A long hiatus from writing

Seed Savers Exchange near Decorah, Iowa

International Society of Arboriculture Annual Conference in Milwaukee, WI Tour de Trees finish line.

New plants in new places.  Jade Princess penisetum with Prairie Sun Rudebeckia

Just a couple of girls out for an afternoon walk.

A beautiful sunset dotted by chimney swifts in flight.

Morning coffee with some old friends in a new place.

I love to write about gardening almost as much as gardening itself.  This past growing season has been a whirlwind of changes.  My job took me into a new position at my former greenhouse experience.  Taking on the job as manager at the end of April is challenging enough in a greenhouse operation.  Add in a full-scale tree nursery and you have one big task to tackle.  I am thankful for the capable people who worked very hard to get the work done as quickly as they could.  Add in a very wet spring followed by a very wet June into July and not much can be done on time.  We have persevered.

There are new digs which come with the job.  I am enjoying the quiet and the neighbors are mostly wildlife.  My husband and I are still trying to settle into a normal routine.  I miss my gardens and the familiarity of the plants I have placed there, moved around and brought into a mature garden.  I leave them in the care of my daughter and her husband to continue on.  I hope to make some divisions and bring a few old friends to our new home.  There are lots of gardens here, but they are mostly for stock plants and they aren't really mine.  I enjoy looking at them but I have no ownership of them.  My pots that made the trip with me hold the key to my heart more than any of the other plants around me.

The summer also had some wonderful highlights.  The International Society of Arboriculture held its annual conference in Milwaukee.  I attended everyday and took in as many lectures and sessions as possible.  I came away with new things to take by to my job.  Connecting with so many other professionals is always great.  Meeting up with old friends is the highlight of these events.

I also took a camping vacation with my husband.  We love to drive the back roads.  We drove through the driftless area of southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa.  Seed Savers Exchange was in the area and I was able to stop in to see the gardens and purchase some heirloom seeds.  We found cheese factories, quilt shops, and miles of Mississippi River roads to travel.  I recommend the area very much for those who enjoy beautiful scenery.

Fall is just around the corner.  I do not have mountains of tomatoes to can (most of the plants died from wilt that I did not have time to diagnose).  I have enjoyed the pole beans and froze about eight pints for winter use.  The lettuce and spinach were wonderful with the cool moist weather.  I did not get in the succession crops so my soil is empty where onions, radishes and other vegetables have been harvested.  I miss the bush beans and the soy beans never left the package.  No flowering kale will grace may gardens this year as they are also still in their packages.  I hope I find them all for next year after moving them all.  I still haven't found the power cord for the massage chair.

I need to find that delicate balance between work and home gardens.  So much of what I do centers around plants.  Leaving the work mentality behind so I can savor those private moments in my patch will be my new goal.  I have a winter to set a plan to do that.