Saturday Farmer's Market - Roses!

Created by Heather at Capricious Reader, and now hosted by Chris at Stuff as Dreams are Made on.

UPDATE(s) from Last Week:   

I finally gave up and pulled the camomile. In the end it only produced about a half cup of flowers this year, unlike last year when I filled a quart jar. Some winter reading is in order, I think, to find out why.

After in depth research, I found that the Scotch broom is maintained quite well in suburban type situations, but they seed profusely and it only takes a few birds dropping them in fields to precipitate floral devastation, because they crowd out native plants very quickly. Ranchers and orchard folks around here are begging people not to plant them, so I am choosing not to cultivate this plant.

I noticed tiny tomato plants all over my back yard. It seems a shame to get rid of them all . . . It looks like maybe the birds need some little baskets to carry their share of the harvest. I also continued hacking back my big tomato plants. They had grown so thick that I couldn't get to the fruit in the center.

Well, this update is depressing. On a brighter note . . .

UPDATE #2:   

My birthday was last week and that meant that it was time to try the cherry liqueur. The cherries, themselves, will be used on ice cream.

I'm not really much of a drinker, so I found it quite potent. In the end I wussed out and drank it mixed with some 7up. Not half bad, but it's the sort of drink that you have to be careful about sneaking up on you and kicking you in the back of the head.

Also, I think I might like to add some spices next time.


UPDATE #3:  
  
Our Orchard Supply (OSH) is going out of business. (They were bought by Lowe's.) The employees found out the same day the public did, and although they are welcome to apply for jobs with Lowe's, their time with OSH doesn't get them anything - no priority in hiring, no seniority, no nothing - and some of them had been at OSH for 35 years. That sucks.

On the bright side (yes, I know I'm sick) plants were being clearanced!

I bought a beautiful spider plant. It's nice and full, with a lot of babies.


The Sunlight on the Garden
– Louis MacNeice

The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
When all is told

We cannot beg for pardon.
Our freedom as free lances
Advances towards its end;
The earth compels, upon it
Sonnets and birds descend;
And soon, my friend,

We shall have no time for dances.
The sky was good for flying
Defying the church bells
And every evil iron
Siren and what it tells:
The earth compels,

We are dying, Egypt, dying
And not expecting pardon,
Hardened in heart anew,
But glad to have sat under
Thunder and rain with you,
And grateful too
For sunlight on the garden.

ROSES! ROSES! ROSES!

My husband gave me two beautiful rose bushes for my birthday, a yellow one called 'Grandma's yellow rose' and a white one called 'pillow fight.' Yellow roses are my favorite, and white floribundas in full bloom seem to light up the night garden.

My grand babies gave me a bouquet of yellow roses and some black licorice.

The side of my yard with the fruit trees and flower beds is mostly under control and doing quite well, with only a few weather related issues. And it looks like our experiment with permaculture is off to a good start. But because my garden is in transition, the herb side is still a bit wild. 

This weekend I need to pull up and rerun the drip hose, expanding the beds. It was never just an herb bed. It is more like an English garden on this side, with a mixture of herbs and flowers.

I used to have a large collection of roses, but roses are finicky creatures that need a lot of attention - and chemicals - so I had to let them go. My garden needs plants that are strong and can hold their own without poisons.

About four years ago I took a chance on an 'Iceberg' florabunda that is just covered in snow each spring. Inspired, I am slowly expanding my rose collection again. Yellow roses are my favorite, but I hope to open up my palate this fall.

As of this writing, I have six rose bushes, and of the six, four have been gifts from my husband.