Having That Space

I've had something on my mind for awhile, how to keep cedar bark from traveling via the wind, or as a result of the cat two stepping while batting at winged things or sometimes he gets filled with the dickens and high tails it around the place, and rocks and things go flying. He's a pretty big cat. So I had alot of the left over ends of tree stake poles from the green house and was tossing around the idea of using them as edging. Hmmm......it's too busy....

Looking further back, I recall thinking that I would like to weight the Blue Salvia stems to the earth so that they will sprout and multiply, and the flowers have all but dwindled. So why not now, while I need some space away from the edging to work out the details.

Coat hangers are perfect to press into rocky soil and hold the stems in place against newly placed black compost rich soil. A snow load would bend the stems down to touch the soil naturally and allow it to occur of it's own, possibly one fateful spring, if this were such a place.

You can see the new soil that has been placed atop the now secured stems.

Looking at the bed where the work was just completed, the energy created by the new edging is frenetic and that is what I was feeling when I was working out the pattern, so I still need some space as the resolution is conjured.

Planting an Aloe in another part of the garden, I know that I am not really working on the pathway per se. I am working on the green house plastic and venting system. I am having That Space.

Then back to the task at hand, and laying the tree stake pole pieces on their side end to end takes care of that frenetic energy, and it is alot quieter now and more in keeping with the overall feel of Black Mountain Garden's theme, Western Zen. This project away from the greenhouse plastic is a nice distraction.

So the cat dancing can resume, and just in time. It seems like he did most of it after dark anyway.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Western Zen

Yesterday everyone in mg class was asked whether or not they had a garden theme. I described my garden theme to the group. It is called Western Zen. It is described as In the desert but not of the desert. I hope to convey a western sense, after all, it is hard to escape in the air and the sky and the creatures that come to visit. Even the cat is dusty. But I have the strong emotional need to convey that the pioneer wagon kept on moving and that there is hope here and green pastures, and that everything has a place and all is properous, and abundant. This led to Wild Desert Lush, and after a rain it is descriptive of Western Zen, but that is just for fun, like when you have your boots on.

So the best way to describe it is to go back to some of my favorite garden photos (indulge me here, as you may have seen these before,) that convey that sense of what I am trying to acheive, what feeds my soul, and this was the point of the lecture, (a very good lecture I might add) that your garden must intrinsically make you happy. So here are some of my favorite photos which for me convey my garden style, my Western Zen.

Om...

Om...

Yehaw!

Yahoo!

Om....... Western Zen is also descriptive of my interior decorative style as well. (Hey, No boots in the house!)

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Second Hand Rose

I went to Vegas yesterday for some Silver Reflective Mulch, and stopped at a second hand store and looked at the garden books and was looking for meracas to give to the K.J. (karaoke dude) and I generally look for garden related stuff, whirly gigs, fountains, cowboy boots, quilts and vintage scarves. Here is a vintage scarf from yesterdays find. It's ninety nine cents worth of pure heaven! I also purchased a scarf (for Wrangler) with cowboy boots all over it, and got 4 floral handkerchiefs, a feng shui book (for Zen) and 3 books on gardening for a total cost of $17.00. I'm thinking I could wait to read the garden books when it is cold outside, but they've ended up on the kitchen table and one of them is open, so winter will just have to wait.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Coming Into Focus

Fuzzy little peaches, fuzzy photo. With the camera out of focus, I contemplate whether the subject would make a good painting composition. Painter's eye so to speak, but then everything seems a little out of focus, because these are the reading glasses I wore when I was doing sprinkler repair at a friend's house. Her front yard was washing into the street. Sounded kind of intriquing to me so I had to check it out. She said her husband hates gardening! Hates it with a passion! Rather harsh descriptive words but other than that, he's a nice guy. I was working in the dirt in the front yard, happy as a lark replacing fittings. I had to turn on the hose so that I could wash off the slippery mud for my next move. I turn on the hose, (remember the lark), then turn off the hose, and at that moment all of the water pressure remaining in that hose sprays me right in the face! It's some antisyphon contraption! Jesus! Let me add that you have to lean way in, and reach behind a bush to get to the spigot, to receive your blast in the face. So now it all comes into focus! Maybe Jimmy didn't always hate gardening. He was conditioned to hate gardening. This can be fixed! The river is fixed, next it's the spigot, then it's restorative gardening for Jimmy.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, carry on and hurry back!

Are You Staying or Not

The tree wants to live at the neighbors. It finds the wind tunnel uninhabitable.

A 40 ft. tall tree right there sounded like a great idea in my it'll never get that tall scheme of things. Husband thinks we should saw it in half, and I already see the dozen small branches that have been whacked off by the wind on the one side, and think "Oh great, then it'll look like a tree stake with branches coming out just the one side, and I'll have to listen to what Zen would say every time I come out the door!" " Nope, Zen won't let you do that!"

The bare root fruit trees are coming up for sale in Sept. and one of them might like it here being as though that eucalyptus has halfway moved out. Just saying....

I think the lizard likes it here. He was hanging from the curtains in the living room, so we had to go over that "here" for him meant staying outside.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On and Hurry Back!

Morning Stretches

A morning zen moment when the sun peaks over the cinderblock horizon.

In my morning walkabout, I check the iris (the Plant Wrangler had to plant at the hottest time of the year) for continued signs of life. That little peek of green is encouraging. Next spring this will be a lovely White Fox. The dismayed look on the rooster is fitting.

The new garden bling from Ladybug Nursery sparkles in the sunlight! It is bedazzling. Say hi to Janet if you happen there....

Inside, out of the heat I imagined clouds in the sky would be nice, and then added some reflected heat too.

Thanks for visiting! To all of my gardening friends, Carry On!