Grand Olde Summertime Gardening

I am overloaded with orders and am spending most of the day chained to the sewing machine.  It's going to be another scorcher here, so it's a good thing I can stay inside!   Matt is next door staining my momma's house.    I end up most days with socks and a sweatshirt, but at least it's good for breathing easy.  The pumpkin pile is huge and growing by the day, and I will get them aged and painted on a day when it's nicer outside!  I have some more special orders to finish for Hidden Treasures, so if there's anything you want me to bring for you, drop me a line. 

 

The dry weather hasn't hurt our blueberry crop at all!   I have picked large colander fulls several times and have to pick again later today!   The raspberry bushes are also loaded.  We have had pancakes and muffins, but most of them are in the freezer. 

Matt planted a huge bed of swiss chard for me.  It's totally picking time.... Yay- I think tomorrow I will start the weekend with a yummy bacon/chard quiche.

The catnip bed and beyond.... sweet annie is in the back and limping along. 

Squash and cucumbers are a bit slower, but at least we're not having to fight the powdery mildew like we do with too much rain.  Matt brought in the first of the zucchinis and summer squash, and two overgrown pickling cukes he missed.... I hope we will have another year with "zucchini of the day".  I love getting lost in Pinterest finding new ways to make it!

 

I'm trying to decide on whether we want to go pickin for treasures this weekend, or work work work.  We love what we do, so both sound fine... Definitely an hour for Mountainview will be welcome.

 

Have the best weekend with what you have, where you are  >"<   Denise and Matt

 

 

 

Loving Life

After a heartwarming weekend at Walker Homestead, we are getting back to working in the gardens.   It's been a poor start to the growing season because of the weather.   I'm not sure I will have the amount of sweet annie I had last year, for the fall shows, but we are trying!  Hopefully it will catch up!   Silly catnip is EVERYWHERE though :-) Still need to make time for the catnip rats!    I am up to my neck in some long overdue housework!  I've been organizing my fabric and cleaning out the craft room(s) and getting prepped for the next great push.... onward to Autumn.  The list is extremely long already, but with inspiration from all my past show photos I will get it done!   Last year's Deerfield booth was a knockout and it will be hard to beat.   My road is being reconstructed which will be at least a summer long project.  They started work on it yesterday morning and our property is lined with black plastic barriers. lovely, but it will look nice when they finish...  Matthew has most of the vegetable garden planted, and I'm looking for a few things to add to it to dry for my prim shows.  The trees we had taken down should bring an abundance of sunshine.   We have some good prospects for another weekend picking trip, so Yay, that's always fun to look forward to.      Enjoy this beautiful day ~  Denise and Matthew  

Our Primitive Booth at Walker Homestead

 Well, it was another awesome show at Walker Homestead and we have not unpacked the vehicles yet, but already we are thinking ahead to fall, which is my favorite.   Our booth was jam packed with handmades and antiques, and we did quite well selling both.  We were both thankful to have the most picture perfect weather for the show!     I am taking a few days to find my house again.... show season is tough, oh wait.... it's always show season for us.  It's a good thing we enjoy what we do!  

 

some of our preserved sweet annie from last fall's harvest, and Matt's tufa planters.

 

outside our tent with some prim patriotic dolls and juicy watermelons.

 

the bucket bench stuffed with goodies.   above it our new handmades booth sign.

 

one of the back corners, with a mix of goods.

 

my favorite very heavy part of the display, onion drying racks make a great backdrop.

 

my trusty checkout stand.

 

some of our signs and boxes of ornies.... I like it better without the tree.  They all sold well.

 

the other back shady corner.

 

mostly handmades, and upcycled antiques under our new bigger Sassafras sign

 

 

front corner of the tent, looking out at Paul and Lynn Rulli's beautiful work...

 

Thank you everyone who made the journey to Walker Homestead to spend the beautiful day with us.  We came home very tired, but feeling very blessed. 

 

   

Spring and Sweet Annie

My vegetable bed looks pretty sad this time of year, but that will change quickly!

Here are a few snapshots of my newest Sweet Annie so you can see what it looks like when it self seeds...

I will have to move these once the get a bit bigger as they won't like it under my picnic table...

and below is a present from my mom.... she has at least several pots that look just like this, all self seeded. It's nice to see the Sweet Annie emerging for another year, especially when we've had a bad winter.

Random thoughts on Sweet Annie-

(Sweet Annie, Annual Wormwood, Artemisia Annua)

I’ve grown Sweet Annie for a dozen years or so, and find it to be one of my personal favorites.

It’s grown not only for the feathery foliage but also for the fragrance. (Varieties with no fragrance have also emerged.) Although an annual, it reseeds itself abundantly, generally not where one expects to find it. In many parts of the country it grows in the wild, along roadsides, and such.
Sweet Annie can quickly become a nuisance and perhaps it’s best to purchase it harvested and ready to use rather than grow it yourself. I myself use a huge amount and celebrate each and every stray seedling I find, but gardeners who like neat tidy little gardens and some farm folk friends find it to be a curse.
Sometimes it comes up painfully slow in spring time, then suddenly bursts into growth when the weather gets better. Some years it grows better than others, as do most other things. It likes well drained soil and not too much rain!
When it does emerge in the spring, it will appear as teeny little ferny things.... From the beginning they have a fragrant smell when squeezed between your fingers, which will help you to distinguish them from weeds. I let mine grow a few inches before disturbing them and then move them where I’d prefer them to grow. If they come up in a walkway, I pot them up for the time being, then transplant to the garden once they’ve grown big enough.
I grow Sweet Annie in my herb garden, and as a filler / background plant in my perennial gardens, and in every other nook or cranny I can tuck a plant into. It needs ample space (2 ft), and full to partial sun to grow to its full potential (4 ft and more). It blooms late summer or early autumn and should be harvested once the yellow blooms appear, but before blooms open fully. Allow some plants to remain in your gardens and drop seed if you’d like it to reseed.
After harvesting, tie a few stalks together and hang upside down to dry in a cool dark airy place. I spread newspaper underneath to gather any stray seed and, once dried, store the dried stalks in a large kraft paper bag to collect further seed. I also scoop up all fallen seed and stray plant materials while crafting with it and throw them outside in my gardens, in late fall, in winter (throw it right on top of the snow), or early spring.
A word of caution… For some folks, handling the plant materials or breathing the pollen may cause an allergic reaction, sometimes severe.
Sweet Annie is perhaps not the most attractive plant during the growing season, because of it’s height, and because it’s generally pretty thin at ground level, however I fill in the space around it with “garden art” if needed… a rusty watering can, a few stacked clay pots, a vintage child’s tricycle, etc.
Sweet Annie is a must-have for primitive crafters, and for floral designers. It’s perfect for dried wreaths and swags, to tuck into Christmas stockings or primitive seedbags, to tie onto primitive soaps or candles, or simply to wrap your doll’s arms around.
Other favorite I like to dry and use with Sweet Annie include, but are not limited to, Queen Ann’s Lace, Sage, Tansy, and wild Rosehips.