Yes, it was a lovely and productive afternoon.
PS – If you like my blog, please pass on my website to friends and family, gardeners, homeschoolers, and the nutrition-conscious. Thanks!
Well, I just couldn't resist! I should have been inside taking care of important paperwork, but it was just too beautiful. I didn't get out until after 3pm, when I was done teaching my children, cleaned up from lunch, and had figured out dinner. That left me only about 2 hours. So I changed into my jeans (I only wear pants when gardening), grabbed a semi-willing helper, and out I went! First, I practiced my golf-swing! It was time to hack down the sickly-looking peonies, so I set Christina to doing that, but first I had to show her how. I don't really like golf (sorry, Mom), but whenever I get that manual weedwacker in my hand, I just can't resist. Christina tried it a few times, but said she preferred just taking baseball swings (although, that would mean practicing going for the low-balls, which you're not supposed to swing at! Whatever works.) While Christina did that, I weeded around the back walkway one more time for the year, finding some last purslane, sorrel, and lady's thumb "weeds" to add to the salad. I also determined it was time to move my pulsatilla out from under an encroaching bush, and to dig up my rosemary and pot it to have inside for fresh rosemary through the winter. I think I'll try to turn it into a topiary! Here's my happy pulsatilla. Pulsatilla is a wonderful plant, which I will give a description of in upcoming months as you dream about your future gardens in the dead of winter. Peonies, too. In fact, I may start with that one, giving the pros and cons, and what work goes into them. I think it will be a very helpful feature, and I hope you like it! After all this work, we turned to collecting flowers. And boy, did we collect a lot! The beginning of October, and still they are going strong. In this bouquet, set out on our chair-shaped stump to take advantage of the waning sunlight, I focused on wild offerings and filled in with late summer garden blooms. From the wild I collected goldenrod, red amaranth, lady's thumb, lamb's quarters turning pink with seed, and various attractive grasses, then added such everlastings as statice, globe amaranth, hydrangea, and hyacinth bean. Zinnia, aster, ageratum and cosmos fill out the arrangement. I ascribe to the philosophy that every arrangement should have something a little surprising and unexpected in it, and for this one it's the huge orange rosehips right in the middle! In this bouquet I focused mostly on everlastings, primarily in quiet tones, creating a globe-like form. For this one, the surprising element is two hints of orange next to deep purple hyacinth beans. In this bouquet, the fuschia themselves are the surprising element! Aren't they fabulous! They don’t last long in a bouquet, but for a special evening, they’re terrific. More pinks, several soft pink roses, and purple to bring out the purple in the fuschia finish it off. A close-up of this unique flower. And, finally, a bouquet of late-blooming edible flowers to adorn the weeds, veggies, and lettuces in the salad. I will also be providing lists of edible flowers through the gloomy months, so that you can incorporate some into next year's gardens. Yes, it was a lovely and productive afternoon. PS – If you like my blog, please pass on my website to friends and family, gardeners, homeschoolers, and the nutrition-conscious. Thanks!
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AuthorWelcome to Growing Goodness! This website is dedicated to growing good things, both plants and children. It's a gardening blog with maternal overtones, as I discuss the goodness and value of plants, both wild and domestic. In the process I hope to help you pass a love of nature on to your children. Happy Gardening! Archives
August 2011
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