Drama in the fool's garden

I never photographed flowers in black and white before. Seemed a pity since flowers have gorgeous color to attract bees and butterflies and moths and people.

But this does emphasize all the shades of grey. And the textures. And the shapes. And the evening light.

I like finding drama in the garden.

Fooling around in the fool's garden

I Taught Myself To Live Simply 

I taught myself to live simply and wisely, to look at the sky and pray to God, and to wander long before evening to tire my superfluous worries. When the burdocks rustle in the ravine and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops I compose happy verses about life's decay, decay and beauty. I come back. The fluffy cat licks my palm, purrs so sweetly and the fire flares bright on the saw-mill turret by the lake. Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof occasionally breaks the silence. If you knock on my door I may not even hear.

--Anna Akhmatova

Happy summer solstice

Giuseppi Arcimboldo "Summer" 1573

Happy summer everyone.

Last year summer slipped by way too quickly. So I decide that, on this very first day, I would make a list of 10 activities that I want to do over the next 3 months. You know, essential summer things.

1. eat corn on the cob
2. camp by the lake
3. pop warmed by the sun cherry tomatoes into my mouth
4. scream at the fireworks
5. get sand in my sandwich while picnicing at the beach
6. notice how everything tastes so much better when eaten outside breakfast, lunch and dinner - as often as possible
7. dine outside with friends and with as many candlelight lanterns as possible, also as often as possible
8. leave my sweater at home
9. steal at least one juicy ripe apricot off our tree before the squirrels get them
10. check out all the summer music, yes, all the summer music

Dark Lollo Rosso

This is what I had for lunch. Lest you think this post the equivalent of the standard cheese sandwich blog post, I hasten to add vital information for your edification.

Dark Lollo Rosso in Fool's Garden

This lettuce is the best variety I've grown yet.  It tastes wonderful. It lasts forever without bolting. And it looks beautiful. What more could you ask for?

It is Dark Lollo Rosso and is an Italian variety of looseleaf lettuce. It grows as a compact, wonderfully frilly, crispy mound. You can have fun letting the name roll off your tongue too.

The salad is mixed with shredded carrot, a few raisons, a little feta cheese, some butter lettuce  (also from the fool's garden), and olive oil and lemon juice.  I know you are desperate for some yourself so I grant permission for you to rush out and plant some as soon as possible.

Mourning Dove in the Fool's Garden

The Other Kingdoms

Consider the other kingdoms. The
trees, for example, with their mellow-sounding
titles: oak, aspen, willow.
Or the snow, for which the peoples of the north
have dozens of words to describe its
different arrivals.  Or the creatures, with their
thick fur, their shy and wordless gaze. Their
infallible sense of what their lives
are meant to be.  Thus the world
grows rich, grows wild, and you too,
grow rich, grow sweetly wild, as you too
were born to be.
                  
--Mary Oliver
from The Truro Bear and Other Adventures

twelve trees and a trowel

Twelve trees from my yard. This is my way of keeping their names straight. Some I planted. One from an acorn.

A Bug's Life

Sometimes I forget how much I love taking photographs. Not just for the end result, but because the process insists that you become more observant. And what good is a garden if you don't really take the time to just sit and observe once in a while.

SquirrelBuster birdfeeder

As I mentioned last month, I purchased a new birdfeeder in an attempt to foil the squirrels.

So far here are the results:



Squirrelbuster 1
Squirrel           0

At about 8 seconds in, you can see the feeder descend over the food ports so even though he tries with only two feet it still closes.  Don't worry, I have the old feeder in the front yard - with the cheap birdseed in it.

But you know, it's early still.  I'll keep you posted....

Hang ten in Newport Beach

Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach, CA

Hang ten, er twelve actually

This was a display in the entrance to Roger's Gardens, a well known nursery in Newport Beach. It's only a power walk (or dog walk) away from my sister's house so when we visit we trip on over there - usually with 2 or 3 dogs in tow. (they don't seem to mind - the nursery and the dogs.)  Roger's has a whole lot more than plants to buy, but still, it's got nice visual displays everywhere.

These hanging plants adorn a wall beautifully don't you think? Or they can create a little privacy on the edge of a porch. Or in a narrow side yard.

I love the repetition - these plants have more impact because they are clustered together and there are lots of them. And just the perfect size too.

Those hanging pots were expensive ( I don't remember how much now), but you could do the same with common terracotta pots and a porcelain drill bit for drilling your own holes.

And succulents are perfect for hanging pots (you know, the pots that don't ever have drip irrigation) because they put up with folks like me who forget to water them.