suzy, I used to listen to things on my ipod while gardening but stopped after I pruned my ear bud wires instead of dead branches on General Gallieni one spring. gean

No music for me; I don't want anything between me and the sounds of nature (other than the ringing in my ears since I have a pretty severe case of tinnitus).

Ingrid

I love the near silence of nature, and being in the middle of the country am able to enjoy it. I don't understand people's desire to insulate themselves from their environments. But perhaps most folks do live in such high stimulus surroundings--I mean the modern world--that music offers protection by limiting and simplifying the input. I spend so much time by myself and in the country, that I when I go to the city people watching is entertaining, as is looking out the windows when I take the train.
Melissa

I live in a suburb, and love the sounds of nature sometimes, but often without my Ipod, I begin to stress over things that I have no power over.

I listen to books much of the time. (I put my Ipod in my pocket, my shirt over the pocket, and the cord runs under the shirt.) Last summer I listend to almost all of the James Patterson series, but have the stand alone books yet to go. I listened to two of John Grisham's books and two of Tom Clancy. Tom Clancy was the most difficult one to listen to because of the many agenciesand military divisions. The people are often first name, last name, or title. It seemed to rotate, and the pronouns made it rather confusing. Reading isn't bad, but listening was difficult for me. I suppose if I worked for the government (not counting school teacher) the positions and names would not have been so difficult.

One of my favorites is Beekeeper's Apprentice. That is an introduction to a Laurie King series that is centered around Sherlock Holmes, and his investigative methods. I appreciate the logic and the deductions. Unfortunately the books that have come from this book are not in our local library, so I have not heard them yet. I wanted to exhaust my library cache before paying for Audible.

I like this subject, and would love to hear about some books that others like.

Sammy

There is no traffic noise here. I just like to listen to the soothing sounds of the wind and birds. Music distracts me from being part of the landscape.

Never really thought about this - when I'm gardening I don't hear anything. I live one house away from a busy street with fire trucks, ambulances, traffic, 2 rottweilers living in the yard behind, traffic in the alley behind, and tinnitus. Guess I have learned over the years to tune out!

However I get really distracted and irritable with listening to something in my ear, have tried it and just can't do it. Wierd.

Interesting subject.

Living in the country, while I'm outside, I listen only to the birds chirping, etc. If I lived somewhere there was a lot of traffic or noise, I would definitely rather listen to soothing music! While I'm inside doing housework, I love to listen to music or books. Makes the time seem to go by faster, and I don't have to listen to the tv (DH keeps it on the business channel).

I replaced the ear buds, Sammy, but found out that I can't concentrate on a book or lecture and gardening at the same time. I don't like listening to music.

I tried the ipod to put what I thought was maybe unproductive time to use because I spent so much time outside gardening. But I learned that simply being outside and gardening is very relaxing to me, and the ipod took away from my enjoyment of gardening. I wasn't fully concentrating on what I was hearing either so it turned out to be totally negative for me on both counts.

So I did replace my ear buds, but don't use the ipod anymore. It sounds like a very helpful and relaxing thing for you, though.

I don't listen to anything, in fact we always had a fight in the household about radio being on while gardening, as my mother likes to listen to it, and both me and my father find it annoying. Now when I have my own place I never bother with the music background (which sometimes is provided by my neighbor, but she listens to the good stuff and on good stereo, so it is not that bad).

I always found the gardening to be a very good activity to sort out thoughts. As I do a bit of writing (being a scientist and part time content writer kind of qualifies as that), I find gardening to be a good medium when I have to think about a structure of an article, or generally do the thinking about things.

That is when my kid and my Siamese cat are not obnoxious, otherwise I mostly listen to myself yelling "Xenia NO!! Hedwig NO!!" x)

I have tried audio books but find the extra concentration required for books rather than music, too difficult to manage while gardening, even if the gardening is fairly mindless. I guess I find music more uplifting and interesting than the general vague hum of life - there is so much of it in such infinate variety from the preposterous psychedelia of the Incredible String band, the cool Celtic grooves of Van Morrison, the sheer invention behind electronica like Venetian Snares or the gorgeously lush cabaret sound of Antony and the Johnsons, a bit of alt-country if I am in a bluegrass mood or even some John Adams or Gorecki when I am feeling solemn. It is the only thing which enables me to survive winter and nearly every important event in my life has been accompanied by music which absolutely taps into my psyche like no other mood-enhancing drug (Not even nicotine, ha).
Books, well where to begin - this is the other expensive addiction in my life - we live with thousands of books in our little house - every stair is heaped, every surface filled, piled on the floor, against walls (they make excellent soundproofing and insulation). Like music, no particular genres (although I am a secret and avid devourer of science-fiction if I HAD to choose). Would probably avoid 'chick-lit' or romance though. Mainly novels, but not always and, of course, I am really addicted to old gardening books. At present, still reading Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantell) and amusing myself with Walter Scott (Castle Dangerous)
Sammy, multi-tasking is just so necessary. I have tried to knit when reading (failed) but when time is always so limited, we simply have to train ourselves to do many things at the same time - my ipod is a wonderful buffer against the daily hassle and grind. If our library went (it is always coming under threat), I would be there, chaining myself to the potted plants or the returns desk, in protest.

I figure skate and have to listen to a lot of music because of that. Also both my kids and I play the piano, and because the kids are fairly small I supervise the practices. We listen to a lot of piano music too mostly in the car. I get a music overdose quite often. My husband mostly gave up suggesting we watch a movie in the evening because I just beg for silence. I couldn't survive having to listen to music in the garden too:-)

Masha

Gardening is thinking time for me. I sometimes consider taking some entertainment out doors with me, but really I'd rather not be distracted from my personal meditations. Sometimes one of the priests from next doorstops to ask me how much rain we've had so far this season (I live next to a residence of priests). Other than that it is me and my garden.

I do however do all those things you mention -- music, recorded books, even movies -- while I am sewing.

Rosefolly

We live in the suburbs on a busy street, and there is a freeway 3 blocks away, so there is plenty of noise auto. I will not go into the garden to work without my trusty radio - not music, but talk shows - politics, if you must know. They babble away, and don't need much concentration. I have a beat up radio (from being in the garden a lot - tends to get muddy marks all over it) - it runs on solar, so it is fine as long as it is in direct sun. When the sun moves, sometimes I don't notice until the radio turns itself off in the shade- then I have to move it.

Jackie

Years ago, I used to live in an old railwayman's cottage, next to the main London to Brighton railway line.
The embankment was high but wide, so I "commandeered" some of it next to my garden as an extension for more roses.
The noise from the trains, especially the Gatwick Express, was very loud, so I used to listen to my Walkman, (remember them?) whilst gardening.

One day, I was digging a new bed right by the edge of the embankment whilst listening to some early U2.
Yes, you've guessed it. I got so carried away with the music, I missed my footing, and fell about twenty feet into a massive bramble bush!
Luckily, (I think) the bramble bush cushioned my fall so no bones were broken. I managed to clamber out of the brambles, right into a bed of nettles. I won't tell you what I was saying!
There was no way back up the embankment, so I had to scramble my way along the bottom until I reached the nearest railway station. I can still remember the looks on the faces of the waiting passengers as I climbed up onto the platform.
I was wildly dishevelled, and dripping blood from the many scratches from the bramble bush.
Then I had a walk of nearly a mile back home through residential streets, where it seemed, everybody was outside in their front gardens.
Thank-you Suzy for bringing back that memory!!
Daisy

P.S. I have just remembered, the bed that I was digging, was for the David Austin rose Troilus. It's gorgeous honey perfume later that year, made it all seem almost worth it.

Daisy--I can only imagine how terrible that was for you.
thank goodness you are OK---
Florence

Out in the garden, I don't listen to anything. I've got an iPod, but don't care for the ear thingies dangling here and there. If I'm puttering in the garage sometimes I put on a country station. The rest of my life is another story, I can't get enough Blues music. I stream it at my computer at work.

A while back after seeing "Mama Mia" on TV I got hooked on Abba. I liked them years ago but only on the radio, no albums. Well, I just went nuts with their music for a while - nice and loud! So I took it out in the garden on my Sony phone. Wow! It quickened my steps behind the heavy wheelbarrow, made the trips back and forth to the shed for things I forgot enjoyable and made digging a breeze. That music is so upbeat, and I love the words and the harmonies. The only downside was the possibility of humiliation in the community from my singing along which I'm sure was enthusiastic but awful. I live in a very quiet neighborhood - except for the occasional freight train a few hundred feet away. Just birds and breeze and chirping squirrels and the scary thump of one of them landing on the shed from the trees above. I haven't listened to Abba in a while. Without the music I am totally focused on the pain, the sweat, the clumsiness, the near catastrophes of gardening. I might add that silence doesn't help my concentration. I still incessantly forget to put the banana peel or the bone meal in the bottom of the hole. Over and over again. Maybe I should get plugged in again.

Sherry