potato-logy

 So it turns out that planting potatoes in vintage mailboxes works quite well... and the hunt for treasure is as exciting as digging for gold.

My mom could have let them grow a little bigger, but small guests inspired an early harvest.

After the entire mailbox was dumped out to look for strays, one child claimed to feel like a paleontologist. My daughter, always quick with words, said perhaps a "potatologist".

rescued container garden

My mom has arrived for the summer, and we're reveling in the magic she brings to our days. "Grandma's barn" has come to life once again with good food, fun projects, constant art and old fashioned play… all of our favorites. 

When she realized that there was still time to plant vegetables, my resourceful mama rounded up repurposed planters to create a container garden on the deck... hoping to evade the deer that forage in the woods out back.   An oversized antique funnel (great drainage!)  in an umbrella stand houses basil… 

  A vintage washtub holds a tomato, a cucumber and a zucchini plant…

 Out in the original barn trough chives and mint (that the deer disdain) come back every year... now they're joined by jalapeño peppers.

 This old mailbox turned on its side is the perfect deep spot for potatoes!

 Chicken feeders, that flank each deck post, now grow herbs and nasturtiums.

No need to go to a nursery and buy expensive planters... there are lots of possibilities at flea markets and tag sales if you're willing to rescue and reuse.

poppy print

 Color is only just beginning to peek out in my yard, but I know where we're headed. First we'll be visited by golden forsythia, coral tulips, and then lavender lilacs... in that order. And then, my favorites: crimson poppies! They only last for brief moment... and so I decided that I needed away to capture them for a little longer.

 This morning I carved two poppies. They are very simple, but with a little detailing from a micron pen- they came to life.

Yes, that's my poppy plant this card is nestled onto. I'm a bit impatient for the real ones filling up vases, so I forsee these prints blooming onto myriad of things while I wait. Pillows are first on the list.

plums

Our little plum tree is loaded this year! Luckily I have some help...

My son held the ladder steady, while I picked our first abundant crop of fruit ever. We planted this tree so long ago and have waited for a harvest like this for years...

 But now what to do?! There's at least 5x more still left in on the tree. What shall we make? I've heard roasting them is an easy and wonderful way to process them.

 What's your favorite plum recipe? Please do tell...

home!

 This morning we left the magical mountains of New Hampshire, filled to the brim with the sweet love of family (and lots of baked goods!), and made the 7 hour trek home. My children and I have become champion travelers together. Forget squabbling. None- just fabulous conversations, quiet reading and fun music sharing. How did I get so lucky? Well, it might not be all luck. I'm working so hard at this solo parenting gig. It's often a struggle and takes tons of energy, but then we have two long car trips that show me just how well we all are doing together, and I'm energized and proud of our happy threesome.

This afternoon we drove through torrential downpours and hailstorms only to arrive home to sunny skies, happy cats, thrilled chickens and a garden that was finally ready to offer up dinner. I'm tired, but content.  I'm home.

 What is it that makes coming home feel so GOOD? What is your favorite part of returning to your nest?

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the great scape!

 Scapes have arrived on all of our garlic plants! Early basil is close at its heels. This means PESTO! Fiery, garlicky, spring pesto... the kind that knocks your socks off. My children are pretty hardy and both eat it with gusto- so I'm keeping it stocked in the fridge for spreading on crackers, topping pizza, dolloping into soup, or tucking into paninis. So good!

If you're not growing your own, most farmer's markets are overflowing with it this time of year in the northeast.

Toss a few scapes into a food processor with a handful of walnuts, some grated parmesan cheese, a few basil leaves and a generous glog of olive oil. Proportions are loose... because with these simple and perfect ingredients you can't go wrong. Just have some crackers or carrot sticks at your side and taste as you go!

p.s. new post up over at Honoring Hope- click here.

blooms

The black/honey locusts are now bursting with their cascade of tiny white flowers that fill the air with the heavy sweet scent that reminds me of the tropics. If I close my eyes and breathe in, I can momentarily transport myself to Hawaii and my little sister. 

Yes, it's most definitely June! Lush and green- and the blooms that surround my little house make it feel like a celebration every time we step out the door. 

Over the years I've added bunches of perennials... which means that they return like old familiar friends. Here's who's currently visiting:

Hydrangeas, lupins, lilies, catmint, poppies, columbines, jacob's ladder... and more. What's blooming in your neck of the woods?

on earth day

Our garlic is up! 

The chives are happy! 

 The lilacs are leafing out!

 And the Magnolia? Beautifully in bloom! 

The earth continues to perform her gorgeous and mysterious celebration of life. You don't need a stretch of land to see this miraculous showcase... she weaves blossoms and greenery into the most urban settings. But I must admit, I am so thrilled with this little piece of the planet that is mine to care for and tend. And that is just what I've been doing. Clearing away the old... planting the new. The first of the vegetable seeds go in today- I'm putting my Taproot Trug to use and getting out in the dirt! 

p.s. I'm offering free shipping to anywhere in the US when you purchase my book, Reinvention, all Earth week long! It's a perfect time to buy a copy for a friend or yourself... 

p.p.s. new post up at honoring hope: wonder

garden dreams

 Whenever I create a new design, my first focus is function. I make what I need. I would always rather create it than buy it. It was just this way many months ago when I came up with the Reclaimed Burlap Garden Trug for Taproot's first issue. And now, we're so close to the moment when we'll  put it to USE! Our strange, mild winter has warmed into an incredibly early spring. What a wonderful gift for this mama who can't wait to get back into her garden again! After more than a decade of diligent vegetable growing, I gave it up completely last year to write Reinvention. I had never even put my beds to rest thoroughly- not so good. It's a wild and intimidating jungle out there. But I'm going to use this head start the earth is offering and get my hands dirty. Like so many children, mine were not always the most enthusiastic helpers out there.  But they've missed it too!  Our CSA was great... truly, but there is nothing like picking your own dinner right outside your door. They've been planning along side me, especially my littlest tomato eater. She wants her own bed filled with purple flowers and sungold tomatoes. We can do that! There are months to go before we can really plant the fun stuff, but this weekend will be the beginning of reawakening our garden... in fact, I already donned my Mucks this morning for a quick initial weeding. Oh how I love a good weeding session! Do you have garden dreams? Are you looking at your seed packets longingly, too?

Glorious Glories

Our Grandpa Otts morning glories have begun their summer dance upon our picket fence. Remember back in May when I spoke lovingly of  their care-free ways? There is something so utterly wild and romantic about a tumble of purple glories climbing and cascading over an old fence. For me, these deep violet blossoms will forever hold a memory of a tiny little boy who came into the world when they were in full bloom. I was pregnant with my son when I planted my first morning glory seeds along the fence of our matchbox sized yard in California. Our very first family photo ever taken was beneath the morning glories (it was a tall fence!) The first few days of motherhood are so intoxicating, terrifying, and awesome... I remember looking at the blossoms, so huge next to his fragile little body, and thinking that the entire universe had just shifted.

Every once in a while, when I see my tall son run by this overgrown glorious fence, I remember that young mother who looked at the world anew. If only I could send her a love note back in time... I'd tell her to hold him tight while she could, because children reach, stretch and grow faster than even the wildest of vines.

morning glories

 I love Morning Glories and how they clamber up poles and over fences with wild abandon. Every year May zips by, and I forget to show you my Morning Glory trick. Right about now is the perfect time to start planting seeds for an amazing show come mid august all the way until the first frost for years to come (here in the northeast). They look lovely and carefree tumbling over our picket fence... and they are just that "care-free". I planted seeds 9 years ago and haven't had to do much since. I learned by accident. I planted all along the base of the fence. They came up the first year timidly and without a lot of gusto. I was disappointed. I left their small tangled vines on the fence all winter long.

The next spring, removing their dried, twisted skeletons was my last priority as I readied the vegetable beds and tended my perennials. Finally, late in May I pulled them off. Much to my surprise, seeds popped out of their dried pods and spread all along the fence.

That summer the Morning Glories went wild. They were prolific and have been ever since. The trick is to not remove their vines until late in spring... it may be tempting, but don't touch them until the days have warmed up. I often leave the wheel barrow of collected vines out for the birds for a day or two. I dream of Morning Glory nests blooming in all of the trees... no matter how impossible that is.

I'm all about flowers and vegetables in May, so if you have any tips, stories, or tricks, I'd love to hear!

mixing up a meadow

Several years ago, my mother made the decision to forgo the traditional lawn and install a wildflower meadow instead. The parade of flowers from May to September has been spectacular and the talk of the town... in more ways than one. Some folks truly do prefer to have their neighbors keep a tidy lawn so there have been a couple of complaints.  But mostly, we've gotten used to seeing folks drive slowly by, eyes as wide as their smiles. Many stop and take photos when the poppies are at their peak. We've been proud of all of the lovely attention it has gotten, but it hasn't been as maintenance free as we had hoped. Pigweed took over one August, and thistles have been vying for real estate in the back. Town municipal workers parked their huge trucks in the middle while repairing a water line... September's sunflowers and black-eyed susans were mistaken for an empty lot! When we complained, they apologized by reseeding it...  with a lawn! Only in one strip, but oh dear. So this weekend I did a little meadow management.

Neighbor Dan came with his tractor and tilled up the strip of "lawn", the thistle station in the back and the entire swath of road frontage. I waited until  rain clouds were hanging low, and then headed over with a pound of seeds and soil.


I mixed  1/2 lb. in a 5 gallon bucket filled 3/4 of the way with organic potting soil and distributed this recipe with wishes for growth and beauty...

just be true little seeds... do what you do best!

I'll let you know how it goes. The daisies and lupines were already coming up in the un-tilled parts, so I have great hope! (Just Be True tee made by my friend Jen.)

Happy belated Mother's Day, Mom... should be blooming when you get here!

May through September