Gardening with "Honey Bear"

This past week has involved a lot of garden time;

and not just in our garden.

On Monday we had the privilege of helping a man that has

been gardening for a very long time.

We've known him for about ten years I guess;

and I'm yet to discover what his real name is.

Everyone that knows him just calls him

"Honey Bear."

It goes back to the days when he used to sell honey,

and I guess it just stuck.

Honey Bear is a Master Organic Gardener,

and has an overwhelming amount of knowledge to share.

In his eighties, it's amazing how much he can still accomplish,

but the number of things he can't do

is growing as well.

That's where my mom, brother, and I came in.

We volunteered a day to help him get his gardens

and raised beds ready for planting.

First, we began with our customary tour...

He always has the most amazing collection of

heirloom plants & interesting flowers.

Some lovely blue irises...

Next, we built a new fence

for his little flock of chickens and ducks.

After that, it was time for the serious jobs...

Joe began the process of moving the bags of decomposing

leaves that Honey Bear has been saving all Winter.

His plants absolutely love this special mulch.

Yeah, he got something on him.

Meanwhile, Mom waged war

on the thistles in the raised beds.

Flowering Russian Kale

In its own rustic way,

Honey Bear's garden is a lovely place,

with lots of interesting sights to see.

A special kind of accidental art.

Parsley

After putting the camera away...

I got busy emptying said bags of decomposing leaves...

Some of them were very full of water,

(resembling tea...)

Ankle deep in the squishy mulch,

fluffing up the leaves in preparation for tomato plants,

these pictures do no justice to the absolute mess I was...

Believe me though, I've never had a problem getting

dirt on my hands -

and was seriously having a pretty good time out there.

We were pretty wiped out -

but it was a special, and very educational day.

I'm often reminded of the importance of spending time

with those that are older than we are.

They have so much to offer in the way of

wisdom and experience.

We are so thankful for each of the elderly friends

that the Lord has blessed us with over the years.

They have taught us so much.

On the way home we stopped for Blackberry milkshakes.

Now we are busy applying some of Honey Bear's

ideas to our own garden -

and planning on visiting him again soon.