May in the Garden and the Studio

May is steadily marching by and spring is unfurling a little bit more each day. The nest of baby grackles in the bushes behind our fence has already been vacated. And yet I’m impatient with spring’s progression this year. Maybe every year. But this year, especially so. Mostly I just want nice weather. Sunshine and warm air so I can walk barefoot in the garden and plunge my hands into the soil.

I’ve been dividing my time between puttering in my garden and painting in my studio.

Nice days pull me outside and I’m ok with that.

Usually I have a friend or two to keep me company.

(Don’t worry, Jude is doing fine, even though he’s not in these photos helping me in the garden. He usually prefers to go to work with Matthias whereas Charlie is a homebody like I am).

I have a few big garden projects I’ve been working on and I hope to share photos of them when they’re finished.

One unplanned project caught my attention this week on a cold, rainy day when I couldn’t be outside. I’ve always wanted a bee skep for my garden but they’re so expensive. Searching (in vain) for affordable options I discovered a tutorial by Julie of This Beautiful Farm Life and after watching her video could not wait to make my own.

To create the shape I used a plastic flowerpot with a couple other plastic containers stacked on top. Unlike in the tutorial, I didn’t remove them thinking the solid base would make the finished result more sturdy. I also added vertical pieces of twine and a little knot at the bottom instead of a hole. It makes me happy every time I catch a glimpse of it. (Matthias keeps joking that he wants to wear it like a hat. And I suddenly understand the origins for the name of a beehive hairdo).

Every day in the garden there’s something else to discover. I’m (im)patiently waiting for the roses to bloom. As is usually the case, it looks like Therese Bugnet will be the first.

I thought I had lost the Westerland Rose I planted last year. Apparently not everyone agrees on its level of hardiness. But now it has some beautiful new growth.

I’ll pamper it this summer and in the fall I’ll be sure to give it more protection against our Zone 4 winter.

The little cherry tree/shrub (Juliet) I planted last year came through the winter beautifully and even had 3 flowers. I cheered and thanked the bee I saw visiting them (yes, out loud, and loudly) and plan to watch for cherries.

The strawberries are coming along (and trying to take over the garden!).

I planted a tiny peach tree (Contender) in a container last year and overwintered the pot in the garage. This spring I planted it in the ground and was delighted to see it filled with flowers.

I only have a few lily of the valley plants (castoffs from my Mom’s garden), but even a few plants in bloom smell divine.

In my studio it’s been all about tulips, wild violets and dandelions.

Although it might not look that way from the outside, I’ve been working through an uncomfortable evolution in my work. It’s hard to fully explain. Most of it is internal and it’s just something I need to feel and think about and find my way through. When this phase of my growth has passed you might not even be able to see a change. Unlike at other times when I’ve faced these feelings and avoided art-making, this time I’m doubling down and painting even more.

So I guess these tests of my patience between my garden and my art are good distractions from the news. I hope you are hanging in there and are staying safe and healthy and finding your own distractions, whatever they may be.