If You're Missing Summer's Colors, This Post is For You!

Not long after Christmas... before the decorations are even put away, the seed catalogs start taking up a large portion of our mailbox each day.  It's never too early to start to dream about the coming Summer's gardens.

The cold days of January- as the garden boxes lay bare... safely tucked in beneath a blanket of nourishing compost- 

are the perfect time for immersing myself in dreams of color. 

 I sift through the pages of the catalogs... thinking of the spaces that I will have to fill when the weather is warm enough to once again work the soil. 

I think about the flowers that I started in the greenhouse last season and decide which of those I'd like to repeat.  Zinnias, of course... always zinnias.  They are just about the happiest flower I can think of.

The big winner of last summer was the gomphrena (globe amaranth).  

 Every few days I would pick a handful and bring them into the house.  When fresh, gomphrena already have the feel of a dried flower - so, drying them is just a matter of waiting for the moisture to leave the stems.  This is one flower that needs not be hung up to dry, but can simply lie in a pile til dry.  Each handful that I picked was added to this hanging kitchen scale.  

Here it is January, when all lies dormant and colorless... and I have a beautiful pop of summer color to lift my spirits.

Another flower that is perfect for drying is the celosia.  I picked a few of this particular variety in the garden of a friend and hung them to dry.  They retained their color beautifully as well.  Celosia (cockscomb) comes in a variety of colors.  The one that I am considering for this summer is the tall Flamingo Celosia.

I also would like to include some Larkspur and some Morning glory seeds in my order.

I haven't finished my final list of flowers and vegetables for next summer's garden, but this task is on my January to-do list.  Some of the summers seeds will be planted in the greenhouse by the end of next month.  Some will be sown directly into the soil at the end of winter.  There's something energizing about watching seeds germinate and grow.  It's just the boost one needs at the end of winter!

I spent quite a bit of time in my sewing room yesterday... working through a pile of ironing (yes, I actually love to iron... weird, I know) and making plans for a new spring dress. 

 I've had an idea in mind and the fabric is ordered, but I wanted to try a mock-up.  So, yesterday I used two bee fabrics (because I didn't have enough of just one fabric) and made this short sleeve frock for spring.  It will be comfy to wear around the farm. 

And, well, of course... bees!  

I like layering it with a black eyelet under-skirt.  Though you cannot see them, I sewed pockets into the side seam of the skirt.... and yes, my stripes match perfectly.

The fabric that I ordered is this blueberry cotton lawn (it feels like handkerchief fabric).  I have a blue eyelet underskirt that I will wear beneath it.

The coming weeks will be filled with all sorts of projects.  Hubbs is going to build tiny, wooden, gnome homes for the path through the Dragon Tree Trail.  He has lots of ideas.  I promised to help with the painting and decorating.  Our Littles will love exploring the woods looking for magical little houses!  I can hardly wait.

One project that I have been wanting to do is to build a roof over the sheep hay-feeder.  

We have very picky sheep who do not like wet hay... so building a tiny pavilion over their feeder will be a great improvement.  It will also offer them a little shade in the summer - as they love sleeping in the soft hay that drops beneath the feeder.

Our pantry re-do has been put on hold for another month, as our contractor is on a last-minute mission trip to Mexico.  When he comes home, he will need to quarantine for about two weeks.  So, mid-February will be the time frame for that project.