The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Category Archives: Family

Scaring the kids, curing disease and butterfly wars

Posted on by Posted in Critters, Family .
The latest and greatest going on in my garden:
Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ is now in full bloom and is completely covered in bees all day and night:

I strategically planted this shrub right next to our deck so the scent could be enjoyed by the family. That plan worked out well as my daughter picked up on the smell this week and loved it. However, the plan back fired as the kids don’t like all of the bees and run for cover. One of these days those naive bastards youngsters will understand the beauty of bees.

We had an unexpected outbreak of syphilis in my neighborhood this week (long and scandalous story) but being the resourceful gardener and holistic professional that I am, I came to the rescue and harvested a bunch of Lobelia siphilitica for those affected:                   

So it was nice to help out my diseased neighbors and all, but honestly, I am more impressed by the color on the blooms of this perennial:  

Yes, I know many think of the Althea (Rose of Sharon) as a weed or “old school”, but you cannot deny how great these blooms look when back lit:

Speaking of back lit, how can you not love the blooms on Pennisetum ‘Rubrum’ (Purple fountain grass) this time of year:

Yes, this may not be my best black swallowtail pic, but I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I chased this SOB for almost an hour trying to get the best possible photo. I eventually had to settle on this shot as she sat in the tree and laughed at my futility:

We will meet again and I will capture her in all her glory like never before.

Game friggin on.

John

Recap of our vacation to Chester, CT

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We just returned from our annual trip to the family “Cottage” in Chester, Connecticut and once again, it was nothing but good times. 
The kids spent most of their days swimming in the lake:   

  

I was ordered to join them … :

To throw them around non-stop:

And then this old man would collapse and beg them to just swim around:

The lake lends itself to so many amazing photo opportunities and hopefully this amateur photographer captured them OK:   

We spent one day at the beach in Rhode Island just to mix it up a bit:

East Beach was our kind of beach; just a natural oasis with nothing built up around it:

We made sure to partake in the the legendary Del’s frozen lemonade while in RI:

And on the trek back to CT, we made a few stops along the way for more pictures:

My personal fave, making the kids suffer in the bright sun:

 We spent another morning at the aquarium in Mystic, CT:

We met up with family and kicked it old school with roasted marshmallows and … :

Sparklers baby:

My son turned 10 (you friggin kidding me?) while we were away and we celebrated it well:

But when all was said and done, the best part was spending a week with my three favorite people in the world:

It kind of sucks to be back, but I can now get back to the garden and believe me, it needs me desperately.

John

The weekend in photos

A weekend of baseball and plants

Posted on by Posted in Baseball, Family .
I’m considering a blog name change to “Bee Balm and Baseball” or “Catmint and Curveballs” or maybe even “Dogwoods on the Diamond”. 
Baseball and gardening have sort of merged into this hybrid “past time” for me. I’m watching baseball on TV as I write this post. I find myself sneakily pruning shrubs while I’m pitching to my son. I’ll shop for seeds online while using my phone at my son’s baseball game. Hell, I even wrote a post on how baseball and gardening are very similar. 
And guess what? More of the same today.
Saturday was “Opening Day” for both my son’s baseball team and my daughter’s softball team:
              
Not only did they have both have their games at different times and locations, but also had their team photos at different times. The dreaded team photos are not too unlike herding a bunch of hyenas on Red Bull. I pity their poor coaches.
My daughter’s game was first and it couldn’t have been more entertaining. She actually wore a helmet into the field at one point and still gets confused as to which hand the glove goes on. But damn, I’ve never seen someone who enjoys being out on the field as much as she does. And she LOVES her uniform, and posing while in it.
Here she is in her first at bat. Take notice of the fact that her eyes are completely closed before the ball even reaches the plate:
  
Amazingly, she made solid contact AND knew she had to run to first base. Maybe I’m underestimating her interest.
And no one could match her “ready position” out in the field (Also, I guess cutting the lawn for opening day wasn’t in the plans):
When her game ended, it was time to shift to another field for my son’s first game. 
He was pitching for the first time ever and so that explains why I have no pictures of him or his team. My wife and I were an emotional mess the entire time and photography was the last thing on my mind. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and we were so friggin anxious to see him succeed. And home boy did. Four strikeouts over two innings and only one run allowed. I’m already pushing thinking scholarship.
It was a long day out in the sun and we were happy to finally return home. And guess what greeted me in the driveway?:      

Real shocker, huh? Yes, another delivery. I ignored the rest of the family and dove in.

There were only three plants inside but they are damn solid ones. Check out this packaging, the best I’ve ever seen:

First, we have a Tsuga canadensis ‘Moon Frost’:

Next up is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lime’:

And finally, the one I am most pumped about, the Chasmanthium latifolium ‘River Mist’ (AKA variegated Northern Sea Oats):

Good times for me. Each has their future home marked out and will be planted soon.

The long awaited and desperately needed rain arrived on Saturday night and continued on throughout the day on Sunday. I managed to jump outside at the only break in the rain in the late afternoon to snap some photos of the garden.

The Viburnum ‘Shoshoni’ started to bloom this weekend and I couldn’t miss out on capturing it:  

The Hawthorn ‘Winter King’ is about to bloom as well:

A few of the Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ are in full bud for the first time and I am super psyched to see the impending blooms:

Call me crazy, but I love Iris foliage and this Iris Versicolor looks as clean as a whistle:

The Pesntemon ‘Husker’s Red’ are emerging from their ratty old foliage and the world is a better place as a result:

And I never miss a chance to photograph Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ during or after a rain:

It was a great weekend and I’m ready for more of the same for the next month or so.

Play ball!

John

Weekend in New England

Posted on by Posted in Family .
Yeah, you read that right. 
This blog post title is a reference to Barry Manilow. I’ve been waiting for over two years to find the right time to throw “Mr Copacabana” into the mix. And here it is.    
But I digress.
We really did spend this past weekend in New England (Connecticut actually) with family and had an awesome time. I no longer had to ask myself “When will this strong yearning end?”; I was actually there and loving every minute of it (Sorry, that is the last Manilow reference). The time in New England really did take me away (Seriously, no more mentions of Barry).
We drove up from New Jersey super early on Saturday morning and miraculously encountered no traffic on 95. As we approached our destination, I made a quick and violent turn when I saw the word “Orchard” on a small sign. It was as if I was pulled by powers beyond my control. Even though the kids had to pee real bad, this was something that couldn’t be missed. After about a mile drive, I pulled to the side of the road and took out the camera. It was too scenic not to be captured on film:         

Childrens’ bladders be damned, I’m glad we found this gem.

We eventually located the market/store on the property and let the kids take care of business. Well, two last pics of the daffodils before we went in:  

The kids were good to go and we were ready to descend upon our hosts:

After we got settled in and caught up on life, we herded all of the kids out to a “dinosaur park”. “Park” may be a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like a dinosaur “nook” and our hosts were a bit embarrassed but we all loved it:  

Check out this footprint:

Their minds were riveted, albeit briefly, by the thoughts of dinosaurs roaming the area but like most kids, they found climbing to be the real joy:

The idea of wearing out the children so the parents could start drinking earlier in the evening was on all of our minds so we immediately swept them off to the local playground:

And if you thought that plan was genius, how about shuffling the already exhausted kids off into the hot tub for a “cool down”:

Operation “Good night children” complete …

Ironically, it turns out the parents couldn’t make it much past 9:00 PM and the kids were still sneaking around the house at that time. Oh well.

The next day was a nice lazy “hang”. Delicious breakfast and unlimited coffee. We were all chilling when I was asked if I wanted some cuttings of a hydrangea that dates back to the 1970’s. I couldn’t mouth the words “hell yeah” fast enough.

Turns out this hydrangea was originally planted in Staten Island, NY by my wife’s great grandfather. This man was a well known gardener in the city and we have a number of old newspaper clippings that display his work. A man cut from the same cloth as me. A hero I never actually met but have heard such warm stories about.

After he passed, the shrub made it’s way to Acton, MA up until the early 2000’s. At that point, it was moved to the locale below:

Our gracious hosts gave me two cuttings after getting drenched in the pouring rain. I was proud to be part of carrying on the legacy.

That afternoon, we said our goodbyes after having a fantastic time. We promised each other that we would do this again soon. Even their dog was sad to see us go:    

We arrived back home in early evening and after unpacking, I grabbed the camera to capture some actual blooms that emerged while we were gone:

But most importantly, I planted my new hydrangea cuttings and can now watch them take off:

Hopefully some day I can give my kids cuttings from this same shrub.

A good damn weekend.

“Looks like we made it”.

John

Thanksgiving weekend

Posted on by Posted in Family .
Grab your favorite beverage and kick back because this is going to be a long one today. 
I considered breaking this post up into smaller versions but I know once I set foot back at work tomorrow, the long weekend will be a distant memory and I will have moved on. So you’ll just have to hang in there and do me a solid by patiently wading through this post. Gracias.
One of the greatest benefits (or drawbacks, depending on your point of view) of hosting a holiday is it forces you to get your ass in gear to make sure the house is in good shape. Those small “yeah I’ll take care of that tomorrow” projects become a top priority. My wife is a saint for putting up with my lack of skills when it comes to “indoor” projects, but when forced to get something done, I usually pull through (assuming the project is a relatively easy one). While most consider hanging a picture to be an easy task, I get all sorts of pumped up when I pull it off; but I act all humble like it’s no big deal. Case in point:
I hung this sconce after some serious mathematical calculations to make sure it was centered correctly:

And hung this little vignette of bird art (in a grouping of three naturally). Trust me, they are all straight, this photo is an illusion:

                         
It wouldn’t be a fair representation if I didn’t mention that my wife was about 98% responsible for all of the Turkey Day prep. She busted her hump and I just played the role of sous chef (but a damn good one at that). 
Thursday arrived and we were ready to go. We had a smaller crowd this year (miss you Adam/Ali and Jay/Beck) but enough that a full spread was necessary. 
To kick things off, the fire was started, even though it was in the 60’s outside:         

My daughter took care of the place cards and through some mediation with the two kids, we were able to determine seating assignments:

A sprig of rosemary tied to each napkin gave off a tremendous scent and set the mood:

As did some wine, football, my roaring wood burning fire (never gas) and good conversation. I think the discussion here was about how awesome the sconces looked in the dining room. Or it was about how damn interesting this blog is:

First course (and my personal fave) was butternut squash/apple soup accompanied with maple bacon and homemade croutons (my food photography leaves a lot to be desired, sorry):

After a bit of a break, all of the food was out and it was time to gorge ourselves:  

We pretty much ignored each other as we ate our asses off:

It was a great day as we all enjoyed each other’s company without a care in the world. My mother and the two kids would appear to agree:

My nephew entertained us all as only he can and it was a riot to have a young one running around in our house again:

There may be no better sleep than the one had on Thanksgiving evening and this year was no exception. Wine/beer/food/tryptophan/pumpkin pie will put you into some serious REM sleep and it felt GOOD. And, we still had three more days off. Nice!

Friday was all about sleeping in,  followed by an excursion to the movies. It felt great to just chill and it felt great to eat the leftovers that night. All was right in the world.

Saturday was an absolutely perfect weather day (upper 60’s) and we made the most of it. Even the bulbs were thrown off by the warm temps:      

My daughter was ready to join me outdoors for some gardening chores and she couldn’t wait to show off her new tools:

I also promised her I would share her cool “gardening boots” with you all:

While she planted some acorns in some containers, I managed to perform some serious hard labor as I reduced my never ending topsoil mountain to this:

Which looked like this only a day ago. It may not look like much, but that soil was damn heavy and wet:

After busting my arse for an hour or so, I threw in the trowel (I may trademark that phrase) and took some photos of plants that were still providing some visual stimulation:

Feeling this good about my garden and being outdoors this late in November was a welcome pleasure. Scratch that … family, good food, no work and the garden were a welcome pleasure this past weekend.

Hope yours was just as enjoyable.

John

Wordless Wednesday – Vacation Part 2 – All About Oregon

Vacation to the Northwest – Part 1

Posted on by Posted in Family .
The family and I were on vacation all last week in the beautiful Northwest (outside Portland, OR) visiting my in-laws and we could not have had a better time. We packed in a ton within a week’s time (trip to the coast, two days in Seattle) and are still in a state of recovery. I’ll need to keep it simple for today as I am doing my best to not doze off as I type this.        
My in-laws live in the northern Willamette Valley which is one of the world’s best Pinot noir wine regions:    

So it was a no-brainer to leave the kids at home for the day so my wife and I could do some serious wine tasting. And we rocked it.

While it was an overcast and foggy day (and we expected as much), the scenery at the wineries was as fantastic as the Pinot:    

I think my personal favorite was David Hill Winery where the tasting was held in an old farmhouse and our hosts could not have been more down to earth and gracious:

We even shared a New Jersey connection with one of the women which lead to some interesting conversation.

We did not make any purchases (which can be difficult to resist when you’ve been drinking) considering the effort to bring the wine home on the plane, but will be sure to order on-line now that wine can be shipped directly to New Jersey.

Good times were had by all. More on our trip tomorrow when I’m capable of writing coherently.

John          

Odds and ends

Posted on by Posted in Family .
Some random thoughts on a Tuesday:
My wife and kids may be in the car and heading south as I type this because we’ve been infested with spiders in the house for the past two months. My solution:   

That’s right, osage oranges. All entries into the house have been covered and we won’t see another arachnid again. Yes, it may be folklore that this really works but I’m buying it hard. The “they eat all the bad bugs” line has worn thin and I’m desperate.

Mums really bother me. They’re everywhere this time of year and they bloom TOO well. Worst of all, they don’t have to work hard for your admiration (unless you’ve managed to get them to come back year after year and religiously pinch them – then you’re cool as hell). You just overpay for them at Shop Rite, stick them in a container, throw some pumpkins next to them and voila – an autumn vignette. Color me not impressed:        

This past summer, I planted 15 Lamium plants (‘White Nancy’) and exactly one survived. That is the result of poor planning from someone who should know better by now but still hasn’t learned. I’ll tell you what though, I guarantee this one plant will survive and flourish so all of the other plants did not die without reason:  

On the other hand, some times it is as simple as sticking a plant in a pot and letting it go. These two ‘Alabama Sunset’ coleus have thrived from late April until now and I haven’t given them a thought (although I don’t tell visitors that):  

You know what never gets old? The zoo:

It thrills kids and grandparents to no end:

Ciao
John

Our vacation to Stonington, Connecticut

Posted on by Posted in Family .

My wife and I (sans children) just returned from a four day vacation at one of our absolute favorite locales:

This is not one of your ordinary beach towns that are so common up and down the East Coast. When staying here, you feel like you are immediately integrated into the community and not a tourist. At breakfast each morning, the staff at the inn would offer up the best of the local attractions and you could feel the sincerity behind it. We rarely needed our car as anything we needed was within walking distance. True village life.
One of the most enjoyable activities was a simple walk up and down the main street where we passed the locals walking their dogs or watering their gardens. I swear I could tell each and every one of them were stress free and thrilled to be living where they did. Here is a sampling of what we witnessed on these walks and I’m sure you’ll see why it was so enjoyable:          
          
You feelin me dawg? When can I move in? It was a garden lover’s dream to see it all and you could tell it was a community wide effort. I swear to you (and I know everyone says this when on vacation) we would move there in a second if all the particulars were worked out. You hear me Stonington? If you need an obsessive gardener and garden writer, call me. We’ll do lunch. 
Speaking of lunch, there are 4-5 restaurants within the village, all distinctive in their own way, that offer that local feel. We would have a margarita and guacamole at one and then eat from the raw bar at another. Along the way, we would listen intently to the natives talk about their adventures out on the boat or discussing the additions to their gardens or the new shipment of lobsters they just received. No where did I hear any discussions about the usual corporate crap and that put a smile on my face. 
Did I mention there were a number of local wineries in the area? Well now you know. We even purchased cheese and other deliciousness and had our own picnic inside one of the wineries while live music played:             

The back drop of the Long Island Sound wasn’t so bad either:

Each day we watched the kids at sailing camp and wondered if we could convince our kids to participate WHEN we move there:

Oh yeah, we also found a pristine unspoiled beach right over the border in Rhode Island (East Beach) and I didn’t long for the Jersey Shore for one second:

That is pure genuine happiness my friends:

One thing my wife and I promised to each other throughout this trip was that we would do our best to incorporate what we loved during this vacation into our every day lives. We know what we love and what we ideally would love to do professionally in the future. Now is the time to start working towards it. Thank you Stonington!

John