Thursday in the Garden at Marshwood Cottage

This summer we only grew buckwheat as a cover crop to help build up the soil in our raised vegetable garden bed.

Since we couldn't live a year without fresh tomatoes, we also had a couple of pots of cherry tomatoes and one cucumber pot.

The buckwheat seedlings took off quickly.

At full summer's bloom.

About a month ago seed heads (and tomatoes) galore!

Just a couple days ago, I left the cuttings to be tilled under.

And that's how our garden grows!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Summer's Sunflowers

In honor of the passing of Summer 2015

SUNFLOWERS!!!

Planted from transplanted seeds

Water, water, water, water!

Buds!

POP!

And then its over!

We're expecting lots of sunflower seeds coming this fall!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Winter at the Cottage

Our neighbor's cat Momo watching our bird feeders 

Wizard dipping into our blizzard emergency water supply

The entrance to the cat enclosure

The other side of the entrance

Fresh snowfall from inside the cat enclosure

After the roof was cleared off.

The cat enclosure is now officially closed until further notice!

 The workshop the morning after the blizzard

MamaLindy clearing off the roof!

 MamaLindy and dogs breaking trail!

My first foray on snow shoes in a long while!

Our yard is a dog's maze of pathways.

The dog door and other paths

Marshwood bunker!

From inside the bunker!

At least the squirrels are happy!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Autumn in Maine

We picked the last harvest

The finches are molting

Our firewood arrived

And MamaLindy stacked it away

The sunflowers have bowed their heads to Autumn

And what was once green

Shines bright with the season

Happy Autumn from Marshwood Cottage!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Wednesday Walk in the Weeds #2

Welcome to Marshwood Cottage's Weekly Weed Walk!

This interesting plant sprouted up directly behind our water fountain. When it flowered, it looked somewhat like Queen-Anne's Lace. But we posted this picture on Facebook and learned from a friend that it was Valerian (as in Valerian root, an herb to help you sleep).

This is our patch of Queen Anne's Lace. Much flatter flower on the top where Valerian is rounded.

These bright flowers are Pinks and were found growing between the garden fence and the ledge last year. They were acting like weeds, but the blossoms were so vibrant!

This year we dug them up transplanted them into one of our perennial beds right next to the water fountain. They flourished!

These crazy loopy things also act like weeds in that they tried to take over the entire front garden last year. The leaves are very stinky and when a friend identified them as Black Cohosh, she took a couple of buckets of them home. We cleared out all but this one section and as can be seen in these photos (and this video meditation from Monday) the bees absolutely love them! The stalks grow as high as the roof and the flowers smell somewhat like rotted roses. Blechk!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

A Meditation with Cohosh and Bumbles

Close your eyes or watch...simply listen intently to peace for the next two moments...

Thanks for stopping by

~MamaLisa

Wednesday Walk in the Weeds

Welcome to Marshwood Cottage where we honor our weeds!

Come on in, we have something to show you...

When we moved to Marshwood Cottage only 16 months ago, it was early spring and the ground was still frozen. Novice gardeners that we are, we barely knew a perennial from a weed.  We felt so blessed at each sprouting plantling and didn't have the heart to pull out or remove anything for a long time.

The most spectacular weed we have is our wild white roses. There are pink ones too, but they are tucked in the back. Tamed and trimmed by MamaLindy, they make quite a show in late June.

The most bothersome weed we have is mugwort. The root system is woody and persistent, but we left a patch next to the garden phlox to hold up the delphinium. 

MamaLisa's most favorite weed is jewel weed. So magical...

Come back next Wednesday for more beautiful weeds!

Disclaimer Alert: Just because I am spouting off names of plants does not mean they are correct (most are sourced through the Weed ID Guide). I claim no accuracy and welcome any correction or advice!

Thanks for stopping by!

~MamaLisa

Penny Sparkles in the Sun

Penny in her morning glory sparkling in the sun

Hello Beloved Followers!

Next week is our last week as Cat of Nine Tales. We plan to post the whole week with Thursday being our last and closing post.

Our inaugural post for Marshwood Cottage will be Monday August 4, 2014!

We plan to archive Cat of Nine Tales and import the whole history into Marshwood Cottage, so please be aware that you may get weird looking or excessive posts over that weekend (sorry in advance!).

For more information on the move, check out our previous post HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!
~MamaLisa

Garden Plus Fire

Thursday in the garden at Marshwood Cottage

All veggies are doing well. After this photo I put down some mulch material to help keep weeds down.

But the real story at Marshwood Cottage is our new FIRE PIT!

DP dug the pit out about eight inches deep.

Rocks gathered from around the property line the interior.

Done!

The first fire welcomed in the Summer Solstice!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lisa