My garden has exploded in flowers. I sowed sunflower seeds for the first time in several years, and I feel joy every time I look out the window to see their lemony yellow petals and their happy faces turning toward the sun. As the sunflowers bloom, so do all of the coneflowers — black eyed Susans, echinacea, white coneflowers, and all the other colors we have in the garden.
I’ve been trying all week to get photos, but every time I’ve gone out, the sun was too harsh and all my photographs were too contrasty and glarey. I got one photo of the sunflowers and a blue sky, but most of the other photos weren’t great. Yesterday I took advantage of overcast skies to try to get some shots that show off the colors and profusion of blooms. July is hot, but the flowers are pretty.
Lemon queen sunflowersRudbeckia with calamint, white coneflowers, allium, and Russian sageMagenta coneflowersBack gardenFirst orange cosmo from seeds I sowed a while back. I’ve been waiting ages for them to finally bloom.White coneflowersGoldenrod beginning to bloomLemon petalsRudbeckiaCommon milkweedSunflowers and prairie flowersHydrangea and prairie flowersFrom the prairie gardenEchinaceaLemon queens and blue sky
I stepped onto the back porch with my coffee this morning to enjoy the cool air. The past two days, the sun blazed hot, and the muted gray morning was a welcome reprieve from the heat.
As it usually does, looking out over the garden led to walking down the stairs to be in the garden. We’re in the time of year now where everything green is bursting forth. Early summer flowers are starting to bloom, bunnies nibble on tender shoots, ornamental grasses are coming in, slender and graceful, and even though it’s not even June yet, I saw my first caterpillar of the season this morning. Things are starting to get good in the garden.
Hello bunny!Blue fescue grass in bloomFirst caterpillar of the season: swallowtail caterpillar on rueBlue fescue in bloomMilkweed 1 returningMilkweed 2 returningMilkweed 3 returningI’ve been waiting for the swamp milkweeds to re-emerge; only 3 of 5 came backScabiosa flowerJethro Tull coreopsis flowerYarrow and salvias in bloom
Late April is a time of year where things start happening in the garden, but slowly. I walk the garden every day and can see small changes – a new leaf, or one bud in scores opening up. I was eager to leave town for a week because I knew the garden would make noticeable progress by the time I came home. When I returned, the night was dark and I couldn’t see. But when the sun rose the next morning, I was not disappointed: the grass is lush and green, the yarrow is filling in, the salvia is blooming, tulips have opened by the mailbox, and the columbine I planted last year finally bloomed. I’m happy to be home again.
Pink columbineTulip and salviaBurgundy columbinePurple columbineSalvia and tulip
The outdoor Cours Saleya market square smells like flowers and fresh air. If you’re ever in Nice, look for Marché aux Fleurs Cours Saleya (Cours Saleya flower market)– it can be hard to Google in English for “Nice”… anything. Make sure to bring cash if you want to buy from the market vendors. To limit my spending, I purposely did not get cash and opted to bring home photographs instead. Now I wish I had some of the soaps, teas, and truffle oil, though.
The dried flowers were possibly my favoriteLavender and wheat?This flower stall smelled like heavenPretty soaps ThymeBeautiful dried bouquetsFresh orangesZucchini flowersThese tomatoes were unbelievably redView from street level at one end of the marketMake your own story for this one
One week ago, I left home to travel for work for the first time since I rejoined Automattic in November of 2019. We are a fully distributed company, meaning we are distributed around the world, with no central offices — we all work from our homes and co-working spaces. The way we get quality in-person time together is by traveling 2-3 times a year for meetups.
When I returned to the company, I was excited I’d get to see people again who I’d become friends with through work, but who live in different states, countries, and continents from me. Then, of course, Covid happened.
Last weekend, on my way to my first meetup since I came back to Automattic, I traveled to France via a 24 hour layover in England. Despite using two different London airports for the journey, I did not see London at all. Instead, a friend from Automattic who I haven’t seen in six years picked me up from Heathrow and drove me to his cottage in Hammerwich, where I finally got to meet his wife and children. When we got out of the car after the two-hour drive, I was amazed by how fresh and clean the air was. I’ve never smelled anything like it, even in autumn in the mountains where I live.
I’d never been to England before, and when Ben asked me if there was anything I wanted to do while I was there, I told him I wanted to hang out in their garden, chat with them all, and go for a walk and enjoy spring. We did all of that, and we drank tea, and we all looked for flowers and tried to identify them. We walked through the countryside where properties are lined with hedges of holly or hawthorn or various other plants, and the hedges are gentle and a part of the landscape. They’re green and full of birds and wildlife, and I now think everyone should adopt hedges instead of fences. We ate a proper Sunday roast with roasted veggies, and Becky showed me how to make Yorkshire pudding. We talked about books, the kids showed me their flower press and then pressed flowers from the garden, we played laser tag, and their smallest even let me read him a bedtime story.
I had a short visit, but a lovely one.
Becky’s tulipsForget-me-notsBluebellsWildflowers in the cemeteryApple blossoms
My upper body can’t shovel another crumb of dirt. I tried to clean up the rest of the mulch today and my left shoulder pretty much said, No, No more of that. I put the pitchfork and wheelbarrow away.
I’m curious what the gardens look like of people who actually know what they’re doing. There’s a horticulture garden on the Virginia Tech campus, just a couple miles away from our house. I have a Fitbit again, and after four days of it gushing how great I am with all the gardening exercise, I couldn’t stand to have a day without it buzzing to tell me I’ve broken yet another record. So I grabbed my camera and went for a walk.
The cherries and Bradford pears are blooming, so there are soft pink and white petals everywhere. The light was a little flat today and I didn’t get great photos of them along the way to the horticulture garden. But once I arrived, everything I wanted to photograph was close to the ground and didn’t require shooting the sky, and all the flowers are adorable, and I felt like I was in a fairy forest.
Hellebore I think? Also known as Lenten Rose?I don’t know what these purple flowers are, but I love themGrape hyacinthAgain with the purple flowers, I love themI don’t know what these star flowers are either but they’re super cuteSee the robin on the right? Robins are funny. The hop hop hop along.Cherry blossoms (I think? I always think the pink ones are cherries, but I don’t really know anything)These trees with cascades of pink petals are everywhere on campus, and they are gorgeousLittle white violet by the duck pondHellebore budTiny grape hyacinth treesPurple flowers on a leafy floorCherry blossomsForget me nots? Cherry blossoms and Canada geeseCute blue flowers
Butterfly Mind 