The Inadvertent Farmer

Delierious for Daisies Silent Saturday

Another silent Saturday is upon us.  We are up at the cabin right now...it is the weekend of the Blueberry Festival!  Blueberry pancake feed, blueberry parade, blueberry pie eating contest.  All the things you would expect on a summer's weekend in a small town.

Can I just say I love small towns.

I've never actually lived in a big one...I might like them too.  Who knows...

But what I really, really like are daisies.

They may not smell the prettiest of all the flowers but in my book they are certainly the happiest and no other bloom says 'summer' to me like a daisy...or a whole field of them!

So enjoy your weekend and enjoy the photos...

 

   

So what flower says 'summer' to you?

Potatoes Plums and other Harvest Pleasures kinderGARDENS week 16

Welcome to another addition of kinderGARDENS its week 16 already...wow!  We are finally in full harvest mode here on the funny farm...

Raspberries sweet and juicy...

It's now that all the hard work of planting and tending pays off!

Digging in the straw for potatoes.  Planting potatoes in straw is by far my favorite way to plant them...they come out clean and no heavy digging involved!

Fresh potatoes roasted on the BBQ with olive oil and spices...somebody just can't wait!

We are still harvesting a few peas, lots of greens and the summer squash is coming on!

I'm lucky to have a sister that does not like plums.

She doesn't like plums you ask?  Yep so we get to pick all the yellow plums on her plum tree...silly girl!

I say 'we' pick, but more accurately 'I' pick and kids watch and play under the great old tree!

What are your going to do with all those plums?

Ah its a secret...you will have to visit next week to find out.  But be assured it involves  tons yummy fruit and lots of sugar!

Finally we have a couple of additions to our maze...

We now have two little red Adirondack chairs to lounge upon while hanging out with the sunflowers!

We also have a pretty little flag fluttering from the top of our maze to go along with the great summer banner!  Now if the plants would just hurry up and grow faster (and the kids slower) the maze would be perfect!

*****

I know this time of year is so very busy for we gardeners, but make sure to share your kindergARDEN posts.  We are getting near the end of our series and will need as many great posts as we can for the final judging!  If you have forgotten what you can win make sure to check back to the first kindergarden post!

*****

Next week we have another wonderful guest writer so make sure to come back ready to learn and share!

Raspberry patch with new Gravel paths and Gate

Good morning Kim!  What have you been up to?

Well its so nice of you to ask!  I have been working on the raspberry patch...laying fabric and hauling gravel.

But your raspberry patch already has gravel paths.

Ummm well the thing is, I used cheap landscape fabric and weeds, specifically wild blackberry and thistle, have been coming through.  So I'm not fooling around anymore and am using heavy duty fabric from my hubby's work.

Wouldn't it have been better to do it right the first time so you didn't have to redo it?

Yes...thanks for the reminder.

At least I've got help!

Yes he is hauling gravel while eating a fruitcicle (recipes tomorrow)

This is what I have planned.  Another great cranberry colored garden gate, a fence to keep out the chickens with grapes growing on it. And no weeds growing in the paths!

But for now we'll just keep hauling gravel...

And slowly but steadily we'll get it done. Although it would go faster if he still lived here...

But he had to graduate college and get a job and a life...far, far away from his mama.

Sniff...

*****

So do you have any interesting gardening or yard projects going on?  Maybe some raised beds, or a rabbit hutch, or even a lovely gazebo?  Do tell...

Tomatoes, Red Ripe and Ready to Eat

There is nothing better in the gardening world than...

a warm tomato...

eaten out of hand...

while standing in the middle of the tomato patch! 

This is why I garden.

*****

Just in case you were curious...

Silent Saturday, summer garden edition

Welcome to my late July garden...we're way behind due to an unusually wet spring and early summer.  The sun is out to stay at last, I'm sure all of the East Coast can here our collective shout of joy out here on the left!  Our gardens and their owners are so much happier now!

Eggplant

Winter Squash

Honey bee on Borage

Garlic

Black Currents

Of course the weeds are thrilled with all the sun too!

Canadian Thistle...

Beautiful be brutal!

So how is your gardening doing this lovely July day?

Are you melting in the heat, cursing the cool weather, or are you just right?

Party for the Cure decorations and food Galore!

Whew...what a weekend!

The highlight was certainly the party we held Friday night to benefit the Susan G. Kormen Breast Cancer Foundation.  Family and friends came out to support this great cause. We specifically donated to the local chapter.

Of course with pink being the color of the cause...

It was pretty much everywhere.

Balloons, flowers, buckets...even an old window frame!

Believe, Faith, Hope, CURE!

We held the party on the back patio overlooking our little valley.  We got to watch the hawks soaring overhead, the kids playing in the fields while we ate and fellowshiped.

The menu consisted of BBQ'd locally caught salmon (thanks Mike & Brenda) Teriyaki chicken, veggie hotdogs and burgers, roasted mushrooms, Teriyaki carrots with pineapple, and a whole host of potluck salads!

I even sent the guests into the garden to pick sugar snap peas for dinner...

The garden seemed to be the hot spot of the evening!

Even the teenagers hung out in the garden...and were much more enthusiastic about posing for photos than there adult counterparts!

For dessert we served homemade popcicles (apple blueberry and mango strawberry), brownies, and yummy peanut butter cookies.

Fun and WAY too much food was had by all!

 

Even that cat had a great time!

And all for a marvelous cause!

Thanks everyone who came...luv you all!

I'll post later this week with instructions on the decorations.

 

kinderGARDENS week 14 Corn, Sunflowers and Flags!

Can you believe we are half way through July?  For us here in the Pacific Northwest summer started just about a week ago...which better mean it lasts well into October to be fair!

I wanted to show you something...

 

Our maze has a new decoration!

A great bloggy friend of mine Laura over at Our House of Joyful Noise who has a  lovely blog, she also happens to homeschool, and craft, and garden, and take photos...yes we could be twins.

Well except for the camel thing...

That and she is brunette and I'm blonde

And I'm old...

And she's not.

She's Catholic...

I'm Protestant

Besides that we are exactly alike!

Anyway this is what I won...

Isn't that just about the darn cutest banner you ever saw!  I'm sure that someone came to my blog, say my photo, and used me as a model for that happy summer chick!

Yes I garden in a cute little short dress and darling hat.

I also have legs that are long and skinny just like that...

Really I do!

Moving on...

It is now adorning the entrance to our sunflower maze.  Speaking of...

Now that there is actually some sun our sunflowers are starting to grow...Hallelujah!

And beneath one of the sunflowers there is this...

We have nasturtiums blooming!

This photo actually reminded me of this...

Yes I actually stayed up way to late playing with my computer...no I did not do laundry...or dishes.  But I made swans!

All together now...Ahhhhh.

We also have corn finally coming up after 3 plantings...they all drowned.

We've also had slugs and mosquitoes galore with the very wet spring/early summer.

In fact the top story of the front page in our local newspaper said this...

"Go ahead, gripe about the mosquitoes. You're justified."

Our county has 19 kinds of mosquitoes NINETEEN!  They've all hatched in the last week...seriously!

I hate the little blood suckers...we have had to be so careful with bug spray and such.  We usually don't have many issues with them in July but alas another dreadful side effect of the wet...bleck!

So the slugs are eating my sunflowers and the mosquitoes are sucking my blood...other than that all is peachy!

But the flowers are blooming...

Maximilian sunflower, perennial get over 5' tall!

And the sun is out...so I'm not gonna complain!

*****

And some great news!  Susan of the Blue Planet Garden Blog one of our rockin' judges has a post for next week that actually covers designing a gardens with children in mind  She is a professional designer...unlike me who designs by the seat of my pants...so to speak.

So make sure to visit next week for something that is actually constructive!

Here is the link to Susan's first guest post...it was great so in case you missed it, check it out!

*****

So my dear readers and kinderGARDEN participants...what have you been up to this week?

the Chicken Shadow and my Hungry Kids

I would not do the following because...

Well I just wouldn't.

OK, so yes I would take photos of pretty flowers on my back patio.  In fact I was taking photos of the following little pot of sunshine...

When I noticed a shadow on the wall behind the flowers.

It is this that cracked me up and made me smile this early summer morning...

You see I have this rooster that sits on the back patio, my sister gave him to me.  Each year he has a new pot of flowers inserted in his back. I love my rooster...my sister is pretty cool too!

This particular morning he was casting a shadow that looked more life like than he ever has.

I will admit right here that I am easily amused...it just doesn't take much to entertain me.

What I won't admit is that while I was taking photos of a fake chicken my real chickens were squawking hungrily.   Or that my camel was pacing the fence waiting for breakfast.  Certainly not that my children had there faces pressed to the window mouthing the words...

We're hungry while rubbing their tummies.

No I would never let my kids and animals go hungry so I could take...

Just a couple more shots...

 

And certainly not a few more of a rooster planter!

Not me...I would not do that.

So...what are you NOT doing today?

*****

I'm also over at Not Dabbling in Normal today bragging about some of our kinderGARDEN participants!

Slugs on a Fork, the Friday Funnies

Although not as 'out there' as the marinaded mice...

I still am issuing a warning on this post.

Just a small warning...

If you are squeamish about slugs.

Especially those that are impaled.

Then you might want to go to yesterday's posts with the lovely strawberries...

Those are not dirt clods on my pitchfork...

They are not even bits of manure.

Yes I'm raising her right!  A good Pacific Northwest farm girl taking care of business.

And if you're from PETA...I don't want to hear about it.

It is them or my beans.

I side with the beans.

Now if I could just train Chester the Cat to be as enthused about catching slugs as he is mice I would be set!

But as you can see I'm not getting very far with that...

I Believe in Tomatoes, kinderGARDENS week 13!

After enduring one of the very wettest spring/early summers on record I still hold tight to some steadfast beliefs of my garden...

I believe that the tomatoes will eventually ripen...

I believe that after months of rain that the sun will always come out and warm my soul...

I'm sure that our 4th and final planting of beans will actually sprout instead of rot.

Well pretty sure....

I have faith that the slugs won't get all the strawberries...

And I believe that they are better eaten out of hand...a dirty hand to be specific!

I desperately believe that honey bees will rebound...

And lastly I believe that there are indeed monsters in my garden!

So what do you believe this week?

the Early Bird Catches the, glowing dawn daisy!

Yesterday morning I was up at 4 am to see my #3 son off to college...sniff.

But I don't want to talk about it...darn kids keep leaving me...sob.

Since I was up I decided to go out early and feed the critters...I of course took my camera.

I walked through the field and into the garden just before sunrise.

The barely there light was just lovely...

Warning, a crazy amount of daisy photos ahead!

Early morning light is my favorite for photos...

The sun had not peeked over the fir trees at the edge of the pasture yet.

The whole field was completely blanketed in daisies shimmering with morning dew.

I really thought this predawn light was the loveliest ever.

I was wrong!

The sun rose above the trees and this happened...

Suddenly the whole field of flowers was back-lit by the dawn!

My heart literally skipped a beat...

I then proceeded to take 100's of photos...my poor hard drive!

So although I'm not sure I'll make a habit of getting up at 4am...I will certainly try to go out at dawn more often.

You might want to get up early too...just don't forget your camera!

Hmmm, maybe we should think about doing this once a month.

Maybe we can call it '7th Day Sunrise Photos' or something like that. We could share photos taken at sunrise on the 7th of each month.

What do you think?  Would you like to join me?  I think it would be fun to have a reason to get up early and exercise our creative photo skills.

How about we think about a great name for the series and then meet back here in 1 month to share our photos!

Not that you have to wait a whole month to come back and visit me...

I think if you all stayed away for a whole month I would cry!

I've had enough people leaving me lately...

You not allowed to be among them!

*****

This is what I came back into the house to find...

In case you were looking for another reason to get up early...

A few minutes of peace and quiet!

Freaky for Fuchsia

I have never grown Fuchsias.

My mom has,

My sister has,

Come to find out my mother-in-law always had hanging baskets of fuchsias on the front porch when my husband was a child.

But until last week I never had...

Here is my problem with hanging baskets of pretty flowers...

You can't eat, can, or dehydrate them...well unless you count those strange upside down tomato thingies, but those are just weird...and not appropriate for the front porch.

Anyway...

I bought a couple to hang from our front porch.  I thought it would be a nice way to remember my mil for the dinner at our house after her burial service...

They go well with porch rocking chairs...

They go with porch swings and rain chains.

So in spite of the fact you can't eat them...

I'm pretty sure I am now a fuchsia freak...I'm seriously digging this flowers.

And as an extra special bonus the hummingbirds are going crazy for them.  Our front porch sounds like the landing strip for miniature B-52 bombers pretty much all day as the diminutive little birds enjoy their sweet treats!

I think this may just very well become a tradition just as it was with my mother-in-law!

Besides they take a pretty darn good picture!

And for the record if anyone expects me to become a great housekeeper just like my late mother-in-law, you know to continue her traditions.

Well you need to put down whatever you're smokin'...

*****

So any hints on keeping fuchsias alive? 

Do they like camel manure?

Making a recycled Boot Planter, kinderGARDENS week 12

Week 12 is here, we've made it to July!

I also wanted to let you know that we are now 40 participants strong!  Can you believe it?  That means 40 sets of little kids and big kids are now actively gardening, learning to grow their own food, and exploring the joys of being in the garden...I could not be more thrilled! 

This week is a little tutorial...

Yes there is a boot on our back patio table!

Each year we go down to the local farmer's market and I let the kids pick out a couple of flowers to decorate the patio with.  This year we went just a tad overboard and completely ran out of pots.

So Sweet Girl and I decided to take one of her old boots (the other had already been thrown out because it was cracked) and plant one of her flowers in it!

Step one...find old boot and take it in your well manicured hand.

Step two...drill hole in bottom of the boot for drainage.

Step three...leave the drill all pink so hubby thinks someone has been drilling into a Pepto-Bismol bottle!

Step four...fill the bottom of the boot with wet potting soil.  Forget to take photo of step four!

Step five...compact the squish the roots of your flower to fit into the opening of the boot. 

So why can't I do this this to my waist? No matter how hard I try I cannot squeeze it into the opening of those old jeans. Just sayin'

Step six...watch your sweet daughter grab everyone's hand when they come to visit and drag them to show off the old boot with her special most favorite flower planted in it!

Step seven...smile because she thinks your the coolest mama in the world...

which I am!

You all can stop laughing now...

Seriously...enough already!

There you have it a recycled boot planter.  So what have you all been up to this week?

Come on fess up...

I know you want to!

Please Pass the Peas...Please!

guess what's blooming...

I always eat my peas with honey;

I've done it all my life.

They do taste kind of funny

but it keeps them on my knife!

Please pass the peas please!

My little pea-picker...

which is better than a nose-picker...

not that I have any of those!

I cannot think of anything I look forward to more this time of year than sugar snap peas...

well except maybe strawberries...

but like I've shared before...

I never get to the strawberry patch in time to get any!

So go eat your peas!

You'll be hooked!

Silent Saturday in Spite of the Rain

Another Saturday, another gray dreary rainy day here in the Pacific Northwest...

Yah, I know...what's new?

Well I wanted you all to know that although my peppers and tomatoes are a bit grumpy I do indeed have a few things that are growing...indeed thriving in spite of the constant drizzle!

 

The moss, the ivy, the fern, the late lilacs, and so many things are simply growing like crazy!  Even...

the weeds are growing like mad!

And to make lemonade out of a bunch of soggy lemons...

Clouds make for some stunning sunsets!

 

Yes we here in Washington (and Oregon) have been doing a lot of complaining about the weather.

But I suppose there is a price for living in the 'evergreen state' after all!

kinderGARDENS week 10 book Review and Giveaway!

We made it to week 10!  I must say that our garden right now is just kind of hanging out...not really growing much due to our record breaking rains and cold.  It has still been getting down into the 40's at night!  My tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and basil are not amused!

But there have been a few fleeting but glorious sunbreaks...

The kids run out at every little break in weather...

A little running...

A little flower picking...

The bees take advantage of the few breaks too!

We have peas...wet peas but peas nonetheless!

The littlest of strawberries are beginning to ripen...I haven't had any...the kids find them first!  In fact the kids were hovering about when I took this picture and snatched these as soon as the photo was snapped!

And I just looked at the weather report...the whole of next week will either be cloudy or rainy...highs in the mid 60's lows in the upper 40's.  I'm trying really hard to not be grouchy about  this.

Mr. Weather man...you're fired!

*****

As promised I have a book review for you.

There are two things that make my heart go pitter pat when it comes to children's books...great illustrations and words that rhyme!  I'm a sucker every time for these and when a book has both...be still my heart!

 

Who Grew my Soup?

Written by Tom Barbyshire and Illustrated by C.F.Payne

This is story about a little boy named Phineas Quinn who is called in one afternoon for a bowl of vegetable soup.  The ensuing adventure is hilarious...

Who doesn't love a book that rhymes sugars and boogers...I guarantee your kids will be in gales of laughter!

As young Phin is demanding to know who grew his soup, a man with a soup-pot hat and a hot-air tomato balloon swoops down to take Phin to meet the farmers the grew the vegetables for his soup.

He meets farmer Hitchner who grew the carrots for his soup. Phin is at first disgusted that carrots actually grow in the dirt...

"They grow in the DIRT?" Young Phin nearly gagged.

"Gee, I've only seen them in stores, washed and bagged."

The farmer picks a carrot for Phin to try...

Phin would rather get cooties,

    but being polite,

he knew he had not choice-

he must take a bite.

So he tried just a nibble

the smallest of munches

and soon he was making great bunches of crunches.

"Hey, this isn't bad! This carrot's incredible!

It's sweet, what a treat!

Say this root is quite edible!"

Yes this book is absolutely hilarious for both kids and adults.  You meet a variety of farmers in the book and surprise, they are real farmers!  You get to meet them in the back of the book.

Of course in the end young Phin learns to love vegetable soup.

The only issue I personally have is that the book was underwritten by Cambell's Soups.  I prefer kids to grow their own vegetables and then have homemade veggie soup, not something from a can with too much sodium and veggies that are not organic...BUT it does not say in the story itself that the soup came from a can or what brand it is.  I did not realize who sponsored this book until I read the very back pages and looked at the back cover.

So with that being said I think this is a wonderful book that you and your kiddos will enjoy greatly! 

I'll not take one sip of this vegetable goop

unless you tell me this:

WHO GREW MY SOUP?

Leave a comment on this post between now and Monday at 7am Pacific Time and you will have a chance to win this book!

*****

So what have you all been up to this week?

Silent Saturday its a Nice Day for a White Wedding!

In honor of all the pretty young and not so young brides that march, skip, and dance down the aisle in the month of June I'm dedicating this bunch to you!  It is a nice day for a white wedding!

May your love last a lifetime...

 

 

And for you non-traditional non-conformists out there...

 

Orange rocks! If I was getting married, which I already am, so I am not...I would have orange and fuchsia flowers with spring green foliage for accents.  I would married barefoot on the beach wearing a knee length hot pink dress with a big twirly skirt and a tiny little bodice...nipped at the waist.

Wait, I don't have a waist...scratch the tiny bodice part.  Maybe a hot pink Muumuu...

Anyway I was actually a June bride...back when I was a teenager.  A loooong time ago, back before cell phones and home computers, before internet and blogs.  I was married back before digital cameras...it is seriously a wonder I survived!

Really how I did I make it without the internet and my digital camera?

It is shocking what I have had to endure in my life...

kinderGARDENS week 9 through a Child's Eyes

This week's assignment was to hand over your cameras to your children.  I gave mine to Sweet Girl who is 7 and let her loose in the garden.

So here are a few shots though the eyes of my child...

Why did you take a picture of the chicken house?

I wasn't mama...I was taking a picture of the little bird on the fence.

What did you find interesting about the melon patch?

I didn't...I was taking pictures of the llamas.  But it does kind of look like craters on the moon.

Yes I suppose it does!

I like our baby pumpkins by the maze...

So do I sweetie!

How come a picture of the goat?

He was watching us through the fence...besides he's cute!

That's a very good picture you took.

Thanks mama!

When I downloaded this picture I could not figure out why in the world...

OK...I'm a little puzzled.  Why did you take a picture of the camel's knees.

Because they are muddy, I think that's kinda funny.  I get my knees muddy too...it means I've been having fun.  Gizmo must have been having lots of fun to get so muddy.

I love you sweetie.

I love you to mama.

Can I use your camera again?

Of course...but no more camel knees, they kind of scare me.

Giggling.  You're silly mama!

Yeah but I didn't take pictures of a muddy camel...that makes you much sillier than me.

Giggling...

*****

So fellow gardeners...were some of you brave enough to hand over your precious cameras to your little ones?

Were you surprised at what you found? 

If you did please, do share! 

Make sure to share any garden updates too.

Next week will be another book giveaway...so make sure to come back for a chance to win another wonderful book!

Borage the star flower Herb

I sowed Borage about 5 years ago for our bees.  It has reseeded itself every year since.  Yesterday when I was out I noticed the first of its star like blossoms had opened.

I find this to be a simply enchanting addition to my garden.  Not only are it blue star flowers unique but its fuzzy stems and leaves seem almost downy.

Borage is naturalized throughout Europe and has been used for centuries both medicinally and for its capabilities of attracting pollinators.  It is easy to grow in ordinary soil and as you can see freely reseeds itself...although I have not found it to be invasive and seedlings are easy to identify and replant where you wish.

The blossoms of borage have historically been candied and frozen in ice cubes for decorating summer drinks.  A tonic made from leaves is said to promote activity in the kidneys and has been used for fevers.  It is a good sourced of potassium and calcium.

Borage attracts pollinating bees and is considered a good companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries. It’s even supposed to deter tomato hornworms and improve the flavor of tomatoes growing nearby.  I grow it near my squash to attract bees...

Next to buckwheat I find few things that our bees love more than this lovely blue flower!

So welcome back my pretty little star flowers...the bees and I are glad to see you!

Raindrops on Roses and Garlic and Peas!

Raindrops on roses...

And Garlic...

And Cauliflower...

Not quite how the song goes as I remember.

But with the weather we've had lately its all I've got!

Raindrops on Peas...

And Kale...

And inside Chive blossoms!

All I can say is...

Rain, rain, go away...this grumpy farmer wants to go out and play!

And in case you have the song now stuck in your head!

Not Julie Andrews but a fun and hip version nonetheless.

Cause you all know I'm fun and hip!

AHEM...

Hey...I heard that!

New Tomato Patch is Done!

We have now gone from sod to tomatoes!

Here is this year's formula for the new tomato patch.

• Last fall I covered the area with leaves and straw.  I let the fall rains fall on it.  Then I covered it all with black plastic...

• Early spring it was rototilled under and recovered with plastic.

• I started my tomatoes indoors early March, hardened them off in May

• A week before I was going to plant out the tomatoes I uncovered the soil and raked it into long mounded rows adding crushed oyster shells.

• Laid out the soaker hoses and pinned them down

• I covered the rows with plastic and the paths with newspaper and straw.

• I dug holes and added a shovel full of partially finished compost to each hole and planted in my tomato plants...48 of them!

The only think left is to finish building 48 tomato cages....anyone good with pliers?  You are more than welcome to come and help!

 

There you go, all tucked in and ready for...

And in case you were wondering where my new tomato patch fits into the scheme of the garden...

I put it in between the potatoes and melons on one side and the straw bale compost pile on the other (right side of photo, you can just see the corner)

Now I'm off to make tomato cages...hope you all have a happy and productive day!

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for the kinderGARDENS updates...our maze is up!

It is not too late to join the fun!

Best Garden Ornaments ever!

When you have a veggie garden you must have a few ornaments to liven the place up!

In your tomato tunnels you might want a sweet little cat ornament...

Hey kitty...comfortable in my tunnel?

Or a little blond garden gnome...errr....super straw hero!

Maybe a sleeping giant would be nice...(he actually napped there for over an hour!)

Or a napping super hero...(he actually didn't nap there at all!)

 

Or a whole passel of kids are great ornamentation for any garden...

 

So if you have a little (or big) patch of land you might want to get a garden ornament...or two to shake the place up a bit!

Meow!

(Meet Chester...my oldest son's cat.  I may not let oldest son take Chester when he moves out, Chester is a great mouser and is just plain sweet!)

Rhododendrons in the Pacific Northwest a spring Perk!

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have lilacs and camellias, our lawns are awash in daffodils and tulips.  But nothing says spring in the northwest quite like the rhododendron!

"Rhododendron species are found in the wild from the arctic regions to the tropics, spanning a wide range of climates.  In the United States, a large number of hybrids and species flourish in the pacific northwest, especially between the Cascades and the Pacific Ocean.  A favorable climate extends down the Pacific coast, the area getting narrower as it goes south, with the San Francisco Bay area being about the southern limit of easy culture for the large-leaved varieties."  American Rhododendron Society

We are indeed blessed with some of the loveliest rhodies around!

"Rhododendrons and azaleas belong to the genus Rhododendron of the heath family (Ericaceae). The heath family includes the heaths and heathers, blueberries, mountain laurels and several other ornamental plant groups.  Most members of this family require acid soil and good drainage."

When we bought our cabin at the lake we inherited some large old rhododendrons...

I love how tropical they look when you take a close look at them!  But actually most are from Asia even if they look like they might be at home in Hawaii...

Perfectly lovely!

So although I complain about our weather here in the Pacific Northwest...I must say that having the perfect climate for Rhododendrons is one perk that I cherish!

If you are interested in learning more about Rhododendrons and Azaleas visit the American Rhododendron Society.

Monday Morning Blues or Grays

I am not sure why they call it the 'blues'...

I think they should call it the 'grays'.

Blue is a beautiful color.  It looks so lovely in a flower...or a blue pot!

It cannot be beat in a berry!

 

Blue eyes melt my heart...

And the sky...oh the sky when it is blue makes my spirits soar!

But today my sky is not this color...no it is gray and cloudy and...WET!

I am grouchy and annoyed...

I have gardening to do...

Picnics to take...

Flowers to smell...

No I do not have a case of the blues, but...

I do have a big ol' case of the GRAYS!

So rain and clouds and gray...GO AWAY...at least for a day or two...or thirty!

Please.

Silent Saturday Mom' Garden edition

In honor of Mother's Day weekend I'm sharing photos taken just recently from my mom's garden...which happens to be next door!  Convenient huh?

 

 

And lastly my mom's favorite flower.

A rare breed of Black Lilly...

Hi Lilly...

*****

I'm also over at Not Dabbling in Normal sharing my apple upside down corn muffin recipe!