The Garden at Christmastide

It's been cold, but stuff's still growin. Bloomin even. But so slowly.
It's very cool to garden, of so slowly, in winter.

Snow (Symbolic)

There's not been much new at the Patch. There's been snow and cold so things are slow to grow and change. Still, I love the dark time of the year.

I'll try to get to the Patch this weekend and see what has transpired....

This is the first video post on the blog. The sound is live, and thus crappy (as in, there really isn't any sound, just the street noise the microphone captured, which is sound, I guess, the sound of a snapshot). But who cares.

The video is here symbolizing the snow and cold of the season (and lack of gardening).

I explain too much....

Mother said....

According to Mom, these are Johnny Jump Ups. Of or related to the Pansy and Viola. Thanks, Mom (and the internet).

Clover Close Up

The crimson clover seeds I scattered have sprouted. My cover crop is coming right along. These guys will be turned into the soil in the spring to become "green fertilizer."

Winter greens

Picked today. It was a sunny day in the garden.

Written on the Garden

There is work to do in a garden in winter, but there is also time for other garden-related pursuits. Blogging and poetry for instance. What follows is culled from the Bluegreenpurple Marbled Journal, which diligently makes the trek to Greg's Garden with me each weekend, and crafted into something of a foundblogpoem. I'd like to acknowledge J-Rock, her MySpace page, and her work with ssas, for inspiration.

Ten Five Oh Seven
P(ea) Patch Meeting
garden shed lock combination
spin numbers to lock

Eleven Four oh Seven
@ the P-Patch
* weeded
* clover sewn
FUTURE VISITS:
1. Scissor
2. Go to storage for tools
3. Come back soon
Jesse called
Sunshine
although now I need rain

Eleven Ten Oh Seven
The Patch
So beautiful but city sirens
lots of people
walking by
theorganicgarden
next to the supergrocery
* weeding
* mulched pansies (Johnny Jump Ups)
* Minor tending
WE HAVE GERMINATION
There will be crimson clover
There was Beautiful sun
part of the time
even as I sat in slight grey
and cooler

Ask mother....

Are these pansies?

Denizen II: Calendula

A bloom in November....

The State of the Patch

The seeds I scattered two weeks ago are sprouting!  My crimson clover cover crop looks good. You can see it starting to come in.  The chard (center) just keeps coming up and the calendula (foreground) bloom on.

Denizen: Strawberry

These guys are refugees from neighboring patches. Still, they have found sanctuary. You can also see my clover seeds germinating, if you look really close.

Denizen: Lettuce

Salad, anyone?

Denizen: Swiss Chard

The photographs for the Denizen series were taken Saturday, Nov. 10th, 2007.

Denizen: Pansies

These are minis. I moved the little guys into one clump at the front of the bed. Pansies are one of Mom's favorites.

Denizen: Calendula

The plants in these next few posts are the "left-overs" from the gardener before me. The Calendula was so pretty (and happily growing) that I couldn't bear to dig it up. I am a sucker for a pretty bloom.

I know I want

I know I want to keep a blog of my new garden. I know I want to maximize my personal use of technology. I know I want it to look good. I know I want to garden. I know I want to take the bus. I know I want to express myself. I know I want to be disciplined. I know I want to change.

To begin with....

October, it would seem to me, is an unusual month to begin gardening. But my Real World journal records Oct. 5th as the first day I set foot in my P-Patch and I have been actively gardening since.

This first photo shows the Garden's Gate and sign. All photos in this blog (unless otherwise noted) are taken by myself of friends with my camera phone. I like the snap-shot quality.

The next photo is from the first week in October, right after I got the garden. I have removed several spent plants (tomatoes and squash) left by the previous gardener and weeded. Weeding is always a great theme of gardening.

It's strange and spooky being able to grow and harvest at this time of the year. Mostly I intend to do soil building, but there were several things that were clearly happy, so I left them where they were growing. We'll see what they look like in the coming weeks.

And there was a clump or two of mini pansies (I moved them all together to the front). Mom loves pansies. And Calendula, which is new to me but lovely and fun.