Quote of the Day: Diane Ackerman
Just cultivate delight.
Enjoy the sensory pleasures of the garden.
That’s number one.
Gardening really does delight all the senses. The smell of a rose, the dripping of rain, the taste of fresh lettuce, the feel of soft earth, the sight of a flower in bloom, the warmth of the sun, the prick of a thorn. I try to make sure I notice these things while I’m out and about.
What senses do use most when you’re working in the garden?
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True Heirloom Plants
I talk about heirloom vegetables all the time. Most of the plants in my edible garden are heirlooms, passed down throughout the generations, but not in my immediate family. I do have a few plants that are heirlooms in my family. Plants that have been passed down from my grandma to my mom and then on to me.
This Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) comes from my mom’s garden. I got a start of it a few years ago. She got her start from her mom’s garden many years ago. I also have a peony that came from the house my mom’s parents bought when she was a little girl. It was already growing in the garden when they purchased the house over 50 years ago. My mom got starts from it when she had a garden of her own, and she’s given me starts of it as well.
I also have two snowball viburnums (Viburnum macrocephalem) that are starts from a bush my dad’s mom planted down at the family cabin and it’s been blooming beside the shed for as long as I can remember. I was able to get two starts from it last year. My grandma was always happy when it was blooming, she called it the snowball bush. It’s nice to know when I see these plants that my grandmothers grew and enjoyed them in their gardens as well, true heirloom plants!
Do you have any plants that are heirlooms in your family?
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So Long Winter – Hello Spring
Yesterday I washed up all of our hats, mittens and scarfs to put them away for the year. They’ll be replaced in the organizer by the back door by gardening and work gloves. We’ll still have some cold weather here in NE Ohio, so I saved one pair of thin gloves and a hat for each of us, but all the heavy woolen items were stowed away in the cedar chest.
We have one of those shoe organizers on the back of the door in our laundry room, which is the main door we use for coming and going. In the winter it’s stocked with woolen and fleece mittens, hats and scarves. During spring/summer/fall it’s stocked with work gloves, gardening gloves, and a few garden tools that I don’t want to store in the garage (like my nice pruners).
It always makes me happy to do this. Kind of a final goodbye to winter and the official start of spring/summer and the gardening season. I’m always happy to replace my woolen mittens with a pair of Ethel gloves!
Do you have seasonal items that you swap in your coat closet?
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On the Cover
I opened my mailbox last week to find the newest issue of Horticulture Magazine. This issue is special because it has my photo of a Dr Wyche’s heirloom tomatoes on the front cover! This image first appeared on my blog back in 2009, it’s my last tomato harvest of the season.
They contacted me about using one of my images a few months ago. They were going to use this image for the article on the inside, but then decided it made a great cover for their special edibles issue. It’s quite funny to see my name and blog in print inside the magazine! It’s quite exciting that people are starting to use my images in their magazines, it certainly help pay the bills associated with my blog. Since I don’t want to have ads on my blog I need to find a way to pay the bills associated with it.
I’m quite happy to see that Horticulture is doing a special issue on edible gardening. It is an area that is becoming more and more popular. I think it’s important for everyone to grow even just a few edible things in their gardens.
I’m especially happy that the article my photos were used for was about heirloom vegetables, something I’m passionate about. I love that a magazine like Horticulture is covering this topic. I hope it encourages a few more gardeners to give heirloom vegetable gardening a try.
I usually get all my magazines from the local library as I don’t subscribe to them. I really enjoy reading Horticulture, Mother Earth News, Grit, and Hobby Farms.
Do you have any great magazines you enjoy reading?
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Quote of the Day: Lao Tzu
Be empty. Be still.
Just watch everything come and go.
This is the way of Nature.
– Lao Tzu
May 1, how quickly time seems to go. This time of year when things get hectic and busy both at work and in the garden I need to remember this quote. I must remember to stop during my chores and take notice of those things around me so I don’t miss them! At the moment I’m really appreciating life in the garden. After winter I love hearing the buzzing of insects, seeing the green in the grass and the colors of the flowers.
What are you appreciating right now?
