How Does Your Garden Grow
Last night, while Eric and I were out front working on our stepping stone path (aka, my latest garden project), a ruby throated hummingbird flitted in to visit the agastache we’ve got growing alongside the fence. I’ve never EVER seen a hummingbird while in town - only when we’re up wandering the hills. So, needless to say, I was absolutely star-struck as we watched it hover above the blossoms before speeding away with a delicate trill.
I’m taking this as a sign that we’re doing something right.
Three summers ago, we planted some veggies in a trio of stock tanks - but other than that, there wasn’t anything growing on this little lot of ours. It was just lawn and mulch and piles of river rock. But now? Little songbirds perch on the drying salvia stalks to eat the seeds. We’re constantly chasing squirrels and rabbits out of the yard. The buzzing of busy honeybees is absolutely constant. And then there’s that hummingbird. My message from the universe to keep at it.
How wild can I make this plot of earth? How wild can it make me? Since I can’t yet live in a place where my I can’t see the neighbors, I’m fairly determined to find out! There’s a lot to learn and I’m almost always on the verge of killing SOMETHING through lack of water/too much water/simple inexperience, but I’m loving that my failures (or near failures) just make me want to try again.
Right now, all of our edible plants are at the absolute peak of prettiness so I’m trying to stop rushing around and linger among them as much as I can. Give it another couple weeks and everything will be starting to look sort of tired - and in a month they’ll look downright sad. As someone who struggles with summer (it is easily my least creative season!) this is the stretch of time I’d like to just skip, coming back to reality on the first of October. But no! Not this year. This summer I’m going to stay present until the very end.
The squash arch seems to helping me a lot with that so far. For the most part, that’s where I begin and end my days. In the morning when I let the dogs out (somewhere in the neighborhood of 6am) and just before the last light, I wander out to see what’s changed. Three weeks ago, the arch looked like this :
And yesterday, it looked like this :
It is an absolute addiction, to watch the vines climb and to see the squash form and grow. I’m in a constant state of wonder when I step outside and underneath that green canopy - and its been keeping me motivated and engaged and somewhat distracted from the heat and general intensity that is July in Colorado. Fighting off the grasshoppers and powdery mildew is a constant, but every day I wake up and check in instead of checking out (which has been my way in past years).
Growing all these big, heavy squash on a trellis has meant giving them a little extra support as they get bigger. They look so lovely, hanging through the cattle panels when they’re small - but I’ve got to protect those vines! The internet told me that pantyhose were the best material for the job - so though it’s not particularly beautiful that’s what I’ve been using to help carry the weight. And thus far it seems to be working! I’m already dreaming of pumpkin bread and pie and chili and smoothies and…
The watermelons are another story, though. When I decided to grow them on a trellis (a slightly smaller version of the big one!) I thought the Moon and Stars variety would be great because they’re listed as a compact variety.
What I came to find was that that meant the vines only grow to ten-ish feet. The melons though? They can hit 25-30 lbs. Yikes! That called for something a little sturdier than the pantyhose. I ended up using scraps of hail netting for the two melons that are currently growing and I’m just hoping they don’t get too gigantic. The larger of the two is probably around fifteen lbs now, and bigger than my head, with at least a couple more weeks to grow - so who knows!
In the studio, I finished up the bumblebee signet rings (and put together another little maker video about that process). They were a fun challenge, but I’m rather glad that this is the only set I’ll ever make. My hands are STILL tired, a week after finishing them up. Up next is a collection for the gallery and then I’ll be starting on pieces for the September restock - yippee!
On an unrelated (yet also completely related) note, something else I’ve been working on…
When I was in the fourth grade, my friends and I got REALLY into wearing bandanas. They were our fashion accessory of choice and I remember feeling like some sort of wild prairie girl when I used mine to pull back my hair. Who knew a piece of fabric with a tie-dye print and smiley faces could make a person feel so good about themselves!!
Somewhere through the years, I lost the bandana-on-my-head obsession and instead replaced it with the love of a really good scarf. In the winter, I’ve almost always got a knitted cowl on hand and in past summers a vintage square of silk has been tied around my neck whenever I venture outdoors. But this year, in the spring, for the first time since I was ten, a bandana once again became part of my everyday ensemble.
Initially, it was just the idea that if I tied on my bandana first thing in the morning then I’d never find myself out and about and realize I’d forgotten my other mask - aka, a way to feel like I was prepared and had a little control in a world that was moving too fast. But since then I’ve realized that it just makes me happy to wear a bandana. It’s that perfect meeting place between pretty and functional and I can’t get enough!
So, naturally, I had to try my hand at designing my own - after all, my trusty old turquoise needs a break sometimes!
I chose a trio of things that were growing in my spring garden, things that just made me smile, and started making sketches. Strawberry, iris, and blackberry. And then, in June, I put pen to paper and brought this swirling floral design to life before sending it to a local printshop (yay for artists supporting artists!) to be printed on fabric.
I’ve kept one of these beauties for myself (as my new everyday staple), but the rest are in the shop if you need a little something to brighten up your day. Wear it around your neck, in your hair. Hang it on a wall, lay it across your nightstand. The way I see it, one should always have a whole lot of garden magic (and a bandana or two!) in their life.
