day 44: the last day

I return to work tomorrow. The past six weeks in the garden have been great for my inner being. The garden has a great boost over past years: some seeds are still sprouting in their grow pots, many are sprouting in place, garlic and radishes are taking off, herbs are going in or have bounced […]

day 42.5: cruciferousness plus chard

There is a reason so many vegetables are in the same family. My husband tells me cruciferious is being replaced by brassicae, but evoking crosses makes sense, especially when looking at young sprouts: (Tapping any image will take you to the Baker Creek page with images of the mature veggie…) I will add that the […]

day 38: stepping up the terracing

Today, I ignored the lingering day lilies and started building up the retaining stones on the old bed, eager to get some new plants in the ground. I got as far as possible. I ran out of the capstones and the hardscape adhesive. The latter would be easy enough to order for delivery, the former […]

day 37: the great daylily migration, part 2

Today, I made it back to the moving of the daylily bed. I started early-ish in the day and worked until the heat of the day got to me. I returned to it after the heat passed in the early evening, almost finishing before the threat of rain approached. The new location was convenient. Years […]

day 33: working between raindrops

It took most the morning for the rain to show up, and then struggled to commit to anything beyond intermittent sprinkles. I elected to invest time in small light tasks. I had been soaking chard seeds, so I sowed, fertilized, and mulched two rows, one in each of two different raised beds. I also tightened […]

day 26: the tour, the experiment, the pathway, and the skink

It has been brought to my attention that the photos here don’t often offer an idea of where in our garden the work is happening. So, I made a video walk-through of our side yard and lot. The disclaimer: this is as-is. Many projects are underway, not everything is social-media-ready. “Don’t let perfect get in […]

day 25: so very almost

After a few days inside due to rain and cold, I renewed efforts in the far corner of the lot. So close now. The objective is to relocate all the flowers from the back most raised bed, to utilize it for vegetables instead. Four Asiatic lilies remain to be relocated. I moved forward on the […]

day 18: the accidental not-bed

I watered the garden this morning, and looked for a small, quick task since we’re forecasted to reach 80° today. So I started weeding the Accidental Not-Bed right off the bottom of the drive. Years ago, it started as a last-minute convenient spot to sow unexpected carrot seeds. I tossed down a bag of peat […]

sequestered springtime

Springtime is rushing by even as the world grinds to a halt, sheltered in place. My husband and I are locked up tight, stocked up and with more able-bodies friends running as-needed errands. We are comfortable, more so than either of us thought we could be for such a crisis. I am home with pay […]

this week in the gardens

The daylilies are pushing their dazzling display. While the basic orange “ditch lily” has mostly bloomed out, the special varieties are just hitting their peak. Also, the crazy orange triple bloom just made its first appearance yesterday. The spring radishes and baby bok choy totally got away from me this spring and have gone to […]