Highlights included the obligatory trip to Parker Pie, a beer tasting at Hill Farmstead Brewery, browsing and chocolate-dipped macaroons at Red Sky Trading Company (I covet their lacquered Adirondack chairs), a visit to Bread and Puppet Museum, plant shopping at Labour of Love, and of course a trip to Currier’s General Store, which a family friend calls Glover’s Museum of Natural Science because of the taxidermy throughout the store. The Kingdom is a special place, and it takes all kinds.
Thanks to the wet summer, my parents’ gardens up at the cabin are just gorgeous. You will just have to imagine, as alas, no picture. Denise and I were both very inspired, and our trip to Labour of Love and talking with owner Kate Butler only fueled said inspiration. Denise picked out a really pretty flower, the name of which I can't remember or pronounce, and I came away with an American Groundnut. They have these absolutely funky, prehistoric looking blooms in cranberry which I’ve been obsessed with since seeing one Mom and Dad planted at the cabin last summer. The cranberry will look great with the house trim.
The Groundnut is native to North America and apparently it was a staple for Native Americans, who ate the root which Kate said is similar to a small potato. She also said that the plant's natural habitat is right on the edge of where the forest meets the field so that it gets equal sunlight and shade and therefore, do well anywhere. We like that!
Kate also sent Mom, Denise and I away with purple basil, which smells just like the green stuff! How pretty would it look in a Caprese salad with multi-colored heirloom tomatoes? Yum. I also had fun looking at all the different succulents Kate had. I especially love the ones with cranberry tones, and am eyeing them for filling in the nooks and crannies between the rocks and concrete of the raised concrete bed along our driveway.
At Bread and Puppet, we picked out a few block prints for the house. Love this carrot print, though I may crop out the text when I have it matted and framed (sorry B&P).
Sunday afternoon we returned to High Street motivated to do work on the yard. I planted my purple basil (hard to see -- a very small planting below and between the two basil plants) and the American Groundnut. We put the vine where it can grow on the lattice-covered fence, which we freed earlier this year of wild grapevines and weeds. We’d previously discussed hops on this fence, but turns out hops are leafy and green, but not much else. Based on a mature Groundnut I saw at Labour of Love, I have no doubt that this plant will fill up the lattice.
We also weeded, mowed the lawn, and cleared out some sea grass from a raised bed of wild mint. In an effort to curtail future sea grass expansion, I also cut all the sea grass fronds that had gone to seed.
Finally, we addressed another distressing (outdoor) corner at High Street and again battled a climbing and invasive weed. We did our best to hack away at the root system and weeded out this rear corner of the yard that abuts the barn.
Our eventual plan for this area is a small patio with planting beds along the barn and fence for a climbing flower of some sort. We also have to address the corroding brick steps (so distressing), and finish the work on the door replacement (a project which Ryan started a few weeks back).
In other garden updates, the second Clematis has popped, the first has passed, and our hydrangea looks like it will bloom this summer. (Anyone have experience with blue hydrangea? Do blue buds usually look like this or is something off with the acidity of our soil?)
In other news, our buddies Mat and Evan at Turkey Shore Distilleries have launched their Old Ipswich White Cap Rum. We've tasted it off of the still, but are very excited to try it in bottled form. That good looking pooch on the label is one of Tela's and my walking buddies from Appleton. Look for it in stores near you!
