Of Soil & Sun

Hi there friends!

So glad to sneak in, between a few blog service glitches still hanging around.

While that madness has been going on, I've been getting everything ready in the veggie garden.

My tomato seeds are ready to go in the ground.

I thought, maybe you'd like to go for a little garden tour with me?

It was very difficult for me to get in to post here today.

So, I will save my uber surprise for you until I know blog service is totally stable.

In the meantime, I will load up a ridiculous amount of photos.

Just to hold things over in case I can't get in again.

Sorry about the crazy blog stuff, by the by.

I hope it's all totally over by the end of the week.

Apparently the massive attack to Typepad was a major doozy, that happened more than once.

Poor Typepad.

Anywhooo.

Without further adieu…

It's on to garden stuff.

 

Yesterday a couple hollyhocks unfurled, swoooon!

And the yellow bird of paradise popped too.

Miley and I hunt for strawberries…

Mmmm.

So, strawberry-ee.

A little stash everyday, yay!

I have been working soooo much out there.

Kneeling, and squatting and raking and mowing.

Seeding and weeding, and boy I'm sore!

The best kind of sore though.

Back to the vegetable garden we go.

Wowie, a peach tree turned up from a peach pit that must have been in the compost soil.

We were tickled!

All the beds are now planted with seeds.

Little tomatoes turn up.

Some seeds I started early indoors, others (these below) I just plunked in the ground.

Under that soil below, magic is waiting to happen.

Now it's up to water and sun to do the trick.

Little fliers stop in.

Looking at me, flying around my head.

So, I paparazzi them 🙂

I thought my heart would burst from glee yesterday.

Crawling around that moist dark soil.

Roots ready to do their thing here and there.

The scent of soil and water.

Bliss!

I have1 veggie garden bed (out of 8) that I let do whatever it wants.

It's doing so well.

I see pumpkins and…..

Teeeeeny BASIL!

Hooray!

Carrots are popping up galore.

Mister Lovee has been trimming trees in ways I can't even tell you.

Piles so high, soooo much intense trimming of all trees has gone on.

I take some of the switch like clippings and twist them into wreaths.

Then they dry in wreath shape, it's great.

I highly recommend it.

Once the leaves dry and fall off, you will have a lovely twisty wood wreath.

All sorts of birds hang out here all day.

Today 3 giant hawks hung about.

Cardinal boys turn up…

With their cardinal girlfriends, below.

Fur in sun, kiss kiss!

A moon beam glow just for good measure.

Aloe blossoms by the hundreds.

And then, the front garden.

Our flower garden is in the front yard, where we get to enjoy it like crazy.

It faces southeast, and there are huge trees, so it's a nice shady place in the early afternoon.

The sweet williams turned up like crazy this year.

They are everywhere.

We love them so.

My sis is extra swoony about them.

They are so pretty and plentiful.

Hollyhocks self seeded.

So happy to see them.

Tiny fairy flowers turned up this year again as well.

And those tender Mexican Primrose…

So delicate.

I love the tiny climbing pink roses.

They are so small, the closed buds about the size of your pinky nail.

The front garden is separated from the west garden (where the gypsy wagon/garden bath, office courtyard and gallery reside) by a dense wall of 6 massive tree height oleanders.

Around the gallery grow white climbing roses that bunch up like perfect bouquets.

Aren't they so sweet?

 

The cottage is coming up flowers too.

Years of hard work pay off when beauties show up on their own.

Roses and self seeders a plenty, yay!

Sweet William, we love you!

I lost a 6 foot long and 4 foot deep wildflower area to gophers last week.

I had been nurturing the area since November, isn't that totally throw a fit in the dirt worthy?

Good thing I scattered some seeds in pots too.

Everything is so big, making the garden so lush this week.

It's really happening.

Spring again.

I can't believe it.

We are so lucky to have seasons, aren't we?

(chewing grass)

Green green everywhere, and lots of flowers getting ready to peek open.

White floribunda roses.

If you see a rose bush that says floribunda, get it.

Those are my faves.

That means, abundance of flowers.

Like clusters of them.

I am putting lots of flower seeds in pots these days, since it worked out so well last year.

Then I don't have to fight rabbits from above and gophers from below.

Those rotten critters kill me.

Why do they have to be so cute?

Pretty soon the roses will just go bonkers.

Oh oh, a couple folks asked about the lavender roses…

I can't recall what the name of mine are.

Although I have it in a file somewhere.

But I did find a great link with details about lavender colored roses here.

Sometimes I look around, and can't believe what I have created in my garden.

The other day I felt like I was quite mad.

With the amount of plants and trees I have put in over the years.

When did it all happen, I wondered to myself 🙂

It has taken years.

And time and energy for sure.

And now, to see everyone growing so big.

It's quite astounding even to me.

But I did it because I love it, and it is a passion.

And I never did it with an end result in mind.

I didn't even plan a thing.

I only mad gardened because it felt so good to be outside in the sun and soil.

It was therapy for the soul to me.

The garden beckoned me with complete and utter bewitchment.

I find so much joy and peace digging in the dirt.

And now, that I basically have the whole place planted, I am grateful for the vegetable garden.

That needs me every year.

Even if the flower garden needs me less and less.

With its perennials and self seeders.

It still needs me to prune and water.

And of course, enjoy.

Must remeber to enjoy.

Reminder…

Stop and smell the roses, indeed!

 

Last winter Mister Lovee and I were on our wooden garden swing, when it broke, plopping me out through that little space in the seat back, into the dirt in a backwards flip.

And Mister straight down.

It was done, history.

No more repairing could be made.

The wood had just disintegrated.

 

We had swung on it for years, reinforcing it and painting it over and over.

Mister Lovee put it up for me the first month we became attached at the hip.

13 years ago I made up a little phrase and painted it on…

"When life's got you down and blue, just remember I'll always meet up here with you, because150% happiness comes from swinging…" 

We even made up a song on guitar to go with the phrase.

Mister Lovee carved our initials with a heart on the back.

I was able to keep that piece when it fell apart.

This week we'll be going into 14 years of swinging.

And starting it with a brand new swing.

 For a long time, we searched for a new swing.

Never committing.

But finally, we did.

And the new swing is sitting in a box delivered today by Fed-Ex.

 

New spring, new sprouts, new swing!

I like it.

🙂

 

Love, V

 

 

ps:  My aerobics instructor just arrived 🙂

Actually, this is how I dressed him up for Valentine's day.

Hee hee!

I know I know, I am soooo mean!

But he likes it, I think.

 

pss:

Commenting has been down, but it looks like it might be working again.

Sorry about all the blog fiasco stuff, oh my!

Those hackers really got us this time didn't they?