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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Garden Tour & Other Stuff

We'll start the tour with a peek inside one of the cloches John has scattered across the place. With gentle seduction he cajoles the tender seedlings to flourish. He gives them every comfort, nourishment and care.

He supports the ones that need a little extra help. (Fava beans here. To be steamed, then finished with chopped onion & garlic in hot olive oil)

This is a perennial cornflower we call Mountain Bluet.

We use row covers to protect the plants from cool nights and hungry deer. The deer have been known to eat row cover however.

These alabaster lanterns will be magically transformed into blueberries later this summer. Full of flavor and antioxidants. To be eaten in cobblers and on oatmeal.

Artichokes for summer butter-dipping. Served with a crisp white wine.

Can you believe the man transplants corn and beans? Methinks he gilds the lily.

Perky beans ready to climb up the trellises. Black beans, red beans, yellow beans and speckled beans. We are a family of bean lovers.

Our friend Liz grew up in England and told us that after the bombing of the cities in WWII the first thing to grow up out of the devastation was this lovely plant which she called fireweed. It pops up everywhere in climates like ours; a testament to the earth's power to renew. I like me a tough little weed that is pretty and promiscuous.

These are the flowers of some gone-to-seed something; rutabaga or beet; I couldn't tell. But so beautiful with yellow blossoms and black stems, don't you think?

There's my man, gathering a nice salad of baby lettuces. Sugar peas on the trellis. God in his heaven.

Can you smell the lily of the valley? Can you hear the neighbors' hens clucking and shrieking? Can you feel the wet morning dew on your bare feet as we traipse across the yard? Good, you're with me now.

Onions and a long view of the garden beds. Apple trees separating the two cultivated areas.

Do you know what these flowers are? Can you guess? It is a root crop that has an old fashioned name.

Here is the flower up close. Very pretty. It is the salsify root, also known as oyster plant.

Miss Rhododendron has her Easter bonnet on today. She is a complete show-off and knows she's beautiful.

Lastly, the strawberries that are chugging away to give us shortcakes in June. I like the biscuity kind with piles of whipped cream. You can see the berries forming - it won't be long now.

Less than a week before I leave for Asilomar. Here are the sheets of watercolor paper torn and ready for the FaceBook class. We have Fabriano, Dutch Etch, Waterford and Murillo if my memory serves me correctly; there's still time to sign up folks. I'm also teaching Hot Palette Encaustic and Stencil Your Family there. It's going to be wonderful.

Finished the journal page that I showed you in the last post. Made the files larger this time so you could halfway read the pages. Love to write, to play in the journal. Which is why there's never anything in my etsy shop.

This is the page I'm on now. Not done of course. It will change. This is the last spread in this book. I always have a feeling of reverence as I close a journal for the last time. Reverence for the life I've been granted and for the sweetness of the days recorded therein. Gosh. I'm out of pictures. Guess it's time to get to work now. Thanks for stopping by. We must do this again.

18 comments:

Mixing-Katie said...

Beautiful garden photos!!

Nice to see how the journal pages turned out. So interesting to see WIPs.

Snap said...

I love to visit other gardens. Thank you and your hubby for the tour. Wonderful. Enjoyed the journal pages, too!

rscoach said...

beautiful gardens - being a city gal can't imagine living any place like that - but love visiting - have fun at Asilomar - hope to attend one day! Reva (los Angeles)

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LissaBee Creations said...

Your beautiful garden brought tears to my eyes.

Sarah said...

Your garden looks so beautiful and productive. That fireweed plant looks like what I call Honesty-I have the white variety in my garden and it does just come up everywhere. I love the white papery seedpods.

anna maria said...

Wonderful photos.
You are so fortunate to have the space to grow so many wonderful plants and a man who loves to do it and knows how!

Candace said...

Oh how I love to see the gardens of friends and acquaintances. Would love to sit and talk with John about gardening and then chat you up over journaling and art.
All would be right in THIS world, trust me.
From Athens
Candace x

Amy Stoner said...

lovely garden photos. I just adore them! And the mystery root plant? I'll take a guess and say salsify. I had it in my garden once a few years ago as a volunteer!

femminismo said...

Ah, your Garden of Eden is flourishing. I was over in Sandy yesterday at a new friend's house and her garden is popping with flowers. I got one cutting. Hope it takes root with me. Thought of you (sort of) close by. Enjoy the sunshine. John is a wonder and I adore your journal pages. Inspiration! - Jeanne

Ro Bruhn said...

Looks like you have your own market garden, what a fabulous display. We also have that little purple plant in our garden, it's called 'honesty' over here, I'm not sure why.

Glenny Moir said...

I can't believe the transformation in your yard in such a short time!! Jon is amazing and I want some beans!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the beautiful garden tour.
I have to have a special ceremony when ending a journal. In some journals I've blown up a photo of myself and written about all the things ai like about this person. It's fun to look back at all the old photos.

katie said...

a beautiful walk down the garden path - what loveliness you two conger up on your little piece of heaven, inside and out. how sweet a visit in real time would be xox

rebecca said...

i am so taken with the notion that each garden bed is a passionate living journal page in john's life.
you two truly are two peas in a glorious pod!
xoxoxo,
r

mary ann said...

wish i could meet you in asilomar. pacific groves is one of my favorite spots on earth. the wild ocean, footpaths, and inky black sky ablaze w/ starlight is THE BEST. you and katie go walk at night. don't take a flashlight. funner that way. john steinbeck had a cabin there on the grounds - ask the workmen where...
sigh. fava beans in olive oil, blueberries, and bisquit strawberry shortcake. if that isn't heaven on earth it's close.

Chris said...

Hi Judy, I love your posts, seeing John's garden, your journal pages. You're very inspiring to me.

Chris said...

Hi Judy, I love your posts, seeing John's garden, your journal pages, reading your take on things. It's real life. You're so inspiring to me. Thank you!

And so it goes... said...

THAT's a garden!!! I'm envious! John is a gardener extrordinaire! I can taste it all now....