Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Tom!

I am infamous!

I don't know how many people realize it but, all the same, I am!  

I am infamous because, since the beginning of this blog, I have told you about my special projects that I am working on AND I have promised to show you photos when I am done.

I haven't.

tsk! tsk! tsk!!!

Now, what would you say (you, who have been following my little saga for a while, now) if I told you that: all of this time, I have had a garden?

Yes, all summer long, I have had a garden!

Perfectionist that I am, I haven't felt it worthy for you to see.

Well! I promise: I am going to endeavor to do better!!!

Do you want to see my garden?

Tadaaaaaaa!

 My Garden!

I call it my palette garden (or however you spell the silly word.)

 You see, the joy of having a fixer upper and blogging is that the 'before and afters' are so dramatic.

The down side of this situation is that it is taking a long time to get to the 'after' part.

It causes me to take a lot of close up shots!

Anyway, here's a better view of it.

(Notice, a growing Chubbers puppy looking through the fence.)

(Dad, this is sooooooooo easy that, I really think that it may replace foot by foot gardening)

Anyway,

notice, it's mobile! I can have Tom move my garden anywhere I want with his tractor!!!

Since last fall, I have been buying plants on super sale and squirreling them away. I've been getting delphiniums and hostas, irises and all sorts of assorted goodies for wonderful deals because the nurseries are trying to get rid of as much of their stock as they can in anticipation of winter.

In this same spirit, I am going to show you the work in progress, on our stone wall and garden.

 Tom began, early in the Spring, working on rebuilding the stone wall. The yard had been torn up, the previous Autumn, with hubungous trenches in the landscape, so that we could add electricity in the barn, reroute a spring in our driveway and, most importantly, put in a new septic system - the last two of these, required digging up, almost, the entire yard. We called it, "The Year of the Dirt"!

However, we are very familiar with what our plans are and how big projects actually go.

The wall took longer than expected. In the meantime, my husband fenced and put in a huge vegetable garden on the hill, moved and rebuilt the childrens' play structure at church, put in flooring in great grandma's apartment (next door), helped a young man (who needed A LOT of help) get his Eagle Scout requirements finished, before he was eighteen, oh, and, the list goes on and on.

He worked on the wall in every spare moment that he could grasp. He did all of this through a brutally hot and humid summer that has been the driest on record since they began keeping track.

Yes, it has been "Mad Dogs, Englishmen and Tom, who go out in the noonday sun"!

Well, here is a "before" picture of the yard, in the spring.

Bleak is the word, I think!

 

 Here is the just newly finished wall, a few weeks ago.

 

Then, last week, I started moving my plants from the parsonage where they had been left to fend for themselves for 3 whole summers. The poor things, they were almost dead from thirst!!!

First, however, I had to double dig the garden.

The first dig (in the lower garden) brought up all of these stones. (I will not even try to tell you how many stones came out of the bed that we've dug on the upper level! Ack!!! We hired a young man from church who went at it with a pick axe for SIX hours. This is gardening in Vermont!)

This particular chipmunk is very friendly and helpful. He thinks that we should plant sunflower seeds! A few of his have come up again. He kept popping out of holes in the wall to inspect my work!

After digging up all of the appropriate plants, I had to put them in quickly. Most of them were close to dead and the dirt - dry as dust - just crumbled away from the roots! I finished the race to put them in, dusted my hands, turned around, and noticed that I'd forgotten the wagon with some of the plants from my palette garden. sigh! They went in the next morning!

I am excited about this garden. I think that the plants and flowers will be beautiful against the stone!

So! That's my garden - so far!

(This week, I am working on the upper level.)

Next project (after the wood is in) is transforming the little hidden milk house into a garden bothy (or, potting shed, as it is sometimes known)! A greenhouse will be attached, made out of windows found in our barn.

In the meantime......

the one thing the drought seems to have helped is everyone's tomatoes!!!

Tom has a lot of tomatoes!

He's already canned these....

He's ready to do more ....

.... and, there's more out there, ripening on the vine!

It's harvest time!

 There is lots....

 .... and lots....

 of warm, tomatoey goodness!

Love,

Katy Noelle

P.S. I have several posts in the making - September is my favorite month. Most importantly, however, is that I have been getting ready for a blog party, which will include a gift to be given away. Stay posted, please! You are all invited!