October 2012 / November 2012 | Create a Garden Sanctuary

- For the Virtual Magazine Click Here | October 2012 / November 2012 article in Home Magazine.

- For the PDF Click Here | October 2012 / November 2012 article in Home Magazine.

- Jon George shares seasonal portraits of garden design tailored for our North Florida climate in each issue of the Landscape Calendar written for local magazine Home - Living in the Heart of Florida.  Check out each issue to learn secrets of how he and his staff create colorful landscapes any month of the year. You may contact his staff for questions at cottagegardensinc@yahoo.com.

October 2012 / November 2012

Cultivating your own garden can do more than produce beautiful flowers - gardening can contribute to both mental and physical health.

Exercise

The beautiful fall weather that we experience at this time of the year in North Florida makes me want to want to get outside and renew some of my own landscape beds. Far from the monotony of some workout routines, gardening provides plenty of fresh air and a change of scenery for those have been feeling cooped up by all the rain we have had this summer. Try setting small goals rather than re-modeling the entire garden in a single weekend. Low level extended exercise is more recommended by health professionals than extreme lifting and bending.

Garden and Reduce Your Stress

Research has shown that interacting with nature can reduce blood pressure, ease muscle tension and breathing and increase electrical activity in our brains. Some doctors in the UK have actually prescribed gardening to combat depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Allow yourself to get outdoors and spend some time with your own garden space. Personally I find that rummaging through plant catalogs or discovering new plants for the garden is the start of an exciting process. Digging and weeding works up a sweat, but nothing is more satisfying than standing back at the end of the day and having a sense of accomplishment. Creating an interactive landscape space can take a little planning, but a well thought out space lends to a feeling o f balance and beauty.

Take time to nurture your landscape and cultivate your garden as a healthy ritual. A little time spent outdoors is good medicine!

A. Now is the perfect time for planting your personal gar^H oasis. Cooler weather mea less transplant shock and a chance for plants to develoi a larger root system for ne spring. Think about your favorite colors and texture! Start saving clippings o f garden art and ideas that inspire you. These can be the start of a truly unique garden design.

B. Plan for plenty of seating areas to sit and enjoy nature. This quiet Duckpond neighborhood retreat in downtown Gainesville features stone edged walkways and a bench for contemplation. Seasonal mums welcome visitors to the front porch with more views of the garden and a pond below.

C. Invite others into your garden space with an arbor or a gateway Intimate garden spaces are best defined with boundaries that give a sense of privacy and enable you to leave the world behind. This garden gate covered with fragrant Milletia vine offers a tempting glimpse into the pool area beyond.

Jon George is the owner of Cottage Gardens, Inc., a Gainesvillebased landscape design and installation firm.Jon has been gardening in North Central Florida for more than 30 years. You may contact his staff at www.TheCottageGardener. com or at cottagegardensinc@ yahoo.com.