30 may 09

Dear plantheads,

Millie’s white oleander bloomed a white flower!!!!!!!  It’s so happy living in my southern exposure studio –I know most artists prefer the gentler, less changing light of the north to paint by, but I love my sunny studio and now the oleander keeps me company along with Frida (my skeleton and favorite model).  It’s starting to sneak into some paintings.

Lin’s gardens proved to be beautiful and bountiful and due to her graciousness and generosity, both Cyndi and I left with much planting to do.  My new weed strategy is one weed comes out , one plant goes in until there is no room left for the pinche weeds!!!!!!  Oh, please let those white bleeding hearts thrive…Oh, Lin taught us about an evil non-native garlic plant with white flowers that if you see on the side of the road you must pull it immediately and murder it by suffocation in a dark plastic bag.  I don’t –as a rule—advocate violence, but in this case we must all put on our Che Guevarra caps and do what must be done.

And TruLove Farm has also brought in sage and hollyhocks and basil and a tomato plant and  chives and great karma and …..well, that farm is so awesome and so are it’s parents, Karen and Steve.  If you live in this area, I hope you are hitting the farmers’ market on tuesdays and saturdays—you can meet them there and you can get the most beautiful food and plants.

Denise continues to bring me bricks and I continue to construct steps down to the back yard on that steep hill down which I keep falling.  It is, I admit, a little dicey and you have to know exactly which bricks in the architecture can actually hold you without deconstructing the entire plane of that step or the entire monstrosity.  Jon threatens to put a sign out telling people NOT to walk down it from fear of getting sued and he won’t put the garbage cans out anymore because he won’t step on them.  Why doesn’t he just go to the side of it and walk down the old hill?  Because I’ve turned it into a second kitchen garden!  The mint and lemon balm and chives were complaining that their section of real estate was much too small. …Denise–I need more bricks, a lot more…..

Morning glory seeds are sprouting under the climbing thing.

I see that I have already planted everything in the wrong places in terms of height—will put that on next year’s list.

The seedling thing has me stumped.   They are still so small.  I have no idea which one is which now and I think they will be plants in about five years. Hosta, however, is growing like mad and it makes me feel so successful!!!!  It also takes over the grass and weeks.  The solomon’s seal is also really taking off as is the astilbe.

Am painting the chives and finishing the bleeding hearts currently and have already done the columbines.  The lupine is on deck for this week along with anything else that blooms.  I think the thing with those white bells on it are coming out.

Remember that everyone who has participated in this gardening thing is invited to our place on July 18 at 7pm .  I’ll make snacks and you can bring what you want to drink.  You can all give me a “grade” on how I’m doing and check in on the plants themselves.  Hopefully they won’t be begging you to return them to their former paradise and to rescue them from this gardener who doesn’ tknow what she’s doing!

Saw Bob talking to the bird guys on CAT-TV the other night and learned a ton!

Seems there’s either not enough rain or too much rain…….

back to the studio, no gardening today…..must must must control urge to go outside and pull out that long annoying grass, dandelions and my new enemy–clover.

paz, pan, flores y amor

viola