The Fat Cat Heir of the du Ponts

We visited Longwood Gardens for an afternoon last weekend.  We visit a few times each year and it is usually a relaxing time.  The boys love the elaborate tree houses, my wife really likes the conservatory, and I just like the vast fields of flowers and the ponds and fountains.

Longwood Gardens got its start from Pierre du Pont, who purchased the property with (probably only a part of) the fortune he amassed while leading the DuPont Company.  It's an interesting story.

Mr. du Pont had this house built, complete with an adjoining conservatory.  At the entrance to the house was a fat cat.  Most cats can really let people know that "you are only here because I let you," and Mr. du Pont's cat fit that bill.  "Annoyed" is what I think his bubble caption said.

Don't Worry, Bee Happy

The volunteer sunflowers bloomed this week, and when I got home from work this afternoon the bees were busily going about their own work.

Although we have blueberry bushes, they are still small and only good for collecting a handful at a time.  I planned on going to a blueberry farm this evening because they are only open for limited times, and I have a lot to do this weekend.  The farm is only about fifteen miles away, but at about two miles from home a large storm blew in.

And then it poured....so, I turned around  Of course, it wasn't raining at home.  Weather is fascinating in how localized it can be.  I might be able to pick blueberries tomorrow, but the farm is only open until noon, and I have other engagements prior to that.  

Well, instead of blueberries I ended up picking purple beans for dinner.  I just love how the purple stands out from the green foliage.

The seeds we planted last week are all coming up nicely.  The two rows on the left are more purple beans.

The beans are vibrant green on the inside.  Once cooked, the entire bean is green.

I have found immense satisfaction in growing and preparing my own food.  Nothing fancy, but with the exception of the store-bought mustard and ground pepper, tonight's dinner was all fresh; bread was baked on Wednesday (although the ingredients - except the honey - were store-bought), beans and basil were picked today, and those are some of today's eggs.  Bee Happy.  Cheers!

The Growing Volunteers

Last month I noticed volunteer sunflowers growing amongst the pansies.  Since then they've grown a foot or two.  I love sunflowers and am curious to see how tall they will grow and if they will have nice true flowers.

Today I was pulling the last of the deadened tulips and noticed a tomato plant.  Unlike the sunflowers, I know how a tomato plant ended up in the tulip bed.  Last year while preparing the bed, I filled it with a lot of yard and garden waste, including two grape tomato plants.

We're getting close to some good sugar peas!

Of all our flowers, I am very happy with these calendula plants.  I started these from seed inside, planting in mid-February.

Potatoes don't often conjure up images of flowers, but I like the potato plant flower

...and because watering at my house is often a contact sport, one should always wear a helmet.

Pictures of the Week

I had to check if he was still breathing...(he was) 

The greatest job in the world...when you're seven

Our peonies began to bloom 

The first of the mystery lilies to bloom

Volunteer Sunflowers

Over the last week I noticed a strange "weed" growing with the pansies.  These "weeds" look a lot like young sunflower plants, which is fascinating because until this spring, this section of the yard was grass - and this is the only place in the yard I've seen these type of "weeds."

We had a few sunflower plants last summer, and the boys really liked how tall they grew.  If all of the "weeds" with the pansies turnout to be healthy sunflowers, I expect we could see Van Gogh in the driveway painting a beautiful landscape....Okay, so that may be a stretch, but seriously, who doesn't like sunflowers? 

I was trying to get a good picture of a bee visiting the flowering kale (and if you look closely, there is a bee in the picture), but once I got inside, I really liked the yellow flowers contrasted against the red chard.

Solar Cats and a Few Plants

I volunteer at an animal shelter.  Each Sunday I help clean up, make sure everyone is healthy, and pay a little attention to the cats I watch.  Standing still in a room with fifty cats can be challenging (they just climb right up you), cleaning that same room with said fifty cats usually means that the room doesn't look much cleaner once finished.  Today was a nice sunny day, however, and with a south face storm door, I only had to contend with about forty-three cats throughout the cleaning routine (what a breeze).

And when I got home, two of the neighborhood cats were also charging their batteries...

My wife and boys visited one of the local farms when I was at the animal shelter.  While they were out, I transplanted the tomato plants.  The tomatoes are in a new bed on the south side of the house, so they, just like the cats, should be happy with sun all day.  When the family returned, they brought with them an assortment of colorful flowers from the farm stand.  We planted the new flowers with the nearly-done tulips and mystery lilies.    

Potato Pots and Mystery Lilies

I was happy to see potato plants peeking from their pots this morning.  My boys and I planted "blue potatoes" in four pots last month.  This is my first potato pot planting experience, so we'll see how it turns out.  The "blue potatoes," along with the "purple beans" and last year's "purple carrots" make gardening fun for kids (and it doesn't help with eating well, too - my boys fought over who got to eat what purple carrot last year!).

Last summer lilies grew in what are now the potato pots.  But because I didn't separate and label which bulbs were which type of lilies, we'll soon enjoy mystery lilies in one of the front flower beds.

Over the past few years we've increased the amount of area dedicated to growing plants other than grass.  Usually we'll transplant flowers into the new garden space while continuing to work compost into the clay soil.  As the soil conditions improve, we'll plant flowers from seed and eventually vegetables too.  Purple and yellow pansies are in the new garden space.  I'm hoping to harvest some of the pansy seeds.  Last year we grew a lot of vincas from harvested seed, but this year, for some reason, the vincas haven't come up.

Needed Rain

A light rain fell throughout most of the day, with a total rainfall of about half an inch.  It has been dry, so I was glad to have the rain.    

A Barnevelder chicken stays off the wet ground, or perhaps she just enjoys the view 

It's almost blueberry time!

Flowering kale

We have two varieties of kale in this bed; dinosaur kale (foreground) and siberian kale (background).  We've enjoyed kale nearly every day since late February.  And naming kale "dinosaur kale" was a good marketing move.  My sons don't like siberian kale, only dinosaur kale.  

 The spinach is looking good

Radishes from last year's harvested seeds

It wasn't until last spring that I first tried radish greens.  I never knew anyone that ate them.  Growing more vegetables and frequenting farm stands has expanded not only our menu list but also our food preparation know how. 

My younger son gathers the eggs

Collecting the eggs used to be my older son's job (he's seven).  But he no longer thinks of it as fun, which is fine because it gave my younger son (he's four) the opportunity to take ownership of this task.  

An Afternoon at Longwood Gardens

Today was a gorgeous sunny day.  We did a lot so I had to get up and get moving.  My younger son helped me plant more beans and then also helped with the watering.  This spring we've been using old juice containers to act as mini-greenhouses and also protect seedlings against rabbits and other critters.  So far the juice containers have worked well for spinach and beans.

After lunch we visited Longwood Gardens, which is about 45 miles (~73 km) from home.  I go to Longwood Gardens usually once or twice a year, though my wife and kids visit slightly more often.  The flowers were absolutely stunning.

Me and my older son

 This sundial is at the center of one of the gardens

I just love sundials.  They seem so simple until one considers the observations and calculations that must be made from a specific location in order for the sundial to be more than decorative.

The Colors of Spring

  Last fall we planted tulip bulbs for the first time and eagerly awaited the arrival of spring, and with it a colorful change of seasons.  Unfortunately, we did have some issues with rabbits.  Our homemade, non-toxic  egg and water repellent, which reportedly does real well at keeping deer at bay, did not repel all of the rabbits.  So we put up a makeshift fence around the tulip bed and haven't had any further rabbit attacks.

My younger son says "Cheese" while standing next to the tulip bush.

And while not as vibrant a color, the green tomato plants are a sure sign of spring.  We moved our plants from the house to the covered beds last weekend.  Last summer was the first time I enjoyed tomatoes grown from seeds that I planted.  This year we planted several roma tomatoes and grape tomatoes.