rainbows in the closet

Time to write.....

Six months plus since I last wrote in this blog of mine.  Once I made the decision to close my brick & mortar tea shop, and committed to a date, that is pretty much been where my time needed to be focused. But now I am finding time here and there to take a breath, to sit quietly, to become better acquainted with my camera, and to write.  It is so very nice. 

Our weather this spring has been so fitful. Even for this pacific northwest girl, this is getting quite tiresome!  Don't get me wrong, I do love my rain boots, but day after day?  It is June now and I still have planting to do!  But all the rain has certainly contributed to the rich lushness that abounds on our pretty island. During one rare, lovely afternoon, while sunshine dappled the lawn, I spent some peaceful moments wandering about.
 

Chris reseeded our back lawn early this spring and the rich green is the perfect backdrop for the iris planted close to our little pond.
 

The exbury azalea in the photo above is simply glorious this year! We moved it from my fenced garden last summer and thus far have been able to keep our deer from nibbling on it.  May my luck continue, because I love, LOVE this azalea!  The color, the fragrance....perfection!

A very industrious bumble bee working the purple rhodies at the top of the yard.  These bumble bees are a little on the petite size, just a bit bigger than a honey bee.   Don't you love their orange stripe?  These rather solitary creatures will bed down in a blossom at day's end.  If you go out early, while it is still quite cool, you can pet them, ever so gently of course.  They will stretch in a groggy fashion, and then snuggle in again until the sun's warmth wakes them. 

 

Here are Chris' pampered goldfishies in the Sashimi Pond.  ;-)  They are fed daily and protected by the wire grid from the ever so patient blue heron that does regular reconnaissance flyovers.   On occasion you will look out the window and find this lovely piece of yard art standing ever so quietly eying the plump fish.  Giving up (with a sigh I am sure), she will run a few steps on her stork like legs and flapping a bit awkwardly up and away she'll be over the cedar trees. Not today, not today....

While I walked about the garden, my little shadow followed me.... 

 
Such a cutie-pie!  I love this pooch!  :-)  There are many such jaunts ahead of us, Miss Millie. 

Autumn in the garden

Sometime in late September or early October, a certain crisp coolness gives rise to a sense of urgency in any gardener's soul.  Winter is coming and there is much to do; roses to be tidied up, perennials to be divided and shared, bulbs to be planted.  After more than 2 weeks of going into the tea shop nearly every day for holiday prep, I have had the delight of several days off. The weather has been cooperating with beautiful sunny days.  To celebrate garden time I bought new boots!

Last weekend, Chris and Will brought home the perfect gift, a pick-up truck full of beautiful rich, black compost. Oh, the joy of such stuff!  We had been working off and on the past two weeks on my perennial border.  Over the last few years roots from nearby trees had invaded my garden, enjoying the water and compost found there.  The tangle of roots had finally begun to choke the delphiniums, daisies and lilies that bring me so much joy in the spring and summer.  My feeble attempts to dig out the roots, brought my husband in to help.  He dug, chopped and sifted while I lifted babies to save, tucking them into one of the raised beds.

Do not get in this man's way when he is working!  While Chris added a few new fence boards, dug in the rest of the compost and raked the bed, I puttered about weeding, harvesting plump carrots, snapping photos and planning.   

There is something about rich black soil that makes the colors of foliage pop!  See how pretty the autumn dress of the peony looks in contrast? 

 

Tomorrow promises to be another lovely day, and while my guys are off dirt bike riding, I'll be heading to the local nursery to see what perennials I may be able to find in the clearance area.  There are always orphans in need of a home. Then back in the garden I'll be, tucking plants into the bed which awaits.  And while I plant, I'll be painting a picture in my mind of what the garden will look like next year.  :-)

I'll finish up with this photo of a pretty little late season butterfly.  It took me nearly 45 minutes and a great deal of patience late in the afternoon to catch it.  I crouched nearby, but every time I'd raise my camera, the little thing would startle and flutter off about the yard, but the allure of the Autumn Joy sedum was too strong to resist. Finally, the butterfly returned one last time and I captured this shot just before it fluttered off never to be seen again.  Good-bye, farewell, please send your offspring back next year to say "Hello!" 

Stargazer time!

This was the year I was going to enter stems of stargazer lilies into our county fair.  I had my eye on the blue ribbon or maybe even Best in Show!  

Oh, how I have babied these beauties since spring.  They and their strawberry companions have been fertilized, mulched, protected from marauding slugs, and deeply watered.  When I've been gone for long weekends, friends have been drafted to come tend to their needs. 

Several weeks ago I thought we were right on schedule, but then came our spell of extreme heat on top of an already hot, dry summer.  I came home from a long weekend in Canada to find my Stargazers erupting into bloom.  By the time our fair starts pink petals will be falling and there will not be a bud left.  Sigh... What's a gardener to do? 

 

This one visits her garden in the late afternoon to take photos, and again in the evening to drink in the heady fragrance, and again the next morning to pick stems for home and teashop....and dreams of next summer's blue ribbon.

I LOVE this time of year!

I just love May and June!  With a little sun, a little rain, a little more sun....the greenery just explodes!  We have a white lilac that is a cutting from a shrub in my mom's previous garden.  While the fragrance of this unknown variety is delicate it is delicious enough to attract my nose and this welcome little honey bee!

The bed in my garden that sheltered under the hoop house in April is now providing us with fresh greens.  Since this photo was shot 6 days ago the spinach and lettuces have doubled in size, and the peas have climbed another 10 inches or so up their bamboo trellis.  

Everything is growing so quickly!  The leaves on the mystery strawberries in the first bed are HUGE, and there must be a 1,000 berries or more hiding in there!  We had strawberries in the garden...oh, maybe 10 years ago, but not since.  The parents of these new monster plants appeared in our front yard two years ago.  The seeds were either dropped by birds or sprouted from the compost, so I have no idea what they may be, but I know they are very, very happy in their new location!  Can't wait to eat them!  :-)

 

Don't you love chive blossoms? The buds explode open and remind me of 4th of July fireworks. I like to pull the blossoms apart and sprinkle them over salads. The rosy purple color gives such a great contrast.

On a sunny morning I love to take my mug of tea out to the garden. I sit in my chair, listen to the birdsong and happily survey my little "farm."  It's a good way to start the day.

2009 Growing Season - Week 1 (Day 1)

After slogging through a very long, cold winter, which included snow just a few days ago, we have been gifted with several days of beautiful weather! Hurrah! Gardening can begin in earnest! 

Last year, I worked my little garden much more intensively than I had in years and in spite of the late start to the growing season, my family was rewarded with weeks of fresh produce.  For nearly 3 months I purchased no salad greens, and in addition to lettuce and spinach, we also enjoyed modest quantities of raspberries, swiss chard, pod peas, carrots, beets and fresh herbs.  The sunny little garden behind my tea shop contributed a bountiful crop of pole beans (plenty to share and pickle) and a few lovely little winter squashes. 

I know without a doubt that last year's home grown produce saved us money.  (My gosh, produce has gotten pricey!)  Even after taking into account the cost of seeds, extra compost, and a few other supplies we definitely came out money ahead.  And the freshness and nutritional value of home picked is just beyond compare.

This year I'm hoping to extend the growing season on either end by a few weeks, and produce even more goodies!  Inspired by my girlfriend Teemie's sun pit greenhouse, I've decided to try using a hoop house of sorts to protect and speed up the first planting.   (I'm dreaming of a little greenhouse, but that's a ways off!) 

Below are my supplies used for yesterday's project.  4  10' lengths of PVC piping, a 6' x 50' roll of crop cover (kind of like poly interfacing), 6" metal U-shaped staples to hold the edges of the cover down, and seeds!  Yippee!

First thing I did was finish digging in some composted chicken poo, put the soaker hoses back in place pegging them down with a few staples, and then I planted 2 rows of mesclun, and one each of spinach and snap peas.  First things first!

  

We have raised beds in our home garden that are about 4' x 8' in size and I'll be using 4 pvc pipes to create the hoop houses.   The crop cover is only 6' wide and I didn't feel like piecing or sewing lengths together so using a hacksaw I shortened each pole by 30" to 7.5'.  Each end of the pole will be pushed about a foot into the ground.  So, when the cover is placed over I should have a few inches extra on either side that can be stapled down.

So, here's the first hoop in.  The timbers for the beds will do a good job of holding the pipes in place.  The height in the middle is 24" which is more than enough.  I'll be able to remove the cover long before the peas need more room. 

 

Here's the completed project!  The hoops are about 30" apart.  I cut a 14 foot length of the cover cloth and draped it over.  (Thank goodness it wasn't very breezy or that would have been a trick!)  The sides are tacked down with staples every 18" or so, and the ends are gathered together, held with a heavy duty rubber band and tucked neatly inside where a brick will help hold things down. 

 

Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!  Hopefully we won't get any big winds!  A few more inches on the sides would probably be good.  I'm considering shortening the hoop length by another 6 inches to give more extra fabric. 

Now, the idea here is that the cover, as lightweight and breathable as it is, will keep the enclosed space a bit warmer and slow evaporation which will speed germination.  I think one of the biggest benefits will come from protected itty bitty seedlings from frost, because we're not out of the woods yet!  I'm already thinking of other ways to use the crop cover in the garden, too.  I'll use it to protect the strawberries from the birdies, and maybe a hoop house over lettuce will slow it from bolting by giving a little sun protection.  I'll be keeping notes!

This weeks challenge will be keeping myself from peeking inside every day!  :-)