Three Word Essay: Digging In Dirt

The day started out cloudy, then later rain came so my plans for outside work changed. I headed to the greenhouse. As we transition plants back outside after wintering there is always lots of work to do.

As I deadheaded I got cuttings for propagating. I love arranging plants along the shelf that will be new, bigger plants in a few months.

There are also surprised. Plants are shoved behind others by the windows. As I rearranged plants today I found blooms I didn't know existed.

The geraniums are always front and center, but I never tire of their steadfast blooms. The white right now is my favorite. Here are a few more favorite images.

Fall: Filling Up the Greenhouse

Everett moved the plants into the greenhouse a bit early this year. He must have known a frost was coming. We saved lots of blooming flowers and look forward to their beauty in those dark days of winter.

The table of herbs even came in this year!

Fall: Leaving the Outside Rooms and Moving Inside

At our house we go through this transition in October. We spend less time in our outside garden rooms and more time inside, unless of course there is a fire in the gazebo. Issabelle loves this!

When it is sunny I still love to cozy up on the swing on the deck, but as the days grow shorter I am ready to enjoy a wood fire inside . I look for a comfortable place to rest or read a book. The Annie Room is always a welcome spot.

The animals follow our ritual, especially the cats. When I arrived home today we had cats enjoying comfortable spots on autumn throws and comfy chairs inside. The kittens are figuring out that their time romping in the late afternoon on the fence may be coming to a close.

The greenhouse is also a welcome place as the days grow cooler. It is like summer all over again. 

Spring Migration from the Greenhouse

I am still watching the nighttime temperatures, but began the ritual of bringing the plants out of the greenhouse. They wintered over beautifully this last year. I love it when I turn a plant around from the back corner and find a bloom like this.

This is a Martha Washington geranium I propagated earlier in the spring.

The newly painted boxes are holding geraniums along the path. We grow these plants in five gallon buckets, then pull them out in the fall to put in the greenhouse, then bring them back out again in the spring.

The ivy geraniums are ready to brighten up the front walk. Tomorrow is another day and more plants will find their way outside!

The Greenhouse Move: Maybe Soon?

When I took a tour of the greenhouse this afternoon I loved photographing the plants and flowers that had sustained through the long winter and spring.

 I think these plants are ready to go back out to the outdoors. I am thinking that maybe soon, but not too soon. The Kenworthy Ivy is blooming! Mother Nature is still messing with our weather I do believe!

The plants I propagated are growing nicely.

The geraniums look ready for planters. Hurry sun!

The Fields of Happiness: Celebrating Poetry Month

 some views from my greenhouse and a lovely poem

The Fields Of Happiness

© Courtneyann

People say it is a field,
A lovely field of happiness.
With flowers spread,
Throughout this field.
Skies,
So clear and blue.
The sun,
Shining ever so brightly.
Birds chirping as if it was
The first of spring.
Rabbits hopping around
As if they could go on,
For forever and eternity.
As the creatures enjoy,
Enjoy this wonderful place,
For it makes everything
Joyful, exciting, and happy.
A dark cloud has come,
Taken up the rays of sunlight.
With one cloud,
Brings many clouds.
The flowers,
Have now died
And weeds,
Have taken their place.

The skies,
Are no longer clear and blue.
The sun,
No longer shines with the rays,
The rays from the heavens above,
Instead it rains,
Rains as if it were meant to do so.
Birds no longer chirp as if it was,
The first of spring.
Rabbits don’t feel the need to hop,
For they won’t go on,
For forever and eternity.

People say it’s like a field,
A lovely field of happiness.
They don’t understand,
For every field of flowers,
There is a single weed,
That one weed eventually spreads,
And takes over the flowers
Replacing them as if,
They have never existed.
For every time,
It is sunny and blue,
There will always be,
That one small, dark cloud,
Hovering right near by.
There is no such,
Thing as a lovely field of happiness,
Every field has its flaw.
It is a field everyone lives in,
Some point in life.
Once you are in this field,
There is no way of escaping,
There is no way in making it perfect,
For there will always be that one,
That one weed or cloud,
Standing in your way,
Of perfection and happiness

Source: The Fields Of Happiness, Garden Poems http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/nature/poetry.asp?poem=19611#ixzz1IhvCy1vH

In a Word: Simplicity

 "Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow
more bewildering and so each year we need all the more
to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities"

Woman's Home Companion (1935)

 

Sibling Assignment #148: Surprise!

 Here is the sibling photo assignment I gave for the week: "Pick a theme like simplicity, serernity, happiness, or another theme word. Go for a walk and only take pictures that fit into your theme. Create a set of ten photographs and write about the theme. " I will link the siblings' posts when they are complete.

 Today I picked the theme of surprise and as I did a walk through our greenhouse I was constantly surprised. Even though the greenhouse is a favorite place of mine I don't often spend as much time as I would like there. Today I did. The vivid red color of these blooms surprised me.

 As I did the walk I noticed what plants were doing this month. Some were still blooming. Many needed deadheading. I was surprised by the deep, rich color of this Martha Washington geranium.

 Other plants needed to be pinched back. I was surprised by the size of the blooms on  this plant. 

Another thing I accomplished while taking photos was to propagate plants. Geraniums are an easy plant to propagate. Each year I try to find new plants that are unique because of leaf or bloom color. The next year I propagate them. I also love scented geraniums. You can never have enough of those. I was surprised how well the variegated plants did over the winter.

 It was fun to putter in the greenhouse. I enjoyed cleaning clay pots with lovely music playing in my ears. I was again surprised at how many empty clay pots I found that I can now fill! The sun was streaming in. Lily, one of our many cats, joined me for awhile. I had hoped Annie would keep me company when she wanted in, but she didn't last long either.

 I did an inventory of tools and relocated a few lost ones. That is always a surprise! I also found the Cougar Gold Cheese tins that I use as saucers for my plants. It was fun to dig those out again.

When I turned plants around that had been facing the window, I was surprised over and over again by the beauty of the blooms. The blooms on this white geranium were showstoppers.

 It was a lovely way to spend a big chunk of the day, plus I felt like I accomplished something!

I was surprised when I checked the clock and it was past five o'clock. I plan to return tomorrow and enjoy more time in one of my favorite places.

Top Ten Reasons Why Frigid Weather Is A Good Thing

10. I discovered you can make hummingbird slushies in the feeder I forgot to empty in the fall.
9. It makes the hot morning coffee taste better.

 8. It is easy to perserve kitten footprints for photo ops.
7. No mud.

6. We can always find Annie.
5. There is something to look forward to when you get up in the middle of the night... reading the thermometer or stoking up the fire.

 4. The cats are also easy to find.
3. No mosquitoes.

 2.It makes me appreciate the greenhouse.
1.I have a good excuse to curl up under a blanket with a good book and keep warm.

Still Life in the Greenhouse

As I deadheaded geraniums and emptied pots yesterday I noticed simple colors and textures in the greenhouse. I decided to capture them with my camera.

 I love clay pots.

 I think I should have cleaned these in the fall!

 Cougar Gold cheese tins are the best plant saucers. Go Cougs!

I love recycling potting soil as plants need replanting.