Transformations and Ch-Ch-Changes

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Early spring 2013

(I am posting something I wrote last summer but never published and am just updating it with a recent photo. My writing ability is highly challenged these days. I actually spent five minutes the other day searching for a particular word and upon finally remembering the word, I managed to completely forget the sentence I needed it to complete. The word, by the way, was 'hapless.')

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Do you remember a post from a-ways back about our doggie dustbowl and how things needed to change?

They did! {Click on each photo for bigger views.}

The roses, butterfly bushes, caryopteris and lilac are all, miraculously, healthy and happy in their new spot. I have even added an antique climbing rose and an elderberry. I am hoping to train the rose up the front of the house.You can't even see the fig - but it is there.

This post is about remembering the biggest part of gardening - patience.

Plant This: Big Root Geranium

I gathered pots of this last year and they have filled out a dead zone nicely.

Weeds? What weeds?

Dandelion poofs. I never see them as weeds. Neither does Willa May.

Also - random - I just *found* a huge patch of rhubarb on our land.  How did it get there?

We went for a hike around Mint Springs yesterday morning and I am thinking that I need a good, portable Virginia butterfly guide and a moss/lichen identification book.

Typing With One Hand

Thank goodness you can blog in your pajamas and typing can just require one hand.

We are in the middle of a big developmental stage for Samuel and it is hard on him. Lots of cuddling and feedings while he makes a great leap forward. I find that chocolate helps me cope with the fussing. During a somewhat pathetic moment the other night, I wearily glanced as a piece of a 100 Grand bar wrapper fell out of my shirt as I changed into my pajamas.

The plant sales have started. (The local Ruritans down the road were selling divisions from their own gardens - I scored a wiegela and a quince as well as some lily-of-the-valley, summer phlox and sedum. I'm going back this weekend for spiderwort, rose-of-sharon and shasta daisies.)

We spend time on the back deck (view from it is the first photo) on the glider - as the outside soothes us all.

The lilacs are from our own lilac {!}. Having them next to my side of the bed is a nice way to go to sleep and wake up (even if it is at 1 a.m., 3 a.m. and again at 6 a.m.).

And the moss. Just because moss is a favorite around here.

I have lots to do, but there is still time. The gardens will always be there. (Sam's early days will not. Which tears at my heartstrings.)

To Be Scattered

For the cutting garden:

Cleome,

knee-high cosmos,

nasturtiums and

LOTS of old-fashioned zinnias.

Candied Violets

A sure sign of spring around here are the wild violets dotting the landscape. I thought we could try our hand at candied violets this year.

How to:

Pick a pile {keeping their stems on during the candying process} and rinse them thoroughly, but gently. Allow to dry on wax paper or on plastic wrap over a cooling rack. Take an egg out of the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature. Then, you'll need fine sugar. {Not confectioners sugar.} I took regular sugar and ran it through the food processor. {You can also use your coffee grinder.}

With a small paintbrush - paint each violet with egg white. {This is where industrious little fingers come in real handy.} Sprinkle with the fine sugar. Allow to 'set' for 24 hours. Snip off the stems.

We just ate ours straight up. Or you can use them to decorate cupcakes.

An Attempt At Propagation

The science of plant propagation has always intrigued me - and intimidated me. So, this spring, I thought I would start with two plants that people have told me to 'just take a cutting and stick it in the ground.'

The above photo is a forsythia cutting - I cut it below the node, scraped a bit of the bark off with a knife, dipped it in rooting hormone and put it in compost-rich soil. I will also put a cloche over it - like a mini-greenhouse.

My other cutting is elderberry. There is a video on YouTube of someone over in England showing his accidental rooting of 87 elderberry plants - as he used bare branches from an elderberry tree as pea trellises. If I have that type of haphazard luck, I will be thrilled.

If I have any success with these two - I have two more items on my wishlist. The first is a fragrant, vintage rose from my brother's old Charlottesville city/farmhouse. The other is a pale pink flowering quince from down the road - which I may need to visit under the cover of dark. I have read of people that really get into collecting plants and haunt old cemeteries and abandoned properties in hot pursuit of the ultimate cutting collections. I can see that happening with me very easily. It is all about living on the edge, I tell you!

Here's a great article on propagating roses with a mason jar.

The Stuff of Life {And Spring!}

{I imagine my mom is the only person reading this blog these days. Hi Mom!}

Spring is here. I have neglected my writing. And my gardens.

We moved. We renovated the house. We moved back in. We had a baby! {Samuel Thomas James born on March 1st - I am in love.}

So we are back. The gardens, the light in Sugar Hollow, the arrival of spring and all of its sounds are being particularly relished these days. There is nothing like being away from home for a few months to completely appreciate it upon your return. I hardly leave these days.

Also:

Between the pregnancy and sleep deprivation - I forgot about several plantings from last spring. It is nice to be able to surprise yourself.

Turns out, a pile of lumber can be dumped on top of your peonies for an entire winter and upon removal on a Saturday, new peony shoots will appear through the soil the following Tuesday!

Big things happening around here. 

A time of very welcomed, though not always easy, transition. 

I am hoping for some gardening and lots of sweet moments with my babies in the upcoming year. 

All the best to you and yours in 2013!

Autumn Lull

This is the view from my workspace in the garden - while I cleaned up a small section this past weekend. It felt good to move around. {I exercised caution and stopped before my back started screaming.} There was sun on my belly, too. And, warm kittens to pick up and feel their rumbles and purrs.

This stretch of the year - between Thanksgiving and Christmas - is my time to clean up the garden. The University gives us a nice chunk of time off - so the upcoming long weekend will give me more moments of garden work. Maybe some bulb plantings. And I want to prep the cold frame - so I can sprinkle seeds down in February - for greens in March and early April.

Also:

Corey and I went to see Lincoln yesterday at the new stadium-seating theater in Charlottesville. Fantastic.

I just ordered The Toymaker's Christmas book - filled with paper toys for Willa and I to assemble.

Knitting season is here - and this year I have a very vocal child with clear opinions on what she wants me to knit for her. So much fun.

I have been getting some time with my fiddle and this site is my favorite for traditional Irish music. Not only does he supply the sheet music, but there are also MP3s of each tune - so you have something to listen to while you are learning.

Natalie Merchant's new book (illustrated by Barbara McClintock) and CD - Leave Your Sleep - is gorgeous.