gardening – Page 4

Glorious Summer

July 21, 2011 | 2 Comments

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 004 — herb garden on board Pandora

This is the extent of my gardening on board (well, almost)! Rosemary, thyme and a bright red geranium! I have no idea how my gardens at home are faring in the 90+ degree heat of the past few weeks, but this little pot makes me quite happy!

A visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay with a good friend was a perfect summer day. These gardens sit on 128 acres that border the shoreline of Back River. The idea for the gardens started in 1991, and the land was purchased in 1996, with some of the founding directors using their personal homes as collateral for the land purchase. The grand opening occurred in 2007! There is a wealth of inspiration here, and most plants are clearly identified. There are tranquil spaces, such as the Meditation Garden and the Waterfall garden along with several quiet woodland paths. And then there are spaces that are strikingly beautiful such as the Children’s Garden and many perennial borders.

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 024 — One of several mazes in the gardens

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 016 — Birdhouse at edge of Cleaver Event Lawn and Garden

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 019 — Really large bonsai planter

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 026 — So many daisies!

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 043 — Path through the Vayo Meditation Garden

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 033 — Pond in the Children's Garden

And here is the winning idea I took from my tour: a wall of plants! It is made by filling wire baskets with soil, then stacking them and framing them into an attractive wall. This wall of plants not only saves space, but also makes a good screen to block unsightly views! I want it!

Pandora 2011 botanical gardens 006 — Herb wall

This example of a planted wall is filled with herbs. You can see one of the wire boxes in the lower left on the ground next to the wall. They had walls planted with annual flowers and one shade wall planted with ferns.

Today the wind is howling so we will sit on our mooring in Boothbay Harbor. I am going to work on my Nantucket purse and remember my wonderful day in the gardens!

Life is what happens…

June 10, 2011 | 4 Comments

…when you’re busy making other plans….

In the midst of my weaving, spinning, basket making, bobbin lace, knitting and gardening my life has taken a sharp turn.

I was so busy getting two Nantucket baskets ready for weaving while sailing in Maine in July and August… enthusiastically looking forward to a week of weaving at Vavstuga later this month… admiring this year’s crop of weld blooming magnificently and watching for indigo seeds to sprout in the garden. I’ve finished a blanket for a good friend recovering from hip replacement surgery and have recently started Deborah Newton’s ‘greenhouse tank’ from the current issue of IWKnits.

Then Life struck. My father died unexpectedly on May 19, and now two other family members have passed as well. I had to move my mother from her home to mine, a great distance away, and then into assisted living. I am buried in legalities and paper work, and somehow my projects seem like a whim from a distant past.

Still, it is a beautiful spring here in NJ. My peonies and foxglove and iris are blooming profusely, and my cat entertains us with his annual boost of spring energy as well as doing double duty enduring our attentions not only for him but also for our recently deceased dog. That’s life.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — the lion lies down with the lambs

In the midst of my grief and what seems like endless paperwork a friend sent this anonymous saying:
“Being happy doesn’t mean life is perfect. It means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.”

So, I’ve returned to working on my Deborah Newton “Greenhouse tank” and to my large Nantucket basket. I’m juggling my time visiting my mother and getting her new apartment furnished, searching for all the paper work to file my father’s taxes for last year, and getting ready for a week at Becky’s Vavstuga! If you want to follow the basket making procedures go to my basket link above.

>Scrapbook of Maine

August 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment

The weeks are passing, in some ways quickly, in others rather slowly, and I’ve now been on board our boat Pandora for a full month as of yesterday! This is the longest I’ve ever been on a boat. Here are some images from my month in Maine.

Day schooner that sails out of Camden

Along the Fox Island Thoroughfare, between North Haven and Vinalhaven.

Herreschoff 12 1/2 (means the water line is 12.5 feet), well known wooden gaff rigged sloop from the early 20th c. designed by Nathaniel Herreshoff, “the wizard of Bristol” (RI).

Bass Island lighthouse, southern most tip of Mt. Desert Island. This is the most photographed lighthouse in Maine!

Our boat, Pandora, is in the center of this photo, taken from the lookout on the way up to Thuya Gardens in Northeast Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island.

Thuya Gardens, designed by Charles K. Savage.

Thuya Gardens

The reflecting pond at Thuya Gardens

Bee house at Thuya Gardens. Bob took this photo for me so I could remind him to make one for our garden!

The fog bank rolling into Southwest Harbor on Mt. Desert Island.

The fog bank coming into the harbor and boats rapidly disappearing!

The rapidly ebbing tide near Blue Hill. This type of rushing tidal current is called a reversing waterfall. This is supposedly the biggest reversing falls in Maine.

Reversing falls near Blue Hill.

Morning mist on our friend’s 100 yr. old lobster boat in Oven’s Mouth on the Sheepscot River.

Osprey nest.

>Sap is Rising…

April 1, 2009 | 3 Comments

…and I feel my creativity rising with it!

The rise in creative juices has led me to go exploring other people’s blogs, looking for what inspires them, how they communicate it, how they cope with the ebb and flow of creativity.

Thank you to Bonnie and Jennifer for the creative blogger award! I’m thrilled that they noticed my blog! Both of them do work that affects my internal spaces, and also makes me stop and analyze myself. I look at Bonnie’s use of color with the eyes of a newborn, trying to soak up all her amazing knowledge of color and pattern.

The very first photo I saw on Jennifer’s blog made me realize I don’t actually have to hear music to have my internal spaces rearranged. Just the photo of her harp in front of an empty chair, with all that potential for music set my emotions in motion! Her writings are sensitive, like harp music, and her wedge weave is wonderful….and rhythmic…

I’ve spent a couple of days nurturing my creativity by looking at other blogs: those recommended by others giving that award and those I’ve found while ‘googling.’ I am overcome! Visiting these blogs has been an ‘artist date’ for me!

Weaving the Dream is a blog I stumbled on when googling. There is a banner on her site that says, “Take a gentle step forward in your spiritual and creative journey.” That’s just what I felt as I read through some of her posts.

Magic Warp, by Steve Bremner. The first post I read is about feeling that there is never enough time to weave. That’s the very feeling that keeps me away from it. That feeling is a real creativity killer, and is probably the biggest hurdle to any artisitic output. It’s the devil.

(If you put your cursor over any of the names or blog names above you will see that they are live links. I don’t know why they are not showing up as links without having the cursor on them. Most of this technology is a complete mystery to me!)

It’s amaryllis season at my house!

One more wonderful March surprise! A gift from my son’s friend, who thought I might enjoy tea from India. He visited the estates where these teas were grown.

I wore these colorful socks yesterday, with an orange turtleneck, my denim shirt with the embroidered palm tree from last summer’s Convergence, and what else? Orange crocs! It’s spring!

>Almost Spring

March 12, 2009 | 5 Comments

>Even though I don’t have any crocuses yet, I do have these houseplants that reward me every spring! This is a paphiopedilum, but I cannot read the name of the cross on the label.

And here is the first of about a dozen amaryllis coming into bloom. (I should have straightened up the kitchen table before taking this shot! Oh well….)

Today I will work on my Arwen Cardi and go to my tapestry class at Soyoo’s, so I expect to make some progress on the Hudson River tapestry, and maybe Rob as well!

Just on the heels of finishing the Swallowtail comes the new issue of Knitty! I’ve printed the directions for the Aeolian Shawl. Lovely!