Hiking in the woods

Bandit and I hiked around some friends property yesterday looking to see who's poking out from under the leaf litter...


Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, aka Adder's Violet, Goodyera pubescens, in the family Orchidaceae... This plant is a protected species that loves moist, woody areas...


A yellow violet, Viola pubescens eriocarpa, is a pretty common woodland flower. But cute as can be!

What's blooming in Diana's yard...

We scouted around last week to see what's coming up in Diana's native planting area...
Trillium sessile, a dark red bloom sits directly on top of three mottled green leaves... Native to much of the Eastern US... likes dappled shade and humusy soil.


Dwarf Crested Iris, Iris cristata, around 8 inches tall, the three sepals are decorated with a crest. The rhizomes like to be on the surface of the soil and form dense stands.


Narcissus...

The Orchid Show

Rob and I were out early to the Asheville Arboretum's annual orchid show... It was amazing!!! Our real motivation for arriving so early was to get to see what was for sale!





We returned home with several small plants and I bought this tube of babies ready to be transplanted... BABIES!

Hops!

I ordered 5 hops rhizomes from Fresh Hops ... Cascade, Centennial, Wilamette, Chinook and Nugget... I chose these particular strains considering what might grow well here, similar conditions to the Pacific NW. I'm starting them inside for now, as soon as the cold frame is up they'll go outside. Eventually I'd like to plant them on the south facing front of the building, but they'll need a serious trellis since they can grow up to 25' in a season. If they grow well they can become stock plants eventually! Not to mention Rob and I can use them in some homebrew!



The rhizomes have little rootlet buds popping off all over the place! They are so ready to grow!

stuff...

Today the I painted the bathroom blue like the water on Tortola... Robin's egg blue... Next I have to get that nasty old sink down here!



Oh goodie! another pile of gravel!

Therapy...

physical that is, not the mental I really need!

So I had a brilliant idea today after I came in from a particularly intensive gravel shoveling episode... The hula hoop! Not only used for thinking about and making important business decisions... also for back care! 15 minutes and everything was realigned and feeling great!



Bandit is still not helping, but looking cute, so forgiven for not having thumbs

More butterflies!

I don't know the species on this one... but he sure was cute!


Maybe it's eating the nectar from this Ragweed... I'm just calling it that, like the butterfly I don't know any species info, but it's bloomin!

It's really happening!

I guess that the reality of this business depends on the "yard" for me... I need a properly laid foundation to set the plants on! I rolled out and pinned down several rolls of black landscape fabric on top of the sand. Hopefully this will keep out mud and weeds!

Side note: notice my sweet temporary ride! Shane lent me his extra car, we actually liberated it from the mechanic when we dropped off my truck... it goes much faster than my truck! Thanks Shane!



Then Rob and Ron delivered 3 truckloads of really lovely brown gravel. Now, the brown gravel was a decision I had to make... You see, I was planning on regular old gray pea gravel, but then when I got the stoop stone and it has beautiful browns and reds streaking throughout... I had to go with the brown gravel! And I also wanted it to be several inches thick so the fabric doesn't show through and look crappy.


I got quite a bit spread yesterday before I started feeling my back... I think this will be a several day long project! What is more fun than shoveling gravel? Not much... maybe the massage after it's done!

Farming

I woke up with a little sniffle yesterday, so I decided to go sweat it out and give Rob a hand doing some tilling... He shares a plot with some other guys on a friend's farm. We were turning under the cover crop of wheat and clover. First we weedeated it down to the ground, then tilled it all under... It was a beautiful day to get your hands dirty!



Bandit bathing in the stream...


Rob is letting the wheat grow up in the middle pathway. He will cut it down later and use it for mulch.

Swallowtail Alert!

I just about lost it on Friday when I spotted this swallowtail fluttering around behind the shop! It seems so early for flutterbys! What a treat!

Sand delivery!

My roomie, Rob, works at a stone yard. He is bilingual in spanish and leads crews of Mexican guys on installation jobs. He also has a degree in horticulture and a great interest in growing plants, so we have a lot of fun together! Here he is delivering the sand...



Bandit standing guard over piles of sand... It's funny because quite often his leash is not really attached to anything but him, so he just drags it around behind him and never runs off!


This is Caleb, a very talented metalworker who is making the sign for green nursery! I am very excited - his style is exactly what I had in mind... He showed up to do some work with Keith, but then when their plans were postponed, he offered to help me spread the sand! Woohoo! without his help I would still be out there raking it! Thanks Caleb!



While at the stoneyard on Thursday, I picked out this beauty to be the stoop outside the front door of the nursery! I just love it!

stuff...

I bought a new wheelbarrow at the hardware store downtown... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful new friendship!


This is the sink I love that's "in storage" behind our house... I think it might be my renovation project for next week! First I have to fix the tailgate of my truck, the latch is off track... The sink is very heavy! I'm hoping I can get it looking pretty so I can replace the slop sink in the bathroom, with the drain board, this sink will be much more functional for cleaning up plants! and pretty!