Happy Trails

Saturday morning pre work. It's 6:30am and there is a new presence in my private time. Our roommate's brother "Styles" is here for the weekend. Why does everyone have a call name? Am I in the marines?

Anyhoo, Styles seems to require even less sleep than I do and as I browse blogs and sip espresso, he's out in our garden mulching. I'll be out there shortly, stumbling through the wet grass taking pictures for this post. We've had two nights of rain and the"grounds" looks green and fertile. The grass needs a mowing and is ankle high in clover. Our visitor wanted to mow as soon as he got here last night. He doesn't read Horticulture magazine so is advising weed killer. I'm a weeder not a killer, no pesticides here.

Big garden news for us is this hydrangea. It hasn't bloomed in 5 years, it was due for rezoning. Apparently it got the memo. It's loaded with pink and purple blossoms. The raspberries are ripe for the eating and our basket of strawberries is going strong.

Sunday is a day for slow roasting pork and baking beans. Monday we're off to visit our garden mentors at their farm. Happy holiday weekend to all. May all your skies be blue , your food delicious and your conversations witty.

Early Morning With Pokie

If you travel to D.C. this spring or summer to visit the monuments and museums, and you're in Arlington to go to the pentagon memorial garden or the air force memorial , you might take a wrong turn down a one way street. If it's early in the morning and you see a disheveled blonde in pajama bottoms and a t shirt strolling through a garden with her one eyed faithful cat, you have found me.

And if you know how to keep the squirrels from eating all our peaches this summer, please stop and tell me.

Green

Green, rainy morning. German girl and the lab still sleeping. Only myself, the cat and a fly are up. The fly appears to have moved in.

I'm in a Sunday morning frame of mind. I'm dividing my time between the New York Times, blog reading, heavy coffee consumption and wandering around the wet garden taking an occasional picture and pulling a weed or two. Echinacea already? Grapes pre squirrels. Someone's nest. Hope you're not homeless.

It's so quiet.

It never looks this good when I water with a hose. It takes the heavens to do the job right.

How Would You Like Your Boutonniere Cooked?

After a wacky work day yesterday I wanted just two things: food and peace and quiet. Okay, that's three, but you know what I mean. Customers were arriving to pick up arrangements that weren't done yet because they were in the Saturday box. Young boys in tuxedos were picking up prom corsages but sorry , could you redo that bow to match my tie? Or, sorry, I know my mother ordered a berry boutonniere , but may I have a white rose instead?

Confusion makes me hungry. After a quick stop at Whole Foods, we grilled. Well, German girl grilled and I took a bath. Then I lightly poached some asparagus and coated it with olive oil, salt and pepper. It hit the grill along with a skirt steak and then a couple of pieces of bread rubbed with olive oil and garlic. When the asparagus was done I sprinkled it with my favorite French goat feta. A simple salad of greens with a vinaigrette and contentment reigned.

The dogs got a few bites of beef and then we all took a long walk and went to bed. No nightmares. No regrets. Another prom today, must eat good breakfast.

Sunlight With Clematis

Good morning. My head seems to be full of Beatles songs today. The initial good morning I wrote was accompanied in my head with 2 more good mornings and a yeah. Here Comes The Sun is next on my hit list. Our first sun since Sunday ( this sounds like a sad song). Days of rain have done wonders for the freshly planted vegetables and seeds, if not my psyche. The lawn is laden with clover, a good thing according to the new issue of Horticulture magazine. And the weeds? Plentiful! Aren't I always weeding?

The clematis is back and beautiful and clambering up the crape myrtle as intended. Though this happens every spring, it always seems miraculous to me with its big blossoms, the smooth tree bark and full buds yet to open.

It's 8:00 am and at this rate it will be a miracle if I get to work by 9:00, sitting here with wet hair in my pajamas, but I had to take a moment to share. Hope you are enjoy a warm, sunny day full of grace moments.

My Own Private Idaho

I feel like I'm cheating because I don't have any of my own pictures to post. I left my cord at work on Saturday and can't download anything.

But Sunday was such a beautiful day in the garden I can at least write about it. The sun was shining, sleeping dogs were lying about, the cat always seemed posed for photos, one minute by the hostas, another moment lying on the porch, ready for her close up.

And finally I got to work in the potager. We were several weeks behind with the vegetable garden. But a quick trip to Whole Foods fixed that. I got 3 organically grown tomato plants: green zebra, big beef and our favorite cherry tomato, sungold. I also found a rosa bianca eggplant, a heavily blooming cucumber and more herbs. I planted black beauty zucchini seeds and we have loofahs (hopefully) growing on the chain link fence. Now all we need are a few pepper plants, sweet and hot and we're good to go.

Every year, before I work in the vegetable garden I haul out my copy of The Art Of French Vegetable Gardening. It is my inspiration. Though I'm missing stone walls and dwarf boxwood for edging, there are no iron basins to store and warm the gardens water and my fruit trees aren't sculpted I love to read about and see gardens that have these and more.

And then I go to my 4 raised beds and dig and plant and water and am just as satisfied as if I truly have a potager I'll plant a moonflower vine and purple hyacinth beans alongside the loofahs and voila! Our own secret Eden. Bees, butterflies, cats and visitors welcome.

Today

Some days happiness is as simple as leaving work early and getting a HOT pink pedicure (and your eyebrows done).

And then to come home on a cloudy day and take a walk in my neighbor's garden among these seriously orange poppies and these "hotter than pedicure pink" peonies. Sweet.

On Sunday we had a yard full of neighborhood children. They did somersaults down our "hill" and shouted that our backyard was awesome. One wondered if we were rich because we had so many flowers and trees. When your playing fields are an alley or the streets, I guess our back yard is an oasis.

So I am feeling pretty rich today. The first of the alpine strawberries has set fruit, same with the peach tree. The raspberries aren't far behind and I'm already picking herbs. And to hear "I'm Not Your Boy Toy" sung by 7 and 8 year olds? Priceless.