HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

We love to garden. When we moved into this little bungalow our second item on the to-do list was garden and flowerbeds. The first year we had an anemic garden that produced an insane amount of tomatoes (that was the only thing that grew in the wire grass) which we canned into salsa, soup and whole tomatoes. And then stopped looking at them. We told other people to come get them because there were so many. We also put a bunch of annuals in the flowerbeds around the foundation plantings. We also purchased a couple two clematis plants to cover the oil tank and a couple of salvia plants.

first year clematis

second year clematis

third year clematis

The next year I decided that I wasn't going to have a wire grass garden with a side of tomatoes. One day, on my way to work, I noticed they were replacing the railroad ties through our little rural town. I got a friend of ours to do the heavy lifting.

the vegetable garden

Rachael and I got down to business designing not only the garden but some additional flower beds and an herb garden.

we found these great pottery tags to label
our herds with in some hole in the wall
in virginia

A bit much perhaps but I a huge believer in hard work. We also had a friend of ours who knew someone that was getting rid of a bunch of perennials. Rachael jumped all over that and dug up a carload of purple coneflower, irises, daylilies, shasta daisies, sedum, lambs ear and a random plant who's name we can't remember. We also got ahold of two free butterfly bushes and a bunch of stone crop. And we supplemented with a few black eyed susans. To say we went nuts would be putting it mildly.

back beds along the fence

my joseph's coat climbing rose

those rose bushes came with the house and
are absolutely gorgeous.

The perennials didn't do much for first year. The second year we started seeing a little color. This year it has been insane. All of the daisy-like flowers have really filled in and the dianthus from last year have bushed out nicely. Last Saturday I was outside doing a bunch of work and I kept seeing people slow down when they passed the house. I even saw one woman slow down going one way and then turn around and come back for another pass. At first I just thought I was being cocky. Then my mom called me and told me that a relative of mine drives past my house once a week to see what we have blooming. Rachael says every year if Greenwood had a garden tour our house would win. And I remind her that Greenwood doesn't therefore we won't.

the yellow flowers are coreopsis and the red and
pink are biannual dianthus.

my daddy built me this birdhouse
for my birthday

rachael's beloved succulents.
we sell them in cute pieces of random china
picked up from flea markets and thrift stores.

Here's the sad thing...we're moving this fall. So just when we got our garden and flowerbeds to were we wanted them, we're saying goodbye. But the good news is that we're taking quite a bit along to the new place. Most the perennials are big enough to divide and transplant while leaving a lot behind. So, on with the madness we say. This time we'll be adding chickens to the mix.

ST. MICHAELS

I have a post sitting here, waiting to be finished, and instead I start another...

Actually, it's taking me a bit of time to get it done so I wanted to get something up here to let you know I'm not neglecting my bloggerly duties. Today I took the day off from my real job (graphic design) to go on a field trip with my niece. We headed west towards the Chesapeake Bay and ended up in St. Michaels.

St. Michaels in a quant little town situated on the Miles River and home the the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. I am especially fond of this area having grown up on the Delmarva Peninsula and reading Chesapeake by James Michener. The museum isn't a building of sorts but rather a collection of buildings. It also includes an octagonal lighthouse that was located 5 miles out in the bay and floated down the Miles River to its home in St. Michaels for preservation.

The buildings included boats that range anywhere from recreational to working. My favorite part was cruising through the building highlighting oystering. It even housed a real skipjack which was a boat specifically designed for oystering. Of course, due to my graphic design background, I was enamored by the oyster tins.

After lunch, we boarded a ship that cruised down the Miles River. From there we were able to see 1-3 million dollar homes that ran along the banks of the river.

We passed a osprey nest that currently has a female sitting on eggs. In certain areas, the Miles Rivers is eroding its banks at a rate of one foot per year. That's a bit out of control. Another statistic states that due to heavy oystering during the first part of the 20th century the oyster population is one percent of what it use to be. Just a small part of history being eaten away (pun intended).

It was a lovely trip in spite of being stuck, on a bus, with a bunch of shouting 5th grade boys. I forgot how loud they can be. I also forgot that boys and girls can't sit together in 5th grade. Well, let me rephrase that. They can, they just choose not to. So, the lesson I learned today is: if you want to enjoy a place you love going don't do it with a bunch a 5th graders. They will drag you around at the speed of light and complain about being hungry and "can we go to the gift shop now?" But, I still love my niece.

IT WAS a DARK and STORMY NIGHT...

Actually it was a dark and stormy day. Snowstorm to be exact. Back to back snowstorms

We were stuck inside with this.

While looking outside at this.

Which resulted in pictures that looked like this.

And this.

But the good news is: we were well fortified.

And well-supplied with a kerosene heater and extra kerosene by my wonderful father. This was just in case we lost power, which we didn't. In case you wanted to know. I had also pulled the snow shovels out of the shed so that I could neurotically clear off the deck at regular intervals. 

Back to the story at hand. Exactly what story you ask? You weren't even aware that you were reading a story. You probably just thought I was posting pictures to make you long for a week cooped up inside while Mother Nature unloads it's fury on the world outside. Well, you were wrong this is the story of how we named Bucklebury's. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Kate Middleton hails from the town of Bucklebury, England.

Rachael was madly bringing these into existence   

When she wasn't doing this 

(digging through two feet of snow and yes, i did help)

I gave Rachael a book on making stuffed animals for Christmas. She loved it and we proceeded to make one for every single expectant and unexpectant mother in our known vicinity. At the time, she was working on a rather cantankerous sewing machine that my father had located on one of his random adventures. We decided that we needed to set up an Etsy shop since we were certain they would fly off our digital shelves. I suggested that our shop needed to sound like quant English shop. Rachael readily agreed. We went on a name hunt. For some reason, I recall that I was sitting on the floor in front of the television. I'm not sure why since I have plenty of comfortable seating in the living room. Apparently, that position was conducive to good brain-storming. Somehow I managed to begin perusing various names used in Lord of the Rings. The trilogy happens to be a bit of an obsession between the two of us although we don't go so far as to dress in character every time we watch the movies. So, there I sat. On the floor. In front of the TV. When a lightening bolt struck. Figurative, of course. Although considering the weather conditions I wouldn't have been surprised if God had thrown in a random thunderstorm for giggles and kicks. Just to keep me on my toes. I hate thunderstorms by the way but that's another story. I ran into the Bucklebury's name and came to a crashing halt. I blurted the name out to Rachael. She liked it. And "it" was decided to be Bucklebury's. 

In the case that you have a compelling urge to know, the name appears in The Fellowship of the Rings toward the beginning when the hobbits are running from the ring wraiths. In order to meet Gandolf at the Prancing Pony they must cross a river on a ferry. That ferry just so happens to be named Bucklebury. 

It has nothing to do with Kate Middleton. 

I repeat.

Nothing.

WHAT'S in the BUCKLEBURY'S STUDIO?

To kick things off here on the new Bucklebury's blog I wanted to show you how we organize our buttons. We use buttons constantly for various items that we offer in our Etsy store. It's been a bit of a challenge to figure out the best way to deal with them especially when my partner in crime orders them off ebay by the gallon jar. Then one night I have an epiphany. That's usually when I have them. 

Old soda crates.

 They have great patina and look like they've made hundreds of trips to the soda fountain.

I found two at a local haunt of mine, the flea market. Otherwise referred to as "Linda's".

I called up a friend of mine that has a child of baby food eating years and asked her to save her baby food jars for me.

Then Rachael filled those bad boys up with buttons. She loves to sort them.

Those two crates fit perfectly along the wall of our desk where we keep the sewing machine. I felt instantly organized. It was like magic...sorta.