Category Archives: Gardening Images & Tips

Living Easy

Posted on by Laurie

I think that I have probably blogged about every drop of precipitation that we have had here in Manhattan, Kansas in the last six months. It has been a dry year.  Last night and early this morning, though, we had a soaking rain – about one inch worth. We need the moisture, but I was a little concerned about how the garden might look this morning after the storm front passed. Though most of the flowers were a bit droopy, they were still quite lovely. There is something about the light after a rain that can make colors seem all the more vibrant.

Below is a photo that I took this morning of one of my roses. It is “Living Easy” – a floribunda rose that was introduced in 1992.  “Living Easy” is an All American Rose selection noted for being disease resistant; and, indeed, it fared much better against black spot and mildew than did some of my other roses this past summer. Its petals are yellow at the base, turning peach-colored, and can be tinged with pink at the tip. It has a pleasing, medium citrusy-rose fragrance. I’ve enjoyed its blooms all summer, but Living Easy shows up especially well in the autumn garden. It really is gorgeous right now, even drenched with rain.

Garden Update

Posted on by Laurie

For some time, I’ve been wanting to put an arbor over the bench that looks out on the garden. Since we have several garden weddings coming up at the Bed & Breakfast, I decided to go ahead and get that arbor. I don’t have time to get anything growing on it before Saturday’s wedding, so I am trying to figure out whether we need to decorate the arbor and if so … how. (The bench will be moved out of the way and we’ll have mums around the arbor’s base.)

The fountain looks great, but I worry that this might be its last season. Each year it gets more difficult to repair weather’s tolls. We really love having the fountain, though. It is beautiful and we enjoy the water sounds. So we’ll keep it running for as long as we can.

It rained on and off all day yesterday – a gentle, soaking rain of the type that is good for the garden. I managed to get some lovely photos of my roses after breakfast this morning. This is my favorite of the photos …

Have a wonderful day!

Garlic Chives: Let the Harvest Begin

Posted on by Laurie

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.

Happy Accidents or What to do With Fragrant Phlox

Posted on by Laurie

When working in the garden the other day, I noticed that my Fragrant Phlox (phlox paniculata) was blooming in some unexpected places. While quite lovely, once it is done blooming, I’ll yank it up so that it does not become established where it is not supposed to be.

Here it is growing up through the edge of one of my Beauty Berry bushes (callicarpa americana) …… and here it is growing too close to one of my rose bushes (variety unknown).
Fragrant phlox likes to move around in a garden, though it is certainly not the worst offender in that regard. I find that rigorous dead-heading keeps it mostly under control. And when it does appear somewhere unwanted, it is easy enough to eliminate. I tend to let it bloom once anywhere that I like the look of it – and then yank! Afterall, I don’t want it taking over my other plantings. But in the meantime, occasionally it is nice to enjoy some of nature’s accidental pairings.

Summer’s End

Posted on by Laurie

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.

Thank You Flowers

Posted on by Laurie

Recently several people have kindly nominated A Taste of Morning for awards. In thanks, here are some pictures that I have recently taken of wildflowers out on the Konza Prairie. I thought this would be a fun way to acknowledge those readers who have shown such warm support! Thank you to Diana Staresinic-Deane for the Reader Appreciation Award, to  Share Chair for the Beautiful Blogger Award, to Letizia from Reading Interrupted for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award nominations.* You should check out these blogs. Diana writes about Kansas, Share Chair about technology (especially iPad and iPhone), and Letizia about reading, writing, and related topics.

Here are a few blogs that I really enjoy following and that I would like to nominate for an award. I think that all of them deserve a Reader Appreciation Award; and some are inspiring, some are beautiful; some are both! (I’ll let them decide which should they choose to accept.) The people behind these all bring enthusiasm, effort, and a special perspective to their work.

Roho Ya Chui for photography insights that inspire me to think

Neely Wang  for beautiful photography of a wide variety of subjects

Words & Images for beautiful photography of a wide variety of subjects

SKEdazzles for beautiful photography and travel inspiration

Retiree Diary for beautiful photography and travel inspiration

Doli Siregar for beautiful adventure photography

Cumin Seeds for colorful, mostly gluten-free, recipes featuring wonderful spices

Boy Drinks World for tips on cocktail-making

Bebe’s Kitchen for interesting recipes and food photography

Beyond the Green Door for a fun mix of recipes, gardening, and decorating ideas

Becca’s Green Kitchen for delicious vegetarian recipes

Pearls & Prose for garden and travel photography

A Word in Your Ear for colorful travel photography

Goss Coaching for positive and inspiring perspectives

Crazy Train To Tinky Town for interesting stories
Some random facts:

I am a “mostly vegetarian”.

The first cookbook that I ever bought was James Beard’s Theory & Practice of Good Cooking (1977). I still own it.

I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics over the past two weeks.

The last book that I read was Sea Change by Karen White.

I just started reading The French Gardener by Sara Montefiore.

I had a great great grandfather who was French.

One of my goals for the next year is to travel to some beautiful place that I have never been before.

* Rules …

Reader Appreciation Award: Post link to the person who nominated you; include a picture of the award on your blog; nominate some other bloggers for the award; tell 7 things about yourself.

Beautiful Blogger Award: Post link to the person who nominated you; include a picture of the award on your blog; nominate 15 other bloggers for the award; tell 7 things about yourself.

Very Inspiring Blogger Award: Post link to the person who nominated you; include a picture of the award on your blog; nominate 7 other bloggers for the award; tell 7 things about yourself.

On a personal note …

Having accepted blogger awards several times now – each time quite happily and feeling flattered – I feel that it would be selfish of me to continue to do so. Hence, I humbly request that if you enjoy A Taste of Morning, that you simply send me a note letting me know. I hope that this does not sound presumptuous or offend anyone. Thank you kindly to all of you who have shown your support!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

Posted on by Laurie

When we moved into our house twelve years ago, this American Linden tree (a.k.a. Basswood tree) was a scrawny specimen. I could reach up with a pair of clippers and prune out competing leaders.  I did my best to shape this tree in its formative years, but now it is in the neighborhood of 30 feet tall (give or take). Not realizing how quickly it would grow, when we moved in, I planted sun-loving perennials near the tree. I should have known better. Now I am trying to find other locations in the garden for those very same plants as they are in shade too much of the day. If it grows to full size, this tree could reach 70 feet tall and 50 feet wide. Then I would really have to rethink my garden!

Thank Goodness for Rudbeckia

Posted on by Laurie

Thank goodness for Rudbeckia fulgida “Golsturm”, commonly known as Black-eyed Susans. Rudbeckia is one of the few plantings in my garden that doesn’t seem to be struggling with the weather. Despite the fact that we’ve been watering every day, a number of our plants are showing severe signs of heat stress. I suspect that some of them will need to be replaced next Spring. We lost a tree and several shrubs after last summer’s heat. Every now and then I toy with the idea taking the Rudbeckia out of my garden because it is an odd companion for my roses and Asiatic lilies; but then when midsummer heat sets in – and it is extreme again this year – I am so glad that better judgement prevailed and that the sunny faces of  my Black-eyed Susans are still out there to cheer everyone who walks by. As I write this at almost 5 pm, our official temperature in Manhattan, Kansas is 109 degrees F. The thermometer in our yard is reading 112. In the last month, we’ve had 24 days with a high of 100 or over and we’re about 8″ behind in rain for the months of June and July. There is a 40% chance of precipitation for tonight, however, so everyone has their fingers crossed for rain this evening and a cooler day tomorrow. It would surely make the garden happy if that were to happen.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Posted on by Laurie

I keep plants by a few of my kitchen windows. These photos look inside two of the orchids in my ‘inside garden”.

The Scent of Summer: Sweet Garden Phlox

Posted on by Laurie

Over the years, I have come to appreciate flowers that smell like flowers. So many modern varieties have been bred for bright colors and giant blooms, but not for fragrance. Garden Phlox (phlox paniculata) is an old-fashioned, tall and fragrant flower that is perfect for the back of border gardens. We have these planted along the curve of our wrap around porch.  They are just delightful.