For Texarkana, Texas, resident Terry Mitchell, the ability to learn and the joy of having a hobby go hand in hand.

“For me, growing flowers and vegetables is both a learning experience and a hobby,” the former U.S. Army servicemen said as he collected a handfull of cucumbers from his garden, located a few yards north of the Mission Texarkana building.

Upon starting this community garden nearly two years ago, Mitchell said his goal was to help teach others useful gardening techniques as well increase the planting area’s square footage – so one day be able to supply Mission Texarkana with fresh garden varieties.

“One day, we might be able to make this operation large enough to offer food to the whole community,” he said

Born in Flint, Michigan, in 1962, Mitchell said the love of growing fresh food started early in his childhood.

“I started getting interested in gardening when I was five years old and still living in Michigan,” he said. “My grandparents were actually sharecroppers. Both my grandparents and my parents made sure they taught me that food actually came from somewhere else other then just the grocery stores and supermarkets. They show me that food actually came from the Mother Earth.”

Some of Mitchell’s favorite vegetables include green onions, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, green beans, broccoli, okra, peas and bell peppers.

Besides vegetables, Mitchell said he also likes growing watermelons and cantaloupes.

“Here in the south, it’s best to try to plant watermelon seeds after the last winter frost,” he said.

Shortly after finishing public school, Mitchell joined the U.S. Army in 1981 where he served full time for four years as a vehicle driver and mechanic while stationed in Europe as well as various areas throughout the U.S. Following full-time service, he continued serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as well as in the U.S. Army National Guard Reserve until 2001.

Mitchell’s interest in continuing his federal service eventually brought him to Texas in 1988 and specifically to Texarkana in 1991. Here, he went to work at the Red River Army Depot for a couple of years.

“I also worked for Tyson’s Foods for 10 years while I learned how to raise and sell my own chickens,” he said. “I started helping out at the Friendship Center (which later became Mission Texarkana) in 2005. I also love fishing, reading and growing sunflowers.”

For Mitchell, his reading includes his love of the Bible, which his parents also taught him at an early age.

“Learning how to love the Bible gave me my best start in life,” said Mitchell, who’s been a Church Under The Bridge member since 2012.

“To this day, my favorite verse still starts in Genesis 1 where it says ‘God created the earth,” he said.

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You have probably heard about how you help the environment when you grow native plants.

Birds love them, bees depend on them, and they help support your local ecosystem in countless other ways, too.

But did you know that native plants can also make your life easier?

That’s a message that Shana Byrd, director of land conservation at Dawes Arboretum near Newark and one of the organizers of its annual Ohio Sustainable Landscapes Symposium, hopes to spread.

“They’re really well-adapted,” she said. “They don’t require fertilization or heavy irrigation. They’re much lower-maintenance (than many non-native species). For some people, that may be their most valuable asset.”

There is a native plant, or a range of natives, for almost any situation, she added — sunny or shady, moist or dry.

“You have a tremendous variety,” she said. “And once they are added to a garden landscape, they require very little maintenance.”

Native plants also offer year-round beauty. The idea that a native landscape has to look overgrown and weedy couldn’t be further from the truth.

A thoughtfully planned garden can feature beautiful flowers and foliage from spring through fall; in winter, dried leaves and seed heads add visual interest.

Byrd shared a few easy-to-grow favorites that are readily available at nurseries and that thrive in Ohio’s climate:

• For spring, she suggested eastern columbine, a woodland perennial that boasts dangling flowers in red and yellow. “It’s gorgeous,” she said.

Another top native for spring is eastern redbud, a small tree with pinkish-lavender blooms — “one of my absolute favorites,” Byrd added.

• For late spring and early summer, she suggested blue false indigo — “so striking when it’s in bloom.”

A top spring-blooming tree is cucumber magnolia, which features fragrant, showy flowers.

• For summer, she recommends marsh blazing star, also known as gayfeather, a perennial with dramatic spikes of purple flowers.

And, just in case you like hummingbirds (doesn’t every gardener?), she also mentioned cardinal flower, a perennial beloved for its bright-red blooms.

“It’s just brilliantly colored,” Byrd said. “Hummingbirds are its primary pollinators.”

Diana Lockwood, a freelance writer covering gardening topics, posts on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mrsgardenperson.

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LOUDONVILLE — The Gardener’s Guild Garden Club in Loudonville has been around for more than half a century, but the club is still welcoming new members.

“We need new people with new ideas,” said Alice Sanz, who has served as the club’s president for the past three years.

“We try to offer gardening programs that are interesting and different, touching on all phases of gardening, from planting, plant care, garden shopping, flower arranging and garden crafting using plant materials,” Sanz continued.

“For instance, last month 13 of our 22 members enjoyed an evening at the Blanchard Daylily Gardens in Wayne County,” she added. “Since the early 1980s Ken and Cynthia Blanchard, respectively a retired veterinarian and elementary school teacher, have been raising daylilies on their property west of Apple Creek. Members enjoyed looking at the creative ways the Blanchards have mingled their primary plants, daylilies, with other perennials, trees and shrubs.”

This coming meeting, Monday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the Loudonville United Methodist Church, Pat Edwards of Ashland will talk about her involvement in the Master Gardeners Program, a gardening certification and volunteer program.

In addition to tending her very nice urban garden in Ashland, the retired Hillsdale School teacher and coach spends extensive volunteer time tending gardens at Malabar Farm State Park and Kingwood Center.

All interested people are welcome to attend this meeting as a way of introducing themselves to the club. For more membership information, please call Sharon Brewer at 419-606-7699. Dues are $12 a year.

Among the other programs enjoyed by members this year were a finger foods tasting journey to member’s homes; the club’s annual spring plant auction; an outing to the Country Colors Greenhouse west of Amity in Knox County; a flower arranging workshop; a visit to the Wistful Avenue Flower Farms outside of Perrysville; a herb farm workshop including a talk on using herbs as teas, foods, and medicines; and a nut fall wreath-making workshop.

Meetings are usually held the last Monday of the month. The club does not meet in December, January and February.

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Gardening can have a huge impact on your health. Digging holes, pulling weeds, and tilling the soil are great exercise for your body. Plus, it can lead to lower levels of stress. And at the end of it all, you have a new source of healthy and delicious foods.

Lake Effect gardening contributor Melinda Myers offers helpful information on the health benefits of gardening. Myers is the author of numerous books, including Month-by-Month Gardening in Wisconsin and Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. 

Mental Health

“Communities that have green spaces, the more green space, the lower the community health cost. So, they’re seeing a reduction in illness and disease, and reducing those expenditures in health care by having green spaces,” says Myers. 

Research is now beginning to prove the effects of gardening as being a stress reliever and increasing focus to be true for both adults and children. 

Physical Health

“If you go to the Arthritis Foundation, they talk a lot about gardening as a way to build strength and flexibility to help counteract. It’s not going to eliminate arthritis, but it’s going to help you live with it and be able to function more normally by exercising,” she explains. “So it does build your body muscles.” 

Exercising by gardening is a good way for those who would rather spend time outside in nature rather than at the gym. 

Weight Loss

“I always call it a ‘two-for-three-fer.’ You’re improving your garden, you’re losing weight, and you’re growing nutritious vegetables. And if you grow vegetables, you’re more likely to eat them,” Myers explains.

Whether it’s raking or turning the soil, gardening can easily help burn calories and manage weight. 

Herbs

“Herbs not only flavor our food, but many of them fight some of the diseases. [They] help with inflammation, which is a problem with arthritis and many autoimmune diseases,” she says.

Aromatherapy is a large part of gardening with health benefits. Myers notes that lavender can be used for relaxation and peppermint to make you more alert. 

Medicinal Weeds

“There’s a lot of things we call weeds that many cultures harvest as well as foragers,” says Myers. 

Before you pick a weed, make sure you’re allowed to. Also, make sure you’re aware whether the weed has been treated with some kind of pesticide.

Myers mentions that purslane, lambsquarters, and dandelions are edible and healthy plants.

Things to Avoid

While gardening has many health benefits for those with arthritis or other conditions, it’s important to find ways to make gardening easier on the body. She recommends elevating your garden.

“Using raised beds [or] containers will get your garden up. It also reduces the sides, so [there are] fewer weeds to manage,” suggests Myers. Aside from raised beds, she recommends wearing gloves, using kneepads, or a kneeler to help with the strains gardening can put on the body. 

Myers will be at the Wisconsin State Fair in the We Energies Energy Park this week. She’ll be talking about healthy gardening every day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

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