Tag Archives: Flowers
Goodnight, Garden
Here today, gone tomorrow. That is probably what nature has in store for the last flowers from this season’s garden. Though it was 70 degrees here earlier today, the temperature has dropped almost 30 degrees in the past few hours with an additional drop of 20 more degrees predicted tonight… all thanks to the Bomb Cyclone headed our way. Brrrr …. winter comes tonight and looks like it is here to stay for a while. Goodnight, sweet garden. We’ll see you in the Spring!
Stay warm! Have a great week!
Pumpkin Dried Cherry Quick Bread
Pumpkin Dried Cherry Quick Bread
Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour or white rice flour
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground mace
1/2 t. salt
1 c. packed pumpkin puree
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
2 lg. eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. granulated white sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
3/4 c. dried cherries+extra for garnish
confectioner’s sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking pan* with vegetable oil.
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, mace and salt. Set aside.
- Stir together pumpkin, oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in sugars until well moistened.
- Stir flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until no dry spots remain. Fold in dried cherries.
- Scoop batter into baking pan, smoothing the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with large crumbs that look cooked through.
- Cool for 10-20 minutes on a cooling rack. Invert bread onto another rack, then re-invert onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving. Serve warm or cool. Garnish with dried cherries.
Enjoy!
*The pan that I use is a non-stick fluted cake pan that is a little bit over 8 cups in volume.
Have a lovely day!
Spirea & Crape Myrtle
Hibiscus in Early Morning Light
Happy Father’s Day
A Rainy Morning
Happy National Rose Month
June is National Rose Month.
This is a photo that I took a few mornings ago of a Royal Amethyst bloom. In hotter weather than we have been having, the flowers on Royal Amethyst can be a bit lighter-colored. This one, though, is a rich pinkish purple, literally dripping with color – probably due to a rain the day before. Oh, and it is so fragrant!
Wishing you a rose-filled month! Of course, I’ll be sharing more photos of roses from our front garden. I hope that you enjoy them.
Cinco de Mayo Roses
Of all of my roses, Cinco de Mayo seems to be the most variable, ranging in color from deep maroon to coral to hot pink. (I read one catalogue’s description of the flowers as being anywhere from smokey lavender to rusty red.) While a gardener working with a strict color scheme might find that frustrating, I find it fascinating. From one day to the next, this floribunda can be almost unrecognizable except for the ruffled form of its flowers. Aren’t those ruffles wonderful? These are pictures that I took early this morning. Just a few days ago, the roses appeared to be a deep red-orange. The bush is a pretty consistent bloomer – apart from color – producing lightly scented flowers all summer. My rose bushes had more than normal die-back this winter, so they are all a little small right now. This bush should get to be about three times the size that it is now in the bottom picture below.
Have a lovely day!
Irises & Roses
Just in the past few days, my roses have started to bloom. They are about a month late this year. Fortunately, they still overlapped with the irises a bit. I just love the combination of irises and roses – really what’s not to love there? Over the next week or so, the irises will finish off for the season, but the roses will keep blooming into next autumn. The sky has been overcast this afternoon, which always makes the colors in the garden seem all the more vibrant. So I stole a few minutes during check-in time to catch some quick photos.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!























