garden — Page 216

Early Morning Garden (Sans Coffee)

June 2, 2013 at 8:55 am by Claudia

What else but my garden would get me outside at 6:30 am without having had even one measly cup of coffee?

You should be impressed.

rocket

Dame’s Rocket, which resembles phlox, is a wildflower that grows everywhere in these parts. I know it’s considered a weed, but I think it’s beautiful. This one is growing alongside the house.

lamium

Silver Dead Nettle in the main garden is starting to bloom.

rose

The Lady Elsie May roses are just starting to bloom.

rosebud

clematis

The clematis, which didn’t bloom for four whole years. Once we lost the shade of the willow, it took off like a rocket.

poppies

The poppies. The gorgeous flowers just last a day or two. Then they’re gone.

prettyweed

A weed, though I hesitate to call it that, that just finished blooming.

moreprettyweed

I think it’s beautiful.

wildroses

The wild roses, which any other time of the year I call brambles, are blooming. These are right outside our kitchen window.

viewofbiggarden

The big garden bed a few days ago.The catmint is blooming, as are the poppies.

Oh, heavens. I love my gardens. The camera I got for Christmas is experiencing Spring and the gardens of Mockingbird Hill Cottage for the first time. Camera, meet gardens. Gardens, meet camera. I could easily be outside most of the day taking pictures.

peony

A little overzealous weed-whacking the other day resulted in a cut peony stem. The next day I rescued it and put it in water, pretty sure that the bud would never bloom. I was wrong. Look what awaited me this morning! Hello, sweet peony.

It’s Sunday. The oppressive heat has broken. I’ve been watching the Red Sox/Yankees. I’m reading another excellent Deborah Crombie mystery. I finally cleaned up the porch, even the two bags of salt that were still there from this past winter. We have worries. We have cares. But we also have love, our sweet cottage, our little girl and the glory of spring here in the Hudson Valley.

Not bad at all.

If you’re at all interested, I was recently interviewed by Linda Huffman, who publishes an online magazine for women called Women Encouraged or “We” Magazine. If you want to read the interview, click here and then click on the Market Place page (in the column on the left.) Linda, thanks so much for the opportunity and for such great questions!

Happy Sunday.

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Feeling Nirvana-y

May 28, 2013 at 8:45 am by Claudia

garden2

Nirvana = A state of perfect happiness. That comes awfully darn close to how I feel when I work in the garden. Even the drudgery of weeding brings a smile to my face. Remember when I took those first spring photos of plants peeking up from the soil and I said that I felt like I was reemerging after hibernating for the winter? That was before I left for Hartford and was away from the garden for five weeks. Well, today I feel like I’m exactly where I should be, with the sun on my face and the memory of a long, hard winter slowing fading away.

I’m communing with all sorts of plant life. Getting reacquainted with each plant. Oh, that one. I remember that one. Hello!

garden1

Masses of green, masses of textures.

gardenhosta

Hostas that become more glorious with each new season.

gardenspirea

Blooms about to burst forth.

gardenrosebud

gardenrosebud2

Birds everywhere, their songs filling the air, providing a welcome counterpoint to the sound of traffic.

gardenbunny

This little guy, who plants himself between our car and the dog corral every evening. I think he likes to watch the world go by. Scout runs out, ready to bark at him, but upon hearing my “No, leave him alone” stops and goes about her business. She’s almost getting used to him. He certainly wasn’t too alarmed by my attempts to photograph him.

scoutina

This girl, who sometimes watches all my digging and yanking and planting from the porch. She’d rather be right beside me, where the action is, but is content to watch from afar. But only for a while. Then she gets antsy and starts barking at me. Scamp.

Today, I will plant some seeds. Tomorrow, some things need to be purchased, hopefully, for very little money: a couple of bags of mulch, some potting soil, a flat of impatiens. I really want to buy some hanging plants…but we might have to wait on that.

Money’s tight. I woke up today with worries about all of that. Thank goodness for gardening, which takes me to another place. Where I get a tiny glimpse of nirvana.

Don took this photo of me yesterday. I was pruning some bushes. The weather was perfect and I spent several hours outdoors. See if you can guess what shocked me.

mepruning

The sun made my gray and brown hair look white. Yikes. But danged if my hair isn’t looking grayer. I checked it out later in the bathroom. There’s still brown underneath it all, but it sure as heck is silvery gray. Or perhaps we’ll call this platinum blonde?

Who is that woman?

Happy Tuesday.

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Weeding, Mowing and Cicadas

May 27, 2013 at 8:57 am by Claudia

weeding

I’ve been weeding, weed wacking (or is it whacking?), and mowing – and there’s so much more to do. I worked outdoors for much of the day yesterday – a very, very windy day, I might add. The property is bursting with that sort of lush green that only happens in the spring. The peony buds are getting fat. I see some buds forming on the rose bushes – but not on my largest rose bush. Hmmm. Most years, there would be more plants blooming at this point, but I’d say we’re at least two weeks behind.

climbinghydrangea

The climbing hydrangea has really taken off this year. Unfortunately, it has never bloomed. Every year I think, ‘This will be the year it blooms!’ And so far? Nothing.

This is the year that the 17 year cicadas (called magicicada) are emerging. After having lived underground for 17 years, the nymphs emerge from the ground, climb up a tree and eventually leave their exoskeleton behind. As I was tending to the garden, I saw many exoskeletons on the ground – right under our large maple tree.

exoskeletons

Later, on the porch, I saw this guy:

cicado

He wasn’t moving very much, which leads me to believe he had mated and was nearing the end of his life. You can’t see it from this photo, but his wings were truly beautiful. He has big red eyes.

We have cicadas every year, as there are many different species. But these 17 year cicadas are fascinating. Imagine, they live underground for 17 years! And then, like clockwork, they emerge above ground. I’m fascinated by them.

On this Memorial Day, I pray for wars to end. That seems to be the most fitting tribute I can make for those who have lost their lives in service to our country. My father was a soldier and fought in World War II. He has never romanticized war. He knows the terrible toll it can take and has nightmares to this day. I pray for peace.

Happy Monday.

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Early Morning Garden (Sans Coffee)

Feeling Nirvana-y

Weeding, Mowing and Cicadas

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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