a messy weekend

The rain this weekend made for a messy but productive time in the garden. Planting gets muddy, but weeding is easy-peasy. This year’s hot pepper varieties: ghost, trinidad scorpion, carolina reaper, red and orange habaneros, jalapeño M, and jalapeño F1.

the ebb and flow of the garden

Two steps forward, one back. Develop two new beds, lose another to invasive Johnson grass… So it goes down in the garden lot. Except that, this year, even with all the dead noxious overgrowth from last fall, the garden is full of life, and color. I can see the work done as much as the […]

sock it to organization

I have been pitting holiday break time toward the upstairs bedroom, which currently functions as closet and storage. While it isn’t a new additional to the room’s organization, I consider it a cause for celebration whenever I get our socks paired, rolled, and stowed in their proper home. The home: Pictured above is four units, […]

our lou, on xmas:

the tree that almost wasn’t

For the first time in over twenty-five years, I wasn’t going to put up a Christmas tree. You see, things need to happen over winter in this old house, and I need time to get projects ready. But I know how I work, and I do not want to return after holiday travel and have […]

the newest bed

The high heat of summer has arrived, so everything moves slower in the garden. My breaks match or exceed my working sessions so I can cool down and rehydrate. The goal is always to stop buying new plants before ninety plus degrees, but the clearance racks have been very good to me this year, and […]

the garden, after the rain

We never got the rain expected yesterday, but this morning brought a long, slow drizzle followed by a brief heavy shower. The garden ended up lush and in full bloom as a result. the ‘nosferatu’ daylilies are at their peak

the garden, in macro

this evening, in the garden

We have arrived at the heat of the season, having spent most of the past week breaking ninety degrees. And the garden loves it! So much is thriving in the garden right now. This is a great year for expansion, and I am riding the current state of it like a giant wave of motivation […]

our cattywampus cottage