The Vineyard at Brambleberry Cottage

A few days ago I posted pictures of our small vineyard here at Brambleberry and my sweet friend Fairmaiden asked some questions about it so I thought I would post a few more. The picture below is of the vine in March with my wisteria in the background. Each winter I trim it back to the stump, but as you can see by all the barren vines I neglected to do it this year.



Beyond the fence and through the vine is our outdoor living room with a double Adirondack love seat and two single Adirondacks plus my potting bench that sweet hubby built for me. It has a bit of a Gothic feel to it.

This is what it looks like today! It seems that the gardener is neglecting her duties what with all the lovely weeds everywhere you look. But then the definition of a weed applies to anything that grows where you don't want it. Hmmm...does that mean the rouge roses that pop up in strange places are weeds or merely roses growing where they please? I wonder?

And this is what it looks like from the cottages backdoor. There's only one vine that makes up the entire vineyard, but it engulfs everything in its path including the roses, furniture, and my beloved wisteria vine. The birds flock to it and the possums hide beneath its branches and everything is lovely...one vine works for me! I've even found a tiny snake back there hiding beneath a pot. At least I think it was a snake...I'd be horrified if it were a baby lizard that I hacked to pieces while screaming like a wild banshee. The neighbors must have thought I was nuts!

As you enter the vineyard through the arch you're greeted by Gwendolyn's younger sister Maryweather Faerie. I don't believe you've ever met Gwendolyn, have you? No, I don't believe so. I'll have to introduce you to her sometime. She's the faerie who dwells beneath the eaves of our weence little cottage. One day I came home and found her hiding amidst the tall fern beneath the tree so I lured her indoors with promises of pretty ribbons, glistening jewels, and fresh strawberries dipped in cream. She's never ventured outdoors again. She prefers the security of a roof over her head and four walls to protect her, unlike her little sister who's a bit of a prankster.

Oh look! Maryweather is blowing pixie dust at you...how sweet! Better that then the dust of broken hearts, don't you think? I agree whole heartedly!



Our little vine sprawls up and over an arch made of re-bar and then onto a fence made with heavy gauge wire. It's a simple structure really and would take a few hours to build.
Fairmaiden, I'll have to find the pictures from when we first built it so you'll have a better idea of how it was done. My pictures were taken before I had a digital and they're buried somewhere in the "black hole."

If you look very closely you'll see the twinkle of a faerie in the wisteria vine. She must be the one who left the door of the bunny run open...alas, the door will not shut because the vine has become so thick and has blocked the way, but don't tell hubby! If he sees the door stuck open he'll want to trim back my beloved wisteria and I've seen what he and a pair of pruning shears can do. Trust me! You don't want to know :0!

Ah look! WEEDS!! They grow in the cracks of the cement in the back yard. Hubby is always threatening to cut them down...HE'S A PLANT KILLER!!!



More weeds! These grow right in the middle of where I plan to lay a brick path, but each year the Hollyhock come back and I don't have the heart to pull them out. So pathless we remain.
They're just so beautiful and bloom happily while neglected severly, but best of all are the giant fuzzy bumblebees that buzz from one flower to the next with yellow pollen trailing from their bumblebee feet. Did you know that bees legs have something similar to grocey bags attached to them? That's how they carry their pollen from flower to hive. I learned that at the Bee museum in Quebec when we visited several years ago. Hey, maybe that's where the idea of Cargo Pants came from...do you think? I don't know, it sounds good to me!

I hope you enjoyed a wee little glimpse into my vineyard and who knows, maybe there will be more :).
Until next time...have a lovely day!