Last day of garden tour

I meant to post my final sketch from Sunday. We enjoyed getting to meet some online friends in person, so they are no longer just virtual friends now! Pat, from sketchersize, came up and sketched with me, we had a great time but filled with interuptions from people asking questions. I loved it, its so wonderful to share the yard with fellow gardeners that notice everything and have questions. I dont usually get that, often guests never even notice the yard let alone a specific plant.  Randy got to be home and soak up some of the comments from the guys, that was fun for him too. We had so many people feeling the lawn, they couldn't believe it was real. LOL. Here is my sketch from Sunday, another in my 2010 garden sketchbook. Under the window, standing about 30" tall are some angel wing begonias that Randy saved from the clearance rack at Lowes. They are so thankful that they haven never stopped blooming. 

The guardian of the vegetable garden

I have always had a vegetable garden. I love growing my own food, organically. Being able to go out and pick things right from the yard and then prepare them for dinner just feels right. I remember when the kids were little they loved to go into the garden and pick the strawberries or sweet peas and eat them right off the plant. I am glad that we never had to deal with pesticides. I have grown some pretty different things, trying to keep the kids interested in the garden. I have grown gourds, blue potatoes, peanuts, jicima, pumpkins, loffa sponges and more. Now my garden is so small compared to years back. It is just about the right size for the three of us. I could use one more bed but I spill over into the yard a bit and I think it is working. This year I bought a scarecrow and two crows just for fun. I thought the grandkids would like them. I put them into the garden box and now they are almost covered by the brocolli and cauliflower. Here is my sketch of my little vegetable garden and the new guardian of the food!

Arbutus- 2010 Garden Moleskine Sketchbook

I decided to finally paint in the big Moleskine sketchbook I bought some time ago. I had been saving it for something special but I wasnt sure what that was. This year I decided to make it my garden sketchbook. Our yard is finally just about done, and we love spending time out there. For most of our marriage we have loved working outside, there is something about turned soil, growing things to eat and seeing the reward for all of your hard work that continues to call us back. This yard has been by far the most involved, combining elements of design, function, disability access and beauty. I thought it would be great to paint it through out this year, at different stages. The poppies were my first post, this is my second, the Arbutus or strawberry tree