potager Archives - Page 4 of 5

Bzzzz January 25th, 2009

A couple of years ago I managed to get organized enough to photograph my potager through several months. The changes from month to month documented in the photos were a bit like watching some low-tech, time-lapse photography. I enjoy looking at the changes as long as I try not to think about the fact that I’ve gotten older between each shot.

Here’s another low-tech time lapse. It seems that time is passing even faster than month to month. We’re skipping from season to season now.

This was part of our backyard in May. I know it’s May even without looking at the photo file information because the Lady Banks rose is in full bloom.

This monster rose only blooms in May, when it is covered with tiny yellow roses. The rest of the year it spends plotting world domination. The only reason it hasn’t grown over into your back yard is that I hack at it regularly with great big pruners.

The two trees are Zelkovas, a close relative of the American elm. Zelkovas are fast growers and have proven to be resistant to Dutch elm disease. They were the first things that I planted when we built the house eight years ago.

Although they were as spindly as any newly-planted tree when they first were plunked into the ground, they grew quickly. Now, they provide shade in the heat of the day, so that even in the summer months it is tolerable to sit outside in the Adirondack chairs.

The Zelkovas also provide beautiful color in the fall. They put on quite a brilliant show and are among the last of the trees to lose their leaves.

Oops, there go another few months.

Now here it is winter and this is the backyard in January. It was about four degrees outside the other morning when I went to let the chickens out and snapped this photo.

This weekend I’m huddled inside, looking at seed catalogs and thinking about another year in the garden. I’ll have another year of gardening experience under my belt, more entries into my garden journal and a few good stories to tell from 2008.

I’ll try not to fret about the birthday coming up that ends in the number nine or the fact that my son, Ben, won’t see the end of the summer garden because he’ll be off to college by then.

The passing of time is inevitable. But I will try to remember it can be beautiful and rewarding too.

Posted In: Gardening, Gardening Life

Tags: fall, Lady Banks rose, potager, seasons, spring, summer, winter, zelkovas

20 Comments

Bzzzz July 1st, 2007

garden-07.01.07.gif

The potager garden is humming along, requiring little in the way of daily care except watering and some weed pulling here and there.

Happily, I also need to wander through with my gathering basket to pick ready vegetables. I can usually count on cucumbers, zucchini, squash, bush beans, chard and, of course, herbs. I also still have lettuce, although it is ready to bolt.

I tried to purchase some summer lettuce seed mix from the Cook’s Garden. I received an email about this amazing mix that is supposed to grow even in the heat of the summer. Not five minutes after receiving the email I tried to order some, only to later learn that they were out of stock.

Is that right? I mean, if I tried to order it FIVE MINUTES after they sent the email, what is that about? Surely there weren’t MILLIONS of lettuce lovers just waiting for their emails about these seeds, who then hopped online with their credit cards to purchase in bulk. Surely there could be one or two seed packets left for someone who waited FIVE MINUTES to order.

Oh, yes, I understand that the creative for these HTML emails must be done ahead of time. But if you’re running low on these amazing seeds, why feature it in an email, just to get the hopes of your customers dashed?

(Deep breath.)

Day lily bed

I’m very curious about this day lily bed. I put these flowers in about three years ago. The first year after they were planted, they bloomed gloriously and all were a bright orange. This year, for the first time, I notice that most of the flowers are coming up in other colors–fuschia, deep purple, even yellow. I’m curious about why this is the case. Ideas anyone?

Slicemaster cucumbers bloom with Morning Glories

I have grown Slicemaster cucumbers in the past. But I never before noticed purple blooms on the plants. All the other cucumbers I have grown have yellow blooms. At first glance I thought these were cucumber blossoms. But no. They are invasive morning glories twining among the cucumbers.

Garden gate

Here’s a developing problem–my garden gate. I have a soft heart and haven’t been able to bring myself to make a tough decision. One one side I have wisteria growing. On the other side is clematis. They are starting to touch and it will be a plant war. What to do?

Black eyed susan vines creeping through the fence

Another dilemma: How do I get my delicate black eyed susan vines to climb the fence? They are vigorous climbers when in a pot with a trellis. But the fence slats seem to be too much for the vines to grab onto to climb up. Perhaps some twisties? Some twine?

Bee balm

Marking the passage of time in the garden

July Pictorial Potager Update – 07.01.07