Dog Days of Summer in Rochester, NY

 

Wrote this back in early August.  I went out to water the plants and it was not posted.  Ab it late but the beauty of the plants are shown. 

This was a visitor to my garden toward the end of August. I believe it is a red tailed hawk.  Hope he is eating the mice and squirrels that seem to be enjoying my root crops.

The summer season ended with a drought and federal disaster area for my county and the surrounding area.

Dog days of summer here in my gardens photos.  New York was in early drought stages, is early August  Seems like we just planted the garden.  We have a happy and prolific garden due to water wise gardening practices.  My most prolific plants have been the early spring crops: cilantro, greens, lettuce, peas, radishes.  As the heat arrived:  lettuce, mustard greens, collards, kale, cucumbers, & yellow beans.

My bush beans are quite happy with the heat wave which lasted the entire summer.  My several days a week watering with recycled rubber soaker hoses keep them happy. We have about 10lbs of beans in the freezer for later, the most ever saved.  They are still producing which is unusual,  normally we take the plants down in mid September.

Another of the prolific vegetables are the bell peppers and the broccoli. A different variety, Jalapeno show below.  Especially with the cooler fall temps now and the much needed rain this past week.  The broccoli has taken off and we are eating it a few nights a week.

Apparently the heat is not done here, yet.  High of 79 forecast for the end of this week.  Grilled dinner outside on the deck is what we will be doing.   Mine as well enjoy the unseasonable warm while it is here.  The leaves are certainly falling and it will back to true fall weather.

The Holiday season is here.  Panda Wear is accepting holiday orders thru 11/1/16 for delivery in December.  Please order early.  

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Planting the Vegetables

Greetings Everyone,

 This post I wanted to tell you all about the enjoyment of growing my own vegetables and planting them outside in the garden......... 

As is typical Rochester, NY weather for late March – outside warms to feel like spring and then cools to freezing-  changing daily.  It is definitely  more extreme with Global Warming. There will be some snow this weekend to welcome in April.  That is normal here so we must be patient with the weather roller coaster as the season begins.

I have just sneaked a peek at my seedlings and I’m surprised at how big they are.  They are coming along very nicely and are big enough to be recognizable - at least to those who know vegetable plants - with some being easier to identify than others.  The pots these are in are 4 inches to give you scale. Online there seem to be so many photos of newly sprouted seedlings but they seem somewhat redundant (just little green sprouts).

One of my inspirational flowers from my garden to show us Winter is done.  It is always wonderful when the snow melts and the flowers emerge into the landscape with their pop of fragrance and color.    

The seedling shown today are a beautiful array of shades of green.  I will thin them again and  eat the thinned leaves.  Home grown is always the BEST!  Any guess what these are?  

My work is organic and uses gemstones I cut and  precious metal wire for the OOAK settings I design. Show your love with a OOAK custom creation form Panda Wear for Grandma, Sister, Aunt, Wife, or Mother.  Panda Wear is taking your orders for Mother's Day.  Make the best gift, buy local and support the artists in your city or town.   

One of my necklace pendants showing off a stunning seashell set in 14 ktgf.

Natural Shell set in 14 ktgf.

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Not quite planting outside, yet.  The countdown to outside planting continues.  Very soon......  the beginning of April. 

May your garden be happy and your weed be few.  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

 

 Happy St. Patrick's Day. everyone  The countdown to the start of the spring season continues as I tick off the days on the calendar.
I am so happy to be enjoying the day today -  the sun is shinning & the calendar is right on target for the new season.  The weather forecast is for some snow in the next few days. which is very typical March in Rochester, NY.

Above and below are crocus and to the right are Hyacinth peaking up.  They seem a little confused that it is only March here but fingers crossed they still bloom this year.  Hyacinths smell divine and,  for me when their soft perfume fills the air it is always a sign Spring has arrived.

My vegetable garden design is done, the seeds have sprouted & a few are larger enough to be transplanted.  I am just waiting for the earth to warm up to put them into the ground.  My peas will be planted in the next few weeks starting my outdoor garden.   

May your garden be happy and your seeds grow well.  

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Leaping toward SPRING

Hi Everyone and best wishes for February 29, aka Leap Day. We all got to enjoy an extra day this year! Hello March 1st.  I feel the winter coming to an end and spring is in the air.  Here are a few photos from last years garden. 

The seed catalogs arrived about a month ago so throughout February I’ve been reading and planning my vegetable garden design for 2016.  Decisions had to be made on which vegetables to plant, how much space they needed and which ones to put aside for another time….the BIG question every year.  Some years it’s an easy decision however this year there were several new things which would be great to grow, but space is always a big consideration.  

Only 20 days until the FIRST day of SPRING.  The seeds have now been planted and the waiting begins.  I’m counting down the days until the seedlings are big enough to go outside. We started the lettuce and cooking greens so they can be enjoyed earlier this year on the table.    
 It’s so exciting to look forward to a fantastic 2016 growing season, I just wish the garden was larger.  Happy to report the first seeds are sprouted today, March 1st.

One of my custom cut free form stones set in Sterling silver.  The wire and design accent the best parts of the stone and compliment the new owner of this piece. To find my work:

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 For all the new readers of this blog,  I am an avid gardener and lapidary.  Most of my inspiration comes from nature as can be seen in my work.  Whether it is the arch of a branch, the stem of a bush or the pattern of a flower... I picture designs I make with wire and gemstones.  As a lapidary, when I am cutting a stone my design can take shape based on what I see in the natural stone. Roses and snapdragons from the garden.   

Happy growing and enjoy your day.  

Hello Mid-Winter 2016

Greetings everyone, a new year has begun.  Where did January go?

The short time I planned to take off after a busy holiday season seems to have rapidly grown, just like the flowers in my garden do on some days.  The original plan had me getting this blog out much earlier!. How quickly the days pass and the calendar pages flip over.

Well, onward and upward!  It is  almost Valentines Day and I am feeling very enthusiastic. This weekend we are traveling out of town to attend  two HUGE shows -  a Gem show and a Flower show - both located together at a fantastic museum.  There will be photos to show and a few tales to tell on my return. I'm especially excited to have date night and quality time with my man for the holiday (sorry no pics or stories for this part of the journey).

2015 Leaf Lettuce

Garden planning for 2016 has begun.  It's February and the seed catalogs have arrived so it's time to start planning this year's vegetable garden. Still so thrilled to have harvested the last of the 2015 crops on new years day 2016,  awesome! We happily pulled parsnips and leeks from the garden in the snow and wet!  No surprise to us that they have been a great pleasure to serve as well as being fresh and delicious.

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Many thanks to all my creative friends who have made this journey such a pleasure to embark upon. Your topic suggestions, as well as comments, are desired and encouraged. Happy creating and peaceful gardening.