In the Garden

I'm not around as much at this time of the year, in part because I am madly trying to get the garden in and up. Here are some pictures so you have proof that I'm not just ignoring you!

The strawberry bed

garlic!

Iris at the edge of the pond

Various kinds of lettuce and some spinach

Pond guardian

Other irises

a frog and a crystal at the edge of the pond

Anyone else gardening? What are you growing?

The Pond Rebuild Report

Every year I pick one or two projects to do around the house (and by "to do" I usually mean "pay someone else to do," although there are no end of things I do myself). This year it was the bedroom closet, which I posted about earlier, and the garden pond.

I actually built the pond myself, about 15 years ago when I first moved into the house. It was a pretty good job, if I say so myself, but it wasn't perfect, and man-made ponds don't last forever. It had already started going downhill in the last few years (the plastic liner was starting to crack, the water lilies had seriously taken over, and it was filled with sludge at the bottom) but last year's knee issue made it even harder to keep up with it, and pushed it passed the point of no return.

In theory, I could have rebuilt it myself, but A) the knee is still messed up, and not up to the task and B) OMG, those rocks are heavy! So I got a couple of stellar recommendations for a guy named Pat Ryan, a stone worker, and he spent five days taking the entire pond apart and putting it back together again. The end result was beyond my wildest dreams, and I consider it to be an investment in my mental health, because the sound of the waterfall is so lovely.

Here's a glimpse at the process.

This was what it looked like when we started. Not terrible, but clearly overgrown. That's Pat in the corner, planning what he's going to do.

What it looked like with the water and fish out. UGH.

 This was not a job for the weak of heart (or muscles). At this point, I was REALLY glad I'd decided to have someone else do it.

Emptying the last bits.

The few fish that were left were rescued and put into this big tub to wait for the pond to be done. The frogs evacuated on their own, and I'm still waiting for them to come back.

And so it begins.

 The old pond used a filter and fountain combo that sat inside the pond and were a pain to keep clean. Pat decided to build me a waterfall instead, to aerate the water better, with an external filter that will require a lot less maintenance.

Test fill to make sure it didn't leak.

Fountain in, plants back, almost done!

Pat was absolutely meticulous, even going so far as to build a surround to disguise the electrical post.

I treated myself to some new fish!

Here's the finished project. Isn't it amazing? I need to figure out how to upload a video, so you can hear the fountain. I love this so much. What do you think?

Ta da!!!!

It's Fall, and That Means...

It's fall, and that means...

Mother Nature is putting on a beautiful show.

The hills behind my house. The view from my house is actually blocked by pine trees, so I have to walk next door to see it.

I'm getting the last of the harvest in and putting up pesto (before the basil gets frosted, since it is the most delicate thing in the garden) and applesauce (since my trees are loaded with apples this year).

Pesto ingredients and one small cat who is not allowed on the counter. Yes, that's Luna. Yes, she's still here. That's a discussion for another blog post. The lemon is my secret ingredient.

Finished pesto. Most of it will go into the freezer to bring a spark of summer glory in the midst of winter.

The apples on the right are Golden Delicious. The apples on the left are a mystery apple. The trees long predate my buying the house--14 years ago--and this tree never gave me apples until this year. Go figure.

And tearing down the garden. That means dismantling the pond fountain and filter (a slimy, wet, and unpleasant job), planting next year's garlic with the help of pal Ellen, and clearing and covering the beds.

Dying tomato plants on the left. They'll come out soon. Brussels Sprouts. More tomatoes to the right mixed in with the asparagus ferns which still have to be clipped back.

The pond

This guy was supervising.

Fall also means that it is time for another newsletter! If you haven't signed up yet, you should do it right away, since I'm hoping it will go out at the beginning of the week. There is going to be all sorts of fun news that my newsletter readers get to hear first. You can use the form at the top left of the blog, or this link: NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

I usually only send out about four newsletters a year (seasonally, more or less), although there may be a few extra in the coming months as the new books come out. Did you realize that it is only five weeks until VEILED MAGIC comes out on November 17th? Eek! If you want, you can preorder and it will be automatically delivered to you on the day! (It is an ebook only, but if you don't have an ereader, you can download a free app and read it on your computer.)

Also, be sure to check back here often in the next five weeks (or, you know, sign up to get email notifications when there is a new blog post) because I am about to go into SUPER GIVEAWAY MODE. And you don't want to miss what's coming up...

Happy fall! What's it like where you are?

Weedy Wednesday: The Midsummer Garden

I have to start by apologizing to all my friends who live in drought country, since we've had rain on and off for weeks here. Which is both good and bad, when it comes to the garden. Things are growing well, including the weeds, of course.

This is what it looks like now:

The view from outside my back door.

The left side of the garden, including a new strip of plastic mulch.

 You can see the garlic plants off to the left, corn and cukes straight ahead, and broccoli, parsley, basil, and dill to the right. Plus weeds, of course.

These are soybeans on the left and potatoes on the right. They seem to be trying to meet in the middle. In the background you can see squash and beans, ditto.

A lovely head of broccoli ready to be harvested.

Tomatoes and eggplant. Those yellow leaves on the eggplant mean its not happy about the lack of sun and heat.

More tomatoes. They have the beginning of blight because of the constant rain. Sigh.

I love bright red lettuce! (Ignore the weeds.)

In some ways, the garden this year is a good representation of my life: it is mostly growing well, but man, it is impossible to keep up with, some stuff is getting away from me no matter how hard I try, and occasionally, there is blight.

How is your garden (actual or metaphorical) growing this summer? I'd really like to know.

Also, have a cute frog sitting on a big lily pad in the garden pond.

Weedy Wednesday: The Garden Before & After plus Free Book!

It has been a strange spring, weather-wise, and getting the garden in has been trickier than usual. (It has either been way colder than usual or way hotter than usual, and we haven't had our usual spring rains until just last week.)

But as of last weekend, everything is finally in the ground and about 70% mulched (I have to buy more straw later this week before I can finish the rest). I'm a lazy gardener, really. I tend to do a lot of work in the beginning so I don't have to do much later.

Here's what it looked like a few weeks ago:

Garlic was about the only thing growing, since it gets planted in the fall.

A tiny patch of spinach that overwintered.

Yes, that says 90 degrees F. In early May.

The peas are one of the first things to sprout.

Here's what it looks like now:

The garlic!

Spinach patch with new planting of spinach & lettuce and a tomato.

The peas, mulched with straw to keep the soil moist and keep weeds down.

Another finished bed.

Who can tell me what I planted in the bed above? I'll give you a hint: there are two varieties of one kind of vegetable on either side of something different in the middle. The first person who guesses right gets a free signed book! (Or his or her choice, even.)

Belated Weedy Wednesday: A Lovely Pile of...Poop?

Okay, yes, it is late Thursday night and by the time most of you see this, it will be Friday. What can I say, it has been a long week. Now that I'm back in the garden again, I'm hoping to start posting regular garden and yard pictures and updates on, you know, Wednesdays. For now, just work with me, will ya people?

As usual at this time of year, there is a mad dash to get everything in the ground in time to take advantage of the limited growing season we get here in Upstate NY. But this year the process has been complicated by Extremely Rude and Erratic Weather. It stayed cold long past the time when the planting season would usually have begun (there was still snow on the ground in early April, when I'd normally plant lettuce, spinach, peas, and such) and then it got insanely hot. Before getting cold again. (We've had a frost warning this week and there is another one for Friday night.) So the planting has all been compressed into an even smaller window than usual, and I'm just hoping for the best.

On the bright side, I got a huge truck load of 2 year old composted horse manure, which will give my garden a much needed boost (and no, it doesn't smell at all). This made me ridiculously happy. And since my garden is across the yard from where the pile was dumped, is negating the need for any visits to the gym anytime soon, as I shovel a load into a wheelbarrow, push it across the yard, then shovel it back out again inside the garden. I'm so happy about the manure, I don't even mind the hard work. Yes, I do realize this means I need to get a life.

Ye Olde Pile of Poop and a yellow wheelbarrow

Manure pile to the left by the barn. Garden to the right.

In we go

And a happy raised bed topped off with manure

The strawberries, and the garlic behind them, get sidedressed, which means that the manure is spread between the rows.

Some other early sights in the spring garden:

A handsome frog, sitting on the pond filter, looking unimpressed by my efforts

Fish, ditto

The big green patch is spinach that overwintered and the little bitty things are spinach and lettuce started this season. The long tomato in the cage has already had to be covered a number of times due to frost threat, so the rest go in later.

Eggplant plants on the left and onions on the right, from the local garden center. They're still pretty spindly looking.

Do you plant a garden? Or do you wish you could? What is your favorite thing to grow?