How does your garden grow?

how does your garden grow?

If you follow beyond the reef on facebook

you will see more 'how to' and more 'quilting'

If you follow beyond the reef on the blog

we aim to inspire

your life, your projects

On facebook, today, we asked, "how do you start your garden?"

I have had a great time on the Central Coast

tending a garden

(while friends tend my tomatoes - and the house - at the beach)

I have planted seeds directly in the ground

I have planted seeds in flats, in my secret soil mix

I have planted cuttings

And I have planted runners

And I have learned

patience.

Mind you, I can make a quilt top of 45 squares 

each containing 54 pieces each square

but I just can't wait for the seeds to sprout.

I mean, shouldn't we be already eating the veggies?

I planted them a week and a half ago.

Isn't it time to grill the goods?!?

Okay, okay.

I do eat a handful of fresh strawberries every morning.

And for a late morning snack, I saunter over to the berries bush.

And in the afternoon, there are oranges.

Dinner will yield asparagus and artichokes as we speak.

So I shouldn't complain.

But I want warm peaches, nectarines...

I want radishes and spinach and kale and arugula

and zucchini and squash and garlic and corn

and carrots and cantaloupe

and I want the sage and leeks and chives and basil

that were planted in the giant barrels by the house.

I want it,

and I want it now.

(Buddy's paw next to sprouts, for some scale)

So what do you have going on in your life

that your quilting habits

could help you with?

And what is going on with your quilting

that your garden could

shed some light on?

How does your garden grow?

p a t i e n t l y

beginagain

2010

natalie.

(for more information about the beach cottage

please go to www.vrbo.com/257702 or www.vacationrentals.com property #59945)

California Spring

It really is spring in California.

Buddy and I took our first camp trip this weekend, and if you follow beyondthereef on facebook as a fan, you'll realize it was his very first camp trip.

When you live "in the city", getting out into the hills is a real treat.  

For just a few hours of driving, you are rewarded with a whole new set of flowers, scrub, birds, and people.  It's really a treat.  I would suggest being a tourist in your own state, if you have a chance.

For Buddy, it meant a tent, eating in the tent, watching prairie dogs and birds and squirrels and all sorts of things he could never ever catch.

For me, it is a whole new file of flowers and blooms to applique.

And while they may not be tropical, or Hawaiian, the shapes and the structure will lend themselves beautifully to that Hawaiian fabric.

Finally.

I thot you'd like to see some of Buddy's camping pics.

And last but not least, I hope you can see it...

Buddy and a Prairie Dog

(I think.  Or maybe a really small gopher?  Look just 'lower of center' and above the clump of dirt to the right of Buddy's right elbow)

Good dog, Buddy.

BeginAgain.

2010