PANDEMIC PROJECTS: The coronavirus means more time to make yard upgrades.
If Tot Albro hadn’t been working in her garden during the stay-at-home order recently, the 10th-grade history teacher would have missed seeing what she called “a small miracle” — a monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
Albro, who lives in San Antonio’s Olmos Park Terrace and who has been holding classes online for the past month or so, appreciates her garden now more than ever.
“Putting my hands in the ground, especially after a day on the computer, is good therapy,” she said. “And with fewer meetings and no after-school tutoring, I’ve got more time to do that.”
The small miracles, she added, are an extra benefit.
Homeowners across the state have been using their time at home to tackle outdoor improvement projects.
Some folks have discovered that working in the yard provides a healthy respite from the ongoing stress of a global pandemic. Others are finally tackling that honey-do list of outdoor projects hanging over their heads. Many homeowners, after looking at that ramshackle fence, empty flower bed or tired backyard deck, have decided it’s time to spruce things up.
These projects all require materials and supplies, and home-improvement stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot have been second only to supermarkets in attracting shoppers. In a recent interview, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s, said there’s been an increase across most product categories as customers take on homeimprovement tasks indoors and out.
Contractors, nurseries and landscapers are getting a business boost as homeowners look for help.
Gardening is perhaps the most popular project with the #workfromhome crowd. Betty Curry, for example, finds solace in puttering around the yard of the house she shares with her husband, Brock, and their college-age son and daughter.
“When work gets too stressful, I love to come out here and dig around the garden for a while,” said the director of academic support for Trinity University. “It’s kind of zen.”
And her experience isn’t unusual. Numerous studies have found health benefits from gardening, including one — perhaps most important in this time of coronavirus concerns — that showed it relieves stress.
That study, published in 2010 in the Journal of Health Psychology, found people who gardened for 30 minutes after completing a stressful task had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than those who didn’t have dirt under their fingernails.
Corey Flores, a self-employed contractor, said he spent the first few days in his home sitting on his couch, watching TV and “stuffing my face.”
“Then I told myself, ‘You know what? I gotta start doing something,’ ” he said.
So he went out back and built a “pico de gallo” garden, where several varieties of tomatoes and peppers are already growing briskly. Framed by 2-by-4s with a lattice screen, the raised beds cost about $500, including plants and soil.
It was worth it.
“It’s kept me active, and I’ve even lost a little weight,” he said. “At the end of the day, my wife, Lisa (a call-center supervisor for Southwest Airlines), and I will sit out here with a glass of wine and discuss our days. It’s very relaxing.”
Maribelle Junier, husband John and son Zachary, 26, also built a garden where they’re growing everything from strawberries and blueberries to bell peppers, squash, cantaloupes and watermelons.
“When I was younger, I used to think gardening was lame,” Zachary said. “But now I realize why people do it. It’s nice to be able to see something you planted growing.”
The family also built a coop to house the two full-grown chickens they recently bought.
“They’re already laying eggs,” Maribelle said.
Some homeowners have taken on bigger projects, too. Brock Curry is taking advantage of his time at home to transform the storage building behind his home. He left the roof overhang in place to create a small, shaded patio where, come summer, heband his family can relax and enjoy the “victory garden” Betty planted nearby.
“I’ll be out here working on the building, and Betty will be digging in the garden,” he said. “It’s physical, yeah, but it gives us time to process and think about our other work at the same time.”
There may be plenty of other outdoor projects to come. Flores, for example, plans to extend his deck 16 feet, build another raised garden and even plant some fruit trees.
“Who knows?” he said. “By the time they figure this stuff out, I may have a whole tropical garden in my backyard.”