Highgrove Gardens

Did you know that Prince Charles is a devoted and spectacularly gifted gardener and designer?

After an evening of ice skating last weekend, we came home and collapsed on to the couch to discover a PBS show on his gardens. He has an entire garden room called The Stumpery {first photo} - that features old branches, moss and ferns that grow among the rotting wood and around a small temple. HRH was also a huge proponent of organic gardening - decades before it was a thing. Enough of my yammering - take a look at these photos. {Here is a link to the show we watched, too.}

Source: thespec.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: portersgarden.hampshire.org.uk via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: highgrovegardens.com via Tracey on Pinterest

One Toddler + One Lamb = Cuteness Overload

Our very dear friend Kris invited us out to her house last week. We got to hang with the chickens, the regal gobbling turkeys, the goats and the sweetest donkey {top photo}. Oh, yes. And LAMBS. You haven't lived until you have bottle fed and held a lamb, people. Holy smokes. Seriously. Little woolly, sweet-smelling poofs. It was Willa's idea to scoop one up in her arms. I quickly followed her lead. The memory is now etched in my brain.

And, also {predictably}, that night, I had The Chicken Talk with Corey. I have been slowly socking away money here and there from freelance work for what we will need. I think I am ready. It is time.

Spring planning:

The Innisfree plant order form arrived in the mail! Tons of tomatoes, herbs and annuals to choose from. For us, I am thinking about globe amaranths, asclepias 'Silky Formula Mix' {for the butterfly garden}, fragrant Chinese forget-me-nots, edible nasturtiums, more woodland phlox, lupines, St. Johnswort and maybe some nettles.

And then there is the late-winter squirreling away of seed packets. Gramma and I visited a greenhouse during lunch last week and I bought four varieties of zinnias from Renee's Garden {'Granny's Bouquet', 'Cool Crayon Colors', 'Blue Point Bouquet' and 'Berry Basket'.} Later on the week, I secured some 'Green Envy' and 'Burpeena Giant' seeds. The vision of color I hold for our gardens is totally over the top.

Swirly-Eyed Spring Dreaming

Source: moma.org via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: garden-artistry.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: garden-artistry.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: garden-artistry.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: garden-artistry.tumblr.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Source: nestfully.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Ideas, thoughts, visions. Spring dreaming.

Field Trip :: West Virginia

We hit the road last week for a change of scenery and some rest. Also, for direct access to a pool. Swimming in a heated pool or soaking in a hot tub - surrounded by windows looking out to the weather and the snow - is my idea of supreme indulgence.

We spent a few days at Blackwater Falls Lodge, visited White Grass, hiked the trails around the lodge, watched some cable TV (!!) and ate pancakes for breakfast every morning. We are realizing that we need to plan some sort of adventure in late January-early February to stave off the winter blah-blah-blahs.

The trip certainly shook the dust out of my brain and I am embracing the work routine and ready to get back to home and garden projects. More on those things soon.

In the meantime, I am freelance garden blogging over at Breathe Magazine these days. Please visit!

The 2012 Calendar

Hello 2012!

{This was my Christmas gift to friends and family.}

{{Click on image for larger version.}}

Chasing the Light

One of the many lovely things about living on your own five acres is the privacy. Friends will ask if I feel isolated. Ah, no. If I feel a need for people and activity, I seek it out and I have learned to pre-emptively recognize that hankering. Otherwise, I cherish the space and the quiet.

Case in point: The ability to bundle up around one's 'lounge wear' ("Mommy, you wore your pajamas all day!"), pull on some warm boots and have a full-moon picnic/bonfire.

A new addition to our bonfire set-up were tree stump seats. So cool! {From Corey.} Willa thought of including sparklers and we brought out snacks and marshmallows. We could hear the yips of i-otes {coyotes} and the rambling of the Moormans River in the distance.

It always feels like we have gone on a small vacation when we do this. {I love how our house looks in the dark, too.}

Winter nighttime activities with warmth, light and a little bit of grub. I highly recommend them.

All Was (Somewhat) Calm

The Irish Druid in me feels the need for greenery and lights when the days get shorter. And an embarrassing amount of fatty-fat and sugar. So, the holidays fit the bill! A Christmas tree, some terrariums, as well as some homemade chocolate covered pretzels, peppermint bark and these crazy-hit-all-the-taste buds turtles that we gave as presents.

When darkness fell, we sought out lights, inside and out, and appreciated the last gasp of evening sun and the wood stove. And then lots and lots of time with friends and family.

The time off from the work routine was somewhat restorative. I have a very, very, very chatty toddler who wakes up and immediately runs from her bed to our bed. Runs! I pine wistfully for the energy I had in my 20s that I frittered away on late nights in Manhattan - fretting about what outfit to wear and where to have dinner and drinks. Four hours of sleep and I was set! Now, I get a good night's sleep and I am no match.

I am revisiting my 30 things list while looking ahead to 2012!

And, today, back at it. And by that I mean - work, exercise, eating something green, reading. I used to love those things - but it seems like a lifetime ago. Before the holiday marathon. Before the fatty-fat.

December Days (And Low on Gardening Activities)

Winter light always gets to me. Gotta get out with the cameras more and more.

Willa has a new responsibility - filling up the bird feeder. The little ones really do love having a purpose and projects, right? {Sweeping is another fun 'chore' disguised as 'big girl responsibility'.} I like that she owns moments passionately and completely. {We are learning the names of the birds, too.} Speaking of passionately and completely - many of the photos of Willa, as of late, seem to include a little blurred appendage here and there. Hmm.

We will be making wreaths from scratch this weekend. I can't wait. With materials found on our land and wire hangers for the forms. Photos soon.

Recent things:

The new Kate Bush album - 50 Words for Snow. Just in time for winter! Also, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake and The Black Key's El Camino ('Little Black Submarines' 'specially).

I just finished reading The Complete Stories of Truman Capote. So very, very good. I grew up watching the Geraldine Page version of "The Christmas Memory" and was able to find it on You Tube. Such a favorite.

I ran the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning and was really happy with my time for a crazily hilly course. Next, the New Year's Day 5K {which is much flatter}.

My pie crust endeavors are coming along - I actually brought an apple pie to Thanksgiving dinner and got all nutty with a lattice-top. I am still calibrating the correct ratio of running workouts to pie crust - as it seems to be a frustrating wash these days.

Outings to fend off the sleepiness induced by it getting dark at 5 p.m.:

:. Shirlee Grody's art opening of 'Bodies in Space' at Bikram Yoga
:. A dance and step competition at The Paramount
:. The UVa Art Museum (I got sucked in by Barbara Morgan's photos of Martha Graham dancers and Isabel Bishop's sketches of working ladies from the 1940's.)
:. Innisfree's Open House
:. 'Let There Be Light' at PVCC
:. The Blackfriars for The Twelve Dates of Christmas
:. UVa women's basketball
:. 1307 Mountain View!

{**Most of of these are free!}

The Sugar Hollow Plant List

Echinacea (also known as coneflower) attracts butterflies and in late fall, gold finches.

Taking stock in the garden at season's end! I got 50 more daffodil bulbs planted last weekend and could probably plant 50 bulbs every season for the next 20 years and still not make a dent in the landscape. {I would love our land to be a sea of yellow every late February.}

What is on your wish list? What do you recommend?

HONEYBEE, BIRD AND BUTTERFLY ATTRACTORS

Catnip, white and lavender varieties
Butterfly Bush
Liatris
Glossy Abelia
Sunflowers
Echinacea
Bee Balm
Zinnias
Caryopteris ‘Blue Beard’
Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’
Salvia ‘May Night’
Russian Sage
Black-Eyed Susans
Shasta Daisies
Goldenrod (wild)
Yarrow (wild)
Thistle (wild)
Violets (wild)
Ironweed (wild)

BENEFICIAL INSECT ATTRACTORS

Love-in-a-Mist (self-seeding patch)
Daffodils, common and several other fragrant varieties
Iris, common and a variety that smells like grape Pez

NATIVES

Fringe Tree
Eastern Red Bud
Virginia Sweet Spire
Virginia Bluebells
May Apples
Wild Phlox
Trillium

HERBS

Plantain
Lavender (also good for honeybees)
Lemon Balm (also good for honeybees)
Sage
Rosemary (also good for honeybees)
German Chamomile
Thyme
Oregano (also good for honeybees)
Dill
Garlic
Mint, Common
Mint, Apple

ORNAMENTALS

Lilac, Common
Hydrangea ‘Endless Wonder’
A variety of small, ephemeral bulbs
Hollies, ‘China Boy’ and ‘China Girl’ varieties
Liriope
Dayliles, native, 'Pandora’s Box', 'Wineberry Candy', 'Jolyene' and several other varieities
Grape Hyacinths
Sugar Maple
Willow Oak
Eastern Red Cedars
Japanese Maples (3)
Azalea
Bridal Wreath
Rose, Climbing Antique 'Jeanne LaJoie'
Roses, Knock Outs
Coreopsis, Rose
Plumbago
Hollyhock, Common (deer fodder right now, but I hold out hope)
Veronica Speedwell
Tulips, Rembrandt and basic red variety

PERENNIAL FOOD PRODUCERS

Fig 'Chicago Hardy'
Juneberry (seriously chomped down by deer, but still living)
Black raspberry
Blackberries
Strawberries (in containers, for now)
Wild persimmons
Asparagus 'Mary Washington'
Elderberry
Rhubarb

REMAINING WISH LIST and FINAL THOUGHTS

A weeping mulberry shrub.
'Korean Spice' viburnums for along the front path.
A peony (or two).
More irises.
More Black-Eyed Susans along the ridge above the daylilies.
More compost under the walnut to help plants thrive?
More varieties of daylily for under the walnut.
A better okra crop.
Plant cucumbers for pickling.
Grow squash for the *blossoms,* too.
Find a spot for the elderberry that will let it thrive.
More native phlox.
Plant calendula – for botanical beauty potions.
Don’t plant green beans. (I just don’t love them enough to can and freeze.)

Autumn Reverie

Two sweet videos/songs I have been loving this week.






I weeded last weekend! And planted the climbing antique rose and a few allium and grape hyacinth bulbs. There is garlic to plant this weekend and a vegetable garden to tidy up.

I also need to figure out a new location for the cold frame. The dogs discovered the original cold frame at the end of the growing season and I need to build something outside of their area. This could be a Christmas break project, as I usually like to sprinkle seeds down for lettuce, arugula and kale in late January.

Do you love permaculture? Check out this place in North Carolina. And he has a whole video about drying clothing on a clothes line and what hardware to use. Yes!

Thanksgiving break is coming up and that also means bulb-planting time. I always get a nice big bag of 50 daffodil bulbs and then some more ephemeral bulbs - like scillas and hyacinthoides.

I did an inventory of our plants and hope to post that soon. It is good to step back and see what we have, what did well, what croaked and {my favorite part} to see what I want to put on the wish list. The gardens are maturing enough that I can actually start dividing things to fill in spots. Which is AWESOME.

Other stuff:

I am running the Boar's Head Turkey Trot next week. I should probably focus less on my running playlist and more on training, but the music distracts from the sound of me sucking wind. So, it is important.

Recently read: Outliers, Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West, Lit: A Memoir, Love is a Mix Tape (re-read). And, waiting for me at the library - Okay for Now (which sounds SO good).

I hope to can some apple pie innards this weekend. And maybe, also, some cider. I found some brand new, wide-mouth jars at a thrift store this week that I hope will work nicely.

Gramma and Grampa are back in town. Yipee!