Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Potager Potterings

September, and a lot of pottering gets done both in the garden and potager.
There is the daily picking and savouring of woodland strawberries,
these strawberries may be tiny but their taste is great, not to mention scrumptious.
At this time of year there are blackberries, oodles of them and the picking is great,
and so is stuffing your face with them, or making jam, but they do have one slight drawback ...
September is also the month when I start harvesting grapes,
and having to munch my way through mountains of them. Quite a job, especially as it's not the only chore eating-wise, as is shown here
and here.
Lurking in the potager there is still more food waiting to be eaten,
a lot more.
Watch it vegs, from above you it devours.

In between all that masticating I manage to cram in the odd spot of weeding from time to time, with the charming assistance of Maine Coon Vita,
who enjoys weeding tremendously.Yours truly less so.
Pottering is frankly not what it's cracked up to be as I am daily ambushed by vast amounts of flowers demanding to be picked and artistically arranged in various containers.
So, what is a poor gardener to do?
Fortunately I have help with all the flower arranging that needs to be done.
Russian Blue Merlin, never afraid to lend a paw when it's needed, is a true artist when it comes to flower arranging, bless him.
And here he's resting after a strenuous job well done.
Things are spinning out of control in the garden. Regular visitors have already seen my corn that was high as a giraffe's eye, the ginormous Gaura in the new border and now this, shoulder high Zinnias on the rampage.
Really, what is that all about? Are we in for a spot of Attack From the Giant Zinnias, lurking in a garden near you? There is definite need of some control in the garden and luckily there is sister Spider
and doggy Tara to lend a paw/whatsit with keeping the wildlife in check
But between you, me and that clambering clematis over there, it's a mug's game as the Bliss garden is simply teeming with wildlife.
All of the above explains quite well why lately I haven't been blogging as often as I used to, as there is so much, too much in fact, on my plate.
Literally!

copyright 2009 Y.E.W. Heuzen

24 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Yolanda .. I love all the "help" you have in gathering the potager goodies ! : ) Emma (Main Coon) and Sophie (Lynx Point 'breed of her own'.. well, her different parent's mixture ? haha in any case .. you have wonderful bounty from Bliss garden and it is a very special time of year : )
I think we share the same spider .. I'll have to post his picture so you can see !!
Joy

Anonymous said...

Yolanda,
what a wonderful post..
Harvest of veggies with the help of your lovely cats and dog, arranging flowers and decorating your house.
You have created a paradise for everyone.
Thank you for sharing!
Gisela
"Harvest home, harvest home!
We've plowed, we've sowed
We've reaped, we've mowed
And brought safe home
Every load."
- Harvest Home Song


Gisela

Lisa at Greenbow said...

If I had all the good help in the garden that you have I would get more accomplished. tee hee... Love those flower arrangements.

trudette said...

Heb echt genoten van deze Blogpost , prachtige foto's en wat een lieve kat en hond , echt vertederend.
Wat is de herfst toch mooi .
groetjes
trudette

Commonweeder said...

What a bountiful season you are having. Maybe I should wake up and get my Russian Blue Holly and put her to work so my garden would improve. The potager has not been a fantastic success this year.

Green thumb said...

I love this time of the year for all the lovely things which grow in your garden. It makes me look so much Green...Green with envy!
My garden is much better off without all these goodies. I am on a diet and sweet berries are strongly proscribed:-(

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

You must have fabulous soil, that's the only explanation for it. The produce all looks so wonderful, and your floral arrangements are spectacular!

Gail said...

There is the perfect amount of deliciousness happening in your garden! You seem to be managing very well, with all that help from your assistants. The woodland strawberries look tasty, alas, I've never tasted them. gail

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Simply wonderful Yolanda, you have put all my favourites in one post.
Tara, zinnias, fruit and veggies and all these marvelous bouquets of flowers.

xoxo Tyra

Victoria Summerley said...

How lovely! I'm very impressed by all the produce, but even more by a cat who weeds.

Matron said...

Truly a blissful blog! Lots of fruit and veggies, cats and dogs! I would love you to ask Tara to join in with Matron's Dogblog by sending me a photo, she is adorable!

Tracy said...

What beautiful, rich beautiful harvests, Yolanda! LOVE all the flora and fauna here ;o) Happy Days ((HUGS))

Frances said...

Hi YE, I just don't know how you manage it all! Thank goodness for the helping paws of the Bliss team! I know about help with indoor bouquest from our Hazel, the plant eating cat, but would like to know if you would share the secret of the weeding training. Like how to teach them what is a weed and what is a welcome volunteer? I have enough trouble teaching that to the humans around here! What a lovely bunch of grapes. :-)
Frances

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Abundance is literally bouncing off the walls at your abode. Look at all of those fruits and vegetables! I am overwhelmed. YE, no wonder you haven't been blogging as much. Life does so get in the way. BTW, I love your beautiful Russian Blue kitty. One of my friends had one long ago.~~Dee

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Yolanda, I was thinking of a different Yolanda, who I haven't visited in awhile when I clicked on your name from a comment on Sweet Bay's blog. I think we've visited before, too.

I'm glad I made it here for this delightful post with all the lovely produce, helpers, and blooms. I don't get flowers brought in much. I have a lot of gardening to do, too, but have been taking it easy this week because I tripped and fell while holding our 21 month old grandson last week, and landed hard on my left knee. I have been spending lots of time on the computer outside near my flowers. Well, I better get to church.

Have a fun day with your tall blooms!

Katarina said...

Yolanda, I can see that you're busy harvesting your crops and enjoying your flowers, cats and dogs! Good for you - do continue to enjoy life as I enjoy your posts.
Katarina

garden girl said...

What a beautiful, bountiful harvest you're having Yolanda! Those fruits and veggies look mouthwatering. I had to giggle at your purple hands.

I love those tiny woodland strawberries - their flavor is beyond compare. I've grown them before, but haven't tried them in this garden - might have to rectify that! And blackberries. . . yum - my favorite bramble. I planted some this year but something chewed them to the ground, and they didn't re-grow. boo hoo! Maybe I'll try again next spring and fence them with some chicken wire.

Your bouquets are gorgeous - you have quite a talent at flower arrangement, both in your garden and in your vases. They look as 'delicious' as your produce!

em said...

ye, wow! what a great harvest! say, what is the tan squash in the basket? it looks a bit like the fordhook acorn squash i'm growing. your flowers, cats, berries, all very beautiful!

Layanee said...

It is always such a treat to visit your garden and I will come back soon. Love the bounty of your harvest. I dug potatoes this weekend! Nothing like fresh veggies. Hi to all the creatures.

HappyMouffetard said...

What a piece of paradise you have, Yolanda. Glad to see you have 'help' from a range of under-gardeners!

Kerri said...

Yolanda, What a wonderful bounty you have for your table from the potager! Pure bliss, for sure :) Those grapes look delicious.
And my, oh my...a cat that weeds! Your Vita is a clever girl :)
Merlin is a true magician at flower arranging!
You are a lucky girl :)
Thanks for stopping by for a visit. So nice to hear from you!

MrBrownThumb said...

Yolanda,

Those tiny strawberries are awesome and that floral arranging cat is hilarious.

Karen - An Artist's Garden said...

What a lovely post.
I so enjoy your potager potterings, and I am still very envious of it ;)
K

chigiy at Gardeners Anonymous said...

What a wonderful haven your garden is. My garden aspires to be a half the garden yours is. I clearly need to get out and do some pottering. I actually had no idea what pottering was until I read this post.
Happy pottering.