The North Lawrence garden has gone wild for the season.
Sounds like summer. Insects, crows, cattle in the distance. At the moment, the hummingbirds are quarreling over the feeders and Bob has asked me to go cut some marjoram for pizza. Labor Day weekend I tend not to travel. It’s always a mix of projects and day trips. I took down most of the spent Rudbeckia triloba at the garden this wet morning, cleaned the utility room this afternoon then put together the taco salad fixings for my visit to my nephew in Manhattan tomorrow. Thinking about a walk on a trail now.
Sounds like summer. Insects, crows, cattle in the distance. At the moment, the hummingbirds are quarreling over the feeders and Bob has asked me to go cut some marjoram for pizza. Labor Day weekend I tend not to travel. It’s always a mix of projects and day trips. I took down most of the spent Rudbeckia triloba at the garden this wet morning, cleaned the utility room this afternoon then put together the taco salad fixings for my visit to my nephew in Manhattan tomorrow. Thinking about a walk on a trail now.
The celosia is beautiful right now. It never fails. Varieties here: ‘Flamingo Feather’, ‘Celway Terracotta’, ‘Cramer’s Lemon Lime’, ‘Celway White’ and Floret’s pastel mix on beyond. The Celway is the most expensive seed I use.
I feel as if the season has finally begun, now that it’s almost August. North Lawrence garden, many zinnias to come.
I have snapdragons and need to get them into people’s hands. Plan to take some to the Merc tomorrow. Interested to hear color preferences. We are cutting today.
Spring evening weeding with Pearl. The hardy annual plants had a long, warm fall and a hard cold snap a month ago. They are leaping up. Dusty miller, foxglove. The ground is soggy. I have pulled out many dock plants by the roots—so satisfying. * Newsletter went out yesterday afternoon. If you’re on the list but don’t see it in your email, check your junk mail. Seriously. Some of your bouquet subscription orders went to my junk mail. Yikes.
First this: If you’ve been planning to buy a bouquet subscription, you might want to do it before April 1. I will lower the discounts that day for the three-count and six-count. I try to encourage and reward the earliest buyers with the deepest discounts. And this is a very flexible program; if you’ll miss a pickup, you can schedule an on-farm pickup earlier or later, send a friend in your place or get more than one bouquet at another drop. Things like that. I’m really into flexibility. * This particular scene with narcissus will occur very soon. I’m seeing daffodils around town, and the ‘Ice Follies’ at my North Lawrence garden are blooming now. * Also very happy to report that we got our first dose of the COVID vaccine this morning. I’ll still take precautions this season but will breathe easier having been vaccinated. Tonight is overcast and windy, and I’m letting myself rest and read and write, cuddled up with Pearl, my tabby.
Welcome, spring. Oh, so welcome. Looking forward to sights like this. A note: If you’ve been thinking of buying a bouquet subscription, you might want to before April 1. The discount will not be quite as deep after that. I try to encourage and thank the earliest buyers with the deepest discounts January through March. This evening we’re heading to the forest trails, out of the wind, grateful for the lengthening days.
Ready for spring flowers. Newsletter goes out tomorrow; if you’d like to be on the list, head to any page on our website. The Subscribe box will pop up. I saw tiny green leaves on the wild gooseberry bushes this evening on my walk, and as I write the winds are calming and the first drops of rain are falling. Sun setting and I’m watching for a rainbow.
Sunday night: Bob’s reworking this entire area for planting annual flowers using his beloved tractor (his grandpa’s) and homemade bed shaper. This is nine rows, each about 250 feet. Next weekend we’ll begin planting the cool-season annuals that will bloom next spring: thousands of foxgloves, fancy snapdragons, fragrant dianthus and lots more. The area looks so small when it’s bare but becomes a wonderland when it’s planted and magical when it’s blooming. So glad to be getting this back in shape.
Part of what my North Lawrence garden is for this year is offering a place for the world-weary to escape and dream. A number of people have stopped by, just walking through the community garden, to visit over the fence. Others have texted or sent messages that they’ve stepped in and enjoyed a brief respite. On Saturday, a little boy ran in while I was working and cried out, “Is this a garden?” and I had to be encouraging as I backed away to try to keep us both safe. And his father called him back. He was clearly so reluctant, wanting to stay and explore, and my heart sank at the missed opportunity. I hope he’ll sneak in again. I’ve seen evidence that people have come in without my knowing: The gate is just a little different than how I’ve left it. But everyone has respected the space, and I hope its presence is as spirit-lifting to everyone as it is for me. Enter through the gate where the blue morning glories cover the arch.
This afternoon’s workshop with seasonal materials really was so much fun. I loved seeing all the beautiful work and the variation in how these centerpieces came together, and I’ve posted several photos and videos in my stories. So much lies within us, waiting to be expressed. ** We had Fraser fir, white pine, Scotch pine, berried and coned juniper, magnolia, several kinds of cones, holly, winterberry, hypericum, apples, cranberries and more. We practiced a method you can use at home without mechanics, something you can even do with kids. Thanks to all who came from Lawrence, KC and elsewhere, and especially @Yellow House Flowers. We have always done this, we always will.
What’s fun about this video is it’s Bridger modeling his love’s bouquet. These two work so hard to live lightly on the earth, and I’m thrilled that the wild white native eupatorium is at peak and I could forage it to use as a lacy base for this one. Everything else is from the farm and the cutting garden in North Lawrence. Bridger has spent dozens of hours working with me in the flowers. Long, hot hours, early hours. So in a way these flowers really do belong to him. Congratulations Bridger and Becky. #lawrenceks #lawrencekansas
It’s September, but flowers like this ‘Audrey’ white gomphrena are still coming into peak season, and others continue to put on a show that continued until frost. I’m watching the late-planted dahlias and looking forward to a few weeks of these favorite blooms. Working outdoors today (went for a hike yesterday) and hope you’re having a great Labor Day holiday. I think of those who made sacrifices for better working conditions, those honored by Labor Day, federal holiday, extra time to reflect and recreate.
Subject matter for today’s painting class by @meadowlarkandco. I’m amazed by the variation in the ‘Queen Lime Orange’ zinnias and can’t get enough of them. The sound is the midday downpour. We don’t have monsoon season in this region but we’re having it this year. The dahlias like it.
Just back from a week in the Lake Erie region of New York and returning to all this beauty at the North Lawrence cutting garden. Grateful for the rain that came while we were away. There’s nothing like rain—no irrigation can touch it. Rain, sun, soil.
The North Lawrence cutting garden is starting to come back together. Visitors and selfies welcome (please tag me). This has always been a place of solace for me. I started riding my bike and running here, along the river, in my late 20s. At 7am, Old Bob Snow would holler out from his market garden, asking if I was hungry. The wild blue ivy-leafed morning glories (my namesake and the vine growing over the entrance to this garden) grew along his wire fence. My understanding is that my poet-hero, William Stafford, had a truck garden in this vicinity when he went to KU in the 1930s. My soulmate cat, Dinah, is buried in No Law. And let’s not forget the Mexican food over here. This will always be a home to me, and I look forward to having an open house at this garden sometime in September.
Bouquets today at Ruff House Art, 729 Mass. St. in Lawrence. Think Father’s Day.
Making a final check on the ceremony installation yesterday afternoon. We wanted to protect this antique console, which belongs to the bride’s family, and we placed felt under each vase to prevent damage from condensation. The installation is made with six low oblong vases, each covered with two layers of chicken wire (we don’t use floral foam; not ever) and placed to give the effect of one large piece. White double peonies, ‘Madame Butterfly’ ivory snapdragons, ‘Quicksand’ roses, viburnum. With Yellow House Flowers
