For a while, I have been wanting a beautiful urn for the back garden. Even mature gardens are still always a work in progress. I am delighted to have found this lions’ heads piece which coordinates with our fountain in the front yard. I chose to plant it with bright coral pelargoniums to add cheerful color contrast to the oregano around its base.
A few pictures from the bed and breakfast as we celebrate Kansas State University graduations this weekend with our guests …
Wishing the best to all of the new graduates out there!
(For the buttercream recipe, see my Wild Blueberry Cupcakes post.)
A beautiful rose … for A Word A Week Challenge which this week is orange.
Even by Kansas standards, our recent weather has been unusually variable. It has been gorgeous and sunny the past few days with high temperatures in the mid-80′s. (In case you don’t remember, we had snow last week.) The warm weather has stimulated plants to put on a lot of growth and it is really starting to look like Spring; and yet cold weather is supposed to roll back in tomorrow with the chance of snow Thursday and Friday. That would be snow in May – not very good for the garden, even if it doesn’t stick around. So, I decided that I’d better enjoy the flowers while they last and get some photos of them today. I’m so glad that I did. Photographing flowers makes one stop and really look at them. What a nice thing!
Muscari On The Rocks …
Abraham Lincoln once wisely said – or wrote, I’m not sure which – “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” I had to keep reminding myself of this yesterday while pruning my “thorn bushes”. Surely, soon I shall be posting photos of my beautiful roses and sharing their stories. The blooms from Spring ’till the first Autumn freeze are well worth a few days of torture every March or April. However, I have resolved that any future rose selections for my garden will be less densely thorned than this beast which tore through my gloves and jeans. Oh, the things we do for beauty!
With the cold, damp, grey days that we have been having, I’ve been working to keep the house warm and cozy. Fresh flowers, and lots of bright red, really help.
It was a beautiful wedding. The weather couldn’t have been nicer – sunny and in the 70′s. The bride and groom were so happy and so in love. Family and friends in attendance were delighted for the couple. The ladies in their gowns, and with their bouquets, were radiant. The men – dashing in their suits with boutonnieres. Afterward wine and hors d’oeuvres … then a horse-drawn carriage to carry people to dinner. So romantic! How lovely to have been a part of this special occasion! Thank you to Janet and Mark for letting us share in their happiness!
The garden beforehand …
Mother, Bride, Daughter …
Just married …
The horses and carriage arrive …
Off to dinner …
… and they lived happily ever after!
Garlic Chives (allium tuberosum) are one of those plants with which I have a love-hate relationship. I love the way that they look in bloom and the way that their flowers help fill the gap between summer and autumn in the garden. But garlic chives are one of those plants that are not happy staying put. They spread themselves all around the landscape. Fortunately, they have culinary uses. (A rather pungent herb with a flavor akin to garlic and onions, garlic chives can be used in stir fries, soups, and stews.) Since mine are just on the verge of going to seed, for the past few days we’ve been yanking them out of the garden except the few spots where they are wanted. Then we’ve been sorting through it all, removing stems, roots, and damaged leaves, washing the healthy leaves, and putting them in the oven to dry. Since the pilot lights in my ovens are always on, the ovens never cool below 110 degrees F. which makes them perfect for this use. Once the garlic chives are completely dried out, I will chop, bag, and store them in the freezer until ready to use. I find that herbs keep their color best this way. I’ve read that garlic chives lose their flavor once allowed to flower, however, to me they seem plenty flavorful; and besides, I just couldn’t let them take the space they have appropriated in my garden if I didn’t let those striking white clusters appear.
Though we are stilling having temperatures in the 90′s, and though there are nearly three weeks left to summer, the change of seasons is in the air. This was apparent to me when I was at Eastside Market yesterday … so much so that I just had to take some pictures to document the moment when I noticed autumn’s approach.
Thank you to the gracious folks at East Side Market for letting me take photographs.
