Working Outside: More Complicated Than You Think

By Sylvia Small, principal of Sylvia Small Communications & Marketing, a metro Atlanta-based firm with several clients in the home improvement industry

Will Rogers said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” A better quote for me might be “I never met a plant I didn’t like.” It doesn’t matter what the texture, color or price is. I’m just as likely to take home an inexpensive strange-looking plant as I am to pick out a beautiful rose or a fragrant gardenia.

Luckily my husband shares my passion for creating an inviting outdoor living space. It’s either a hobby or an obsession for us, depending on whether we’re heading to the local garden center or unloading the plants we tried to convince ourselves not to buy.

I would like to trace the origins of our hobby back to our first home. That’s when our savings were more in line with buying plants rather than accumulating furniture. But it goes back even further than that. I was the student who tried to grow potato vines and an avocado tree on the ledge of a tiny dorm room window. Maybe I’ll just chalk it up to something in my genes!

The good news is this: a well-designed landscape is a pleasure to view, enhances your community, and adds to your property’s resale value. Being one with nature helps relieve stress, lowering your blood pressure in the process. Working in the yard also can help you burn calories and tone your muscles. You’ll even get a dose of vitamin D the natural way!

I would like to tell you that my plant obsession is confined to the outdoors, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Perhaps that’s the subject for a future blog post.

Have a green thumb? Tell us about your outdoor adventures by leaving a comment below.