Rose Cottage

  It's exciting to watch the garden emerge and take shape!   I seeded more of my Homesteaders Kaleidoscopic Perennial kale Grex (Experimental Farm Network) - always fun to see the variety of plants which emerge.  Tomatoes, basil, kale seedlings on right I sketched various plans for each bed, then, go out to the garden and fine tune with the Devas, for the layout! We still don't have fences to the N or S, so the deer roam through.... tulle and binder clips provide night time protection!  Tomatillos and Monarda I enjoy planting a mix of old favorites and less standard greens - orach, new Zealand spinach, doucette (summer relative of corn salad/ maché) red celery, Alexanders, Magentaspreen, shiso ... and purslane transplanted from the lot.  Varieties of beans include Dragons Tongue, Red Swan, Edamame, runner beans, and Trail of Tears. There are Dragons egg and Persian cucumbers, bitter melon and okra ... a box divided into 4 sections for burdock... Morning vi...

  I *finally* got out to rework the garden bed Zander and I began summer of 22!  Matt tossed clover seed over the back several years ago as a ground cover. They have gardened on the back lot several times over the 15 years they've been here, and it's good soil, but more exposed to cold than near the houses.  Zander and his sis learned about food security and planted seeds each day at VBS '22 (vacation bible school), and we gave the marigolds, beans and sunflowers they started a home, along with tomatoes, peppers and pink celery. We used wood rounds and chicken wire around the bed to define it. Kale, chard and lots of clover When I moved across town last fall, I put in a couple of chard, Perennial kale, ( homesteaders kaleidoscope,  seed from Experimental Farm Network), plus garlic and Babington topset leeks. I've had the leeks a decade, after getting sets from Peace Seeds; whose founder Dr. Alan 'Mushroom' Kapuler recently passed.   Mushroom loved sha...

  As the fall cool weather and rains arrive, the tea camellia are in bloom - I never tire of seeing their pretty white flowers, and am excited to get the larger plants in the ground and growing on.  In Southern Yunnan province in China, there are wild tea trees  600 to 1800 years old, and 15 meters tall! My last tea camellia, at 15, was about 5×5'  Camellia sinensis, Sochi  And - here in the N, is time to plant garlic! My favorite garlic method (zone 8b, so fall planted, hardneck garlic): Forgotten garlic clump Look for some clumps you missed during harvest (since I plant mine in various beds, I usually miss some!) Ease them out of the earth Gently tease their roots apart Poke holes around the garden, drop in the bulb, add compost or soil, and top with a layer of leaves. Strawberry planter with garlic starts   One clump (seperated) went between plants in the cedar strawberry planter, the second into a long planter with more strawberries, and the last into t...

 It's been getting colder and fall rains have begun.  Matt brought in the summer hanging baskets, and I added some of my tender perennials to the greenhouse.  First plants in the greenhouse After several rainy and blustery days, it cleared up, and I decided today was a good day to rake leaves, and cozy-up the greenhouse.  I watched several videos on using a composter in our by the greenhouse for winter warmth, and decided to give it a try! Lime, Tea tub and bistro I began by moving in the tub of tender perennials, & created a cozy nook with the Bistro table and a chair.  Leaves and compost I raked dogwood leaves - and reflected on how much I enjoyed doing that with my dad each fall. I packed some in the bottom of a 3 gallon pot, then added about a gallon of partly broken down compost from the bin (plus worms and black soldier fly larvae!) & then another layer of leaves. Compost Corner I set the compost pot into the hardware cloth cage Zander and I made ...

 I'm excited about the newest additions to the garden bookshelf!  The first is Edible - illustrated by our local artist/ author and farmer Katie Kulla, with writers Kevin Hobbs (England) and Artur Cisar-Erlach (Austria). We're invited to journey into the world's Botanical larder, and hope for a  sustainable future!  Edible - 70 sustainable plants Katie gave a wonderful talk yesterday on the inspiration and creation of this work at our library, co-sponsored by the wonderful Third Street Books. "More than half of most folks' diet is made up of three grains and a bean (wheat, maize (corn), rice and soy)"  - but there are thousands more that we can use to craft a healthier and more sustainable future.'  Edible highlights 70 of these - from all 7 continents (including seaweed from Antarctica) from baobab and carob to sweet potato leaves and Yangmei (Asian bayberry) Katie and her husband Casey offered produce and meat from their CSA for over a decade, and her ...

 This weekend, my son-in law assembled my new Greenhouse, with help from my daughter!  Matt, Nadya and Greenhouse I was excited to find this one for a good price (plus free shipping and $100 discount!) in early fall, and this winter my tender plants will have protection without taking up space on Matt's workbench in the garage! We moved around 70 pots last fall, and I jotted down garden dreams  ... I thought of a polytunnel, so happy to *finally* have a greenhouse!!  4x4" Base I suggested we site it between the fence and shed on the SE side of the back garden for warmth and protection from the elements.  Matt laid gravel and put down a frame of 4×4s, to which he'll attach the little structure for more stability. Zander helped distribute the gravel! Matt began assembling the frame and panels yesterday morning while we were at church and listening to stories from Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.   The delegates are visiting from J...

 A year ago this week, John and his backhoe were here, beginning to dig the footprint for Rose Cottage in my daughter's backyard! Rose Cottage footprint We spent much of August and September 2022, dethugging, curating and purging,  in preparation for the move ! I help so blessed to be able to live next to my daughter and her family, and for all their help on making that possible! We sorted (Mary and I) - my son- in law Matt made thrift store and dump runs, and stacked boxes, paintings and furniture in storage. Percy and I tucked in at 'the big house' (my little dog Gracie was with us through November - at 15, she had been a great companion and we miss her!), and over the next 6 months,  watched Rose Cottage emerge! View from my grandson's window - Feb By mid April, we passed all the inspections, and it was time to move in!! I'd ordered my first new bed since childhood, and we began getting things out of storage. I shopped a bit, Mary found several tall bookshelves o...

  "Not all of us have an Ascended Master living in our neighborhood, but we all have access to flowers. The flowers have never forgotten they are One with the Creator! "Flower essences are problem solving tools for whenever we feel out of balance. They are like  road maps for our electrical systems. " - Molly Sheehan,  Green Hope Farm Essence  Guide. Fascinated by and in love with flowers all my life, I began formulating essences in 1991 after reading about them, & realizing how simple they are to make! The timing was perfect, as I had just moved to work at Breitenbush Hot Springs, and been initiated as a Reiki Master.  While I enjoy making and having single essences, it can be a special treat to 'bottle' the energy of a season of the garden into a bouquet. These essence bouquets can form a sturdy foundation for embracing one's next steps! Some folks wonder about the number that can be combined - in our current age, our energy systems are under constant...

 Rose cottage garden is growing beautifully, and (with good watering!) revelling in the heat.  Day Lilies I've been enjoying our book group conversations on the the daily reflections offered in local author Randy Woodley's book, Becoming Rooted . Each of the 100 brief chapters includes a story and inquiry or suggestion for implementation.  Today, whilst talking of chapter 40, Turning Tornados, I was reminded of an experience related by flower essence maker and practioner Molly Sheehan.  ( Green Hope Farm Essences  ).  During her visit to Ireland in 2005, she had a chat with the  elementals * shortly before she left, asking why they had been so supportive of her work. They replied , "We steady this planet. We steady our emerald island. Most often, we steady against the imprecations of humans, but we find in this project, humans working to steady the planet with us.   We thank you one and all for working with the Flower Essences and working to both ...

 Our Edible landscape festival mid May was a lovely, well attended event, and we gave away most of the 3000+ starts we brought! It was Hot - I was so glad we had an event tent Edible Landscaping booth   A few weeks before, we weeded our beds along Alpine, and covered each with compost from EL founder, Ramsey McPhillips. He also had a booth at the festival, and was giving out coffee sacks with some of his black gold - I was tickled to take one home for my own poteger.  Garden gold - compost We volunteers took home our own curated caches of starts, and I planted some of mine in a galvanized trough I'd picked up from the feed store. I also got a Rosemary and several raspberry starts, which were donated by a local nursery.  We intend to set up a new raspberry patch in the back garden, so this gives us a start.  Salad garden and herbs in pots This week I headed back to the Tea Garden I'm tending on Alpine with a couple of watering cans - and it's growing beautifully...