Do you love gardening but hate the thought of the aches and pains that follows after all that bending and kneeling? I understand. Picture this. You're basking in what I call the "after-gardening glow".  I mean, you have the satisfaction of having made good progress in your garden. A lot of digging and pulling. You're on a natural high from destroying a gazillion weeds.  You've planted seeds. Your endorphins are through the roof!  You sit back and say, "I did good"!  The after-gardening glow is Real! And then, BAM!  It sets in. You become stiff.  Every muscle in your body aches.  Sound familiar?   Does it make good sense to do all that work in your garden and be laid up and unable to move afterward? No, I don't think so. I have one piece of advice:  USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB. Invest in a good garden workbench or stool and give your body a break. You need one that can hold your weight and hold a few hand tools. I found mine online. I'll link i

Got a bare patch in your backyard? Grass won't grow? Create a rock garden!  To say we had bare patches in our backyard is putting it mildly. We had a desert! Over the years, a huge part of the backyard had become shaded by a tree and the desert was getting bigger each year. This combined with our personal neglect lead to a dry, dusty condition. So, we hired a landscaper and lawn treatment expert to help rehab our lawn. Before they got started, I decided to mark off a small area for a rock garden. I've never done this before, but I was confident that I could make this work. So, let's start at the beginning! Where do you get rocks? Your big box hardware store, nursery or quarry carries rocks. But if you live in Connecticut, you should be able to find rocks right in your backyard. We had tons of rocks! I spent a few hours digging up large and small rocks and moving them over to the area that I mapped out for my garden.  Prepping The Soil I used a rake and a hoe to clear pocket