Sunflower Season 2019 at the Farm

The sunflowers I planted in late June and early to mid July are at their peak right now. I planted over a span of 3 weeks and even though each variety has different days to bloom, it always seems they bloom all at once. 

Their beauty is quite overwhelming. The color and vibrancy, the seed heads as they mature, the insects that they feed, the tall stalks that grow from a single tiny seed about 1/2" long - it is all too much to take. Add to it the gorgeous blue sky that the yellow, orange and red sunflowers are set against and it is over the top gorgeousness. For all you color people, that is the magic of complementary color combinations! 

For all you gardeners, I purchase my seeds from Sunflower Selections in California and Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine. I prefer branching varieties because I get more blooms from a plant. I do grow a few of the single stem varieties which you will find in supermarkets. They ship better and last a long time - something that professional growers need. The plants are not nearly as charming though. 

I wish you were here to take it all in but since you aren't, I will share some of the beautiful blooms in the fresh - almost fall - clear and crisp air. Last night, a frost could have befelled it all but the blooms made it through. 

Second Time Around the Garden - Sunflowers - Late Summer 2018

I hope you all have been enjoying the changing light that these shortening days September are bringing. We have had lots of rain, lots of heat, and now some more seasonable days. The garden is actually winding down and after last week's massive rains, many of the plants - including the sunflowers have toppled over. 

Luckily I took these photos before the rains came and so I can share them with you today. Soon we will be looking at falling leaves, changing autumn colors and then gray November. It's good to have a record of each garden season here at the farm and this blog has served a great record keeping space for me. 

I hope you enjoy all the colors of the late summer garden. Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Around the Garden 2018

We all know the weather has been a bit different this year. We experienced so much rain - for days in August. So much that there is mold growing places it never grew before. I kept saying to myself - this must be what it is like living in New Orleans. 

The rain abated and now we have had lots of very hot and dry weather - for over a week. My garden has rebounded and it is looking a lot like late summer. The sunflowers are beginning to bloom. The zinnias are starting too. 

I love this time of year - when everything is so bountiful. Plants loaded with flowers and seed heads, the days getting shorter and the light beginning to change. On the hill behind our house, some trees are beginning to turn a golder shade of green - this means autumn isn't far away.

I am a little sad that I won't be having the Fall knitting retreat here this year. I love to share our farm with knitters and color enthusiasts. Maybe next year. In the meantime, I am going to take this time to start making pottery again for the upcoming holiday season. I am looking forward to getting back into the mud (clay - not muck) and seeing what I come up with. It seems that my year gets broken into different timelines and processes and things that I do. Last year I participated in a nationwide Clay Event in October but I do not think I can commit to that this year. I'm going to try to keep it simple with a Holiday and On-Line sales only. 

I have also been designing a bit more fabric. Hope to share some of the samples with you soon. And, I am updating my website and adding some new items for sale. It is keeping me busy and a bit stressed. Julia started school this week. The Farmer is still healing and trying to take some nice long walks to build his stamina. The sheep are surviving. It's all good. 

Here are some photos from around the farm. Enjoy them everyone. I hope your life is going well. 

Sunflower Platter - From Inspiration to Finished Platter

First off - I hope I get to meet some of you at the Open Studio here at our farm this weekend. Hours are 11 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday. I will be demonstrating throwing on my wheel and share how I decorate my pottery with glazes. I am participating with other potters throughout the US and world for National Clay Week. More info here.

Here are the directions to our farm. 

The sunflowers in my garden are almost done for the year. Here are some photos of those that are left. I love how they get heavy with seed and then start leaning over. Just gorgeous. 

I've been finding a lot of sunflower inspiration over the past couple weeks as I have worked on ceramics for this weekend's Open Studio. Here are some progress photos of a large sunflower platter. I'm so happy with how it turned out.  

Here it is - out of the kiln and photographed with the inspiration.