I have finally been able to find little bits of time to get outside with my gardening gloves on and clippers in hand. I do love to prune! While I do admire lush, overgrown spaces, I also have a love of cutting things back and making them nice and tidy. I walked around for the first few weeks a little overwhelmed, I mean where do you even start when you have two acres to care for? I figured the best place to start was the first place I usually walk outside, the back door.
With a baby tied on my back (I made this carrier four years ago and love it!), I clipped and clipped away and would you know, there is edging down there!
When we first had our offer accepted on this house I started going around our old yard taking cuttings of plants I would miss and put them into little six packs full of potting mix. I had never been successful at propagating cuttings before, mostly because I did as the books told me, I did it in fall, used root starter and covered the pot with a plastic bag. Super fussy. And it never worked for me. Instead, at the advice of a sage gardening friend, I put the cuttings straight into soil, watered them and almost forgot about them. And wouldn’t you know, success! Always trust the advice of actual gardeners! These cuttings are lemon verbena, which I love. Lemon verbena makes the best iced tea and is great for drying and adding to sachets in winter. I’ve also made oil infusions with it for soap too. Before I only had one plant, now I’m tucking four plants into this spot.
Last of the blooming columbine by the pump house.
I’m not sure if the original intention for this spot was a small meadow or if the Mexican Evening Primrose, yarrow, and Shasta Daisies just sort of spread and took over. But I love that it is like a meadow and I’m going with it!
I hope you all have a great fourth of July!
Your garden is so beautiful. And LOVE your baby on your back will working. Thanks for sharing this beautiful place.
I think your new garden is coming along nicely:) You must be having so much fun clipping away:) Have a great 4th!
It looks wonderful. I’ll bet you get tons of butterflys. Have you seen fireflies at your place? We used to have them flying around every evening when I was a kid. I never see them any more and wondered if it was because we are in the city and not the country anymore.
Happy 4th. Janet
I made a tasty lemon verbena pound cake last summer based on a recipe in the SF Chronicle. I can’t find the exact link, but there seem to be a couple of similar recipes out there. The one I made had lemon cream cheese frosting…heavenly.
Your flower garden is so beautiful, I can almost smell it through the pictures. Especially that old grumpy, stump in the first picture. I feel certain he has quite the personality!
Looks great!! Its awfully lush!!
gorgeous views everywhere one looks…even for the chickens!
Oh heck yes–just cut stuff up and stick it in the ground. Some things take longer to get going some die, but at least 50% make it. I get willow, ninebark, sedum, etc out of that. Free plants! And when you discover those cutting are alive, it’s like Christmas!
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