Covid journal, Day 357: Garden Time

46 and slightly overcast with thin clouds that still allow the sun to come through. 70 is predicted today.

I got out in the gardens again yesterday. It is amazing how quickly Spring is, well, springing. Everywhere bulbs are peaking through; some of the crocus is in bloom, and here and there I find dandelions and heal-all blooming in the grass, their blossoms snugged against the ground as if trying not to commit too much yet.

Leaves are everywhere. The flowerbeds are full of them. We've been raking or blowing them out and hauling them to the chickens, who are thrilled to have this interesting material to scratch in. I am so happy to see that most of my new plants from last year survived the winter, and even some that are usually annuals, like calendula and rosemary, are hanging in there. Parsley, chamomile, thyme and oregano all seem to have made it through, and the multiplier onions I planted in the fall are doing great. Larry picked some this morning to add to the chili he got out of the freezer for his supper today. There are still turnips to be had from the garden, although the kale seems to have succumbed to the winter and the deer. 

Inside, the lettuce, broccoli and cabbage seeds I planted on Sunday are already sprouting. No sign of the tomatoes or peppers yet but I'm sure they'll be along soon. Peppers take a long time anyway. I'm itching to get started planting the garden. If it doesn't rain tomorrow as predicted, perhaps we'll be able to get a few things out. Larry plowed a new patch that is really huge--I had asked him to *slightly* enlarge one garden, but he decided to plow the old garden and another larger space. Lord knows what we'll plant there, but maybe we'll grow potatoes again, and put some tomatoes in that new ground--they love new ground.

We're not entirely out of the winter woods yet, of course. There's still the possibility of a snowstorm or a big drop in temperatures for an extended period. But this little spell of nice weather is certainly a welcome and needed break as we try to clear up winter's detritus. Things look taggy and cluttery wth twigs everywhere from the ice storm, leaves, bones the dogs have dragged in, tools Larry has scattered about, etc. Now it's cleanup time.

It's also firepit time. We've had the firepit lit the past two evenings. What a simple pleasure to sit by the fire with the dogs and the cat, and watch the sun set pinkly into the west. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

In the Gardens

We were up and out early this morning to re-plant some areas of our gardens.

This is the walled garden, and it's been kind of disappointing this year. I put my summer squash in here along with some early cucumbers. The cucumbers are finally coming along, but so far we've had only 3 or 4 squash. Still, I love this little space, and the early lettuce, onions and radishes did well. I'll be replanting them in the raised bed in September.

This is the garden we worked in this morning.

Otis had to get his tail into the photo. After all, he was up and out with us!

It was lovely and cool out, with low humidity and the sun just beginning to creep across the hill. Larry pulled out spent plants and tilled the ground up yesterday, so this morning's work was easy, just make the furrows and plant. We put in some late green beans, beets, carrots, radishes, lettuce, and kale this morning, and I have cabbage seed on the way--hoping to grow some plants for late cabbage. We shall see how that goes. Larry put in some squash and cucumbers last week and those are up and growing.

Our other helper, Miss Daisy Mae. They are so curious about anything we do outside, but they do NOT like the electric fence!

We don't have the best luck with late gardens--often the deer get in and decimate it, or the weeds take over. But I'm hopeful that this time it will thrive, as the soil is in good condition, the weeds are under control and the electric fence and Irish Spring soap seem to be doing their job as critter deterrents. I also bought some garden netting to put over the plants if we see any sign of deer damage. They ate one of my hydrangeas and some hostas and coneflowers last week. Grrrr.

The flowers are holding up pretty well so far. These are in a pot on the deck.

And these are out by the patio. I don't know what they are; I bought them at Walmart in the spring and all I remember is that they're tropical and don't like weather under 50 degrees. They bloom and bloom, and are so pretty. Oddly, the hummingbirds don't pay any attention to them.

Begonias are one of my favorites, right up there with geraniums for pot plants. They bloom constantly and need little care. I usually bring some inside for the winter.

This giant coleus seems to love the old cast iron pot it's planted in. The pot has no bottom, so talk about good drainage.

The fireweed is just beginning to bloom. I suppose it really is a weed as it grows along roadsides and that's where I got this plant. But it hasn't spread, and I like it for its habit of blooming later in the summer.

My favorite begonia. It's a deep pinkish red, just gorgeous and doesn't get unsightly when the blooms fade like the light pink ones do.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Garden Walk

I went out with my camera this morning--accompanied by our two dogs and the cat. I thought I'd take some photos of progress on the gardens at this point.

In the little walled garden, the grapvine is beginning to clamber over the arbor. I did a "scorched earth" stringtrimming in here yesterday in preparation for covering the whole space in mulch hay, as we did last year.

In the flower beds, the clematis is in bloom. This vine is thriving despite, or maybe because of, the huge overhaning maple.

Iris popped out the other day and are blooming thickly now. I don't have many varieties but maybe this year I can add a few.

Another view of the walled garden, with the currant bush in front left. Beyond it is the smaller of our vegetable gardens.

The first truckload of mulch hay, waiting to be spread.

I pulled the lettuce and radishes yesterday and fed them to the chickens. They were past their peak, so I replanted, this time with Green Ice and Ruby Sails lettuce, and the usual Cherry Belle radishes.

I was so thrilled to see that my efforts to re-establish Sweet Rocket succeeded! That's the tall flowering plant behind the lilies. I know this is a common roadside wildflower, but once I had a fine patch of it in this very spot, and I wanted it back--it died out a long time ago, for some reason. So last year I trandsplanted one plant, and scattered seeds and hoped for the best. It worked!

The weigela is lovely this year, and will need a serious haircut when it's finished blooming.

What else got a haircut--that nasty gill-over-the-ground, which was trying to strangle the lily-of-the-valley patch.

A better photo of the Sweet Rocket.

The Bridal Wreath Spirea is getting its haircut now. Larry has one bush done, three more to go. Otis was impatiently waiting as he was sure we were going for a walk!

The "driveway garden", as I call it, is doing exceptionally well this year. I have trouble with this one in the summer as it tends to get dry very quickly, but last year it wasn't a problem with all the rain. I also have a terrible time with deer in this garden come fall. Thinking about how I can thwart them this year. They ate all my fall flowers last year, made me so mad--even ate the live-forever.

Another weigela, also in line for a big trim.

The peas are coming along nicely.

So are the cabbages and kale. These are mulched with cardboard underneath, which we will also do under the squash, cucumbers and peppers when we plant, as we had great results with that last year. The cardboard completely decomposed over the winter.

A look up the garden--potatoes by the plow, then onions, a row of carrots and beets, and the peas. There is also a row of leeks that you can't  see, and a row of beans that are now yet up. This one is my garden so far this year, although as we get into summer I will have to relinquish the reins to Larry.

Still waiting for that walk...

 The first of the peonies have opened. This spot has gotten zero attention for a few years; this year the whole space, except for the peonies, will be weedeated. It's just too overgrown with problem vines.

Finally, they got their walk! We just went up on the ridge and back down. My right knee is giving me a lot of trouble these days, and today it is particularly bad so I didn't get far. But the dogs and Clyde the cat (who was right beside me as I took this photo) were happy.

And home.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

In the Gardens

My one current hydrangea bloom. This bush has had a few blossoms this summer but the older shrub was eaten almost to the ground in June by the deer. 

A long evening and morning's work in the gardens and yard have things almost back under control.

Every year, the same thing happens. I keep up pretty well through June, and then July hits. And I'm on the road storytelling and when I'm home I'm canning veggies. Larry is constantly mowing and weedeating--and this summer, constantly working on mowers because we've had one breakdown after another. He manages to get the vegetables picked, and do a little tilling, but that's about all he can manage.

Something--deer, probably--knocked the top off the waterer so I replaced it with a potted plant.

So things get a little wild around here. That nasty bindweed tries to take over the world, the gill-over-the-ground gills all over the ground, flowers get stemmy and weedy-looking, or die because this hill is just so dry and there's no way we can water enough to keep everything vibrant. The hardy ones hang on but they look pretty tough. I water what I can but still...

Merchandise waiting to go to the booths--ladders, iron bedframe, metal chairs and an old bike.

The past few evenings and this morning I've been back out there with my stringtrimmer, the rototiller and the clippers. The roses got cut back, and I have no idea if this is the right time to do it but they were getting v-e-r-y tall and messy and only one looked like it might bloom. I cut back irises and lily-of-the-valley, pulled sad petunias from pots and replanted with mums, and weeded, weeded, weeded.

Before tilling and planting

We finally pulled up the cucumbers which were pretty well played out. I tilled the space, and an area of the walled-in garden and planted some late garden--carrots, lettuce, onions, and some broccli and bean seeds. The last two are iffy--they may not ever bear fruit but I had the seed, and at least the beans will set nitrogen in the soil. I still need to get some turnip seed planted but that will be the next trip to town.

I can't say it looks pretty--it doesn't. The poor flowerbeds just got worn out with this summer's hot weather, and they're ready to throw in the towel. I'll plant more fall flowers soon to brighten things up. At least it looks neat out there now.

I've been really happy with the little walled garden this year. It's been a reclamation project. Larry walled it with stacked stones but we hadn't really done much with it. This year I planted some squash, zucchini, lettuce, onions and tomatoes in there and all did very well. I believe this is the first time I have ever had squash plants last through the summer without getting diseased. They're monsters, and so are the two tomato plants.

There are also some random canna lilies in this garden--Larry missed digging some of them up and when we dug the garden the bits of root scattered and came up. I have never seen cannas winter over, so this is pretty cool.

The canna thinks the trellis is meant for it! 

We planted a grape vine in this garden last year and built a trellis for it and this year it's growing very well. The raspberry plants are also taking hold, and the asparagus is recovering after we lost a good many plants last year for some reason. The blueberries I planted in here did not survive and this is my last attempt to grow them. They just don't seem to like our soil. But the one current bush I planted a few years back is thriving.

I really love this little rockwalled space. It will be a hand-worked garden, dug by hand and mulched heavily, from now on, and I am betting it will be one of the most productive gardens we've ever had. Eventually it may be the only vegetable garden we plant if we live here into our dotage. But I bet we'll get plenty of food from it.

Larry and I both picked little flower bouquets, not realizing it. His is roses, ironweed and chrysanthemums,

and mine is pink geranium, basil, stevia and begonia.

It's like bringing a bit of the garden inside with us, and a reminder that the work is worth it.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Of Gardens and Reading and Finding Peace

It's a cool, drippy morning, perfect for slowing down and taking time to write. The past week was a blur of traveling to storytelling performances and putting up food that our abundant garden has been producing in our absence. All good things, but allowing little free time to stop and reflect.

We have laughed many times in the last few weeks over the garden we almost didn't plant because we were worried about whether or not we could maintain it after Larry's knee surgery. We thought we'd just plant a little "eating fresh" garden. Right. That plan flew out the window early on, and we planted almost as much as we have in past years. The only thing missing is the pumpkin patch.

Cucumbers have been incredibly productive this year. Last year I could not get enough of them even for just eating fresh, but this year Larry is picking them by the five-gallon bucketsful.

I've made over 50 quarts of dill and bread and butter pickles so far, and another bucketful is waiting for me today. Yes, I'll make more pickles because who knows what might happen next year?

We've also had lots and lots of yellow squash and zucchini. Some of these got big so quickly that they had to be chopped up for the chickens--who by the way are eating sumptiously these days! Yesterday I made stirfry with the squashes, onions, garlic and peppers from our garden, added carrots and celery from the store and pork from the hog we bought last year. Some soy saucer and other seasonings and 8 quarts were ready for the freezer after we'd eaten some for our dinner. I sauteed the carrots first, then the meat, then the rest of the veggies until just barely tender. It will be good eating this winter.

Tomatoes are coming in now too. I put up the first batch of pasta sauce this week. I'm cheating these days and using Mrs. Wage's sauce mix, which has all the spices and herbs already in it. It's so easy and so good, and much faster.

And corn--Larry picked the first corn Friday, and we put seven bags in the freezer and had plenty for a real summer supper of tomatoes, corn and cucumbers. He pulled the stalks yesterday and gave them to the chickens to peck over, and then tilled the ground and planted a few hills of late squash and seeded some kale, lettuce, and turnips. The second planting of corn should be ready next week. With the steady showers today, the new-planted seeds have had a good settling in, I hope.

I've been interspersing my canning bouts with reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, a West Virginia native who won the Pulitzer prize for this novel. I read it years ago, so it's time for a re-read. I am struck by the fine writing, such attention to and knowledge of the details of Chinese life in the early 1900's. Buck's parents were missionaries in China and it's obvious that she absorbed and loved the culture of the country. It's rare today to find an author who writes with such beauty and depth. Most novels today seem formulaic and rush along with lots of action and cardboard characters. I have trouble getting absorbed in modern novels, but the older classics are classics for very good reason in my opinion.

One reason I am re-reading this book is that I will be teaching a storytelling workshop at the Pearl S. Buck birthplace on October 20th as part of the Cal Price Appalachian Enrichment Series. I want to be more familiar with Buck and her work for this workshop and it is one of those tasks that is a true pleasure. The workshop will focus on ghost stories but will be helpful for anyone interested in how to research and create compelling stories. I find that I am learning more about my own topic from Buck's novel as I note her attention to folklore and superstitions, to description and historic context.

Time to quit rambling and get back to work. With all the crazy news coming out of Washington this week and the various disasters all over the world, I find grounding and reassurance in the dependable garden, the demands of the hummingbirds for the feeders to be filled, the cackling of our contented hens, in the coming of rain, and in the art of Mrs. Buck's writing. While the world of man rocks on its crazy way, these homey things continue on their steady way, and I am glad to be able to turn off the world and sink into the luxuries of home.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Slow Sunday and Garden Photos

The continued humidity and unsettled weather is wearing us down, I think. Every day for the past week it has looked and acted like a storm is on the way, but generally we end up with some light showers. Which is fine, because with the garden just settling in I don't want a gullywasher right now.

I know that in some areas to the east of us there has been very heavy rain and storms, and flooding as a result. We've been spared that, and yet the heaviness of the air is so oppressive--and a short walk will have us pouring sweat in a just a few minutes. Yesterday I worked outside, potting flowers, planting, weeding, etc and was completely washed out after a few hours. Larry mowed a little and tinkered with his mower which has been acting up. He has been good about resting his knee and icing it, along with doing the required exercises.

We're moving slow today, both of us having slept in much later than usual, until almost 9 am. A late breakfast, housecleaning and clutter clearing took my morning, and now I am tired again, so decided to take a break and share the photos I took of the gardens yesterday morning.

This first plot is still a work in progress. Larry built the stone wall over a five-year period and we love it, but I struggled with what to do with the space after it was enclosed. Now it holds asparagus, blueberries, currants, red raspberry vines, a grapevine, and garlic and daylilies that self-planted. There is also a small lettuce bed for early planting, and I put in a small patch of onions for green onions, and planted my yellow squash and zucchini in here. I am in the process of mulching the whole thing. There are some pernicious weeds that got in when we had strawberries in here--dock and bindweed, two notoriously bad actors. So I am zapping them with the flamethrower now and will continue to pull, cut, burn and whatever else I can do to keep them to a minimum.

This is usually our early garden, where we grew peas, lettuce, onions, cabbages, etc. This year with the uncertainty over Larry's knee replacement and its impact on our lives, we held off planting--but I could not stand it, so right before he went into the hospital we planted some tomatoes, cabbage and peppers. We put down cardboard and then mulch on top of that because I was worried I would not be able to keep up with weeding. The early plants are doing great, and we have since planted onions, carrots, beets, red cabbage, more peppers and tomatoes, cucumbers, a couple rows of corn, a row of beans and one of potatoes. It won't be like our usual garden but I'm hopeful it will keep us in eating veggies this summer.

Larry built this stone column years ago, intending to make it a fountain. We never did that, but I like it just as it is. The painted planter was made by some of my granddaughters at least 15 years ago. It's the last remaining part of a column of clay pots glued together and painted by the girls. It's cracked now but still holding together. This year I planted herbs in these pots--rosemary, dill and sage. Normally I plant them in a garden but decided to try having them in pots.

I've had these white boots as planters for about 4 years. Drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. They work great.

One corner that I really like, all crooked and rusty. The pot has no bottom but works as a planter anyway. We found it under one of the cabins we moved.

Peonies are in full bloom now, and the scent is just heavenly.

Years ago I dug a small start from a rosebush on an old farm my brother was renting in Virginia. I didn't know where to plant it, so I stuck in this corner "for the time being." That was 30 years ago, or more. I don't know the variety, but it is a lovely full flower with the sweetest scent.

More herbs in planters.

And more roses. When my boys were little I planted these to keep them from pounding a path in the grass instead of walking on the sidewalk. It worked. And 35 years later the roses are still here.

Yet another planter of herbs. I love the varied greens and shapes of herb plants. I plant mostly culinary herbs, and none of them anything fancy--thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, the usual suspects. I once had some extensive herb gardens, and who knows, maybe one day I will do so again.

This chimney stone came out of an old log cabin we tore down to add the second log room to our house. There was a black snake curled up in the hole, and I wish you could have seen Larry flying off that roof--and the snake moving just as fast in the opposite direction!

Oregano and hens-and-chicks. I plan to sell the small planters at the street fair next week.

A story in how when one thing ends, another begins. These iris have not bloomed for years because the spot was too shady for them. They are under an ash tree and as you might have heard, the ash trees are succumbing to the emerald ash borer. This tree is slowly dying--and the light coming through its thinning branches is enough for the iris to bloom. The tree is my bottle tree, and I am going to miss it very much. It was quite a beauty.

Another view of the walled garden.

The weigela has been incredible this year. The spirea bushes beside it were also stunning, now past their bloom. They need to be trimmed but there seem to be some birds nesting in them so we'll wait til next year.

This garden is now home to my strawberries. I think they will do well here. Last week the iris were in full glorious bloom, but the heat has done them in. The little pink poppies are beginning to bloom though.

Another view of this garden. The wagon wheels are only temporary-they'll go to a booth one day.

Larry put this wheelbarrow together from pieces. I think it's pretty cool. That's the lilies of the valley behind it. If you've noticed wire around my gardens that's to keep the dogs out. They think it's electrified (it isn't) and won't go near it! Three years ago they almost destroyed many of my flowerbeds, but now thank goodness that problem has been solved.

My oldest son gave me this sundial about 20 years ago. This year when I was getting out the garden things I noticed that it would fit perfectly into this wrought iron stand.

Waiting to be planted! I got all of these into the ground or into pots yesterday afternoon after taking these photos.

Our neighbor tilled the bigger garden space yesterday morning. What would we do without neighbors?

We will plant this garden later so there will be, I hope, some late garden for canning. Which is good because my June and July will be chock full of storytelling travel, with little time to do more than just maintain here at home. I'm not complaining! It's good to have the work, most of which is for repeat customers for whom I am very grateful.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.