THE OLD GARDENS

Even though my Dad was a photographer, he apparently didn't
think the vegetable garden was worthy to record it's
history on film. The garden in the front yard was
another story. Gourds and beans grew at each side of the little bridge going to the front door.
Roses bloomed alongside beds of zinnias.
There were flowers everywhere.
My Mother loved pots of this and that scattered throughout the larger beds. She could create the most interesting array of arrangements from found articles... buckets, boxes, anything that was old iron that had an appropriate hole in it, was suitable for planting.
Hens and chicks still grow on the rock wall behind the house.

Even years after she was gone, I would find Sweetpeas and California poppies blooming in hap-hazard places. A group of iris hidden behind my garden shed, The ferns that come up every year and are tucked away so that when their lime green color hits your eye, it is a reminder to pay attention!

Beets and Beans and Carrots OH MY!

Autumn Beauty and Teddy Bear Sunflowers

Atomic Reds and Little Finger Carrots

Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans... an old reliable with high yields and tons of flavor.

Detroit Darks, Early Wonders and Italian Cylindra Beets... We love the tops cooked like spinach and Pickled Beets are a favorite.

Boston Pickling.. a great Highly Productive Cucumber for those of you that like to make pickles.

TWO kinds of Zucchini... a must for my spagetti sauce and Morning Glory Muffins!

Radishes..... Scarlet Globe and French Breakfast... Did you know you can saute radishes?

And a variety of canning and table tomatoes, Heirloom varieties all...... compliments of my Cousin Chuck's greenhouse.

My canners are ready, the cold pantry is being organized... GET GROWING!

Francious Rene Chateaubriand

When God on earth was making the primal Paradice,
A garden, say the Scriptures, was fashioned to suffice.
And man these years remembers, and every spring recants....
One step toward his Eden with every seed he plants.

The Little Green House in the Window

Portly, the stout black bear with the big tummy, stands watch over the little green house in the window. Boston Pickler Cucumbers, Zucchini and Teddy Bear Sunflowers are ready for transplanting into bigger containers.

The best table top green houses are right from your local bakery! This one started life as a carrier for a sheet cake. There are little grooves in the bottom of the tray that let you water evenly, and there is easily room for 2 dozen jiffy pots. Don't for get to label what you grow!

Waiting Patiently to Plant

Watching the snow level diminish from Gisborn Mountain has been used for a planting gauge since I can remember.

After a long winter with heavy snow, waiting for this mountain to be free from the icy grip of our

unpredictable Northern winters, can be a test of endurance.

And to a gardner, there is nothing worse than having all the catalogs and flyers arrive, and then you look out your window and four feet of snow still layers atop the garden!

Your heart beats a little faster and all of a sudden you just

KNOW that Spring has to hurry up and get here!

Who wouldn't want to dig in the dirt with a view like this?

Gardening is in my blood...... I can't help it.

I have the good fortune to live where I grew up. I have an undeniable link to my roots. I live in the house where I was raised and my children and grandchildren call this home as surely as I do.

My Dad grew a garden in the most unforgiving location on the acreage. And he did it with flare and generosity and was successful enough that my Mother used to say he could feed the Panhandle of Idaho with what was grown on that hilly spot behind the house. The original garden is gone now, with only remnants of the raspberries gone wild. But a new garden has been created and I invite you to come along with me while I re-invent and renew my green thumb.