Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Lazy afternoon

Hi everyone,

It's 82 degrees (F) in the shade, so I'm brewing myself some iced tea. When I'm done writing, I'll snip some renegade mint from the old vegetable garden and relax (some more).

Caught a stomach bug that woke me in the wee hours of Monday morning, but am much better now. Maybe I overdid it with the garden chores last week!

Today I'm sharing a few garden photos. I'm still getting used to my tablet as a camera, so there's room for improvement in the photography department. As we finish the various beds, I'll post more photos.

Here's a look at our Japanese-inspired garden, which is still in the reclamation phase from a year of neglect and winter. It has three tiers, bordered mainly in Goshen stone (named for a nearby hill-town where it is abundant). The steps to the left are from stones unearthed from the hill above us.On the right are Goshen stone stiles, which swirl around the perimeter in ever-increasing height; these make it easy to climb the steep hill and tend to the water feature up there.



Full view

Close-up, left side and stone steps

Tim's newest dwarf conifer,
foreground

Home-brewed iced tea with mint and lemon

I once knew a person who designed his garden with plants selected on the basis of their name: he chose plants according to their initial letters in alphabetical order! It took him a few years to get from A to Z. I am challenged enough to group plant textures and heights in a pleasing way while considering soil and sunlight requirements! 

Do you favor any particular approach to designing your garden (color scheme, native plants, and so forth)?

22 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Loving your garden. The tea looks inviting too.
We had for some years a 'white garden' but other than that our approach is fairly random. If the plant is happy, so are we.
And it is an eclectic and crowded garden. Jungle like in some parts and seasons.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Thanks...and so happy you stopped by, EC! I liked ours when it filled in, but after becoming so crowded, it seems several plants died....another reason for the overhaul. Doesn't take very long to fill in the gaps. ;-)

Bookie said...

Wow, you are a serious gardener! That yard looks huge...but peaceful and soothing-once the work is done that is.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Bookie,
Would you believe our yard is actually quite small? Our aim was to create a little sanctuary in back, where we could soothe our jangled minds after working all day. Now that we are both retired, it still serves that purpose, just morre frequently! There is something about the lushness of greenery surrounding me that also makes me feel secured in the world, too. I must keep telling myself our gardens are a work in progress! Thanks for visiting. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you have been under the weather. I appreciate your visits to my blog. Many years ago, my mom and I purchased daylilies for our garden with the names of family and friends. Such as...my great grandma's name was Ida, and Oakes Daylilies had a variety named Ida!

Anonymous said...

Don't know if anyone has mentioned that it is time consuming to "decipher" the word verification on your blog in order to post a comment. I believe you will get many more comments, if you will remove the word verif.

Rose said...

Am here because of the comment you left on my Pics & Pieces blog. I wanted to reply now because sometimes I completely forget things.

First thanks for visiting and leaving a comment...I want to explore your blog later, but my granddaughter is here so too busy now.

As to the quilting on the quilt, it is no pattern. It is just something I do. I have used it on at least three quilts. I quilt on a Juki 98Q....it has just a bit more space than our normal home sewing machines...it is straight stitch only. I have had it for around 7 years and actually look forward to quilting. It has made all the difference in the world in reguards to quilting.

If you will follow THIS LINK and keep scrolling down, you will see a lot of quilting done on this machine. You will have to click on 'Older posts' a time or two and you will see some of this type of quilting and get closer, better views of it.

Hope these links work...I don't do them enough to be good at doing them.

Valerie said...

It's been super hot here too! Several days in the upper 90's. That iced tea looks inviting and so does your lovely garden.
Blessings and Sunshine, Valerie

Anonymous said...

Ooh, stomach bugs are the pits. So glad you're feeling better now.

The Japanese garden is lovely. Isn't it wonderful seeing gardens come to life after the long, dreary winter.

We had a bit of a cool day here (SW Idaho) today. It was in the 60's, cloudy, and windy. But by Friday we'll be in the 90's. Hot tea today...iced tea this weekend.

Blessings to you,
Patti

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Thanks! I do enjoy your blog. And that's a wonderful idea to name your day lilies after a loved one..a living tribute!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Oh dear, no - and I thank you for this suggestion....I will have to figure it out in the morning as it is late....so grateful for noticing and letting me know.

Aida said...

Hi Vickie, hope you are recovering well from the stomach bug. They're not pleasant at all. Our garden looks well planned. Ours isn't too bad, we grouped them according to their variety.
Thank you for visiting my blog and your lovely comment. I'm following you back. Hope to see more of your garden.
Blessings,
Aida

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Rose, Thanks so much! Did you teach yourself or take lessons? I've been tempted by some of Craftsy's online classes and I do have a quilt shop 20 miles south that offers some classes too. I'm missing my sewing! I'll let you know about the links when I check them!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Valerie,
Hit the hay early last night and am just getting around to your lovely note. Thanks! We were blessed with a powerful thunderstorm last night. Yay, no watering needed today! Iced-tea was a welcome relief...but back to cool, windy, and overcast again this morning. Hot tea for me!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Good morning Patti! Thanks - it's one of the first summers since retirement that we've started enjoying our gardens early - despite spring's late arrival (and all of our catch up work).

Think we're getting your weather this morning: cool, very windy, overcast. At least no tornadoes, never mind twin tornadoes.

Feeling blessed and passing on the warmth to you,
Vickie

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Aida, Thanks, I'm so much better now. And I'm glad you are following me too.

I'll be visiting you as gardens and tea are two of my favorite things in life!

By the way, I love your name - were you named after a relative?

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Found the word verification option and turned it off. It's so funny that I detest that in others's blogs, but dutifully prove I am not a robot! From what I gather, blogspot changes its interface often enough to make it inconvenient to opt out of certain settings (like every software application, right?). I just hope there isn't any spam served up on my blog now. LOL

Rose said...

No, no classes. I have loved quilting every since I was a child. Don't have a lot to show for it, in ways. I used to help my mom hand quilt. I learned to sew on a treadle machine.

As for quilting on the machine, I found finding the bigger harp area helped me tremendously. Not that my quilting is perfect by any means. Before I got my Juki, I had a Pfaff and a Viking that I quilted a couple or three quilts on. Each time, I swore never again.

I saw the Juki at a quilt show, but did not even consider it at the time, so never even looked at it. But when I had more time on my hands, I got to reading about it at the Yahoo Juki 98E forum...the 98E and 98Q are basically the same machine.

For me budget wise, it was either it or the Brother 1500. And basically was just a flip of the coin that I chose the Juki. I have quilt one quilt that was 92 inches square and a couple that were close to that.

As for classes, a lot of people get a lot out of them. I just never have taken any. But I do watch a lot of stuff on line...just to keep me inspired.

Have you heard of QNN-tv....the last I checked it cost $24 for a years membership...but there is a ton of videos there. Fons & Porter, Quilty, Eleanor Burns...I am forgetting who all has videos there. A LOT. Just google it when you have time.

Lorrie said...

Being sick is never fun, but I always think it's worse in the summer. I can't imagine planning a garden alphabetically. Color tends to be my criteria - blues, pinks, whites with lots of different greens. I have a few other colors that I keep weeding out, trying to keep things consistent. I admire gardens like yours that are well-planned out.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Rose, Wow, you are amazing to have taught yourself so much. I also learned to sew on a treadle machine!

I'm going to check out more about your Juki model. I'd love to be able to make bigger quilts with ease. I saw your logo, I think it is called - a thumbnail photo of a beautifully colored quilt that looks to be an Irish chain? I see I am going to have to carve out some time to visit your blog at length!

Also, thanks for your tip on QNN-tv videos and membership. I'll check that as well. I appreciate your taking the time to comment and especially to inspire me! - Vickie

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Lorrie,
Thanks for your lovely note. Feeling better finally. I tried to garden by color, and although I expected it to be a snap, I really failed. I even went so far as to buy one of those "planned" garden packages complete with a diagram of where everything went. It was a dismal failure. Things died daily.

I do love whites and purples. I was a yellow snob for a long time, but after seeing what others do with yellow, I'm a convert, if in spirit only. It's taken us 11 years to go from a blank yard - uphill on one side (Japanese Garden) and downhill on the other side - to what we have today. Other than physically installing the stonework, we dug nearly every garden and tree hole ourselves. Couldn't do it again with the arthritis but oh, what a ride it's been. I am heading over to your blog right now. Again, I'm so glad you stopped by!

Paulette said...

We have a lot of shade in our yard with large, mature trees, so one of the primary considerations is light or the lack thereof, then height and lastly color. I have a pretty laissez faire attitude toward my little garden. Whatever works, and then leaving it be for as long as it's working. I love those Goshen stones in your landscaping. Your gardens are beautiful, and you obviously put a lot of thought and energy and care into them.