Sunrise, Sweet Peas, & Swallowtails

June 26, 2016 March Picker

Early mornings are bright and beautiful during Coppertop’s early summer, with the sun awakening us before 6:00 am. Son captured this a few days ago. The gardens by the garage are overflowing now, with sweet peas beginning to bloom opposite the fading peonies. The hardy geraniums require regular trimming to clear the pathway. Catmint, dianthus, and linaria are the stars of the nearby perennial bed, attracting lovely swallowtails. At the front of the house, we’ve tried to dissuade the robins from nesting in our clematis vine this year since we startle them every time we go in or … Continue reading Sunrise, Sweet Peas, & Swallowtails

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End Of August 2015

August 31, 2015January 31, 2017 March Picker

For record keeping, what follows is a running list of monthly garden activity I haven’t mentioned in journal posts: Transplanted sedum and burgundy dianthus to top of driveway rock wall. early August Planted young maple tree, a gift from Hubby’s co-worker, in the place of our “Wizard” conifer which stood near the base of the waterfall. Hubby really hated the Wiz, and so it came down. early August Went outside one morning to find our beautiful willow tree broken in half. Definitely not caused by bad weather. A sad day. Pruned away the broken portions and hoping for a comeback … Continue reading End Of August 2015

Late Spring Visitors

June 17, 2015October 19, 2016 March Picker

So many fun times have filled the past week with visiting family. The weather has been pretty spectacular as well, allowing us to soak up the northwest sun and enjoy outdoor adventures. We’ve eaten well from the gardens, meals loaded with fresh lettuce, crisp spinach, nutty arugula, juicy strawberries, and lovely eggs, of course! Other favorite visitors are the western swallowtail butterflies which have been joyfully flitting and floating all over these gardens during June. They favor the large bed overflowing with catmint and dianthus or Sweet William I started from seed many moons ago. Continue reading Late Spring Visitors

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New Month, New Plants & A New Bed

March 1, 2015November 19, 2017 March Picker

It’s the first day of my month, and almost one year since I began chronicling Coppertop gardens. Besides the seeds that I’ll continue to sow in the greenhouse, this week I’ve begun planting a nice variety of plants directly into the garden. These plants will surely flourish in the truckload of organic compost we added to the beds this past week. You would think that with our five acres we could create enough compost, but the recent extension and addition of raised beds required additional compost. (We’ve been learning that the lower temps of the PacNorthwest make for a slower composting process, when compared … Continue reading New Month, New Plants & A New Bed

Seed Starts

February 4, 2015February 5, 2015 March Picker

Tucked into soil pots in our greenhouse, seeds are doing that miraculous thing called germination. The potential of tiny seeds always amazes me; I’ve loved watching the progress of annual, biennial, and perennial seeds I planted back at the end of October. The dianthus, geum, campanula, and oriental poppies required transplanting into larger pots already, which makes me consider the advice I’ve read in some garden books about seeding once for the long haul in large pots — then simply planting in the garden in spring. I’m immensely thankful for the hundreds of empty pots and seed trays left in the garden shed by Coppertop’s previous … Continue reading Seed Starts

Gardens at Coppertop — March Picker

learning, growing, and learning more — life on the Olympic Peninsula

Tag: dianthus