away

we are away for a bit...

we will probably post some, but for now, we are walking in the forest.

farm outing

last week, this lady came to visit. 

she had one request- to go out to full moon farm.

so early on a friday we went. we met up with olivia and her dog atticus and rambled through the fields on a tour. we viewed their pigs and piglets, then walked to the cultivated area and walked the rows and took photos. then we leaned down and started helping pick beans. these beans were off the the restaurant or to the farm's CSA.

eventhough i have been to this farm many times, i never cease to feel the beauty of it, or this way of life.

carry on, farmers!

happiness is...

...pretty peas.

we are really loving our heirloom peas. 

they are so beautiful. 

homemade breakfast

it is unseasonably cool here, at least in the mornings. i think we may have set a record even, this morning. i ate on the porch and had an all homemade/homegrown breakfast of lee's bread, banana butter, lee's yogurt, blackberries, and honey.

mmm, mmm!

photo shoot by-product

often when i am photographing, objects on the periphery of the shoot end up being some of my favorite images from the day. here, heirloom radishes sit in wait for use in a salad for a photo for r.wood.

heirloom peas coming in

my mom & dad visited this place last fall and brought home some heirloom peas that the gardener shared with them. 

they are just starting to come in...time to start shellin'! 

little lemons

coming soon . . .

   scale:  |--------------------| = 1/2 inch

sage, oh the wonders...

my mom carried this sage plant home with her from italy years ago. they had eaten fried sage leaves while there and she found this large-leaved variety and tucked it in her bag and flew it on home. the leaves are indeed larger than most sages found here, but i bet a similar specimen could be found.

we cook alot this time of year- one thing we like to do is fry up these leaves and eat them straight up. or chop them up on top of a red sauce pasta, or like tonight, served them as a side dish to fresh pesto.

yum.

to make: pick your sage leaves. wash and dry them. whisk one egg with 1 tablespoon of cold water and place in bowl. in another bowl, place 1/2 cup of good cornmeal. meanwhile heat some olive oil in a pan 'til it sizzles. take each leaf, drag through egg mixture on both sides, ditto for the cornmeal, then place in hot skillet. cook 'til browned on both sides. remove and place on paper towel to drain. then, eat up! (note: you might could make these vegan, omitting the egg- use ice cold water, then do the cornmeal dip, and then fry...)

plants i am loving

these are a few of my favorite plants right now. all are 'performing', meaning that they are in bloom or plume, and they all mix well together. they sit in the same bed- full sun- and all ended up there by accident. they were either transplants from other areas of the garden, gifts from friends (but we did not know what they were), or unmarked seeds that surprised us (in the best of ways!).

from top to bottom: borage, lemon geranium, a grass whose name escapes me at the moment, my all time fav 'jewels of opar', fennel and bolted parsley, mixed in with lamb's ear blooms

csa goodness

we used to not think we needed to do a csa* box- we had a big garden, producing more than we could eat. 

then, the drought hit. after two summers of less-than-impressive yields in our backyard plot, due to the lack of rain, we decided to get a csa box from one of our local farms. we get ours every tuesday from woodland gardens. they grow for some of the area's best restaurants (here, here, and here).

what we like about it is the fact that they grow different things than we do, and it makes us have to learn to cook 'em. also, getting a box gives a feeling of comraderie- we visit with the other eaters each week when we pick it up.

oh, and you really feel inspired to cook it all, before it goes bad- you hate to let something so beautiful go to waste!

this week we had: fennel bulbs, fresh strawberries, red carrots, microgreens, kale, new potatoes,  & lettuce

* csa= community supported agriculture

happiness is . . .

. . . a full plum tree:

and also, here.

gardenia beauty...

...over here.

rounds in the garden

the garden is verdant from all the rain- a big difference from the last two years...after living through the worst drought in a hundred years, we are now living with afternoon rain showers, like the old days.

growing season is upon us!

{photos above: the 'emerald', and down by the stream}

week of gardening books, part five

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today, the books i am sharing are about how to stretch out your harvest via canning, preserving, etc. all of these books, save for one, were found at thrift stores or second hand- this is a great way to find really good old school instructions and techniques...and they can be very inexpensive! 

here are the books:

- country wisdom and know how. this is the one book that is not old...the editors at storey books culled their writings from the booklets they used to publish in the '70's. this is a good one-stop reference for many things besides gardening and putting up.

- how to make it on the land & growing food for your family.

thrift store finds that, i must admit, lured me in by their titles, but both have good tips on offer.

- stocking up. found last summer at a super great bookstore...i have not used any recipes yet, but intend to. just been reading up, so i can be ready when things start growing!

- and finally, living on the earth. this book has made the blog rounds here and there, but i found it ten or more years ago in a junk shop for $2. it has been worth every penny and more! it is really great. line drawings and a carefree spirit. 

enjoy!

week of gardening books, part three & four

so sorry, i was away from the computer yesterday...so here are two book posts, combined in to one!

today's books are practical and basic and are good introductions for the novice gardener.  

living in athens, georgia is great for many reasons, but one of them is the fact that the university of georgia is here. two of the nation's plant experts call UGA home- allan armitage and michael dirr. their plant books are often seen in nurseries (and gardeners' homes) around the country as premier references about plants- botanical names, origins, site preferences, cultivars, and other factoids. armitage's specialty is perennials; dirr's is woody plants. while their books may seem a tad intimidating due to their vastness, you can easily find plants by their common names, botanical names, or even if you are searching for "good plants something with fragrance", for instance, or that likes specific conditions like "dry shade"...you can probably find them here.

these are highly recommended.

secondly, 

i really love the books that the brooklyn botanic garden puts out. 

while i certainly do not live in brooklyn, i have been a member of their garden for years because of this book series (and because of a visit to their garden ten years ago that left me enchanted...). you can view the image above to read the spines for the range of topics they cover, but it is everything from bonsai to gardening with childern to heirloom veggies to organic pest control. super helpful and super simple.

enjoy!

week of books, part two

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continuing with some of my favorite books about the garden...

derek jarman's garden & planted are two of my oldest and most favorite gardening books. they are full of inspiration and also guidance on how to garden. the former is more about how gardening can be a creative outlet; the latter has concrete information that you can put to use.

the imagery in both is just gorgeous. photographs by howard sooley & lorry eason/michael wildsmith convey the emotion of plants and the everyday beauty that they provide. 

in the book about jarman you see the oasis he created by the shore.

his tiny cottage and pebbled-scape became his refuge.

sturgeon's book has tips and info about the basics of gardening and growing, but the photographs are some of the most beautiful i have ever seen, in a gardening book, or any other.

enjoy.

week of books, part one

this week, everyday, i am going to share some books. 

these are ones that i go back to often- for inspiration, for ideas, for beauty, for fun. 

most will be garden-related, but today's book is more about structures than plants, but it has so many good ideas and images in it that it will get your brain jumpstarted for any project you may face.

it is called shelter. 

first published in 1973, it has historical images, photos, plans, diagrams, instructions, and words that share how to build everything from bucky balls to tents, to onion domes to adobe and beyond. there are images from every continent, all different types of people & communities, images taken indoors, outdoors, things made of wood, stone, thatch,bamboo, how to build a windmill, and a shout-ou the watts towers- you name it.

it is great.

bloom, bay magnolia

we have many different kinds of magnolias in our garden: a star magnolia, a deciduous magnolia, the traditional southern magnolia...and we have bay magnolias. their flowers have just as much scent at the others, but are diminutive in size- this one here is just about 3 inches across.

humble plants

our garden has alot of what i like to think of as 'humble plants'. these are small diminutive plants that don't get noticed by your average visitor. 

one of these is down by our stream nestled in the rocks- strawberry begonia. begonias are well known as house plants, but there are many kinds that like a garden setting. this particular one has beautiful icy green leaves with grey varigation and a light pink underbelly- a really beautiful set of colors. 

they have self-sown all over the rocks in small clusters. this time of year they shoot up the tiniest white flowers that dance on fuzzy stems. i never tire of them.

why we garden, part two

we lost a big tree a few years back that left a big hole in the canopy down by the stream. 

at the time, we were devastated by the gap. 

we planted a big leaf magnolia, and it has really flourished. its gigantic, spring-green leaves contrast dramatically with all the other smaller leaf textures, and this year we were rewarded with its first bloom, which we present to you here...

why we garden

it is times like this that i remember why we garden. 

we don't have a ton of showy plants here- most of our garden is shades of green & small, subtle specimens.

lee brought in this peony this weekend and it was beautiful. its fragrance has filled our room.

we used to have too much shade to grow peonies, but lee moved them a few years ago to a sunnier spot that we created, and they are very happy. lots of buds on all the plants, so more blooms to come...

cover crop

i never tire of photographing seedlings. 

they are so inspiring- how they start form a tiny seeds, then pop up and eventually grow into mature plants.

this year, we are planting a cover crop of buckwheat on half of the veggie bed. our veggie bed has grown so large that it takes alot of time to tend. while we love every minute- and every bite- we are scaling back, slightly.

we planted half of it in this cover crop and will till it under at summer's end. then we'll switch ends for planting next go 'round.

we'll see how it goes...

moonflower, for free

whew, we have been busy in the garden, hence the irregularity of posting the last week or so- our apologies...

we found some moonflower seed pods on the vine, leftover from last year. we will soon be starting these in the greenhouse to transplant in the same spot. they grow along the fence that lines the veggie bed.

moonflower seeds need a little coaxing- the seeds like a little soak in water before planting. if you have ever encountered a moonflower's beauty or scent, you will know it is worth this little bit of extra effort.

rose

today i was doing a photo shoot and plucked this rose from outside my studio- it found its way into the pictures, both for beauty and for purpose...

when we moved in there were many roses here- all are old fashioned ones, many are unnamed to us. 

but we enjoy them all the same!

tulip poplar

a large tulip poplar sits on the street next door to our house.

it drops these beautiful 'flowers' that have light green petals with orange tips. the sidewalk is covered with them.

really pretty...