In the garden, as in life, shadows hold equal value to light. Especially hard summer light filtered by strong shadows. This is a perfect blend for me. Too much shade is a problem for a vegetable garden but no shade at all bleaches out a flower garden. (Though I use the term flower garden very loosely because as I am sure you know by now that most of my flowers are white hydrangeas. They remind me of New Zealand hill country farm houses. They help me feel at home out here on the prairies of Illinois.) But I am as attracted to shade in my garden as I am attracted to light. One feeds the other. 
When planting a garden, your plants and trees and structures will cast important shadows. So pay attention to where they land at certain times of the day and even the year. I have two big pergolas in the gardens. These are specifically for the shade that they cast upon the house. Once the grapes grow up them and the trees behind them gain momentum, they will decrease the heat that drifts into the house by as much as 10 degrees. We don’t use air conditioning. We use shade. Though this summer has been so cool so far we really have not had a problem with heat in the house.
Shadows also play with us. Our own shadows have gentle leads. Here I am leaning about doing not very much.
We had a couple of really good rain showers yesterday, the storms were dressed in thunder and hurling lightening, and drove Gracie and I inside where we cooked breads and sauces and for the first time ever Gracie followed a recipe in English and made Oatmeal Cookies. She wants to learn how to cook American food so I thought that was a good place to start. A New Zealander teaching a Korean to cook American is a bit of a tangle!
The majority of our tomatoes are still hanging huge and green on the vines. But this week we might warm up and with a bit of sun, with any luck, the tomatoes will start to ripen a little faster. So far I am only making a pot of summer sauce every other day and that is much too slow.
An offer to the fellowship: My Little Sister lives on a gorgeous farm in New Zealand and would like to invite anyone who would like to work as a volunteer on her farm this spring to get in touch. Free room and board, a little bit of work and lots of fantastic food and walks in the country. It is a wonderful way to experience a country. So if you know of anyone who is travelling and would like to try good old fashioned farm life in New Zealand let me know and I will send you her details. You can stay in my room!
I hope you all have a lovely day.
I really, really do.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
50 responses to “Shadow Play”
Oh what a lovely offer,how. I wish I could apply but age and distance might be a problem
I always thought that the colour of Hydrangeas depended on the soil they were planted in. I have always wanted puple Hydrangeas but have been terrified that they might turn out pink instead because I have the “wrong” soil. And I cant be doing wiht pink flowers in my garden, ugh, nearly as bad a yellow! What I know about flower gardens can be written on the back of a postage stamp so I am not sure how I came to be so sure of this fact and would be happy to be set straight if anyone knows the real truth of it? I also like the white ones, very pretty.
You are right, it all depends on the acidity of the soil, this is why i grow the white ones, one is always safe with white, the blue ones would be my next best favourite though, such a cool colour in the garden is blue.. c
We have acid soil here at Garybuie – and beautiful, vibrant blue hydrangeas! Maybe I shall put a picture on garybuie’s blog later! Those white ones are gorgeous though I have to say. White blossom, green leaves – perfect!
Christine
Oh I meant the blue ones, have no idea what made me say purple, they are such a lovely shade. Interesting that both the white and blue ones grow in an acid soil, I will have to do an soil test.
Interestingly the white will always only be white (recessive gene) but the blue may change to pink if the soil becomes too alkaline. My Dad used to dose with Epsom salts, tea leaves and coffee grounds to keep acidity up. Laura
Even white hydrangeas can change colour if soil acidity changes – I have a “real” gardener friend whose white ones turned pink. But fret ye not: you can influence the colour – rusty nails for pink, and copper anything for blue, which is my favourite,
I have shared your offer with my daughter, to tempt her! to take another sabbatical (their last was as volunteers on the Turks and Caicos Islands)
but it would have to be holiday time as they couldn’t take a 13 yr-old-out of school.
I am sure Gabrielle would thrilled anytime. c
I hope you have a lovely day too!
Oh my, New Zealand, a country on my bucket list! Her spring is our fall right? What an idea!
yes they are starting to think about spring now.. c
Those are some lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing them your flowers are beautiful.
Where abouts in NZ if your sister’s farm? North or South Island?
Beautiful Hawke’s Bay, North Island, Pippa..
If I remember correctly Gabrielle has cattle and a very posh scarecrow …. but does she have a Sheila and/or a Tima? 🙂 🙂 Laura
No pigs .. though I am convinced she should have a Tima!.. c
One of the things that has made us feel really at home in our garden is the shade. In the first years, we hung shade netting and cloth everywhere to shield ourselves from the sun, but now the trees and vines we’ve planted have taken over and we are no longer exposed, but sheltered by green canopies. Shade is an asset to be treasured!
It is indeed Siobhan, especially out here on the prairies where there are so few trees. c
I love the picture of your trim shadow body.
Robin🐥
Like Robin, I too love the photo of your shadow figure in the barn. I never had luck with hydrangea’s probably due to the soil here. After years of experimenting, I have concluded that only hardy, native varieties of plants that can tolerate heat and sandy soil can thrive here. And then of course some of my plants, shrubs and trees are nibbled on my my growing herd of deer! So I have more of a prairie flower collection around the house and I find it a lovely splash of color… though not cooling and lush like your hydrangeas. One day I will sit with you in that shade of yours after a day of work…
I shall grow a little shadow seat just for you.. it will be wonderful to have you sit in my garden one day.. c
When I arrived in Australia, I still had the Northern hemisphere love of the sun (well, it is pretty rare in the UK…), but I learned very, very fast to move from patch of shade to patch of shade, to sit and walk on the shady side of the street, to value blinds at the windows to keep out the sun that rotted my curtains and rugs, and to never, ever, ever sunbathe. We are topsy turvy down here, and the pleasure and value I used to derive from rare sunshine, I now derive from welcome cool shade, from dusky rooms and dawn light.
So true Kate! We all follow the shade.
And, as photographers, we’re always considering light, too.
We have received much needed rain here in Minnesota also. Lots of humidity and tropical like weather. The air may go on this afternoon, for the second time this summer. We prefer open windows and a breeze.
Anthony’s white hydrangeas are budding now, just outside the back door – loved this post.
I know that you love your little farmy in Illinois and wouldn’t change it, but do you ever miss New Zealand ?
Ah, well, I do miss my friends and my family. I think that is the worst bit. I also miss New Zealand food, and cafe’s and trendy bars, this is a lot of the reason behind me growing my own. But food and wine is very expensive in NZ too. But as to the country itself it is the smells and sounds of the morning that I miss and the scent of the sea. Generally though I am the kind of person who is happy wherever i live. Good question though c
Had a famous art teacher/friend from NM who once said people who are drawn to the arts/theater had different senses – their eyes see more texture, more colors, more contrasts, more details than the average person. Had to do something with the location of the eyes on the skull and other things…(such as the depth of their soul?)
A farmy stay at your sisters? Now that’s an exciting possibility. My dad after much travels said New Zealand was his favorite place and he thought he could live there….and there’s all that sailing…(We do consider relocating, but are probably should have thought of it when younger. SIgh. Always greener on the other side?)
certainly greener over there that is for sure, and never too old you know, farmland is not as expensive over there.. c