I am Gone into the Fields . . .
October 5, 2015
“I leave this notice on my door
For each accustom’d visitor —
‘I am gone into the fields
To take what this sweet hour yields.'”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley, from “The Invitation”
Fall is in the air. Mornings now are often foggy, but this melancholy grayness usually burns off making way to mellow sunshine. I had the urge to drive in the country to see the rural landscape slipping into autumn, so even though the day started off foggy and gray, I headed north to the Skagit Valley. The sun never did break through. So I was prepared to photograph the lovely grays, browns, yellows and greens of our fall palette.
My first stop was Jello Mold Farm to photograph in the flower fields. The end-of-the-season dahlias and zinnias brought an array of surprising summery colors through my viewfinder. But I’ll save those photos for another post or two. Today I will share photos from my walk through the flower fields.
The Domestic Triumphs of August
August 23, 2015
“Spring was a fever and autumn will be a regret, but this is the month of its own successful achievement to be more than barely sentient. . . . August is the month when the solid and the domestic triumph, when the prudent come into their own. The very birds, whose springtime was devoted to love and music, are now responsible parents who have forgotten how to sing. The early flowers of the woods waved their brief blossoms and are forgotten, but the roadside and the fields are taken over now by the strong, coarse, and confident weeds.”
— Joseph Wood Krutch, The Twelve Seasons: A Perpetual Calendar for the Country
Behind the Scenes at A Plant Nursery
November 27, 2012
“Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”
— E. B. White
“Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.”
— Muriel Ruckeyser
Have you ever stopped to think just where your local nurseries, garden centers and flower vendors get their starter plants? I was recently the guest of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) tour of Skagit Gardens, a large wholesale greenhouse company in Washington’s Skagit Valley. They employ 150 to 300 people, depending upon seasonal needs, so this is a large operation. The focus on healthy plants is impressive. Here is a behind-the-scenes look: