As if I don't have Enough to do

There are times when there are a thousand things I should be doing, like making the mulch pile in my driveway disappear, billing and accounting, spring cleaning, enjoying the mountains and local creeks....the list could go on....

But, my garden is mulched and mowed and beautiful in this mornings spring rain, and I have so wanted to paint the flowers of my garden, but with a twist.

The last few weekends, I have been obsessed with painting my spring garden onto every old white T shirt I have. I have always loved hand painted clothing. I have collected the supplies needed for years, as well as the art skills. I have also become completely bored with painting on rectangular squares of paper.


My daughter, Morgan, knows of my love for hand painted clothing and gave me a beautiful, simple sun dress with one morning glory painted on it that she found in St Croix.  Little did she know how that simple, white sun dress had inspired me to try again.

It had become clear, looking into my closet that I had not really bought any new clothes in about a decade. That was when all the good cotton seemed to disappear from the clothing stores. I hated the idea of having to go to a mall and buy clothes I hated. So, I invested in an assortment of good cotton blanks, short sleeved tee shirts and tank tops. Even some bamboo socks!

While I waited for the blanks to arrive in the mail, I dug out my old Procion dyes, beeswax, and the chemicals needed to fix the dye on the cloth, and thicken it for painting. I had to search for instructions, and information I had on the techniques I wanted to use.

I felt like a mad scientist, mixing Urea, soda ash and dye in my kitchen, while my mind had about 20 or so ideas for what I wanted to paint. Peonies, poppies, bleeding hearts, all soooo beautiful and in full bloom right now!

My house is on the market, by the way, and who in their right mind would turn their kitchen into chemical chaos on a weekend, where by some miracle, someone would want to view my home? 

After spending lot's of time watching you tube instructional video's, I pulled every piece of white cotton used clothing I had in my closet and began experimenting, knowing I didn't want to learn on my new cotton blanks, knowing the potential for mistakes at first try. After two weekends of experimenting I have four shirts I would be delighted to wear in public.

I feel as though a whole new world has opened up for me!  So many ideas, so little time.  


I'll be wearing one of these to a picnic today, and now I know what everyone is getting for Christmas this year.  

Gentle Rains

We have just finished up five days in a row of rain.

This morning the sun is shining brightly and the dogs are having a play party outside to celebrate.

During the gray gentle days, I painted a sprig of my helleborus, cut from the garden. I think we got quite a few inches of badly needed rainfall. Yay! All the spring flowers are so happy and bright this morning.

I also planted the seeds for May planting in the garden. Heirloom tomato's, peppers, parsley....I am so missing the clumps of fresh parsley from the kitchen garden. Normally I have some all winter, but not this one, for some reason, they all root rotted.

Before the rains came in I sprinkled grass seed on the patchy dog trodden lawn. I had to laugh at myself staring at it the last five days, just watching the grass grow. Perfect timing...What a simple life I lead.

Not for much longer though, the rains have caused us to feel behind at work, there will be much catching up to do indeed. Fortunately, Matthew is available to help us 3 days a week most of this month, so we are one person stronger than we were last year at this time. Thanks Matt! 

I had a great time with the Highbrighten garden club on Thursday. Such a nice group of women they are. I spoke about night blooming plants and fragrance in the garden. My favorite subject!

I won't dribble on in this post...the sun is shining and I need to go outside and play~ 

Enjoy!

Blooming Abundance

It's official, Spring has sprung. So many species are in full bloom. The spring bulbs, the saucer magnolia, forsythia, the fruiting trees and hellebore's. Inside, my green Goddess Amaryllis is in her greenish white glory. 

Of course, we got frost last night...

It has been a chilly windy week, I wimped on working in the community garden yesterday. I should be digging and prepping the beds and planting potatoes this weekend, but the need to rest after working in the cold wind all week seemed more important. All day long, I told myself I should be sketching that amaryllis while it is so fresh.  But the amount of dirty laundry from a busy dirty week took precedence.  I also told myself I should be cleaning and hauling stuff to the salvation army, on & on I beat myself up with shoulds, took a long deep sleep and got very little done, just the basics. What is it with me? It is spring, I should be all gung ho and ready to rock and roll...My taxes are done, why don't I print them out and mail them, I should do the invoicing too. I should be writing a book. 

I just don't feel like it!

I want to watch the flowers bloom, I want to close my eyes and feel the warm sun streaming through the window while I dream. I want to snuggle in the bed with my big brown warm dog and listen to his comforting snores and grunts as he burrows in next to me. I want to be aware of what my dreams are trying to tell me.  I want to lose myself in a  movie about a beautiful road trip....I want to get rid of all my possessions, that I should be taking care of and go on an indefinite road trip myself. 

I finally shut my mind up towards evening and did sketch the beautiful Green Goddess, in between making dinner (which I burnt) and with Finn insisting I play ball till 9 pm. So it was not the most focused of sketching time, but I got it onto paper and a photograph, so I can work on it later and paint it someday. One less should on the list~

I feel like my attitude adjustment will come with the warm weather, when it truly arrives.  Patience, patience.....It is only two days into spring. My attitude mirrors the collective grumbling with the new administration...that we are only two months into!  What is up with our collective energy?  

In truth, all this blooming is telling me to just be, and enjoy the brief moment of celebration going on in nature. It is truly a wonder, and so short lived. I am surrounded by it's abundance and light. The work will get done.  In the meantime all around me, blossoms are nodding in the sunshine and wind. Just wishing I would smile at them.  I do, and as I stare and smile, the name of a fairy comes to me...she wants to be in my book, we converse about how the story will be told. So, as I do nothing, much is getting done. 

Froggy Went a Courting Uh huh

I do love garden whimsy. Especially when the garden art is truly art and not the predictable garden junk. Some gardens such as this invoke the faerie feeling in me.

I photographed this frog sculpture while enjoying a quiet lunch during work last week. I have seen these figures before, in Baltimore, a series of three as part of the 'Froggie Goes a Courting' tale.
(Click the windows media player link to hear Bob Dylan's version)


I was so delighted to meet this frog here in Blowing Rock and he does so fit this setting, his shapely legs surrounded by cinnamon fern. It was a sunny moist day, a good rain the night before, the garden was glowing in the dewy sunlight. Sitting in the Oak grove of a garden with the blooming rhododendron, spring flora with a Fiddling Frog for entertainment is what I live for.

I love my job~Note to readers The contact info on this website is out of date, I know, I need to do a new website...but not this spring! The linked article explains a lot about my job and how it came to be. I will update the website soon.

We have done a lot of work to this garden since last fall. It needed soil restoration badly. This garden needed a lush understory of woodland plants, but for years, previous gardeners had just mulched on top of mulch to the point that there was no soil to hold and sustain root growth. When I met the garden during last years drought it was truly in a sad state.

In November, we scraped off the 6 inch layer of powdery mulch and added amended topsoil to the main garden beds. ( Yes, one wheelbarrow load at a time, with challenging access to the garden as well.) We transplanted and added plantings and then let the garden rest.

Last month the owners built a new porch. So when we arrived this spring we had construction disaster to look forward to fixing. Fortunately the crew of carpenters, painters, electricians and plumbers stayed off our beds pretty well, but let's say that construction workers generally have no plant consciousness what so ever! Two weeks ago it looked like this,

Now it looks a little better. Mike has been busy re building torn down retaining walls.
Making miracles happen with leftover stone. We are still planting and mulching, but when we left on Friday, the place was looking so much more homey and comfortable.












The stone planters on the front porch are a work of art as well. The finials are a strong architectural feature as well as the pergola to the kitchen door.

I love having clients who recognize the value of well placed well done features. It truly makes the garden quaint and unique.



Wednesday we worked in a pouring rain. Our client Simmy had given Finn this raincoat recently so I tried it out. Finn didn't seem to mind it much, but Mike took it off because he thought it made my dog look a little bit too feminine.

I thought the raincoat added some garden whimsy for a garden dog. Finn has had to be very patient with us this week. At first he thought he had it made when 'Cooper', our Leola Street Community Garden leader came to work with us. Finn was thinking he'd landed in heaven....two boys on the job to throw the stick and ball for him.

Not so, we are so busy we pretty much ignore Finn. He sulks under the rhododendrons and watches our every move for when we may be in the mood to play. Besides that, both men are expecting new babies, so they are huddled together talking sonograms and stuff, so boring for a lab.

I made up for it yesterday at his private upper pond at Bass Lake where Finn can swim and fetch and run to his hearts content.

He is such a good garden dog.

Fire

We were working in the edge of the gorge and saw the smoke. Later that Day Ray's Weather posted this Photo of a controlled burn taken that evening.

We have done little else but spread mulch the last few weeks. Not my favorite chore, but it does look great when all the beds are edged and looking great. So, we mulch and mulch and mulch.

Blowing Rock gardens have way too much mulch! I suggest groundcovers instead. I think it is healthier for the older trees. Ground covers trap humidity near the soil, and can extend the life of trees greatly. Think of the money saved on mulch and labor!

I do find time to photograph my garden flowers before work and in the evenings. It is smelling so good!




This morning I had to photograph the 'Geurnsey Cream' clematis, the fragrant Phlox divaricata, and the Tulip Bud against the moss phlox.











The other evening I was in awe of my Thalia narcisssus. They are so Orchid like. They shine in the evening light.




Then I noticed the apricot colored cup on this beauty. I will paint these next winter, I did do a series of Thalia in the moleskin sketchbook.

I have also been giving revernce to my sweet white violet, brought from the mountain at home. These used to be my spring groundcover on the slopes. It will take years to get them distributed around my small garden.

I do love my gargoyle, watching over things in the evening light.

Good night Fairies......

Spring Renewal

I finally got to the fire. I love fires. All the debris piled up from last year has become carbon ash. The pile of debris has been removed, creating space for orderly compost bins....less chaos,more order in the garden. A clean pallet open and ready for the new.


The neighborhood dogs entertained me while the fire burned. It was a smokey wet fire. The smell of the burning twigs and debris was a grounding influence. A 'be in the present moment'~ moment.


I recall a memory of a fire on this date two years ago. It is ritualistic.


I mulched the area around the garden shed. Mud has been splashing onto the sides. I have a lot of mud scrubbing and sanding to do before I can stain the wood siding on the shed. The mulch will curtail the splash during the spring rains.

I was performing the same ritual in my garden last year, my daughter was about to give birth, I wanted my garden to be cleaned and prepped for the new season of new life.

Spring flowers are appearing in abundance. Early squill, daffodils, and hellebore's herald the new season. While tending the fire I heard peepers in the background. The earth is pulsating with new life.

Earlier today I gathered with a local group of artists. An inspiring group of talented women.

I hope to get to know them and their artwork better.