The pleasures of being a kitchen gardener

To be a kitchen gardener has been a whole new experience for me, one that I relish every second of. Upon arrival I walked out to the kitchen garden, where I was met with what seemed like an endless amount of empty beds. I wondered how many people would possibly be eating the fruit and vegetables. It was then that I found out there were annuals to be sown and many of the beds had dormant perennials in them. Foolish me. So I immediately got to sowing seeds in the greenhouse. From annuals such as Cosmo bipinnatus 'Picotee' ,to vegetables such as Artichoke F1 'Amethyst', to the enchanting perrenial Meconopsis betonicifolia. For awhile the cloches were my only friends out there, who waited for the rhubarb to push their tops off from underneath. Soon the perennials awoke from their beds to introduce themselves. The roller coaster ride of spring had started, and soon enough a barrage of blooms were flying past me. The first to introduce herself was Pyrus communis 'Comtesse de Paris', and it was then I started to feel at home.
With the arrival of spring came more sun, which helped the lettuce seedlings gather together in straight lines so they could each get a turn in the spotlight. And more soon followed. If only all plants were so obedient... some prefer just to run everywhere..Fennel took off, and Broad beans showed up every week with Dill , who worked together to fight off black fly. The potatoes are a shy bunch now, with each time being afraid of exposing too much, thus pulling up more of the soil around to protect themselves. What could they have to hide...

It seemed like overnight most of spring flew by and the vegetables just took off. Filling in nicely, and climbing appropriately up their designated pea sticks.

A colorful bunch they were. Then the perennials showed up, stealing some of the spotlight. And Petal, who always knows how to get attention.

Other cast members include, mustard greens meshing nicely with mangold.

Peas, who slowly work their way up the pea sticks.

Cos lettuce 'Marshall' coinciding with Lettuce 'Green Oakleaf'.

A lovely mix of greens and the shocking colors of the red currants, can't quite hold the attention when the perennial blooms have started to take over. The poppies and foxgloves harmonized well with the peonies. The constant hum of the bees helps me realize I am not the only one finding pleasure in the kitchen garden.

It's a pleasure to witness the whole cycle and details of a plants life.

Papaver sommniferum

Or how colors can harmonize or contrast with each other, or how the evening light changes the garden.

The kitchen garden is chaos held within the hedges of Fagus sylvatica.

Sweet William.... Papaver nudicaule, Papaver sommniferum and Papaver rhoeas. While it is always nice to stand back and admire, it is always enjoyable to harvest. A basket stocked full of greens, rhubarb, carrots, radishes, and peony and dianthus flowers to be taken to the house.

What is sweeter than a bowl of harvested red currants...

As a kitchen gardener, it is enjoyable to deal with plants on every level; sowing seeds, taking cuttings, collecting seed, vegetables, annuals, soft fruits, hard fruits, trees, annuals, and perennials. The wave of work that is done there puts a smile on my face each day, to ride the line between order and chaos is a welcome challenge.

Ireland

My sister, Jen, and I took a trip to Ireland for a few days - which is something we have spoke about for ages. A trip to the motherland...... We stayed in Dublin, on the East coast, and spent each day driving in a different direction.

Something I didn't expect was that Ireland has art everywhere, especially sculptures.

Of course, while driving, as my eyes should be on the road, I am scanning the passing countryside for flowers and sculptures. And all of a sudden I am seeing red flying by us. Of course I knew I had found one of my favorites......

The one and only poppy..... They were everywhere, the motorways looked like they had recently had work done, which would explain why they were there. They germinate heavily on disturbed soil.....

And then I came across this montage of splendor, doesn't mother nature just make you sick because sometimes it's so sweet. You can't beat that- even the grass in the background.....My poor sister had to endure me running up and down the hills to take photos while she sat in the car. thanks for that....

One of the many sculptures, done by different artists, that are seen while driving along the motorways. I have seen a few sculptures of trees and by far have found this to be the most interesting and beautiful one to look at.

The city view near Waterford on the Southern end of Ireland.

Got the brilliant idea of driving all the way west one day, which took 5 hours, one way.. Made it to County Clare where we are from and saw the Cliffs of Moher

As everyone was gawking at the cliffs, I was looking at the plants. Even though they are common plants, they seemed more exciting because of their location.

The sight was beautiful though.......

We came across green field after green field, as lush as you could imagine. And the stone walls everywhere were incredible.

There were many different types built, depending on the areas.

This one was interesting with slabs pushed up sideways and then filled in with soil. A new way to plant a wall in the garden?!

We made it to Helen Dillons garden in a suburb right outside of Dublin. It didn't rain the whole time we were in Ireland, but go figure, the second we got to the garden the sky just dropped buckets and it stopped the second we left the garden. This was such an oasis in an urban environment. The house was a bit hard to find but you knew you found it when the other front yards just paled in comparison.



This is the back garden, which is made up of borders and rooms built around this pool of water.

You have your warm border on your left and the cool on the right.

A painted stone in the garden..

A Dublin bridge.

A moody but mesmerizing scene of bridge and castle..

While in Dublin, there were many works of art on the streets. Here was a fountain, with some figures, that some people put bubble bath into... It was foaming all over the sides into the streets....

Typical colors in an old town.

Nothing more Irish than a old man, his horse, his sweater, in his field surrounded by his rock wall.....

Thanks for such and amazing time Jen, love you lots. When are we going back?!