rainy morning in the garden-4/28/13

there is great peace in the garden on a rainy morning.  perfect for clearing away the stress of the week. 

 a few moments to stroll the beds and take in the view, will do much to rejuvenate a tired body. to see the beauty of rain drops on day lily leaves...

 the promise of beauty in an iris waiting to bloom...

the quiet knowledge of what will become of the logs sprouting turkey tails...

a slight awakening of the appetite with wood ears, velvety and plump, awaiting the journey home to the kitchen and...

the joy of finding a mother bird sitting still and keeping her eggs safe and warm...

the garden is all of these things on a rainy morning.  it is also these things on a sunny afternoon, on any morning, afternoon or evening for that matter.  but to experience it, you must visit.  you need to take the time to walk through and see what the season has to offer.  bring a weeder and some gloves, we've got work to do.

 the bluebird nest is active-mom and dad are busy tending to the first brood of the year.  take care not to linger too long or loudly near the box.  the mother robin is just behind the box in the top of the arbor, tread carefully in the arbor so that she doesn't abandon the nest.

 in dr. bost's garden, i found the largest turnips i have ever seen!  don't even think about eating them-he works with fungus and those are just some of his "patients"

 i never saw the rain gauge here-we had about 3.5" of rain in this last storm.

 we always assume that the rain garden does it's job.  well, here is proof of that.  the basin is holding some rainwater and it is slowly draining.  rainwater is best kept where it falls and i am glad to see we are making that happen.  it is also pretty clear that we need to clean this garden up-lots of weeds and sedum plants need to be removed from the basin.

 reflections on water always catch my eye

 columbines blooming in the shade garden

 the iris garden down the hill from our garden is a popular site for outdoor weddings.  these clematis plants would make a beautiful backdrop for a wedding photo.

 actually, the whole gazebo could make a beautiful wedding site

 our new sedum garden.  do you have any unusual varieties of sedum to share?  we are looking to plant as many as we can in these blocks.

 rosemary in bloom.  one of my favorite plants in the herb garden.  the bees are loving it too.  it is a great addition to many dishes.  add it to bread dough.  roast it with potatoes.  stuff it into the cavity of a whole chicken before baking it.  the list goes on and on...

personally, i like to bake with it.  for this mornings cake, i took some freshly picked rosemary and combined it with dried currants for a lovely, yeast risen cake.

latest news from the garden

*****wood chips have arrived!!!*****

we have less than 2 weeks until the A-Z event and we need all hands on deck to get the garden ready.  we have the second load of wood chips and we need as many volunteers as possible to help us out.  come out when you can, check the calendar or give me a call and i will tell you when to come out. 

now, for your viewing pleasure, take a look at a recent view of the garden:

iris in bloom

 false blue indigo in the rain garden

 sedum in the rain garden

 stone crop in bloom

 jacobs ladder in the shade garden

 clematis on the gazebo

 a visitor in the clematis

 a close up of the visitor-who happens to be welcome anytime!

 love this clematis

knock out roses

garden update, 4/15

running a week behind in updates!  please forgive me, i was a little busy with my own garden this last week and didn't have much time to get the photos up.  we still have room in the rain garden class if anyone is interested in attending, let me know as soon as possible.

iris blooming in the outdoor classroom

 i love the false blue indigo in the rain garden, it puts on quite a show when in full bloom.

 the sedums in the rain garden have spread like wild fire.

 here is one in bloom-not sure what the cultivar is but i love the tiny yellow blooms.

 over in the shade garden, the tiny blooms of the jacobs ladder would be missed if you didn't stop to look at the plant.

 clematis on the gazebo enjoy making spectacles of themselves! 

 two tiny visitors to the clematis-lady bugs are always welcome!

 there are at least 4 kinds of clematis on the gazebo, you need to check them out regularly to see which is in bloom.

the rose garden-not for serious rose gardeners!  these are pink knockouts and they are in full bloom.

that's all for today, i have photos from this week coming soon.

update 4/1

we have begun the work on removing the block beds to make way for the tomato plants that are part of the plant trial for trevecca university.  it is a tedious process and one that requires full attention-wasps like to make nests inside the blocks!  by looking at the next few photos, it is easy to see what we are doing and should you decide to help us, you will have a clear idea of where things need to go.

 leave the dirt right where it is-if the cells of the blocks are full, empty them into the middle of the bed.

 place all of the blocks in the area behind the large green block bed, stacking them as neatly as possible.

 and if you do not want to lift and lug blocks-weed around the beds.  the granules that caroll sprinkled on the walkways is a pre-emergent weed preventer meaning that it will only affect the seeds and not the plants.  we still need to remove the plants.

 when the clematis is in bloom, the gazebo is beautiful!

 cranesbill in the shade garden-i love the color of the blooms

 a close up of the blooms

 an unwelcomed visitor in the asparagus bed-asparagus beetle

 pineapple sage in the herb garden survived our mild winter and is in the process of leafing out.

 i just love the look of bloody dock in the pallet garden.  it looks as if someone painted the lines onto the leaves.

 the rest of the pallet garden

 what i hope is a borage seedling from the plant that was in the is area last year

 the nasturtiums reseeded themselves in the herb garden too

 thyme in full bloom

 purple sage

 buckeye in full bloom

 more unwelcomed critters!  the yucca is crawling with little black bugs

 webworms over in the ut garden

and of course, cake.  it is my goal to arrive for every work day with a cake and today's effort was an apple walnut cake.  it was very tasty.  join us, have cake and eat it too!  for the recipe, click here