Finished Planting... Maybe

I believe that I can say now, with certainty - the planting is finished!  I made my last trip to my local greenhouses yesterday when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to plant the window box on the front of Maven Haven.

Goodness me... that's like arriving at High Tea without a hat!  

A few other plants may have followed me home as well (they always do... like stray cats!)

When I had finished planting, 

it occurred to me that the front bunny gate needed a fresh coat of white paint.  I ran to the barn to get the paint and brush and tackled that job immediately.

Everything was looking spiffy - ready for summer. 

 Standing there, enjoying her flower gardens, I thought back to last spring and summer, with its cacophonous soundtrack provided by Cicada Brood X!  

How lovely it is to have peace and quiet... just birdsong, buzzy bees, and the soft melodic tinkling of metal wind chimes filling the air. 

 Of course we cannot forget the soft grunts of pigs happily napping just over the fence from where I was working!

Finding myself without my camera, I told the dogs to stay - that I would be right back, and I headed back to the house in the gator.


There they waited, resting in the grass nearby while I snapped a few photos to share with you.

 What good friends!


In front of the shed is a cottage garden with perennials 

that will provide color until the frosts of next winter arrive. 

Blooming, now, in the cottage garden are Columbine,

Spiderwort,

and Baptisia.

It won't be long before the peonies open - the ants are hard at work!  It is actually a myth that ants help the flowers to open.  Peonies will open as normal without the presence of ants.  What is actually happening, is:  the peonies provide nectar for the ants and the ants provide protection from non-beneficial insects such as aphids.  How to cut peonies to bring in the house without the ants?  Cut them very early in the morning while the dew is heavy - the ants will not have arrived yet.  Also, you can hold the blossom upside down by the stem and give the stem a few taps just above the blossom.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from an editor at Country Woman Magazine telling me that Maven Haven would be featured in an upcoming issue of their magazine. (Although the following photo makes the interior look quite spacious - it is not.  It is about 10 ft. by 10 ft... just big enough for me and a visitor.)

 I had sent a few photos, to the magazine, at some point in the past (I have no idea how long ago) and they were going to use them.  They had a question as to who the kitty was who was visiting the shed when I took the photos.  It was dear old departed Griz.  (I smiled, with a tear in my eye - remembering this snotty old love-of-a-stray cat.)

How sweet that he will be immortalized in print!

Comments

daisy g said…
I always learn something from your stories. Great to know about the peonies and the ants. Griz lives on! Congrats on having your homestead in a magazine. I'll have to look for that one.

Enjoy all of the lovely blooms surrounding you!
How relaxed your fur babies look. Your haven certainly looks to be just that!
I did not know that about ants and peonies. Dothey do that for other flowers as well?
Do you know what month's issue your Maven Haven will be issued?
Beautiful flowers and what a sweet bunny fence!
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i laughed when i saw the title of your post before i even opened it. i can't tell you how many times i say i am done planting. plants are so addictive! then, i was reading your blog and saw the bee chain and thought, i wonder where bev got that. and it hit me that i made it! haha! congrats on getting your shed in the magazine. it certainly belongs in one!
Dee J. Hartman said…
As always, they're better than any game or toy-
Yes, your words and photos are such a great joy!
. . . You're an educator, I've learned so much, too,
-From your blogs, new things that I never knew!
Happy to hear that Griz will be seen
In an upcoming feature in a great magazine!
I'd love for the whole world to know of your blog
Perhaps more fans will want to view it and log
on to your "gem", when this magazine's "out."
They will want to sign up, I'm sure, without doubt!
For it's a great joy to view, both days or nights
Bee Haven, Maven Haven are such great delights!
Marcia LaRue said…
As always, your flower pictures are simply beautiful! The Maven Haven is such a cute and cozy little escape site ... it's your own little She Shed!
Thank you for another wonderful start to my day!!
Lynne said…
Beautiful post . ..
Love your “haven” . . .
Now, with everything planted, maybe
you can find time to sit there, to knit
and listen to the sweet sounds from your surroundings.
I looked and looked and couldn’t find Griz!
Love your two “stand by waiting” friends!
Bee Haven Bev said…
Griz was in the photo that I had sent to the magazine.
This N That said…
You are finished with planting like I am done with tweaking LOL..
The Maven Haven looks great..Congrats on being published again..Too cool!!
Awww ..dear Griz...an accidental tribute
Nice that we don't have to listen to Cicadas again..
Love the bunny planter..
Hope you are having a good week !!
I couldn't find Griz in the picture but I sure do remember that sweet kitty of yours. All your flowers look so beautiful....you always do such a great job with all the flowers. I'd like to sit by those pups and just enjoy your beautiful yard. Love the sign ...."Always music in the garden!"