What's blooming May 9

I've spent the past 2 days totally cleaning up the yard and gardens.  Lots of weeding, mowing, transplanting, watering, and pruning.  Made a trip to the nursery to buy plants for containers and some mulch.  Didn't have the energy to do that today but it's on the agenda for tomorrow.

A perennial geranium - Johnson's Blue

Climbing roses.  Didn't realize until I looked at these later that there is a clematis blooming under it.

Siberian Iris.  A colleague gave me some a few years ago and now it's time for them to be thinned

Jude the Obscure roses with clematis

White peonies with Baptisia on the left and irises on the right

Dianthus - smells like cinnamon

Some kind of daisy - I thought they were shasta but apparently not!

I love these clematis

Shrub roses.  I know they are common but you can't beat them for color all summer

Cooking from the garden

The crops are coming in and it's time to start using them.

Lemon balm is a member of the mint family so not surprisingly, it is spreading in my yard like crazy.  I tried making tea out of it and it's delicious

Lemon Balm Tea

I cut a couple of handfuls of lemon balm, washed the leaves and plucked them from the stalks.  Bring to a boil 6 cups of water.  Put in lemon balm and 2 regular tea bags and 1/4 cup sugar.  Let steep until lukewarm.  Strain out lemon balm and tea bags.  Put in a pitcher and add a tablespoon of lemon juice and another cup of water.  Serve over ice.

Sauted mixed greens with poached eggs

The greens in the vegetable garden are out of control!  I thinned the beet greens and then picked the broccoli raab and some mustard.  Originally I thought I would eat it as a side dish with some pasta but while the greens were cooking, I thought poached eggs would be nice.

Beets greens on left, broccoli raab on right with a few mustard greens in the middle

I minced several cloves of garlic and then warmed them in olive oil.  Added the greens and several shakes of homemade dried pepper flakes.  Cooked until wilted.

For the eggs, heat a little oil on medium heat.  Crack two eggs into the pan and cook for 1 min.  Grab about 4 ice cubes, put in the pan, cover with a lid and cook for 2 min.  The easy way to poach eggs.

Greens with eggs and garlic olive oil

My neighbor's art

My neighbor down the street is retired and has his wonderful art creations hanging from his porch.  He's told me in the past that he's run out of room to display, so the other day when I was working in the yard, he walked by with his dog.  I expressed interest in displaying his art on my porch and he told me there was already a waiting list!  I'm hoping he's inspired by my garden and will create something.

Here is his porch

New plants this week

Sunday was hot and muggy.  I met my friend at the vegetable garden in order to give her some thinned broccoli plants.  I thought it was only going to take a few minutes but an hour later, I was still puttering around.  Came home and started in the yard, after deciding to not go to tap dance class.

Here is what I planted on Sunday - nothing is in bloom yet but here is what the plants will look like.

Hibiscus Moy Grande - planted in the median strip between sidewalk and road

Chelone - Pink Temptation - one of the hydrangeas died and I have this planted elsewhere and it does well.  I like the color.

Agastache - Blue Fortune - A lavender plant died so I replaced it with this

For the slope, near where the ivy was dug up, I bought Creeping Phlox and St John's wort

There is a weird little strip that abuts the back porch and lines the way down to the basement.  There were crappy orange daylilies that I dug up as well as Euonymus that were damaged in the snow. I didn't like them anyway, so they are gone.  In their place are some ferns and transplanted hostas.

Autumn Fern - Brilliance
Japanese Painted Fern
Tassel Fern

Rhubarb Spritzer

I can't get enough of the rhubarb.  I sent a message to my gardening colleagues asking for more.  I found a recipe for rhubarb concentrate to preserve so I think I'm going to try that.

In the meantime, today I made concentrate for spritzer

Rhubarb Spritzer

2 lbs rhubarb
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp lime juice
sparkling water

Combine chopped rhubarb with sugar and water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 min.  Strain, pressing on fruit to get all the juice.  Discard fruit remains.  Cool, add lime juice.  Combine with sparkling water.

Spritzer with fabulous metal straw

What's cooking from the garden this week

I need to clean out the freezer of old produce to make room for the new.  Last week I defrosted the last of the sour cherries and dehydrated them

The garden is starting to produce.  I picked Arugula and more Rhubarb yesterday.

Arugula Pesto

2 cups packed arugula
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup or more olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Toast unpeeled garlic in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, until garlic is browned.  Let cool and peel.  Combine arugula, walnuts and peeled garlic in food processor.  Pour in olive oil while on.  Salt to taste and mix in cheese

Freshly washed arugula from garden

My food processor is 25 years old.  A workhorse.  I've replaced one part on it. 

I freeze in ice cube trays.  To do this, don't add the cheese.  Freeze, then pop out and put in ziplock bag.  Once defrosted, then cheese can be added.

What's blooming May 3

 This is the time of year I love walking out the door.  It seems there is something new blooming every time I step outside.

Cranesbill - Geranium

Coral Bells

Coral Bells

The first butterfly of the year

Bachelor's Buttons

Kousa Dogwood - the last to bloom

Shrub Roses

I was thrilled to walk out and see this. I had transplanted this Clematis last year in order to wind through the roses.  It wasn't doing well in its original place - it's called Sugar Candy and it was blooming today!  The roses are ready to pop too so this is going to be very pretty in a couple of days.

False Indigo - Baptisia - the blue spikes in front.

Clematis - Lanuginosa Candida - I love this - in a few days, it will be covered with huge white flowers.