Summer Scenes

Do you remember just a few short months ago when I braved the single digit temps and took you on a winter walkabout? Well, now that we're approaching the triple digits, I thought I'd take some photos of the same scenes in their summer light.

Day Lillies glow

You know what they say about the early bird

Daisy Shadow

I always knew I had a guardian angel. I just never knew he looked like an Easter Island statue!

Perfect spot for sunset watching and wine sipping.

Winter winds took down the pump house door, revealing this view of my house

And on the other side of the door -- lots of farmer's math. Wonder what he was calculating?

When in doubt, head West.

Garden of Weedin'

I have been overwhelmed with yard work this year, but in the spirit of "when life gives you lemons..." I decided to take pleasure in the entire garden today, not just the pretty flowers that I want to be there. I mean, who are we to judge, anyway? What makes one plant beautiful, and one a common weed? Here's a tour of the less cultivated parts of my garden:

This used to be my vegetable garden!

A single sunflower among the stinging nettles. Not going to pick this one!

The fire pit isn't getting much use this summer, except by the daisies.

A "volunteer" shrub in the middle of my field

Milkweed

Fall Gardens

I ran into an old friend a while ago and among other things she asked about my gardens. After politely listening to a long list of coulda-woulda-shoulda's from me, she said, "well, there's a big difference between spring gardens and fall gardens." And, you know, I really agree. There's nothing like the smell of mulch in May, and the sight of fresh beds and young plants ... so much potential! But I really love the rambling leftovers that come in the fall. I love the many shades of browns and the rustling leaves. More than anything, I love the freedom that comes from walking through the remains of a garden and just enjoying what's left instead of feeling the urge to weed, trim, transplant...

Our winter is long enough that I have months to plan my spring garden to-do list. Here are some fall photos to enjoy now.

I heart Mondays

This time of year, gardening is on my mind. I love my flower beds, and am particularly fond of old fashioned, traditional blooms -- peonies, roses, iris, daylillies, bachelor's button, and bleeding heart to name a few.

May was so busy that my bleeding heart (I always thought that was such a sad name for a beautiful plant) came and went without me photographing it. But, I wanted to show you this instead: Debra Gabel's Bleeding Heart quilt pattern. I'm not sure if this link will work directly, but if you get to her site, click on patterns and then on florals. The bleeding heart quilt is the last choice.

So what's in your garden?

This sums it up...

I think this photo is an excellent metaphor for the way my spring has been. It's like "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
We seemed to spend hours in the gardens during May. We prepped beds, weeded, weeded, weeded, and spread more than 20 yards of mulch. We moved the vegetable garden to a new, hopefully drier, area. We spent a lot of time getting grass to stop growing in certain areas, and are still trying to get it to grow in other areas. We re-established the serenity trail (aka dirt-bike path).All this was layered with lacrosse games, band concerts, school events, company coming, 8th grade graduation, and the show -- all the hustle and bustle that makes this wonderful life ours (but sometimes makes me tired!). So, we haven't taken the time to just sit back and watch the sunset. Maybe that's what July is for?

He loves me...

Home Decor Duh

I may be stating the obvious, but plant flowers outside that match or coordinate with your interior colors. I have been having a great time with cut flowers this summer, because I have annuals and perennials that look great with the inside of my house (makes me feel less guilty about the weedy mess they are growing in!)















Now, some people take it a little to far and select pets to go with their furniture (we have been accused of that more than once). For the record, our dog was rescued and we chose him because he matched us, not our decor.

My other stating-the-obvious gardening tip is shop now for discount perennials. You have good planting weather through at least October, and you can save more than 50% of the in-season retail price. The way I look at it, the risk is worth the potential gain, especially if your taste exceeds your budget, the way mine always seems to do.

From the garden

I've been pretty frustrated this year because the weeds are over running the garden, and I don't have the time nor the stamina to solve the problem. However, in the spirit of positive thinking, I spent some time the other morning focusing on the good part -- the flowers. Here are some close-up pictures. I have had beautiful arrangements in the house and for the rest of the summer I am going to try to see the flowers, not the weeds.

Veggie Tales

The garden story 2008: Brutal winter. Daydreams of fresh produce and never entering a supermarket again. Cold spring. Delayed planting. Bead & Button show – further delayed planting. Torrential rain. Finally planted. Frogs move in; splash in standing water. I sink 2” when I step in to weed. Dry spell. Miniature plants, but blooming and beginning to bear fruit. The miracle of mother nature.

A reason to stop weeding

Our weather has been quite erratic this year, leaving me with a tremendous amount of weeds and mosquitoes, frogs living in the vegetable garden, and none of the "real stuff" doing very well. I'm trying to do about an hour a day, but I feel like for every weed I pull, three grow in its place. Whine, whine.

As I was weeding, though, I found some treasure.

Can you guess what these are? They are the seed pods from my ornamental poppy plant, which bloomed about six weeks ago. I really should have cut it back, but I didn't and this is what was left behind. (And yes, about a million tiny poppy seeds came out all over my kitchen counter, just like the kind on your bagel.) I had to stop gardening right away and see what I could do with them. First I tried stamping, but they were too concave. Then I broke out the polymer clay. First I tried earth tones. Some will be pendants, but I am kind of just enjoying them in a little bowl on my table for now. Then, since I had the bright colors out as well, I made a fun version.

You can't really see it, but there's some micro glitter embedded in there. I think it's so interesting how different the two styles look. Well, that's my craft, and I must say, I was much happier once I gave up weeding for the day!

It's all in a name

I’ve always wanted a labyrinth in my back yard (haven’t you?) but every time I mentioned it to DH he kind of changed the subject or gave me an “uh-huh I’ll file that under never” look. Now don’t get me wrong. DH is patient and kind and handy and almost perfect -- all that this girl wants in a man. But the labyrinth just wasn’t going to happen. Flash forward a few years and our dear friends approached us with a proposition: they were giving their son a dirt bike, but there wasn’t a good riding space in their subdivision. Could we help? DH revved to the idea. Must be the woeful imbalance of estrogen-to-testosterone in his life, but before you could say “grab your helmet” he was mowing trails into our fields. Our friend, his son, my DH, and our herding-obsessed dog are having a delightful summer biking through the tall grass and occasionally taking a jump over the septic mound. Life is good for the men.

And, I got what I wanted, too. Dubbed the “serenity trail” on non-dirt-biking days, I filled the paths with wind chimes and sun catchers. Now when my friends visit, or when I need to clear my head, I have peaceful paths to follow. Not exactly a labyrinth, but the trail circles around and overlaps, so it works for me. This year I’m transplanting daisies and sprinkling wildflowers around the edges in hopes of adding beauty to serenity. I feel like Miss Rumphius. Won't you come walk with me?