Monday, March 24, 2008

Better Than Laundry

Today, I did laundry and some gardening. I don't think you'd care to see my laundry, so I'll take you out into the garden with me instead. This, for my dear friends still covered in snow, is what Spring looks like:A zinnia seedling. My husband plants a zinnia cutting garden for me every year.
I'll take another picture of this row in a few weeks. You'll be amazed at the riot of color.

Speaking of color riots, this is a curious flowering bush we have in the yard:

I don't know the name of it, but it's got two different colors of flowers on it. There are silvery pink flowers and coraly red flowers. This bush is a puzzle to me. I've never seen nature get colors wrong, but this one just doesn't seem right. These colors clash! Would you ever make a quilt using those two colors together? But it's still pretty. Perhaps it's some type of Thumbergia? It's upright, but aspires to be a vine. It's got coily tendrils. Anyone?


Mmmmm...the mint is looking fine. We have many kinds of herbs in the garden. Basil grows huge here. Oh look, the horse next door is watching us:



Hello sweetie! Want an apple? My husband feeds the neighbor horse treats over the fence. He's a pushover for a pretty face.


Plumeria blossoms are popping out all over. This is the flower I usually make leis from for visitors. The smell is jasmine-like, but not overpowering. In a few weeks, this bare tree will be full of flowers.
The lettuce is almost ready. And look, we have tomatoes in the greenhouse!
Roma tomatoes pretty much grow all year. In the summer, one bush overwhelms us with tomatoes. I started out with more in this colander, but I had to eat a few while I was taking their picture. They taste like summer.

Speaking of Spring and Summer, here's something that I won't be wearing for a while:


I finished my Merino Lace socks from the Favorite Socks book. I'm really happy with the pattern and fit. I finished these socks a few nights ago and immediately cast on some more socks:
No, this is funny little green blob is NOT the beginnings of a Grinch sculpture, it's the beginning of a Monkey sock! I wanted to see what all the fuss was about this pattern. I like it already! It's all lumpy and funky, but when it's stretched out on a leg, it's really pretty! This yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock in Carol Green.


Hopefully, I'll get back into my sewing room tomorrow.

37 comments:

ladydi said...

Thanks for sharing spring in Hawaii with us. Such lovely flowers! Here in NE Ohio we are ready for Mother Nature to get the memo that spring is here.

Kellie said...

Everything is so gorgeous! I don't even like tomatoes all that much and those look delicious. :) I so wish my computer were scratch and sniff...I'd love to get a whiff of that plumeria!

The Calico Cat said...

A. soooo jealous. (Have you made a mint & tomato salad? No, then you better try it since you have both ingredients handy. again I'm JEALOUS)

B. Stumped on the flower....

C. Have you sewn with that Katie Jump Rope fabric?

Mom IsAmagpie said...

I want to come play at your house!! I love tomatoes, and Plumeria. Ooh and I wouldn't have to drive an hour to horseback riding lessons.
Your socks are gorgeous, I think Monkey is going to be so pretty in green.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa, I love all those pictures!! I saw blooming Plumeria last year in Australia. Your herbs and vegetables look very delicious!!! You are now such a great knitter! Very beautiful socks.
Please, tell Angela that I´ve visited at Andree museum in Grenna, Sweden a couple of times. Have a nice week!

SandyQuilts said...

Oh my Lisa you do know how to make the world envy your home. The tomatoes, flowers, plantings and even the neighbors horse .... now I really do want to take off for Hawaii again. Thanks for sharing your corner of the world.

Rhonda said...

I don't know what that flowering bush is but I would make a quilt using those colors. As a matter of fact, that's what I thought .. a quilt.
Your garden is wonderful... tomatoes yearround.. I'm jealous. And I wish we have neighbor with a pretty face too. lol
BTW, your Kauai news made it to the mainland yesterday. I had another laugh while driving the kids to school. :c)

Sally said...

Wow, your garden looks spectacular! I love the smell of plumeria. We used to have season tickets to Sea world in San Diego and I would get this small bottle of plumeria perfume once a year. That's the only place I could find it. We are starting to see signs of spring here...I saw some daffodils trying to sprout this weekend. And the weather is getting warmer.

Tine said...

My goodness, it looks really really wonderful! I'm a little jealous of your garden, I have to admit.... But hey, not everyone lives in a place where one can wear wool in march, so who am I to complain?!
I'm already looking forward to seeing your zinnias....I love zinnias!

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

I didn't even know that monkeys wore socks. I bet it does look pretty stretched out on a monkey's leg; especially in that pretty shade of spring green! Thanks for sharing the fruits of your season.

jacquie said...

This all looks so good (especially the horse.) How lucky you are to have an equine neighbor!

Mary Anne said...

WOW !!! now I REALLY have spring fever !!!!!I'm JEALOUS of all those wonderful things growing in your garden .... I'm jealous of any wonderful thing growing in anybody's garden ....(we mostly grow clay and rocks in our yard ..... although my Dad, the master gardener is trying desperately to teach me a thing or two....)

....and I want that horse to come and live in my yard!! What a face!!!

.....and LOVE the new socks you're working on .... now just because you live in a tropical climate, I don't think you necessarily have to omit those great hand knit socks from your wardrobe ..... just wear them with sandals .... that would really show off the ENTIRE sock ... you know ... how well you shape the heel, etc ....

Doris said...

I am so green with envy right now. I just finished a post on my blog complaining about the lack of spring...apparently it is in Hawaii...

Unknown said...

Okay, so I feel a little warmer looking at your pictures. (Can you believe we had snow on Easter?)

I don't know about the flowers, but I feel like I should challenge you to use those colors in a quilt. If anyone could do it, you could.

Have a great (warm) day.

Hugs,
Melinda

Paula, the quilter said...

Don't know what the bush is either. Can you pluck a leaf and go to a garden center for advice? The Monkey Socks are gonna rock! I've been wanting to do a pair too and I've got some Brown Sheep Yarn Co sock yarn in a garnet that I've been saving for that pattern. And like Amy, the calico cat, I would make a salad, but I would make Tabuleh salad. I love this stuff and can just eat it all down!

Anna said...

Hey Lisa,
My hubby just planted some roma tomatos and the basil gets really big here in Texas as well. We don't have tomatos ALL year long, but earlier than most I suppose. Up until now I alway thought Plumeria was just a scent of lotion from Bath and Bodyworks, who knew it actually came from a real flower! (I have a brown thumb by the way, anything I try to grow turns brown.) I love the cat widget you added! It was so fun to play with! I don't have a cat of my own, but I used to have two. Then the dogs came along and my sister adopted my cats. At least the scenery is nicer where you are, it's sort of flat and metro around here. Thanks for sharing.

Anna

qusic said...

my basil still grows in front of the kitchen window, but snow has melted, sigh......took my girls(12,15yo) on a shopping spree for spring clothes and a film in the cinema.
now I relax in front of the laptop and rejoice in your growing zinnias, my favourite summer flowers. mine will be attacked by slugs as every year, nonetheless I grow them, in cherry red!

Suzy said...

You are soooo lucky to be living in Hawaii! When we went a few years ago, I fell in love with all the tropical flowers. One of our on-shore excursions was to a botannical garden. Loved it! If I'm not mistaken, I believe that beautiful bush/flower is in the fuschia family. Gorgeous, just gorgeous! :o)

Opal said...

So you decided to go green with the Monkeys? Woohoo! They look great. I also love your Merino Lace socks. That pattern is really fun, doncha think? :)

Suzy said...

Hmmmm...On second look, I wonder if that flowering bush could be a bleeding heart? I'm stumped -- but it's a beauty. Wish I had one in my garden. :o)

Anonymous said...

Oh, those zinnias will be so lovely! What a sweetie to plant them for you! We have the Plumeria also- it does smell wonderful! I think my husband calls it frangipangi or something.?? anyway- thanks for the lovely flowers- I have never seen any like that one with the purple and fushia- very exotic!

Denise (Nour) said...

It's a fuschia plant! The color is gorgeous. I love the plumeria which I think is also called frangipani. They small fabulous. We have that in the MiddleEast as well.

Karen said...

I have that plant in my yard (Big Island)- though my flowers are white and fuschia. And I KNOW the name, but can't think of it...
It should come to me at 2 this morning.

tina said...

Oh but you are a B, showing spring when I am cold cold cold. And plumeria--------- how I miss them. I mean, to think, you could just stroll along just about anywhere and pick up enough to sniff, tuck behind your ear, fill a fingerbowl!

Yes my dear----- that is a fuschia. Anywhere but Hawaii they are hanging basket plants! LOL. Gorgeous!

Enjoy the monkey knit, it is a fun thing!

By the way. I'm leaving now to come live with you. I'll stay in the porch and do your cooking and laundry. I won't be in the way really. I'll be there in about 16 hours. Just so y'know.

Joe said...

Hi Lisa ,
Great looking garden. I believe your vine is called Rangoon Creeper aka Chinese Honeysuckle
(Quisqualis indica) Real colorful vine, yours looks like a good variety.

Angela said...

Such nice pictures! I found your mystery plant, it's Clerodendrum thomsonae. Commonly called "bleeding heart". I think the more common version is the red/white, which wikipedia shows. Here is a link to the one you have: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/images/cle_tho_1964.jpg
~A.

Angela said...

Sorry, that link looks like it got cut off? Let's try that again (this time with html!).

Corrected Link!

~A.

Salem Stitcher said...

I love the plumeria. That wonderful smell is one of the things I remember most about Hawaii. Thanks for jogging the memory!

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Oh look a Hawaiian Horse. LOL!!! Love all the flowers/plants you are growing. I would love to be able to pick flowers and make a lei right in my own yard. I know it smells wonderful. A few more weeks and I'll be there in heaven!

jacquie said...

Lisa,
Just had a cup of coffee and watched you on Simply Quilts. Your segment was fun and interesting and you were as engaging as I imagined. Just think...you're stored in my TiVo. Somehow that feels weird. Great JOB!

Phyl said...

I so desperately needed the reminder of what spring looks like. Thanx for a delightful post!

BusybeeDebQuilts said...

Ahhhh ... I can almost smell the Spring time in the air ....

I like the suggestion of a scratch and snif monitor ... think I'll send an e-mail to Dell ...

Elizabeth said...

Oh my goodness. That garden looks amazing!

Unknown said...

I am so jealous!! You have such wonderful things growing and prospering, while things here are still dead!! But of course, you live in a most wonderful place.

Libby said...

What a great looking garden - my veggies and herbs are going in this weekend. I should consider a flower cutting garden . . . what fun *s*

Vicky said...

Yep, they're fuchsias. I had never seen the purple/pink combo until I moved to SoCal. Such interesting flowers.
http://www.flowerworldusa.com/info/fuchsias.html

The veggies look wonderful! Nothing better than fresh-picked tomatoes!

cinnamongirl93 said...

I love the socks! Nice work! The green ones are so striking! Happy Pattern and bow making to you!