We have been busy busy both at home and out and about this week and I have a lot to share, but I keep getting distracted by the garden this time of year.
I usually am in the garden twice a day - in the morning while the boys are eating breakfast. I water pots, pick, tie, check and basically wander outside. I go out again in the evening when the boys are playing in the alley with friends - to water the pots again and beds if needed, weed, check and basically wander outside. The garden is always mostly shaded at these times, and yet sun peeks in here and there. It is a great place to wander. To walk. To think. To think about not thinking. To feel the grass underfoot. When the light is just right I usually grab my camera and wander some more.
I love wandering so I can pick all of the veggies, fruit and herbs of course - we are overly abundant in tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, squash, and the raspberries are ripening, eaten right off the canes.
But it is more than that. There is so much to see. The curls of the vines, the way things move to the sun. The color - so vivid! It is all so complex. But all so simple.
The beans have wound up and over sunflowers, amaranth, and even bushes. They reach for the sunshine. The insects all seem to have a path, a plan, and a single minded pursuit.
The herbs are wild by now. I dig around and under massive plants to find fenugreek, feverfew, toothache plant (chewing on the leaves makes your whole mouth tingle!). I turn the nozzle on the rainbarrel and the water rushes out, loud and fast after a rain.
Some things look completely surreal - the boys search and touch the tiny fuzzy melon vines every time they think of it. The fuzz feels like the backs of the bumblebees we sometimes stroke.
The garden is so thick that it envelopes us when we sit outside. Everything feels private even though we are very close to neighbors here. We turn on the gazebo lights and listen to the frogs (amazing we have them in our yard) and crickets.
This week we cleared some space for fall planting - we planted beets, radishes, onions, peas, and several kinds of greens, and more will come. In the midst of so much green seeing a patch of such dark brown earth is almost startling.
I love seeing the rows of tiny little seedlings shaded under what now seems like ancient trees of kale.
And, just as I start thinking about the indoor winter garden (baby/microgreens) seeds are going on sale. Today 37 packets of seeds arrived. So many seeds, so many plants, so many ideas, so much color, so much variety, endless possibilities.
Even though it is still hot, I can just feel things will start changing soon. Slowing down. Finishing up. Cooling down.
Not yet though. While I can see the change of light and smell the cool morning air, we have quite a bit of this left. So I still have plenty of time to wander.
How does your garden grow?
10 comments:
Your enthusiasm for gardening is so evident in these amazing photos.
It makes me want to plant even more next year!
Wow. I wish I had your enthusiasm for gardening. I love my garden and the food it produces, but I really dislike gardening. For me, it is a necessary thing to get quality food at a much better price. You make it sound so beautiful, but the thought of doing all that twice a day . . . nope, not me. I do as little as possible, but sit here completely impressed by you.
I think this might have to be my last year for this size and this many types of food. So I need to enjoy it NOW! :)
gorgeous!!! i'm so on the same page, with the twice daily garden wanders. it's such a happy place. i have also been wondering about ordering some seeds on sale, so glad to hear that's something to look for! your gazebo lights look magical- what a beautiful space! ooh, and the fuzzy melons... i have flowers on one canteloupe vine, growing inside a hoop house, and i am just crossing my fingers- your picture makes me think i'm not too far behind, for maybe a little one or two before the season's out! quinn will be soooo excited if we do grow one.
Wow! Your pictures are gorgeous.
This year is my first successful garden and I am surprised by how much I love it. It is like a meditation space for me and weeding is my active meditation. I am surprised by how much I love weeding! That was one of the reasons I didn't want to do one and now I am loving it. And the plus it gives me food!
I just started my fall seeds which is a little surreal, given that it's still in the high, hot 80's everyday. But it's coming isn't it?
Your photos are lovely, so much depth and texture and curiosity in them.
so beautiful! peas as a fall crop? I could try that too!
your garden sounds like a magical place. and that top photo is gorgeous!
I'm embarassed about the state of our garden. I get so excited in the spring, but then get wrapped up in other things and let it go. My husband faitfully waters, but most time it's hard to tell the weeds from the plants. I can definitlly tell you that eggplants, cantaloupe, zucchini and green peppers do very well with neglect!
Swooning over that first shot. Love the way the light is beaming on that one beauty.
And your garden is truly inspirational. We tried out container gardening this year with a little land plot due to our new space which is on park property. I'm not so incredibly thrilled with containers and the outcomes of our plants and harvest. Dreaming about what to do next year and what to plant in the fall/winter. Do you plant everything by seed or a mix of seed and starters? Thanks!
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