Camp Whimsy

Spring Time Cheer

Here are some cheery spring photos from my garden this week. We've had several weeks of cool rainy days, but this week warmth is returning. 

Lilac time! This bush is ready to pop!

The hostas are going gang busters!

This little boy is very happy for spring. As am I. I really love watching my kids playing outside. They have great adventures and it is so much fun to see what they manage to imagine.

The cat mint, yarrow and salvia are preparing for their first bloom.

My little red bud tree bloomed.

I brought some of the spring colors indoors to brighten up our home. 

Spring cheers to you!

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Lemons

My little Meyer lemon tree runneth over. I keep her warm at night with a string of big Christmas lights. 

Lemon pie, lemon bars, lemon curd, limoncello, lemon cake, lemon zest, lemonade. Christmas might not be white, but it will be full of lemons!

First Watermelon

 
Last week I eyed the watermelons next to my cucumbers. Almost ready...

 

 
Today I harvested another crop of cucumbers and decided it was time to pick a watermelon. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be ripe...

 
...and it was!

 
I scooped out pieces. Lots of sweet juicy goodness in this melon!

 
Audrey is over the moon happy to have fresh watermelon in the fridge. Fresh things to eat from your garden make life sweet.

Cool as a Cucumber

 
After spending a few days sick in bed I was able to venture out yesterday to the garden. I found a dozen cucumbers waiting for me. Today's weather is cool and cloudy. Life is good.

My Garden in Full Bloom

 

I took these photos about a week ago of my garden and back yard. I can't believe how quickly the garden changes this time of year.

 

I love my verbenas. All of these came from two small plants!
 

And I just adore my hollyhocks which come back each year to greet me!
 

 

 
 

 

 
Across the yard from my garden area is our pergola which we love spending time under! I designed the pergola and my husband built it last summer. In May we planted the bed at the back of the pergola with tropical plants since it gets a fair amount of shade. We are really happy with the finished project.

 

 

I have a lot of planted succulents and plants under the pergola.
 
 
 

Isn't this old concrete Indian great? I found him half buried in mud at an estate sale years ago. He is missing his leg below his right knee. But I love him anyway.
 
Hope you enjoyed visiting my garden and yard! Happy gardening to you! ~Kim

 

 

Welcome Spring!

 
Today was the official first day of spring! It was rainy, windy and our electricity went out. We had an indoor camp out and lit the gas fireplace, a cozy way to spend the day, (though I would have rather been outside digging up garden beds). This week brought forth the lovely blossoms of our darling crab apple.

 

These blossoms are perfection! I love the pink blush on the buds.

 
The lilacs are right behind them. I'm hoping we get a few doses of sunshine this coming week, though the forecast is largely calling for rain. It is proving to be one of those wet years here in northern California. I hope your first day of spring was lovely~Kim

Garden at Sunset

 
We've had wonderful weather in northern California this year, hardly any days over 100 degrees, and even barely any in the 90's! And the best part is the evenings have been so pleasant and cool we could actually go outside to enjoy them! Here's a few shots of my yard at sunset last week.

  

Back Yard Fun in the Garden!

Here's a peek at my flower bed this week. We've had cooler temperatures than usual this spring so my main flower bed has only recently bloomed.

 

Late spring and all of summer are my favorite times of the year. Long days spent outside with the kids, pushing them on their swing, picnicing, playing in the play house, splashing in wading pools, country music fills the air. We are happy.

My latest addition to the back yard landscape is this area against my huband's tool shed. I wanted something easy to keep up and beautiful at the same time. I made several succulent gardens in galvanized bins and set them on a bed of river rocks with several hostas planted in between.

My husband and I love the projects we do around our home and yard. This was a good project because it didn't involve building so I could actually help! At first my husband seemed a little skeptical about this project, but after seeing the results he is quite pleased! Hope you are having as much fun in your back yard as I am having in mine! Beautiful weather in the 80's is here for this weekend! Hooray for back yard fun!
 
 

 

Echeveria

 



 

Lovely Gladiolus

 

Oh don't you just love these? My family is friends with a very nice farmer who grows many varieties of gladioulus in his garden and shares big bouqets of them with us every year.

 

I don't think there is anything more simple than fresh flowers to bring a touch of bright cheery freshness to your home.

 

Oh, yes, this is fresh cheeryness!

Let's Take a Peek Outside!

 

I took a few moments tonight to sneak outside and get a few shots of my back yard, let's take a peek...

 

Actually I think it's more of a park than a yard. Look at all of that grass dear husband has to mow every week! What were we thinking?

 

My butterfly bush has exploded with blossoms. This is one of my favorite shrubs and I just planted two more at the back of our yard.

 

It sits just outside my studio window which is nice because I can watch the butterflies from inside my crafty little space.

 

Here's my little fountain. I love listening to the sound of the water while I'm in the yard, and opening up the windows in the cool of morning or evening and allowing the sound to trickle inside is heavenly. I always wanted a water fountain that was simple and not too ornate. This one is perfect.

 

I just stuck this morning glory in the ground two weeks ago and it loves this trellis, it will look so pretty when it is completely covered.

 

Cosmos. Such a simple flower and yet I love their feminine pink and unfussy way.

 

The tomatoes are coming along nicely. I can't wait for some fresh salsa!

 

Onion patch. Our attempt at onions this year was a bit haphazard and it shows. We just stuck them in the ground. The result is onions, small onions. Next year we'll try planting them in rows and maybe I can pin down one of the farmers we know and ask them the trick to growing big onions. You should see the HUGE onions all around us in the fields. Apparently those farmers know something we don't.

 

Hollyhocks are my absolute favorite in my garden. Many of mine have already bloomed, but there are a few stragglers promising some more color.

 

Watermelon patch is coming along nicely, lots of baby watermelons. Is it weird to think fuzzy baby watermelons are cute? 'Cause I can't help myself from thinking they are cute and I just want to pick one and carry it around. This may be what my kids are thinking when they pick unripe tomatoes. Maybe they just think they are cute and they want to hold one.

 

The gladiolus have started to bloom. I think these are very old fashioned flowers. What do you think?

 

This is the first time I tried an armenian cucumber plant. They are doing great. I picked two a few days ago but I think they were just under ripe, so I'm going to let this fellow go a few more days.

 

More veggies. Carrots, lettuce and jalapeno's. This is a very simple planter box my husband made with some left over plywood. We wanted to see if we could grow some veggies that required part sun on the side of our house. They've done great and we will be putting in several more of these boxes and adding gravel around them. Our regular garden just gets too much sun for everything we want to plant so this will be a great addition to our gardening pursuits.  Plus it's in kind of a hidden spot between our house and the fence and it feels like you're going to a secret garden. I'll be sure to deck it out with cute garden accessories and show you when we get it all finished.

 

And then there's this. Doesn't look too exciting now, but it soon will be!! This is the pad for our new playhouse. Last night my husband and I made a trip to Home Depot for lumber, windows, a door, hardware and a front porch light. He will start building it this weekend and it should take about 3 or 4 weekends to complete. It will be a real house, complete with sheetrock, electricity and a chandelier to boot! Can't wait to share it with you!

Spring in the Garden

 

Here is a look at my garden this week. The hollyhocks along the fence are shooting up quickly.

 

Look at all of those blooms getting ready to open!!

 

Many plants have already begun to bloom, including the sweet peas...

 

...salvia...

 

...catmint...

 

...mallow...

 

...yarrow...

 

...lavender...

 

...and verbena.

 

You should see the birds bathing in their bath everyday. I could watch for hours. There are several kinds that come around but my favorite is a small finch with a yellow belly.

 

Here are the first of my dahlia plants to come up. Last year was my first year with dahlias and they quickly became my favorite. Click here for a peek at some of last summer's dahlias.

  

I snapped these photos this week while playing outside in the warm spring sun with the little ones. Today is cool and rainy and I am looking forward to a very busy and fun weekend ahead. Hope yours is lovely as can be!

Fresh Berries

 

One of the benefits of living in California is the diverse selection of fresh fruits and vegetables grown right here in our own state. I am a sucker for strawberries and love to buy them at roadside stands. It doesn't matter if I buy them from a stand or Costco, I always buy too many and they end up spoiling before I can use all of them. I recently purchased a large container of strawberries and thought I would put my Tupperware Fridgesmart to the test. Fridgesmart is a container with ridges in the bottom to keep your fruit from sitting in any moisture that collects on the bottom. There are also two vents in the side of the container which you can open/close depending on the type of fruit/vegetable you are storing. The picture above shows the berries after five days of being refrigerated in the Fridgesmart container...

 

...and this picture is the berries I left in the container they came in. Yikes! Can you see the difference? The berries that I left in the container from Costco shriveled up and became mushy. Even their leaves shriveled up. My Tupperware Fridgesmart passed the test! I love Tupperware. When I was in college I would host a show every semester, as would my sister and several of our girlfriends. Needless to say I have Tupperware coming out of my ears! And boy am I glad! Fresh berries for everyone!!

Peach Blossoms

 

I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of my dad's peach trees in bloom. They are pink perfection, alive with the hum of bees buzzing about their business. In a few short months we will have a fresh bounty of peaches.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a beautiful weekend.

From The Garden

Here are a few shots and thoughts from the garden tonight.

As you can see my tomato plants runneth over. Currently I am using big wire cages, but the plants always outgrow them. Any suggestions?

Aren't these dahlias gorgeous? This was the first year I planted dahlias and I've been thrilled with the results. They have been blooming for nearly two months now and they just keep coming. I have 5 varieties so far and this one is my favorite, though sadly I am unsure of the name as my husband threw the bag they came in away before I could write it in my garden journal. If you like dahlias then be sure to check out Laurie's post on the dahlia field she visits every year.

And finally, here is my sweet little bunny who keeps me company in the little garden. When I was first married I had two real bunnies, Waylon and Willie. Sadly Waylon passed on to bunny heaven but Willie is still alive and kickin in his turquoise hutch underneath a big old walnut tree in my parents orchard. (He couldn't stay with us at our new house because we have no shade and bunnies need shade when you live in a hot valley). Happy Gardening!

Tomato Friday

Just a quick reminder, tomorrow, Friday August 8th we will have tomatoes for sale at Maxwell General. We picked over 15 pounds, and they are available at a great price, 1.00 for two large tomatoes (these weigh about 1/2 pound each) or 1.00 for three medium sized tomatoes (three tomatoes averages about a pound). So come by and be sure to stop inside the store and grab a cold soda and a quick browse! Tomato Friday...Yummy!!!

The Perfect Taste of Summer

Well folks, they're here. Actually we've been enjoying them for several weeks. Peaches. Oh....Yummy! Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of being part of a farm family is sharing in the harvest. My dad has quite a few varieties so they keep coming all summer; white, yellow, orange, and dark red ones too. You can pick them up weekdays at Maxwell General or the insurance agency next door, though you may want to get there early as they sell out quickly. We also sell at the Farmer's Market in Colusa, held bi-weekly on Thursday evenings throughout the summer. These peaches have gained quite a following. They are tree-ripened, picked at the point of perfection (not like the hard icky ones found in grocery stores) and packed in trays and boxes to prevent jostling and bruising. You will agree they are the finest you've come across! Hope you are able to swing by and grab a box for yourself.

And just in case you were wondering, we have tried peaches prepared in many different ways (all of which we loved), but if you ask us, the best way is this way:

Sliced, sprinkled with brown sugar and topped with fresh whipped cream.  The perfect taste of summer.

Butterfly Bushes

We love Butterfly Bushes! They grow quite nicely in the hot valley we call home. Lori has several at her home, some as large as small trees, and Kim planted several last year which are doing very well. They don't require very much water and will only need to be cut back after the warm months are over. Try some in your garden! Oh, and butterflies really do like them!!!