Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A Study in Orange with my New Garden Assistant!

I do not actively seek orange shades for my garden...however, I do have orange here and there for a deliberate touch of brightness and to lend an element of surprise!
My daughter's pup, Romeo, apparently loves orange and has recently discovered the joys of gardening alongside me!  The closer he can get to the action (underfoot, in my lap, on my back!), the more delighted he appears to be!

I have two raised planters which my husband assembled using an old outdoor garden bench and table.  They require new top dressing and will be planted up with spinach and lettuce in preparation for the cooler weather ahead. 
Romeo took his job very seriously, wildly digging up all the soil after I'd denuded the beds of the old plants.  He then moved across to get busy in my old planted-up wheelbarrow.  I persuaded him to leave the last remaining carnation, as it's still flowering and has a lovely scent.  He seemed hesitant, as he was sure I'd said 'dig it all up!'  For a moment, we had a mental battle, but he conceded defeat...
...when I suggested we rather water the rosebush growing in one of the pots alongside and told him he could sniff and lick off all the droplets from the petals...before actually devouring the rose...
...just as soon as I'd first taken a couple of pictures for my memory bank! 
This is his (and the beetles!) favourite daisy, so he asked me to take a close-up picture of this, too!  Fortunately, they're a little on the prickly side, so he avoids actually eating them! The roses that he can reach, aren't so lucky! 

Yes, Romeo is still with us, keeping me on my toes!  He and Toby have finally become good pals and we're able to take them all for their daily walk on the field, in relative peace.  Up till now, I haven't been able to easily capture any of their playful antics on camera, as with all four of them rushing/charging around gleefully, it's quite a handful.  Toby has his 1st Birthday on Wednesday and Romeo is now just short of 5 months old.  Almost, ALMOST house-trained...but still not quite there!  We took them all to our Vet for their annual shots and deworming, yesterday.  It was quite an exercise in control, but thankfully, went quite smoothly.

While we were there with our four, a distraught elderly couple arrived with their DOA (dead on arrival) 13 year old dog that had tragically drowned in their swimming pool.  It was a harsh reminder that, as responsible pet owners, we can never take for granted that our water-safe pets will not suffer accidental drowning, when we're not around to keep an eye on them.  The following is a very good article to read on this subject...

http://thepetshrink.info/2008/03/25/pool-proof-your-dog-and-prevent-drowning/

23 comments:

  1. Orange is my colour this week as you know! The puppy is gorgeous but he must be a lot of work. We have just renovated our veggie patch and planted beans and lettuce. Must put in some spinach too. We are still learning about veggie gardening but getting a little better each season. All those dogs must be like having a house full of teenagers.

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  2. Hi Desiree...
    Unfortunately I have had personal experience with dogs drowning in pools. My late husbands eldest daughter lost TWO dogs in pool accidents. One in their own and one in their grown son's pool.

    One was an old dog about the age of the couple you mention and the other a black lab pup of about 6 month.
    Another friend lost their dog in their pool.

    Those three made me very aware of how easy it is for a dog to drown. We do not have a pool now as my husband broke his up and filled it in...now I am sort of glad. I don't have to watch and worry about Mele when she is outside.

    I love your touch of orange in your garden. I have Merigolds, both yellow and gold...but no real true orange. Fall is coming down the road so perhaps then.

    Thank you for stopping by.
    Hugs,
    Mona

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  3. Oh I just loved your post today (as always!) And I love that your garden is pet friendly. This is the way I gardened back home: pet and child-friendly. No chasing any of them out of beds. No sirreee. Here it's also Ginger's garden adn when Shadow comes he will have the run of the beds or whatever he wants. Great to see Romeo for the first time. WHat a beauty. And your blooms are stunning. Have a blessed day my friend. Jo

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  4. Beautiful photos -- the rose and the bromides in the previous post especially! And what a darling pup!

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  5. What a fabulous colour orange and just what I needed on this misty grey day...well it's either misty or I need to clean my spectacles again!
    Romeo is adorable...sorry Toby, you're adorable too.
    You are right about swimming pools. We had one in France years ago and a neighbours dog fell into it...luckily I saw it happen and we kept a net over it after that.
    Lovely, lovely flowers. We're just getting yellow daffodils out now but I crave some bright colour as I'm so bored of grey and brown now.
    Fondest wishes
    Carol

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  6. ps. Happy Birthday to Toby for tomorrow and a big wet kiss from Ted the French dog!

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  7. Wow! Love the bright colors on your blog today. That picture of the rose with the water droplets is just beautiful.

    And I just love that planter that your husband made, the wood is so rich-looking! Glad Romeo's training is making progress, and that he and Toby are getting along together better.

    I never knew that swimming pools could be such a hazard to dogs.

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  8. Romeo and my Toby are about the same age. I love the look on his adorable face. My Toby is starting to loose his puppy face and still can't be trusted in the house anywhere for anything. He is such a pest! (But i wouldn't have it any other way).

    I know what you mean about taking pictures of a fast moving dog. Most of the pictures of my Toby are a blur.

    My mother would have loved your picture of the rose. I can appreciate it as beautiful, but It takes a special green thumb to cultivate them. I didn't acquire Mom's genes in that area.

    As for the truck...nest time you visit look above the picture and you will have your answer. I drive a Toyota VAV 4.......kt

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  9. I love that pup !!!! Romeo stolen my heart !!!! so cute !!!....love all the flowers !!!!....have a nice day enjoy the pup......owwwwwwww....sweet.........love Ria....xxx....

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  10. Hi Desiree..
    What a beautiful pictures....as always...the pup is growing up...i can tell...
    He still looks lovely....such a nice doggie :)
    Today, in Holland, the sun was shining and it felt like springtime....
    Hugs for tou and the pup...
    Bianca xx

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  11. Be careful the pup will be putting roots down and then soon will come orange flowers out of his ears!
    Lovely photos as usual!

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  12. Orange is a very "happy and full of life" colour, in my opinion. I asked dad to paint my room in orange and yellow and it has a very lovely effect.

    Your flowers are beautiful, I really like the rose, with all the water on it. A pity Romeo likes to have such beauties for snack time...

    It's sad that the elderly couple's dog died like that... We kind of assume our pets might know how to stay safe, but they can still get into a lot of trouble.

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  13. Beautiful photos of the flowers in your garden. Gardening with Romeo looks like a lot of fun; as long as you keep a sense of humour! I don't have a dog, but the foxes which visit my garden are very fond of digging up anything I have planted. They sniff out the newly disturbed soil and get straight down to work.

    How sad about the couple's dog! Garden ponds also need to be animal-safe. A whole range of wildlife can be trapped and drown if there is no easy way out.

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  14. I never used to plant orange in my garden, but a few years ago I started becoming more and more drawn to it. I love how it looks with purple/blue flowers.
    Romeo is precious! I remember when Gracie would dig everything or eat my plants. Luckily that stage doesn't last long.
    I guess I'm lucky Gracie doesn't like to be in the garden without us and isn't interested in our pond. The only time I worry is when it's partially frozen and she tries to walk on it. I really worry about kids sneaking in, even though our yard is well fenced and the pond is pretty shallow.

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  15. What a cute garden pal you have Desiree! Although probably makes almost as much mess in the garden as me.... Those flower pics are just lovely, orange is my fav, so cheering:)

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  16. Let's face it, animals love to garden!
    I never actively seek orange in my garden either, but we have these wild orange dayliles that run rampant and are so easily grown, that I pop them in anywhere I have an empty spot to fill.

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  17. Desiree...first of all...i LOVE your new garden assistant!! just the kind of assistant everybody needs!! ha! Romeo is a cutie!! what a fitting name!

    and when i first saw the raised flowerbed...before reading...i thought it might have been made out of an old couch frame! love it! i have to show this one to my hubby. great idea! i used to have an old porcelain tub out front...with flowers in it...out by the road...at the end of our driveway. had it for YEARS until someone STOLE it last year! can you believe that??!!

    anyway...i LOVE the bright cheery colors! the orange and yellow is perfect. bright smiley colors! i've been trying to do the same...adding COLOR to my little gardens around the house...

    OH...and the rose pictures with water droplets...AWESOME!!

    this post makes me grin from ear to ear!! WONDERFUL!! thanks! :]

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  18. Romeo is such a cutie! And I love the flower pictures. My Toby (our three year old golden retriever) has no interest in yard work, preferring to chase bird shadows on the lawn instead. He does, however, graze like a cow and in that helps with the lawn mowing. :-)

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  19. Wonderful, I love the color and texture of the flowers ... like a beautiful poem.

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  20. Hi Desiree,
    You had me at ORANGE! I love orange, red and purple together. Jewel tones!
    Thanks you for sharing your wonderful pictures and not giving up on my blog. There is too much to tell you here about what has kept me away. But it's nice to see you are still here posting away! You are a wonderful photographer!
    Annie

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  21. Hi Desiree,

    Love the pics and ur garden assistant is adorable! :-) So sad about the older couples dog though. :-(

    Ronda

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