Sunflowers – Page 2 – Gardens For Goldens

Maria’s Notes from the Garden

Maria did an early evening check on the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden this week to see how things were faring in our 100+ degree Sacramento heat wave. Ina surprised her with a visit earlier in the day to water, so a work visit turned into a rare chance to simply take in the garden as the sun mercifully dropped lower in the sky.

She found a Mantis – praying over her Sunflowers…

and a beautiful sunset.

Beau, her nine and a half-year old Homeward Bound foster dog, stayed home where it was cooler.

Maria is one of those special people who foster – generally taking the older, special needs dogs. What a good second-chance life for Beau. He seems to be right at home in his own little garden, complete with lizard!

Resetting

I have to admit, I was a little discouraged Friday night when I arrived at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden; by the destruction being inflicted on Maria’s sunflowers, the paths that are in disarray waiting for our fall project, and the never-ending weeds that grows like trees in this country garden.

Unlike maintenance at our home gardens where we just step outside the door – the trek out to this country garden takes time. As a result, we generally are limited to one full day of gardening per week, and one weekly, evening visit. Things pile up fast and it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed.

Sometimes , as they say, it is hard to see the forest for the trees. I’m sure the volunteers who waited Friday night for an expected dog drop-off sometimes feel similarly. It is not unusual for Homeward Bound to welcome 10-20 rescues a week. So much good accomplished; and always so much more to do.

I know for the dedicated volunteers of Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, the reward of seeing rescued dogs go to their new forever homes far outweighs the long hours and occasional discouragements. So I stopped feeling sorry for myself and hit the garden early with Maria, weed whackers, trowels, and beads in hand. Beads? Read on.

First, it is amazing how much better things look when the paths are closely trimmed – even if the “lawn” is really weeds. At least they are (mostly) green and neat for now. Our plan is to create an isolated grassy area next fall, and surround the beds with mulched paths, letting them grow larger and closer together. This will greatly reduce the amount of weekly maintenance, and hopefully create a cool resting point for the eye in a sea of color. Can’t wait!

Close observation confirmed Maria’s and Ina’s suspicions; the damage caused to the sunflowers was done by Finches who leveled their bold attacks in full view of us today. (Thanks to our readers for your suggestions.) Maria’s counter attack includes hanging beads, metallic spirals, CDs and putting an owl sculpture in place to watch over the garden. The Sunflower bed looks a little like Mardi Gras, but Maria assures me the beads were purchased, not earned. If that needs explanation, please visit New Orleans.

Roses were fed and they, along with the fruit trees and beds were deep watered as we expect a week of 100+ degree weather ahead. This is when we are grateful for clay soil. Still, we will be paying extra visits to the garden this week.

Toward the end of the day, Maria planted some Elfin Thyme between the stone patio slabs. This will be beautiful when it fills in.

The hard work pays off in more frequent visits from dogs and dog walkers. Today we welcomed Maggie,

Bones,

Brothers Bubba and (another) Bones,

Ashton,

And Cisco.

All is right in the Memorial Garden again.

Sunflower Munching

Something is eating Maria’s Sunflowers in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden.

Seems too high for slugs to climb, and too much damage for earwigs. No caterpillars to be found.

Birds? Beetles?

If you are a Sunflower expert, please weigh in to save these tall beauties.

Thanks!

Perfectly Imperfect

There has been a lot of discussion recently about sun dial which was donated to the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden.

We set the dial in position – but it did not move correctly with the hours of the day. We read up on it a little and set it again. Still no luck. We assumed it was made incorrectly. Not true. We read some more and learned that it can tell time precisely – in its own way.

It definitely requires some extra effort and calculation to understand and make it useful in the way it was intended. It has to be aligned with the axis of the Earth’s rotation and point toward true Celestial north (different from the magnetic north pole.) Of course, the Earth’s orbit about the Sun is not perfectly circular, so the reading is not precise to standard clock time. Adjustments are also needed four days each year, and again for daylight savings time if you want it to deliver a perfect reading.

Perfection, however, is a relative thing.

I’m not particularly concerned about the exact time of day when I am in the garden. The position of the sun and the slowness of my pace tell me when it is time to take a break or retreat. So if the sun dial time is imperfect, it makes no difference to me.

I like this quote:

“Even imperfection itself may have its ideal or perfect state.”
-Thomas de Quincey

Like this bent, but still beautiful and blooming sunflower resting on our garden ground.

It’s the same with the dogs of Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. Like Zander, the three-legged wonder recently adopted.

Three legs or four make no difference to his ball-chasing abilities, or his gigantic heart. One lucky family figured out that this was his perfect state. There are more waiting. Rescue. The compassionate (and perfect!) choice.

Thanks for Sharing

I don’t know which someone(s) linked our blog to their Facebook page, but we wanted to say…

It was our biggest single day for traffic. It’s great to share the chronicle of our Memorial Garden with others; it’s even better when it helps to spread the word about the good work done at Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. From what I hear, they have their hands full with the arrival of nearly 20 new dogs this week.

I took the opportunity to bridge the weekend with the 4^th of July holiday for five days off of work. Two of them spent in the Gardens working with Maria. I don’t know how many loads of dirt I moved to level out ruts in the paths, but my feet might be able to tell you:

On Monday, we met a whole new group of dog walkers and dogs, including Goldie,

Annie,

and Isis.

Funny. The dog walkers are just as camera-shy on the weekdays as they are on the weekend. Maria too. Can you spot her here?

Everything else was happily showing off. Bunnies…

birds nests…

and this beauty from the rose garden, which unfolds from deep yellow with a hint of orange, to bright yellow, and then a pale cream.

These country garden beds look so bright and full right now, especially since the Crape Myrtles came into bloom. With luck (and many more loads of dirt and mulch) we’ll have the paths and grassy areas looking equally as good this fall.

On behalf of the many dogs waiting to be adopted at Homeward Bound – thanks for visiting and sharing our blog with others!

Gardens and Goldens: A Weekend Update

Light clouds and cool temps this morning. A good day for moving dirt.

I spent about six hours with Maria, my partner in crime, at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden today, moving dirt to level the ruts left by the sprinkler project last spring.

Fall will be here before we know it, and we have a lot of prep work to do in order to create the grassy area and paths that will link our garden beds and banish the weedy fill. Always practical, Maria insisted on using the modified golf cart, outfitted with a large hauling bin on the back. Unfortunately, I think we made more ruts using it as the ground was very wet today. Then, or course, the battery died. The good news is that I cannot be blamed for the cart’s misfortune! (Regular readers will remember that I have a bit of a reputation for breaking things.)

A good old-fashioned wheel barrel and shovel got the section done. The project continues!

Maria, somehow, managed to find more room in her Sunflower and Herb beds for more plants. The bird bath was replaced with a family of ceramic Quail, much to the surprise and unhappiness of the Robin who visits her garden.

Speaking of Sunflowers, they look as stunning from the back as they do from the front. A constant source of amazement in the gardens.

Roses were pruned; trees deep-watered; and flowers dead-headed. But the best part of the day were the dogs and their human visitors.

Pat came by with Sunny. He was three when her family adopted him two years ago on Halloween. She was on the hunt for a young dog, but we know how that goes. While volunteering, she was asked to play with Sunny. A ball was dropped and thrown, and the rest – as they say – is Homeward Bound history. Masquerading as a younger pup, Sunny adopted Pat.

Pat has taken Sunny through all of the dog training classes offered at Homeward Bound. A well-trained dog makes for a happy dog and family, and greatly improves the chances of a successful, long-term adoption. Together, Pat and Sunny also volunteer to provide therapeutic visits to patients at Kaiser. She says he comes home thoroughly exhausted and happy after spreading his joy to others.

Training has paid big dividends for two other visitors today. Owen is about two and was very well-mannered when he told us how anxious he was to find a home.

Black Jack was dropped off in the middle of the night. He is more “mature”, but has apparently discovered a love for little boys. You can read about them here and visit their galleries for more pictures.

Finally, Chris stopped by with her own Tigger and Missy.

Chris and Rob are Mentors who started a Homeward Bound Dog Walkers Club to help volunteers understand how to walk and work with the dogs. These dedicated volunteers ensure that the dogs get exercised and socialized by spending time with people and around other dogs. Their efforts help to give these pups a greater chance of adoption.

Speaking of which, I see from the Homeward Bound website that Zander was adopted!

I watched from a distance, holding my breath as a family played with him not too long ago. Looks like it was a match, which makes my day complete. Gardens. Goldens. And a home for three-legged Zander. What could be better? Oh yes…puppies!

NBA Draft Day Close-ups

It is NBA Draft Day, an official holiday in my house. In other words, I might as well be invisible. So I took the opportunity to make an evening trip to the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden to get up close with some of our blooming friends – beginning with Deb’s first Dahlia’s of the season…