the dream life

Garden party

We were invited to a neighborhood garden party on Saturday. We'd never been to this house before, and we were stunned when we walked into the back yard to discover a paradise. It was as if the yard were divided into rooms and they were beautiful, welcoming, green rooms. It was a truly magical garden with vegetables and foxglove and vines and hammocks. There was a wild sort of section and there were dining areas with weathered teak furniture. Everything was tended but natural. 

We talked for a long time to another guest about community gardens and guerrilla gardening. (And we ate incredible salsa.)

When we left, I felt hopeful and good about life. I left with stories in my heart about people growing tomatoes next to the sidewalk -- growing greens and radishes and painting signs that say, hey, please, help yourself. Stories about people coming at night to do just that, and leaving thank you cards. Stories about rose gardens with scissors hanging on the fence posts -- stem cutting based on an honor system. Stories about changing the world with seed and sun.

I left inspired to reconsider my own green spaces and see what undiscovered potential they might hold.

Fairy discovery (always good)

I had to work yesterday morning...not typically the way I like to start out a three-day weekend, but it was graduation and graduations are exciting, so I didn't mind. Afterwards, I wasn't really sure what to do with my afternoon. There were so many things that I wanted to do and the weather was luscious. We had lunch then decided to visit some garden shops.

We ended up at Louis Flower Power (the one in Jessamine County) and discovered that they've got a fairy . 

thing going on out there

They have fairies and elves and fairy houses. After my shopping blow-out in Nashville, I decided not to buy anything, but I admired everything. I fell very much in love with this garden statue and caressed her lovingly.

Then, we came home and I was inspired to work in the garden and weed and create my own fairy paradise but instead, I ended up plopping down with a good book then going for a walk and *poof* it was dark and that was that. I don't know if I'll do anything productive today or not, but the weather is still wondrous and the world feels wide open.

Gardenaut

What's going on with the growing of things...Gardenaut: Preparing and assessing.

Check me out over here

Thanks to a tip from Jill, I'm going to be posting here this gardening season. Wish me green thumbs!

My Sacred Life Day 12: More green

This blog has not been great for variety lately. I seem to be going to the same place again and again to connect with spirit and that place is our back yard.
Tonight was our night to water, so I did that and filled the feeders and we sat with all the animals (me, Tracy, Peepers, Woody, Karma, birds, butterflies, squirrels). There were some new birds I'd never seen before and the hummingbirds were plenitful. They're flying closer and closer to us all the time.
I skipped my walk tonight, but being in the yard has become a deep and quiet journey, like a meditation, and I'm turning loose of guilt as soon as I feel it creeping up. Self-loathing is getting the boot, too.
These days I know of few things more healing than watching and tending to the yard as the sun sinks away. I like to slip off my shoes and put my bare feet on the ground and feel myself rooted and flying all at once.

My Sacred Life

My Sacred Life Day 6: In the garden

I've not been a great gardener during these extremely hot late summer weeks. I water (now only on the days I’m allowed to water), but I haven’t been weeding. Or mowing. And the weeds do not really care if it’s hot and dry. They are powerful - particularly the morning glory that is busy out there swallowing everything in its path.
If you ever need a ground or fence cover and you have little interest in growing anything else, morning glory is your girl.
But, the flowers have survived, too. And I’ve never really minded so much when things are wild and untended.
After squirrels completely destroyed my favorite bird feeder, I gave up and got them a corn cake. They still prefer the bird seed, but they are eating the corn. Whenever I walk around back and see a squirrel freeze (you don’t see me, you don’t see me) I try to mentally tell him/her that it’s okay - that I bought the corn for them - that I want them to eat the corn and welcome them to go ahead and take the rest of the tomatoes.
The remaining bird feeder has been dismantled twice but so far, I’ve been able to find all the parts in the yard and put it back together.
There's a draught going on in the birdbath, too, but on watering days I fill it up and I see birds out there drinking.
Despite the weeds, the heat, the biting bugs, I still love brushing my hands across the plants, talking to them, hearing them sing to me. I even enjoy...ahem...reassembling the feeder.
I try to have a moment out there, at least a moment, every day. It's a launchpad and a place to say goodnight.

My Sacred Life

The chair comes home

It must be the heat.
I've been spending my weekends lazing about and doing a whole lot of nothing and this one was no exception.
Unlike weekends past, however, I'm fine with it.
I'm learning to respect my need for down time, even though it's a tad out of balance lately.
I watched Must Love Dogs; Tracy, his brother and I went to the theater to see Ratatouille; I cut some zinnias from the garden; I took a walk.

The biggest thing that happened this weekend was a bit of chair acceptance.
Back in his bachelor days, Tracy had a chair that he loved. Every night, he sat in that chair. The stinky brown chair, we called it.
When we moved into our couple's home, I suggested, strongly, that he not move the stinky brown chair. I do not find it to be very beautiful and I was convinced that we could come up with better seating for Tracy. I thought he would forget.
That was several years ago.
This weekend, Tracy and Wes worked at moving stuff into storage and out of storage and the subject of the stinky brown chair was once again raised.
We decided to move it into the office space, which is now our shared office space.

And so it is.
I didn't know he'd been pining for his chair all this time and for that reason, I'm glad to accept it into our home. (Although, I might have to do some "work" on it.)

Swiped

My first tomato had gotten big. It was almost full grown. I checked on it every morning and every night. It was there this morning. This evening, I went out and it was gone.
Squirrels.
I'm not sure how to stop them.
I hope it was enjoyed.

Please say hello

to my little tomato...

Garden party

We've devoted a great deal of our evening and weekend time to the garden project for the past few weeks.

Our plants seem to be thriving and the birds and butterflies are having a wonderful time. I've seen two hummingbirds, and a big bluejay and a cardinal couple visit daily.
Our birdbath is a favorite stopping place for the robins.

We're also home to some little brown birds with red chests and heads. I have no idea what they are, but they're sweet.
Yesterday, we went shopping for yard stuff and accidentally found this table and chair set for the sun porch.

My parents were giving away an outdoor table and chairs, so we snagged that too.

Doesn't that look like a nice place to sit and sip champagne?
If your curious, this is what we've planted:
Perennials in beds:
Ruby Star Echinacea, Red Velvet Yarrow, Flying Saucers Coreopsis, Snow on the Mountains, Nanho Purple Butterfly Bush, Assorted Lantana, Asiatic Lily, East Friesland Sage
Perennials in containers:
Ruby Star Echinacea, Flowering Tobacco, Tye-Dye Wind Hibiscus, Bougainvillea
Annuals in beds:
Comet Pink Argyranthemum Frutescens, Petunias, Black Magic Elephant Ear, Moss Rose, Zinnias, Wizard Sun Velvet Red, Salvia Lady in Red, Bonanza Mix Marigolds, Disco Mix Marigolds, Castle Pink Celosia, Revolution Series Gerbera Daisy, Marguerite Daisy, Caladium, Margarita Gerbera Daisy, Super Olympia Pink Begonia, Sonata Mix Cosmos, Petticoat PinkNew Guinea Impatiens, Dragon Wing Red Begonia, Geranium, Red Spread Lantana
Annuals in containers:
Petunias, Sweet Basil, Early Girl Tomatoes, Big Boy Tomatoes, Geranium, Mint, Lemon Verbena
I'm really good at lifting and digging now.
But I must pull myself inside and work on the house which has fallen into a level of disarray that shocks even me.