Recent Entries to this Blog not gardening rocks no more!
Posted: 07 Jan 2012
wildlife garden!
Posted: 17 May 2010
long absence!
Posted: 12 Mar 2010
I'm replacing a floor... soon... really...
Posted: 02 Mar 2009
A Valentine for the Stewbies
Posted: 12 Feb 2009

All Entries
 


CritterPainter's Blog

Various ramblings of a country gal


My garden wedding 20-odd years ago

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:22 pm

DH and I met on an island when I was just 18 (a story for another time) so it stands to reason that we couldn't have anything but the most romantic wedding possible.
We decided on a summer wedding- the end of July, when some of my favorite flowers are at their peak. But where? Our little startup church was still meeting in a rented auction hall, not very romantic. Turns out a friend from that church had a very large backyard- and had always wanted a gazebo! So while I was up in the San Juan Islands, fulfilling my commitment to complete my second season of being a park aide there, my sweetie was busily helping our friend build a gazebo. He would mail me things from time to time, not just letters but a photo of the tuxedos that he and the guys were renting, and a dozen roses sent via ferryboat from San Juan island to Lopez island, where I was working. (I had to walk down the dock in my uniform to pick them up, and everyone on the boat watched me cry!). When I got back, folks were expecting a mad rush- I think there was actually some disappointment when I decided on only the fourth dress I tried on. Why not? It was perfect. And I'd dreamed since I was a little girl of a long flowing veil. So a friend of my moms, a seamstress by hobby, sewed tiny seed pearls all down the flowing length of tulle.
Most of our friends were young and broke, so we put together masses of sandwiches and salads. And another friend, a professional cake baker, gave us a great price on a very complicated cake- big enough that anyone who wanted to could take some home.
I had saved all the petals from all the flowers my sweetie had given me while we were dating, mixed them with the petals from the dozen roses, and a little girl we were very fond of threw those for us.
We were heading up the little youth group at the time, and a very talented young man and his sister performed the music. If you listen to Christian music at all, his name is Darrell Evans and he's a truly gifted guy, several albums out now and his songs often pop up on the list on Sunday morning. Very fun to see.
When we finally tore ourselves away, we left in another friends vintage Cadillac, then drove to the train station to catch a long ride to our honeymoon destination, the very romantic Bay area of California (where DH grew up, but having only once been out of my home state, seemed like another planet to me!)
Yes, the sun shone all day. And it wasn't too hot. And birds sang during the ceremony. Maybe I remember the day through rose-colored glasses, but isn't that how a garden wedding should be?

This blog entry has been viewed 716 times


My dream house

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:34 am

It would have a tiny footprint, just large enough to have room for friends around. A basement to hide my junk. With a friendly, sunny kitchen and one of those glass-surrounded laundry rooms where the garden seems to be constantly peeking in to see what I'm up to. And the birds come close, so used to my being there that they don't even startle at the sight of me. Right off that porch would be a huge knot-garden with all my herbs & veggies neatly contained in their raised beds- two or three kinds of sage, thyme and marjoram in the pathways, tomatoes in the corner beds, and rosemary flanking the three exits. A stone path would lead around either side to the front garden. The house is on a little hill, so the front garden gently slopes away toward the sunrise. It has lithodora flowing down over large rocks scattered on the hill (brought up from the river that flows past the bottom of the hill, this garden has completely stoneless soil!) and miniature fruit trees scattered around the edges- the soil is so good that they produce big healthy fruit every year. There are violets lining all the paths through this garden, and the paths are either bark or stones with Irish moss in between. Strong, healthy, aged lilacs give form to this garden, shading the house and the tiny, two-chair gazebo that is surrounded by ferns. There's a little firepit tucked away at the bottom of the slope, screened from the house by a giant oak and a scattering of rhododendrons. The pit is dug into the ground and lined with a stone mosaic set in concrete, just right for marshmallow toasting. The other bottom corner is a pond full of goldfish, in the same mosaic-pebble, and still watertight despite being build long ago. It even has a tiny island in the middle, with a glass-mosaic turtle perched on it. And weeping cherry trees scattered along the edge.
All three sides of the garden have arched gates going out- the bottom one with a forged-metal sunrise in the arch over it and honeysuckle in sunrise colors, the other two are wood with purple clematis over the northern one, and yellow climbing roses embracing the other. Outside the garden is a huge old sturdy barn, big enough for my old truck Daffodil, my riding mower, and all the tools in a rust-free environment. My painting studio is out back, and other than being heated and insulated, is identical to the one I have now. It's just a walk through the herb garden. The whole place is surrounded by a deep grove of oak trees around the outside. And of course, this house is in Camelot so it only rains at night and the sun shines every day!
There now, a nice bit of escapism as the rain comes down on my poor frost-damaged plants struggling to survive in the rocky ground!

This blog entry has been viewed 1035 times




You're reading one of many blogs on GardenStew.com.
Register for free and start your own blog today.





Archives All Entries
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006