Wishing you courage

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow'."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Next year I'm going to follow the recommendations for seed spacing. It's become very crowded in the garden!

Here is the layout of my gardens (replanting the lawn that died during the drought has clearly not been a priority). At the bottom left of the photo are watermelon plants (they are not doing so great); at the bottom right is a corner of the pumpkin patch; the vegetable garden is ahead and the butterfly garden is across the path from that, right next to the house. This photo was taken last weekend and already the vegetable garden is MUCH LARGER!


Here's Sasha kitty checking to see if the catnip seeds planted in the pot grew, something grew but I don't think it is the catnip :( Also pictured are romaine and red leaf lettuce, green onions, lemon cucumbers (caged on the left), tomato stalks with basil and parsley.

This photo was taken at the end of May before the cucumbers went through their growth spurt. The path is covered with vines right now and the tomatoes are 6 feet tall. When designing the garden I had visions of gracefully and leisurely walking down the path, picking ripe vegetables; it's more like playing Twister right now as I avoid stepping on plants!

The plants from last year in the butterfly garden are getting really big but the seeds I planted have been very disappointing. I don't know why they did so poorly. It's hard to see what's going on in this photo so I guess it's included here more for me. The first blooms on the purple butterfly bush are there, but are lost in a dark spot; I added two pinwheels and I like the shining movements they provide - makes the garden feel less lonely.


This butterfly chime is new.


Here's a photo of the stone added to the garden this year. Chokes me up still.


.........................

It's not been awesome in my headspace lately. I swear I'm not purposefully making things hard for myself or doing things to slow down my progress in therapy. Therapist 2 suggested I pretend like I feel like being alive to see if that intention will turn into reality. Ok, but I'd still prefer if therapy would just lead to ACTUALLY feeling better.

I head West in a few days and I'm nervous to see my family because I don't want them to know how poorly I've been doing. The name of the game will be to keep them doing the talking!!! I am eager to see the desert and maybe I can arrange a trip to the Pacific Ocean but overall getting excited enough for the trip to actually make progress in preparing to go has not happened - I arrive in Phoenix on Thursday and will end up in Anaheim during the weekend where I'll stay until Wednesday.

I used to love to travel.

10 comments:

Ya Chun said...

you can thin some of the plants - it's good to overplant seeds in case they don't germinate! And veggie gardens are NEVER neat and tidy - but they're yummy! Everything looks great. Isn't it exciting to see your food grow?

Love the butterfly chime and the stone. Great idea to have the pinwheels.

Hope your kitty gets some catnip soon.

**

Hopefully your family WILL see some of what is going on with you - you have had the WORSE year imaginable. It's amazing that you have a beautiful garden, that you can take a trip.

Reba said...

i agree with ya chun...the chime and the stone are just awesome.

i have a couple of nice, sturdy pinwheels in my memory garden. they're way off to the right in the pics i posted recently. i got them at a place called uncommon goods last year, but i'm not sure if they have them anymore.

Sophie said...

The butterfly garden is looking beautiful. The stone is lovely. I have one that says Jordan Legg on it which VSK organised. It's in her potted tree. I'd love one like yours too.

Poppies work well from seeds. They have taken over Jordan's garden, but they fill in the gaps so very nicely. I can't wait till they bloom.

I hope seeing your family is peaceful for you.

xx

Sophie said...

The butterfly garden is looking beautiful. The stone is lovely. I have one that says Jordan Legg on it which VSK organised. It's in her potted tree. I'd love one like yours too.

Poppies work well from seeds. They have taken over Jordan's garden, but they fill in the gaps so very nicely. I can't wait till they bloom.

I hope seeing your family is peaceful for you.

xx

still life angie said...

Your garden is gorgeous. That stone choked me up too. What a beautiful quote. And your jizo is just stunning.

Good luck on your trip and travels. So hard to muster the energy to be in close proximity with people for days. That one causes me anxiety up the wazoo.

With much love.

Meg said...

hope your trip goes well. beautiful gardens.

Sara said...

Garden looks great. I have a few things that up and died and I just shrugged. Whatever!

Hope your trip is as good as it can be. *hugs*

R said...

The stone in your garden is so sweet! I hope the trip goes well for you!

Anonymous said...

I love the quote written on the stone in your garden. How true it is that the immense love we had for our babies couldn't keep them with us. I hope that you will feel better soon..

hugs.

Monica said...

Awesome - I will be looking to you for inspiration for the rectangular patch that is our yard. Love the pictures!