Gardening with Life

My sister has a huge yard. In prior years she has planted large vegetable gardens. She now has 3 little ones, ages 1-7. Rather than giving up gardening all together, she decided to work within the confines of her house perimeter.  She has lettuce and herbs planted in pots where she can easily access them for watering and harvesting. She tucked in a few tomato plants in between the shrubs. 

 Knowing your boundaries and accepting your season in life is the key to keeping perspective.

Rainbow Chard

 Note for next year: Plant more chard.  It does so well in our garden.  I love leaf crops because you can harvest from them numerous times and they keep replenishing their leaves.

 I love how the chopped stems look like confetti!  They are good to eat as well.

I love sauteing chard in a bit of olive oil. Sometimes I add lemon or garlic.  It's good as is or mixed with other veggies. Add to slightly mashed potatoes to sneak in some greens for picky eaters.

Summer Blooms in the Yard

We planted a wildflower mix by the bee hives and they are starting to bloom. They get dappled sunlight and seem to be doing well.

 I love these fuchsia blooms, they are so feathery.

 Day lilies grow wild all around here. Our neighborhood is full of their orange and yellow blooms.

Textured Greens

All things made new

No more drab winter color here, only the bright blooms of the azalea, and greening grass, and the ferns unfurled.

And the Garden Grows

Rhubarb, onions, potatoes, rainbow chard, parsnips, carrots, red lettuce, radishes, and kale

 lettuce & bok choy, 

 sugar snaps, spinach, more lettuce, beans, and squash

 blueberries

It is so exciting! I have a few small tomato plants in the ground as well as some summer squash and zucchini planted. I have two cucumber plants and four egg plants to get in the beds as well.

Happy Growing!

Expanding the Garden

When we bought our house 12 years ago, we started with this little raised bed made of rocks and soil (the one closest to you). We added two additional beds and the rock path a few years later.

 Last year we added a few more.

 Now that we are getting bees, we've decided to scrap the whole yard thing.  We can only grow moss and mud anyway.  We are turning much of our yard into gardens.  I'm so excited!

 We are adding more paths.

These pallets will be sawed in half to outline our new garden beds. The rocks are nice, but need to be re-stacked as the soil shifts.  I think it will look nice when it's all done.  We are looking into soil delivery and trying to figure out what to plant.  We cleared out some smaller trees and shrubs but still have to contend with limited sunlight.

An Excerpt: Elsie Venner by O.W. Holmes - 1861

On our recent trip to Colorado, I took this lovely, old book that was given to me from a friend.

I thought these lines were just perfect.

The garden was Abel's poem. Its half dozen beds were so many cantos. Nature crowded them for him with imagery such as no Laureate could copy in the cold mosaic of language.

The rhythm of alternating dawn and sunset, the strophe and anti-strophe still perceptible through all the sudden shifts of our dithyrambic seasons and echoed in corresponding floral harmonies, made melody in the soul of Abel, a plain serving-man.

Saving Summer and Reflections

The end of summer is the time that I tend to reflect on all I didn't do during the growing season or all the things I should have done differently. I didn't can anything. I didn't make freezer jam. I feel like I fell short.

This was also our first year in many that we weren't part of a CSA.  The farm we were using stopped their program. My plan was to go to the farmers market and stock up with the money we would have spent on the subscription. The truth is, that didn't happen. There is just no substitute for having fresh veggies delivered to your door.  We will definitely be searching for a new farm for next year.

I did purchase a basic notebook to keep gardening notes in, tracking what I planted and where - what worked and what didn't. Hopefully this will help me remember from season to season. 

In the meantime, I am saving a bit of summer by:

Baking and pureeing butternut squash and pumpkins for freezing. These are future pies.

Freezing herbs

Saving seeds

drying mint for tea

Our squash did really well. We planted way too many habaneros and not enough sweet peppers. Our carrots took twice as long to become mature, but they are so good. We harvested a few potatoes, The bok choy did great, amazing actually. We grew one eggplant and two tomatoes.  All of the brussel sprouts were eaten along with the broccoli and cauliflower - enjoyed by bugs and deer. With a bit of trial and error I may eventually have a somewhat productive and balanced garden. I am already looking forward to amending the soil and planning for next year,

Around the yard...

Our garden has been producing an amazing amount of squash.

Our little piece of paradise.  There's no place like home!

Around the World Blog Hop....

I was invited to participate in the Around the World Blog Hop this week by Nicole.  She is an artist, gardener, and mother.  Her photographs of flora and fauna, design, and her life are an inspiration.  She is also a super sweet gal. 


Before I answer the posed questions, I just want to say I am not a self proclaimed artist, writer, or gardener.  I dabble in things that interest me.  I work full time and squeeze in as much of life as I can.   


1.  What am I working on

There are always a ton of things "in the works".  I work best with a deadline, otherwise things may never come to completion.  

I am currently curing our first garlic crop.  If you follow my blog, you know we live in the woods and sunlight is limited.  All of our crops have stunted growth due to this, but we take what we can get.

 I've been trying to manage the direction our squash is growing,  so they don't overtake everything else.

 I love giving homemade gifts.  This is one I just completed for my nephew's upcoming birthday.

 And this is the ever and ongoing quilt which I have been hand sewing for a few years.  I pick it up off and on through out the year.  It's getting really close to completion now.

I make our own laundry soap & cleaners.  I've been learning about foraging foods and making tinctures. We raise chickens and quail, grow a modest garden, and try to live simply.  I try to find ways that we can break away from the reliance of the main-stream world.

2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?  

I can't say I have a genre.  I like simple, useful items.  Everything I make is imperfect, but created with good intent.  I am not a master of any art.  

3.  Why do I write/create what I do?  

I like to be independent and knowledgeable about things that I feel are meaningful.  The process of doing something and seeing it come to fruition is pleasing beyond words.  Creating something is good for the soul.

I also enjoy taking photos.   There are so many magical moments that happen everyday that I never want to forget.

4.  How does my writing/creating process work?

Normally I read or see something that sparks my interest.  After that, I try to learn more about it and if it seems like I can pull it off, then I give it a try.  There is beauty and inspiration all around us.  

I'm also surrounded by super talented friends  that give me a lot of motivation and inspiration.  In addition to those great gals, I like to surround myself with reference books that keep me focused on my goals.  There is so much yet to learn, so much yet to do.  I have dreams that I want to live out.  I don't want to regret not having tried, even if it ends up in failure.