11.25.09
Thanksgiving
*For the adventurous eaters in S’s 4th grade class who were excited by my modest veggie plate at the pre-Thanksgiving feast today–the red peppers and nasturtiums went fast.
*For the curious kid who wanted to find Singapore. I took a look at the classroom globe with him, and now I know some easy directions: Find China. Put your finger in the middle of the country, and go straight down to the equator. There’s Singapore!
*For my two grade-schoolers who run up the porch steps and give me hugs after school.
*For the stuff that’s still blooming in my yard.
*For the fact that right now, no one in the family has a cough, fever, sore throat, stomach ache or headache (finding some wood to knock on).
*For possibilities and opportunities to re-invent myself.
*For a six-year-old who really believes that the tooth fairy got tripped up on Legos last night and that’s why his tooth was still under his pillow this morning.
10.27.09
Remains of the day, remains of the garden
Yesterday evening, I took the camera out to the backyard to try to capture the strange and beautiful pearlescent light that’s been hovering lately. While my eyes saw things as bathed with silvery light, it was just too dark for shooting without a tripod. These couple of shots are the least blurry of the bunch–the first is looking over the backyard to the west, and the second is of my asparagus berries. Pretty, huh?
I’m just waiting for the first killing frost–so far, the nasturtiums and the artichoke act like it’s still high summer, but wowsa–is it ever cold this morning! 36 degrees while I stood out with the kiddos for their morning bus a few minutes ago.
As we trudged up the hill toward the east, A. said, “Look at the fogwork! It’s beautiful.” The clouds were cresting and curling in that same amazing light as our teeth chattered and we kissed goodbye for the day.
10.11.09
Stretch Island
Yesterday we visited some friends who live on Stretch Island, about an hour’s drive away. They live amidst acres of Eden: grapes, hazelnuts, pears, and a late flush of flowers everywhere. The kids got to cut the grapes off the vine and sit on shoulders to pick the Bosc pears.
These grapes are a variety bred especially for Stretch Island, called Island Belle. There’s a fascinating history of them here. I’m going to put my steamer-juicer to work, and we’ll have gorgeous grape juice in no time at all.
You have to be careful around friends like V. I exclaimed in delight over her delicate October blooms here and she promptly dug up an armful for me. These are Kaffir lilies, and now I’ve got some of V’s blooming in my yard. They’re in glad company with some of her rosemary, yellow lilacs, and sage I’m rooting in.
09.14.09
Look what my tree gave me
The pride and joy of our crop this year: a picture-perfect Comice pear.
08.05.09
Around the August garden
Some pretty stuff to look at and some pretty good eats:
This last one’s a peacock orchid, one of the new summer bulbs I tried out, and it’s a beaut!
Here’s our newest addition, a white wisteria. The idea is to train it to grow along the back of the deck close to the outdoor dining area, aka the walkout. I’m expecting curtains and fountains of fragrance come spring. Maybe a sash and a burble this first year.
I am so delighted with the haricot vert, Ed Hume’s French baby bush beans. They’ve been prolific and really good in Gujarati green beans, our favorite way to eat them.
And the bright lights chard has been a pot of old faithful for weeks now, putting me off lettuce growing probably forever.
Last year’s nasturtiums self-seeded themselves right under A’s pea trellis. Just as his sugar snap peas were giving up the ghost, the bright nasturtiums climbed up to take charge. Sweet vigorous things. Did you know that nasturtium literally mean “nose-twister” and they’re also a brassica (like broccoli)? Hmm, those two facts are related, methinks.
06.27.09
The Idaho in me
My potato patch:
I should have grabbed A. to be my scale reference–these vigorous monsters are up to his shoulders. I’m thinking they like the bunny-dropping fertilizer I treat them to.
I dug some of the new potatoes, both reds and golds, and made potatoes and peas in chive cream sauce for dinner. Was there ever a happier gardener? I don’t think so.
06.14.09
Around the June garden
Walk down these steps, and you’ll find A’s pea trellis:
Elsewhere, the strawberries and osoberries are ripening. The latter taste like…hmm, bitter lettuce? Something vaguely familiar, but something we don’t commonly taste. Kind of horrid and kind of tantalizing.
They look just like perfect miniature plums, don’t they? I adore them.
My neighbor gave me a ton of plants today, so I got to putter in the yard for a few hours. I love sedges and grasses and I don’t love lawn grass, so that worked out well. We ripped out a few square feet of lawn and extended the planting area.
04.20.09
White garden
Yesterday was one of those lovely gardening days when all the neighbors are out and chatting and the weeds aren’t overwhelming and the weather’s just right for planting. We put in two Indian plums (Osoberries), a Chinese peony, some peacock orchids, hollyhocks, dinner plate dahlias, an artichoke (B’s experiment in microclimate gardening), and sundry annuals.
Snowdrops
Mossy saxifrage –doing well and doubled in size since last year
Royal Star Magnolia –the scent is exotic and spicy.
Here are the baby osoberries
And here we have another shot of the tulips the deer didn’t get. Hah!
04.02.09
Around here in April
You’ll find this little menage:
(It’s Basil’s empty bunny hutch, with a plastic egg waiting to hatch, and part of a chicken feeder ready for when the chick’s out and hungry) Artist: 5-yr-old A.
You’ll find me sifting through the skeleton leaves in the garden, cutting up a William Morris print on a card, and reconstructing cards on a blustery afternoon:
And in the garden, one leggy asparagus is way out ahead of the pack:
03.28.09
Popping up, putting in
I put two more rhubarb corms in the garden in February; they’re coming up just exactly with the older plants.
And A. helped me put in the last of the potatoes yesterday–it’s the first time I’ve tried growing them.
We also transplanted A’s peas, and I planted 10 rows of spinach and lettuce. The garden is underway!
