June

We've had endless rain in these parts.  Good for some plants not so good for others.  Mainly some of my veggies.  Hydrangeas are starting to bloom and my David Austin right outside the dining room window is bursting at the moment.  I like the idea of seeing flowers out every window.  Brings pure joy to the soul if you ask me.

June has been about breaking out of routines.  Not many projects or makings have gotten done minus some baking with the beans.  Rolling out of bed late, make believe, popsicles, bike rides, books, bathing suits, day trips and play dates have been filling up our days.  We've really enjoyed this time to just be.  How is June wrapping up for you?

Enjoy the week Friends!  

loss in the garden

Every season the garden teaches me something.  Whether it be patience, perseverance or simply to be still, I always come away changed from what unfolds.  This season has brought about some loss in my garden.  The biggest loss to swallow is my maple that is in the center of my shade bed in the front garden.

  I began to notice that large branches were dying and with this being the second year that it has not produced seeds I knew that something was wrong.  After consulting with an arborist we have come to learn that one of my favorite trees in our garden has girdle root which means that 20 something years ago when this tree was planted someone most likely planted it incorrectly by leaving it in its metal basket.  The roots are basically suffocating the tree by wrapping themselves around itself instead of growing outward.

I will miss the change of seasons with this tree and all of the memories that have come with it.  When my son was born I would look out his window into its canopy on cold November days as I fed him in his room.  Its brilliant autumn color when the beans were headed out to go trick-or-treating will be missed as well.  Yes,  I am mourning my tree.  Comes with the territory of life.  Nothing is permanent and we all have to adjust our sails to the changes that come.

So you shift and get busy heading in a different direction.  Or as Liz Taylor would say....

Though I don't wear much lipstick I do think this quote is fantastic and so it has been my mission the last few days to walk around my imperfect space to look for beauty.

 {my newly planted Oenothera tetragona by my bird statue}

 {quick combo...Campanula and Foam Flower}

{My new shrub Calycanthus Floridus....Allspice is beginning to bloom brilliantly}

 {long view of the back bed as it unfolds this spring}

 {golden rod, phlox, butterfly weed, roses and sedum filling in and getting ready to bloom...almost covering utility box...finally!}

 {Rambling Red climbing rose and Hyacinth Bean which is an annual vine to fill this season as the rose grows}

{the little guy cutting lettuce for dinner}


Beauty elsewhere

{a visit to the arboretum}

And today we went down to visit some family and enjoy the farmers market.  So many organic farmers selling their beautiful vegetables and plants.  And whatever your stance is or isn't on GMOS,  any crop that is sprayed with crap is bad for the Earth and all who inhabit it....bottom line.  

and to take in a little of this....

my brother entertaining the whole market with his tunes...

{photo taken by my lovely sister}

John Till Music

My tree was special.  The garden is ever changing as nature is.  It's our job to keep on going and seek out the beauty.

I hope that whatever your garden, whether it be a window box or a farm, that you pass on your love of it to just one person.  Together our seeds will transform the future.

Pass on the garden folks and make it a great weekend!  

Happy Growing!  

breaking down the garden....garden room/shady stroll garden

When I garden I break down spaces into pocket gardens.  There are so many spaces that exist within the whole which in turn helps me stay focused as I work in the garden.  The shot below is an upper view of our back garden.  The dry stream bed is not in this photo but I feel this gives you an idea of the back yard and what we are working with toys and all.

Moving on to the front garden, these shots don't show my island bed or the other side of the driveway but again it gives you an overview of the main sweeping bed.

Our garden room is essentially our side yard.  Garden room sounds prettier to me and as many gardeners do, I'm in the process of naming the different pocket gardens that exist within our space.  Our garden room was once just an ally between our home and our neighbors' home.

We added a fence and and arbor to create the garden room.  Plantings are still a work in progress in this space but we do enjoy the privacy this addition gives us as our city plots are small.

I created the path out of brick and after laying garden fabric the pea gravel was added.

Along the left side of the fence we get full shade.  In time I hope that my climbing hydrangea will cover that whole fence.  Hydrangeas, hostas, solomon's seal, Japanese forest grass, ferns, lungwort, and hellebores fill the space.

As we move further into the space more of the shade garden comes into play.  Here is what it looked like when we moved in.

As soon as I added the path the beans took to it.  And the shady stroll garden was born!  They skip through this space now and ring the chimes that hang from the tree.  This bed consists of bleeding hearts, foam flowers, hostas, astilbes, lamium, annuals (impatiens and begonias)  wild ginger, ligularia, beauty berry, grasses, goat's beard, weigela, creeping jenny, knotweed, snow on the mountain, golden Japanese spikenard and coral bells.

It's fun to see how far different areas have come over time.  My goal is to make my way around our whole garden as the months go on.

source~cagedcanarynz.blogspot

See you in the garden!  

Thursday gardening....

Happy Thursday everyone!  Just popping in with a few shots from the garden today....

A new container I made for part shade to shade....Penniserum Trispecific (Black Stockings), begonia hybrid (Peagasus), white begonias (Clara), and a purple sweet potato vine 

And a shot from the front garden....

Make it a good one...the garden is calling!