It's been so busy around here.
I think we should take a nice calm early morning stroll, you?
Let's start with the giant volunteer sunflower.
Mid June is a crazy busy month in my neck of the woods.
Lovee had a birthday on the 15th, which I baked and made a nice meal for.
And then I had a day to put a lil'shindig together for Sunday Father's day.
And then…
Dad's birthday on the 17th.
So we got together for a 4 hour lunch party yesterday, which was super lovely.
(plus whipping up some handmade gifts too)
Phew, that was a lot of partying.
I know about 20 people who have a June 17th birthday, isn't that wild?
So now, it's peaceful garden times…
That early summer sun, when the earth isn't scorching yet, is beautiful.
I know it's not "technically" summer yet.
But it has been over 100'F for a couple weeks now, so it's summer to me 🙂
My furs and I make the morning rounds.
Miles can't wait to get into the veggie garden and sniff around every morning.
Matty cuddles up and just watches us.
He still isn't 100% himself, and relapses when we try to take him off the meds.
He gets lots of love and treats, and I for one can't wait for the day that we see the old Matty again. If we never do, that's okay too, we love him just the way he is. Little guy. He is so strong and bigger and meaner from the steroids. I am sure he scared the knickers off our Sunday guests plenty 🙂
Loooooove that lil' meanie!!
The huge sunflowers are waking up these days…
Miles is 3 steps up on the front porch below.
So, you can imagine how big that sunflower is.
I didn't try to fight the bugs that cause brown sunflower leaves this year.
No dishwashing soap sunflower leaf hand contact for me, no sirree.
For fear of last years hives, plus anaphylactic shock, I stayed away from that.
So, I am embracing the leaves as is 🙂
Hollyhocks are unfurling every morning…
Some are extra pretty…
It's amazing how many varieties turn up year to year.
Oh, look whose watching us again 😉
He switched spots.
(I loooooove those ears!)
Out back to the veggie garden we go…
Tomatillo lanterns, squeal!
Love em.
Growing growing growing…
This year, instead of a huge pumpkin patch, I opted to use a few beds to grow pumpkins.
As well as surrounding the domed veggie garden.
We'll see how that works out.
I just wanted to make less work for myself this year.
Mister Lovee loves those sage like plants below with the purple flowers that invade my garden.
So, I kept some.
(they are about to come out though, I'll leave him some others)
All the sunflowers in the veggie garden are volunteers this year.
I love seeing what grows on its own when you water the earth.
The best gift…
Yep, a volunteer fairytale pumpkin vine.
I didn't plant it.
And there are about 6 pumpkins more coming, all on one vine.
This is a magical happening, I tell you.
It is indeed.
Isn't that special?
I wanna hug that thorny vine.
I'll hug a punkin baby instead 🙂
We leave the veggie garden and whip back towards the west side of the yard.
Past the gypsy camp…
And the white endless rose babies.
Past the shastas…
Thanks ever so much for the tips, I was wondering exactly what kind those tall daisies were.
Admiring the dinner plate dahlias on our way…
And the bees too of course.
On an early morning garden day…
Where my huge oregano patch surrounding the rose arbor is blooming.
Perfect for that early morning bouquet collection…
Summer garden days are here.
Undoubtedly.
I can't wait for some rain.
I think February was the last time I saw rain?
Now, time to get my life in order after all those boy birthday days and events.
How are you out there in the great big world?
Love, Vanessa
Mr. Matty does look quite big! I hadn’t noticed, poor little guy (big guy). That garden of yours, I am so envious. Pumpkins pumpkins pumpkins! Send me some would you? 😉
To me summer is the loveliest time of the year. Oh so fragrant with all of the flowers that bloom, smells of summer…my favorite. Butterflies, lightening bugs and the buzzing of bees. It all makes me smile and of course the Sun in all her glory.
Thank you for sharing Miss Vanessa.
Vanessa:
What is it about June 17th birthdays? My first baby was born on June 17th, as was my oldest friend, my aunt and my husband’s grandpa. Must’ve been a lot of frisky going on just about 9 months before June 17th. 😉
Poor ol’ Matty. I’m glad he has you. He needs a mom that will love him no matter what.
Your garden makes me swoon. You’re just not supposed to have that kind of garden in your neck of the woods. It should be too hot and dry….unless you’re magic. Ava always says that you are like a character in a Sarah Addison Allen book. And that….is a compliment!
xoxo
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
I really look forward to your posts! I’m sitting here at work and just looking at your gorgeous, peaceful garden pictures relaxes me. You are so blessed to be given such a beautiful garden! 🙂
Well, Happy Birthday to the guys! It’s good to see Matty still hanging in there.
Everything is so pretty in your garden! We have had plenty o’rain. Lots of storms which my big dog hates.
I can’t believe how hot it’s been out west! It was 90 here yesterday & today it’s a beautiful, sunny, 70.
Your gardens are Beeautiful!! It finally stopped raining here in W. New York. My flowers are just starting and won’t see a pumpkin till late September. My cucumbers drowned, and my tomatoes are stunted due to the cold rain. But suppose to be nice rest of week, hope they come back. Vanessa please check out my page on FB…Dogs Over the Moon Studio. My gardens last year and artwork. You sure are busy and sound like a great cook!! Take Care..I’m jealous of your weather!!!
Please hug Mr. Matty for me! He’s in my prayers… and WOW pumkins already?! LOVE! It hasn’t reached 90 here yet in Ohio, but it’s coming!!!!
take care sweet girl…
Oh my..Hope Matty is OK..Beautiful pictures..Esp the pumpkins!!! I’m ready for fall…
Anticipating the Mad Hatter days.
Love seeing your garden. My garden is far, far behind, but then we don’t get the sun your garden gets. I hope Matty feel 100% soon.
Poor Matty…..I’m so glad he has you……..I have to say poor Scrappy too….my daughters dog…..thankgoodness he has her….he has allergies…..inhaled allergies…not contact….and he scratches and breaks out and smells to high heaven
from a yeast infection on his skin….she has tried everything from having him wear booties when he goes outside to cooking his food ….you name it….this is all before she FINALLY found a good vet who knew right off his allergies were inhaled and not contact or food allergies…she loves him so much and she was at her wits end…
I hope poor Matty is himself again soon and if not i hope he can be happy in his
new normal.. Hugs to you V
deb
Those lovely sage like flowers look like they might be silver leaf nightshade… It’s quite toxic.
Hexica, I am pretty sure you are right. I just looked them up. They get yellow berries as well. We also get deadly nightshade/belladonna wild, and datura.
I have been pulling them out for years, and thankfully, no reaction.
But they are so thorny, you can only use gloves.
We get massive patches of them and I have to pull them out one by one.
I am off to tell Mister Lovee what his precious weed is 😉
Gorgeous, glorious flowers!!! Thank you for always sharing the bounty of your garden in these absolutely superb photos. And your furry boys look so content to be where ever you are.
Everything is growing by leaps and bounds in our yard…so I have been thinning out this and that as bushes were growing next to each other too closely and needed drastic thinning. Things look so much more fresh and tidy now. It always makes one feel so good when accomplishing garden duty with the rewards of a job well done. Content it makes me feel…Yoda
Miss Teresa
Ahhh your beautiful sun-filled haven. I love that you share it with us through your gorgeous photos and words.
Summer in the UK is a bit hit and miss again this year. It keeps teasing us with a couple of nice days here and there, but the grey and rain soon come back again. I heard on the radio that we have to expect another 10 years of it. 10 years!!
I think I’m going to have to start planning a few trips to sunnier countries.
You must use so much water to keep everything growing! I feel like I have been watering like crazy and things are still drying up. I wonder if the slight change in elevation between my house and yours up there in Catalina makes a growing difference? Maybe I just need to water even more!
Alia,
You will never believe this.
I am actually watering less than ever.
If you can believe it.
I am sure the elevation change has something to do with it for 150% sure.
In fact, I am sleeping with my windows open at night still, it gets cool around 10-11 p.m. Really cool, and with my fan, the last few nights I have been downright cold.
The days are very hot – but my front and side gardens are shaded by 3 of the hugest mesquite trees I have ever seen in my life, and the west sun is further brunted by a wall of 6 18ft oleanders, and more big trees around the west side gypsy garden/camp.
My front garden is pretty much mostly shaded from 2p.m. on.
There is also no asphalt, only dirt around me, and no pavement. And there are oodles of trees all around my property, so I think that adds to the happiness in the garden.
I water my front garden, which is my big flower garden etc, at around 7p.m. I do it all by hand, and it takes me a good hour+.
And I water the veggie garden, and office/gallery garden (and cottage) at 5-6 a.m. Most of it is on irrigation or sprinkler now, so I just turn it on for about 30 minutes every morning.
Then we do a total yard irrigation turn on every Saturday morning for the bigger outlying stuff, for 4 hours. A deep irrigation drip, which runs through our whole property, just not to my hand watering spots like the front garden.
Not that you asked at all, hahaha!
But, that is the 411 on the garden watering round here.
We do pay for water, so we are careful. And also, we don’t want to run our communtiy well down.
The good news is that, with all the work done to the well recently, we found out the the water level in the ground has not dropped at all since 1987.
Isn’t that amazing news? Hooooray!
Pointless watering trivia for ya, hahaha!
😉
I am happy to hear pointless watering trivia! I can’t believe that it still gets so cool at night there, I feel like it is 90 degrees like all night at my house. Part of that I am sure is because we live in a neighborhood with brick and asphalt all around us and not out in the countryside with just dirt and trees.
I think that the shade thing might be a big part of my problem as well. The zinnias and sunflowers out in the front are doing great, but they are in the shade about half the day. Everything in the backyard is hardly in the shade at all even though we have a big tree out there.
I wish I could live up in your area. I really like Tucson, but it is so deserty. Even just a bit more green and a bit cooler at night would make a huge difference!
Oh also I went to the Golden Goose the other day and it looks like they are laying pipe all along Oracle through Catalina. Is that water related at all? When I saw it I wondered if it had anything to do with your water issues!
The pipe is all new gas line, I got it on my street too. I guess the
gas line is like 60+ years old, so they need to put a new one in.
Also, soon, they will widen the highway.
Oh oh, about water…
I actually am on a well of only 20 surrounding properties or less.
Our 20+ year old pump went out, which is why the water woes for 1.5/2
weeks. We have back up water to a more public line, but the pressure was
nil, and the water smells and tastes weird, and we could all hardly get a
drizzle. I refused to drink it. Our well water is cold and sweet
🙂 (and up and running with a vengeance, yay!)
Zinnias and cosmos do great in mass sun, I love them so!
I asked Lovee if our elevation makes it more cool here, and he said not
only that, but the shade and coolness at night keeps the ground moister than
your neck of the woods. Darn.
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 6/19/2013 4:48:36 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
Darn! Well keep an eye out and if you seen any places for rent up there tell me! Not that I really want to have to move all our crap, but if we were going to end up living here for a lot longer it might be worth it!
Oh, the house I grew up in was out in the forest on 20 acres and all of our water came from our own well, it was great. Well water is definitely better than city water!
Hollyhocks, Dahlias, White Roses — *le sigh* — all of those are my favorites. You’ve introduced some beauty into my hectic morning.
I lovelovelove how your garden grows. You nosegay is beautiful…it is wonderful how beautiful you make your life.
Speaking of beautiful…I received the necklace in the mail yesterday…it is a treasure. I happened to be wearing a shirt that was the exact color of the background of the photo…people thought I was very clever…I did not tell them that it was a pure accident. I have always loved that painting and now I have it in miniature…it is already a treasure to me. xoxo
Mo’a, Yipppeee!! SO happy you LOVED your pendant, hoooray 😉
I know you have an extra lovely life as well, magical!!
xoxo
I wish I had your magic touch with pumpkins!
After last years experience, I am glad you are doing well this spring/beginning to summer.
And as for dogs and meds, I can relate. In fact I can relate to a medication for ME that makes me want to bite people. Yes, the doctor switched me, but I saved a few, for use on “specail occasions.”
Happy June Birthday to my dad too, in Heaven.
Matty looks so…I don’t know–
mature, maybe.
He looks like a grown-up dog now.
even a virtual tour of your garden is a marvelous thing. i can only imagine what it must be like in person. i planted 13 different mounds of pumpkins this year and can’t wait for them to bloom! 🙂
love & blessings
~*~
ps..hugs to Matty and Miles.
Matty looks great. Even if he doesn’t get 100 percent, the important thing is that he is here. My Willow needs to be on medication for seizures. I wish she were not, but she is doing great. And that is what is important. 🙂 I am happy the meds make her well enough to be a happy girl. 🙂 What a beautiful garden you do have! I never stop marveling at it. All those treats!
It has been crrrrazy hot!!! Just insanely hot. I wonder if butterflies and birds feel heat??
Hope all is wonderful in your neck of the woods Lovely Laura!!