Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
The dog days of summer are firmly underway here in the Pacific Northwest. Temps are soaring, grass is dead, and the patio pots must be watered daily or they pout like a baby trout. Although the usual focus of our SMGB is all-things-green-and-growing, at the moment, the only life forms that are actively thriving in my neck of the woods are two Siberian kittens. With your indulgence, i'll spare you the photographs of my sad, sun-charred landscape and focus almost exclusively on the pure delight of our fierce feline princesses.
In just over a month, it's amazing how much love and life our new kittens have brought into our lives. This is what they looked like the day we brought them home …
The girl with the white mittens is named Leeloo, after the heroine in the movie, The Fifth Element. The darker of the two girls is called Blossom, after jazz singer Blossom Dearie.
In the spirit of gardening, i suppose i could mention the potentially adversarial relationship between rambunctious kittens and houseplants. Although i don't have an abundance of potted plants in my home, each and every one proved to be an irresistible draw to our inquisitive little scamps …
But of all the world's problems, this was an easy one to solve. What's the secret, you may ask? A combination of stones and lemon peels! Stones to anchor the dirt, and lemon peels to act as a deterrent …
Works like a charm …
One of life's immutable truths is that siblings can be quite different from one another. Although Blossom and Leeloo came from the same litter, their personalities are 180 degrees apart …
Leeloo is spunky and fearless …
Blossom, on the other hand, is more thoughtful and reserved …
Hubby gets the credit for all of the amazing photographs. They're growing so fast, it's already so much fun to look back and see how they've changed in just a few short weeks …
Beyond these air-conditioned walls, a few things in the yard are tolerating the blistering heat and lack of water fairly well. The magnolia is still pushing out a few flowers …
And the potted hydrangea is still hanging on …
Out in the orchard, plums are almost ready for picking …
While the apples continue to sweeten and swell …
In the field, huge swatches of Queen Anne's Lace are blooming in frothy white waves. From a distance, it looks really beautiful, and it seems to make everything feel cooler somehow …
So that's basically the state of things here in my little slice of paradise. I could do without the temperatures rising into the triple digits, but as they say, this, too, shall pass. All things considered, even these tiny frogs seem to prefer the moist shade of the patio to any other place on the grounds. I'm guessing they're looking forward to the inevitable fall cool-down as much as i am …
Do you have any furry babies in your family? And what's going on in your gardens?
PS: Here's the upcoming Saturday Morning Garden Blog hosting schedule. As always, if anyone would like to write a diary, drop a note in the comment section (or send one of us a private message). We need more regular writers if we want to keep this series going, and new contributors are always welcome.
August 18th (Vol. 14.33) — Mahdalgal
August 25th (Vol. 14.34) —
September 1st (Vol. 14.35) —
September 8th (Vol. 14.36) —
September 15th (Vol. 14.37) —
September 22nd (Vol. 14.38) —
September 29th (Vol. 14.39) —
PPS: Due to competing familial obligations, my response to comments will be sporadic at best today. As always, don't hesitate to chat amongst yourselves about anything and everything.