Quote of the Day: James Thurber
“There are two kinds of light — the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.”
-James Thurber
When you take photos you become keenly aware of light and the intensity of it during certain parts of the day. Photos will look completely different when taken when the sun is high in the sky than they will be during that golden hour before sunset. Generally I try to take photos when the light is the illuminating kind. The same goes for us, we can choose to emit a light that illuminates and enhances everything around us, or we can cast a harsh light that obscures beauty, color and detail.
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It’s Not a Tractor, But It Will Do
After an unexpected rainstorm a friend ended up with a few hundred bales of mulch hay. I purchase 80 bales to help him out and because I wanted it to mulch around the apple trees and a few new garden areas I’m working on.
The bales were heavy since they were wet and pushing them up the hill in the wheelbarrow was proving to be too much work. So I hooked up the trailer and hauled hay behind my little car. It worked very well, though I had to dig deep to remember my trailer driving skills from college. With a little practice I was back in business and able to get the trailer right where I wanted it. I could have used the tractor, but it will only haul a few bales at once, I was able to fit 8 in my little trailer.
I use all the grass clippings from the lawn as mulch, but there aren’t enough of them for the areas I want to mulch so I’m always on the lookout for options. My friend’s misfortune provided me with something I needed.
What’s your favorite kind of mulch?
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A Garden Update
I feel like this summer has flown by in a blur. One day I was planting seeds and the next I’m harvesting tomatoes. This time of year feels perfectly exuberant in the garden, everything is tall, green and producing fruit. I like to soak in the fullness of this season so I can remember it deep in winter when there is no green to be seen.
This is the main garden up behind the garage, the workhorse. It’s not laid out in a nice pattern, things are planted wherever there happens to be room. It’s a bit weedy and overgrown around the edges because I’m letting it grow tall for the pigs. We have been moving them around this garden to root up the grass and weeds for our future expansion.
This garden houses loads of vegetables grown en masse. There are purple cabbage, giant cauliflower plants, rows and rows of beans for drying, neatly staked tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, herbs, asparagus and so much more.
There are also fall crops that have just gone in where the garlic was harvested. A long row of shelling peas to stock the freezer along with hundreds of leeks.
Late July and August are always great times in the northern garden. For you southerners I’m sure it’s a crispy dry time. Here in the north the gardens are in their prime.
What state is your garden in, full glory, past prime, gone?
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Heronswood Tour
I’m happy to announce that I was able to schedule a tour of Heronswood on September 9th at 10 am. This garden has been on my bucket list for a LONG time. Last time I was in Seattle it was up for sale and not open to the public, which was a BIG disappointment. When I checked about visiting this fall I found out that the minimum number of people for the tour is 10 (with a $10/person charge). I went ahead and scheduled the tour, if I don’t end up finding a group of 10 I’ll be paying the tour fee by myself, which is completely worth it. It would be nice to tour with the garden with friends, so if you live in the Seattle area and would like to join us let me know.
I’ve seen lots of photos of this garden and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to see it in person.
Do you have any gardens on your must visit bucket list?
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Peppermint Stick Chard
This spring a packet of ‘Peppermint Stick’ Chard arrived with my seeds from Renee’s Garden. I didn’t think much about it, I just seeded them a flat along with everything else this spring. They were transplanted in the garden at the appropriate time and I completely forgot about them. Chard is one of those vegetables that gets forgotten with all the succulent lettuces and spinaches on the market. Yet it’s a perfect vegetable, able to withstand very severe cold and still produce bountiful leaves when the days heat up as well.
Not only is this variety a hardy vegetable to grow, it’s a showstopper as well. Look at those variegated pink and white stalks. They practically glow when you catch them out of the corner of your eye. Chard isn’t one of those vegetable that I grow a ton of, but there are always a few stands growing in a corner of the garden. This variety is quite lovely and is one I will keep growing year after year, even if it never graces my plate.
What is a vegetable you’d grow for beauty even if it didn’t produce fruit you liked?
