Thursday, April 15, 2010

dripping the colors

today was all about barefoot wandering outside in a big billowy skirt...

with andy at my heel...

eating colorful salad al fresco, with fresh veggies from my favorite produce stand...

taking about a thousand tours with the watering can...

reading in the hammock, planting seeds, watching things grow, soaking in the lovely weather. it was in the 60s today, with a nice breeze and some clouds. the forecast for the next five days shows clear skies and highs in the 70s every day. i’m hoping by this weekend i can have all my soil-working business finished.

i drew up semi-final garden layout plans, and i’m trying something i’ve never done before: one segment is designated a “wild area.” it already has lemon balm, dandelions, grape hyacinths and grasses growing on it, and i’m leaving all that intact, not weeding or cultivating at all, but i added a few seeds: borage, calendula, quinoa and alfalfa. now i’m leaving it alone to see what happens. it’s possible none of it will grow. i just like the idea of having a space that i don’t feel the need to fuss over and try to control.

another new thing for this year: potato. just one, and it’s purple. i’m not that psyched about the idea of growing potatoes, but this is idaho after all, i have a stereotype to uphold.

isn’t it amazing how seeds of the same type all germinate at once? it makes sense, but it’s still amazing. i planted 10 nasturtium seeds outdoors on march 17th, knowing it was a little early, thinking there was a chance they'd rot in the ground. i’d just about given up on them, then in the last three days all 10 came up--two monday, six tuesday, two wednesday.

slipperwort is a new favorite flower of mine. i think the blossoms look like frogs with their necks puffed out. (speaking of frogs, major seasonal milestone: i heard a chorus of peepers for the first time on the 13th. it was far-off, none in my back yard yet, but soon.)


i continue to add to my collection of junque du jardin:

my mom got this giant teacup planter for me and i love it. i’m going to fill it with at least three different tasty tisane herbs, at least one of them a flower--i was thinking about doing a fairy flower theme, since that’s my all-time favorite herbal tea, but the plants in that blend are too big and numerous. i'm totally open to suggestions.

i thrifted this pot today. the bottom says it’s handmade in italy by torcivia e todaro. i don’t think it’s very old though, unfortunately.

2 comments:

JJ said...

Talk about eye candy! Em, your photography is sumptuous. And Andy looks brilliant. I collected the seeds from last year's nasturtiums and planted them all around the greenhouse. The plan is to wire them up at about three feet from the ground so that they 'clothe' the greenhouse in yellow and orange. We shall see.

Emily said...

wow, that sounds gorgeous. the kind i have growing are the bushy variety, not vining. vining plants have so much personality.