Garden 2017

 

The garden in June! Everything is going and everything is growing.

  

So far my harvest has been a steady stream of herbs and lettuces and kale. 

 

Flowers are blooming like crazy.

 

The sugar snap peas will soon be ready. I know some little girls who will decimate that crop, it will never make its way inside and that is fantastic!

Tomatoes will come soon and there will be no stopping them for months. 

 

Our lettuce this year has really been abundant. 

This is also my second year with what appears to be successful peppers!

  

I am loving the girls' discoveries as they see how plants grow, not just how they appear in supermarkets.

 

And the herbs....put them on everything. Something is so satisfying about running out into the garden for ingredients!

Of course I have non-food plants that will have different uses. I love making lavender sachets to put in drawers. Midwinter I revel in the smell of lavender as I open a drawer.

 

The girls have a few annuals of their own. They "rescued" them from the discount rack and we have revived them to continue on through the season.

 I am not much of an annual kind of gal, but they do add some nice splashes of color.

I am also so thrilled when I see old friends returning, plants that I put into place years ago as tiny babies, now big and full and mature. 

 

This season is so rich and beautiful. Sure, I have some pretty serious morning allergies, but I wouldn't trade this season for anything.

Rain

Saturday was so hot. When we made it home from Montana it was 97 F, there are also fires up in Canada and the smoke made the sky sort of soft with strangely filtered light. While the sunsets have been stunning, the fires are definitely not good for people who want to breathe air (AKA everyone). So yesterday when it started to drizzle here in Wyoming I was so happy for the clean air and relief from the heat. The rain continued on through the night. Eric and I slept with our windows open and the cool air, combined with the sound of rain and muttering birds was pretty much heavenly. It was a strange juxtaposition for me as I was having a full night of horrible dreams. I kept waking up with a jolt, only to be soothed back to sleep by the comforting patter of rain.

When we all rolled out of bed this morning there was coffee and breakfast and open windows letting in the clean cool air. The girls outfitted themselves in crocheted ponchos and Betty Sprinkles settled in front of a space heater. I went outside to take photos of the beautiful gloomy morning. Slightly waylaid by my inability to understand Eric's high tech camera. I enjoyed the wet grass on my feet. The drops of rain water resting on the plants. My garden was happily drinking up the excess. I am ready for a creative rainy day!

 











 

Yesterday

Yesterday was a pretty perfect day. I spent some frienniversary time with Sarah (more on that tomorrow). I went garden shopping with my mother and the girls (one of my all time favorite things in this life is looking at plants, chatting and being with my mother and daughters). Then I spent the evening out back trying to work through the explosive growth that we have had after a month of rain.















 



Today I have to get some groceries as our fridge is pretty much only condiments and I have made some weird meals (olive sandwich anyone) in an attempt to put off a trip to the grocery store. Then I plan to spend the rest of my day outside with the girls. I am going to work in the garden. I am sure there will be a lot of play. Some meals outside, some "cloud gazing" as Cordelia loves to throw out a blanket and look at the sky. Elise is happy to join her. I love this time of year.

My Garden

Such a gorgeous time of year. My garden is just bursting with life. Green and wild and flowery, just the way I love it. Right now my favorite time of day is probably the quiet as the girls are sleeping and before the sun has set, spending just a few moments out in the garden and getting a little muddy. Life is good!

Outside Art

 

I keep meaning to share with you a new piece of art that we recently acquired. This playful and beautiful column was created by friend and uber-talented artist Victoria Copeland. She created the gorgeous mosaic column and then left it for Eric and I to decide what we should top it with (garden ball, bird bath, manatee statue, etc.)



To complete the piece Eric and I found a birdbath, the kind that hangs from chains. We removed the chains and I made some dangles from clay and attached them to the holes that had once been connected to the chain. Down the center if the column we stuck a rod into the ground to ensure that Wyoming's winds won't knock it down.





We placed some stones into the basin of the birdbath and now we are all set. Isn't it gorgeous?! It is so whimsical and fun to look at, there is always some new detail to discover. 



It is great to extend our love of art into the outdoors, beyond the walls of our home. Do you decorate your outside?

Vegan Basil Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

My tomato plants have been bursting! I have cherry tomatoes coming at me from all directions! I love them in salads. The girls eat them raw, but sometimes I like to actually do something with them. Coincidentally my basil is also getting out of hand.



The result is a simple and satisfying side.  

If you follow me on rooted-vegan.blogspot.com you will see this recipe there tomorrow, but click over for a different recipe today!



You will need

About 24 cherry or grape tomatoes
Olive oil
4 basil leaves
1 T balsamic vineagrette
pinch o salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Toss all ingredients together,omitting the basil.
3. Bake for 25 minutes or so, until the skin begins to burst.
4. Add the basil,let cool for a few minutes before serving, those bad boys hold their heat!

First Humble Harvest

While the farmer's market on Tuesday may have been less than fruitful (see what I did there?) we had a little success from our home garden. Yesterday I was able to gather my first harvest! The girls were on hand to help. When I say help I mean Cordelia kind of helped and Elise helped herself to fistfuls of dirt. Most of my garden is still young, but I was able to gather mixed greens and tomatoes! The peas are still tiny, but as this season progresses we will be eating more and more from this garden of ours.

This year we have two raised beds with several different veggies. Additionally we have some container gardening going on with herbs, the biggest tomato plat I've ever grown,  strawberries, and more. Next year we are thinking about making the entire lower portion of our yard (it is two levels) into a big enclosed garden.

What are you growing?