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Friday, July 16, 2010

Mid July Garden



The woman paints and writes while the man goes on his solitary rounds in the garden. We are each busy is our tiny fiefdoms; after I show you my latest journal pages I'll show you the garden.


This is a summer unlike any before it. I can feel the great wheel of change turning and all my old solutions falling away. The problem is what next. The answer is unknown. Certainly I will teach again starting this fall but not as often and to smaller classes. I have missed teaching this week. I am ready to return now.


So here we have taters, tomatoes, the big apple tree and the Douglas firs that border our property.


The rose that grew up out of the root stock that supported Touch of Class. I can't bear to prune it off. I am a sucker for suckers.


The peaches are not as prolific as in past years so we'll have to treasure them even more. They are coming along.


Spider Mums. When I painted watercolors these were among my favorites to draw. I love to draw twisting, reaching things.


Lavender. Crush it in my hand as I walk the garden in the dewy morning. My hands smell good all day.


The gentle farmer and his onions, pepper plants in their little houses so they don't mix pollen. The walnut orchard in the background. The farmer put up a new chain link fence to keep the deer out and it's working but now we have wild rabbits and skunks that dig up the tomatoes.


It's been the year of cherries. This variety is Northstar and it is deep red all the way through. It is a pie cherry but not so sour as most. I can eat it raw and I don't usually like sour things.


Borage. Fuzzy, edible, friendly borage. The bees love it though so you have to be careful.



Blueberries. Lots and lots of blueberries. 


The blueberries are huge as you can see by comparing them to John's hands. 


More comparisons. Big big Matalija poppy.


Lace leaf hydrangeas. I love hydrangeas and other blue flowers.


Green tomatoes. We've had a few ripe ones but the best is yet to come.


The mystery rose. A huge bush now that we started as a cutting after capturing it on a country ride.


Another variety of hydrangea. John humors me; these are not his favorite flowers. He thinks blue is a weird color for a flower.



Those little plants in front of the beans are all different varieties of basil. As in YUM.


Artichokes. They taste like summer, like olive oil, like heaven.


Lots of bean trellises. We are bean eaters.


Fairy Rose.


Sweet daisies.


Tomato blossoms.


Peace rose.


Chayote growing on a trellis next to the grapes.


Tater flowers.


Cape fuchsia for the hummingbirds.


Yucca flowers.


Gladiolas.


Strawberries.


Sunflowers.


That's all for today folks. Just watching John garden makes me tired.

42 comments:

lyle baxter said...

your garden is gorgeous but it makes me tired just thinking of all to be done! hooray for the farmer! glad you are looking to the future and some teaching! wish you could be in the east other than squam which is lovely but too chill for these old bones!

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

I had to call my garden-lovin' husband over to see this post, Judy! We read in awe and loved each of your photos. Maybe it's a male ting, but my husband thinks blue is a weird color for flowers, too, and my favorite is Blue Hydrangeas! Your other variety here is gorgeous! I've never see that first one before. Rest adn enjoy the blueberries! Yummm

Michele said...

Your pages are wonderful, and your garden looks heavenly! It's what I want to have someday when we move out of the shade of the redwood trees. I love where I live, but I miss not being able to have much of a garden due to lack of sun. Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures.

Kelly's Video Blog said...

beautiful pictures!

dorylyn said...

My goodness! You and the farmer are very blessed. Thank you for sharing the beauty you enjoy each day!

Lelainia N. Lloyd said...

That garden is impressive! Well done!

Harvest the hair from your hairbrush and put it where the rabbits are going. It will ward them off. (Or so they say!)

Jennifer White said...

I want to live in your garden, 24/7...amazing pictures, thank you for sharing them with me, Judy... xo

Cindy Swan-Eagan said...

Dear sweet Judy, thanks for sharing. The garden is wonderful (I'll show my farmer when he returns home today - he'll drool) and the journal pages inspiring - I look forward to taking another class from you some time in the future.
Cindy

Janine said...

OMG! What a green thumb! What a fabulous garden! Thanks for sharing these photos!

Dede Warren said...

What a stunning garden Judy! How lucky you are to have it. Reminds me of growing up on my grandparents farm... good memories!

As always I look at your work and appreciate your work and talent! Beautiful as always.

Laura Twiford said...

What a magnificent garden! here on the east coast we have had so much heat and scorching sun that everything is struggling to stay alive and produce something. I'm afraid it won't be such a good year for our summer bounty! I love you artwork and am glad to hear you will be teaching again. Any chance you could make it to Art and Soul Hampton??? We'd all love to see you here!

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

First off I want to tell how wonderful your art pages are, I love the unique way you find to journal all around your pages.

Second your John has the most amazing garden I've ever seen! My husband, Jean (French for John) loves the science of gardening but I've got to say it's nothing like what your garden looks like, it's a work of art in and of itself. And your pictures of it are wonderful! Hats off to you both.

Scintilla said...

those pictures are so beautiful. my favorite is john's hands with the blueberries....lovely gardener hands..

Jan said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely art and lovely bountiful garden with us. It is similar here, me playing at art, him gardening. We are not that far from you but seem to be a couple weeks behind in garden productivity. It has been so darn cold.

heather said...

now I have garden envy!

Carol said...

Your journals are fascinating and I'g drooling with envy over the bountiful garden.

Ingrid Dijkers said...

Lovely journal pages, as always. So glad to hear that you'll be teaching soon again.

Ingrid Dijkers said...

Lovely journal pages, as always. So glad to hear that you'll be teaching soon again.

Ingrid Dijkers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Wow, that is a tremendous amount of work on both your parts. Beautiful journal pages, love that turquoise blue and the garden is spectacular! xox Corrine

nancy connelly said...

my dear Judy, what a beautiful posting. First your journal pages filled with the beauty of your art and then the wonderful pictures of some of the most beautiful flowers and plants I have seen, and all so tenderly cared for. Special caring thoughts coming your way. I so enjoyed being in one of your classes.

Lynn Cohen said...

omigod the huge blueberries are unreal...what's in the dirt there???

white poppy is my absolutely favorite flower!!!

i hope the classes you are talking about will be the ones i am signed up for :-)!!!

wonderful journal pages!!!

love the toe nail polish!!!

Marit said...

Oh my goodness... what a lovely garden! all the yummieness in it, wow! Love your art journal pages, especially the drawings/painting!

Ocean Lotus said...

geez, it looks like a huge FARM more than a garden, all those flowers and edibles - how very very lovely! i would love for you to share how much land you use, did John always garden? It seems like a vast fountain of knowledge on how everything in your pictures look so healthy...really lovely.

Jan's Art and Musings said...

Judy, the blueberries and cherries have my mouth watering! What beauty surrounds you. I do look forward to take a class with you someday.

Anonymous said...

The garden is lovely...I'm thinking of all the work that goes into it...but the end result is amazing! I would love to take a class from you...maybe someday. I live right in the middle of the country and nothing ever happens very close to me...all artistic activity seems to be mainly on either coast. I have taken some online classes, so, that will have to do for now. I'm a huge fan of your journals and other art work. Take care and enjoy the fruits of that garden!
Mary

Brian K said...

Oh your journal pages and your garden are spectacular! Oh how I long to have a nice big garden! Someday we are moving to Portland to have a big house and a big yard! Here is a male who LOVES blue hydrangeas!!! Oh so envious of those blueberries!!!! As a child my mom grew a HUGE garden and I used to tell her I never would have one! It was the first thing I did when I got a house! Grew all her vegis and fruits! But this house has a small yard so we only do flowers and tomatoes! Oh how I love summer and your journals!

Anonymous said...

Such grand photographs of the garden, love the three blueberries gently laying on a man's working hands. Beautiful journal pages too Judy.
XOXOrly

Clare Wassermann said...

Amazing garden. It puts my allotment to shame. I adore your journal pages xx

Maria said...

WOW, what a garden!!! Love it!

Parabolic Muse said...

Okay, I did not know that was cape fuschia. I love my hummers! I am so enjoying blueberries and cherries right now and am going to make my first cherry pie in two weeks, so it made me happy to see these! And the spider mums! Those were my mother's favorite! It's like a burst of flower and so fragrant.

But the blue journal pages... now that's a harvest. As always, thanks for sharing them!

amy said...

holy holy amazing garden! how lush! fertile...the bounty.
thanks for sharing. i hope you are doing well, continuing to get your voice back and enjoying all of your moments! oh, and off the subject--i did an awesome workshop in june with katie kendrick! she is so great, and such an inspiration to watch her create, and to be taught by her.
take care!
amy

Joanie Hoffman said...

Congratulations to your John for all his hard work. The garden is so wonderful.
Thanks for this posting of your work & his.
It's a great combination.
Happy days,
Joanie

mary lawrence said...

What a spectacular garden! and the colors-blue, green, aqua, lavender-of your journal pages are the most serene and calming. that combination always reminds me of a certain summer on the farm where I grew up and dixie cups filled with kool aid...sweet memories of summer and feeling of contentment.

femminismo said...

Journal pages: bright and wonderful, as always. Garden: healthy and teeming with goodness, as always. If you have time let me know why each pepper has to be covered to keep the pollen to itself. Interesting. We only plant one kind - the huge ones you stuff with cheese and surround with egg.

MB Shaw said...

Such bounty - the joy on John's face is marvelous. So glad you are healing, sweet girl. I am looking forward to our time at Squam (I will have a car btw).

Kim Rae Nugent said...

I love your most recently posted journal pages - many layers. The garden is amazing! Johns feet? hee hee.
Have a wonderful day!

kluless said...

I am sooo envious of those tomatoes. We live in the same neck of the woods and how in the world did you get some ripe ones already?? Did John start them indoors or in a hothouse? We have some set on but they are tiny tiny. Everything in your garden looks wonderful! I need to rent a bulldozer and start over this year....

Miriam Cutelis said...

I love your pics......beautiful garden

Suzanne said...

What an amazing garden. We won't plant ours here in Florida until October. This gives me a lot of good ideas.

Unknown said...

love it. thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Love your garden...