Getting Ready for Guests

We are having over night guests for the weekend and we need to make the house ready-- and Stirling is "helping", can't you tell?!

Will's cousin and her family arrive from Dubai by way of a wedding in Richmond, VA for a quick visit to DC. 

They have never been to DC and so we have a whole list of "must sees" for them.  Not sure how much they will be able to do, since there is a 1 1/2 year old and Will's cousin is pregnant.  Plus, the weather isn't cooperating too well: we have had 4 straight days of rain.  Fingers are crossed that we actually see the sun when they are here. 

Some Things Never Change

In searching for old family photos for a big birthday party coming up, Andrew sent me this photo of William, who is about 15 here, and digging in the dirt. Some things never change!

Fig Tree is Full!

Ohhhhhhhh Fiona.....  wanna come visit in another 3 weeks?  We will have plenty to go around!

Grapes of Wrap

The grape vines are back and going strong!  Lots of little clusters of grapes are forming and the vines are reaching out for anything and everything.


Hopefully this year we will actually get more grapes-- I think that birds got more than we did-- and that they can actually ripen on the vines. We had only red grapes last year, though we did plant both green and red.  The red vine has again taken off this spring, hopefully the white one will catch up. 

Delicious

 "Hi, my name is Spud. Okay, not really, but that is what my mommy calls me.  I am hanging out in Aunt Mim's yard.  Mommy and Mim and chatting, ignoring me.  I am hungry."

 "All around me is this lush green stuff...I see my sister Luna eating it.  Hmmm....."

 ".... I wonder what it tastes like.  She is always eating something from the ground, so it *must* be delicious.  So let's try it!"

 "Hmm, a bit stringy... peaty..."

 "....with hints of nitrogen."

"I think it's delicious! You should try it!"

Garden Update

Time to check with the garden!  We have lots of new growth and think that the seedlings were very successful this year-- thanks to Will's new grow light.

Down in the Victory Garden, we have Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, lettuce, melons, peppers, and, of course, the rhubarb. We erected a make shift fence from stakes so Stirling doesn't go charging into it in an attempt to play with the neighbor's dog across the alley (and by "play", I mean bite the dog in a mauling sort of way.  Ahem).  The rhubarb itself is quite impressive, with a center stalk about 6 feet tall now.  It is going to seed and we aren't sure what to do, as you will recall.  We are afraid to cut it down, since the last time we did, the plant died.  We definitely need a professional gardener's advice on this one. 

Brussels sprouts (dark green leafy thing), lettuce (small green leaves at the bottom), and tomatoes

melons and peppers

King Rhubarb

In the upper garden, we have celery (which overwintered quite well!), Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, rhubarb, carrots, melons or squash, chard, basil, oregano, and our first attempt at asparagus.  We think at all the stalks are up now and we have to mound them up.  The stalks are all spindly and have furry arm-like branches. We plan on burying them over the weekend, but I am not sure if we need to keep mounding up or not. Again, we need the advice of a professional gardener.  If only I had a relative or two that could offer some wisdom....

tomatoes, carrots, squash below the railroad tie; celery and Brussels sprouts above

We have lots of tomatoes

fuzzy, furry asparagus stalks

And now: Irises!

 My irises were getting jealous with all the attention that I was paying to the roses, so here is a post dedicated to my favorite flower.

I am actually really excited about the white iris.  It didn't bloom last year at all, since it was trying to recover from being a spot that was too shady.  The previous year we removed a bush that was blocking the iris, but did so too late for it to bloom.  But, this year, it produced some glorious flowers, as did the deep purple one.  This is my favorite iris that we have-- I love how it is almost black when it is just about to unfurl its petals.  I love the delicate shading of lighter purple as one looks closer to the middle.  I just love them!

And last but not least, the multi-purples ones.  We plants two blubs about 5 years and now we have a whole slew of these.  I can't help but think of a painting I gave my parents of irises whenever I see these.  Hey, Mom and Dad, whenever you get tired of that painting, I will take it back!  ;)