My favorite store in town is, without a doubt, Passion Flower. To call it a florist and gift shop does it no justice. It is full of unique and fabulous gift items that you don't often see other places. Their floral arrangements are breathtaking. What I love most about this store is how I feel inspired when I walk through the doors. The design inspiration here is amazing. I love to take my time when I stop by Passion Flower so I can look at every little thing....every detail.
A couple of week's ago I notice that the Swainson's Thrush no longer were singing their melodious, melancholy song in the twilight, I noticed the crickets started their chirping which usually unnerves me as I know it signals the downhill slide of summer into autumn. And then the almost unbearable hot weather came and all thought of anything like fall or winter were far, far away. When it cooled off again, I added another blanket to the bed and put on a sweatshirt in the mornings. And then with an almost imperceptible blink it changed, that leaf that yellows and falls, the slight droopiness of the plants turning the corner from vigorous to heading for fall look, and then the great thing that happens; a marked rise in energy. This is the ability to do things that a week ago seemed to take too much thinking and work to even want to attempt, now can get done in an hour or so. I noticed in our weekly meeting everyone was coming up with great and very useful and creative ideas, and was willing to implement them. I love autumn and the new energy it brings, and acknowledge the sadness that comes when we realize that the summer we wait for was circling around into the natural rhythm of our world. Jewish New Year is in September and it seems so appropriate to me to have a new beginning when you have the energy to match it.
Posted by: Amy Daniel in pleasant hill nursery on
Aug 11, 2009
My son wrote his first blog post today. Here is a look into his morning at Pleasant Hill Nursery working with Nancy:
Last evening after dinner and as dusk was setting in, earlier than usual I might add, I went for a walk along our country road. I needed a quiet moment to clear my mind. Wandering along, I noticed the Queen Ann's Lace growing, thriving, and so extremely beautiful. This delicate plant exists and is glorious in what would seem to be the most adverse conditions, gravel against asphalt, with cars and trucks passing regularly and no water or fertilizer except what drops out of the tall boy beer and coke cans. Yet thrive it does and bloom with flowers that look like the finest lace from the north of France.
Now is the time to harvest and prune your lavender plants. What a fragrant job! For some folks this is the culmination of a year of growing and the harvest bringing in flowers, which then turn into sachets, bundles, wreaths and oils. For the home gardener it may mean filling the house with bouquets of sweet scent that will last throughout the winter as a reminder of the sunny summer days.
To prune lavender I use two tools, a hand scythe and hand hedge pruners. I harvest the flowers with the scythe and then shape
PHN Growers Blog
