Solstice Garden Walk

I’m almost a week past the solstice but I’m still playing catch-up on all the activities going on, especially with the big projects at this time of the year which usually involve lots of garden work.

Hosta and ferns

This has been an amazing year for the garden so far, and I’ve spent loads of time out there trying to keep up with the weeds. We still haven’t hit the peak months for flowering but I must say that it’s all looking very promising.

Hosta and Dwarf Arctic Iris

Even though I got a late start in planting the vegetable garden due to the frosty conditions this spring, everything is coming along nicely. We have had very little rain lately and therefore have been hauling our water from the local spring well, which definitely adds more time to the gardening process, but as you can see, the results a worth the effort.

Snow peas

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Everything is thriving beautifully and there are lovely lime green, golf ball sized tomatoes on the vines already. We’ve been eating salads and herbs with every meal, and looking forward to the peppers in the greenhouse. John has a separate garden further away from the rest, where he grows the potatoes and corn, which take up way too much space to plant in the raised beds.

Climbing rose

New landscaping

More landscaping

I love old barrels!

We’ve expanded a few of the existing flowerbeds and landscaped some new areas of the yard that really needed some cleaning up. Over the past eleven years we’ve planted many new trees and shrubs, with this year adding around twenty more decorative and unusual smaller plantings to create fresh vignettes throughout the property. We’ve always been avid auction-goers and over the years have collected many antique farmyard tools and implements with the intention of incorporating them into our home or garden. We’re not afraid of them becoming damaged by the weather as they usually have some heavy wear and tear on them from age, and so we actually use them as planters and trellises around the garden or on the deck area. I love how much character these objects add to the garden and it’s fun to come up with new uses for old items.

Design wall quilt

Ending on a quilty note, to make up for all those gardening photos, I thought you may like to see the progress of my ‘recycled shirt’ project. I must admit that it has been sitting up there on the design wall for a while now but it’s finally ready to be put together as a quilt top. The layout of blocks around that center medallion is almost right and then they can be sewn together. I had to add that narrow coping strip as an in between border to make the different sized blocks fit together, but I truly think it adds to the design of the quilt, giving the eye a resting place, and since I have enough of it, I’ll probably repeat that fabric as the binding. So, the final design decisions have been made and now all I have to do is find the time to carry it out the plan.

Until next time, happy stitching,

carol xox