petals and vines

Petals and Vines has a new home!

2010-07-28T19:23:00.010-05:00

WE'VE MOVED!!!!!

Same garden, a few months later, but I've launched a Mid-South garden photography/art online magazine in the meantime called Photosynthesis Magazine! Keep up with what's going on in our garden at our new address: (click the link, it will take you there)

www.photosynthesismagazine.com

Bookmark it and pass it on! Thanks for stopping by....

October in the Garden

2009-10-24T20:24:00.041-05:00

Fall has arrived, and we have had so MUCH RAIN...so not only has "Fall Planting" been stalled, but so has good picture weather. These shots are from early Oct. Everything you see now has been since pulled out....

Here we have the nice browns and blacks of Echinacea seed heads next to the bluish linear foliage of a Yucca

The "drying on the stalk" seed heads of Quail Grass or Celosia...this year they had poor nutrition in this spot so the flowers were not very pink, lots of the white, and they were curly.

This greatly benefited the leaf color though! Love the magenta with this purple "wild" Ageratum

See that Sulphur butterfly in there?

Nice combo, Tartarian Aster with Quail Grass foliage

The Monarchs found the Tithonia I planted for them..success!
Tithonia beaten down by rain

Perrenial Sunchokes blooming, very tall!

Harvested Sunchokes, yum! We had a light Sunchoke soup, these are earthier and slightly less sweet than a Parsnip, much preferred, and look, from our own garden!!!!!

wild Ageratum in a light purple/ whiter color

Glowing purple Ageratum

Tools of the trade

wild Asters...ahhhhhhhhhh.

Flowering Tulsi Basil (Holy Basil) and Lemongrass

More pretty Tusli

Our very happy Motherwort.

Thistle looking plant is Artichoke

The Herb Garden section (will be changing)

Sweet Potatoes, and Green Onions in the Side Kitchen Garden

Plants we need to get in the ground before Winter...

Blooming Chocolate Eupatorium at the edge of the Woodland Garden

Saturnalia Itea getting it's Fall color over some Creeping Charlie the dreaded weed, I can't help loving the round geometry of it though...

Hydrangea Involucrata 'blue bunny'

Coleus 'sedona' flowering

Faerieville in the Forest Faeries Children's Garden (the big iron, and glass table is waiting to be removed)
Chloe cleaning her domain

Our favorite window box combo yet for this shady spot...it has: Columbine, Strawberry Begonia, and a Sedum from our friend Paul Little...emarginatum, I think.
Violet loves these cozy leaves she just raked into a pile

AWWWW, yard work makes a girl tired!

Burning the woodpile, at last it's cool enough.
Chris got hot feeding the fire, and sadly I forgot to photograph the woodpile pre-burning, but Chris demonstrates just how tall it was and about 12' wide...oh we are so glad to have it as ash now!

Memphis Maple Massacre cont'd, and Fall Prelude

2009-09-25T02:57:00.035-05:00

(ok folks, for some reason today i cannot type above the first photo? so, all captions will be under the photo it is referring to! strange...)

Bye Bye Silver Maple

Tools of the trade

A bunch of wood with heart rot, some actually hollow logs (will be used for planted troughs, stay tuned...) and some logs to be used for fire wood, plus big stump becomes table in children's woodland area (pics soon)

My favorite Lumberjacks...so handsome!

Hats off to a job well done!!!!! Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of Chris up in the trees hand sawing the whole darn things down..(i know. he's hardcore) or my dad with his fancy knots roping the trees where they were supposed to fall (10+ yrs tree felling exp. ~ who knew?) They made an awesome team, and I am so proud of them. Now the front Meadow Garden is totally under reconstruction. IT is now FULL SUN, and has more room to expand!

Pretty wild Ageratum

Pretty Wild Elephantopus

Toad Lily, Tricyrtis 'Tojen'
with Hosta...

A different Tricyrtis (Miyazaki)

Toad Lily pics by Chris

The last of the yum! Chinese Cabbage

A pretty tangle of "weeds"

Flowering Native Nettle (less sting~ and less food/medicine value, but oh so lovely)

Fig loves limestone

Petit Nigra ~ Dwarf Black Italian Fig is the best tasting fig ever, IMHO

Sweet Potato digging time in the South!

In need of renovation: The Big Food Garden

Lots of potential, the after Harvest mess...

Our new little Water Lettuce...thanks, Diane Meucci!

We've had 3 weeks of rain.every.day.....i keep wondering did I fall asleep and I'm dreaming I'm in the Northwest??? cause this is unreal! But the Hydrangeas love it, look how perky and vibrant it is!

The Curly Willow is growing like mad in all this water (we're bracing it to straighten it)

And look...so much water the thing is sending out roots in the air!!! Fascinating!

Wrapping up summer

2009-09-04T13:45:00.028-05:00

I didn't take pics of the veggie garden b/c it is weedy and full blown, rank, and otherwise in great need of re-vamping. Waiting on cooler weather and the rain spell to pass...thats my excuse anyway!!! :)

The end of the summer blooms...so we learned that the soil is not very fertile here due to the low performance of the quail grass.

Red Jacob Kline Monarda up next to burgandy foliage of the quail grass, unintended surprise!

The final flush of the Gomphrena

Yucca blooming!

Pickles!!! What a lovely job Chris did of putting up the cukes...thanks Chris!

Sunflowers out the window where I sit and watch 3 pairs of goldfinches dine!

On the walk to school each morning we pass by this "neglected" yard, and we are breathless...

See the Buckeye butterfly we caught sunning in the grass...

Chris picked a Tulsi bouquet...I've decided Basil would make the best bridal bouquets!

The Mulleins which are slowly dying one by one...too much water? hmmm....

The ditch weeds on our street...ahhhh...

And this is what the power company did to the Silver Maples in our front yard...they do this every 4/5 years so these trees were mostly rotted and hollow and needed to be cut down, but still. This just looks like the Memphis Maple Chainsaw Massacre!

Stay tuned for Maple Massacre follow up!..........

Gardens Oy Vey Nursery / Diane Meucci

2009-08-18T10:47:00.060-05:00

Ok. Let me begin by saying that I am so very biased. Being a painter myself, I see everything differently at Gardens Oy Vey.

Diane Meucci uses her hands and her trowel like a paintbrush. She sees in line, and texture, and mixes color with nature's palette. She is constantly perfecting her composition editing and refining in order to express what is meaningful to her. Diane is an Artist.

So when I visit her at her nursery I am stepping inside her painting, her artwork, and it is magical. To put it into words briefly: it is lush, vibrant, pulsing, moist, glowing, spacious, complex, peaceful, inspiring, earthy...whew, I could go on.

While there, I have a feeling of total abundance. To see what this Magic Woman and her Partner Wolfegang have coaxed from the earth says it all, and their story is beautiful, and humbling. Sweat, Love, Foregiveness, and Vision their recipe for such abundance.

(I told you I could go on...)

So let's begin the photo tour with an apology, my camera was running out of battery so this is a small taste of what you can see there, and also in the effort to post this sooner than later....I did not edit the color in these and they are a bit washed out in comparison to reality.

This is a view looking down into Diane, and Wolfegang's backyard beside the house they built with their own two hands.

Yes, this is a MOSS LAWN...oh my! They raked away the leaf litter and watered, and this grew.

The backyard relax spot....barefoot heaven.

Violet and Chloe garden fairies resting on the bench amongst the Hosta's
A birdbath filled with moss and a fern...
Just some of the shade loving goods.
More of the goods...

Two Bears Foot Hellebore in front of the Hydrangea.
Another view of this great combo..

Some sunny perennials...

The "arbor room"...my personal favorite!

A touch of red with gold...

Wooden fence like structure.

Shades of Green...
Lines of green...

Just one of her little water pools swimming with life...

So much texture...

Native Hibiscus

Shapes...and light...
Ferns, oh the ferns....
Seed heads too.

A Planting by the pond.
Arcing Lines.
Magical pond view.

Red stands alone.
Black Eyed Susans go well with this hydrangea and Violet stops to smell a Lily.

Diane call this " The Drag Queen of The Forest": Heart's a Burstin' or Strawberry bush

Perennial lane...

Figs overhead...
Oh my, the Geometry!

Mountian Mint...smells like mint too.

PawPaw fruits

The big PawPaw is a happy native tall and strong, the little PawPaw is a hybrid short but a good bearer of fruit.

Blooming waters...

Light in the forest...

Her back woods with a meandering moss path...

The Mushrooms we found...enjoy!

More Yard Long Bean pics...

2009-08-18T10:45:00.003-05:00

Some Asparagus Beans, more and more and more...One of these plants could feed a village!

Blogging hiatus

2009-08-12T16:31:00.003-05:00

Hey everybody, maybe I'm dreaming that people actually read this thing with any regularity, but if you do you probably noticed that nothing new has been posted in awhile!

Well, about 2 weeks ago the monitor on my used little laptop went black. (and has not returned from the dead) Luckily we were able to rescue everything inside the brain of computer, but I cannot use it. We still have one laptop in this household (the only computer), but it is in high demand. Chris is on vacation and doing research for some of his own projects.

If you follow this blog with bloglovin...over to the right------->>>>

then you can get an email notification every time I post. I promise, even in times of fruitful blogging it would only be once a week. If you sign up now then you can be notified when I return from the blogging hiatus...

Enjoy the breezy dog days of summer, and happy seed gathering!!!

Steph (truthfully, i miss blogging)

Asparagus Beans

2009-07-31T18:35:00.026-05:00

Hey all! Well we've had some straaaange weather. LOTS of thunderstorms, not to much wind but buckets of rain, and COOL weather in the 80's sometimes 75 degrees at night! This is totally off the record for Memphis, TN in July~ but I am not complaining. In fact, I LOVE IT!!!!

I have been diligently collecting seeds from the Meadow Garden, between storms, and have quite a stash. (pics of them coming soon) I don' t have much to show this time around b/c things have been really busy around here for me, as Chris gets ready for the opening of "My Big Backyard" at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. The ribbon cutting is tomorrow Aug. 1st. It is a 2 acre educational /play garden with hard scapes, local art, and massive beautiful plantings designed by the other half of Petals and Vines: Chris Cosby!!!! Now Garden Curator for "My Big Backyard"!!! I can't help but brag he did such a great job, and he has worked his behind off clocking 121 hours in these last 2 weeks for this thing to come together. So that means, you guessed it, I've been full time single mama the past coupla' weeks! (so tiny blog posting this time) Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for pics of "My Big Backyard" next time!

These are two varieties of Asparagus Beans, a green pod one and a red pod...very tasty and what a pretty plant... dreamy!

Creamy ivory bean blossoms.

Deep wine colored beans.

Tricyrtis 'Tojen' blossom
Center of blossom

Little Roguchi Clematis that I love...just keeps blooming!

Flower buds...so dainty.

Baby pickling Arkansas Little Leaf Cucumbers...tons of them!

First Cucumber harvest (we planted LATE), and some Asparagus (yard long) Beans. The Cucumbers are super crunchy, and not at all bitter...yay!

Not sure of the name but the girls spotted this moth hiding on some bark...

Some orange colors in the garden... (supposedly) Red Cosmos, and Carex testacea

I can't get over these Aphids on the Sunchokes...they are covering it!!!!

A little combo in the Meadow Garden, Russian Sage in the background, Mullein to the left, and Verbena bonariensis.

Massive Sweet Basil hedge. What do we do with all this? My kids are not pesto fans. This stuff is so spicy right now it literally numbs your tongue to chew up one tiny leaf! I think I'm gonna dry it. Anyone have advice on drying massive quantities of Basil in a humid climate???

Basket of dried Gomphrena blossoms

Outdoor shower, Big Food Garden, Porch Gardens, Tadpoles...

2009-07-16T22:33:00.056-05:00

Presenting: The New Outdoor Shower!!! Made from curtains, scavenged metal gazebo parts, and a plastic pallet that was here on the property. We are currently thinking it is the bees knees, especially after mowing the lawn...

Chioggia and Cylindrica Beets, Danver Carrots

cooked up a nice peachy color

Sweet Basil patch and Cukes

Tomatoes: Spears Tennessee Green, and a Hungarian Variety from a Hung. friend...

Ladybug larva in different stages on the leaves of the Sunchokes. They are there to feast on the Aphids. See the big one in the middle it's actually eating one.

See the Walnut tree stump in the background of the Tomato plants? It's there to say hmmm to the opinion that you cannot grow nightshades under or with Walnut Trees. They say the Walnut's put Juglone (a poison to nightshades) in the soil, and that it takes years to remediate it. Tis' a mystery why we are not having problem with these 'maters, yet. Keep you posted!

Mullien, Yarrow

Muskmelons "Pike" is the variety

Yes folks it's true...we are still growing and eating lettuce in our garden...and it's July in zone 7B, and no it' s not bitter, I repeat: no, IT'S NOT BITTER! It's super tasty. This coveted variety is "Anuenue"

Pretty Rainbow Chard

Tulsi or Holy Basil patch (underneath the big red plant) aka. "The Elixir of Life"

Our new favorite Iced Tea is Tulsi Basil with fresh Strawberries...Awesome!

Summary

Holy Basil, or Tulsi, is an important symbol in the Hindu religion and it is a significant herb in ayurvedic medicine. Holy Basil has been used for thousands of years as a prime herb in ayurvedic treatment, and is mentioned in the Charak Samhita (the central teaching of ayurvedic medicine) which was written at least two thousand years ago. In India, Hindus grow Tulsi as a religious plant in their homes and temples, and the leaves are an important part of their meditation and worship. Holy Basil is used in ayurvedic medicine for common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning, and malaria. Holy Basil is considered an adaptogen, which means that it assists the body adapt to stress (environmental, physical, or chemical), restore balance in the body, and normalize body functions. It is currently being studied for its beneficial properties and has been found to be effective for cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, stress, wound healing, the immune system, inflammations, liver support and protection, hypoglycemic conditions, ulcers, digestion, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, radiation poisoning, cataracts, the memory, respiratory system, urinary problems, eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions, and it is an antioxidant.

Precautions

Not recommended for use if pregnant, nursing, or are considering becoming pregnant (may have an anti-fertility effect). Do not administer to infants or toddlers. May lower blood sugar, consult a doctor if hypoglycemic (in separate studies, it has also been shown to be beneficial for those with hypoglycemia). Holy Basil has mild blood thinning properties.

(For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.)

Again, this info is from my favorite herb website: Mountain Rose Herbs

Big Leaf Patch: Sunchokes, Comfrey, Elacampane

(back to front)

Elacampane : Introduction

Elecampane is a member of the same plant family as the sunflowers and ragweed, native to southern and eastern Europe but naturalized around the world. The 6- to 8-foot (200-250 cm) tall plant has large, pointed leaves with downy gray undersides, and yellow summer flowers. Root is commonly used for coughs...please go here for more info from Mountain Rose Herbs about this herb and it's uses: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/elecampane.php

Sunchokes: go here for a little fun history and explanation for what this

is: http://www.localharvest.org/sunchokes.jsp

Beloved Comfrey (flowering), or "knit bone"..healed a broken stubbed toe in two days! I soaked my foot in Comfrey & Rosemary bath 4 times in two days, and that was all it took.

Comfrey's flowers

Rosemary

Hopi Red Dye Amaranth flower

Hopi Red Dye Amaranth plant: young leaves are good steamed greens...

This is the only leaf that looks like this on the plant the rest are solid red.

Tithonia blooms have arrived in the Meadow Garden

Sidewalk vignette: Sedum, Dwarf Gold Acorus, Carix

Porch Garden Pics

Huchera (reddish plant in back), Korean Giant Fairybells, Dwarf Golden Acorus

Hosta, Sedum

Farfugium Tricyrtis, Hosta, Pulminaria, Loriope, Epimedium

Autumn Fern, Lambs Ear

Random Lorapedalum with Cypress Vine growing up in it...nice combo!

Sedona Coleus, Impatience (can you believe it...it's for the kids), Columbine, Acorus, Sedum

So here are the tadpoles we're soooo excited about! See how many!!! and this is how they cover the entire circumference of the pond! WOW! We wonder if they all will become toads...

Parrot Feather water plant

The green covering the pond surface is Azolla a floating fern, it multiplied fast!

Arum seed heads

Americauna chicks

this is: Lily Topaz

Lily Topaz, Sunny Moonstone (she was yellow, now is moon colored)

These are fast becoming my favorites in the flock, very sweet personalities.

Red Corn, Composites, Milk and WIne Lily and Summer Fun

2009-07-06T21:54:00.044-05:00

corn husks and dried up silk from Double Red Corn

underdeveloped ear of Double Red Corn...we've had a lot of difficulty with pollination of this corn..not very many full ears, but SO SWEET!

Double Red Corn harvest and Baby Chiogga Beets

Two different main variations of this Double Red Corn and then of course variations within those...

Corn silk tea.. an old remedy for urinary tract infections. We have not had a chance to try it.

Lemon Bee Balm (monarda citriodora)

close up of Lemon Bee Balm (notice how very much it looks like that Motherwort I posted a pic of on mother's Day?)

Girls playing in the sprinkler in the Meadow Garden

Meadow Garden... Yucca, Liatrus, Echinacea, Lily, Cosmos, Aster...

So this is a very LARGE specimen of Milk and Wine Lily or Crinum. I do like it for what it is, and this is an old mature beautiful plant, but it doesn't belong in the Meadow Garden. (I think) It will be very challenging to dig it' s huge crown and replant...but it's foliage is so "tropical" looking, not at all grass like-desert like-meadow like in my opinion. I think it looks so out of place near the Yucca and other Composite flowers. I would prefer a big Grass, Salvias and such in its place. So here are some pics...it's kind of growing on me, so what do you all think? Leave it...or dig it?

the dried Lily blooms...

lots of blooms all at once...

graceful swooping lines...

the "tropical" exotic looking foliage...

a kind of cacophony of foliage...

my dear Cosmidiums, by far my MOST FAVORITE FLOWER this year...low germination rate though...

Daisies, and Coreopsis

Lots of Coreopsis...prolific.

A few Bachelor Buttons

Here is Chloe in the Meadow Garden...I discovered that if you take a garden pic in color then...

tweak it to be black and white...you can get a clear picture of what textures you have going on in your garden. What a wonderful discovery! I will be doing some more of this. I see it as a way to make sure I'm not relying so much on color in the garden design but also including texture and line equally...

Golden Marguerite, or Dyers Chamomile drying on the stalk. Ready to be picked either on long stalks for the vase, or the little hard balls can be strung on a thread with a needle and made into pretty dried flower garlands... (pic of those coming soon)

Meadow Garden view...

Quail Grass, Double Japanese Asters, Bright Lights Cosmos

Gomphrena bed in the Meadow Garden (back to front: Gomphrena, Mexican Feather Grass, Moonshine Yarrow, Lemon Bee Balm)

Gomphrena "Carnival Mix" (annual), we got mostly fucshia colored ones...

So these little gems are firm and crunchy like a strawflower. They will stay dry just as they appear on the stem in a vase "forever". They will hold their intense color (provided they are not in the sunlight) They also are good candidates for flower garlands, and I have used them as such. We make flower garlands for our "winter tree" and then string them around the house the rest of the year.

Gomphrena's... we got a fuschia, lighter lavender color, and a white. (the pack showed a coral color, yellow, and reddish...oh well)

Violet picking Gomphrena..

These next two pictures are ODES TO VOLUNTEER PLANTS!!!

This Hopi Red Dye Amaranth seedling volunteered in the Gomphrena bed...I would have never thought to put this here, but it's not too shabby next to the Lemon Bee Balm, Purple Verbena, and Purply Gomphrena's...

This Sunflower volunteered right smack in the middle of the Daisy clump "?" I left it for the bees, but it looks seriously goofy...

Moonshine Yarrow and painted toes...

wildflower bouquets for Chris's birthday...he's our June Gemini

Pond "round two". It holds water this time although we had to use clear plastic so it's not as attractive this time. I hope to make some adjustments with stones and plants to get a more natural look, eventually. The water has algae growing in it, making it quite murky. Our Mosquito fish are reproducing and seem happy and the frogs / toads (?not sure?) have laid long chains of eggs in the pots you see submerged here. We are very excited to see the diversity coming to life in our little Permaculture experiment here at Petals and Vines!!!

Some Cannas randomly planted out in the backyard. "To leave them or dig them" is always the question... I love how the light plays on them, but they are so "parking lot landscape" if you will...

end of june

2009-06-24T22:35:00.019-05:00

WOOLLY POCKETS!!!

I stumbled across this awesome company making breathable, felted (from recycled plastic) planting containers. They are located in Arizona, and California, and I already adore them...You must visit their website to read more about it.

Go here: http://www.woollypocket.com/intro.php

The two pics below I snagged from their site to give you a sneak peak into the sheer brilliance of their product...

If you manage to try one of the Woolly Pockets out before me let me know! Otherwise when I eventually get one I most certainly will give it a review.

Hydrangea bloom

Mop head blue Hydrangea...

there were THREE of these beauties already here when we moved in...

Dwarf Siberian Iris patch

Iris

Curly Willow

The ever growing brush pile...it's too hot to burn it just yet.

What you can do with a brush pile....... make fairy houses!

Chloe fairy / builder extroidenaire

The new SHADY chicken run

new fire circle built to accommodate the brush pile

Plant pond that Chris dug, and I built. You can see the "great" pond liner we found is compromised...it is a slow leaker...no visible holes, but you can clearly see the water receding...renovation pics coming soon.

Echinacea purpurea in the SHADE. These plants are the same as the ones in my last post, we dug those for the Meadow Garden from this clump in the Pond Garden. These cones are smaller and not so orange and the petals are barely pink / purple they are almost whitish. hmmm.......

Stokes Aster

Sasha Marmalade -a.k.a. my secret name for this gentleman with the topaz eyes: Edward Cullen
Also, do check out these CSA farms here near Memphis:

Downing Hollow Farm and

Whitton Flowers and Produce .....they are great people!

Lots of Color

2009-06-19T18:56:00.044-05:00

Here it is again, long past time to write a new post. I had it sort of prepared in my mind with pics lined up on my desktop a week ago, the day after a huge storm hit Memphis. I refer to it as the "storm of fallen trees". There was devastation all over the city, trees down everywhere. The neighbors tree fell on part of the Meadow Garden, and the wind alone blew the corn flat. All in all the damage was minimal, just a lot of clean up. Then we lost internet for 5 days. At this point, I've decided to keep my posts a little more simplistic. Mostly pics less monologue. So I hope you get to enjoy the visual beauty I do by me posting these images!

Double Red Corn silk...wow.

Double Red Corn tassel

Echinacea purpurea bloom

Golden Marguerite (Dyers Chammomile) blooms up close

Golden Marguerite blooms

the "Italian sauce" pic...Onions, Oregano, Tomatoes

Yucca and Liatrus (in the Meadow Garden)

lots of Mulleins

Variegated Maiden Grass

imported mound of sandy compost...initial cost, but eventually will be low to no water usage

Mugo Pine, Sedum, Greek Mnt. Tea

new "desert" bed in the Meadow Garden

new Echinacea blooms with tiny spider webs

picking Golden Marguerite

pink Asiatic Lilies

Ivy path from Woodland Garden to Children's Fairy Garden

play of light on Hostas

Rainbow Chard and Creeping Charlie "wicked weed of gardens" despite

it's evil behavior I love the geometric round patterns made by it enmasse...

Double Red Corn tassel

red Spider Day Lily

Scarlett Flax bloom

swath of Golden Marguerite

Penelope Violet's bouquet

Leeks (still working on my depth of field w/ this new camera)

pretty silvery Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) lavender blooms

the most even sowing of Cosmos I've ever done

(Kalimeris) Double White Japanese Aster close up

same Asters from a distance

a bunch of basic Hostas

waiting on some Pole Beans

weeping Japanese Maple in the front of the house

very sweet smelling and edible white Day Lily (Ice Carnival)

wild Sedges that I love in the yard

Coral Reef Monarda (Bee Balm)

Changes, Discoveries, Chickens, and Hydrangeas

2009-05-28T22:59:00.037-05:00

Chris says, "remind me next time that radishes are not worth the ground space".... and of course I say, "I tried to tell you that no one was going to eat them". It's a tragedy. They are beautiful and delicious, for a radish, but the rest of us just aren't radish eatin' folk, and there's only so many of them that Chris can eat alone.

Variety: French Breakfast

Here's all the sun loving plants we need to get in the ground...

I fell for it. I went to Lowes for some paint, and saw the garden center was overflowing, so I had to go back and check it out. I found the clearance carts, and rescued these poor little common landscaping Salvias that I've always despised. They were 70 cents. I used them to fill in the spaces where the Scarlet Flax seeds didn't take...I also bought a beautiful Russian Sage for the Meadow Garden...I guess I'm an opportunist. I think this side of town needs a local garden center!

The newest bed in the Meadow Garden it has: 2 French Lavenders, 3 Homestead Red Verbena's, (not in pic-to the left), 3 Euphorbia's (in front), 3 Muhly Grasses, and Salvia greggii with Bright Lights Cosmos, and Red Cosmos seed sown around it. See that Maple tree trunk in the background? I incurred the wrath of it's roots with the spade.

The next to most recent bed planted in the Meadow Garden. 3 Mexican Feather Grass, a Scotch Broom, Salvia 'Blue Hill's, 2 (little) Bee Balms (light bluish/purple), Moonshine (i think) Yarrow. In front of this is 20 or so Gomphrena and 3 Verbena Homestead Purple..(forgot to take a pic of it)

Laying in the Lemon Balm cutting I took in half a pot of soil...(I nurtured a piece in some water on the windowsill till I got roots)

Then gently holding the stem I held the pot upright again and shook it around so the soil could fall evenly around the roots, then filled the pot and pressing firmly and gently...(this was my first time!)

Then watered in the two new babies.

We found this pretty large rubber pond liner so we have a new site for the pond, but it's still in between the Pond Garden beds...here chris has manhandled this hole, and is firming the side walls of the pond...

The new rubble pile for a succulent bed, it is going to cover the tiny little stone structure we previously were going to use as a pond so that it doesn't catch water anymore...

Topaz to be our blue/green/pinkish egg laying Americana hen, we have 2 of them, the other one is Opal. We call them our little hawks, if only! They are a little over a month old.

Iris, and Ellie to be 2 more golden hens

The new chicks in their new bigger home, they're growing up so fast!

Our sweet flock of hens, 1 black sex link, 2 golden comets, 1 black australorp, 1 buff orpington

Roxy, the escape artist chicken who finds her way out every day...she's a trouble maker.

(she's a black sex link)

Here are some choice Hydrangeas we picked up from our friends Diane and Wolfgang at

GARDENS OY VEY, an amazing nursery within a garden. Going there is a treat and experience. Their little spot of earth transports you to a fertile, lush, complex, and delicious world of green. They also do online ordering so check them out!

Sweet Tea Hybrid, 'Yae No Amacha', which had light lavender blooms with creamy yellow in the center...
Beni, which starts out white and fades on the tips to a spotty pinkish red all at different times..

.
Little Geisha, which starts out cream then goes pinkish/lavender, these are little puffs...

Kiosumi, which starts white and then goes completely red in the right conditions...

The Bog Planter we did for a friend's birthday...the instructions on this are

***Full Sun***

and ***Keep Moist*** Rainwater is best!

Low light green is Azolla, a water fern, then Scotch Moss is the next height darker green plant, then dwarf golden Acorus is the brighter green spiky grass, and of course the horsetail are the tall reedlike ones.
some Azolla Chris picked apart and put to float to make some more!

I thought it was especially neat that some strawberries volunteered in the pot with the horsetail so we left in the planter too...

Pink Knotweed (very horribly invasive, but so pretty!) and Ajania, a type of Chrysanthemum

Here are some of the woodlanders that we had blooming this Spring, but I forgot to post about, I just found them on Chris's camera, (he took these) these are shade loving plants.

   Epimedium x 'Sulphureum'
   Epimedium x rubrum 'Sweetheart'
   Epimedium 'Frohnleiten'
   Double white Hellebore
   Disporum cantoniense 'Green Giant'

   (i guess this plant namer had a sense of humor!)
   Holly Fern fiddlehead
   a surprise Euphorbia
   Hellebore 'Ivory Prince'
   Lastly, she gardens in style...

three sisters

2009-05-22T21:58:00.003-05:00

Well here it is again late. late. late.

My 3 yr old has discovered that after she goes to sleep each night (she falls asleep while I read to her) that I get up and go to my own bed or do other things...so we're on a week long rebellion here of her fighting sleep for as long as possible, and a lot of other drama included in her nightly decline.

By the time she falls asleep, I am exhausted and have no energy for blogging....

I've been wishing I could post the new pics and garden developments, but they will have to wait...until the right time opens up again for such activities...check back soon!

Here's a pic to wait with:

Three sisters (melons to come)

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T22:35:00.016-05:00

Goddess of all plants: MOTHERWORT

Motherwort is a mint with dull green, hairy leaves and an intensely bitter taste. The botanical name Leonurus refers to a fanciful resemblance of the leaves to a lion's tale.

(refer to: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/motherwort.php for more info)

"The traditional use of motherwort is the treatment of racing heart (tachycardia) caused by nervous tension. Long-term use may reduce the formation of clotting factors and also lower total cholesterol and triglycerides. Motherwort is also used to treat menstrual tension. It treats false labor pains, and it is useful in the stimulation of delayed or suppressed menstruation, especially when prolonged emotional stress is factor...

Info taken from: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/motherwort.php

I think it's brilliant that a plant medicine is provided for mothers to help soothe their over- stimulated nerves. Anxiety and frustration is often experienced by mothers, especially when they are the primary caregivers of multiple young children. Even when a mother is clear of placing any blame on their children for their own emotional state, the sheer noise and chaos that children can make during playing/(working thru) "getting along" is enough to frazzle the nerves after many hours of constant exposure!

leaves of Motherwort

So these were the Mother's Day gifts from Chris to me..awww, I'm blushing!

Ever Red Loropetalum (in the Chinese Witchazel family)

a delicate bloom...
This is a compact form with deep purply / red almost "blackish" foliage...

...how dreamy!

...and here's the other BIG SURPRISE...my very own SOIL KNIFE!!! I love you too my sweet man! It was a wonderful Mother's Day celebration, I don't even need gifts, but I have to say they do make me feel even more appreciated for the housewife, mothering role I play in this family.

There is not much planting to do in the mucky wet soil, but we worked some between the downpours on the Pond Garden. First Chris busted up the brick frame to make it level with the ground. Then we scooped out all the water. We plan to line it with plastic and build up around the outside edge to contain the water.

It started to rain again so we quickly covered it up and went inside. See the new shape of the pond will be more oval than square, and much bigger than the original structure. The dirt around it is outlining the new shape and size a bit.

Lastly, here's the rubble piled up in the bed around the pond waiting to be planted with succulents.

Rain Rain Rain

2009-05-04T16:04:00.035-05:00

' Mrs. Lawrence's Mystery Plant' (Kalimeris pinnatifida) or Double Japanese Aster

(click for flower pic)

Chris planted this very carefully Sun. after two days of thunderstorms, and constant rain.

Whew! I did that, can you believe it? It took two hours to dig off the 3'x5' area of sod and various weeds, rake the dirt, plant the seeds, cover with straw (because the soil was too mucky to sprinkle over the seeds), and water. Plus, I used the sod that was removed to build a water retaining wall along the side of the Meadow Garden that runs along the neighbors ditch. This ditch is "supposed" to hold all the water that runs out of their back yard (their whole property is sloped). I can't wait to see if the water takes the path of least resistance in the next storm and bypasses the Meadow Garden. This past weekend the bed of Scarlet Flax I planted was under standing water for many hours, and now they look pretty ratty, but they seemed to survive.

Oh yeah, the seeds planted were Quail Grass aka. Celosia, Tithonia torch, Cosmos bright lights, and Mahogany Midget Coreopsis....there is a flash flood warning in effect for the next couple of days! I'll get my wish to test the ditch!

Horsetail
Horsetail is also known as scouring rush. Early settlers used it to scrub stuff, wash dishes, and polish pewter. Here is a piece of it and Violet demonstrating one of it's uses..

   First you dip it in water...
   then you scrub...
   ...and scrub!

The pitcher plant is blooming! This one is called Scarlet Belle

This pitcher plant is called Sarricenia purpurea subsp.venosa...notice the bug floating in there that it will soon digest!

Strangely enough that pitcher plant was named purpurea which is plant nomenclature for purple...

Here is a tiny expose on the purply / wine colored foliage and blooms happening right now in our gardens...

Iris

'Bronze Wave' Heuchera (this one is from the south and thrives in our heat and humidity) Raised from seed.

Clematis 'Roguchi'

Chloe's favorite Iris

Chinese Witch Hazel aka. Loropetalum

Black Lace Elderberry

Tradescantia named after John Tradescant, an English naturalist

Now for our "Ode To Weeds"

Here are some beautiful plants that have grown all of their own accord on the property. Most people will spray their lawns to ensure these plants don't exist in and among their precious blades of grass, but we cherish them, and hope they multiply!

Plantain
Here is one of our many large patches of Plantain. This is a good quantity for a salve. Plantain is a great component for a healing salve for scratches and cuts, insect bites, rashes. Even bruised between your fingers and applied directly it works. Here's a link to more info on the healing qualities of Plantain from my trusty herbal info site Mountain Rose Herbs: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/plaintain_leaf.php

   ...apparently you can eat the youngest leaves in salad too...
   Fleabane
Red Clover not to be confused with Crimson Clover which is actually red, not sure why they didn't call this one lavender clover???
   Spiderwort/Tradescantia
   Violet Wood Sorrel
   Dutch white Clover...bees love it and so do the chickens!

So here's what Chris was busy doing during all that rain, transplanting seedlings into flats, in ...his new greenhouse!!!
He did: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Basil, Dahlias, four kinds of Mullein, to name a few...

Here's what the rain did to our yard. It exploded into a forest of green...

...all furry and pulsing with life!

The last trees on our property to come into leaf the mighty Pecans!

Lastly, guess what we're having for dinner tonight? You guessed it, Broccoli!

Aren't these plants gorgeous?

New Delights

2009-04-27T22:36:00.022-05:00

I took a break from posting, and did spend more time just playing. We had a greenhouse project in the last week, and a bunch of new flowers to enjoy, so check it out!

The non-evergreen types of clematis are now growing and blooming, we have this glowing light purply one in the Kitchen Garden (above pic)

Lots of green strawberries, lots more to come! this is the 2nd year for the plants (we didn't get more than a handful of berries the 1st year...), they didn't seem to mind being moved across town to a new home... in our Big Food Garden

The first Peony to open!!! White and fluffy and oh so sweet smelling. She lives in the front Meadow Garden.

This pic does not do the chartreuse color of this Golden Barberry justice...these are in pots recently acquired to be some of the bones of our landscape, I though it looked amazing next to this dwarf Mugo Pine...
Another Clematis, we are so happy she is Magenta instead of the deep purple you see "everywhere". This one is in the Meadow Garden with a Goldenrod planted at the base of it.

Some electric purple and yellow Japanese Irises in the plant barrier between the Faerie's Garden and the Woodland Garden

The regimen of soldiers in the Meadow Garden turned out to be a gaggle of Irises, in this case I'm liking the variation, it makes up for the repetitive mass of foliage...

I love this color for a flower that I don't see often, rusty orange...

Some Salvia "blue hills" with some warmer purple Chives behind...I LOVE mixing different tones of the same color in all forms of color design...it's the easiest way to get variation while avoiding chaos, and over-stimulation for the eye.

Birds of a feather flock together....it is sooo true for our chickens. The two upright chicks are Americana's or sometimes called "Easter Eggers" for their ability to lay blue, green, and sometimes pink eggs. They are the bred descendants of the Aracauna chicken from Chile. The other two chicks are fluffy golden chickens called Buff Orpingtons, we got these two to keep our lone Buff hen company. She is rather left alone, and she is the only golden one. We hope that when they are old enough to join the hens that Crispy, our lone Buff, will be so happy to have friends. These chicks are 2 weeks old...

Cute fluffy chicken bum!

Dainty Columbine, oh how many colors and kinds do you come in delicate Lady? (both the purple and red here are Columbine!) These are also staged in pots, they will probably go in the semi shady Porch Garden under Pecan Tree shade.

TA DA!!! The greenhouse is built, and see the flats of little green babies already settling in?

The Greenhouse was purchased from International Greenhouse Company www.igcusa.com it is an 8 x 10, it has automatic pressure valves that open the top window flaps when needed...it came in the mail, and took 3 guys to navigate the manual and put it up in one day, and that' s taking a good lunch break. (There's no reason this could have been 3 women doing it...it was just Chris's project and there happened to be a couple of his guy friends who wanted to do it..)

Moving in the juvenile cactus collection. This is a dream come true for Chris! We most definitely could have made this out of recycled materials, but decided this time to purchase in the interest of saving time and effort that can go into the plants and gardens themselves....we need all of that we can possibly muster!

Arum italicum 'Pictum' a sensual surprise, wow!

The back of the Arum bloom, notice those amazing leaves, apparently they are quite prized in the cut flower world for their stability after being cut and well, just look at them!

Laying pea gravel in and around the greenhouse and for mulch in some cases. We've got great help here on our little corner homestead! The pea gravel is great b/c you can actually start seeds in it quite well, so the greenhouse floor will also be a working surface!

Wow these rocks are heavy! How 'bout you shovel and I watch :)

The older gal there is our avid fossil collector, still looking for some in all that pea gravel...

Chloe (8) stepped on a wasp. The swelling is severe, her foot is purple / dark red. We've tried baking soda poultice, homeopathic apis, with no real relief, and then Chris finally knew what to do. A foot soak of Comfrey leaf, Aloe, and Rosemary....the swelling is going down! (this pic didn't capture it at it's worst)

A ring of Arugala around some Comfrey...

This little rose showed up on the corner of the barn all by itself and a pile of Sweet Gum balls, the color is so intense, it doesn't even look real, but it is!

This little stone structure is a hot topic for me right now...oh the possibilities. It appears to have been a pump house. There is a pile of brick rubble in the corner of the yard that matches and there is stone path hidden under the grass up to it from the driveway. It doesn't hold water completely but stays a mucky mess. We are currently keeping our Horsetail and Pitcher plants in it. It's so square for my taste...I've considered a tiered fountain with a solar pump, including the birdbath...I've considered a lot. I think, for now, that I will knock out the two long side walls a bit and dig out a curved shape on both those sides making the whole thing more of a circle. I'll dig down to the current level inside there, and line the whole thing with plastic so it will consistently hold water. Then put in some shade loving water plants and some mosquito fish. I hope some frogs will come to visit! We already have resident toads, yay!

On Sun. we planted more corn. Staggered planting times for staggered harvest...here are the girls doing a corn dance, grow corn grow! The seed packet itself when shaken makes for the perfect rattle...giving the corn dance rhythm...

Dance that corn up ladies!

Time to play...

2009-04-20T22:04:00.010-05:00

The fairy pic was set up and taken by Chloe (8). This pic symbolizes the theme of this post...

Well, Well, Well! A few days of thunderstorms. Been painting the kitchen, built a playhouse for the kids, planning the screening in of the back patio or back porch, made my first raw milk yogurt (it turned out great!), and now need a few days just to soak it all in.

Plus, the kids started getting cranky, and I realized all they want me (and Chris) to do is just sit with them and play / hang out. Eat the chocolate pies they make from the dirt, and onion soup they make from the weeds in the yard etc...

So I'll post some pics of the playhouse we built (and plan to put a green roof on), but won't be posting again probably until next week. The little ones, wise beyond their years, are calling me into never never land and it is time I go....

Playhouse built with recycled window, door, and wood. We will eventually gable the roof before adding succulents and moss (green roof plants). The window box will keep changing and be designed by the girls themselves. Right now it has white Pansies, Heuchera, dwarf Hosta, and a variegated Vinca Vine (a slow spreading variety)

Organizing on the little shelf we pulled from a curb and painted with some curbside paint. Violet is carefully putting her silly putty egg next to the prized chocolate eggs she hunted for on Easter.

The cool birdcage we found at a thrift store, waiting for the next critter we find so the girls can help nurse it back to health.

Enjoying the side view...

A little side garden of violets...the flags were an easter gift from grandma...

be back next week!

Random Updates / Comfrey

2009-04-14T22:38:00.016-05:00

This is a pic of the Cilantro and Kale that was transplanted on a whim by digging up sheets of it the size of the spade and plopped down gently in it's new soggy soil bed. It worked! I think I like this much better than tenderly transplanting each tiny plant one by one...

Comfrey plant we will use for the leaves, flowering...ain't she purty?

Chris was inspired by and old Meso-American mound trench method.. they are called Chinampas : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinampa It makes watering the Comfrey much easier once the leaves get (as they typically do) really long and wide. He will no longer have to shove the hose wand deep into the plant to get to the base to water the roots well. Now he can simply water in the trench and it will go right to the roots, plus the mound will allow a deeper root to grow for harvesting. Comfrey Root : Comfrey root is used to relieve pain from blunt injuries, promote healing of broken bones, sprains and bruises, reduce swelling and edema, and encourage the rapid and healthy regrowth of skin and tissue cells. Because comfrey may contain PAs, which have caused cancer and liver damage in animal studies, and because the root contains it in higher concentration than the leaves, internal use is not suggested.

Excerpt taken from my favorite trusty www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/comfrey_root.php

website...

The bright green tiny seedlings are Lettuce - Romaine "Jericho" they're coming up nicely among the Strawberries and Kale.

We went crystal digging at Coleman Mines in Hot Springs Village, AR a couple of weekends ago. It was soooo much fun! I couldn't resist bringing back this amazing clump of iron rich red clay. Chris has been pouring it on the roots of the Hydrangeas, Azalea's and our little Pine Tree who love acid soils and iron. In fact he thought maybe next time we go he won't even dig for crystals but just collect nice red clay, and small crystal particles to make soil mixes for his cacti and succulents. After all you only pay 20$ a day to collect buckets full of whatever you may find from 9:00am -4:30pm and one bucket of that stuff special ordered would cost 20$ if not more! What a great idea....

The Hellebore bed beginning. It is part of the Fountain Bed system of beds.

Toad lilies and Evergreen Solomon's Seals planted...

This is the Small Kitchen Garden bed's beginnings... (the bed that grows all things affected by Walnut trees and therefore can not be planted in the Big Food Garden) There's Broccoli (we planted store bought starts in Feb.), Onions (were here when we moved in), and Clover for the chickens (it just wandered in of it's own accord...we are inviting it to stay).

The last flush of the spring bulb bloomers...Snowbells

The modest chicken coop that we attached to the run. We discovered this was vital to the chickens actually staying in the moat, they need to feel they have total and unrestricted access to their nest, and night time roosting poles. They gave up the big deluxe coop they had before for this simple security.

The foundation has been laid for the Greenhouse! Landscaping cloth, a frame, and pea gravel from river bed rock....Chloe (8) has been collecting fossils out of the pea gravel to make jewelry with...she's so awesome! The fossils are inspiring though... have to post a pic of them I think.

Golden Marguerite

2009-04-13T22:10:00.015-05:00

Isn't this breathy Iris so nice? It popped up in a funny place, right up next to the dryer vent on the side of the house. I guess this pretty lady likes to keep warm!

Well, I was reminded of the "when to plant corn" old wives tale by a good friend Keely (who has "My Farm Kitchen Table" blog). I was thinking, in the wee hours while I wrote yesterdays blog, that it had something to do with oak trees and squirrels, but then second guessed myself chalking my squirrelly thoughts up to late night silliness...anyway, here it is correctly (thanks Keely!):
IT'S TIME TO PLANT CORN WHEN THE LEAVES ON THE OAK TREE ARE AS BIG AS A SQUIRRELS EAR! and here in Memphis they are.

I also made a correction to the rule of how deep to plant any given seed, (lesson learned: don't blog in the wee hours unless caffeine...ie. chocolate! is involved, I made so many mistakes...oops). It is: UP TO TWICE THE DIAMETER OF THE SEED IN QUESTION.

The Beet varieties planted were: CHIOGGA, CYLINDRICA
The Radish variety was: FRENCH BREAKFAST
The Carrots were: NAPOLI....lots of them

Now, on to what I was doing during all that root veggie seed planting. I was taking up sheets of sod in two spots, and preparing them for the planting of Liatrus, and Dyers Chammomile (AKA Golden Marguerite) in the Meadow Garden in the front yard. Whew! I much prefer the LAZY LASAGNA method, but we moved here halfway thru winter and after all those boxes, I did not feel like going out in the cold to properly lasagna the earth. Not to mention, I was not yet inspired to make any decisions about what and where different gardens would go at that point. We also have too many tree roots infiltrating the chosen garden spots so tilling is not an option. This year it's good 'ole back breaking labor to put these gardens in, and for me that means SLOW going. My sweet man kindly reminds me that gardening simply requires certain muscles that I haven't built up yet... Unlike he who can prepare a large bed in about 10 minutes, it might take me an hour...Still, building soil and building muscles this is a win win. So, by the time I had finished de-sodding and relocating the sheets to other spots that needed it, Chris had come around to proceed with the planting while I took pics, (and my muscles moaned and groaned)

I've almost got this layout thing worked out...the next three pics are a little reversed...these are 3 clumps of Perennial Liatrus spicata 'Kobold'...notice these amazing fleshy tuber -like stems, wow.

This is the Pine bark soil conditioner used to help with drainage. It was raked in before planting the Liatrus. Notice the cup of Rose Tone which is a near organic complete fertilizer.

Rose Tone, a mix of organics and mineral based fertilizer... a really really good fertilizer for all flowering plants and shrubs!

Next we have here 19 plants of Dyers Chamomile, or Golden Marguerite. I have not dyed with it yet, but I LOVE it as a dried flower. In vases or my also favorite, flower chain, just stringing blossoms on a string of thread with a needle and hanging them up around the house, AWESOME!

This is Chris's trusty (I mean totally vital nowadays) soil knife. It is also called Hori Hori in Japanese. This thing makes seriously short work of breaking up the soil under a slab of sod, or quickly chopping up clods in the bed, or digging a hole for your plant to go in... I want one of my own!

So here's the million dollar question: how to deal with these roots? Break them, slice them, leave them? I'm always worried I'm somehow doing the wrong thing here...so Chris shared his method with me. He says stick it in the hole and push down firmly on the square and twist back and forth a few times to sort of rough up those roots but simultaneouly smooshing them into the soil they will live in. He says usually if you cut or break up the roots with your hand the plants will wilt horribly after planting. I think the plant is telling us something..
.

Action shot of the twister-roo method...

Ahhh planted so nicely, Meadow Garden taking shape, and wow those Echinacea are already getting so big! You can see a Yucca there in the back and in front of it is a pretty big Peony full of buds (don't know yet what color it will be). There is also a nice clump of variegated Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis), and a big clump of Surprise Lilies (Lycoris) to the right. Also, in the back to the right of the Yucca is a Milk and Wine Lily (Crinum)
I also have planted seeds out there of Scarlet Flax, Blue Bachelor's Buttons, Hopi Red Dye Amaranth, Brunette Cosmidium, Coreopsis Tinctoria, Oxeye Daisies...and more to come!

Tasty treats for the chickens from the soil, June Bug Beetle Grubs, June Bug Beetle, and one fat juicy SLUG! (the plastic and glass we find goes in the trash of course...)

Some dried Dyers Chamomile, the tall yellow ones.

Root Veggie Seeds

2009-04-13T00:11:00.014-05:00

I'm adding an extra pic to this post, it's not a Root veggie planting, but it's a pic of the 3 Sisters mounds that Chris and Violet planted. So far they just planted the Corn, but also in the mounds will go Beans which will climb up the Corn, and Melons which will run out into the garden. I sure wish I'd had my camera when they were done planting b/c I walked in on them doing a little corn dance around their planted seeds, and it was RIGHTEOUS! Again I'll have to get back to you on the Corn variety, and also about this old wives tale that I love so much, but can't remember right now about the "right" time to plant corn, it's something like: " when the first leaves are popping on the old oak tree, it's time to plant corn" , or something like that!

and now a gentle water over the seeds, like a good rain, a good soaking...if the bed was prepared right the water will soak up perfectly and not pool on top

pat soil over seeds (above) it's a general rule: PLANT SEEDS AS DEEP UNDER THE SOIL UP TO ONLY TWICE THE SEEDS DIAMETER...

dropping seeds into furrows (above)

now violet's turn....

ARGGGHHHH, I may just have to learn HTML to make these blog layouts the way I want them...this post pretty much reads from the bottom to top... the pic below is of the root veggie bed prepared and raked SMOOTH ready for seeds...

These are some carrot seeds coated in clay for ease in planting, easier to grasp. Not sure of the variety...Chris planted the root veggie seeds with our daughters Chloe(8) and Violet(3) while I was removing grass in the Meadow Garden to make way for more planting. Chloe took all the pics in this post, Violet and Chris actually planted.

They planted 3 different Beet varieties, a bunch of Carrot seeds, and some Radishes. I will add the specific varieties as the plants start to pop out of the ground...I could just ask dear Chris but he is sleeping soundly next to me, while I blog at 12:21 am... why I feel compelled I'm not sure...

sweet man weeding the coral bells

2009-04-06T22:15:00.003-05:00

Taking a break on posting events here to mourn the loss of my grandfather, Philip Edward Green.

He was a farmer, and a lover. A wise, quiet, strong type with a good sense of humor. He always was finding a way to understand a situation, or a person, he had so much integrity, and loyalty. I credit his amazing qualities to all the time he spent in nature, with plants, caring for them, and living so close to the cycles and realities of nature. He left us at 9:20 E.S.T Mon. swing low sweet chariot...

Succulents

2009-04-01T21:32:00.016-05:00

Well today not any work directly done on any of the gardens. I spent the day beginning a new chicken coop and when Chris arrived home from work he pitched in, and corrected my not right angles, oops... 3 cheers for stability!!! I decided to make a small roosting/laying abode attached onto the chicken moat, as they were relentlessly escaping the moat to get to their deluxe pad to lay. They have been cooped up the past two days and complaining noisily that they do not have free reign over all the bugs on the property. Two hens even protested by not giving us eggs...They did have the ideal chicken life, now they have the "coexist with humans on a small piece of property with lots of gardens" life, so be it.

Chris is upstairs currently planting Gomphrena seeds for the front Meadow Garden, and some Marigold seeds for the Big Food Garden.

Garden naming still underway. This blog is not going to be linear. We approach things in a sort of chaotic way. Chaotic, but perfectly interconnected, everything always feeding into some other part of the whole picture. I suspect if I were to step back and draw a map of our gardening activities in a year or two it would look like a web.

In any case, I noticed evening light on the group of succulent plantings Chris did about a year ago while working on the coop, and decided to share these with you. Notice the whole flat of baby "Hens and Chicks" he grew from seed! Some of these will be transplanted onto a GREEN ROOF we are building on top of the little playhouse we built for our two daughters a couple of weekends ago...pics of that to come of course. Hope you enjoy the succulent treasures as much as we do!

Echinacea purpurea Question

2009-03-31T11:24:00.007-05:00

A question was asked: What do we use the Echinacea for? We personally prefer the root cut and dried and made into tea, simmering for about 15-20 min. Simmering is how you make a decoction of roots for tea, usually you would just steep herbs in boiled water to make tea, but that is with the above ground plant parts only; such as leaves, stem, petals, buds, etc. For tea the dried roots can be simmered with other dried roots, or added to other herbs that have been steeped, or by itself with honey, or maple syrup...

It is not my place to say how much any person should take...It is a powerful immune stimulant. Further research could be done if you are not familiar with herbal remedies.

They say it's the sugars in the plant that encourage the immune system to kick it up a notch. It is most effective if taken at the early onset of cold symptoms, and allergy symptoms...It doesn't stop it, but shortens it's length in my experience, and eases symptoms while they finish up. All parts of the plant were used by Native North americans for many other things.

My favorite online source for herbal plant use info is through www.mountainroseherbs.com simply b/c what they sell is a collection of common used herbs that have been in use for a looong time.

They advise caution with taking Echinacea if you are allergic to Ragweed, as is true for all herbs that have flowers in the composite family, like Chamomile, Calendula, and so on...

Lastly, "they say" recent research has shown that Echinacea angustfolia is more powerful than Echinacea purpurea, but knowing that I feel even more comfortable using it at home with my own instincts to guide. I hope that covered your question!

Spring is full of surprises

2009-03-30T19:05:00.008-05:00

My friend Larry gave me some Japanese Maple seedlings a few years ago, but he never said where they came from or what he found special about them.

For the first couple of years, the new leaves emerged a soft lime green. This year they decided to do something just a little bit different... Truly amazing.

Chris

Echinacea Purpurea Question

2009-03-29T20:56:00.018-05:00

Pic #13

Pic #12

Pic #11

Pic #10

Pic #9

Pic #8

Pic#7

Pic #6

Pic #5

pic#4

pic # 3

Pic #2

Pic #1

Yesterday another cold rainy, WINDY, spring day. What the rain does is amazing! I thought those Dogwoods were beautiful last week, well now the blossoms are twice as big and seemingly brighter, the trees are swelling....I'm in awe.

It's getting close to the time to name all the gardens on the property. There will be 5 or 6 separate garden rooms created by beds, and paths. We are sowing seeds, and it's getting increasingly pertinent that we make a list of each garden and what we foresee going in each one, not to mention a map of each garden would help.

Today was the perfect day to dig up Echinacea and move it. It could wait no longer. We are lucky to have a whole bunch of Echinacea purpurea, the medicinal one. We will move a bunch to a spot where they can grow nice BIG roots, and then harvest and dry them for tea. Today we are moving a big bunch to the Meadow Garden in the front yard. This garden is designed by me....it's my special "pet" garden that Chris leaves under my dominion! Fittingly, it will house plants that need very little care. The dry, sandy soil plants I covet that grow so well in the full sun, in dry New Mexico, will go in this bed.

(While Chris dug up and replanted I worked yet some more on the chicken moat. Had to wrap bird netting all around the inside of the outer wall of the moat, tying it tightly with garden twisty ties all over the place...I finished it, tomorrow we will see if they can get out! There is one relentless chicken who keeps escaping. Crispy, the Buff Orpington, who thinks she's a person. She is the only yellow one, and appears to be an outcast. She hung around for the digging of plants and got tasty treats like the Junebug beetle grub pictured above Pic #3. These grubs will eat the roots of plants voraciously! If you see one get it as far from your lawn as possible! Last year they infested the yard, and ate all the grass roots off... you could simply pull up the grass in hand fulls without even tugging, they are very destructive underground...but the chickens love them!)

First, Chris dug up Irises out of the Meadow Garden. There is a very long bed of Irises in the front yard, in a line, like a regimen of soldiers. There are a few intermittent tulips, which were a nice surprise this spring, alas, line arrangements of plants has got to go...it will end up more like a meandering stream of Irises that trickle into Daisies, and Echinacea. Pic #4 shows the Irises, Pic #5 shows the Iris's coming out, Pic #6 shows the front yard and where the Meadow Garden will reside (it's one of the two sunniest spots, but we didn't want to plant the food and medicine right by the street, so it's a flower cutting breathy, wispy garden)

Next are some pics of the Echinacea where we found it planted, I took two pics of two different groups of clumps: Pic#7, Pic#8

As we dug up the Echinacea we encountered some grass, and other such common little ground hugging weeds mixed in. We took the opportunity to dig up a nice fat mound of Monkey Grass, or Mondo Grass, commonly used as an edging plants for walks, garden paths, garden beds, or can be found in circles around trees...yikes! I'm sorry if this offends but we have a strict NO MONKEY GRASS! policy on the property. Monkey Grass is coveted by landscapers b/c it's cheap, easy to come by, and proliferates like mad, like.... cheap stuff from China? I prefer plants with more mystery, I suppose. Anyway, Pic#9 shows a big clump of monkey grass just been dug, and Pic #10 a crate full of it and other weeds, ready to be put in a pile to the side where they can rot, and then be added to the compost.

Pic #11 is the beautiful Echinacea right after being dug, and Pic #12 is the Echinacea in it's new home in the front Meadow Garden (looking a slight bit wilted..sorry sweet ladies)

Pic #13 Crispy the Buff Orpington hen... renegade, outlaw, thinks she's one of my offspring, chicken who was hanging out eating grubs while we moved plants. (pic out of place, but how to insert pics into the line of photos??? I will get it, eventually)

A lot done today, and still so much more to do...the garden is always calling. We have so many things to be done in stages, that it is so easy to get involved digging up something to put in a different bed, and then get sucked into working on the bed where your digging from. It's so fun juggling all these gardens! Next on the agenda is naming each garden so we can more easily keep our focus. Then will come a map of the property, and eventually maps of each garden with plant names and all! Oh My!

Seeds...

2009-03-27T11:40:00.003-05:00

TONITE we begin...

Oh, and so far the "sheet transplant" method for the baby kale and cilantro has worked so far! It rained the next day and seemed to settle them right in, plus cooler temps that the kale surely loves.

Greenhouse step #1

2009-03-26T19:08:00.014-05:00

Today another warm day after a night of rain...I can almost hear the earth sucking up water. The soil is black and soupy and all the buds, and leaves are pulsing with spring lushness. The backyard looks like it wants to explode, or maybe that's just me!

The spot where the greenhouse will go is a smallish spot but bakes in the sun all day. The chosen greenhouse is 8x10 ft. big enough to hold our stuff in the winter, and for starting seeds in the early spring. There will also be a shade cover house to segway the transplants until they are ready for the ground.

(Again, pics in numbered order from bottom to top, bottom is #1)

We have been waiting to put up the greenhouse mostly because of the weather, but also b/c of our COLD FRAME... pic #1. In early February there was a warm week w/ temps. in the 70's, and Chris could not stop himself from planting some seeds in the dirt. He planted some kale and cilantro right in the ground, and stuck the cold frame down on top. The seedlings were just big enough to move today...well actually they could have gone a bit further, traditionally speaking, but we are eager to put up the greenhouse with it's wonderful shelves, and protection from.....you guessed it, the chickens! pic #2

So Chris stuck his trusty big rectangular spade under their delicate roots, and took up the seedlings in a big SHEET, and walked it over to their new home, and laid it right in...pic #3, (little violet is pretending to be pregnant in this pic, that's what the huge bump is in her dress in case you were wondering) #4 . You'll notice it looks like black soup that they are being planted in....pic #5

Well, the nice rich compost was in a bucket that got rained in...I'm wondering if it's wetness will actually help the sheet sink, settle, heal in....pic #6 (the cilantro) They look good, let's see if they'll take. It's a pretty radical way to transplant, but if it works, hey it just might become downright commonplace. I'll keep you posted.

Finally pic #7 3yr old Violet is looking a bit skeptical about this transplant operation, this pic was too good to pass up.

The Chicken Moat

2009-03-25T10:52:00.039-05:00

I've been going on about this enough already, but here are the pictures and the tale of our chicken moat adventure....

When we moved to our new spot it was the week before Christmas, COLD! We secured the chickens in an open yet covered barn-ish garage structure, and let them roam freely on the half acre. They were in paradise. BUGS GALORE! and they took on the most charming behavior, mellow strolling, happy clucking, talking, with the occasional happy chicken sprint, and hover flying across the length of the property.

Soon they discovered it was warmer near the house and they would huddle by the back door, pecking at the cat door hoping to get in. Cute, but SUPER messy! We've had enough of dodging chicken poo on our way out and in.

We first made a quick PVC chicken tractor, (not the best material...I know) but hoping it would be light enough to lift and corral the chickens in, then move around throughout the day....HA!

The chickens would not come near the structure, so instead we set it down on top of our broccoli, to keep the chickens out.

(pardon me while I figure out how to insert pics exactly where I want them on this blog...) Picture #1 from bottom -up. is the structure protecting the broccoli. You can see, the rest of the little garden spot where the precious broccoli is being protected there is cardboard laid out to prepare the earth "lasagna garden" style. It's a method that really helps with persistant lawn grasses. This smaller garden will house the edible plants in the nightshade family. Like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, potatoes, peppers, etc.... They are being displaced from the BIG food garden for a few years b/c we just cut down a WALNUT tree in order to have enough sun in a big space, and walnut's roots put out a poison called Juglone, deadly to the nightshade family! We will be rehabilitating the soil for awhile where walnut roots still live. See pic #2 with the big tree stump in middle, that was the walnut, and is now the new home of our main food garden, the "castle garden"

Back to the chickens...we needed a way to protect our new big food garden from the ravaging beasts our sweet hens can be. We found, THE CHICKEN MOAT. (We got this brilliant idea from Mother Earth News). It turns out not only does it protect what gardens we are building, it benefits the chickens! If the garden was in an open field they would be protected from birds of prey while they are in the moat. Your garden would also be protected from deer, raccoon, rabbit etc... Since we are in the city the best benefits are plenty of bugs for the chickens, hopefully the ones trying to get to the garden, and the chicken manure seeps into the plants roots when it rains, BONUS.

We thought we'd build the inside fence out of sturdy wire so that we could use it as trellis for beans in the garden, then 3.5 feet out from that another ring of outer fencing. This we built using small trees and branches from trees and shrubs we dug or sawed off the property. Mostly the overly common crepe myrtle, and privet. So you can see our woven fence...we put the chickens in and it took about 2 minutes flat until they found a pole to hop on, and out! We knew the fence was short but we hoped the spiky branches would be enough of a deterrant. These hens are jungle birds, no doubt... We are currently in process cutting bamboo and sticking it into the horizontal woven fence, in a vertical manner. It is less smooth looking, and hides the awesome woven fence, but function before form in this case. Pic #3, #4 is of the woven fence, and then w/ the addition of bamboo-pic #5-(trial run w/ chickens) We are sadly stalled. We are out of our bamboo source for the upright...

Never-the -less, the castle garden begins! Chris planted some strawberries pic #6. A patch of comfrey around the walnut stump, with some hidden arugula seeds. Kale, and crimson clover seeds. We are going to plant a foot of clover and other such cover crops in a ring around the inside garden so the chickens can feast thru the fence, on something we have deemed OK to eat. We really do try to get along with our flock of ladies, they give us such De-licious eggs!

Next entry will be about moving the cold frame so we can assemble the greenhouse! Be watching for entries from Chris, they will be more along the lines of serious gardening tips, how to make cuttings, how to prune, etc...He truly keeps the garden's alive, I mostly dream about them, and then get to see my dreams take shape in front of my very own eyes...I know, aren't I a lucky gal!!!

Stephanie

A New Beginning

2009-03-24T11:35:00.007-05:00

Just to clarify, over the past 10 years we have built and left behind or disassembled many a garden. We found solace in knowing we were leaving behind a treasure of green life where the earth had been a barren lawn. We replaced it with a home for creatures, and a feast for the eyes. In the case of disassembling, what we left was a lawn where some kind of "wildflower weed" could take over and still keep the bees happy (at least). The flip side of this, of course, is that we never could be sure if the next tenants would care to tend a patch of green life. We had to accept that perhaps they would not even see the beauty in it.

The week before Christmas 2008 we bought a 1920's farmhouse here in Memphis, TN on .5 acres smack dab in the middle of concrete, highways and commerce. This blog is a place where we can chronicle the evolution of our new spot.

Right now, as I write this there is a forceful SWOOOSH of spring air and I look up at the two blooming dogwoods in the back yard and they undulate like the sea! I just saw the two canopies make a wavelike rolling motion...an ocean of blossoms...this is worth sharing!

(If only I had video capture, you'll just have to image the movement...)

Chris and Stephanie