Quote of the Day: Buckner Hollingsworth
“I think I yet see what I have so often beheld both in town and in country,” Mrs Grant continued, “a respectable mistress of a family going out to her garden, in an April morning, with her great calash, her little painted basket of seeds, and her rake over her shoulder, to her garden labors.”
Buckner Hollingsworth
found in Her Garden Was Her Delight. Famous Women Gardeners.
If you’ve never read the book above you should, such a fascinating book about women gardeners throughout American history.
I’m getting a little backed up sharing images since we’re focusing on cleaning. Here’s the update, scenes from around the gardens of Chiot’s Run this past week, harvest, blooms, and life. (if you are my personal friend or if you follow Chiot’s Run on Facebook you might have seen a few of these).
Remember those tulips that I forgot about in the garage? They are just starting to come into their own and they’re stunning, obviously no harm done by the accidental blanching. They are parrot tulips ‘Rai’, ‘Green Wave’, and ‘Parrot King’.
The tulip hillside is in full bloom, photos of that in the coming weeks complete with photos of each individual tulip variety in case you want to know which ones to order.
Do I really need to say anything about these photos? These show exactly why I garden; it’s peaceful, it’s beautiful, it feeds my soul and it brings me much joy during these busy, busy weeks!
What’s been bringing you joy in these last few weeks?
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Procrastination
This year spring seems to have come a little early. I’ve been taking advantage by getting a lot of jobs done around the garden, but mostly they don’t really need to be done right now. Things like moving hostas, building rock walls, harvesting compost, stacking firewood, etc. I’ve been putting off some of my seed starting in order to accomplish these other things. I have a good amount of my seeds already started, brassicas, celery, onions, and some herbs. I still need to start a lot more herbs, beets, lettuce and all of my tomatoes and other warm weather crops.
I don’t know why I’m procrastinating in this area, typically seed starting is one things I’m ahead on. Perhaps it’s because I’m already out of edible garden space and am trying to figure out where I’m going to be putting all these new seedlings, I don’t really know. Perhaps I’m just finally realizing that it’s not a race and my tomatoes will most likely fruit at the same time whether I start them in March or April.
Is there a gardening chore you’ve been putting off?
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Mix Your Own Foaming Hand Wash
I LOVE foaming hand wash. It’s quicker to use and it uses so much less soap than using a straight liquid. My foaming soap dispensers were Method Brand dispensers. I like theirs, so I purchase them with soap, used up the soap and refill them with plain castile soap from Mt Rose Herbs. Here’s how I do it.
HOMEMADE FOAMING SOAP
1/4 cup of plain castile soap (the ones with essential oils will clog your foaming dispenser)
1 cup water (I use filtered)
Pour soap into dispenser. Note the level on the bottle and make a mental note or draw a line with a permanent marker, then you won’t have to measure each time. Slowly add water, don’t add too fast or it will foam up. Replace cap and gently shake to mix soap and water.
It’s really that easy, I promise. I’ve tried a variety of soaps in my dispensers and most of them use the same general recipe. You could use dishwashing liquid in place of the castile soap. Personally, I like to find a product that I can use for all applications so I only have to keep one bottle around. Now I buy castile soap by the gallon from Mt Rose Herbs and I use it for everything. I no longer need to keep: dishwashing liquid, hand soap, bathroom cleaners, etc. Just one bottle instead of 4 or 5.
This is what I use for scrubbing up all of our dishes in the kitchen (and they all get washed by hand). In the bathrooms we now use a bar of soap which we get from a Lavemé Clean. Wendy traveled to Colombia in 2011 was moved by what she experienced. She knew she had to help and upon her return to the States she started making all natural soap (here’s her story). Wendy and her kids now make soap and send one bar of soap to Colombia for every bar she sells. The same soap you buy is the same soap that gets sent down to Colombia. My dad helps deliver these soaps to the slums of Colombia to help them maintain a clean standard of living and avoid disease.
Are you a bar soap, liquid soap, or foaming soap household?
NON-TOXIC CLEANING SERIES
Stocking Your Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
Learning to Love Castile Soap
Make Your Own: Foaming Soap
Make Your Own: Infused Vinegar
Make Your Own: Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Make Your Own: Color Safe Oxygen Bleach
Friday Favorite: Charlie’s Soap
Friday Favorite: Twist Sponges
and more to come
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Making Lemonade – or Stone Walls
“He builded better than he knew,
The conscious stone to beauty grew.”
Ralph Waldo Emmerson
(found in Stone in the Garden
Every time I dig a hole here at Chiot’s Run I end up with more stones than soil. It’s back building work (and biceps too), which I have to look at it as a treasure hunt for stones or it would quickly become frustrating drudgery. There’s a rather large pile of stones in the back that came from the digging of the foundation, I’ve added to it when the rocks I dig up aren’t needed for an immediate project. As a result I have a nice stockpile of stones ready for any project I can dream up, as long as my back can hold up.
Last fall, when I was planting tulips on the back hillside, I dug up rocks by the thousands. Some were small, about the size of a golf ball, most were about the size of a frisbee, and there were a good many that required a spud bar and could be categorized as boulders. I have been wanting to build a small rock wall to hold up the front edge of this bed for years, but have not had the energy or inspiration to do so. This past week, the weather was beautiful, the soil was still soggy, it was too cold to pain the remaining doors, so I decided to work on this wall.
Most of the rocks that went into the wall were dug from the soil that it’s holding back. The result is definitely wonderful as stone walls add a sense of history and permanence to a garden. Where once a garden seemed to drift into the lawn, now there’s a definite dramatic edge. This wall is the perfect height for sitting and from it you can admire the maple grove behind you up over the small hill or the raised bed garden behind the garage. I capped it with large flat stones just for this purpse (the little black garden cat seems to think it’s the perfect spot for her afternoon naps).
I need another day or two to finish up this project, my arms were getting pretty tired by the end of the afternoon I had spent working on this. It’s so nice to see dreams taking shape in the garden. Hopefully this stone wall will help limit erosion on this hillside and provide a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy the garden.
Around here building with stone is like making lemonade from lemons. What could be a source of frustration is now a source of raw materials and beauty throughout the garden (not to mention some serious biceps and a strong back).
What’s one of the biggest frustration that you have with your current garden? Have you been able to turn it into lemonade?
For more reading and great inspiration on how to use stone in your garden, I highly recommend this book. After renewing the copy from the library many times I finally purchased a copy for my library. The beautiful images are an inspiration for all the stone projects in my garden.
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Daffodils for Charlotte
I promised my friend Charlotte a parade of daffodils. She works at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (aka Grow Organic) and she has a blog called Daffodil Planter (now you can see why she was asking to see my daffodils). Here’s a parade of daffodils that have been blooming in my garden over the past month.
The daffodils in my garden range in color from the brightest yellow you can get to the palest yellow that almost looks white. I have big ones and small ones, tall ones and squat ones. I never was much a fan of the bright yellow ones, but then I discovered that they came in all shapes, sizes and colors that weren’t quite so obnoxious.
I don’t know the varieties of the daffodils pictured below, a few were here when we arrived, others were purchased in a bag labeled “daffodils” at the store. This small buttery yellow double narcissus I purchased the first fall we lived here, but I have long since lost the information on what variety they were. I think they’re ‘White Lion’ but I’m not positive.
This past fall I added ‘Small Talk’ and ‘Little Gem’ to the front lawn. They only grow 4-6 inches tall and are so perfect blooming just above the grass. They’re so tiny and intriguing and perfect mixed with crocuses and muscari.
Last fall I also added bluebells and tiny narcissus along the pathway through the maple grove in the back of the garden. These beautiful ‘Minnow’ narcissus are really love. They have multiple tiny multi colored blossoms that float above each stem. They’re so dainty and beautiful, it’s hard to believe their so rugged.
I wish I had planted more daffodils in my garden over the years, they’re such hardy bulbs, multiplying with ease and never bothered by burrowing pests or foraging deer like tulips are. Once you bury a bulb in the garden you’re pretty much guaranteed that it will come back year after year in increasing numbers.
Do you like daffodils? Any blooming in your garden?
If you’re looking for a good prices and a great selection of daffodils and narcissus bulbs head on over to Van Engelen.
