A Love Affair to Remember

P.Lorenz and son, at it again with pea gravel.

Digging out a small patio at the back of the shed.  

It's not like I have to check out the "Ashley Madison" website or anything but, I was a little shocked when, last Saturday evening, while spreading more pea gravel in a small area behind the shop he cleared to serve as an intimate seating area for those who come and want to enjoy a little Blooming Hill lavender ice cream, P. Lorenz proclaimed, "I think I'm having a love affair with pea gravel!"  Both the prodigal son and I laughed at that and then we started thinking and naming all of the garden projects that Peter finishes off with pea gravel, especially in the last year or so, here at Blooming Hill.  It suddenly wasn't funny anymore--it was true!  Come to think of it--he also likes to recycle fallen tree trunks for things, too--another love affair that could go down in history

Emptying load after load of pea gravel into this space takes some muscle.

Not to thick and not too thin but, just right.

Even the dog is getting into the act.  Of course, he thinks he's the supervisor and has to check everything out for quality control reasons and can always provide an alibi, if need be.

I suppose it could be worse.  Some husbands go to the race track and gamble away all of their money while others find solace heading for the local bar after work. (Yes, I know, many wives, do these things too and, all seem to be perfectly content!)  But, for better or worse--and really it's all good--my husband seems to have a fixation with pea gravel and it is happening right under my nose and happily, with my approval.

A view from a different angle.  This fall and next spring will see the addition of deer resistant plants to surround this little patio.  Deer resistant-maybe in a perfect world, but here's hoping!!!

It always helps to have someone with a cast iron back and well-oiled knees to work in the garden.  That angel may be pretty but she's also heavy and we don't want to break her heart, among other things.

We use pea gravel in walkways, garden borders, our labyrinth and lavender beds to hold down weeds and give definition, color and texture change to the landscape plan. It is economical as well as nice looking for high traffic areas as well as garden beds filled with dense clay soil that can easily hold on to too much moisture for plants, like lavender, that call for dry roots, even though they do like a little drink of water, now and then.  Pea gravel allows the lavender roots a little more air and draws the sun down into the ground, then reflecting the light back up through the plant thereby encouraging healthy flower production.  It is also easy to walk on and knows it's place, by not falling out of walkways and spilling over ledges.

Working into the night.  This gives new meaning to "Honey, I won't be home for supper. I have to work late."

Not quite "midnight at the oasis" and there are no camels anywhere to be seen.  Just a few nosy devil deer,  as always, lurking about and waiting their turn to inspect the finished pea gravel path and patio after everyone has gone to bed.

When I think about it, even the prodigal son, seems to have been bitten by this bug called pea gravel, as I look back through the years where he helped spread the "love" throughout the property. I now realize that this is not just a passing fancy but a lifelong obsession and, dare I say it, I think it's genetic (running on the Rinek side--not my side of the family, to be sure) with no cure in sight.

No, dinner is NOT being served down here tonight!

I think I like this love affair with pea gravel.

Ahhhh welllll, since they like spreading pea gravel, I guess I just have to think up a few more garden projects for P.Lorenz to further explore his passion.  Hmmmmmmm, maybe somebody, should get a hold of peagravel911.com!

"Writing From The Heart"

We had the good fortune of hosting a group of dedicated women writers here at Blooming Hill, yesterday.  They were led by Lisa Colburn and Sue McCollum, both certified Amherst Writers who lead and facilitate, among other local to international writing programs, one called "Writing From The  Heart." I had attended this series of writing sessions a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. What was every bit as nice, was that this group decided to visit Blooming Hill for some floral inspiration and thirteen wonderful women came to explore the gardens here and use the lavender, flowers and herbs as prompts to open their hearts, spur their creativity and write beautiful poetry and prose.  They came at 1:30 in the afternoon and sat as a group to share with each other their written observations, imaginings and memories.  After serving them tea, I joined in the closing session where we were "prompted" to write a short piece entitled "She Wore Flowers In Her Hair."

Having suffered from writer's block more times than I care to count, at any given time through years of writing and journaling, I surprised myself and wrote the following entry in only10 minutes.  While I was reading it to the group, I was even more surprised to find myself getting a bit emotional over this little patch of land I call home.  I've always thought I had sort of a love-hate relationship with this place--and sometimes, the grass really does look greener anywhere else but here, as in when I'm weeding, it's hate but, when I'm picking the flowers and savoring the sights of beautiful lavender, it's love. Yesterday, I found out that it really is all about blooming where I am planted and truly appreciating the beautiful surroundings of Blooming Hill.  So, whether you think the following passage is good, bad or you are totally indifferent to it, this is what I wrote....

"She Wore Flowers In Her hair"

Although she really was not aware of them and, you really can't see them, they are there, alright, as she wore flowers in hair.  They came from her garden she tends day in and day out--getting down on her knees to till, weed, water and dig.  Pulling a plant here and planting one there, she reached for the relentless weeds, spent leaves and broken twigs elbowing their way through the blooms and, as she reached into the tangle, her head touched every leaf and petal that she passed.  Or, did they touch her? She hoped they loved her as much as she loved them and, if they don't, she prefers to think that they do, faithful as they are, returning year after year while calling this place home just as she does.

Even as this growing season draws slowly to it's inevitable close, the zinnias and dahlias remain steadfast while the roses and asters are valiant in their battle against powdery mildew and shifty snails.  The geraniums will prevail until the first frost and the mums arrive to bolster every flower's courage.  The lavender, oh, the lavender will also bloom until the frost, if only a little, as their season was before high summer arrived, but that is their calling. In the meantime, the sun will rise and fall and rise over and over and she will walk through the garden everyday, in good weather and bad, pulling and planting and picking and she will wear flowers in her hair and in her heart.

            It is my hope that you, too have a flower(s) to wear in your hair and in your heart!.

High Summer Royalty

It's the end of July and it's hot and humid and hot! High summer holds the earth firmly in its grasp and, while plump red tomatoes dangle off their vines like chandeliers and frilly Annabelle hydrangeas show off their curly tresses to the begonias languishing in the shade,  high summer also extends far beyond the vibrant borders of the well-tended garden.  Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) holds court in the hillsides, meadows and along the dusty roads.  Her footman, chicory, (Cichorium intybus) seems to be always at her side, helping to lead the parade of hot weather wild flowers and sublime weeds.

Her lacey majesty, "the queen" also graces hedgerows and fenceposts and  stands delicately tall and elegantly fragile among her tangled court of long grass and bowing branches ladened down with attending leaves.  Queen Anne seems just as at home in low wet areas as she is in very dry surroundings--well, of course--she's the queen! 

Chicory supplies the sky-blue buttons to her majesty's airy gown, providing just the right amount of warm weather drama capable of capturing the eye of even the most casual of passersby, These two wildings wait with supreme confidence to be plucked and gathered into a bouquet of colorful blossoms and greenery, artfully arranged in a beautiful vase with those of the more gentile sort, like dahlias and zinnias.

Surprising as it seems, neither of these wild beauties are native to North America, travelling here with the Europeans and taking up residency in the late 1600's and early 1700's. Both are edible, while Queen Anne's Lace has often been regarded as a medicinal herb, helping in the aid of digestive disorders, we all know that chicory can be an alternative to coffee. Now, well established into the American countryside, they both seem quite at home, as though they have been here since the beginning of time.

It has been said that Queen Anne's Lace was so named after Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary while another legend holds that she was named for one or the other of the two Queen Annes in the Stuart line of ancient Great Britain as both loved to tat lace.  In either case, this royal wilding was and is also referred to as wild carrot. (Although there really is a wild carrot plant out there and is easily confused  with Q.A.L.) Just pull some Queen Anne's Lace flowers and stems and then notice the smell of fresh carrots and yes, the roots are edible, just like carrots.

On the other hand chicory, sometimes known as the coffee plant, is a member of the sunflower family and each flower on its stiff stem is only open for a day. Yes, it is an edible weedy wildflower and can be roasted and ground as an additive to coffee or used as a coffee substitute for a slightly different taste. Among other things, Thomas Jefferson used this as a cover crop in his fields to feed his livestock, as many a farmer has done over the last couple of hundred of years here in the United States, too.

Both of these regally royal darlings, while beautiful and proud, during high summer until frost, are now considered by many to be terribly invasive so, do be careful should you want to sprinkle a little seed in your own garden beds, for one day you may find yourself having to overthrow this floral monarchy or conduct your own war with the roses!



     

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?