A garden drama

This morning I started weeding at 7:30. It felt great to be out that early. It was quiet and calm. Perfect conditions for a hunter cat like Bear. All I heard was a furious fluttering and then I jumped up and saw him pinning the robin to the ground. I shouted at him and he looked at me long enough to let the maimed bird get one foot off the ground. Then Bear licked his teeth and sprung up like he was on a pogo stick. The bird went down in a mess of feathers. I felt awful about the bird, but then I thought of his would've been worm breakfast.

Check Out These Puppies

Dogwood, columbine, corral bells, euphorbia, and snowball vibernum meet and here's what you get.

Secret Gardens

Guerilla Gardening, now here is a concept. This Brit took neglected public space by storm and organized moonlight gardening. I love the idea. I can just imagine Londons dry scrappy curb sides transforming into brightly planted beds while the pubs crawl and the double decker buses gas up for morning commuters. How about strawberry hot air balloons? Maybe I'll give away more bouquets, but this time at night on doorsteps.

Why Bother, from The New York Times

Michael Pollan sums up his article perfectly in the last sentence. "The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world." Read it if you have time, it's wonderful. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20wwln-lede-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3

A Monarch Meal

The Lilac bushes are twenty or so feet tall and wafting. In teams we pull their limber trunks down and someone cuts the blooming branches. Brit and Chris and Martha and I started Sunday at 7:30 in the morning. The days got so hot suddenly. The lilacs burst open. Into the basement they go to stay cool. I don't like cutting through someone's table in the middle of his breakfast, but these guys eat and fly. Lilacs don't last as long as some cut flowers but the smell is worth the few days you get, everyone says it reminds them of their mother or their childhood. Its just one of those things.

First Bouquet Delivered

June 2nd marks the first day of my weekly delivery business, but in the mean time I'm taking small orders, like this birthday bouquet. Dogwood, Barberry, Caria, Hellebore, Tulip and Oregon Grape.

A Smoky May Day

Today we got back in the lower field and planted 15 buckets of Dahlias and a bucket of Lilies. The Dahlias are dug up each year so they don't freeze, they are huge corms the size of soccar balls almost. Meghan and Martha and I double dug the rows and pulled out what was left of the grass weed, but there always seems to be more. The forest next door has been plowed for building houses, a new development is in the air. They are burning the piles of brush and stumps where a few months ago trees stood. The smoke blew through on the wind. Martha and I starting talking about politics and what wins out the mind or emotions. Her blood temperature rose and she was on tip toe while I stood my ground that emotion wins out. "Get your facts, there are facts, get the facts!" she screamed. It was a good healthy day on the farm.

Farming with Martha and Meghan

Meghan made it out to the farm to work, the few weeks before she goes to Alaska. We got the rest of the rows in the lower field weeded, the Crocosmia and Echinacea. Martha rototilled. We moved the Scabiosa and Lupines that we didn't want to til over. Many of the Echinacea had been chewed by the gophers, only their green tops left. Sassy, our farm terrior, spent the afternoon digging holes in the rows looking for the rodents. In the kitchen while we drank water we watched a fly get stuck in a daddy-longlegs web, watched her 8 legs spin the fat black fly into the white woven package. Back and forth we watched the grace and speed of the spider against the flys' constant buzz and struggle. The gophers and the bulbs, the terrior, the spiders and the flies, I love this balance.

The Cards Arrive- What a Proud Day.

What it says: Renee's Bouquets are local, organically grown flowers from Parkdale Oregon.
Our mission is to produce affordable flowers delivered weekly to businesses and residents
in NW and SW Portland. The monthly rate is $60.00 for 4 Mondays, or $30.00 for two.
Service begins in June and continues through October.
To begin service call Amy Gray at 503-530-0398 or email amyreneegray@netscape.com
and check the blog (clearly you got this far) for weekly updates on what's happening on the farm.