Early snow!

It is snowing hard as I type. I have been in Raleigh for nearly twenty-five years and I do not remember ever seeing snow accumulate this early. We've only had a few frosts, and no real cold weather. You can see in these photos that annuals such as geraniums and tender perennials like elephant ears have not yet died back.

Could be an interesting winter.

Ignoring it all

Yes, I'm afraid I have been ignoring both my blog and my garden.

This summer was so hot (a record number of above 90 degree days), that working the garden became more of a chore than a pleasure. Many of the new plants I put out in the spring could not stand the stress of the heat, even with adequate water. So, I've done very little in the last three months, other than basic maintenance.

We've had a few light frosts this past week, but only my very tender plants have begun to die back.

What I have been doing, instead, is quilting. It is normally my winter hobby, but I've spent a lot of time on quilting this fall.

I finally finished a Dresden Plate quilt that I started nearly twenty years ago! I found the pieced "plates" among fabric in an aunt's house, after she died. She was not a quilter, so I think my grandmother may have pieced them. (She died in 1958!) So, I appliqued them on blocks, quilted each block, then sewed them together. The construction is not very good, but I think it looks nice, over all. I had put this aside for a long time, as I honed my piecing and quilting skills. Just recently I pulled it out and finished it.

I've also pieced to quilt tops. One is small, so I can take it with me. The other will go on my quilting frame. These should keep me busy this winter.

Music

Music was everywhere in Russia. We had the great pleasure of seeing two ballet performances, and a folk music performance. Swan Lake was presented by the Russian National Ballet Company, in Moscow. It was an amazing performance. We saw Romeo and Juliet in St. Petersburg. It was a contemporary choreography. Quiet interesting with a very moving ending, but not really my cup of tea. But both the orchestra and dancers were excellent. In St. Petersburg we also saw a show called Feel Yourself Russian. I think this is designed for tourist. It was great fun, with a variety of traditional Russian music and dancing. Free vodka and champagne before the show and during intermission, too.

There was also music on the streets and at the various historic sites we visited. I've posted some of the more fun ones. The men with the horns were at Peterholf, which was the Summer Palace of the Tsars. (Where the Amber Room is located). I had never seen these before. They were amazing. When we first came upon them, they were playing Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. They then played several other things. It was amazing the range and tones they produced. I am sorry I did not think to video these men.

The man with the odd looking instrument was a street player in Old Arbat, the oldest part of Moscow. He made this instrument himself. Interestingly, he is pictured in the travel guide we used, Insight City Guide.

The video is a clip of folk musicians at the Museum of Wooden Architecture in Suzdal. This is an outdoor museum where a variety of historic log buildings have been moved to one locale.

More to come!

Churches in Russia

We returned home thee days ago. Our Internet connection in St. Petersburg was slow, and our days were full, so I will add a few more posts about the trip now.
What I have learned about religion in Russia is fascinating. I certainly am no expert on the Russian Orthodox Church, but I have learned a bit.

Prior to the Revolution , churches were abundant and had many meanings for Russians. Merchants built churches as expressions of thanksgiving for their success. Many churches were built as tributes to fallen heroes. Churches served as community centers. In smaller communities, they were often used to safeguard merchants wares. Some towns, such as Suzdal, were religious centers. In the 19th Century there were 40 churches here, with only about 400 families! Often there were summer churches, which were large, lofty and unheated, and winter churches, which were much smaller, and had some heat source in them. The two white churches pictured above are in Suzdal.

After the revolution, religion was virtually banned in the Soviet Union. Churches, monasteries and convents were nationalized, and used as storage buildings, artists studios, concert halls, and other such activities. Convents and monasteries were often turned into prisons, for political prisoners. Many icons were removed to museums, others were sold to other countries to raise money for the Soviet government. There was some loosing of the restrictions during World War II, but they returned after the war.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a significant return to religious practice. A great deal of money has been spent to restore churches throughout Russian. Many are restored as museums, to support the growing tourist industry. Every town we visited had churches as part of the planned tour. But there are a significant number of churches that hold services again.

The interiors of Russian Orthodox Churches are covered with frescoes, paintings and icons. Rarely is there a bare space. The wealthier churches are full of gilded or gold surfaces. There are no pews or chairs, as sitting during the service is not allowed. The onion dome represents a flame. As you see by the picture of the wooden church, not all churches have the domes.

I do not know what percentage of the Russian population claim religious affiliation, but clearly the churches are a very important part of their heritage. They are also beautiful buildings to visit.

St. Petersburg

We arrived in St. Petersburg yesterday afternoon after a very fast train ride. It took only 4 1/2 hours, for a trip of more than 450 miles.

What a beautiful city! It reminds me a lot of Paris, which, of course, was Peter the Great's idea, when he founded the city in 1703. He based the development of the city on the great western European cities, particularly Paris and Venice. Much here is in honor of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. This was the capital of Russia until Lenin moved it (back) to Moscow in 1918. During the first World War, the name was changed to Petrograd, because St. Petersburg was the German name. It was renamed Leningrad in 1924, after Lenin died. After the fall of the Soviet Union, city names throughout Russian were returned to their original name. So, back to St. Petersburg.

The city was built on the Neva River and has a wonderful collection of canals and bridges throughout the city. Our hotel is on the Embankment, just two blocks from the Hermitage. Boats run up and down the canals all day.

The city was devastated by the German siege, during WW II. What is amazing is that Stalin had the buildings rebuilt as they were after the War. I'm not exactly sure why, but the buildings were restored, rather than new buildings built, so St. Petersburg has few buildings representing the Stalin era. Stalin did see Moscow as the great Soviet city, and put his efforts (and money) there. To him, St. Petersburg was a tsarist city. He wasn't much interested in it.

Times have indeed changed. Prime Minister Putin is from St. Petersburg. He was the Russian President at the time of the 300 anniversary of the founding of the city, so a great deal of money was put into the restoration of the city.

The gold domed building is St. Isaac's Cathedral. We climbed up the 250+ steps to the colonnade, where there is a beautiful panoramic view of the city. Like many St. Petersburg churches, it is now a museum. The green building in front of it is the Hermitage. This was the Winter Palace of Catherine the Great. It was made a museum in 1917, and treasures from grand Russian estates were confiscated and placed here. We will visit it in a couple of days.

We also visited Yusupov Palace today. The theater pictured here is in the Palace. It was in the basement of this building where Rasputin was killed. This is one of the only Palaces in Russian that was preserved during the Soviet era. It was used as propaganda to support the socialist ideal, by showing citizens how wealthy the nobility was.

This is a very approachable city. We have done a great deal of walking around already. Most places we go the people speak a little English. There are tourist everywhere, from all over the world. They get more than 3 million tourist a year, which brings in 10% of the local economy.

Tomorrow we will take a hydrofoil down the river to Peterhof, which has some of the most magnificent gardens in the world.

In Soviet Times

We have heard the term "in Soviet times" often from our tour guides. The first guide we had in Moscow said it with some obvious nostalgia. The second one with honesty and a bit of scorn. The guide who was with us the last two days, on the Golden Ring, seemed to have very mixed feelings. Clearly the transition to a capitalist society has not always been easy.

As part of the collectivization and nationalization of everything, private ownership of land and homes ended. Initially, people were housed in confiscated homes, churches and cultural buildings. Then large apartment buildings were built. According to our last guide, these were much sought after, because they had 'all the modern conveniences'. Her family lived (and she still lives) in Vladimir, about 120 miles from Moscow. The log homes had no running water or electricity. The new apartments had both. They also had heat from a central heating plant. In fact, everything is heated from central systems, through Moscow and the other cities.

With the end of "the Soviet time", people were give ownership of their flats or homes. Many then had them bilked away by shifty buyers. Most Russian still live in large apartment buildings. The one pictured here, with the colored panels, is in Vladimir. But they are everywhere in Moscow. Most were built in the 1950s and 60s under Khrushchev, who promised to solve the housing problems of the nation. Today they are crumbling, but still provide most of the housing for folks. Here are various pictures of houses, and apartments. The pipes are steam heating pipes. You see them everywhere. The bottom picture is the main government building in Vladimir. They do not seem to care about restoring the crumbling hammer and sickle.

Cars and more cars

Cars are everywhere in Moscow. Not surprising for a city of about 11 million, right? Except when you realize the history of cars here. According to our guide, during the Soviet era very few people had cars. To buy one, you had to be put on a waiting list, and it often took up to five years for you to buy a car. The only cars available were Russian made, which were very undependable. The green car above is an older Russian model, but in amazing condition.

All this changed only about 6 or 8 years ago. It was then that Russians began buying cars. And boy do they! And they do not buy Russian made. We see lots of Fords and Chevys. We see far more Mercedes, BMWs, Saabs, Volvos, Toyotas, Hondas. Some Cadaliacs and Hyundas as well. The Russian made cars are small and look battered.

Since cars really are new for the city, parking accommodations do not exist. No parking lots, no parking garages. So, people just park where they can. On the street and more often, on the sidewalk. The main streets are wide, because Stalin wanted lots of impressive streets for parades. Traffic is chaotic.

There are few taxi cabs. This is the only major city I have been in where you cannot hail a cab. You have to call for one. There are buses and cable cars, which just run on the major streets. But the metro is apparently excellent.

Moscow day 3. Lenin and more

I saw Lenin today. Seriously. He is on display in a mausoleum in Red Square, and on view there. It was kinda weird, but also fascinating. The line forms about a block away, an hour before opening. You cannot take any bags or cameras inside. Our guide told us that is cost about $1 million a year to keep him in this viewable state. Wow. What is also interesting is that Lenin faces the GUM shopping mall , with Louis Vitton right out front. We've heard of East meets west, this is Communism meets Capitalism.

After seeing Lenin, we went to an amazing art museum, and then spent the afternoon walking around the city. Here are some of the interesting sites. The yellow house is now the Russian writers association. It is the house that was the location of War and Peace. The statue in front is Tolstoy. He based the story and location on this house and its residents.

The very tall building with the spire is one of Stalin's "Seven Sisters". There were suppose to be 8 of these, but only 7 were built. One housed the foreign ministry and one the Moscow University. The others were apartments for members of his government and the KGB. He liked to keep his supporters close. (and enemies closer). Six of the seven have a star on the top. The last one built was finished after his death, and the star was not added.

Had a wonderful dinner in a Ukrainian restaurant.

Moscow Day 2

This is Red Square below! My only mental images of this is tanks and soldiers. Today it is full of tourists. (and smoke, ugh). The smallish building in the forefront is Lenin's tomb. We hope to visit it this morning, as it was closed yesterday.

Kremlin means fortress. Most every city in Russia has a Kremlin wall, which surrounds the oldest part of the city, where the nobility and soldiers lived. Today, only the Kremlin guards live inside the Kremlin walls. There are government office buildings and the buildings where official state affairs are held, but the Duma (congress) is housed in a building outside. The major museum of the history of Russia are in the Kremlin. Yesterday we saw the Armory which has a great collection of artifacts of the pre-Soviet history of Russia, including coronation gowns of Catherine the Great and clothing of Peter the Great. We also saw an amazing collection of diamonds.

St. Basil's cathedral is in Red Square. It is perhaps one of the most familiar icons of Moscow. It is a beautiful building, and houses eleven 'churches' inside. Some are tiny, but in theory, eleven separate services could go on at the same time.

We had lunch in a cafeteria inside the GUM shopping mall. This is a huge mall that was built around 1900. Six stories high, with 3 linked sections. It is a beautiful building, and today is filled with all the stores we see throughout the world.

In the afternoon we visited Old Arbat, which is the oldest street in Moscow, Today it is a walking mall, full of stores and street vendors, mostly for tourists and youth. Even stopped at Starbucks. But there is some great old architecture, as there is throughout the city.

We then went on a tour of the Metro. Odd, but apparently a standard part of most tours. Actually, the metro stations are quite beautiful, each with its own decorative them. One, build in 1946 is full of bronze statues of works and soldiers. Several of the statues have dogs in them, and it is considered lucky to rub the dog's nose. I saw a dozen people do this in the short time we were there. The noses are polished golden with the touching. One station has stained glass throughout. That is where this picture is from.

Last night we saw the Russian National Ballet performance of Swan Lake. It was stunning. The young woman danced Odette was brilliant. One interesting note. Air conditioning is rare in Moscow. Hotel rooms and some restaurants have it. Most homes do not. Nor did the theater where we saw the ballet. With temperatures running close to 100 right now, it is stiffling inside. It must have been in the high 80s inside the theater.

Most Moscovites live in high rise apartment buildings, with no AC. Our guides tell us it is unbearable inside. Makes me appreciate my central AC all the more.

Off to the Vodka Museum today!

Moscow

For the next two weeks I will be doing more travel blog than garden blog here, although I will visit and talk about Russian gardens. We arrived in Moscow yesterday morning. Getting through customs was surprisingly easy.

Unfortunately the intense heat wave here, and the related bog fires have left a nasty, smoky haze over the city. It is a bit hard to breathe. We do have masks to wear. Fewer than half the people we see are wearing them, although they are advised. I did not wear one yesterday, but may have to resort to it today.

Yesterday we had a driving tour of the city. Visibility is not good, but this is a fascinating place. There is great collection of buildings from the 19th C to present day. Much of the city was burned in 1812. I did not realize that Stalin was very interested in Classical Roman architecture, so much of the building of the era is in the Roman style.

We visited the Pushkin Museum of fine art. What a fabulous museum. Amazing collection, particular of impressionism and post impressionism. After the museum we went to VDNKh. This was built in the 1930s as a huge exhibition park to celebrate the workers and the states of the USSR. Each of the states had its own exhibition building. Our guide told us that during "Soviet times" there were great exhibits in each building and a beautiful botanical garden. Today it is much as our NC Fair Grounds is. The buildings hold stalls selling everything under the sun. The grounds too have vendors and an amusement park of rides. The park was full of bikers, skaters, Segways and people. Because of the heat, the fountain was full of folks.

More museums today, and ballet tonight!

Recent rains compate the heat

We have had horrible heat, but recent thunder storms (one really bad one last Thursday night) have made the garden grow.

I have found the perfect place for Elephant Ears! This one I planted last year, and it came back. I was very surprised, because in Zone 7b they are not suppose to be winter hardy, and this past winter was unusually cold. But, here it is.

We are leaving for Russia in four days. I plant to post garden pictures from there. I am particularly excited about seeing the gardens at Peterholf, outside of St. Petersburg.

Hot, dry and wild

We have had several weeks of extremely hot weather, with the last week hovering around 100. Too little rain as well. I've kept most things waters, but the heat is stressing everything too much. I may have nothing pretty left by August.

I have seen hawks in the area, but just this afternoon I saw an amazing sight. A hawk was sitting on a bench in our back yard, next to the pond, having his supper. There was a pile of gray feathers around him. Hawks are very territorial, so I imagine that I will see this bird much more often.

I am gardening

I have been much more active in the garden than I have been with this blog. Although it has been a very hot, dry summer so far. Sometimes it is awfully hard to get out in this heat.
I was given these cleomes this year. They are beautiful, with their purple, pink and white flowers. They are an annual, re-seeder, so I expect to have plenty to share next year. The knifofia or 'red hot pokers' were beautiful in June. They are finished for now, but might bloom later in the year.

Today we pruned our two gardenia bushes way back, and cut back some of the lugustrum bushes, which are huge. We have also added four more rain barrels, these on the south side of the house. That give me a total of 9, or about 450 gallons of rain water. With nearly an inch of rain this weekend, with thunder storms, all the barrels are nearly full!

I am growing basil for the first time this summer. Today I cut a bunch to dry. I've tied the bunch, and hung it upside down in the attic. This is a traditional drying method, so in a few weeks I should have a nice size container of dried basil. I'll report back on that. My cucumbers are nearly spent, but we are still getting squash.

Sometime wet is good

We have had over four inches of rain during the last week or so. Everything is growing like crazy, since there has been enough sun interspersed with the rain.

I've weeded and mulched most of my beds, so I am almost on top of the weeds. But a tour of the yard this morning let me know there is always plenty of weeding ahead.

I just put together my first vase of cut flowers. Yarrow, lavender, beebalm (purple and red) purple salvia, purple coneflower and black-eyed susans. I also cut four sprigs of rosemary. I like the added fragrance. The liatris are close, but not quite read for cutting. I also have daisies budding, but also not ready for cutting.

Several of my white crinum lilies are blooming now. I hope to mark all white and red ones this year.

The right place

The key to good gardening is putting plants in the right location. For me, this is sometimes a trial and error process. Fortunately, I've hit it right with some of my new things.

I planted a Tithonia (Mexican sunflower) in front of the house. It is growing well and seems to like this sunny spot. It is the large green plant. It is an annual, but I hope to collect the seeds for next year.

The smaller plants are cleome, or spider flower. This is also an annual, but a re-seeder. I got both of these in trade from another gardener. They look happy as well.

The pink knockout rose bush finally has some buds. It was stressed badly by the move. The red knockout is blooming beautifully.

Finally, this is Grendel. She took a bad fall a month ago, and had some nerve damage. But, she is much better and only has a slight limp. Back to full kitten speed.

Wet and green

Our spring had become very dry, until this week. We've had nearly 3 inches of rain. Fortunately, my five rain barrels are full. Unfortunately, we did not get the four new ones finished before the big rain. But soon, I will have 200 gallons of rain water for the front yard.

My big perennial bed in the front yard is beginning to look like I had envisioned it. Some of the plants have taken a few years to really establish. They are looking great now. Some, such as the obedient plant and beebalm have multiplied and filled in some empty spots. A few things are now blooming, such as the speedwell, rose campion, and butterfly weed. Others are beginning to bud.



My gardenia bushes are in bloom! I can't remember them ever being this early.

For some plants, it just takes time.

At least two years ago, maybe three, I received several amaryllis plants from another gardener. He said that his spread, and he had far too many. They were very small bulbs. I planted them together in a protected spot in the front yard. Today I have my first blooms. The stems are fairly short, not more than 8", but the flowers are lovely.

The yellow bush is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuburosa). I bought it in the fall of 08, and it has just now bloomed. I thought I had lost this plant; I never saw it last year.

The Knockout Rose was a freebee that we dug up in another gardener's yard. I traded her some crocosmia for it, and a pink Knockout. The pink hasn't done as well, as the move seemed to stress it badly. But, it is perking up.

And more plants

Yesterday we did more plant trading. I got Purple Homestead verbena, purple Siberian iris, yellow flag, white lunaria (money plant) and Polygonum cuspidatum "Freckles Mexican Bamboo" (which is not in the bamboo family). Also I added some fern leaf "Coronation Gold" yarrow. I am expecting to get a hardy tapioca from the same gardener. This will be a lovely tree like annual that I can put in a large pot, on the patio.

I am wondering if it is possible for me to have too many iris. I may have to dig another bed for the new ones.

I thinned out some crinum lilies and canna.

More trading

We've been doing more plant trading. My latest acquisitions are cleome (spider flower), black eyed susans, purple coneflower (mine just didn't come back this year), more yarrow and coreopsis. I've also put in basil, squash, cucumbers and a grape tomato. I'm still negotiating for more things, and hoping to find a home for some canna that are behind a gardenia, which is going to shade them too much this year.

The south side of the house has been a problem for me. It is out of the way and has been a mess. This year we tilled the area, and I've planted much of it with liriope (monkey grass0, black eyed susans and four o'clocks. We also added several azaleas along the property line.

More pictures soon. Some of the perennials that did nothing last year are looking very nice now.

Fun with the herb garden

For the last couple of years I have had a few herbs, including thyme, various mints, oregano and rosemary. I also have some lavender, which looks very similar to rosemary. (Do you have an idea where this is going?) I had one rosemary bush just out the back door, and one in the front yard. The one in the back had gotten very woody and worn-out looking, so last week I pulled it up.

A couple of days ago my husband made us a pot roast. It was ready when I got home from work. Wonderful! The next day, we were in the yard, and he pointed to the lavender, and asked me what it was. I told him. He then said, 'how did you like that pot roast?" The long and short of it: he walked out the back door to cut some rosemary, and saw it gone. He remembered that I said I had some in the front, so he walked out front and saw a plant next to the sidewalk. He cut some, noticing that it smelled good. He then saw another plant that looked more like rosemary, so he cut some of that as well. Both went in the roast. We have laughed over this for days. And the roast really was great!

We have been doing some great plant trading and bartering. We acquired seven azalea bushes. They are old, and had to be dug up. So far they are doing well. Five are pink and two white. We also got two knock out rose bushes, one red and one pink, and some Russian sage. I traded some crocosmia for the rose bushes.

One important lesson learned. Last spring I carefully labeled many plants. I used plastic labels and Sharpie permanent marker. I thought that would last. Wrong! All of them have faded within the year. This certainly makes for surprises this time of year, since I can't remember what/where everything is! So, I am now putting out copper markers, in which I etch the plant name. We will see how this goes.

Beautiful spring so far. The redbud and dogwood will be in full bloom this week; tulips are up and the azalea will soon follow.

Spring at last!

What a long, cold winter we have had. Last Friday I picked my first daffodils, a full month later than last year. My daphne bush is just now in full bloom, along with the star magnolia, crocuses, and forsythia. An odd combination.

But now that gardening season has begun, I will be trying to make regular posts here again, and will be adding photos of new blooms. It is always exciting to see what will come up each year.

A new kitten joined our family this winter. So, here is Grendel, in her first snow.