These socks were knit from yarn that I dyed last summer with Tansy and Bee Balm (Thank goodness for the blog. I can't find a written record of what I used.) They have a rather Alice in Wonderland feel to them, like something that might be worn by the Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, even the caterpillar, or Alice herself.
Are those short rows in the corner of the hay field?
While my garden is looking a bit ragged aside from threadleaf coreopsis and a few others, friends of mine who live just on the other side of town's gardens are flourishing. They have a considerably longer frost-free growing season, more fertile and less rocky soil, warmer nights than we do, and far fewer deer. Oh...and unlike me, they actually water their gardens. Who knew? Plants NEED water to grow!
I once cut a quote out of an old issue of Garden Design magazine that goes, "I love the Alice in Wonderland feeling of looking up at tall, exciting plants." I agree, but too bad they aren't growing that way in my garden this year. So, while our plants are looking very, very small, my friends' plants grow VERY, VERY BIG. While my zinnias and coreopsis are repeatedly being munched down to the ground by the deer and their new fawns, theirs are either swaying beautifully in the wind or needing to be tied up to keep from toppling over. AND THEY COMPLAIN!? "The seed packet said these were only supposed to be 12" tall so I planted them in front of the border and now look at them, hiding the other flowers behind them."
Luckily, I can step down the rabbit hole any time I choose when I want to immerse myself in their wonderland gardens...and bring the spoils home with me: pictures, inspiration, veggies, flowers. The basil, crookneck squash, and corn are just a small part of what we were sent home with today from a good friend's garden. While I was getting the garden tour, the boys played with toys and snacked on cherry tomatoes from the greenhouse and carrots they dug from the garden. For dinner tonight we had freshly picked corn on the cob and pasta with pesto made with cashews (no cheese, for C's sake. We sprinkled it on top afterwards, and he sprinkled on nutritional yeast.) Our centerpiece was wild sunflowers picked along the roadside on our way home, quite literally shoved into a canning jar.
