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Category Archives: Gardening
Mélange
What a month it’s been! Beautiful days, some lazy indulgences, some quirky sights to be seen. Due to the outrageously fine weather, I’ve spent some significant (and perhaps a bit wasteful) lengths of time just hanging out on The Urban … Continue reading
Posted in Aging, Birds, Cooking, Daeja's Garden, Food, Friends, Gardening, nature, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™
Tagged blue, doing nothing, grandparents, May, purple, retirement, spring flowers, the most beautiful May, wild food
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Oddballs and Mishaps Around “The Urban Porch ™”
So what’s happening on and around The Urban Porch ™ this week? Some lovely rain, prompting the grass to suddenly get so crazy high that I actually mowed for a second time. That might be an April mowing record. Inspired by … Continue reading
Unspooling
I can’t believe I’m back again posting so soon, but it seems the season is suddenly unspooling so quickly that I can’t keep up with it and feel the urge to share my somewhat nerdy excitement about the flora/fauna explosion. … Continue reading
Boom!
Boom! It’s only mid-April and already the grass on this little patch of front yard suddenly got so dense that I realized I better mow it now, before it gets too difficult to push through. Has Spring come on with … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Photography, Spring, The Urban Porch, treasures, Uncategorized, Weather, Wow!
Tagged high on spring, spring flowers, the season of Hope, The Urban Porch, warm April
1 Comment
Departures and Arrivals
The population in the vicinity of The Urban Porch is experiencing many changes. My wonderful neighbor who has been renting the upstairs of the house directly next door for the last two years just moved out last weekend, on to … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Spring, The Urban Porch, Uncategorized, Wildlife
Tagged good and bad neighbors, homemade yogurt, neighborhood changes, neighborhood vibes, relief, spring flowers, trauma from bad neighbors, using up the harvest, what to do with celeriac?
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A Low-key Flurry
There is a low-key flurrying happening both inside and outside the house. The outside part is a steady, light, gentle, almost-mist of snow occurring right now, just enough to get you a little bit wet. It’s the first real one … Continue reading
Ms. Almanac
The riotous outdoor color show is over. A lacework of sepia and gray branches framing the sky is pretty much what’s left behind, although the grass is still green, for now. I have removed the dead hanging plants from the … Continue reading
Buzzed
Our local nursery was having their annual Spring flower display, an early teaser, and it was raining, so I stopped there to get high. On flowers. I get pretty buzzed on flowers – it’s true. Obviously I am not the … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Photography, Spring, Uncategorized, Wow!
Tagged Color, garden center, high on flowers, spring flowers, spring preview, things to come
5 Comments
Saturday Market
Posted in Gardening, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged bounty, Farmer's Market, Harvest, Summer, vegetables
3 Comments
Revival
When I first moved to this latest house in a long line of homes, one of the more lovely aspects of the place was a gorgeous, well-established white peony that someone had planted by the front of the fence. The … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Photography, Spring, Uncategorized
Tagged monkey's paw, Monsanto, mutant plant, peonies, plant poison, weed killer
4 Comments
Nettle Peace
A few years ago I was drumming with a number of women on the side of a mountain not far from where I live, at the home of a local herbalist. Outside her front door she had a patch of … Continue reading
Adventure and Distraction in the Autumn Garden On a Saturday Morning
I decided to spend just a few hours this morning cleaning up. Just a few, since we had plans in the afternoon.. a couple of hours, before that gardening backache sets in. Just enough to tidy up, because I have … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Humor, Uncategorized, Wildlife
Tagged autumn garden, distraction, fall clean-up
6 Comments
Zucchaloupe
Speaking of compost, some strange things manifested in my garden this year. I did not plant them, but a couple of random squash vines grew unbidden amongst the tomato plants. All I can think is that they must have been … Continue reading
Whole Earth
There was a time when The Whole Earth Catalog, published by Stewart Brand, was my bible. It was the portal to resources on how I wanted to live, how I wished I could live, how I intended to live – … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Humor, Uncategorized
Tagged best of intentions, compost, composting, Whole Earth Catalog
14 Comments
The Light Has Changed
The light has changed. There is a perceptible glow that heralds the arrival of Autumn. It is moody and wistful, filled with wishes, yearnings and memories. The sky becomes an achingly beautiful blue, or a moody, layered steel, or glows. … Continue reading
Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Autumn, autumn light, cherry tomatoes, end of summer, Fall, Harvest, kale, raw kale recipe, Recipes, urban garden
13 Comments
A Brief Tour of This Saturday’s Market
This Saturday I met a friend for iced chai and a cheddar/chive muffin, and then took a stroll down the street to our local Farmer’s Market. As always, the beauty of the harvest made my pulse quicken. For those who … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Photography, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged Autumn, beauty, Color, end of summer, Farmer's Market, Flowers, fruit, Harvest, Saturday, vegetables
8 Comments
Botanical Bliss
The mission of the day was to find a Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), a woodland dwelling shade plant; evasive, magical and reminiscent of childhood. Thus I set forth on this mission in the company of another garden addict – a very … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized
Tagged nurseries, plant addiction, shade garden, Trillium, woodland plants
11 Comments
Alba, In the Shade of the Japanese Maple
Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being – Swami Vivekananda
The Aliens Are Landing
The idea was to get a few perennials to fill in a few spaces in my garden. Gardeners know what a tremendous high it is to spend part of a beautiful afternoon at a garden center. It is almost impossible … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, House plants, Photography, Uncategorized, Wow!
Tagged African Daisy, Alien plant, garden center, Osteospermum, outer space plant
14 Comments
From The Witch’s Garden
OK, I just love Hellebore. I love that it blooms so early. I love how the five petals (or “sepals”, actually) hold on for so long. I love the seed pods they make later on in the summer. I love … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Christmas Rose, Flowers, hellebore, invisibility powder, Lenten Rose, poisonous flowers, witch's garden
4 Comments
“Like A Sweet Magnolia Tree…..”
Came upon this Magnolia tree yesterday. These prehistoric beauties – fossils have been found dating back 20 million years (how cool is that!!?) – are opening their gorgeous petals right now. Supposedly back in those primitive times, before the bees, … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Photography, Spring, Uncategorized
Tagged blossom, earworm, Magnolia, pink beauty, prehistoric flowers, Stevie Wonder
5 Comments
Excuses, Excuses…It’s Just Too Nice To Stay Inside….
OK, I admit I have been terrible regarding my blog lately. I became distracted and wrapped up in other events and lost my discipline…..very bad for writing, because in order to write you need to Write. But this early Spring … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Photography, Spring, Uncategorized, Weather
Tagged bad habits, chives, crocus, hellebore, planting peas, primrose, scilla, sedum, spring garden
4 Comments
A Nice Start
The Clivia bloomed.
Posted in Gardening, House plants, Uncategorized, Winter
Tagged a nice star, Beginnings, Clivia, New Year, winter
5 Comments
November Homescape
“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.” – Elizabeth Lawrence
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Autumn, Elizabeth Lawrence, Japanese Maple, November, trees
1 Comment
Feral Crap
I will be blunt and maybe a bit vulgar here – yesterday morning I stepped in cat shit, and that is exactly the word I screamed after stepping in it. Since there are no young children in the house at the moment, I did not yell … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Perspective, Rant, Uncategorized, Vent
Tagged eccentricities, feral cats, Neighbors, wild cats
3 Comments
The Sedum Project
I make a visit to the grave about twice a year. As expected, the cemetery is a quiet, green place that sits below open skies and shaded lanes lined with old trees. Officially, two grandparents and my mother now rest there. Unofficially, my … Continue reading
Posted in Friends, Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Family, family rituals, Flowers, gravestones, graveyards, johnny appleseed, Kindness, perennials, rituals, sedum, tending a grave, visiting the cemetery
4 Comments
Sauce of the Goddesses – Time To Make The Pesto
The season is early this year, maybe due to excessive rain this summer. The basil has peaked and it has come time to harvest before it flowers out of control and begins to wilt and fade. It is time to put up the pesto for … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Basil, Basil Sauce, Gardening, Green Gold, Harvest, Pesto, Pesto Recipe, Pesto Sauce, Recipes, Sauce of Goddesses, Summer
5 Comments
Some Updates for Those Who Are So Inclined
Just sitting here at the moment, sipping some refreshingly iced mint tea made with fresh mint from the garden. That, and a secret stash of Mexican chocolate laced with cinnamon. Momentary slice of bliss. As the month of July winds down, … Continue reading
Posted in Diet, Gardening, House plants, Uncategorized, Weight
Tagged Dinner Club, July, Summer, Tree of Heaven, Updates
2 Comments
I Can Make Poison Arrows Now
Repotting a cactus is something I have been avoiding for a long time…..many, many years actually. All of them are bursting out of their containers, but the thought of handling them has triggered an automatic aversion. The potting soil and new pots have … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, House plants, Uncategorized
Tagged candelabra cactus, Euphorbia, Not a Cactus, poison arrows, Poisonous Plant, repotting cactus, Spurge
4 Comments
Eating Phlox
Digging into the earth between the patio stones with a stick, there is a little girl in a sun-suit crouched on the ground on a blue summer morning; a morning with a tinge of humidity in the air and one which promises to … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized
Tagged Childhood, earth, edible flowers, Flowers, One with the Earth, phlox, Summer
1 Comment
It’s Fig Season and I’m In Love
Fresh figs are in season at the moment and I am in love. I have been loading up on them because their availability will be limited. Their appearance is as exciting as the blooming of a garden flower that is fleetingly here and gone. … Continue reading
More Garden Fireworks for July
Monarda bursting in the air…. The best Hosta blooms ever this year…… Echinacea like skyrockets……… Trumpet Flowers trumpeting on the vine…….. Gooseneck Loosestrife tumbling forth…………….. Purple Bindweed pulses with color………… July garden, in concert…………
Garden Fireworks
The July garden comes forth with its own fireworks of texture and deep, vibrant color.
The Summer Solstice Garden
Because I have been out and about on an adventure of sorts (to share down the road), I am just going to update my blog today with what is going on in my garden on this, the Summer Solstice. Primrose … Continue reading
Eye Candy
The irises are pretty much blown by and gone here. Last week, my friend and I managed to make a long trek to Montclair, New Jersey to visit the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, which sits at the bottom of Mountainside Park. The day … Continue reading
Reminds Me Of…..
OK, I know, I know,……I realize I have been putting up a number of botanical type posts lately, but I just can’t help it. After being inundated by relentless, ongoing days of rain, we have just been hit with a couple that would … Continue reading
What’s That Smell?
It was June, the very end of the school year. I was taking the kids to the bus stop that morning and upon opening the front door, a waft of perfumed air drifted by me. It was such a beautiful scent that for a … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized
Tagged Heavenly smells, Summer, Summer Roses, Wild Roses
4 Comments
To Market
Today was the opening day of the season for our local Farmer’s Market, which is one of the nicer perks of living in a small city. Even though it is early for some of the produce, we grabbed our little eco-friendly shopping bags and walked … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized
Tagged Community, Farmer's Market, Neighborhoods, Produce
1 Comment
The Rain Garden
Looks like it’s going to be yet another week of rain, or at the very least, “percent-chance-of-rain”. Thirty percent chance of or forty percent chance of is still pretty good odds, at least around these parts. Everything is lush and verdant. … Continue reading
Passion
A few years ago I discovered this seriously cool looking plant growing at the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. It was a vine-like plant growing on a fence with fringed flowers that I can only describe as psychedelic space eyes. … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized
4 Comments
What’s Up With the Strawberries?
What’s up with the strawberries lately? Has anyone else noticed these mega-giant, shiny uber-red strawberries that have been appearing for sale in the supermarket? The last few containers I bought seem to be filled with behemoths. I have been marveling over the … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized, Wow!
2 Comments
Intoxication
Feeling intoxicated by the scent of Lilac, Allysum and Lily of the Valley that perfume the garden. Sweet spring……
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized
3 Comments
Fences
It has been an adjustment getting used to living in a small city, with neighbors dwelling very close by. Most of the homes on our street, built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, have weathered, stockade fences between them. However, this house came equipped … Continue reading
Just Married
My car sat parked out in the driveway beneath the crabapple tree overnight. When I went out to it the following morning, the blue car was totally covered in bright pink petals. Actually plastered in pink. It was enough to cause me … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized
2 Comments
Black Thumb
There are two different cactus plants, two spider plants and an Air Fern “growing” in my office. The cacti are crammed into pots that are pathetically undersized. They are also missing most of their soil because they have been knocked … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, House plants, Humor, Uncategorized
Tagged fake plants, house plants, killing plants, resurrection plant
3 Comments
Hydra
The tree in the backyard on the property line between us and our neighbor towers over all the others and has some serious girth to it. It looks kind of like a locust but not quite a locust. All summer … Continue reading
Posted in Are you kidding me?, Gardening, Humor, Uncategorized
Tagged ailanthus, Ailanthus altissima, invasive weed, nuisance, Tree of Heaven
3 Comments
daeja's view 