Progress in the Dog Days of Summer

Ruthie

I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me (and you as well).

Tonight as I was watering the garden up by our sign at the entrance of the property I had the most incredible view of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the fading pink twilight (and they don't call them "Blue" for nothing). The mountains were in front of me and the full moon, as big as a pumpkin and just about as orange, rose in the slate-blue sky behind me. I couldn't believe that all that could really exist on one night in mid-August in 2008. I just stood there with the hose in my hand and laughed at how majestic and beautiful Virginia is. It has been a great season for us (and as the full parking lot today attests, it still is).

So much is happening:

First, George is putting in a rain garden behind the greenhouses.  I call it the big dig. It's going to be fabulous when the planting is done...but for now it looks like several big holes in the ground connected to each other by smaller holes. We are going to be on the Culpeper Harvest Days Farm Tour the first weekend in October, so I'm betting the rain garden will be done by then. along with a wine tasting that Saturday, and are slowly pulling the gardens together to look their fall best.

Also, we finally got back to my original garden and have cleaned out the weeds and cut back some of the over-grown perennials. Time to do some serious picking and choosing in that garden, it is in it's 8th year and definitely needs some work. The tree peonies that a friend raised from seed, and were a gift to me so long ago, produced seedlings this spring. We will be digging them this fall and transplanting them into 2 1/2" pots. I have no idea how fast or slow they will be so that is a new frontier, who knew?

George and I were talking as we do at the end of a growing season about perennials that really worked and I thought I would tell you about two of them.

Catmint 'Joanna Reed'
This is the second year we have had this plant and it is a standout in my garden. It has silvery-green foliage with blue/violet blooms. It stands 12 - 16" tall and has a very long bloom time. I cut this back mid summer after it's first bloom and it's re-blooming now in the garden.

Herniaria Glabra

Herniaria Glabra
Also called Irish Moss or  "Green Carpet," it is a lovely ground cover for full sun to part shade that I also put in my garden this year. It is a beautiful soft green mat that stands up to some foot traffic and spreads to about 2 feet and has one single tap root that help with water conservation.

And there were many more. We had success with so many that George did from seed this year that it would take pages to write about them all. Now that I have more time I will include a few every time I write so as not to overwhelm anyone.

More later, and happy planting.

Hello and Goodbye

Lucy

Our most dear dog Lucy now rests quietly under a stone bench next to the pond that she so loved.  Our limited time with these wonderful creatures is a true gift from God, and what can you say about a gift from God but thank you for every part of it even the end that is so painful.


So many people that came here knew her as the beautiful greeter. This past year, though, she had slowed down in her dog duty and could be found resting  under a bench. On some days she could only make her way out at the promise of a belly rub. In Lucy's younger days, every person who got out of a car here at Morningside was treated to her excited greeting. I will miss her so.

I am going to plant rosemary close to her bench because it is for remembrance, and someday I will want to remember lots of things about her, but not today. As fate would have it, we have also been dealing with another daily tragedy, a new puppy who chews everything and torments the cats every chance she gets.  Due to her handiwork, almost all of my shoes look like I have hiked the Appalachian trail.  Her name is Stella Artois and she looks like a clown with huge bat ears and a bandit mask. She brings us much joy despite her tragic faults, another of which  is not being house broken quite yet.  She runs through the garden with abandon and nips at anything green, could possibly be a digger (please God no) we will train her to be a good, people-greeting garden dog. Not much garden info this time, but there is always more to come.