Six More Should Do it.

Looking in on the bees, far out in the field.

It started innocently enough.  Of course, it always does when it comes to Peter pondering the addition of another garden bed out somewhere in the yard. Sometimes he gets a bee under his bonnet and he just can't let it go! One evening while we sat out on the back porch watching the rain fall--as it does almost every evening, lately--looking out on the gentle slope where six recently planted strips of new lavender plants looked, well, a little lonely.  They needed balancing out against the backdrop of evergreen needles and deciduous leaves that reach up into the Virginia sky, It was then when heard Peter mumble to himself, "Six more should do it." "Six more of what?" I asked. "Six more strips of lavender." He was still mumbling but I heard it loud and clear.

I think he just needed an excuse to borrow our neighbor's tractor, one last time.

Standing and planting in and around the newly filled-in sand trap.

So, gone is the ol' sandtrap and neatly clipped golf green, (think the Harry Hechinger commercial from years ago when there was a Hechinger's) that was meticulously kept at just one-half inch, while other parts of the yard would be kept at two inches and other parts of the yard were clipped to three and a half inches.  Still other parts of the yard were kept at 5 inches!--Dont' ask! Really, I gave up mowing long ago as it took a schematic of the entire yard to figure out what grass should be at what length.  Besides, I'm a much better weed wacker than he is.  However, I think that was engineered as well.  But, I digress...

It's getting curiouser and curiouser.

Now, instead of green grass and sand, there are two rows of Lavandula x intermedia 'Seal', two rows of Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal', and two rows of Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence'to mirror the other side of Lavandula angustifolia 'Elizabeth', Lavandula angustifolia 'Buena Vista' and Lavandula angustifolia 'Mitcham Gray.'  Next year the hillside will be splendidly, dressed in the color purple and ribboned up in grassy green.  The mowing plan should be verrrrry iiiinteresting, I'm sure.

You can just see him sitting there thinking, "REALLY?"

Trying to figure out what all of the fuss is about.

The bees didn't seem surprised at all about yet even more lavender taking up residency here at Blooming Hill.  to them, it's the more the merrier.  
However, they wasted no time flitting from flower to leaf to bush to tree spreading the news that the Rinek's seem to have an addiction problem, of sorts. However, we prefer to think of it as a lavender collection.  The devil deer just sighed and flicked their ears at us but that wiley ol' fox who torments poor Tucker seemed slightly off balance himself, since we removed his beloved sand box far out in the field.

Twelve new rows of lavender plants added this year.  On the right, six added in May and on the left, six added just two weeks ago.  They will provide a very nice view, farther afield.

In any case, the slope looks great and you must come and see it for yourself. Going forward, we will be replacing much of the mowing with much more weeding and on the upside, much more harvesting of lovely lavender in the years to come.  As my mother used to say, "Six of one, half a dozen of the other."  Yep, six more should do it, just fine--for now.

The Month in Review (and it isn't over yet!)

Purple chairs spring out of one of our lavender beds.  They look as though they were planted there along with the lavender.

One of the photos taken by Rob Cardillo, the photographer sent by Country Gardens Magazine .  Rob placed our purple friend in the knot garden and he looks so good there, we decided that is now his new home!

June, being the month of weddings, led brides and grooms to come and pick lavender for their nuptials.  Aaahh, to be young and in love--of course, you would have to be in order to pick flowers in the middle of a very sunny, hot and humid day.

I think the bees actually posed and smiled for the camera.  I wonder how come they never do that for me?  

 A handmade quilt on display at Blooming Hill during the Lavender Festival.  Many hands make light work, or so they say.  These hands were all from one family.  Now that is a sure sign of  work made with love.

Have you ever watched the monthly sports report, "Spanning the World," from NBC sportscaster, Len Berman, where he finds some of the most unusual, wildest and wackiest sporting events that happened during that particular month?  I feel like that's the kind of thing we lived through here, although June may not have produced the wildest and wackiest of events in the world of lavender, here at Blooming Hill, but this month was all about surviving the lovely world of lavender.  Yes, I know you are sitting there thinking, "How hard can it be to survive living on a little peace of heaven surrounded by lavender and beautiful flowers?  Sometimes, it can be exhausting!  Fun and rewarding, but really exhausting!

Peter sculpting the knot garden, giving it a proper haircut at the beginning of June and getting it ready for a busy month.

All good things must come to an end but even better things will come of this one in particular.  The old golf green and sand trap, both once well used are now being transformed into future lavender beds out in the field.  "Why," you ask? I guess because P.Lorenz doesn't think we have enough to do already--hahahaha!

New beds in the forground and established beds farther afield were all in full bloom, just before Father's Day Weekend.

The knot garden perfectly coiffed and in full regalia by the middle of June.

Now--I'm not complaining but when I look back at this month of sunshine and warm to hot and humid weather filled to the brim with flowers, celebrations, weddings, graduations and Father's Day, I can honestly say that the lavender here at Blooming Hill was a part of just about everything listed above. You know how everything looks so doable, six months to a year in advance? It was just so easy to say yes to so many things and plan even more as the winter settled in and I had time on my hands to dream about summer.   Along came spring and as the month of June approached, we primped and pruned and prepared for all of the plans we made.  Yet, as the month of June approached, just glancing at the calender could make me shudder, juat a bit and, as we had anticipated, June went from zero to sixty miles per hour by day number three!

How's this for a fancy sign--just beautiful!

A tea group strolling through the lavender beds on an early June afternoon.

Sweet treats infused with lavender ready for serving at one of our June teas.

Wow!  There are a lot of people on the porch and under those tents having a meeting and enjoying tea while they are at it. This could be a scene on any given day during June, but it happened to be the Waterford Quilters Guild on this particular one. 

There were teas and talks and tours on top of painting and sketch club visits coupled with more teas and talks and tours.  The crowning touch to June was a visit from Country Gardens Magazine who did us the honor of photographing the farmlet just as the lavender was coming to peak.  After that, an opus in the form of our very first Lavender Festival, here at the farmlet, over Father's Day Weekend.

Artists from the Loudoun Sketch Club came twice this month.  Both days were extremely hot and humid but nothing seemed to deter them from their mission and love of painting throughout the property. (Not everyhting is about lavender here--almost everything--but not everything.)

Some of the artisits found shade.  Even though the sun always shines at Blooming Hill, it's nice to find a small respite under pine boughs in order to look out into the field and paint it in every shade of lavender and purple an artist can blend.

Rob the photographer and Marty the writer found every angle throughout Blooming Hill to capture in blooming still life as well.  We can't wait to see how Country Gardens Magazine interpretts the place!

That's gonna be a great picture--whatever it is that they see!

Really, I'm amazed that Peter and I are still standing! Well--we are actually now bending and crouching while picking lavender as the hottest of the hot weather approaches in the guise of July.  I might also add that July doesn't seem to express an interest in slowing down anytime soon either as we open the field on weekends for visitors to pick their own lavender.  So, the crescendo to our Blooming Hill season is still farther afield, as this year's harvest won't be totally down until the beginning of August but that, in the words of Martha Stewart, "Is a good thing!"

And then there was our first ever Blooming Hill Lavender Festival, set with vendors tents, tables and displays and even tea out on the lawn.  How very nice!

Bees Wing Cut Flower Farm brought a selection of cut flowers that blended in well with lavender and gave visitors even more beauty to take home and enjoy.

Of course, the farmlet manager (the one wearing the black fur coat) and the prodigal son were on hand greeting and assisting customers as well.  It would not have been a proper Blooming Hill affair if they had not been here.

A view of the field as you walk up the hill from the shop.

Alisa, Elena and William, lavender festival employee extraordinaires.

Have your tea here.  Have your tea there.  Have your tea anywhere at Blooming Hill.  That is
June, in a nutshell.

Eventhough June whizzed by in a flurry of activity, we are still here and looking forward to whatever may come next, planned and even unplanned.  In the end, meeting new friends and sharing with old friends at each and every Blooming Hill gathering is something that I and the lavender seem to thrive on. We don't have to span the world, globe or whatever to find something unusual or interesting or even prettier, because we have it all right here at the farmlet, where the sun always shines and the events and activities just keep coming.  Now, let me take a breather, sit down, and see what's next on the calender for July.

Another view of the field and Blooming Hill tent where visitors could learn how to weave a lavender wand, make a tussie mussie or just sit and enjoy the fragrance of lavender and the color purple.  As Alice Walker,author of The Color Purple,said in her book, "I think it pisses God off if you walk by a field of purple and you don't notice it."

Pat, (above) from the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America came to make tussie mussies with festival visitors. and Linda Sittig, (below) local author of Cut From Strong Cloth, a book about women in the textile industry during the Civil War came to share her story.  We had other vendors here, too selling their fancy vintage clothes and beautiful handmade pillows.

Even the devil deer couldn't stay away during the month of June.  He may look cute and sweet but he's going to grow up and do evil things, like eat my plants and freeload in my yard!  This one must have heard we serve our ice cream and who could resist that?

Make Room For Tea

It's always sunshine, rainbows and lot's of work to do around Blooming Hill, especially during  the springtime.

As I have often stated, its never a dull moment around here. If we are not out tending the lavender beds, we are keeping bees.  If it's not about the bees, we are probably down rearranging the shop, weeding the labyrinth or giving a garden tour. Really--it's always something.  So, what is it now???   Well after having guests here for tea almost blown off of the back porch because of gale force winds, during the farm tour, last fall, we realized that there are times when we have to find another place to serve our guests on those cold, blustery days.

The herb garden, last fall, set with tea tables.  Pretty and peaceful, but a little cramped.

The herb garden, last June.

We found just the right place, full of sunshine and calm breezes with pretty flowers and fragrant herbs always in bloom and, that place is in the herb garden. However, we were faced with the predicament of needing just a little more space there, to accomodate our guests on those days when high winds blowing through the covered porch and the brick patio make them something comparable to a zero-gravity training chamber for NASA astronauts.

First things first. The 20-year-old raised herb beds needed to be re-levelled and straightend as well, before any kind of extended terracing of the ground around them could begin.

So Peter, the resident landscape architect/arborist, came up with the idea to terrace out the herb garden area and level the ground off, without changing its original design too much, by using the trunks of black locust trees as extended borders there.   He presented the idea to me, the head gardener and chief dishwasher and, I liked his idea so we ran with it, so to speak, because nobody can run while dragging fallen tree trunks from one end of the property to the other. Why black locust trees?  Well, we have a a lot of them on the property and these particular ones were about to fall down anyway and recycling their long, straight and strong trunks for something useful was the right thing to do. Over a couple of weekends in March, the new extended herb terrace took shape.

Taking down trees is hard work.  Once they were down, then we had to drag them back up the hill and to the other side of the property.

The truck helped served as manual labor in order to get these long trunks up the hill, in one piece.

I drove the truck up the hill while Peter, following behind and seen here in the rear view mirror,  manuvered a hand truck and took up the back end of the tree.  Slowly and steadily, we got them up the hill and into place as the new extended boarders of the herb garden.

Once in place, the tree trunks had to be dug into the ground in order to hold the dirt and pea gravel  that would soon be added to level off the grassy slope.

A shorter piece of tree trunk was needed here and there, too.  It was kind of like fitting life-size Lincoln Logs together.

The new herb garden border is beginning to take shape.

A thick layer of dirt, then an even thicker layer of pea gravel raised the ground, making it even for chairs and tables.

The sloping grass covered ground between the herb garden and greenhouse is now flat and much  roomier for garden guests to enjoy.  The boxwood ring has not been harmed or changed and still balances the boxwodd ring on the side of the garden where I was standing to take this picture.

After truckloads of dirt and pea gravel were shovelled into place, the herb garden was transformed into a peaceful side terrace, still perfect for just sitting and enjoying the birds, bees and butterflies flitting about the flowers and herbs while also possibly enjoying a cup of tea.

A few tables set, just the other day for a group who visited Blooming Hill, this last week.  In spite of the April weather, guests could sit and enjoy a cup of tea without being buffeted by the  gusty winds.

Another view of the newly expanded terraced herb garden, au naturale.

What's next on  the "To Do" list???  Don't ask!   Well--maybe ask for a cup of tea instead.  And, don't forget to reserve your teatime at "Tea with Eliza Doolittle" here at the farmlet on May 20 at 1pm.  $35.00 for tea and talk.  Contact Cyndie for more details; 703-431-0779 or bloominghillva@gmail.com.

Our Burgeoning Brood of Honey Bees

We added two more apiaries for our growing family of bees.  Peter designed and built the apiaries himself.  Nothing but the best of accommodations for our bees and enough room between them to get the mower through quickly and easily.  They are a welcoming and pretty sight to see in the early spring outdoors.

Peter getting ready to introduce new bee colonies to their Blooming Hill neighborhood, a couple of weeks ago.  Getting the bees out of their delivery boxes and into the hives can be a tricky thing.

When you keep honeybees, empty-nesting is not an option, especially if your hives thrive and grow.  We have been lucky to see our brood of bees not only call our yard their home but also to multiply and need more space in order to do what they do best and that is to produce honey.

Peter kept adding more drawers to our original hive, last summer.  He knew then that he would have to build more homes for them for this year, It seemed as though we were heading for a skyscraper occupying space in the backyard.

However, being a beekeeper is not all fun and games.  There also comes the commitment of being a responsible and vigilant landlord to these aviary tenants, as well.  That means giving them good housing, lots of nutritional plants and flowers, a water source, a little peace and quiet and, above all freedom and room to let them fly--kind've like being a parent--only to a few thousand very busy and precocious toddlers, one day and temperamental teenagers, the next.

Hotel "Highrise" Blooming Hill, Summer 2014.

Everybody is scrambling out of the box and into the hive to find their place and already getting to work, just a couple of weeks ago.

Happily, as our number of bees increase, so does their buzzing and humming, exploring and gathering around our property and, our neighbors tell us that they see our honeybees, too.  Right now, the cherry trees are full of busy, happy and hard-working bees.  Everyday, something new begins to bloom, from the smallest pansy to forsythia bushes, already keeping the bees very busy from sun-up to sundown.

Peter standing at the original hive after getting all of the bees resettled, just a couple of weeks ago.  The apiary on the far right is home to a colony of bees that can be a little testy about having visitors so we approach them with more caution than ever before.

This year, we have added two more apiaries to give them sufficient room and while the last two years were a peaceful coexistance with our bee family, as they seemed somewhat docile in nature, one of the new hives could very well be described as possibly related to the likes of Darth Vadar with light saber stingers. Peter came in the other day breathing a sigh of relief, after filling up their sugar water supply and said, "This time, I only got stung once!"  That, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a good thing.

Early spring sustinance--sugar water.  Maybe the Queen in each apiary makes sure they all brush their teeth every day. 

The original hive when we brought our first colony of bees home back in 2013.

So, as we begin another year of bringing up bees, maybe we won't be sitting down to supper with them and asking how their day out in the field went or what kind of homework needs to be done but, we will enjoy listening to their daily chorus of humming voices in the garden and appreciate their time spent with us here at Blooming Hill.