Collecting more seed

This time I collected pea seed

It was an amazing year for growing peas, they did so well

I gathered 10 gallons of English walnuts off the lawn and through them out because most of them had been eaten by the squirrels.

Then I weeded the front bed 5 gallons of weeds.

and after gathering nasturtium seeds about a pint and half of seeds and one quart of pea seeds. I say it's time to come in and get ready for dinner.

It's a beautiful day in Oregon

Collecting seed

Nasturtiums are the hardiest of flowers that are eatable flower and leaves

and brighten any garden

I've bought one package of seeds since we moved here 6 years ago of nasturtium seeds,

I've been saving the seeds ever since saving a lot of money doing so.

Each year I'm able to plant more and more nasturtiums around the yard.

It's a tedious job but worth it.

This year I had two lovely boarders that edged the lawn just in time for the wedding.

After the wedding I neglected to water these beds faithfully yet they still held on.

I finally had to pull the plants up.

They would still be going strong if I had watered them faithfully.

I still have more seed to collect.

I hope to plant the boarder again next year and these seeds will make it possible to do so.

It's my hope also to put in a watering system before planting the seed that is on a timer.

So it doesn't mater if I'm here or not.

Today's harvest

bell peppers, carrots, red onions, yellow peppers and one red beet

I thinned out the leeks so they had enough space to grow these baby leeks I'll clean up and make a leek potato soup with tomorrow.

Thank you Lord.

Despite my neglect to the garden the garden was good to me.

The tomatoes are just starting to turn pink. Yea! we may have some yet.

The purple beans are starting to form.

The bush beans are doing well one small bowl a week.

The tarragon, and parsley are out of control.

More carrots to come.

organizing seed packets

I got this idea from Tina Miller my sister in law she puts her seed packets in a notebook writes what date she planted and makes notes about her garden year.

I had been keeping my seed packets in an upside down kleenex cover box.

So this morning I took the seed packets of the plants that did survive this years garden season in the book and threw out the rest.

I had been keeping a notebook of garden notes, with garden receipts of things purchased for the garden.

This really came in handy to keep the receipts because I had a lifetime water sprinkler break on me that was only a few months old. I was able to write the company an email. Pulling up the receipt information and they sent me a new part to replace the broken piece at no charge.

From my records I spent a lot of money on garden supplies last year and this year a lot of money on garden seeds.

Unfortunately this was not a good garden year so a lot of the seed I planted didn't take or failed to make it to full maturity.

Live and Learn.

I'm learning that living at the foot of a mountain the elevation is higher creating a cooler windy climate area making the growing season start a couple of weeks later than in the valley and also making it shorter at the end of the season for the same reason.

We can't grow things that require a long growing season. I need to start out with plants either purchased or started in the green house.

Some things do better planting directly in the grown like beans, cucumbers, and melons.

They also need full sun.

We need to cut some trees to get more sun or plant in the middle of the back lawn which will be difficult to convince Eric to do, since he loves his lawn. The funny thing is he doesn't mow the lawn I do. He doesn't water the lawn I do. He does weed and feed the lawn. No one uses the lawn, except for this small area under a tree. It's just there for green space looking pretty.

In my dreams I wish there was a lap pool there in the middle of the lawn.

Saturday's garden

This morning harvest

green beans, summer squash, yellow roses and onions

Along with celery and apples

Do you see a Waldorf salad coming on? Apples, celery, pecans etc...

There is the upkeep of gardening too, like writing the company and telling them their product broke and I just bought it in February to see if they would send me a replacement part

the constant weeding and throwing out stuff that is diseased in the dump trailer

I have an organic garden

I don't put weeds, or diseased stuff in our compost piles

Finally we are getting tomatoes it's been a bad year for them

The bell peppers, peppers, are looking good

A beautiful evening

The raised bed for the strawberries got a trim they were growing over and to the gravel

Tonight I harvest a wheelbarrow of onions red and white and garlic yummy

finished digging up the day lilies by the fig tree

The weather is suppose to be in the 90's during the weekend and the 100's early in the week.

Working in the garden early morning and late evening is best.

Gifts from the garden

Today is our church secretaries birthday and we are having a celebration lunch for her.

This is another reason I like gardening there are gifts there when last minute things come up and you don't have a budget for it.

Today I found some squash, some red onions, French tarragon, and parsley, and made a natural bouquet of flowers, of mini sunflowers, and onion flower head, some hopes and chamomile flowers.

I think Karen will like the gift.

The Blessings of God in the garden

Charlotte Ocean Forbes

July 7th, 2010

Ocean because that is where Nate and Lissa met

and I'm glad they met

Isaac Andrew Forbes

past prematurely

August 16, 2007

Nate and Lissa’s Forbes first son

Sharon Odonnel

Let Nate and Lissa use her beach house to heal

On a walk on the beach Lissa found this stone and painted it.

Nate planted this red maple in Isaac’s honor in our backyard

We call it Isaac’s tree

in Charlotte’s garden

We felt it was fitting for Charotte to have a picture

with her brothers

memory

When we lost Isaac I was heart broken but even more so for our daughter and son in law the grief they bore was hard for this mom to observe.

No parent should outlive their child.

Isaac was their first son our first grandchild.

It was a difficult time for us all.

No one could replace the love for Isaac, or the lost.

But Charlotte came along and brought joy.

A healthy and lovely girl who you can't help but fall in love with.

Again for this mom it was hard to see our daughter have some physical challenges after giving birth.

Lissa had a blood clot in her leg and a very serious rip that required 8 weeks of healing and lots of medications and Dr. visits and two blood transfusions.

Lissa is an amazing woman of God who is married to an amazing man of God.

It was an honor to once again be there to help in the recovery of the Forbes family.

This time instead of a sorrowful time, a time of joy.

They may not realize the healing it brought to my soul to see the full circle of events.

When I held Charlotte for the first time it almost didn't feel real.

After such a lost before and then to hold a lovely little girl after a long timed past, renew hope began to fill my heart again.

It was surreal, I felt the time that had stopped has started again.

I can only imagine the joy she brings to Nate and Lissa

and the reality of her being here.

They are going to be the best parents ever.

With each passing day I realized what a blessing Charlotte really was.

To me she was joy in it's fullness.

The joy that eased the pain of great loss.

Because I was there as care giver for several weeks I was very attached,

it was hard for me to leave and to not be able to see her for a long time.

I have to admit I've been crying a lot lately from withdrawals

of not being able to see the Forbes.

Back home in the garden I find healing once again.

Planing for the future, digging, planting, wedding, watering, pruning and harvesting.

It comes full circle everything in it's season and time.

I spend a lot of time in thought and prayer when I'm in the garden

where I find peace once again.

I know there is a bright future here just waiting to be unfolded.

back in the Garden

The reason I've left gardening for a month

This precious little girl was born to some amazing parents Nate and Lissa Forbes

She is truly blessed to have wonderful parents who will look after her well being.

Our grand daughter Charlotte who we love very much

We took this picture of Charlotte where the remembrance stone of her older brother is

We call it Isaac's tree

My hope is that this will become Charlotte's garden to play in

I need to find out what this plant is given to me by a neighbor

The birds and butterflies like it

This clematis is blooming

The silk Mimosa is in bloom

early in the morning the humming birds love it or in the cool evening

I pulled up some of the woolly thyme from a path near our bedroom and put plugs of it by the secret children's garden I'm working on for Charlotte.

I would love to see a solid carpet of woolly thyme underneath this tree

We have squash

I ate a carrot this morning and gave one to my mom and a box of yellow plums

I decided to sell all our plums and give some away.

We still have a lot of plum jam in the garage and I'm too tired to can this summer in large amounts like I usually do.