding it hard to keep up - so if I did take a while to comment I'm sorry. @minismallholding wrote about how things were going with her poultry and some restructuring of their - pens? coops? - but also on a very old plum tree that needs tending, and some other fruit trees, as well as lots of other little delights such as suprise chillis, tomatoes

@dora381 has only recently got into gardening. I love what she said about her indoor plants:

I have to say I enjoy their company. I say hello to them in the morning and have a night chat before bedtime. Somehow, we have been developing a special bonding relationship. I feel like they can understand my thoughts and feel what I am feeling. It is so easy for me to chat with them about everything in my life.

And also her vegetable garden - definitely sounds like a plantita, right?

At first, I came to this experiment solely because I saw others doing it and I thought about trying it. Until now, I have gained so much from this experiment. I love seeing my garden every day, the morning before going to work and the afternoon after finishing work. When I feel something is not right, I have my garden to cheer me up. When I have so much joy, I have my garden to share. It is magical how a small garden can make a huge impact on my mental health and wellbeing. Just by looking at them, I can shut down all the noise from my life and just focus on important things. I also learned to to be happy with whatever life throws at me and be grateful for things I received.

Even though @senorcoconut was on the way to a festival he still managed to whip a post about how much he loved the height of the pandemic because he got to be home a lot of the time. Saying that, he did struggle to maintain it a little as he wasn't living on site. HOpefully that'll change this year and we look forward to seeing it grow throughout the #gardenjournal challenges of 2022!!

@traisto and @fotostef wrote about their land too. @traisto wrote about the olive grove - honestly, if you have to see the views to believe them! There's a lot of wild greens and citrus -they truly live in an idyll. You'll see both of them in the selfie wall for February below.

Check out the photo in the selfie wall of @traisto, in @fotostef's post. I think these guys have the offical CELEBRATORY GLAMOUR GARDENING HIVE COUPLE award. @fotostef wrote about endless mulching ready for summer, to protect the baby herbs growing.

@gertu, like @nikv, is a succulent lover, and if you are too, I suggest you read her post here. Her euphorbias are really pretty - don't you love their spiral petal?

The Winners

Very hard as usual! This time I decided to do categories.

VEGETABLE GARDEN PRIZE - 10 HIVE to @luckylaica

I'm sure you'll agree that this is well deserved - @luckylaica is always consistant with her #gardenjournal posts and she also had her house wrecked in the typhoon. Still, she puts all her hope in the garden, the vegetables which help put food on the table and the joy that gardening gives to her heart to help her through a terrible time. Thanks @plankstoplanks for the sponsorship.

OTHER GARDEN PRIZE - 10 HIVE

Two winners - @discoveringarni for a very well put together post, including making little planters from loo roll holders, and new #gardenjournal girl @itfarmgirl! 5 HIVE each to you guys for really well put together posts.

Selfie Prize Go in the draw to win 5 HIVE for the best garden selfie!

Phew, this one's a draw, so I didn't have to make a decision! @traisto won this time - I'm sure she can share it with @fotostef!

The Selfie Wall

Until next time, I hope your grasshoppers don't eat your plants and the rain falls JUST the right amount. Much #gardenjournal love to you all. Oh, and if you can spare a little delegation, please send to @gardenhive - it really does help us grow. Each post me and @minismallholding posts each week for the community allocates a small beneficiary to a delegator! This post is for @progressivechef who recently delegated a very generous 1000 HP - wow! Thanks so much!

The rest of beneficiary on this post to @gardenhive for that very reason - all rewards will be used to help with upvotes on your posts! If you'd like to sponsor, send HIVE to @riverflows with a memo about it and we'll make a special prize in your name.

With Love,

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