August Break, Day 27: Hurricane Prep, Garden Edition

Bring it, Irene.

August Break, Day 9: Garden Fresh

August Break, Day 4: Blueberries

Summer Bliss in the Great Outdoors

Today is one of those rare perfect summer days. The perfect temperature, the perfect humidity, the perfect amount of fluffy white clouds in the blue sky, the perfect breeze blowing throw open windows. It is way too gorgeous to stay inside, so I played hooky and took photographs around my yard and garden this morning.

Sipping Dill Nectar (click to view larger)


Garden Helper (click to view larger)


Lichen


Soon (when the sun isn't quite so high in the sky anymore) I will head out to snap some more shots. What are you doing with your day?

Squash Madness Season

It's that time of year, those few weeks where we desperately try to fit summer squash and zucchini into every meal. Where we beg random neighbors passing by to "Please take some home!" It's glorious, and by the end of July I will be thoroughly sick of squash.

This is squash harvest #2. On Friday we picked 6 or 8 squash. I picked 14 of them today, including that behemoth zucchini on the left there. There were at least 3 more in the garden that were ready to pick, but were small enough to leave on the vine for one more day.

Some of these will be going into work with the husband, in the hopes of pawning them off on his co-workers. Some of them will be dinner tonight, as Zucchini and Corn Tacos. (Which will go really well with icy cold Basil Gimlets.) As for the rest, I'm not sure yet. Any ideas?

Slow Summer Days

Hello all! I fell victim to the lazy days of summer and have been neglecting my blog - my apologies. Now that I've got a few weddings, visitors, and holidays under my belt, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things.

To start, I thought I'd share the best part of one of my biggest summer time-suckers... gardening! Today we'll be feasting on beets and beet greens, freshly pulled from our garden beds.

Summer Harvest


Are you growing anything this year?

Getting Ready for the Weekend

Ahhh, Friday. We've had a lovely day here. The weather was beautiful, and it was the perfect day for the first grilled pizza of the season! We've got a few things up our sleeves for the weekend, one of which is spending some time in the garden. I'm guessing we won't be able to leave the Southside Community Land Trust's 19th Annual Rare and Unusual Plant Sale without a few purchases in tow!

Do you have any great plans this weekend?

Apple Blossoms

Signs of Spring at Last

It's been a long winter, and a drearier than usual March. Spring seems late this year - the forsythia in our yard hasn't bloomed yet, and the maple trees have only just begun to blossom. So today, it was refreshing to walk around the yard with no jacket without feeling cold, and to see some of the signs of Spring finally arriving.

A Hint of Magnolia


Lilac Leaves

Garden Planning: Before and After

We're looking forward to starting some seeds now that Spring is finally approaching! We're especially excited about the neck pumpkins, Hubbard squash, and paste tomatoes that Daniel Gasteiger of Your Small Kitchen Garden has provided.

New Growth

I got to spend this afternoon with my beautiful (and very expectant) sister, and my nephew. We decided her incredibly lush garden was the perfect place for some maternity shots. This is my favorite from the day:

In the Garden

Dinner: A Preview

Pulled from the garden two minutes ago, right before it started to rain. Aaaaahhhhhhhh.

New Things in Summertime

Just wanted to share a peek at what's new around our home this Summer...

Our newly installed (and still not quite filled up) container water garden:





The shelves in our living room have been given a face lift, using some of the books we got at the Natural History Museum's book sale yesterday:



And the dining room sideboard has turned into a bit more of a jungle, since we're "babysitting" some of my parents' plants while their kitchen is being renovated:



What's new with you this summer?

A Burst of Color

Delicate and Bold

How Does Your Garden Grow

My primroses are blooming, delicate and pink, reminding me of lemonade and summer breezes.

Primrose

A Weekend Detour

June, English roses, tiny visitors...

On The Rose

Reaping the Rewards

The sweet rewards of hard work in the garden. The strawberry season has officially begun. With such photogenic fruit, I think I can justify weeding as "working".

Early Strawberry Harvest

Late May in Bloom

I couldn't resist picking up some cut peonies yesterday. I love the pale pink ruffles of color. My own garden peonies (which are more magenta) are growing daily, and will soon bloom!

Pink Petals

Springtime in the Garden

Took a little break this afternoon and walked around the yard to enjoy the gardens. And to do my daily monitoring/pulling up of a particularly pernicious weed in one of them. Always satisfying.

I love these little beauties, which are gaining ground along a stone retaining wall.

Phlox

Summertime, and the Living is Easy

Have I mentioned how great the folks down at The Good Earth are? Today I was able to take some photos on their property. My main focus: a beautiful New England meadow full of wildflowers. I brought along the Polaroid, figuring this would be the perfect place to use it.

Queen Anne's Lace

I'm in Love

With poppies...

Drop of Sunshine