More Garden Charm!

 

Well... that picture looks sorta small and doesn't convey the extended view through the garden. It took me by surprise: I was hard at work on the back side of the Blue Garden and I looked up and realized that there is an incredibly long perspective all the way through the Blue Garden, past one of Bob's fabulous (new) sculpture, past the golden Chamaecyparis obtusa "Crippsii", past the Rosa rugosa all the way to the horse barn. Why had I never partaken of this view?

(Delphinium in a cage! It keeps them from toppling in the wind (and goodness knows we've had monster winds of late!) and it keeps Robin the Good and myself from running into them when we're at work in the garden. Gotta love that blue color!)

Probably I was too hard at work, planting, edging, weeding and generally trying to get this year's garden into shape. And I'm almost done. (*1) I have a couple of orphans still in need of the perfect home- a stray Anagallis monelli, two small cups of Morning Glories, a few other stragglers. But most of the heavy lifting is done and the garden looks pretty damned good!

An overhead picture of a cluster of containers on the corner of the terrace. Dizzying but in a good way. Oh and Happy Summer Solstice!

(*1) Ah yes! the eternal question... is the garden EVER "done"? There is- inevitably- a section that could have benefited from editing, or rethinking. My gardens always have at least one problem zone. I know the area I'm thinking of right now; not sure what to do about it. Alas!

Moving the Goal Posts

Can you see it? Can you see what's different? To the occasional visitor it might not be super evident but to us it's major: the gate is GONE!! There was a scabby wire fence separating this section of the yard from the "outside world". In order for us to access the vegetable garden or compost pile, you had to exit through a gate; not always easy when carrying a pile of kitchen scraps or wheeling a wheel barrow. Psychologically, it was a big barrier. Besides, Lil' Robin the Good was doomed to remain on the other side of the fence.
Yesterday, we finally moved the fence. Bob had done preparations in the form of selecting and resurfacing the posts- stout cedar posts that he employed an ancient Japanese wood burning technique to preserve. The gate got moved first:

(Yes, the gate will be repainted soon.) Then we moved the wire fence and let Robin out of the house. First she approached what used to be a fence, apparently uncertain that it was gone. Then she stepped forward hesitantly, like a force field was going to rebuff her. Then she exploded out into the new area- lots more space and smells to explore!

And I discovered lots of weeds! Holy cow! That fence prevented me from accessing the side of the Blue Garden and weeds and invasive ornamental grasses had run amuck. (I guess I know what I'll be doing for the next week or so.) But I did get a good idea of how to reshape the edge of that garden...

In all fairness, this side looks pretty good. And here's a close up of my favorite pale blue "Belladonna"Delphinium:

That color is pretty accurate; like a summer sky. I'll have to take a few pictures of the area behind the Blue Garden- sort of our utility room for the vegetable garden. Bob constructed a lovely fence out of old slats from recycled stockade fence affixed to a simple wire grid fence. It looks great and functions to afford more privacy while composting or working in the vegetable garden. It's beautiful! (And worthy of it's own blog post... coming soon.)
Here's the view from the driveway side looking back to our yard.

Kinda makes the propane tank surround look wonky... hahahaha! If it's not one thing it's another. But the overall affect is one of splendor and open vistas. Come by and see it!

Piles

Oh no! Sort of deja vu all over again... I think I'm seeing piles of sand and gravel. It must be last year and we're only starting my studio project! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
But wait; could it be that we're finally embarking on the famous "Blue Plate Special" Walkway Project? Bob and I spent yesterday morning (which you will remember as being incredibly hot and sweaty) procuring- and then unloading- an impressive pile of gravel and sand. This took two trips to our local sand and gravel emporium; that's quite an exciting field trip! Towering heaps of all sizes of gravel and dirt and sand and giant trucks (which dwarfed our full sized pick up!) and large hoppers and conveyor belts delivering tons of processed rock. Altogether lunar and very dramatic! They load you up with a huge scooper bucket loader that appeared bigger than the truck.
All I can say is that I was altogether exhausted and on my third tee shirt by the time I had unloaded and then completed excavating the remaining dirt on the soon to be walkway. Another pile was created:

This may not look that big but what with heat and humidity, I was too exhausted to even spread the gravel out into the walkway. And that would have been very satisfying and impressive. Instead I made the mistake of taking a break and visiting my horse, who had thoughtfully provided me with several "piles" in her stall. This was to remind me to clean the pasture.

A woman's work is never done!
But here's a shot of the completely dug out walkway, awaiting Fourth of July gravel:

I made it with a unique and swishy lopsided sway, that I thought referenced those "Stella Doro Breakfast Treats". (Kind of an expanded S). I get my inspirations every where!