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Good Times

May 9th, 2009

While in D.C. last week we spent some time taking in all the monuments. It’s really interesting to spend some time learning the history behind them before you go, they have much more of an impact that way.
lincoln-memorial
marine-monument
changing-of-the-guard
We only visited the White House at night since we were turned down for our tour, so I didn’t get to see the new veggie garden.
white-house-at-night
I did spot a few gardening/preserving items while touring the Smithsonian, as well as a few Victory garden posters.
canning-book-at-smithsonian
canning-supplies-at-the-smithsonian
Here are some old canning supplies on display at the American History Museum. This was my favorite poster of course (anyone recognize it?)
standing-in-front-of-the-victory-garden-poster
All-in-all we had a great time in D.C. with our friends.
hanging-out-in-dc
When we returned home however, the fun ended. The weather must have been perfect while we were gone because the gardens were a jungle! Our lawn was actually so tall it went to seed (and I mowed it the night before we left).
kale-flowering
My kale bloomed while we were gone and the peas must have grown a foot.
peas-growing
The lettuce was overflowing from it’s planters, so we’ve been eating salads every day (not that we mind).
lettuce-in-pots
The most exciting sight when we got home were our strawberries in full bloom. I can hardly wait to see the red berries.
strawberries-blooming
Going on vacation during prime spring planting season it a bit of a gamble, I did worry about coming home to flats of dead plants and weeks of work down the drain. I had 5 grow lights in the house on timers and I watered everything well before we left. There were only a few casualties as far as the seedlings go, and it was from nibbling cats. I think next time I’ll plan my vacation a little earlier or a little later to avoid being gone during this time of the gardening season.

Do you avoid going on vacation during certain times of the year because of gardening chores?

6 Comments to “Good Times”
  1. Mangochild on May 9, 2009 at 7:04 am

    I was away last weekend and worried about my seedlings over those 2 days! I;m just afraid I’ll miss something, lol. With all the rain my lettuces have completely taken over. Amazing it is. My strawberries are also in bloom, I came back to find a burst of new flowers where there were none only 2 days before!

    Mangochild’s last blog post.. Starting off “One Local Summer”

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  2. ChristyACB on May 9, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Great photos! Love the victory garden display and I would love to get a good look at that book too.

    The kale flowers are quite pretty, aren’t they? I’m letting my sacrificial brussel sprout flower too, looks a bit like it.

    ChristyACB’s last blog post.. Book Review – "The Gate to Women’s Country"

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  3. Matron on May 9, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    I visited DC a couple of years ago, it is a spectacular place! I just walked around all day every day using the metro and with a guide book and map for company. Wonderful photos! I visited Mount Vernon while I was there – there is a wonderful garden there; GW was a pioneer of soil fertility and crop production.

    Matron’s last blog post.. My Vegetable Heaven

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  4. Silke on May 9, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    We have someone who watches our pets and our garden when we go on vacation and I always feel guilty when we leave during high-watering time in the summer. It feels like so much work to give someone else to do. So far though, everything has always done well! I’ve enjoyed seeing your photos of DC. We were just there last December and really enjoyed it! We tried to get into the National Garden, but they had a Christmas train set up and it was wall to wall little children! We saw a little bit, but not nearly enough! Looks like you had better luck! :) Silke

    Silke’s last blog post.. Friends

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  5. Andres on May 11, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Great photos. We went out of town just two weekends ago, and even though it was just for the weekend, I was worried, and came back to find our lettuce overgrown (like you said, not a bad thing), but overall no casualties, my seedlings were a bit dry even from being water well before leaving. We are going to be out for a week mid summer, when it watering is going to be much more of a problem, I think I am going to have to figure out an arrangement with a neighbor to come water at least midweek.

    Andres’s last blog post.. Harvesting Lettuce

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    • Susy on May 11, 2009 at 12:17 pm

      Perhaps you can offer a trade of some veg for some watering.

      Reply to Susy's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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The U.S. National Gardens

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