Vacationing at Home

Vacation is this week from Saturday the 3rd through Sunday the 11th.

I wasn't really counting Saturday or Sunday for activities and projects, we just had a nice relaxing weekend.

Saturday we went for lunch at the Boynton and then hung out with our friend Bob to watch the final 4 episodes of Season 2 of Game of Thrones. Great company, great show and a great kickoff for the week. Bob just bought a house nearby and it's so cool to have another friend nearby.

Sunday was our 18th Anniversary so we took it easy, no projects or anything. Just a good amount of rest and dinner out at the 111 Chophouse - which was amazing and a fun way to celebrate!

This weekend was fun for me also because I had some sightings of things I haven't seen before in our yard/neighborhood...

I was sitting in the back garden on Saturday morning and a Hummingbird came up to some flowers about 5 feet away from me. It was the first time I have seen one in our yard! They are so amazing.

Saturday night at Bob's we were walking outside to see the yard and the pear tree and after we went in side we looked out the window and saw a wild rabbit hanging out in the yard. Luckily we have not personally seen rabbits in the our garden. It was really neat to see the rabbit roaming around his yard.

Saturday I also heard a different bird song outside the window and looked out to see the Goldfinches on the Sunflowers. This time last year, as the Sunflowers and Jerusalem Artichokes were blooming, the Goldfinches came around. So beautiful!

One decision my husband and I have made is that we really don't need to exchange gifts anymore. I can't think of anything more that I need and we both prefer a nice dinner out together - rather than gifts we don't really need.

Lemon Sorbetto with a special message from the waitstaff

Mammoth Sunflowers

What started as a few Mammoth Sunflower seeds became one of the most interesting beds this year. The flowers were towering over us and slowly, over time, opened and became a vibrant yellow and green and then grew to enormous size and started drooping over until they filled with seeds and we were able to harvest them.  We took the seeds out of the first couple that were done, and have 3 more large flowers to harvest seeds from.  I really enjoyed this experiment. The Summer of looking out the window to a beautiful bed of flowers and the song of the American Goldfinches, as well as the many, many different bees and other insects we observed - all made this a fun and interactive garden for many months. We interacted with the garden as well as the many people who stopped by and commented on the flowers - or slowed down to see them as they drove by. We will definitely be including the Mammoth Sunflowers in the garden next year!

Evening walks in the garden - wine in hand

Amazing pattern

Seeds from the first Sunflower

Checking on another flower

Even now - smaller flowers still try to grow

Seeds from the second Sunflower

A treat for the Squirrels and Birds

The flowers are all cut down, but some of the stalks are still standing as we wait for the Mexican Red Beans to dry for harvesting.  Scheming has already begun as to where these beauties will be next year and how we can grow more of them! Such a rewarding effort in so many ways.

Corn can grow in the city?

Last Summer I was going down Pleasant St. and saw a yard with 2 or 3 rows of corn growing! I have to say that this was really surprising to me and led to research and planning...because who doesn't love the taste of corn fresh out of the garden?

Our research led to the corn, sunflower, squash and bean bed and it is working! The sunflowers are opening and are huge, the Zucchini, Butternut, and Pumpkin all flowering like crazy and starting to produce fruit, and oh the beans...they are winding up around the stalks of the Sunflowers and Corn and every leaf we turn over has small flowers and beans under it! They are a small red Mexican bean that can be dried or canned. I would like to try canning them, just because I haven't done that yet.

beans growing up the sunflower

bean

Yesterday, we picked the corn and froze a couple of servings and canned the rest. Quite an amazing process to see. This year is an experiment to see what we can grow - and next year I will definitely include corn in the plan for the garden. Changing a couple of things would work better. The Sunflowers are ridiculously large and should be in the back row of the bed, with the Corn in the front so it is not shaded by them. The squash and beans are working perfectly so no change is needed for them.

Where it all began...

Today =)

Corn! Each plant grew about 2 ears of corn, some of the plants were stunted
by the Sunflowers

Corn! We were able to can 5 pints of corn and froze a couple of servings.

This is the summer of learning how to do all of this, and the vision of this corn (along with potatoes, beans, carrots, etc.) in a stew in the middle of Winter fills my heart with something that only going through this whole process can produce. Reading has been a great tool for learning the theory of how things work - but actually doing it, even on a small scale like we have, has given us experience that is invaluable.

First Zucchini starting to grow

First Pumpkin

Perfect Yellow

Today is the beginning of "vacation" for Rob & me. Technically it's vacation time for Rob and a little short term disability for me, but I am making the most of this and today was beautiful.

Because I've been home for four weeks with this ankle/foot/air cast thing, I thought it would just be like another week home, but it isn't, and Rob is here!

We spent the day today enjoying the birds and the garden. The weather was perfect - warm with a cool breeze...and it really, truly felt like a vacation day. That timeless, nowhere to go kind of day that seems endless.

Being home hasn't been so terrible. When I open all the windows and pretend I'm on vacation - it's a little easier with this view out the living room windows of the Sunflower, Corn, Beans and Squash bed.

Of course, it does look more impressive from outside - but I love that I can see the plants while I am resting indoors.

And the view of Sunchokes through the front windows is amazing!

Today, we got a little surprise of a pair of American Goldfinches!

I saw some rustling in the flowers and it took awhile to see them because

they are the same color yellow. If you look closely, he is in the center of the picture below.

This was how the day started and I was so happy to see them!

This is how the day ended - blue skies...

Wine & Chocolates.

I'm learning more and more to take each day as it appears and make

the most out of what I have to work with. I could find faults with the day, the situation of 

my health, the noise in the neighborhood, etc. etc.

Instead I chose to focus on the things that I really have control over. 

My attitude, and my choice to enjoy the many, many things I have to be grateful for.

I hear the voices that say: it's just a yellow bird, a few flowers and sunflower seeds are at the store and take a lot less work.

But I say that until you really look at the flowers and hear the song of the Goldfinch, sip that wine and taste the handmade chocolates from Vermont...Until you sit on a couch for four weeks with yourself and realize how much you have to be grateful for, you cannot know, and I cannot explain what this means to me. Every time I put my hands in the soil and connect to the Earth and harvest seeds from plants that grew in this yard...I realize that I would not trade this moment and this experience for anything. 

It is magical and I don't want to miss a minute of it!

And by a happy accident, I don't have to...

Sunflowers, Corn, Squash and Pumpkin

Justin is dwarfed at 6 '3"...

How does your garden grow?

...at warp speed?

Just a quick update because I am amazed at how quickly things are progressing. We ate some deliciously sweet snap peas in a stir fry yesterday and today the Marigolds and Nasturtiums are starting to open. With the expected weather at 95ish for the next two days, I am hoping the sweet potatoes will get the heat they need. Otherwise...you can see for yourself. Not so bad for a first try at this thing. It makes me so happy to just watch the changes, even from morning to evening the growth can be seen. I have never loved Summer so much!

Delicious sweet Snap peas

Sunflowers, corn, beans and squash - will be taller than me soon!

view of the beds - peas, snap peas and the herb spiral - first Nasturtium flowers!
In the far back near the fence- potatoes.

Blue Poppies 

Cherry Tomatoes and Red Hopi Amaranth

Snap Peas- Sweet and Delicious

Broccoli, onions, and red onions 

Package of mixed lettuce seeds...wow

In case you are wondering...the lettuce is just a package of mixed seeds - literally just scattered in a planter - and I could have many salads.  Tomorrow we are planning a little salad with a radish or two and will be picking the shelling peas to see how that goes.  

We'll be eating/freezing this batch and planting another for seed for next year.

The only thing that has been difficult...the location of the eggplant and watermelon did not work, probably too shady, so I will be starting them again and hoping to have it work in a sunnier spot in the front yard.  The pumpkins, zucchini, and butternut seem to love it - 

so it's worth a try.

All in all, I am enjoying the watering each evening and the obvious growth 

from day to day. 

From Exhaustion to Exhilaration...

"When I go into the garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have been doing with my own hands."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is a limit that everyone reaches, and this weekend I hit that limit and wall. The stress of work, the busy pace of life and pushing myself to do it all – caught up with me and I started the weekend exhausted and with a migraine.

On Saturday, I woke with a headache, but still wanted to go out to lunch, so we went to the Boynton, which was amazing as always. It’s encouraging to walk into a local place where people are friendly and remember you and your favorite drink or meal and suggest things you will actually enjoy. After lunch we went to Wooberry for frozen yogurt. I had Lemon with fresh strawberries and little chocolate curls. Another favorite, and so delicious.

But after that, I felt sapped, like my strength was gone completely and I couldn’t do anything else. This being a long weekend, I knew I had to get some rest! We got home and took a 3 hour nap, and then went into the garden to water and look around. I spent a lot of time just walking from tree to tree and plant to plant and found some of what I needed was restored. This connection is crucial for me to keep sane. I had lived so long without gardening and now that it is such a big part of my life, I cannot imagine a day that I don’t walk in the garden.

As the weekend has passed, I am feeling calmer and healthier and I have enjoyed this time home to work on little projects and rest for the coming week.

2 weeks ago

Ready for companion plantings

We worked on the next step of our 4x8 bed with the Sunflowers and Corn. They had grown enough in just two weeks, that we added three squashes (butternut, zucchini, and pumpkin) and filled in the spaces with Mexican Dry Red Bean, an heirloom bean for storing.  We also replanted some Sunflowers because some of them are being eaten and we haven't been able to see what is snacking on them.

There is room behind the bed - and around it to either trellis the squashes or train them to the front yard - which is largely untouched right now and would be lovely full of squash plants and flowers.

It was so refreshing to sit on the back patio (after the shade returned) with a cold drink and just look at the green that has appeared over the past couple of weeks. The tree trunks are all thickening and the leaves are growing like crazy. The stars of the garden are the two beds of peas. The shelling peas are in the Hugelkultur bed and are doing great - the Snap peas are in a far bed and just started flowering this week - and have also grown to more than 4 feet tall.

Shelling peas

In the center of the garden, is the herb spiral, everything was planted by seed and had sprouted. Some are growing very quickly and others are taking their time, but all sprouted, and that was something new for me. I had never planted herbs from seed. I find this such a beautiful addition to the garden.

Fruit trees and vegetable beds in the back yard. 

Last Autumn, I planted Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) in an unused side bed near our front steps and they are now more than 12 inches high...however, the bed had been taken over by weeds and grasses, so I did a little work today to make it more attractive and useful.  Because it is a fairly new bed, nothing was deep rooted, so I just pulled up the grass and other weeds that were making themselves useful until I did something with the space. I planted Nasturtium and Green Beans in around the Sunchokes and then covered everything again with straw. 

Sad little forgotten bed.

Something else had changed - the 50 gallon rain barrel in the back left corner of the picture is new this week,  and the hose will be on the inside of the fence, so I wanted to put a path in that would give me a sure place to walk when I need to water the plants.  Rob sliced up some of the Pine tree that my sister Kim gave to us and I made a small path in an area that nothing ever grows.  Also, one step into the middle so I can reach to water all the plants. I pulled out grass and weeds and planted Nasturtium along the little white (dog proofing) fence and hope to keep the weeds out by growing something beautiful and useful.

All in all, it is a huge improvement and just the beginning of our work with the front yard. We did get another 50 gallon rain barrel and put that near the 4x8 bed which is the center of the house and with the 65 gallon that we have been using (and using up quickly) in the back garden, we should have enough water for all of the beds. 

One of the nicest things about this weekend was that our neighbors were home celebrating Memorial Day in their yards, hanging out in their pools and it made it a pleasant weekend. Even though our houses are very close to each other, I don't mind. We have some really great people to live near. Chatting early in the morning with one neighbor - he asked if he could come in and see how things are going and it was fun to show him around and hear his story about being born in Italy and always having a garden - up until recently.

It made me happy that someone else could come and enjoy with us.

When you see how the yard used to look - it's really not surprising that we stayed inside and no one really stopped by.  It's been transformed and it is just the beginning! 

Signs of Life!

Last Autumn I planted flower bulbs and they have already come and gone. Beautiful Tulip, Crocus, and Daffodil flowers in Spring when everything else is so gray... 

I also planted the Sunchokes - or Jerusalem Artichokes - and had no idea what to expect. This week, pushing through the straw, the first signs that all is well in the Sunchoke bed and the experiment is off to a good start. Since this is the first time through with all of these plants, I am trying to document them to keep a record of how they look when they first sprout and also to recognize them should they start to sprout where we do not want them.

Sunchokes / Jerusalem Artichokes 

I squeeled like a little kid when I saw the Sunchokes were almost 6 inches tall! I only looked away for one day...

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We have two experiments in our potato beds. One with soil, straw and seed potatoes, and one bed with just the straw and seed potatoes.  Both have sprouted. The bed with soil is growing at a little faster pace, but who is in a hurry? Potatoes grown on the ground, covered in straw grow just as well so far.

Potatoes growing on cardboard with some soil and straw.

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The most recent bed is a 4x8 on the South side of the house. Space we never used for anything! Now it has sprouted corn and sunflowers. When they are 6 inches tall we will be planting beans and then 3 different squash plants to either vine out to the front yard or trellis - not decided yet. 

Bed with Sunflowers and Corn

Sunflowers Sprouting

Corn sprouting

The seeds took less than a week to sprout. It practically grows before your eyes!

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On April 12th, we planted our fruit trees - four different apples (semi-dwarf) and 3 pears (dwarf). In what is one of the most encouraging things to occur this week - the trees have leaves and one even has blossoms. We won't be letting them fruit this year, but knowing that they are growing and healthy and seeing those first flowers is a feeling that can only be described as having a full heart.  

Pear tree with a new little flower garden by the house.

Apple Blossom 

Two more Apples and a Pear nearest the shed.

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The view from the house.

Straw beds in the back left are potatoes - foreground (right) is dwarf pear.
To the left of the clothes line - are the apple trees and almond at the end of the  fallen tree.

During the past couple of weeks, it has rained quite a bit, and the river bed has been serving its purpose. We only have one rain barrel right now, and when it is full, it overflows into the riverbed - and flows on to the fruit trees. It's working well and we will be getting two more rain barrels to capture water on the other sides of the house to use in flower and vegetable beds there.

water gathers in the dry river bed and flows along the log to the center of the yard
and the fruit trees.

The past few months of work - bits and pieces here and there that suddenly seem to come together in this season and become a garden. More perennial plants will be arriving - Paw Paw Tree, Kiwi Vine, Concord Grapes, etc. etc. and there are more seeds to plant in the beds.  Each small thing that we start carries on by itself. Our part in this is observation and enjoyment. 

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is go to the window and see what has changed. Mushrooms spring up over night and are gone when the sun hits them, the plants get greener and greener as leaves open and seeds sprout. 

One of my favorite moments was when I saw a little sparrow land on the branch of an Apple tree and sit there. Barely a branch, barely a tree - and already the bird knows to stop by for the caterpillars. It works because it is supposed to. The cycle has always existed and will long after we are gone. All we hope to do is restore the conditions for Nature to work her magic...

Life is truly miraculous. 

Nasturtium growing around the herb garden.