little happy apple

oats, peas, beans & barley grow

well, here it is.  the garden.  or a little part of it.  all planted.  i don't have all of the above but there are lots of possibilities for lovely produce and cut flowers awaiting us.  the zinnias are popped as are the cosmos and large array of sunflowers that we planted.  veggies are slowly starting to appear.  slowly.   i will be sure to get a full shot next time...you can see the hollyhocks along the back gate -

they are calling for frost tomorrow night though.   this would be so bad for the honey crop.  again.

lets hope it warms up a teensy weensy bit.

lenten rose

found this hellebore blossom...so pretty and just in time.  the garden is showing signs of life.  irises are coming up and there is new growth on some plants too....  time to get in the dirt.  seeds to sow.  get the tiller.  almost spring in carolina.

postscript:  please check out sunfarm for some amazing hellebore garden photos and maybe even buy some plants.

mary mary quite contrary

how does your garden grow?

i am amazed at how pretty the garden is despite the lack of water and oppressive heat this time of year...
my favorite at the moment is the purple hyacinth bean vine that is beginning to take over. the flower spikes and shiny purple pods are a marvel and brilliant to look at. swirly violet tendrils grasping at the fence and nearby cosmos.... yellow roses, mexican sage, buddaleia, lantana... thriving. the echinacea has gone to seed for the most part along with many others...a few plants just couldn't bear the heat and drought of this summer's wrath...

still pretty. and the leaves are starting to turn...

sugar magnolia

some days all you want to do is be outside in the garden. why sit at the sewing machine when nature inspires you at every glance? all spring we admire what life the earth sends up from the ground.
we nurture each little new plant and water it and love it and watch it grow. the lavender on the walk has started to bloom now; such a beautiful welcome.
one of the highlights of spring is, however, the magnolias. we watch and wait patiently as the large furry white buds reveal themselves and then one day, they appear in their grandiose splendor; fragrant, crisp and creamy white against the shiny evergreen leaves...
.yet alas, they are gone just as quickly as they came...fleeting beauty. yet even beauty so fair, however fleeting, at just the right moment, is indeed a masterpiece.

majestic flower! how purely beautiful
  Thou art, as rising from thy bower of green,
    Those dark and glossy leaves so thick and full,
      Thou standest like a high-born forest queen
        Among thy maidens clustering round so fair,--
          I love to watch thy sculptured form unfolding,
            And look into thy depths, to image there
              A fairy cavern, and while thus beholding,
                And while thy breeze floats o'er thee, matchless flower,
                  I breathe the perfume, delicate and strong,
                    That comes like incense from thy petal-bower;
                      My fancy roams those southern woods along,
                        Beneath that glorious tree, where deep among
                          The unsunned leaves thy large while flowercups hung!
      - Christopher Pearce Cranch, Poem to the Magnolia Grandiflora

green goddess

as i walked outside onto the porch to greet the dawn, this beautiful luna moth was happy to greet me at the door.... beautiful creature.

finally, we had rain this weekend; a sweet soft slow rain that soaked the thirst quenched earth. in between i managed to walk barefoot in the wet grass and pull weeds in the beds, watching the birds feast on the worms out of the ground. they too were celebrating the break from the ball of fire in the sky. when i wasn't gardening i was participating in my usual quarterly moving of the furniture ritual. i don't know if it is a taurus thing or a woman thing or a simple need to move heavy objects from time to time thing... at any rate, the place looks great; clean and organized. ahhhhh.

now i can sit with a clutter free mind in my clutter free space and freely create something beautiful on this glorious day.

garden-a-go-go

gardening is non stop action, like being in a club, things are always a-movin' and a-shakin' and you never know what to expect. who has time to make anything when you have acres that need tending? it certainly puts a pause in my handicrafts, but it is creating of another kind and i will say that sprouts make it all worthwhile. it feels wonderful to nurture and watch things grow; as anyone with children would know. here's a peek at this ruby flowering hyacinth bean vine... soon to be a fabulous 8-10 foot display of leaves, flowers and shiny pods...

last weekend we ripped out all the poison ivy that was lurking everywhere on the property. itchy owie. also finished up the front walk which is looking cute, i evened out the lavender on the other side, planted some thyme near the walk, pink friesland sage, hollyhocks, cleomes, nasturtiums, zinnias. i need some mulch to finish things off....but this requires time, effort and the handy dandy chipper.... sooner or later.

we also finally ripped out the dreadful picked fence that surrounded the iris bed for no apparent reason....so it looks much sweeter now with another lavender "provence" border. you can never have too much lavender; now i can work some cottage garden magic there at the front where it counts as you first pull up onto the property.

yesterday i finished putting some herbs in the new beds. made the little planting areas that flank the studio and put in and the pink jasmine for the arbor. also added some more perennials here and there in the border that surrounds the vegetable garden: some paprika yarrow, some orange & lemons gaillardia (above...i love the pretty yellow spherical seedheads), some classics: purple coneflower and black eyed susans. tilled in the wood ash into the vegetable garden and WOW! the dirt looks so delicious. i am so excited that the children and i are going to put in some seedlings today and plant some seeds (finally) while it is nice and cool. things are looking so pretty.

n.b.: note all plantings in little garden journal.

rudbeckia maxima

i don't really know if bigger is better- i suppose it depends.
in terms of flowers, taller flowers look fab at the back of the garden, as in the case of these giant yellow coneflowers. we went to the botanical gardens today and there was a nice clump of them newly reborn with an abundance of silvery green leaves. i had just bought a couple at the garden spot this week...so it was nice to see how large they get. i spent most of my time there today looking for plants that i have, to see how they mature so i could get a clue as to how to arrange them in the beds. the yellow coneflowers inspired me- i did a quick sketch in colored pencil... i like the idea of seeing these golden ladies and their majestic cones dancing in the wind upon the back of the border.... making everything so simple and light and happy.

still life with garden gloves

digging in the dirt is my favorite way to pass the time in spring. as soon as i open my eyes and make a cuppa i am out there listening to the songbird symphony with the dew on my feet talking to my plants...any moment could be a painting. this place has a lot of beds that need love and affection. i am not sure if i am any good at it, but gardening truly is an absolute art. i find so many things fit into the art category for me these days: especially when i can't manage to get to the creative mode du jour that is seemingly worthy of my time.
i think i am onto something- as i discovered when perusing robert henri's infamous book, the art spirit, he speaks about finding that place inside ones self; the feeling of rightness where one just seeks a constant state of desire to create. that resonates with me; it's my shangri-la. i find i am always striving to be there- it makes me blissfully at ease.

a tiller for hon

i know i have said this before but my sweetie is really a great guy. he actually weeded the entire vegetable garden by hand and sliced it all off the top so that the weeds and blackberries didn't reseed. this took about 3 shots to finish. then, the just reward. the merry tiller.
you're darn right 'cause after all that work you gotta be merry to till. my favorite neighbor gene was kind enough to bring over this vintage farmhand gem and it sure does the job. just look at how that baby turns up the soil....so he tilled the four beds and the soil looks real good. a little silt from the pond, some wood ash, some manure and we will be geared up for action by the 15th. seeds are sprouting and are looking good and strong---i am at the ready with my annual flower seeds; cosmos, nasturtiums, zinnias, sunflowers, vines. i'm going to put the peas in tomorrow while it is still cold.
mary mary quite contrary....

let them eat cake

upon our return from our workshop on saturday, we were met at the car by children squealing with delight and shouts of "come see our mud bakery! we made a whole bakery from mud! come and see mommy!!! come and see!"
well, how could one refuse such an invitation? so we strolled over to the dirt pile and there before our very eyes was indeed a panorama of incredibly creative baked goods- yummy.
each delectible morsel was painstakingly crafted into the sweetest little dirt sculpture; with beautiful shapes and layers of different colors. clay, wood ash and sand, all used interchangeably to create effects. the bluet cake was quite lovely, with teeny tiny blue-violet blossoms beautifully placed atop.
a cake fit for any queen and her maids for tea. light and crusty croissants and donuts; a perfect accompaniment to morning coffee...banana bread and cherry topped cupcakes and a layer cake we would all dream of a birthday treat. not to mention a scrumptious loaf of french bread hot out of the oven of a parisienne baker awaiting a dunk into a dish of coq au vin.

alas, the pièces de résistance....
i scream you scream we all scream for ice cream!

i think this gives a whole new meaning to "eat dirt"...