garden — Page 232

Three is Not a Crowd

May 11, 2012 at 8:21 am by Claudia

Have I ever showed you this? If I have, forgive me. This plaster garden ornament was something I got at an auction a few years back. It’s a wee bit cutesy for me, but I loved the pale colors. It wasn’t until I got it home (and it weighs a ton) that I realized that between the boy and girl there was a little dog, clearly trying to get in on the embrace.

I felt a shiver go down my spine. The good kind.

Short story: Don and I met on July 4, 1994. Four years later, on July 4, 1998, we were at home in the afternoon. We lived in a Craftsman home in San Diego and there was a big archway between the living room and dining room. Our dog, Winston, (oh, how I miss him) was outside. As we both stood in the archway, Don started talking to me. As he got down on one knee, I slowly realized he was proposing to me. Of course, I said yes and as we both embraced, Winston came running in from outside and jumped up on us to join in on the hug. I don’t know how he knew, but he knew. We’ve always loved that story. When I realized that the little dog on the ornament was pulling a Winston, I knew it was meant to be.

I miss you, sweet Winston. You are always in my heart.

Last night’s preview went well. 7 more to go before opening night. This particular production has been, shall we say, challenging. More I cannot say. It’s already very,very good and will grow during this next week.

Happy Friday.

Communing with the Ground

May 10, 2012 at 10:06 am by Claudia

New schedule = late hours = sleeping later than normal. Which is why this post will be up later than usual. My fuzzy brain hasn’t had enough coffee yet. This will be a quick one, as I still have to write up notes for the actors from last night’s run-through.

Filed under the heading, “Things I haven’t be able to see at my house in 4 years,”

would be this bush in our front yard. Several years ago, I did some research and found out its name. I forgot it. It has delicate white blooms every spring. Aren’t they lovely?

And on the other side of the yard, I discovered these:

I suppose they would be classified as weeds, but I ask you, would you cut down these sweet yellow blossoms? (Josje tells me they are Buttercups. Ah!) I couldn’t. So I made the decision not to mow that part of the yard. It ended up being a non-decision, since I can’t get the mower to start, but still…

Here’s a close-up of the sweet yellow flower:

By the way, when I was taking these photos, Don (having just got up) looked out the window and saw me sprawled on the ground on the far side of the yard. He said he couldn’t imagine what the heck I was doing. Communing with the ground?

Doesn’t he realize the lengths to which we will go to get a good shot?

This was rather like the situation I wrote about in this post. You might get a kick out of it.

Have a good Thursday.

When ‘Grass Growing Under Your Feet’ is a Good Thing

May 7, 2012 at 8:46 am by Claudia

A look around the garden:

The catmint is bigger than ever. I have it planted throughout the large bed. I can see the beginnings of its purple blooms.

Yellow Archangel. Do you see the Jacob’s Ladder in the top left hand corner? Heidi gave me some cuttings a few years back and it has really taken off. I wish everything thrived like it does. However, it tends to take over.

I wanted it for the portion of the bed that is right under the Sugar Maple. Jacob’s Ladder does really well in shade. But it’s a pushy little devil. I’ve already had to yank some of it out. See how it’s trying to take over where my grasses and daffodils are (in the upper right hand corner?) And how it’s creeping down around the Yellow Archangel and toward the Sedum?

The silvery Lamium will have purple blooms soon. Jacob’s Ladder will also bloom. All in good time.

The peony buds are getting bigger. Every year that we’ve lived here, the peonies have bloomed the first week of June, but I think it will be much earlier this year. Please, peonies, hold off until I get home on May 19th!

But here’s the biggest news; it may not be as pretty, but it’s pretty exciting to me:

Grass is growing! After a drought-like winter and early spring, we had some rain last week, and this is what I saw when I got home on Saturday.

That grass seed sat on the dry ground for a long time. But I remained hopeful. I’m sure we’ll have to seed in the fall, too, but it will be much less daunting. And yes, I know there are rocks there. After picking up approximately 1 jillion rocks, I finally realized it was a losing battle. Anyway: Hello, grass! Welcome!

I scrubbed down the porch yesterday, planted my pots and window boxes and added a couple of hanging plants. I must admit, the inside of the house is being woefully neglected as I devote my energies to the outside. I only have so much time on these days off. One more day at home, and then I’m off to Hartford again for 10 more days.

Happy Monday.

Three is Not a Crowd

Communing with the Ground

When ‘Grass Growing Under Your Feet’ is a Good Thing

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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