I'd already been making changes in the garden, digging up shrubs and moving them and reimagining what else should stay or be moved. Then Fee built the wonderful raised bed on wheels for lettuce, kale, spinach, onions. Even as I clipped them for daily salads, they keep getting ahead of me. I love baby spinach in my salads!
Next, he built some "stairs" to go along the back fence for pots. This is something I'm not sure about because of the pots being raised in such a sunny location (they are fine now, but during 100 degree weather?), but we'll see.
The garden is always a work in progress, but this year the digging and re-arranging has kept me busy working and thinking. I'll sit and try to rest, then see something that has to be done right then or jot down another idea on my garden to-do list. I always find it hard to imagine the garden this early, but this year it is even harder. Each year I'm so impatient--seems to take so long for everything (except weeds) to grow.
There is such a long way to go in the garden, but hopefully things will work out. The asters, gaillardia, yarrow, and tickseed were not damaged by the freeze and the cosmos have reseeded again and are just sprouting up. I'm not at all sure about the lantana, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm also curious about whether my butterfly weed will come back, but I've plenty of seed. The picture below from May of last year gives me hope.
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| June 2020 |
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| Bryce is only thirteen, but I'm always amazed at her art. |
Gardening, reading, writing letters. Household chores? Not so much.
What have you been up to?
Wow! Bryce's artwork is outstanding!
ReplyDeleteWe're just beginning to think about getting plants (annuals) for the pots out on our deck. It's also that time of year that I need to do a lot of raking around the house. We live in a forest, so there are a lot of branches that have fallen during the winter months. Also, pine needles but you can only rake so many of those. It is a forest, after all!
Bryce Eleanor is genuinely talented, and we are so proud of her. I keep hoping that by May of this year, the garden will have taken off, right now it looks so darn bare. I'd love to live in a forest, Les, and I can imagine the beauty of being surrounded by those trees!
DeleteBeautiful postcards, the bee is adorable. Your garden is lovely. A planter on wheels! Perfect for a small deck like mine because the planter can be easily moved back into sun when the umbrella goes up.
ReplyDeleteThe planter on wheels is wonderful, especially for the winter salad garden! Yes, it would be perfect for a small deck, either raised or closer to the ground--as long as it has wheels for moving it. :)
DeleteYour garden is beautiful. It also looks like a lot of work and labors of love. When I tried to love gardening, it wasn’t long before I figured out it was a lot more working at it hours than sitting admiring it hours. The off-balance of the two is much too discouraging for me. There are many hours to sewing and crafting but so many more of admiring the results of the labors. So I just walk around admiring the hard work of gardening done by others. Because my own yards are Plain Jane. Ha!
ReplyDeleteBryce is going to be an artist to reckon with. I don’t love bugs, especially that close up, but she’s done a great job.
I LOVE that ear of corn collage. Hmm...the robot was not programmed for the task. Luckily he is programmed to know the procedure...or at least to be able to read the procedure and follow the instructions. Too cute.
:) I can't imagine doing all the work involved in your many quilts and quilted accessories! As for the garden, I only work hard at the beginning and then sit back when it gets hot and let everything survive as it will...or not. Chrissy's collage work is wonderful, and she is an inspiration on her blog. :)
DeleteYour garden now and last year's pictures are an inspiration! We are still too cold here. But a few days in the 60's are forecast! Love all the art-you brighten my day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debra! Everyone around here is busy checking out the nurseries or hoping that their shrubs will come back after the unseasonable weather in February. The worst for most people is the loss of this year's azalea blooms. Nurseries and garden centers are always packed in spring, but this year people are so happy to be out and about and gardening is even more appealing. :)
DeleteThe photo from June suggests that you get it right every time, even if you struggle to work out where you're going at this time of year. There are signs of Spring here, too..
ReplyDeleteSpring is definitely here with temps in the 70's. On the boulevard, the ornamental pears are showing off in frothy white clouds of flowers and the redbuds are gorgeous. I try to avoid looking at all of the brown shrubbery in the neighborhood and keep my eyes up at the trees!
DeleteWishing you and Mam a happy spring full of beautiful threads and a greening world.
I'm very impressed by the raised bed - and on wheels too - and I'm also admiring the pot stairs while being amused by the thought of it possibly being too hot for the plants there as it is freezing here today. I also love the flower mosaic and can look forward to seeing some of these here too in the Summer.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it strange about the goldfinches. Over the past couple of years they have arrived here too (in Scotland) in large flocks when before then they were non-existent in our garden. They seem to have arrived all over out of nowhere.
I'm admiring your postcards and I especially like the one with the robot and his cat and the instructions on the wall. He had better move the bag of cat food off the floor as I think the cat is just waiting for him to leave the room.
Bryce's art is amazing. The detail on the bee is astonishing.
Thanks, Sheila! :) Because we are in the South, we usually warm up much earlier, but in the last few years, March has become gardening season. The goldfinches have come as a delightful surprise, and strangely, many fewer house finches. May be a territorial thing.
DeleteBryce's art continues to surprise me, and she has always worked at it since she was very small. I admire that dedication!
Thanks for visiting!
Bryce Eleanor's artwork is wonderful! And, of course your illustrations are so charming. I got my letter the other day - thank you! I'm sure all of your garden efforts are going to pay off and you'll have a delightful garden to spend your mornings in this summer. We've barely started working on ours but I'm seeing some hopeful signs that not all was lost during the freeze. Will write you soon!
ReplyDeleteB.E gets her artistic side from her mother. Amelia painted scenes from the Little Mermaid on her walls when she was a kid. Hope your garden is getting underway, Iliana! Look forward to your letter!
DeleteHmmm, my comment disappeared, hopefully, I didn't send it mid-sentence. I love BE's art. Wow! I'm also impressed by your gardening efforts. I'm still looking at all the brown leaves on our plants and shrubs and wondering if they will survive. I think we have 4 blooms on the old azaleas, but the small encore azalea is blooming away. The pansies and violas in the planters are still going strong so they are going to have to die until I do anything with them. Ricky has refurbished the fountains and trellis in the back on the patio, so we sit on the cottage porch and stare at them, ignoring all other parts of the yard.
ReplyDeleteThe azaleas have taken such a hit this year! Last year was spectacular, but the freeze did work some damage. I can't do anything with pansies until they die, either. :) I love the work Ricky has done on your fountains and the trellis. Fee and I sit and stare and debate about what to do next. We've settled on him taking over the front yard, I have the back. He is willing to help with some of my ideas, though. I'm begging for a board walk to the faucet, and he'll find time eventually. Fingers crossed--eventually, has on occasion, meant years.
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