What is this {pretty, happy, funny, real} you speak of?
~ {pretty, happy, funny, real} ~
Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty and happy}
Every day this spring since our return has been a waking up and tackling the bathrooms or the garden. And thus my blogging rhythm has been a bit off, but I know you will hang in there with me.
But let's update the garden now!
Don't you find garden pictures hard? Even in magazines… it's one thing to look at a room, quite another to look at a garden bed.
It's all um, yes, lots of green things, looking all quite similar, how interesting…
But I still try. I hope you will share a picture or two with us in the link-up!
For me, the garden is a huge pleasure — and a source of humility. Sometimes I do okay, usually it's a lot of work for not much reward. And I always feel that I'm doing it all wrong — that you will look at these pictures and laugh!
Ah well, if I can try, so can you!
(Above, just some flowers getting started in the bed below the porch.)
We've mowed, weed-whacked, mulched, trimmed, and weeded. There is still a wilderness of weeds and brush encroaching all around, but until someone hands me a tractor, my hope is just to keep it all at bay.
Over to the right of the porch we have the herb garden, tended by Habou. Having the herbs right there outside my kitchen door is awesome. And it's easy to water the little things you want to get started, without going down with the hose.
(You can consult the very first picture if you get lost on this tour.)
If I walk down, across the driveway, and turn with the house on my left and the clothesline right behind me, this is what I see:
If we number the beds 1-7 and go from left, below that green wagon, to right and top to bottom:
1. lettuce, peas, I dunno, maybe tomatoes? But if so, where are the eggplants I seeded? All the tags got mixed up.
2. cucumbers, peppers (I guess, or are those the eggplants? too small to tell right now), tomatoes
3. the bigger bushier tomato is from my Atrium kids, so of course it looks the best, a row of shallots, some Thai basil tucked in behind those, and then a row of tomatoes — the tomatoes I seeded are San Marzano, chocolate pear (little ones), and Brandywine, but no clue right now as to which are which
4. (we're back and to the right of the compost — you can't really see this bed in the photo) — garlic, zinnias, more tomatoes that didn't fit anywhere else, rhubarb
5. green beans (and red and white)
6. tomatoes, basil, parsley which is so microscopic as to render any hope it will grow barely nil
7. tomatoes, bell peppers, a Hungarian pepper
A different view:
This picture is with the house on the right, now, and that compost set-up just to the right, out of the picture:
The Hungarian pepper plant, from a friend, “A little hot and sweet and delicious.” You know me, I'm a wimp about peppers, but I think the others will like it.
The shallots are growing well:
Our mulches are compost, horse manure from a nearby farm, and lawn and leaf clippings. The mulch for the paths is wood chips; I am sooooo lucky that my neighbor is a tree guy.
Now if I go beyond the clothesline, you see almost the whole garden. The house is on the left, the pictures that you saw above are at the top of the picture here, and then we have, moving down: clothesline, asparagus and strawberry beds (terrible this year, with the weird warm-then-freezing-then-raining-then-dry), raspberry bed (finally weed-controlled, we shall see), and then the last three beds that don't actually get full sun, but in which I can grow some things, I hope.
Already there: in the left bed, a healthy row of kale; in the middle bed, seeding some lettuce and beets, with yet another row of tomatoes; on the right, kale from last year, eggplants from the nursery, peppers, another tomato, and a ground cherry (also known as Cape gooseberry, also from the friend with the Hungarian pepper, whom I may or may not have given all my eggplant that I started from seed).
That last bed was me just not knowing what to do with all the plants.
In a fit of despair over the weedy asparagus bed and frustration over the strawberries growing where they ought not, I combined the two. The theory is that the asparagus has deep roots and the strawberries have shallow roots, so they should get on. So far I think that they need to be heavily mulched with manure in the fall, because this year is a bust. Also, re: strawberry excuses: birds, squirrels, even Roxie had her nose in there…
From the other side, now with the asparagus and clothesline and what I call “the upper garden” (closer to the house) behind me:
In the early spring, when I seeded that kale, I also sowed some lettuce. The lettuce in the upper garden did super well; this bed only gave me two, and that's because it's hard to get the hose down here/get to these beds when I've spent my time on the others, and the seeds dried out utterly:
But then I transplanted a bunch to this row. I hope that they won't fry before they take. This bed — “the far garden” — gets shaded early from the trees that are beyond it and from the leach field (hill) which is above it (on the right of the picture, out of sight), so in theory, kale and lettuce should be good here.
Getting the raspberries under control was a huge boost. They need to fill in this bed on this side (one year a bunch died for some reason) so that the grasses don't take over. Thanks to Bridget's hard work, the wood chips give me the sense that things might prosper. Under the chips are all the grasses we cut, so hopefully the nitrogen from those will prevent the chips from pulling out nitrogen from the soil (and away from the raspberries) as they decompose.
I put the squashes in random places that were weedy and sunny. They aren't proper beds, but last year when I did this I had huge success (with 24 butternut squashes from one plant!).
If any of this looks perfect to you (I only bring this up because somehow, people do seem to think it does), well, you are forgetting our country weeds and that any garden can look okay in June after many man-hours of work. We shall see in a month.
{funny and real}
Not garden related: I have two ovens in my range. I was making fixings for a fajita supper and was keeping things warm in the upper oven, including a glass pyrex with black beans. Of course, being me, I shoved stuff around in that hasty way of mine, and the pyrex fell over (but thankfully! didn't break).
The beans spilled way in the back; and then we had to eat and then I had to garden and weed and paint stuff in the bathrooms and then I remembered.
So I put the oven on its clean cycle, which oddly did not rid me of my beans, although they were ashy and hard.
(There was a big pile, but I had already started sort of wiping them out with a paper towel when I remembered to take a picture for your amusement.)
Paper-toweling wasn't really working all that well.
So I vacuumed them out.
(Don't worry, I emptied the vacuum and washed the filter!)
[inlinkz_linkup id=641419 mode=1]
Mary says
So many gardens! Your yard looks like heaven with all that green. Do you not have wild animals stealing everything away? It looks to tempting for deer to ravage everything.
An herb garden close to the kitchen is a great idea!
Leila says
Mary, we have the animals I mentioned (and also a woodchuck who lives out back and doesn’t usually venture to the garden). The deer haven’t been a factor, perhaps because our property has a lot of deer fencing around it — not completely around, but apparently enough to keep them on other tracks. And I think that they go for the orchard above us, mostly. Anyway, knock on wood.
Ruth Martin says
At some point, I’d like to add some raised beds to my backyard, but worry that my dogs won’t leave any of the plants alone. It is fun to see all stuff you are doing in yours, though!
Mrs. B. says
I had to buy a new range last winter, and I picked one that had the bottom coil covered, so that disaster recovery would not be an inhuman task. If anyone wants a laugh, what made me decide on that feature was the chocolate cake recipe on the Trader Joe’s cocoa box: it’s a wonderful recipe (though not quite as good as Leila’s chocolate cake!), but it says to use two cake pans… well, you should definitely use THREE!!! And ask me how I know… cake batter all over the oven coils… ugh!
Leila, your garden is positively enormous, it must be a lot of work!! So many beautiful things in it! You should try frying your squash flowers, it’s a great delicacy in Italy! It used to be my mother’s go-to appetizer for summer feast days.
This year I really wanted to plant something – even our pest control guy, who has the soul of a poet and confessed to talking to his flowers, told me me I HAD TO do it for my kids’ sake, because it’s a great experience to work and see something grow out of that work… But then we had so much rain, so much rain… we still have bags of mulch in the driveway because every time we were ready to put it down, it would rain. At least the hydrangeas are awesome this year! Ok, I should at least have some herbs in a pot: that, I can do. Hope they don’t become breakfast for slugs and bunnies, though… This is what I find most discouraging about gardening, the idea that one could be working to feed the animals!
Lisa G. says
It’s not too late, Mrs. B. – stick a few green bean seeds in the ground. Or marigold seeds. I just today got my little San Marzano tomatoes planted. As you said, the weather just prevented me. It was wet, it was cold, or I didn’t have the day off. And I started them late so they won’t even be ready till mid-August. Que sera, sera!
Sukie says
Yup–we actually did plant earlier in the spring, but everything was drowned or washed away! We just planted again last week. We were despairing at our folly until our professional horticulturist neighbor said he’d done the exact same thing.
Mrs. B. says
Maybe gardening is to me what lace knitting is to you, Lisa? 😉 Too scared to begin, unaware of how easy it can actually be!
Well, now I am quite sick with a nasty cold my toddler generously shared with me, so here’s another weekend when I won’t be able to do anything…
Leila says
Mrs. B — if there are plants in the nursery, grab some and stick them in! Yes, as Lisa says, a couple of san marzanos and a basil plant…
And then next year…
Rosie says
I carefully labeled and charted all my seedlings when I started them, and wrote directly on the peat pots what different tomato varieties were when I transplanted… And then the pen disappeared from the wet pots so I don’t know what anything is now, either! When they ripen, we’ll figure it out 😉
Denise says
Wow! I am in awe. I love the look of raised beds. And I commiserate about the spilled beans. It’s apple pie filling for me….always overflows.
Mrs. B. says
I know! So sticky! Now I always put a piece of foil under the pie pan, or put the pan on a cookie sheet. It doesn’t seem to change anything in the pie, but it does protect the oven.
Leila says
I always put my pies on pizza pans. For this reason.
No, the culprit was me — I legitimately knocked the container over.
Jennifer says
I wish you gave gardening lessons. Mine is so lagging behind! Beautiful veggies!
elizabeth k says
Aren’t we all God’s garden – and sometimes we look unkempt and needs desperate weeding – sometimes just a watering…I love the mish-mash of your garden. That’s why I love gardening. Mine never grows like those in Martha’s S.’s magazines – but it’s mine. It’s always a surprise or a learning experience – but never, ever perfect. I giggled at your oven mishap – that is so me! It reminded me too of a friend whose husband once vacuumed crumbs off the counters…like you are doing in the oven, and she said – “not wrong – just different.” I thought that was the best way of looking at it and being thankful for helpful husbands.
Lisa G. says
OH, but it’s my dream to have gardens like Martha’s – she is an excellent gardener. I have her book from the 90s – the photos are very inspiring for me! I will NEVER have her gardens, but dreaming is good, surely. 😀
Leila says
I dream for Martha’s gardening team 😉
Lisa G. says
Okay, okay – I realize she has help, but she does know how to do it – she is a real gardener! 😀
Chris says
Wonderful post….. lovely gardens! Gorgeous shots!!
Thanks for hosting 🙂
Mary @ Better Than Eden says
I have definitely used the vacuum in the oven! Especially in the bottom warming drawer thing that does nothing but collect crumbs and in which I just this morning discovered mouse evidence. EW!!!!
Edelweiss says
Lovely gardens. Really enjoyed seeing them. And I’m thrilled to know I’m not alone in vacuuming the charred remains from the oven floor.
Jennifer says
Vacuuming the charred remains from the oven isn’t so weird. I confessed to a friend that I do that and she gave me a high five. She thought it was only her little secret. I say when you find something that works, go for it!
Katie says
I don’t have a photo, but the {funny} in our garden right now is the mess of rubber toy snakes my husband scattered all around in a desperate attempt to keep the pesky critters at bay. So far they seem fake enough not to interest the hawks, but real enough to fool the birds and squirrels. We may actually get our tomatoes to ripen in peace (and in one piece!) this year!
Mary says
Do you like your double oven? I was looking at some like yours and wondering about space. We have 5 kids and the oldest is 8, so we’re at the beginning end of cooking for many people. Your garden is awesome! Thanks for the tour!
Leila says
Mary, I like the double oven but I do NOT recommend this range, the LG.
It has two deal-breaking features (only, the deal is made).
1. IT PLAYS A TUNE WHEN IT IS PREHEATED AND THE TUNE IS OUT OF TUNE. I can’t express how angry this makes me. What the heck. I know when an oven is preheated — and this one especially reads out the temperature. If you MUST indicate reaching the temp by a noise OTHER THAN the cycling off, how about a little beep. UGH. What if we are already singing or listening to music???? What if we are saying the Rosary???? There is no way to shut this “feature” off.
2. It’s an electric stovetop and the controls are the stupidest EVER. If you are getting gas, this won’t be a factor. But the controls toggle. SO EVEN THOUGH YOU ALWAYS WANT MEDIUM, you have to start either at “LO” or “HI” and toggle toggle toggle toggle toggle to where you want to be. UGH UGH UGH. Since we’ve now had decades and decades of design refinement and EVERYONE KNOWS that KNOBS are the way to go, why why why the toggles.
But I like the two ovens 🙂