Wordless Wednesday: Part Three: A Tour of Bella Madrona aka The Garden of Sampson & Beasley

Wordless Wednesday: Part Two: A Tour of Bella Madrona aka The Garden of Sampson & Beasley

Sketching Ahead, Studying the Lines

Italian ceramic piece that finally found her home in the garden. 

My little cabbage child now greets me as I walk to my front door. She is cheerful and light—and maybe a tad bit creepy to some of you. To my mind she is just what I need now as I continue to garden while my life sorts itself out and calms to the pace I find comfortable.

If I have to wear a mask, this is the mask I will wear because I think we all feel a bit naive and innocent sometimes—even as adults. Reentering the world after what I've been through still often has me feeling quite fresh and new. I don't ever want to be as crusty and hard as those I've seen who've worn too proudly the calluses life has inflicted. I want my sight to remain open.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, (Arisaema triphyllum).

It is with those eyes that I annually witness returning blooms anew.

I removed the planted ring of succulents from the bird bath but not I must center it so that the water doesn't all flow to the back. 

For the first time I'm looking at the garden in light of design and am making changes. I never wanted to design the place, but here I am doing a better job of it. Designing means making choices (a lot of them) and when you're very stressed, I've learned that for some of us, we simply stop being able to make many choices easily. For someone like me, that makes getting by while still feeling like yourself very difficult.

Mona sunbathes while I wait and wait for the Dracunculus vulgaris to bloom. 

It is funny to wait so impatiently for a flower to unfurl that smells so much like rotting meat, but it is truly quite a show stopper. Each year I like to remind my neighbor that if he smells something rather putrid out back its just my plants blooming.

Jasminum parkeri. 

This tiny Jasmine from Cistus Nursery was a really fragrant edition to my Mother's Day flower arrangement on the table this year. It has not been in my garden for long but I've already found that its compactness of form is quite nice in my small city garden.

Ledum groenlandicum.

My native plants never let me down during the springtime, although the heat we recently had blasted the blooms on a few of the plants. Luckily this Ledum really kept its head together. It had more blooms than last year and I think it really looked quite beautiful this past month.

Dark Columbine, Aquilegia atrata.

I sold seeds for this plant in my Etsy shop and then I ran out. Last year the plant didn't really do much or produce any seed, but this season, these will be back in stock. I like that when that happens.

Hybrid roses from the garden of Gina—my boyfriend's mother. 

On Mother's Day it made me very happy to receive roses from a seasoned gardener. I spent a week watching their tight buds open and the house was filled with their fragrance. They were truly a real treat for me since I'm unable now to care for my roses.

It reminded me of my old rental home in the old Italian neighborhood in SE Portland where I'd planted nearly a dozen hybrid roses and I pruned and pruned them as my health worsened. I learned a lot that year in the garden and it led me to where I am now.

Pasta with Peas and Bacon.

Lastly I'm going to close with more food. If you have any delicious fresh peas, I highly recommend making this pasta. (Sorry for not adding the recipe. I will do that more in the future. In the meantime, just do a search on this and you'll find lots of recipes. The one with lemon is good too.)

So, now it's back to the drawing board. This girl needs to continue to reinvent herself and a new form of employment is in order. Wish me luck! 

Wordless Wednesday: The Red Balloon in Our Winter Garden

DIG Floral & Garden (Vashon Island, WA)

A few weeks back I promised pictures of DIG Floral & Garden out on Vashon Island and I have failed to provide those up until now. I am sorry for the cursory visit, but my ongoing hand injury recovery has really slowed me down.

Lobelia tupa.

Happiest dog I've seen all summer.

I have seen tons of blown glass balls and baubles galore at other places but this arrangement is just right.

If you're going to put a large round object in your garden make sure it's big and heavy. 

A few years ago these gabions inspired my husband to make his own at the family vineyard in California. His is much smaller but he loved that he could use rocks he'd been digging up in the vineyard to fill it up. (Note too the metal "picture" frames. They are actually recycled metal grates.) 

I think this is safely described as a bit surreal. The dissimilar objects remind me much of Lautreamont's famous quote concerning the beauty of a chance encounter between very different objects. Sometimes the odd couple pairings really do work!

If my mother-in-law enjoyed gardening, I would have to buy her one of these little handsome devils. 

I have seen simple tiered planters before but admittedly I've never really liked them. This one is completely different though because the pottery appears to have morphed its shape. It seems more alive somehow.

I have a sedum filled birdbath too so I am a bit partial to this one. 

Chuckle. 

Smile. 

Possibly a Tweedia.

Fuchsia 'Chang'.

More glass balls and this color pathway is maybe a bit less jarring. 

Surprising combination. 

These are aluminum banded planters that can be used many different ways. 

Their take on the Mediterranean theme meshes far better with my relaxed and not-so-technical side. It isn't Anglophilic or part of the Tuscanization of America. It find that refreshing. 

Now I want a totally new garden and it will have a special name inspired by this scene: Glaucous. I would even get my husband a well-trained Glaucous Macaw and train it to act like Kermit the Frog. The silliness of the idea makes it seem plausible. 

De nada!

Just in case anyone cares, that's a Beschorneria 'Ding Dong' blooming in the terracotta pot. (If you're reading this, I got that name just for you.)

This white chicken should stand beside my red wheelbarrow. I need some white concrete chickens right? That's not a want, but a need. Clearly.

The white glass baubles were also a nice touch. I still can't decide which colors I liked most though so that's why you get to see them all.

Nothing makes me happier than an Asparagus fern in a serene formal planter. It floods me with memories of the Alcazar in Seville.

This is meant to remind myself and others that if you have a Staghorn fern living unhappily in a small plastic planter, set it free!

Begonia maculata var. wightii. 

The DIG tour had to be quick because we had a ferry to catch. Two of our regular foster respite kids were waiting back in Portland for us so we had to dash off the island. That morning, the ferry had looked so mysterious and moody in the fog, but by the time we'd packed up, and arrived at the nursery, things were looking much better.

As we waited for the ferry, I sat and watched the Madrone trees.

Madrone, Arbutus menziesii.