Category Archives: In My Garden

Garden Crawl II

Posted on August 4, 2012 | 4 Comments

Back in May, our NE Portland Homesteaders group did a Garden Crawl, and had a great time getting to know each other, seeing other people’s gardens, and of course getting lots of inspiration.  So we thought, why not catch up again when things were up and running in our gardens – see how everything had evolved a few months later, and get some new ideas?

Due to the weather forecast (hey, we out here in the NW are sensitive…and without air conditioning), we started out a bit earlier than normal at my house after getting some sustenance from the lovely ladies at Cafe Eleven.  A few new people joined the group thanks to the article in the local paper, which made it even more fun, and our last stop was under the arbor in one of our participant’s gardens, complete with iced tea, snacks, and a mister keeping us cool as it hit just under 90 by 11am.

After this?  A harvest dinner, of course, sometime this fall, where we’ll each make something from our gardens.  But in the meantime, here are some of the things that made me smile today…

Nothing like parasols to protect from the sun!

look closely in gardens and you’ll see some interesting textures and colors…even in the heat of the day…

we were welcomed by a very sweet girl belonging to one of our gardeners

loved the beautiful color and black eyed susans with the happiest bees around

totally awesome bike parking structure in the garden

gonna gotta get me a rain chain – love this aesthetic

okay so I thought MY sunflowers were tall. these ones? dang!

can’t remember what these seedpods were called…can anyone help me with this?

back under my favorite grape arbor, this time with the fruit going crazy. uber inspiration.

kind of alien but gorgeous, isn’t it?

and rocking in the hammock under the arbor – i could have (if they let me) fallen asleep right then & there :-)

completely love this garden art!

talk about a happy place…my how this garden evolved over 10 weeks!

love the textures & colors around the water and how peaceful it looks

gorgeousness

talk about an entry to chicken land. sigh…

finishing off the Crawl with cool drinks and good company – perfecto!

 

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Posted in In My Garden, Local Grrl

At First Sight…

Posted on May 23, 2012 | 5 Comments

the things you notice when you first walk up to your house, before you even open the door to go inside….this is what makes me happy to be a gardener…

sage flower

‘beloved’

herbs gone wild :)

my strawberries, fresh picked,
perfectly sweet n juicy

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Posted in In My Garden

Garden Crawl, Y’all…

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 8 Comments

Well, today was kinda awesome.  I recently joined a Homesteaders group via Meetup and got the opportunity to be part of the Garden Crawl this morning, showing my yards gardens to a fellow group of urban homesteaders, and then getting to in turn check out their gardens as well!  It was not only a great learning opportunity, but also really fun to meet new creative, smart, unique people who live right here in the same area of town.

And when you find yourself dealing with a slight case of impostor syndrome after seeing so many gorgeous gardens?  You breathe deeply and rename it…inspiration!  So much so that you find yourself immediately adding to your already overflowing to-do list of garden chores, racing home to do something, ANYTHING to hang on to that momentum.  Wheeeee!

So, here’s some shots from the day that sent me into inspire mode…like the late, great Dulcy Mahar, these folks all had their own unique garden personalities and equally interesting stories…

we started here, at mi casa…
definitely a gorgeous morning!

very proud to show ‘em one of the few peaches growing on my dwarf peach tree, after the leaf curl took out much of it due to a very rainy early spring

cruising a mile or so away, i was suddenly in the world of a real pro…such an awesome use of space on a lot about the same size as mine!

don’t you just love these bird feeders? everything flowed so nicely here…

simple yet beautiful…don’t you love this, just waiting for the climbers?!

you never know driving by what kind of sanctuaries people create in their back yard. at this house, the garden and flowers combined really nicely, and i was diggin’ this little moment especially…

is it me or is it just not even real how chard can get so neon? too cool.

i’m a big fan of before & after shots….here, the next gardener shows us what the yard looked like initially…

and AFTER…oh me oh my how lovely is the after? and who knew the lot was this big from the front? a ton of inspiration here, for sure.

and this photo does her chicken-land no justice. it was totally cool. and the girls were more than happy to snack on the dandelions i fed them :)

oh, and oh my…i think those were my words when we hit the next house in the laurelhurst neighborhood. how cool is this fence, first of all.

and this is the real deal of curbside composting – what a great idea to create this so all the neighbors can share!

yes, this is a mosaic-tiled toilet serving as a planter. the first time i’ve seen a toilet in a yard that doesn’t appear like, well, a toilet in a yard.

inside the yard, i was googly eyed. especially digging the two hammocks side by side in the garden.

and this reclaimed piece of metal found on craigslist, used now as a gorgeous arbor for grapes…underneath is a porch swing…sigh…

diggin’ the unique touches along the top of the fence

and the upside down wine bottles capturing the most perfect fern without intention…love this!

oh yes, and along the way, miss ellie

there were more gardens and i lost focus on taking more pictures, but the group was cool and i can’t wait to hang with them again!

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Posted in In My Garden, Local Grrl

Hopeless

Posted on April 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

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my favorite part of april, hands down…

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Posted in In My Garden

New Grrl

Posted on April 19, 2012 | 8 Comments

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It’s spring and for me, time to focus on what’s most essential. My new EcoGrrl page consolidates, organizes, streamlines…and hopefully becomes a clearer story of not only who I am but brings about more community and insight into evolving into a simpler, more conscious lifestyle.

I’m constantly amazed in a wonderful way reading your words. From Yancy’s tremendous dedication to getting us to examine our own internal dialogues as human beings to Erin’s raw exposure of how she experiences living to Dan’s brilliant and sensitive narratives on the arts to the many eco-warriors I follow who challenge us to be more, think more, DO more…I am humbled, and grateful.

Above is the first glimpse at my backyard garden for 2012. My friend built a tomato trellis out of reclaimed wood ($25!) intended to withstand the weight of 7′ san marzanos and be somewhat of a centerpiece, once the deep red nasturtiums bloom and eventually hide the cinderblocks. Ta-da!

Getting dirt under the fingernails and sunshine on the cheeks…bliss.

Happy spring (or fall) wherever you are…

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Posted in In My Garden, Musings