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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Garden Report


It's been so beautiful here that I've got a case of spring fever. Plucking roses, making bouquets, painting canvases; that's all I can make myself do. I'm as drunk on spring as the fat bumblebees.


The Wednesday Painters met a week ago and I haven't left the studio since except to admire the garden. No Memorial Day celebration, nada. Just the slap slap of my paint brush and the idle weeding in the overgrown flower beds.


Helped the farmer transplant these leggy snap peas.


And every evening I wash a sink full of greens.


Peonies have popped and I've eaten my first strawberry.


Everything's green and luscious.


Roses, roses, roses.


This bean house is covered with reemay now but I wanted to show you John's clever construction.


These connectors are made for chain link fences and allow John to take the little house apart at the end of the season for easy re-use next spring.


Here are the pepper and tomato houses.


It gets really warm inside.


Can you see the strings attached up to the top "beam" of the roof?


The strings allow you to attach the branches like this so the plants grow up with support. Then John prunes the bottom branches so the plants grow really healthy. I'll show you the results later this summer.


Now the plants get a nice layer of mulch.


June approaches. The best month of the year in Oregon. Live deeply, love the one you're with. xo

26 comments:

kelly barton said...

wow. what a gorgeous. sacred. place.

carlanda brown williamson said...

what a beautiful garden! can't wait to get moved to oregon and do the same! thank you so much for sharing. much love. carlanda

Indigene said...

What an amazing garden! It's your own paradise! It's no wonder where you get all of that incredible inspiration. Wow!

Carol Soules said...

Beautiful! I'll be out there for a few days in early July, when Jess is in town. Maybe I'll finally get to meet you.

pfstuff said...

Looks like I spoke too soon-the garden is gorgeous-and you seem happy as a clam.

Clare Wassermann said...

Just fabulous. I grow my tomatoes that way too - and cukes. I have the very same irises as you - I shall think of you whenever I look at them.

dorylyn said...

Oh, the garden is magnificent! I love when you share this part of your world!

Marit said...

I wish I could come over and roam in your garden for a while... I can almost smell the roses and herbs! And with that last sentence, you have me humming Stephen Stills all day now ;)

Caterina Giglio said...

absolutely amazing garden, I love coming by your place for a beauty break!

Chris said...

Gorgeous garden! You're lucky to have a farmer :D

Mary said...

What an amazing absolutely beautiful, functional garden!

Lynn Cohen said...

I loved Oregon this month. I just am back from four days of a wonderful weekend in Portland with my kids....and I LOVED all the flowers in everyones yards all over town!

Your Farmer John is simply amazing! What he grows, how he grows it, how much work and love he puts into it shows in these wonderful photos!

What a heaven you live in!!!!!!!!!

Are you still digesting Spain? I bet you are!

Ruth Armitage said...

It looks as if it all just grew there by magic, but I know a lot of loving hands and hard work cultured it! Glad to hear you are painting. We are overdue for a visit! I've never heard anyone describe weeding as IDLE before! LOL! When I weed, I'm sweating!

Terrie said...

Looks like you'll have enough to feed a small village! That's a beautiful garden but I look at it and see nothing but work. Work I don't particularly enjoy, except to look at! :) You have LOTS more blooming than we do here in Seattle - you must be in more central/western Oregon and have had plenty of sun.... Happy Gardening (or should I say, painting?)

Unknown said...

Your garden is so happy, tended by such loving hands. I have a little something for you, I'll try to get it in the mail asap. Happy painting Judy!
Much Love,
Jenny♥

Stephanie Lee said...

I'm so so so in love with the ever-expanding beauty of your garden!! I wish I could describe the giddiness...no...that's not the right word...the excitment...nah...not the right word either...maybe more like enchantment, curiosity, think-stimulating bubbles that well up inside me when I see the inventiveness of John's structures. It makes me feel like if I could match that creativity in my garden, I could reap a harvest ten fold what we are blessed with now. Lotsa bottles could go in the pantry. :)
I love it all - the peach rose, the thought of you eating your first strawberry on the very day I ate my first strawberry. (It was not quite perfectly ripe but I just couldn't wait another day!!) I most especially love that John is wearing headphones. I can only guess (with a smile) what he's listening to. :)

Love you both so much!
xo

GailNHB said...

Thank you so much for sharing your photos and descriptions. Your garden is beautiful.

Do you sell any of the food you grow or do you raise it simply and solely for yourselves? Either way, you are blessed to eat beautiful, healthy, slow, and extremely local food.

PS. Will you post any more photos or stories from your time in Spain? I sure hope so.

Jennifer White said...

You know how much I love that damn garden....great shots, Judy.

Anonymous said...

thanks for posting this. I was looking for a way to string my green beans this weekend.My garden is about a tenth of yours. I'm learning tho. I went out and pruned my tomatoes after reading your post yesterday. Jane S

Melisa said...

Wow, what a beautiful garden! Strawberry season has come and gone here and the fresh tomatoes are coming in. And it's hot, hot, hot!

Gigi said...

LOVE it when you share your beautiful garden with us!

Eco Safe Pest Control said...

Thanks for sharing a piece of your life. More power to your blog!

Maria said...

Your wonderful garden is coming alive again!

Sue Cottle said...

Wow, you have an amazingly awesome garden! There's hours and hours of hard work there!

Parabolic Muse said...

holy cow! We got a Missouri Pink tomato at a sale and didn't know what to think. And now it's tall and fruiting! Isn't life amazing?!?

No, we only have enough for ourselves...

Mari said...

Like everyone else, I love your garden, but I really love your abstract work! As much as I admire your more representational work, these abstract paintings are fantastic! So happy, so joyful, so intriguing. Looking forward to seeing more.