The Hidden Sanctuary

Thanksgiving '09

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:05:31 GMT

Lots of doggies, lots of fun, but OMG, we're missing someone...OK, "Do Over"

New granddoggie, Haku, was super sweet. Everybody loves Haku... except maybe Edgar

I learned the art of making a turkey sandwich from H & B ... mashed potatoes on a sandwich@#$!??

Where are your roots

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:14:21 GMT

Doing a little historical documentation. A treasured heirloom tradition, passed down through countless generations ... what if it dwindled away and nobody cared ... (one small teardrop) ... what if, no one even noticed

this

plus this

equals

Zowey, does this look fun, or what! ... Any takers, somebody....anybody

Victoria BC, again

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:26:10 GMT

Took another long weekend trip to Victoria with friends and had a wonderful time. The end of August was a wonderful time to see the Butchart Gardens, soak up the sun & enjoy this vibrant city.

thoughts for next year

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:46:48 GMT

While I'm thinking...some suggestion to self on flower combos. Licorice plant, I currently have in a pot, could be propagated from cuttings & I read it looks really cool with blue salvias, of which i have quite a few. Drought tolerant & carefree, for both, so should give them a try.

Magazine showed mass plantings of Coneflowers, Rudibeckias & Russian sage which are, also, easy care. Could be in the back 40, taking care of themselves. I'm working too many weird hours etc to give anybody a lot of attention.

And yet, I'm feeling the urge to bring in some HOUSE plants. I was given an African violet, which is just the cutest thing & he's doing real well for me & why not keep on going....

,,,,/////////English Ivy?.........herbs? in the window? . . . Maidenhair fern?, We shall see

OMG, how do you photograph bees?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:23:18 GMT

They do not dally, they do not light & forget-about-it when they are in flight...sincerely, this was the best I could do...I deleted my many mutant nija bee pics. I'll try again another day... they are a challenge, indeed.

Three cheers for the stationary flower

a new perspective perhaps

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:17:29 GMT

Our first year, on the coast, weather was like in a fairy tale. We really did have a Summer & often sunny days throughout the Winter & this was as it should be. And many geraniums & nasturtiums often lived through the winter & I loved this. I've since learned this is rarely the case, but every spring, I get all hyped up & go to town planning & planting....and waiting ...and waiting.

Some folks are slower to learn than others. No, they're not stupid...just incredibly hopeful, I think. Nature knows best & my new plan is to hope to see flowers in August & if they show up earlier, "Yeah!"

I'm learning to chill

backyard radishes & flora

Fri, 22 May 2009 21:17:01 GMT

Exhilarating to grow your own food and so pretty and red.

Blanket flowers, my latest favorite, along with Nepeta catmint.

Verbena, up close & personal

Mt Fuji flowering cherry

Lazy daze blues

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:06:33 GMT

Took a few photos
Walked round the block
Fed all the Rhodies
Look at the clock!

New flowers are homeless
Weeds I must pluck
Undivided perennials
Haven't much luck

Named Procrastination
What is the plan
Goals unrealistic?
I feel such a sham

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procrastination

Surprise!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:09:52 GMT

Whew, I've worked very hard to prepare for Anna's birthday. My first cake flopped & I whipped up another. My frosting... not sure what happened there . . . didn't want to spread . . weird, like no other frosting I've ever worked with. But I persevered, I adjusted, I improvised. Anyway, I rushed out this morning to meet her for our walk. I gave her a big hug & a hearty "Happy Birthday." . . . She smiled & laughed, "Well, thank you, but It's not my birthday." . . .

We made it her birthday, at least for this year & Anna, Elaine & I ate a very yummy cake on the good china & had a few giggles.

If I can spell alzheimers, I shall look it up

fuzzy imagery

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:39:13 GMT

Hope to find some time today to try some more "MOTION" photo opps. I get a kick out them . . .

Taken in Feb '09, the street behind, looking like a stream when fuzzed up, is kind of cool.

Japanese artish? Mirror image of Anna's rosebud azalea makes a fairy princess design

I'm very easily amused . . . it's a good thing

Gardening in the moonlight...Lala La Lala

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:58:38 GMT

Sometimes, on the coast, it's just too nippy to garden. The bracing wind off the ocean often chases me into my warm home. But, often times, the breezes fall off in the late afternoon & the temp rises. So, although, it was actually misting, out I went & had a jolly good time moving plants around & adding some new ones. This explains the dark pictures, well enough.

The top pic is perennial Candytuft, which is an evergreen, and I thought would be good along the front sidewalk. I planted some dwarf Rosemary along there, too, which hopefully will stay green all year. The annuals, I usually plant there, left the area looking shabby for half the year. I loved them, but, hopefully my new plan will pan out. I planted some English Daisies with them for some color & some lime green thyme.

In the back yard, I put in some Wallflowers, purple & yellow. Ultra Lyn says they bloom all year long for her & are easy care. I moved some "Becky" daisies, candytuft, & primroses to keep them company.

Next, on my list, the back forty. There's far too much grass back there, when it should be all mulch. There are evil blackberries lurking under the pines. The tiny garden I started back there, needs attention and the Rosemary needs trimming. She's very angry...I can tell...

Mello kitties, gasp, let me take their pics!

We even look good without ears

Mt Fugi trees

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:16:59 GMT

Looking through photos & wanted to make note of Mt Fugi's progress. These are cute little guys we bareroot planted two years ago. It's the first time we've planted any horizontal growth pattern trees & so far I'm really pleased. They're kind of artsy looking even when bare of leaves.

December '08, with dusting of snow, shows their first real color change. Very exciting as the coastal region doesn't get much of a Fall show. ..grow, grow.

And this little Rhodie, shot taken the same day, blooms several times a year though it's not meant to. So, a really nice fall we had which kind of made up for the non summer year of 2008.

2009 "gardening is fun" issue

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:30:10 GMT

Perfect day to start thinking of the garden. I weeded...a little. I shoveled, raked, snipped, pruned, tidied, cultivated, added compost, and for good measure tossed in a little wood ash. I have some perennial candytuft & wallflowers that are ready for a home, if weather permits tomorrow.

What I'm thinking about is losing my mind & trying to grow a few veggies in pots this year. Whenever I taste a homegrown tomato or green bean, I'm just astounded. They're unbelievable nummy. For whatever reason, I feel we will actually have a real Summer this year. I feel it in my bones. And while our close proximity to the beach would usually preclude a vegetable garden, I think this year will be an exception.

Seal Rock Beach...with a camera

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:43:29 GMT

Gorgeous, warm & not windy day at the beach & the it's still, too, early for the tourists, YEAH.

I'm still amazed that I can go to a beach on the Oregon Coast & often times have the place to myself...Pics without strangers.....priceless.

Water on rocks This one is my artsy, blurry technique I'm trying to master

yummies

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:49:22 GMT

For the last few weeks, I've been cooking up a storm. Odd, because I rarely cook anymore. I've created beirocks or krautburgers, nifty packages of ground beef, cabbage & onion stuffed into pizza dough & baked. I've made the lazy woman's version of Cornish pasties, which is ground beef, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas & onion rolled up in puffed pastry. All great for lunches to grab on the run.   And the sweets...I really try not to bake the sweeties...Hello, my name is ....ah, Doris...yah, that's it...and, yes, I'm a sweetiholic. Pumpkin cookies, orange cranberry bread & and a walnut cake recipe I've been toting around for about fifteen years wanting to try. The nip in the air ? or lure of a new recipe?

statuary II, the sequel

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:32:50 GMT

statuary

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:00:51 GMT

Our first statue, a pixie?, an elf?, whatever...we both agree (and that's rare) is very whimsicle & pretty.

Will the yard be filled with St. Francis, baby angels & Mother Marys soon....we shall see

J. Edgar Hoover was named by Heather......????

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:55:36 GMT

Edgar doesn't like the papparazzi, at all
Nor does he like his name & often goes by Flufferbutt

Twink, always happy to pose

Gold medal winners '08

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:24:09 GMT

Heathers & Heathers, defying great odds, neither cold nor damp of beach can keep them down
Notice pale prone nasturiums, at back,
really missed the sun

Also, with honorable mention

Snapdragons & daisy, Becky, laughing in the cool gray mist

Evilrust

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:21:00 GMT

Yes, I've heard of rust...especially in association with hollyhocks. My hollyhocks were gorgeous last year & not a speck of rust, but this year with very little sun and much misty weather.....we're so rusted. It's very sad, as the blossoms are blooming atop wilted greenery. I'll probably replant the back corner with rust resistant stuff, but I'll miss my darling hollyhocks. I read the "Happy Lights" variety is somewhat resistant & maybe I'll plant those elsewhere..

Plants new to me:

Geum (Anna's recomendation)
     Slow growing, dark green low foilage with red flowers held high
     Very pretty, rather artsy looking

Daisy, Becky variety
     Sturdier stems on this type, about 2 feet high
     Fingers crossed, I'm kind of a daisy jinx

White snapdragons
     Trying to add more white flowers, as I feel they off set other colors well
     Veloris, at work, says to pinch out the first bloom & they get fluffier & more blooms

Lychnis
     These old fashioned seedlings will bloom next year with gray foilage & magenta flowers
     Purchased for being unfussy about soil & drought tolerant for my back forty area
     2 to 3 feet tall & most effective in large borders alonside white flowering plants
     Hopefully, we'll like them, as they self seed vigorously...uh oh

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:14:02 GMT

Wonderful, long weekend trip to Victoria. Can't say enough about this city. It was sunny & warm (I've been craving warmth), beautiful, romantic & vibrant. A walk around the town at night, just delightful. The parliament building is all lit up & the streets are full of strolling couples. There are street jugglers, comics, musicians to amuse and lots of lovely restaurants & clubs. While it's the most "alive" city I've ever seen, there's an underlying peace there. Can't explain it.

Loved our old fashioned bed & breakfast, totally adorable....

And Butchart Gardens

Craig's perfectly gorgeous photo

The Rose Garden

The Snaps

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:47:12 GMT

Ok, ok, I've berated the snapdragons for tipping in the wind, it's true. But, I have to say, for second year blooming power to an annual flower, they really are amazing. Also, our chilly coastal weather has left me with little else, so they are the champs. I put in a few new ones yesterday and I'm trying white for a change as it's a color I've never grown and I really think some white here & there makes colors pop. I better buy some stakes, huh.

Seedling Schmeedling

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:00:55 GMT

I'm aware that many perennials won't bloom til their second year. I 'm ok with that....but, come on.... these guys are still so incredibly wee & tiny?? I've given them MiracleGro several times and Fish emulsion once & I've been trying to be patient... Meanwhile, the nasturiums, started from seed, are doing really well. So there you have it. I'll be buying perennial plants and only planting big ass quick growning seeds. I feel better already.

June & still raining

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:40:43 GMT

The Seaside Cottage

2008 & still evolving ..rather pretty, if I do say. Quite a bit of rain lately nudging off the rhodie blooms and pushing over the foxgloves. But that's Oregon, we take the green for the soggy

egg carton seedlings, a future? or just a snack

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:49:20 GMT

Many moons ago, starting seedlings indoors was a huge goal. Perusing garden catalogs, I found tons of flower varieties which were new to me & unavailable in nurseries. Eggs being my main source of protein, all my wee seedlings are in paper egg cartons. My biggest fear was that Twink would eat them & surprisingly this hasn't happened yet. Twink eats everything...furniture, plastic, all types of greenery, even fake greenery.
NOTE TO THE NEWBIE GARDENERS: DON'T BRING HYDRANGEAS INDOORS IF YOU HAVE ANIMALS
I had a few dried ones on the wall & Twink projectile vomited for 15 minutes, toxic stuff. The internet has lists to tell you which ones to avoid.

What they don't tell you about starting seeds: Every seed has different requirements. Some want coolness to germinate, while others want warmth. Must be buried in soil at certain depth, but then others must be on top of the soil. Some need a Northern windowsill, God only knows why?? And some sick puppies must be covered with boiling water before sowing. So, I tried my best to attend to their needs & I have been rewarded with eight egg cartons with seedlings ranging from 1/16 to 3 inches. Many have their secondary leaves & yes, this is a good thing. The bad thing being that Evilgardners have little patience & these little suckers sure take their time... One of them (Chaenarrhinum origanifolium, Summer Skies) took almost three weeks to be seen. I, also, planted some nasturtians and Mexican sunflower seeds outside & they're looking good without much help.

Egg carton babies

Chaenarrhinum - 2
Rock rose
Nepeta catmint - 2
Lychnis - 2
Melampodium Melanie

We're still very tiny!