Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. Natives to South America (primarily Brazil and Chile), some have become naturalized in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira and the Canary Islands. They are summer growing, long-lived perennials, and the honey bees can’t get enough…
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#flowers #california #garden #plantingforpollinators #headfirst (at At Home in Napa)
Excitement in the garden.
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#garden #california #pollinators #butterfly (at At Home in Napa)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli 🥦.
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#garden #vegetables #backyardgarden #dinner (at At Home in Napa)
Kaffir lime blossom.
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#citrus #lime #kaffirlime #garden (at At Home in Napa)
African iris (Dietes bicolor) also known as Butterfly Flag, is a native of South Africa. A fortnight lily, the plant flowers from spring through fall.
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#garden #flowers #blooms (at At Home in Napa)
Toiling quietly in our small garden is akin to my worshipping at a shine, albeit a wild, unkempt one. Reflections, not necessarily epiphanies, come fast and hard; thoughts of life lived fully and joyfully, and letting go of the sadness of loss.
Sitting recently in the mountains with two friends over their shlepped homemade brew, we discussed life and death, god and religion, nature and science, the role of luck. These musings are as varied (and often as interesting) as there are souls on this Earth.
We come to the age-old questions with heavy baggage, many assumptions passed down through time. Deciding where to plant the cucumbers, spreading the compost, and tending to the bees allows me the opportunity to question long-held beliefs; to understand nature’s divinity more clearly.
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#garden #gardening #gardener #gardenreflections (at At Home in Napa)
The waning days of winter greens.
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#garden #makingroomfortomatoes #plantingforpollinators (at At Home in Napa)
Zantedeschia aethiopica (known as calla lily and arum lily) is a species in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland.
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#garden #flowers #callalily #springincalifornia (at At Home in Napa)
The door to the porch
left ajar by the cat
invites intoxication
to flood the kitchen
stumbling
head spinning
indecent, immodest
thick of tongue
from too much
spring.
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A North African nosegay
wafts through a California garden
beguiling as a flowing hijab;
night blooming jasmine
Meyer lemon and Persian lilac
sweet and kaffir lime
spent daffodil, shivering plum
and
thousands of eye-watering
orange blossoms
popping from branches
still hung with winter fruit
now humming
vibrating
teeming
with bees.
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#california #garden #bee #spring
(at At Home in Napa)
Morning dew on spring buds.
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#california #spring #napavalley #garden
(at At Home in Napa)
🐞
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#garden #cleanfood #everythingisconnected (at At Home in Napa)
#pharmacy
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#garden #knowfromwhereithails #chicory #citrus (at At Home in Napa)
A wet spring evening
and a bottle of old Rhône
later
fifty varieties
of garlic
and two
of shallot
sat in my virtual carriage,
a plethora of allium
in the ether.
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Land lent
by a gentleman and farmer
who regales me
with business strategies
of butts in the air
equaling
dollars in the bank.
The patch of dirt
is swank
with water and fencing
and tourist eyes
to ogle the bounty,
surrounded by vineyards
studded with important art
and the requisite
lavender and gnarled olive trees
of posh wine estates.
A young man
a valley boy
agreed to help me plant
fifteen hundred
plus
cloves
a staggering number
for a body unaccustomed
to the labor of farming.
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#garden #garlic #allium #chasinggarlic #garlicfarmer
(at Napa, California)
Taking clues
from movements in Nature
on how
to live my life.
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#bee #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping #garden #borage @napavalleybeeco (at Napa, California)
Joy (and nourishment) stirred with the first blooms of rosemary.
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#garden #bee #beekeeping #backyardbeekeeping @napavalleybeeco
(at At Home in Napa)
One final, perfect, mutant Canna flower, a beauteous last gasp before winter.
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#garden #nature #beauty #flowers (at At Home in Napa)
Before the rain and after the fires,
dozens of laden pepper plants were late to be liberated of their fruit, now overripe and packing some serious BTUs. Habanero and Serrano and Ghost and Aji and red Padron peppers were de-stemmed and blended with dozens and dozens of cloves of Susanville garlic, agave and sea salt. Left to ferment for five days before separating the jus (for Sriracha) from the pulp (for Simbal). A stir each day releases its exotic, heady aromas into the air, making me long for a wood-fired, thick-cut pork chop on which to slather this 🌶 paste from hell.
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#garden #hotpeppers #food #hotasfuck (at At Home in Napa)
The last of summer’s plants finally pulled from the garden, the last bits of fruit liberated. Destined to be dried or fermented, their heat will keep us warm all winter and into spring, liberally seasoning broths and stews.
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#garden #pepper #hotasfuck #putshaironyourchest (at At Home in Napa)
Yesterday
high as a kite
happy as a clam
trowel in gloved hand,
sunhat shading crow’s feet,
Virgin Airlines black pajamas
my horticulture clothes,
congratulating myself
on the natural aliveness
of the garden:
the hum of bees
the smell of honey come midday heat,
the blooming flowers,
the frantic hummingbirds dive-bombing for food,
the tiny finches’ afternoon visit to the fountain,
the screeching blue jays raiding the feeders,
the baskets of fruit and veggies
resting
in the shade
under the camellia tree.
Today’s inspection
of the hive
revealed the facade;
a trifecta
of pests
invaded the bee box
and my brood
may not survive
the winter.
Small Hive Beetles
tiny helmeted monsters
and
wax moth
dragging a web of pestilence to the comb
and finally
the dreaded Varroa mite
parasitizing the new winter bees
before they even hatch.
What to do?
Not even an aspirin
do I take.
Are the bees treated
once
with an organic insecticide?
Is the queen
replaced
to create a stronger colony?
Or is nature
allowed
to take its course?
Environmental factors
are relegating
today’s
beekeepers
to
pest managers.
Divorcing myself
from the emotional aspects
of animal husbandry
means understanding
chemical manipulations
only lend the illusion
of control and well being
and instead
affect
every
other
thing.
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#bee #beekeeping #garden #everythingisconnected (at At Home in Napa)
Fennel pollen.
#california #garden #foodforbees (at At Home in Napa)