it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Thursday, August 21, 2008

sweet dreams are made of these

DASH HOME FARM


my husband and i have always dreamed of living in the country, in a victorian farm house. i think we talked about it literally on our first date in july of 1986. well fast forward 23 years later and we finally made it. albeit, 22 years of marriage, 4 houses later, after 6 children arrived, moving to tennessee, and 4 grandchildren thus far, we are living that dream. of course on that same date, we said we would love to have a log cabin as a second home, on a lake, in canada (this is still a dream). yes i am a dreamer! but dreams do come true.
so we talked many times over the years what we would name this place-everything has to have a name, right? this is how dash home farm was born:


da-david (my husband)
sh-sharon (me)
home - the place we always want to rush to from the world and have sanctuary!
farm- we live on 7.24 acres - it's a small farm but we love it!

a few years ago we went to a celtic celebration and we had this sign made and hung it on our barn.
the wildflower garden is adjacent to the barn. it is doing quite well in spite of the drought we are having. my coneflowers haven't faired well at all but i am leaving them to hopefully feed the goldfinches come fall.








we are still having plenty of wild life visit here but it is a daily process of filling the many bird baths and watering containers to keep them all happy.


my garden angel is intently watching over my wildflowers and she seems to have an eye for this yellow bloom.



this stick bug is trying to stay out of the sun on a shady post.

the drought has most definitely hampered my garden enthusiasm. it is dry, ugly and effecting so many of our plants.
this is our very dead grass. i usually enjoy getting on the tractor and cutting but haven't had to in weeks.
our corn is done and looking very wilty. it was good while it lasted.
the gigantic sunflowers are all spent and turning there heads down. i harvested some but wanted to leave some to feed the birds. they have become the breeding ground for this bug. anybody know what it is. we have sprayed with an oily substance, shaken them off, sprayed with water to get them off. there are so many of them and nothing we have tried works.

also our raspberry bushes are still producing but are in desperate need of rain.
an antique urn on the front porch. the ivy is the only thing that has survived the heat.
last of the sunflowers. they are planted on one side of veggie garden.
our first watermelon that has made it. several have rotted on the ground side.
we are still harvesting our heirloom tomatoes. these are been a pleasure and so good to eat.

last of the corn.
even in the midst of this drought i have made a trip to our local garden center and brought home these(2) crepe myrtles. i love the fiery red blossoms. the ground is so hard and crusty i haven't planted them yet so they need a daily dose of good watering.
i found these lantana for 50 cents so i brought them home and put them in my chocolate pots.
i went ahead and planted some pumpkins in this wheel barrow next to the barn. i have a few leaves poking thru the dirt. yippee!


even though my periwinkles aren't doing so well i do have a few gorgeous blooms. i love anything white!

here's to anticipating the rain! what a relief it will be.

13 comments:

tina said...

You have lots going on despite the drought. I heard on the news that this has been the driest August since the dust bowl. I kind of thought last summer was. Hopefully you got some rain, we got .4 inch so far. Yahoo!

CA Girl in 10-OC said...

Your corn looks like mine does! Did you get Japanese Beetles this year? I had them all over, they loved my marigolds, zinnias and roses. I can't stand those beetles. We never had them in CA. What can you do about them?

Ya we could really use some RAIN!

flydragon said...

Your photos are always so interesting I really enjoy looking at them.

Meems said...

Good morning Marmee, I'm still working away down here on you know what... really I am ... all over the map!

Really liked this post.I can so relate to the drought... last year I thought my garden wouldn't make it for the lack of rain.It makes a faithful gardener out of you for you must be in it almost everyday with hose in hand.

I don't know what the insect is on your sunflower but do you know if it is harmful? Maybe you wouldn't need to bother with it if it is just enjoying the food.

Love the urn and the raspberries... I want to try blueberries next spring. Congrats on that watermelon... it is looking yummy. How do you know when they are ready to eat?
Talk soon.
Meems

Gail said...

Hi, Sharon/Marmee, I am slow to get around...I had to rest after company...we played too hard! Your blog is delightful and I was so excited to know more about you! 6 kids...wow, did I have it easy, only one! and grandchildren, sighing!

We need to get together. I will be going to the Franklin Farmer's Market regularly and maybe we can meet for coffee sometime!

Gail

Arissa Mae said...

it's raining here today...maybe you will see some water soon? i don't like bugs of any kind...even though i know there ARE "good" bugs...they ALL creep me out.

marmee said...

tina,
it doesn't feel like i have lots going on. we had a dreadful drought last summer too but we had just moved in and didn't have much of any garden going on. no rain so far!

ca girl,
our corn was very sweet. we had corn borers(which could be a japanese beetle, honestly i don't know). you're going to have to talk to someone with more experience in gardening in tn than me.
flydragon,
thank you for your kind comments on my photos. it is really what got me blogging. i love to take photographs.
meems,
i know you are working hard on trying to figure it out-i wish i could be more of a help!
we did have a horrid drought last year too that affect our fall so badly and we lost at least seven fairly large trees on the farm.
but we didnt't have anything like a veggie or wildflower garden to watch over. plus all the birds we have attracted here with feeders. you have to supply water to all the creatures.
that urn has been a treasure. it came from a little store right here in leiper's fork, serenite maison, next time you visit we will have to go. i love it!
we have enjoyed the raspberries. they rarely make it inside. we are also planning on adding blueberries and blackberries next year.
i am not sure about watermelon... will just keep an eye on it and see when it looks like what i am used to.
gail,
so your company wore you out! it happens to me too.
yes 6 but three are grown! sorta!
we are usually at market between 7:30 and 8. you can't miss us because we(dh) has a big brown curly haired dog on his leash. buster brown is a regular at the market. if you see us just flag us down. thanks for stopping by the blog!

Roses and Lilacs said...

I'm so happy for you. Realizing your dream--not the drought. (We went thru the drought thing in 2005, worst in 75 years.)

Maybe things will turn around next spring and some rain will put the joy back in your gardening.
Marnie

marmee said...

s/s/m,
i am believing for RAIN!
i am with you on these bugs. there are so many you kind of get the shivers when you walk by, uck!
r & l,
it's funny even though it was a dream when it happened i dragged my feet the whole process. but i am adjusting to it now. long story! i am hoping to have some kind of turn around soon!

Susie said...

I don't know what that bug is but I had plenty of them on my cherry and regular tomatoes. I thought they were some sort of stink bugs.

I hope you get rain soon. Maybe as Hurricane/tropical storm Fay moves across you'll get some.

marmee said...

susie,
i think they look like a stink bug too. i am going to have to do some research on them.
i am believing for the rain.

DP Nguyen said...

Goodness, six children! That's wonderful and exhausting for me thinking about (me, not yet started my family. lol). But it's so wonderful to hear that you finally got your dream of owning the victorian house. Your corn and veggies look so delicious! I hope you enjoy them.

marmee said...

dp,

well i have done my share of praying over the years!

thanks the veggie garden has been so rewarding! we are going bigger next year!