In My Garden

October 20, 2014 · 12:44 am

PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE

This is the time of the year

When we know what’s coming

Whether we want it or not.

Sometime in the next few weeks

It will freeze

Mother Nature will play with us a bit first.

A few “light frosts”

Will take out those heat loving friends.

Basil is usually the first to go.

Followed by annuals of all kinds.

Then finally will come the dreaded

“KILLING FROST”.

There are many years where I am ready for a freeze.

But most years it’s a sad day for me.

So I’ve learned over the years

To do a little October preparation

For the inevitable November freeze.

I’m not a great indoor gardener.

I don’t have tons of plants that I care for in the winter.

But I do try to have a good supply of herbs

Basil and rosemary to be specific.

Awhile back I planted my winter basil pots.

They have been sunning in my south office window

Last spring when I way overbought Rosemary Arp

Because it’s supposed to be hardy here.

I put a few in two small pots

Which will soon join the basil upstairs.

Today I decided to save a few of the plants

In my big patio pots

So I potted up the variegated Swedish Ivy

And the Plumbago.

Then I put the potted plants back in their giant pots

When the freezing west wind blows

All I have to do is pick up the pots

And take them to the garden house.

I’ve done this for years with the Foxtail Ferns.

They spend their entire summer in their winter pots

Buried in the patio pots.

It saves me time on a cold November afternoon.

And it saves my back a bit.

Now if I can just find the time to turn all that basil

Into pesto

I’ll be ready for the cold days to come.

This year I have something new to fill those days.

Did I mention I have two new grandchildren???

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Basil, Fall, Foxtail Fern, Garden House, Grandchildren, Plumbago, Variegate Swedish Ivy

Tagged as Basil, Foxtail Fern, Freeze, Plumbago, Rosemary

October 12, 2014 · 12:28 pm

FAMILY VOLUNTEERING DAY V.2

Yesterday was time for fall clean up

At Faith Farm.

It’s been an astounding first year of

“Gardening for Good”.

We will soon surpass 3,000 pounds of fresh organic produce

Grown for Loaves & Fishes

And given to our hungry clients each week.

Freshly picked, organic produce

Given to people who otherwise might not have food on the table.

Week after week, Charity and a small group of volunteers

Have harvested literal 1 1/2 tons of food.

And it’s a good thing

Since July was the busiest month ever at L & F

Serving 954 households…YIKES!

But we want to do more

With the space we have.

So yesterday we began a simple transition

From less ornamentals

To more raised beds.

We moved some from L & F

Over to Faith Farm

And set them in place

With the help of Jim

Our perennial volunteer

And a couple of friends from the Air Force base.

We were also joined by a group of young women

From the 2020 club at Chisholm Middle School

They’ll graduate in the year 2020

Which gives us lots of time to train them

As gardeners.

They have great potential

Because even a big ole tomato horn worm

Didn’t scare them.

Instead they were fascinated.

Gotta love girls who likes bugs!

They were all great help

So I hope they’ll be back

Another day

For another installment

Of this great adventure.

Feeding the hungry

Fresh, organic vegetables

And lots of love.

Gail

CHANGE

Fall arrived last week.

It’s the reason I abide summer.

You can’t fully appreciate

These cool crisp sunny days

Unless you have lived through summer.

It’s the same relationship

That spring is to winter.

One of the reason I love life here on the Great Plains

Is that we experience all four season.

Some years

Some seasons more than others.

It’s the change that seems to appeal to me.

And since I spend many days outside

I consider myself to be

An observer of those changes.

So as the season comes to an end

I carry a list of changes

I want to make in my garden in my head.

This weekend I began to work on the list.

John and I both have wanted a lilac for some time.

We’ve planted one

But it seems to be suffering from

“Failure to thrive”.

In this case it’s a lack of sunshine.

I’ve found it a sunnier home

But there’s a rose bush there.

Or at least there was.

This particular rose bush

Is very finicky.

It only blooms

If it’s not too wet

Or not too hot.

Or I threaten to murder it.

So yesterday

After years of fiddling to make it happy

I cut it down

And dug it up.

I know

It’s not a very friendly thing to do.

But I need its sunny home

For the lilac bush.

And there’s time in the fall

To make these changes.

Their lackluster performance

Is fresh on my mind

In the fall.

If I wait till spring

To do the dastardly deed

That “hope of spring” thing

Will fog my fall reality.

All this digging and moving around

Has me thinking about changes in my life as well.

There are times when one thing must end.

In order for something new to have a place to call home.

That’s the trick as life lumbers on.

Making room in your life for change

For the things you learn

And people you meet.

Change brings growth.

If you let it in.

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Fall, Lilac, roses, Uncategorized

September 15, 2014 · 1:58 am

SEPTEMBER’S SONG

I have long loved fall.

You would think as a passionate gardener

That would not be the case

With the season winding down and all.

Certainly I know what is coming

An end will come with its inevitable freeze.

But here in the middle of September

Winter is still a bit out of reach.

And what a September it is.

Endless days of crisp air and sunshine.

This is the time of the year

That the garden slows

And so do I.

My weekend gardening days

Move at a more reasonable pace.

Which gives me time to observe.

Bumble bees in flight.

Baby praying mantis

Blending in with zinnia leaves.

Even a large praying mantis

Outside the kitchen window.

Orb spider spin their amazing webs.

Butterflies bask in the soft fall sun.

And peppers finally have their day.

This is also the time of year

That pots come into their own.

They begin to ooze over the side

With the fullness of the season.

I’m not great with annuals

But September makes me look like I know what I’m doing!

Plants that were cut back in mid summer

Are coming into full bloom again.

Smaller…more contained than their spring version

But just as lovely.

The last few years

I’ve taken a new look at fall

As a time to plant.

As I pull up things that are spent

Cockscomb mostly

I plant seeds in their place.

So mixed leaf lettuce, arugula and carrot seeds

All were planted today.

Not in tidy little rows

Like most vegetable gardens.

But in the empty spaces.

I know I’ve said it many times

But fall seems like the time to repeat

The value of taking time

To observe nature

It’s seasons

It’s changes

It’s lessons.

Enjoy the week,

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Arugula, Bugs, Bumble Bee, Butterflies, Carrots, cockscomb, container gardening, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Gloriosa Daisy, Orb Spider, Peppers, Seeds, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Zinnia

September 8, 2014 · 2:20 am

A SIMPLE DAY

Yesterday dawned cool and cloudy.

Rain had been predicted for the day

But it didn’t materialize

And so we had a simple Saturday.

My maiden voyage as a grandmother

Meant that my garden

Was completely ignored

For the last half of August.

Abandoning my garden for grandchildren

Is a no brainer.

But it does mean that the garden

Is well….overgrown

It needs serious deadheading

As well as a clean sweep of weeding.

But instead of going head long into the garden

I was more in a meandering mood.

So I slowed down

And worked at a more relaxed pace.

Along the way

I ran across a few late summer friends.

Orb spiders are making there return

After a year’s absence.

The count in the back is up to 3.

I’m thinking we should name them this year.

They hang around for quite awhile

So it seems a naming is in order.

And the monarchs are beginning to migrate.

They love the zinnias that are just now coming into their own.

A late blooming Hollyhock

Kept a bumblebee happy for some time.

And all the while

Coco kept watch

Over the garden.

They joys of simplicity

They are ours for the taking.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Bugs, Butterflies, Dead Heading, Fall, Gardening;Perennials, hollyhocks, Orb Spider, Perennials, Zinnia

September 8, 2014 · 2:20 am

A SIMPLE DAY

Yesterday dawned cool and cloudy.

Rain had been predicted for the day

But it didn’t materialize

And so we had a simple Saturday.

My maiden voyage as a grandmother

Meant that my garden

Was completely ignored

For the last half of August.

Abandoning my garden for grandchildren

Is a no brainer.

But it does mean that the garden

Is well….overgrown

It needs serious deadheading

As well as a clean sweep of weeding.

But instead of going head long into the garden

I was more in a meandering mood.

So I slowed down

And worked at a more relaxed pace.

Along the way

I ran across a few late summer friends.

Orb spiders are making there return

After a year’s absence.

The count in the back is up to 3.

I’m thinking we should name them this year.

They hang around for quite awhile

So it seems a naming is in order.

And the monarchs are beginning to migrate.

They love the zinnias that are just now coming into their own.

A late blooming Hollyhock

Kept a bumblebee happy for some time.

And all the while

Coco kept watch

Over the garden.

They joys of simplicity

They are ours for the taking.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

H2W

I love making flower arrangements

Little bitty ones

And great big blousey ones.

For the past few growing seasons

I’ve been the “unofficial” flower supplier

For my church each Sunday.

It’s a joy to do

For an appreciative congregation and minister.

So earlier this week when John asked

If this week’s arrangements would be pink & blue

The wheels began to turn.

What better way to celebrate the birth of our grandchildren.

After all…they come from a long line

Of gardeners, ranchers and farmers.

Their parents are lovers of nature,

Hiking, running, fly fishing and gardening.

Honoring their births with flowers makes sense.

So Harper Katherine and Henry Ellington

Welcome to the world.

It’s hard not to think about their new young lives

And what they will grow to be.

Their gene pool is wide and deep.

Filled with great similarities among both sides of the family

And vast differences.

Watching their futures unfold

Seeing them pick and choose from their heritage

And mixing in who they will to grow to be

Will be one of the great joys of my life.

I’m very new to this grandmother thing

But I’m guessing having hopes and dreams for your grandchildren

Is pretty common.

I hope they are lovers of nature.

That they will learn to observe

To marvel

To wonder

And to wander.

To see God and know God

In all the beauty he has created.

Gail

(Alias Gigi)

17 Comments

Filed under Flower Arrangements, Grandchildren

July 20, 2014 · 10:07 pm

RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON OUR HEADS

For several years now we have been living under “extreme drought” conditions.

Going back to the summers of 2011 and 2012

We’ve been below normal rainfall.

And those summers were hot….really hot.

Last summer got better.

A little more rain.

A little less heat.

Then came the summer of 2014.

What a gift.

Mild temperatures.

Crisp morning.

And rain.

During June it was as if we lived in Camelot.

Remember the line?

“The rain never falls till after midnight.”

Well that’s where we’ve been living.

Camelot.

OK, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch.

Especially since Camelot is fictional.

People kept saying

What till July.

So when July came

And it got cooler

We were amazed.

Last week we got several days of rain.

Alternating between hard driving rain

And soft gentle misty drips.

With mornings in the low 60’s

And days struggling to hit 70

We were in heaven.

Humans love these days.

But gardens

Well gardens come alive.

It’s amazing to me the difference that rain makes.

I know it’s a fact

Given the extra nitrogen that comes with rain.

But I am amazed each time

I walk through my rain soaked garden.

There’s something about standing in rain.

Soaking it in

From the roots

To the tips of the last petal

Letting the goodness that falls from the sky

Wash over an entire garden.

We are all attuned to the weather these days.

For good reason.

It takes drastic swings

And is entirely unpredictable.

Perhaps we need to take a cue from the garden

And stand in the rain

Soaking in the goodness

Experiencing the renewal it brings.

To all kinds of lives.

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Calla Lily, Clematis, cleome, Cosmos, Dahlias, hollyhocks, Mandavilla, Oriental Lilies, Rain, Tall Garden Phlox

July 14, 2014 · 1:20 am

LILIES GALORE

I have always loved Lilies.

Don’t really know why.

There is no great “Lily memory”

Or “Lily moment”

That comes to mind.

But, since I have become a gardener

I have always had Lilies.

It likely began when Elliott’s friend David’s mother Esther

Got that…

Gave me a start of Tiger Lilies.

The tall stately orange Lily with deep brown spots.

Unfortunately they were a bit invasive for my space

So I left them behind in my old garden.

I did however bring a Daylily of Esther’s

That has filled a space between my house

And Torry next door.

It too seems to spread beyond

The space I am willing to give it.

But it’s a great bit of mid summer orange

That we both enjoy.

Walking through my garden this week

I’ve realized how many different kinds of Lilies

Have come to call this place home.

Most of these like some shade during the day

So they are dotted throughout my garden

Enjoying the part sun, part shade it offers.

Perhaps the best known is the Daylily.

My season begins with the miniature Stella d Ora.

It allegedly re-blooms but this year I was slow

In deadheading it so the second round of buds

Are just beginning to show.

And let’s be clear about this re-blooming thing.

No matter what the plant

No matter what the promise

The second round of blooms

Is always much less of a show

Than the first…at least at my house.

Other Daylilies have been given to me

By my friend Madeline

When she over-bought on a trip down south.

Imagine that !!!

Daylilies are just that.

Each bloom lasts a day

But the stems of mature plants

Have lots of buds

Giving weeks of dotted bloom.

Moving a little deeper into the shade

I find Calla Lilies.

Not really supposed to be perennial here in zone 7B

But I chance it

And they reward me well.

They are well protected from winter

Since they are buried deep in my garden

Nested under trees.

Then there are the show offs.

Orientals.

They are tall

Fragrant

Glorious

And finicky.

Most don’t return the next year

At my house.

But fortunately

They aren’t too expensive

So I plant a few each fall.

Hoping to some day find the one variety

That wants to move here

On a permanent basis.

Lily diversity.

It gives me weeks of Lily pleasure

In mid summer.

Diversity.

It’s good for my garden.

Good for the earth.

Good for the soul.

It’s just plain good!

Gail

3 Comments

Filed under Lilies, Oriental Lilies, Stella d Ora Daylily

Tagged as Daylillies

July 6, 2014 · 7:36 pm

NOW COMES COCO

Some of you may remember

That last fall John & I had to put

Our beloved Scottish Terrier Peg to sleep.

It was tough

She was after all a great “garden dog”.

After an appropriate mourning time

We began the search for a new dog.

We both felt it was time to try a new breed.

So John googled all the traits we wanted

And came up with…

Are you ready

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

What a mouthful.

PBGV for short.

After searching for awhile

And through the magic of the internet

We were introduced to a 4 year old breed dog

Being “put out to pasture” and in need of a new home.

So it was a week before Christmas Coco entered our lives.

She was instantly friendly

Did not shed

Eager to fit into our lives.

And after plowing through a pair of leather sandals

Followed by pulling a leather skirt off the hanger

And eating a giant hunk out of it.

She was on thin ice with me.

Since the skirt debacle she’s done little to no damage.

But that’s Coco in the winter.

The question remained for spring.

Will she be a good garden dog?

I am pleased to report she is a great garden dog.

She doesn’t dig.

Travels on the path most of the time.

And stays close by

Without being in the way.

She is friendly beyond our wildest dreams.

We marvel at how her tail is still attached

Considering how much she wags it.

She is the first dog we have ever owned.

Who likes me best.

Though John feeds her faithfully each morning

I’m the one who walks her

And for that reason she is with me every step

Of every day.

Inside

Outside

Up the stairs.

And back down.

Earlier this summer she did get a little

Too curious about the baby Thrushes

Growing in the Abelia bush by the kitchen window.

Mama Thrush would “talk” to her constantly

As she ran circles around their nest.

We were all relieved when they took wing

And flew the nest.

Well, maybe Coco wasn’t relieved!

So it seems I’m lucky once again.

A fun dog who loves my garden

But does not actually want to be a gardener.

One gardener per household is just fine with me

And apparently Coco agrees.

Gail

7 Comments

Filed under Garden Dogs, Pettit Basset Griffon Vendeen, Scottish Terrier

In My Garden

PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE

FAMILY VOLUNTEERING DAY V.2

CHANGE

SEPTEMBER’S SONG

A SIMPLE DAY

A SIMPLE DAY

H2W

RAINDROPS ARE FALLING ON OUR HEADS

LILIES GALORE

NOW COMES COCO

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