The Gardens & Accoutrements 0f

James Cramer

The Gardens & Accoutrements of

James CramerSPRING....................................................................................................10Rejuvenation

SUMMER ............................................................................................50A bountiful harvest

FALL ..............................................................................................................84Abounding color

WINTER.............................................................................................108The ground at rest

White Forsythia

White Clematis

In the back garden the four Cherry trees are one of

the first signs of spring.

Previous Page: Vegetable plants and a seed tray filled with sprinkler heads are ready for spring planting and watering in the vegetable garden.

White geraniums are getting an early start before their next stage, which will be to plant them in containers in the white garden.

GARDEN TOOLS

These are make-do seed sowers. Note the onewith the funnel added to the top.

BEE KEEPING

Hand woven bee skeps make a textured element in the garden. One of my favorite finds is this homemade beekeeping outfit found at a Nashville antique show. Made from window screen and old muslin. Look for different styles of bee skeps, such as rye grass with wire wrapping, straw with splint wrapping and my earthy one, woven twig covered with mud.

Screened boxes for shipping bees.

“It always amazes me to look at the little, wrinkled brown seeds and think of the rainbows in ‘em,” said Captain Jim. “When I ponder on them seeds I don’t find it nowise hard to believe that we’ve got souls

that’ll live in other worlds. You couldn’t hardly believe there was life in them tiny things, some no bigger than grains of dust, let alone color and scent, if you hadn’t

seen the miracle, could you?” ~ L.M. Montgomery, “Anne’s House of Dreams.”

The hot days of Summer are great for growing vegetables and flowers. Some days it is just too hot to work in the garden so I go out and get an early start in the morning.

The containers I’ve planted with perennials are looking great but they require a lot of water in the Summer so I like to also plant a lot of containers full of succulents.

I see a lot of new growth on the boxwoods, and this is the time of year that I trim them to keep them round. If they are trimmed in late Fall the winter cold nips them and you have burn spots. If they are trimmed now, the new growth gets nipped and you can trim that off in Summer.

One of the most rewarding jobs in the garden during the Summer months is gathering the tomatoes, peppers and other mature vegetables to take inside for a nice salad later. Typically farmers think of Fall as the season of harvest but for a gardener it is Summer. The herbs are about ready to gather and hang to dry.

Summer

The dark purple blooms of a tree peonie.

A chicken feeder filled with Irish Moss and Vine plants hangs above the chicken house.

A lettuce sign hangs over the outdoor kitchen shelf.

ARTFUL STONE& CONCRETE

Old grinding stones stacked to make an artful vignette.

Straddle stones from England were used to hold grain buildings off the ground, and keeping the rodents at bay. Today they make giant mushrooms in the garden.

Signs

Looking for old garden signs is a passion of mine. It’s all about what they say - from the simple “Apples for sale,” sign to, “Caution

Cattle Crossing.”

Cast Iron Eagle

Bird Aviary

Stone Sundial

Garden Clothes

When you find old gardening clothes, you think about how many times they were worn, patched over and over and faded to an old patina from washing and love - like a good pair of jeans we wear today.

Previous Page: Antique hand-stitched garden hat. Garden apron and apron made to tie around your legs. This Page: Garden gloves for trimming roses and bee keeping.