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| Red Clover |
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| Rose- almost done |
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| Yucca |
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| Unknown white weed |
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Walking the Dog
More pictures from walking with Max:
Smelling the Roses
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| Roses in front of House |
Several of my friends have told me to stop working in the yard and just spend some time to smell the roses. So yesterday that's what I tried to do. So I just walked around the property to see what was in bloom. I did spend a lot of time watching Wimbledon too (it was quarter finals and lots of great tennis on TV)! So here's some of what I saw, only a few of which I know what they are; the others are mostly weeds, but pretty, so I leave them:
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| Queen of the Prairie |
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| Allium Giganteum |
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| Butterfly Weed, I think |
Of course I had to do some deadheading of peonies as I walked around. They are everywhere!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Cleaning up the gardens!
There are many areas planted at this house and this one has been a mess for a long time! I tried to get someone to clean it out for me last year, but they never came to do the work. It used to have lots of blooming bulbs but this year there weren't too many. There were lots and lots of weeds and grass growing in here.. So today, I spent the whole day cleaning this up. These are "before" ( a few weeks ago - looked worse today and the tulip is long gone) and "after" pictures. Now I just have to figure out what to put into this space.. I dug up hundreds of bulbs but not sure if any of them are still any good. Might plant peppers I have a bunch that I started but have not planted yet) until fall when I'll think of something else.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Beagle Ridge Herb Farm
The farm is 5 miles down a very country road, lots of pot holes and no paving, so I was glad Nelson let me have the Jeep. On the way is a "pick your own blueberries" farm so I had to stop there and picked a gallon of blueberries to take home. I forgot my camera so I have no pictures.
The herb farm is named Beagle Ridge because the husband used to raise Beagles. Lots more to that story, but let's just leave it at this couple owns a lot of land out that way, The wife, Ellen, is an environmental teacher and loves lavender and herbs and has beautiful gardens, a butterfly house, and a a habitat for flying insects, including butterflies and bees. She has 14 different kinds of lavenders, many of which are now in bloom and a wonderful Thyme garden among other things, so you can imagine how wonderful this garden smells! The tour was wonderful and overwhelming. I took lots of notes, but probably still missed half of what she said.
Lunch was wonderful. We started out with cream cheese (light) and Herbs de Provence (Ellen makes and sells these fromher garden) on crackers. Then there was a roasted pork tenderloin with rosemary sauce, barbecued chicken, corn and tomato salad, pasta salad (both with various herbs). Dessert was a wonderful lavender, pound cake (very light) with a lavendar sour cream topping (to die for) with lavender iced tea. I think I could have eaten multiple peices (I didn't).
Then we learned how to prune lavender - not for faint of heart! She believes in being ruthless! Says the kids, including at Rural Retreat Elementary where she put in an environmental garden with the kids, love doing the cutting and the teachers gasp at what they do, but the garden thrives on it!
So I came home all energized to work on my herb garden and with a few potted herbs, and several cuttings that I will try to start more plants with. Hoping this works better than last year as most of my cuttings last year didn't take.
Still getting our yard in some kinds of shape; trimmed grapes, pulled more weeds and grass (why does this grow where it shouldn't?), and dead-headed iris and peonies; still more to go, Lilies are now in bloom. Still lots to do!
The herb farm is named Beagle Ridge because the husband used to raise Beagles. Lots more to that story, but let's just leave it at this couple owns a lot of land out that way, The wife, Ellen, is an environmental teacher and loves lavender and herbs and has beautiful gardens, a butterfly house, and a a habitat for flying insects, including butterflies and bees. She has 14 different kinds of lavenders, many of which are now in bloom and a wonderful Thyme garden among other things, so you can imagine how wonderful this garden smells! The tour was wonderful and overwhelming. I took lots of notes, but probably still missed half of what she said.
Lunch was wonderful. We started out with cream cheese (light) and Herbs de Provence (Ellen makes and sells these fromher garden) on crackers. Then there was a roasted pork tenderloin with rosemary sauce, barbecued chicken, corn and tomato salad, pasta salad (both with various herbs). Dessert was a wonderful lavender, pound cake (very light) with a lavendar sour cream topping (to die for) with lavender iced tea. I think I could have eaten multiple peices (I didn't).
Then we learned how to prune lavender - not for faint of heart! She believes in being ruthless! Says the kids, including at Rural Retreat Elementary where she put in an environmental garden with the kids, love doing the cutting and the teachers gasp at what they do, but the garden thrives on it!
So I came home all energized to work on my herb garden and with a few potted herbs, and several cuttings that I will try to start more plants with. Hoping this works better than last year as most of my cuttings last year didn't take.
Still getting our yard in some kinds of shape; trimmed grapes, pulled more weeds and grass (why does this grow where it shouldn't?), and dead-headed iris and peonies; still more to go, Lilies are now in bloom. Still lots to do!Thursday, June 23, 2011
Chautauqua in Wytheville
In Wytheville, the festival starts with a "hot air balloon glow" - which I seem to miss every year but I'm sure is spectacular. As usual I was still in FL. Each night there is entertainment, but don't expect to get to any of that this year. The festival goes for a week and Thursday I went to Wytheville to see the indoor art exhibit and for a class in Herbs. I found out what I'm doing wrong, or at least, how to grow my herbs better. One thing I learned is that there is a perennial basil called columnar basil. I'm going to the Beagle Ridge Herb Farm on Saturday to learn about lavendars, have an interesting lunch (think cooking with fresh herbs) and hope they have some columnar basil (like pictured on left) for sale. Tonight, I used dill and chives in our dinner- it was good!
Garden and Flowers Abound
Well after the rain we had, everything perked up. Replanted cucumber seeds yesterday - hope these take. Tried to find an already started plant but no luck. Did find some red peppers, so planted those. Yesterday we had a tomato, an onion, and a banana pepper from our garden. Yummy start to the summer.
I have several hydrangeas in bloom, but these by the back door are my favorite, they bloom pink and blue. Last year I think I cut them back at the wrong time and they never did bloom - one of the many problems of only being here seasonally. By the way the bush with the white flowers in a previous post is spirea, I believe. Also the rhododendron in the front of the house is starting to bloom. It always surprises me; the center starts out pink and then the flower becomes all white.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Weeding
Tried to play golf this morning, but it started to rain.. Oh no - unwanted things grow when it rains. Weeding is a thankless job. You think they are gone, and then it rains and there they are again! Never-the-less I spent yesterday weeding. It rained last night and this morning. We have lots and lots of zuchinni - some of which "Farmer" Jones thought were cucumbers (of which we now have none), We do have peppers (hot and sweet, multiple colors), tomatoes (first one already harvested), and corn, limas, beans, onions, watermelon, and cantelope plants growing. Radishes are all harvested and still lots in refrig. This morning I planted a few more cucumber seeds - might be too late, but hopefully not. For some reason pictures won't upload today, but maybe tommorrow I can show you the garden.
We also have lots of herbs. They look good even though I cannot possible use them all - basil, rosemary, dill, sage, parsley, oregano, chives, and fennel (I love the licorice smell though don't really use this much). I tried to get some thyme, tarragon, and lavendar to grow but so far no success. I did add parsley and chives to potatoes last night and my omelette this morning..
Later we are going to Abingdon to see Elvis has left the Building at the Barter theater. Good rainy day event!
We also have lots of herbs. They look good even though I cannot possible use them all - basil, rosemary, dill, sage, parsley, oregano, chives, and fennel (I love the licorice smell though don't really use this much). I tried to get some thyme, tarragon, and lavendar to grow but so far no success. I did add parsley and chives to potatoes last night and my omelette this morning..
Later we are going to Abingdon to see Elvis has left the Building at the Barter theater. Good rainy day event!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Birdies
When I was here in early June, I discovered a bird had made its home on the front porch on a very little ledge; thus the nest is not very large. The bird was not too happy about sharing the space with us, but we came to a compromise and eventually we managed together okay. Baby birds arrived shortly after I left. Momma comes and feeds them often and, at least for a while, came and sat on the babies often. She still comes to feed but they seemed to have doubled in size overnight and can barely fit in the nest. Like human babies they seem to sleep most of the time when Momma is not feeding them. In the picture on the right you can barely see see them; they almost look like the nest. To the left, is a closer-up picture.
When I was here in early June, I discovered a bird had made its home on the front porch on a very little ledge; thus the nest is not very large. The bird was not too happy about sharing the space with us, but we came to a compromise and eventually we managed together okay. Baby birds arrived shortly after I left. Momma comes and feeds them often and, at least for a while, came and sat on the babies often. She still comes to feed but they seemed to have doubled in size overnight and can barely fit in the nest. Like human babies they seem to sleep most of the time when Momma is not feeding them. In the picture on the right you can barely see see them; they almost look like the nest. To the left, is a closer-up picture. Yesterday was unpacking and cleaning day (though less of this got done than necessary). Today I hope to get out in the garden.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Finally In Virginia
Thought I might never make it to Virginia. Had to stop many times in order to get here - took 13 hours with all the stops. But now here and have had a good night's sleep! Was met with beautiful day lilies - they are gorgeous this year- a very happy Max and Nelson too. Spent this morning unpacking and cleaning up stuff.. Still have lots to do insde and out. This afternoon or tommorrow will begin to tackle the garden.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
First Blog
I have so much fun reading blogs from some friends that I thought I'd give this a try. All the spring flowers in Virginia are already gone, but I did get to see a few of them on various trips. There were lots of Peonies, the one in the picture was just starting to bloom. Also some tulips, daffodils, poppies, and lots of irises. I still don't know the names of all the flowering plants at my house but it's fun to try and figure out what they are. Like this white one, not sure what is is but it sure is pretty. Hope you'll enjoy my pictures and comments as the summer goes foward.
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