Just A Little Gardening

"She who  loves a garden

knows it's only hers

to borrow.....

that the tender care

she puts into the soil.....

helps the children 

of tomorrow carry on

what she has started.....

giving strength

and lasting value

to her toil."

-Mary Engelbreit

The weather has been incredible for the past week or so. Every morning I can't wait for the sun to rise so I can get outside in the gardens. It's like I am a child again and it's Summer Vacation, I have always been a very early riser. I've been digging in the earth, cultivating, planting and weeding. 

I've been one Busy Bee for the past several days. 

I'll share some pictures of the Little Garden.

I call it the "Little Garden" because it's the only contained, with a little fence, garden I have on the 3 acres. In addition it keeps my dog out, so I can plant more delicate plants inside.

 When we first lived out here we used this area as the vegetable garden. WOW- have we ever outgrown this area for our vegetable garden we currently plant. 

 Above is Irish Shamrock beside a bark pathway. I spreads like crazy, and I love it. It dies back in the late Summer, but comes again in early Spring. I used to have it planted in a bird cage but it wasn't very happy, so I tossed the soil, along with the plant, out of the cage and into the garden soil, I thought it was dead for sure. That was at the end of one Summer, then I noticed a small patch of it came back the following Spring. It appears it came back happy as ever.

 I have one wooden raised bed, I used to use it for Herbs. Now it's home to a assortment of Heuchera (one of my favorites), Sweet Pea Bush, Poppy's, Bleeding Hearts, California Fushia, and some other things I cannot think of at the moment.

This is Chester, he guards the bed and eats all the bad bugs.

OK- not really, but he's cute. 

 A bed of Alyssum and Johnny Jump Ups. Last year I had Nasturtium (another real favorite) planted, and it went crazy out of control. You couldn't even see the bed frame. I like to plant in odd things, like bird cages and real bed frames. I'm always on the look out for unusual things like that.

There is a bench between the Honey Suckle and the Spirea, to rest in the shade. 

Delphinium blooming

Alyssum on the Front Porch

I bought 2 more Lilac plants.

 I planted 3 last Fall, but 2 died. I think I had them planted it too wet of a spot. 

I'll be picking a new spot for these ones. 

I got the Lilacs at the Butte College Plant sale on Saturday. The Horticulture department has a plant sale twice a year, in Spring and Fall. 

I love going there. The prices are great, the students are super helpful, and the funds are used to support the Horticulture department. 

Also on Saturday Beth, Kristina and I went to a Barn Sale. I saw some pictures on the internet showing some of the items they would be offering for sale, but when I got there the items I had really wanted were already gone. I even got there early too. I missed out on some old metal signs, wash boards, watering cans, and several other things. 

 I came across some good things too. 

A Hot Water handle. I need a few more and I can make a rack for hanging, using them for the hooks. 

I had gotten the old door hinges a while ago from Beth's shed. 

 I bought a jar with old wooden spools of thread.

We also picked up our tomatoes for this years garden. I bought them earlier than usual, so I could put them up in the Green House. My hope is to give them a head start, being bigger when we transfer them to the garden, to have tomatoes a little earlier than last year. This is a first attempt at trying this method, so we'll see what happens. I got Eisley Pepper plants too. For years and years my father in law grew them in his garden, so we always had them available. But after he passed away there was a very, very long time that I couldn't find that type of pepper plant. Finally a couple of years ago I found them at the Plant Barn in Chico. 

Speaking of which, the Plant barn is my favorite nursery. They have a great variety, very healthy plants, and wonderful people who work there. They also have a great vintage shop with unique items for sale. 

This is what the inside of the Green House looks like now.

 It smells so much like dirt in there, it's amazing.

I've got errands to run in town, so off I go.

The Girasole Lady