Garden Dreams

Its a garden-dreaming day. My brain is on floral track, no question. This morning we woke up to another confectioner's sugar forecast come true. Still, crispy morning weather with silently sifting snow and everything soft-serve coated. Hard to believe that by next month we'll probably be out, digging up the garden and putting in the peas. (Note to self: must get some bags of compost and manure for the raised bed!)

This morning I went to my painting group even though I knew that there was a good chance that there wouldn't be a terribly large crowd. Sure enough, I was the only one  there with my brushes...but, no matter. I had a peaceful, quiet morning dipping into my box of watercolors and Dee played happily at my feet with a plastic dinosaur (Ru was off at a friend's house) and I painted away. It felt good to be back, even if I did miss the company. As I told the church secretary who ducked in to wave hello, it doesn't matter a whole lot that the other painters weren't around...I was there to make sure that I didn't stop painting. After two weeks off, I'm nervous to let myself slide anymore. I know how hard it is to get into a good habit and I am loathe to let it slip away now.

 

This morning I painted Ru as a baby, sleeping in his moses basket in the backyard where he napped often while I gardened. I used to prop an umbrella over him while he slept all the time.

Its a scene I've been imagining painting for a long time so, it felt really actualizing and inspiring to get it out of my head and onto paper.

There are a few other things besides the weather that are feeding my floral mindset. First, I've got all kinds of things blooming inside right now. A spoiled me on Valentine's Day with a couple pots of forced bulbs because he knows how much I love them. And a few of my own houseplants were blooming on their own to boot!

Secondly, the garden catalogs have arrived, with a vengeance.  There is nothing like a nice stack of slick catalogs to set me dreaming. It does make it inconveniently awkward that we have no idea when/if we'll be moving in relationship to spring planting. I have a feeling its going to be a bit of a manic rush, however it falls out. Good thing I never claimed to be organized and like spontaneous, cluttered, jumbly cottage gardens. Here are the plants that are making me weak-kneed at the moment:

Crinkly, Romantic Poppies
Old Fashioned, Scented Lilies
Bugloss (horrible name, no?)
Pocket Book Flowers
More Exotic Fuscias
Nodding Blue Lily
Lush, Purple, Double Clematis
Poofy, White Cosmos
 Glowing Bleeding Hearts
 Dramatic African Daisies
Bloodred Geraniums, Masquerading as Roses 
Sweet Heliotrope 
Butter and Honey Lantana 


And yeah....that's the short list. *sigh* Dreams have a way of mounding up higher and higher. I believe, like whipped cream...you can't really overdo it.

And then, California travel plans  for April aren't really grounding me either. It'll be high spring there....and I'm jotting things down madly in my notes like:

 *World's largest wisteria...Sierra Madre *Check out the Antelope Poppy Preserve *Wildflowers on Gorman Post Rd. *Visit the flower fields at Carlsbad Ranch *See Moreton Bay Fig Tree in Balboa Park *REDWOODS!!! *

Hee hee. Good times.