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Wednesday, June 01, 2011

My Wide Open Summer


I am declaring the beginning of Summer. At least it is for me. All the garden is in, and growing fine (including the weeds) and I am thrilled with the results.
The house is clean and all my Springtime guesting is over, and even the laundry is finished and put away. Amazing... for me.
I have a spanking clean studio too. And at this moment a totally blank slate of projects, either garden, decorating or artwork. Nothing comes to mind as
"the thing I want to get started on".
This may be a first.
What if I planned to do nothing?
I could have one tiny project per day, like filling the hottub with more water...or tossing out old stuff from the frig. That ought to take a good 15 minutes of my day.
And then what?
I have some sock knitting to do, and lots of books to read.
I could do ten minutes of weeding daily.
That sounds about right. And the rest of the day I could just sit on the deck with my feet up, that is, when it gets cool enough to be outside. We are having a week in the 90's and the AC is going to town indoors, which makes me stay in too.
I am getting up early to walk Chumley and water everything. I get to see what is going on in the garden and everyday I see something new for my entertainment. The larkspur have finally opened and this one is over 4 feet tall. Great. I hope it reseeds and makes me nuts next year with way too  many plants.
The Red Hydrangea is starting to color up, violet at the moment with lime green centers. Could it be any prettier?


In the deck box all the plants have adjusted and are sending lots of leaves and blooms. The reduced for quick sale Gerbera has five new buds and is a bright red.
There are a ton of Stella D'Oro in bloom and one or two of the lighter yellow variety has shown up. These were purchased last year and were supposed to be Pardon Me, a red variety. O well. I don't mind.









Last year I had a miniature water lily plant in the little goldfish pond and at the end of the season, knowing it wouldn't make it through the winter, I just tossed it into the big pond.
 Today I noticed it for the first time.
Tiny leaves, about the size of a chocolate chip cookie. The flower will be yellow if it flowers, and I suppose it will, as the conditions are just perfect this year.
The three other plants are going crazy with blooms and are almost connected in their spreading leaves.






The geraniums and petunias on the back deck seem to love the hot conditions, and are getting watered daily and gracing me with lots of flowers.
I am finding my morning watering routine to be so pleasant and taking just about as much energy as I feel like spending.

So at the risk of boring you, I may just decide to do nothing all season. Sigh.
If I can stand it.

**Note on the recipe blog, Fabu Foods.** I was informed that I missed a super bunch of recipes, and didn't mean not to include them. I will post them today, so please, check out the ones I missed. And thanks for sending them.




15 comments:

  1. I just can't imagine this lasting too long (although I do love seeing all the pics of the yard)! Do you read the Twelve by Twelve blog? Teri and Terry did such fun quilts this time...maybe they'll inspire you. And it seems like your fish could be inspiring...I can just imagine what you would do with all your fun colors! I'm trying watercolors again but just can't seem to get "loose" enough. I need some classes.

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  2. Anonymous9:44 AM

    The photos of your gardens are beautiful. How delightful for you to be surrounded by all this color and beauty!

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  3. Your flowers are fab and thanks for sharing. I miss the days when I could dig and haul stuff, but i have your lovelies to look at. I think your Hydrangia is so magnificent. Wow.

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  4. Lovely pictures of your gardens. Could you please send some of that lovely heat up north? Here in Washington State it's still snowing in places and we have our heat on. I even lit the fireplace last night while knitting. I'm afraid when it does get warm we'll go right from winter to summer with no spring.

    So...I'm living the summer through your pictures! Keep sending them to me. Enjoy!

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  5. I think I may have to live vicariously through your garden, Melody! Love the hydrangea the best; that is pure inspiration if and of itself. Gorgeous. Yes, I'm a tad bit envious. But I enjoyed your show! Feel free to kick some heat up to Montana, please?!

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  6. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the summer! Love the hydrangea shot!!

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  7. Wow! That about says it all.
    I know you will get back into your art and new fabulous inspirations. Thank you so much for sharing.
    Create,inspire, encourage.
    Brenda

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  8. Wow, the garden looks wonderful. My veggies are in but the planting is way behind yours. Enjoy your summer.

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  9. You doing nothing!!!???? I don't believe it!! You won't be able to stand that for long....LOL. I'm anxious to see what your next "project" is going to be :)

    Love the photos of your flowers :)

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  10. Stunning. It's been a while. But, I drove by your old fabric store and it was gone. I thought of you right away. Boo-Hoo, but then you probably already knew.

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  11. Such a hard task - Learning the "art of doing nothing" and for Americans we have to "learn" how to do this.

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  12. I love all the color. You and Dave have done an amazing job on the gardens, deck, pond, the whole shebang. You absolutely deserve to just put your feet up and enjoy it for as long as you want! :-)

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  13. I really enjoy your blog. I hope you will post a photo of that chameleon-flower, the red hydrangea. Best, Ysabel

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  14. Sounds blissful. Nothing on the to do list. Ahhhhh.....
    The way your garden just bounds up and into bloom amazes me. Australian gardens are rarely so enthusiastic.

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  15. I just love your gardens. I can check in with you every day and have all the pleasure without all that labor. By the way, I might need permission to use the photo of the hydrangea to turn into a quilt????

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com