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We have some incredible things going on in the garden. Yeah... things other than my slug and snail death traps. For instance: foxgloves!!!
I absolutely love those flowers. We have had this particular one for about three years, and my husband is so nuts over it he started a bunch from seed this year. And when I say "a bunch"... I mean A BUNCH! I can't wait to see all of these blooming in a year or two.
Our hydrangeas are also starting to flower. We have an Oakleaf Hydrangea and a couple of Endless Summer Hydrangeas in our shady backyard. That is something that I find fascinating about Atlanta - and also something that many in-town gardeners have to contend with. LOTS of shade. Fun fact: Atlanta is sometimes referred to as "the city in the forest" thanks to our abundant green canopy.
I'm also trying a couple of varieties of eggplant this year. This is an adorable little flower I found blooming on one of my Ichiban Eggplants. It's little surprises like this that really give me a thrill when I check up on progress in the garden.
It is really amazing what little creatures can take shelter in urban gardens. I found this little guy hidden amongst my strawberry plants. Even though he is now deceased, I like to imagine what his life might have been like before he met his maker... slithering around under the oak leaves in autumn, sunning on a rock in the summertime. Eating bugs. (Would a snake his size eat bugs?)
Actually, we have a lot of wildlife in our neighborhood even though we are well within the city limits. I once caught a fox running away from our street with a squirrel (previously the victim of a hit and run) in his mouth. I have seen plenty of hawks, and heard stories about them making off with cats and small dogs (!!!) and have also heard about coyotes doing the same. Those unfortunate types of events are evidence of the conflict between nature and urbanites and how we cope with it and it adapts to our presence. On one level it is very, very sad that people are losing their pets, but another side of me also sees it as hopeful because these wild creatures are learning to adapt under the most challenging of circumstances.
It makes me wonder what this little guy's circumstances were. How did he survive for as long as he did? How did he die? And most importantly: where are all of the other snakes!? I'd like to catch a glimpse of one that is living sometime...
The garden is coming along a little bit each day. We were outside all weekend working (and playing softball!) and have the sunburn and sore muscles to prove it. Did some hardscaping, planted some new green friends and moved others to places where we thought they would be happier.
This is the first year I have ever grown columbine (on the left) and I am a big fan. The flowers are so unique I can't recall any others that look quite like them. They aren't very showy, but are special in their own way. Pincushion Flower (on the right) has some adorable qualities also. I think each flower was designed to be the perfect little landing pad for a bee or butterfly. How can you not love that?
By far though, my favorite plant in the garden right now is this Silver Sage Salvia. The leaves are enormous, and have the most wonderful fuzzy texture. I like to imagine that this variety comes from a magical dewy forest full of unicorns. (In reality - it probably originated in a sunny, arid environment- but oh well!)
We built a little garden path this weekend leading from the street to our patch of grass. It makes the whole layout a lot more welcoming to our friends and neighbors. I'd like to plant a bunch of creeping ground covers and low growing flowers around it eventually...
It's been a very busy couple of weeks here! We've had some big events at work, and Jeph and I have undertaken the garden project of all garden projects. We have completely ripped up our entire front yard! It has been exciting, liberating, and scary all at the same time. What to do with a blank slate!? There are so many possibilities... (We are thinking "cottage garden").
Thanks to our garden project I have been happily spending a lot of time outside lately. A week or so ago I found this incredible section of a beehive in my backyard. I can't remember the last time I saw one close up... probably when I was in elementary school. My parents kept a stash of beautiful things they found in nature for my brother and me to take into school for show and tell. There were birds nests and cuttings from cotton plants (cotton was an unusual sight to kids in suburban Atlanta). My dad also had a collection of arrowheads he found as a child growing up in south Georgia. I remember the beehive we had being enormous - completely intact, unlike the one I recently found.
The beehive: It feels like paper, only much stronger. At the same time, it is so light and delicate! My favorite thing about it is it's surprising scent! It smells slightly sweet, like flowers.
Beehives remind me of one of my favorite pattern designers: Candace Wheeler. Mrs. Wheeler designed textiles and interiors around the turn of the century during the Arts and Crafts period. It is really a shame that she isn't very well known, because she was the first major female textile designer in the US. She worked at the same time as William Morris and actually was business partners with Louis Comfort Tiffany for several years. She was so ahead of her time - not only in her approach to design, but also being a woman in business around the turn of the century! I spent a lot of time studying about her during my senior year of college. She holds a special little place in my heart - I really admire her and her work. The bee motif below is the design that I immediately think of when I read about her or see her name. By today's standards it is not incredibly thrilling, but if you think of it in the context of how it broke away from traditional Victorian Decorative Arts it is really quite impressive!
They're up, they're up! the first sprouts of the season in my veggie garden. After another snowfall in Georgia yesterday, my garden gave me hope that spring WILL be here any day now... so long winter!
