I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Thursday, May 18, 2017

Planting Season



Hello everyone! Another week has gone by, on our headlong rush to Summer! A whole year has passed so so quickly. That said, this has been a mostly quiet time for me at the beach---the lull before the busy-ness of summer. This week I've been sewing the binding on P2, so it may be ready for summer use. Sunflowers, the antique rescue quilt, is also in work for binding and since it's smaller it should go faster. As Mo and I sit out and sew, I've been watching the [choppy, cold] ocean, hoping to see a whale. The whalies on P2 remind me to be watchful. Whales have been sighted recently; I haven't seen a whale in quite a few years, always a thrill.


We had a few brilliantly sunny days. Brisk winds and chilly but I decided to get my deck pots planted.
I plan to have more pots this summer to block Mo from certain areas where he gets into trouble, places he can see or hear folks going by. He has made strides in not barking, but why tempt him?


My grocery store sells small bags of potting soil. I think they're 10 pounds. I buy a couple each week. The smaller size is more manageable for me than one large hugely heavy bag. I also fill the bottoms of the very large pots with empty plastic containers, like detergent or bleach bottles, rinsed well, caps on. Shipping peanuts are a better filler but the plastic bottles are free and, well, here. The reason to do this is twofold: it reduces the amount of soil used and, 2- it makes the pots not be quite so heavy.


This is an Elephant Ear bulb! Slightly obscene but the big tropical fronds are so rewarding!


My friends gave them to me as a gift from the big winter flower show, along with these beautiful cannas.



The Elephant Ear from last summer wintered well under my sink in a Baggie. It has lots of little offshoots that may grow into full bulbs over the coming years. I planted it with the rest of the cannas and these big blue pompom things. Not sure the pompoms are what I am thinking of, the name is unfamiliar.



This is my  year round pot. My lavender has regrown nicely. Two summers ago it was just a single sad little sprig from the farmers market. It has done well! The lilies were planted last summer but did not grow. They look very hopeful this year though. If they're what I m thinking, they should be a clear deep red, rare for lilies.


I sprinkled the CL freebie marigold seeds in that pot too, and some of the wildflower mix. A blogging friend, I think Tammy, did the wildflower seeds in pots and she had fun seeing what actually grew. I'll sneak the rest of the packet of seeds down to the marshy dunes approach where every year I try to get something to grow wild. [But never does.] This mix is native wildflowers similar to the wildflowers at the saltmarsh so if they did take hold they'd be acceptable. And they are food for bees.


I'll add sunflower seeds this week in my pots and when I get the rest of the soil in, I'll do two more pots with these pretty dahlias.


It will be suspenseful! We'll have to see what grows and what disappoints.
.....


I'm pacing myself but I'm taking over most of Mo's walks these days. Sadly that means no beach walks for now, but Mo is so happy and of course the dogwalker is a big expense. Here is the view from the beach bench the other day. Looks ominous!


And most days at lunchtime , we walk to the koi pond.


They're very big and rowdy now. Beautiful in a creepy fishy way?


Don't believe a word of the weather channel stories about a spring heat wave in the Northeast.



By evening walk time I still must wear warm pants, multiple tee shirts, a cashmere turtleneck sweater, and a windproof fleece jacket. Plus a Lycra head band/ earwarmer. Brrr. Cold wind still howling in from the chilly ocean.
...

Today Mo had a visit from the groomer van. He looks appalled, doesn't he, as I told him we were off to meet her.


He actually loves the groomer and he smells like tropical punch now.



He was so sweet, the groomer gave him TWO crappy chicken jerky sticks.  Prob he'll puke later,lol.
Sad to report though that even a professional bathing/ brushing/ blow out did not conquer the wild poufs of spring shedding fur.


Here's my cute Mothers Day gift, from my daughter.



Have a lovely weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

PS Big envelope of quilt blocks came, from a friend! I ll show them to you next week.



Even few Baskets! love..














7 comments:

  1. Oh, what beautiful flowers you (hopefully) will have! I love elephant ears but they don't grow for me. I suck at keeping potted plants alive outdoors - so dry and windy here in summer. The pom-pom flower looks like an allium (flowering onion relative); I've never grown them. It will be fun to see what grows! I like that you use plastic bottles as filler. I've used peanuts but they're a mess when you need to dump out a pot!

    We had some loud storms last night, and more coming in today. It's only 68 here, too.

    Mo smelling like punch makes me laugh. Will he let you 'brush' him with the vacuum? We've joked about getting hairless cats next time, LOL. Um, no - they look like aliens!

    I love the label on the candle! And cool new quilt blocks, too. Do you sew your quilt bindings by hand? I'm looking forward to seeing them all finished!

    Take care!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! You re should put the peanuts loosely in baggies or recycled grocery bags, w a few tiny vent holes.
      Allium! That s what I thought the blue pompoms would be, too bad.
      I machine sew the first edge of bindings, turn, handsew the back. P2 is 90" square I think, so it's taking a few days. I can t find y jelly thimble you gave me, too bad. Sunflowers is maybe 80 x 70?

      Mo is afraid of the vacuum or it hurts his hearing, but my mom always vacuumed the cats, they loved it. Tho no pet I ve ever had except previous pug, sheds like Mo does, big fluffy angora dust bunnies, rolling across the floors.

      Delete
  2. I wondered if you were going to see some of the warmer temps. We're heading into a 'mini heat wave.' Mid to upper 80's I think. As I write this I'm on the patio, trying desperately to stay in the shade.

    That's wonderful news that you and Mo are almost exclusive again ;) It must be tempting to rub your nose on him after his date with the groomer. Fingers crossed no vomiting later.

    I tried to send away for the Save the Bees wildflowers, but the site was being goofy, and my request never went through. I have some seed packets here, and I'm kicking myself for not scattering them around when we were getting some rain earlier in the year. Not sure they'd have a chance now.

    Have I mentioned that the property where I work has a koi pond? VERY big fish, very big.

    I have tumble bunnies too. On windy days, I open both front and back door, and get a kick out of watching them blow out of the house. Way more fun than vacuuming, or sweeping them up. Jeeze, as I sit here in the bright sunlight, I can see how covered in cat fur I am...

    Thanks for the fun post. Have a lovely weekend.

    Kel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I d love to see a picture of the koi pond!
      I could send you a packet of the Wildflowers for Bees, no problem. I think the Save the Bees seeds site was taken down because the packets included invasive species? This one seems okay to me. I believe the the seeds will remain dormant til it rains again. You could sprinkle some and save the rest.

      That said my dad disliked the wildflower seeds [he was a Master Gardener] bec he said they bloom once but then the included grasses and weeds take over???
      It was hot today! Car said 81. Asphalt was hot on Mo's little feet.

      If I open my doors the dust bunnies don t leave, more sand just blows in,lol. Not a good housekeeping hint, Kel.

      No Mo-sniffing unless I want a noseful of fuzz....

      have a good weekend.

      lizzy

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  3. I like the whales on your quilt. I made a quilt top that his boats and whales on it. I haven't seen that top in a while. Has to be in the sewing room closet.
    I am not a gardener at all. I so admire any one that knows what they are doing. I do like to look at the pictures on seed packages. I like the pictures of vintage seed packages.

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  4. I really love seeing what you are planting. I'm going to plant some seeds in my garden area, but not much more. The older I get the less I want to garden. I used to love pots but have to water them at least 2x day during the summer and I never remember or have plans to be gone.
    I'm looking forward to seeing the antique blocks!

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  5. I love all the flowers! Still chilly here, we had two days of 80 degree weather and then we went back to winter....LOL Supposed to be nice this week. We shall see! :) Kit

    ReplyDelete

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