I'm In The Garden

Hello! I'm afraid I've been remiss in posting to my blog but I imagine you guessed where I am.

Now that we are having consistently warm days I'm trying to "make hay while the sun shines." In years past when I was still working, there was never enough time to do everything in the garden I wished to do. And perhaps I'm going a bit "crazy" this year.

In addition to all the cleanup, weed pulling, application of fresh mulch and the like, I've also undertaken the making of my much longed for white/night garden.

Here are some of the additions today:

Dwarf English Boxwood

Lots of white Impatients

Bocappa to be added tomorrow

Diamond Frost

Oak Leaf Hydranga

White Petuinas

Hosta

Pots of English Lavender for accent

Hellebores

Succulents for accent and interest

Solar lights for when the moon isn't shining

Wow, I did so much today! I was outside fro 5:30 a.m. until the last light disappeared over the western horizon. I stopped for a quick trip to the store and for lunch and that was about the only time I sat down. To say I'm tired is the understatement of the year!

I will soon have plants started from seed, which will provide fragrance in the night garden. Germinating are moon flowers, white alyssum, nicotina and a few more that I'm so tired I can't recall just now. 

In a few weeks the plants will begin to fill out and by that time (hopefully) the white Deutzia bush, the Mock Oranges and White Jasmine will begin bloom. And with my glow-in-the-dark stones and pots I may never want to go inside.

I can hardly wait!

By the way, if you have received an e-mail with my name on it I DID NOT SEND IT. I learned today that my sister received an e-mail "from me" (NOT from me and NOT my correct e-mail address). The purpose was promoting some green coffee bean product for weight loss. It seems some individual has found my name and email address, perhaps through this blog, and commandeered it for inappropriate purposes. It's possible anyone who has ever commented on my blog received a similar e-mail.

I promise you that I would never send such emails to you! Have you heard of such things happening before? Has it ever happened to you? G-rrr.

I hope to be back to more frequent blog posting soon.

A Spring Tea

Spring has arrived -- at least in some parts of the world -- so what better time to celebrate with A Spring Tea? Here's your personal invitation:

A cup of tea says to the brain, "Now rise, and show your strength. Be eloquent, and deep, and tender."    Jereme K. Jerome

Tea served outdoors under the trees, with pink and white decorations set the scene.

The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.    Okakura Kakuzo

What will you choose to wear? The outfit below might be nice.

Or how about this?

Nobody can teach you how to make the perfect cup of tea. It just happens over time. wearing cashmere helps, of course.    Jill Dupleix

No, I believe I'll keep it simple and wear my LBD.

There is no source of trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.    Bernard-Paul Heroux
(or a glass of champagne?)

I trust no guests will show up dressed like this!

Real men drink tea!     Sting

Would you like one of these cute rolled sandwiches?

No spring tea would be complete without strawberries. Take several; they are so good for you.

And we can be decadent and have a slice of pumpkin roll. They are so delicious. Find the recipe here 

There are several teapots to choose from in which to brew your tea. Which one do you prefer?

It's not the tea that makes it special; it's the spirit of the tea party.    Emilie Barnes

 I rather like this tea set:

The "art of tea" is a spiritual force for us to share.     Alexandra Stoddard

We can survive functional illiteracy or shattered windows of vulnerability, but not the demise of The Decent Cup of Tea.    Malachi McCormick

(All images via Pinterest)

And a few more quotes about tea:

Tea for two and two for tea. Just me for you, and you for me alone.     Irving Caesar

The best quality tea must unfold like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched with zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly swept by rain.     Lu Yu

The mere chink of cups and saucers turns the mind to happy repose.     George Gissie

A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards.    Winnie-the-Pooh

Make tea, not war.    Unknown

Tea is such a magical product-- perhaps even the eighth wonder of the world.    H. Rahman

It has been well said that tea is suggestive of a thousand wants, from which spring the decencies and luxuries of civilization.    Agnes Repplier

Tea quenches the tears and thirst.     Jeanine Larmoth and Charlotte Turgeon

Thank you for stopping by. I enjoy our tea time together each week.

Planting Time

Found this cute ornament for the garden. A head flower pot.

One could get quite creative in designing hair -- or a hat -- for this beautiful lady.

 I need "her" to keep company with this man-faced planter I already had.

 The lilacs are blooming!

And the flowering peach tree (ornamental only).

Now I didn't really need another rosemary plant but this one was so healthy looking that I just had to have it. You cannot see them, but it has blooms. I haven't had a great deal of luck getting my many rosemary plants to bloom. From what I have read on the subject, some do and some don't and some never will. They just do as they please. 

So I reasoned that if I bought one with blooms it must be a plant that would bloom in the future. Gardeners will find any excuse possible to justify a new purchase.

White petunias -- about 18 plants -- also came home with me. They will be nice in my white/night/moon garden.

Ditto white impatiens. When I was a child and went flower shopping with my mother and grandmother, they called these "sultanas." Does anyone know why? Have you ever heard them called that?

I found two of the lovely Diamond Frost plants. They are not extremely lush, but I've been searching unsuccessfully for this plant, and bought these two even though they are going to have to be babied to get the fullness they ordinarily display.

The other plant is a Creeping Fig, which I placed on the woman planter's head temporarily for the photo.

All the plant shopping made me thirsty so I treated myself to a Wendy's Chocolate Frosty. I never think of eating ice cream during cold weather, but once warmer weather arrives I get a yearning for the cold stuff.

And it was HOT today - 85 degrees F. Rain is predicted tomorrow so I probably will be trapped inside.

That's OK; I'll have time to get ready for Thursday Tea. Hope you'll join me.

Waiting for Nightfall

I have this image in my head of a magical night garden - a place of mystery and romance.

Photo credit: care2.com

A night garden incorporates plantings whose, color, texture, sound, and scent can be appreciated in the evening. Sometimes night gardens are called “moon gardens.”

Photo credit: landscapeandgarden

I imagine walking in such a garden on a summer evening as moonlight casts shadows and emphases white flowers and shimmery plants among the greenery. 

Nightfall brings entirely new and intoxicating fragrances to the night garden - scents that awaken the senses to a unique garden experience.

Photo credit: pollinators.blogspot.com

The sounds in a night garden are quietly eerie, as night pollinators visit fragrant flowers.

I am working to establish mine, planting as many white flowers as I can find.

Another element of the night garden is "glow in the dark" ornaments, such as the one pictured below. I set it up today and anxiously awaited nightfall to see if it really worked.

There are many of these around, but most have an LED element that causes them to glow in the dark. This one had no such thing and I wasn't sure how, or if, it would work.

I noticed as I was setting it up that one stone is missing! I must look around tomorrow to see if I can locate it.

Here's a picture taken after dark. Hmmm, it doesn't glow that much.

Kinda like the other dragonfly I bought a few weeks ago that was supposed to glow in the dark; it doesn't either.

I won't be outdone! I have Glow In The Dark paint on my shopping list that is going to be used to paint flower pots, so I'll apply a little paint to my dragonflies as well.

Here's a picture of what the glow in the dark paint looks like on pots at night.

I am still collecting rocks for my garden and plan to paint them with Glow In The Dark Paint as well. As you can see, I am very busy these days.

Do you have any glow in the dark ornaments in your garden? If so, please share your experience with them. Thank you!

Saturday Rambling

A goat cheese creamery, Belle Chevre, is located near the small village of Elkmont, Ala. The artisanal cheese operation was established in 1989 and was acquired by its current owner, Tasia Malakasis, in 2007.

Belle Chevre Cheese Shop and Tasting Room opened on Saturday, April 13 in a 100-year-old building in downtown Elkmont.

Painting for sale in the Cheese Shop and Tasting Room

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Creamery and shop owner Tasia Malakasis at the grand opening of  her retail shop on April 13.

The product line includes classic goat cheese and fromage blanc, as well as a quartet of sweet breakfast cheeses - fig, honey, cinnamon and coffee; grape-leaf wrapped chevre; pimento chevre; olive oil marinated chevre with herbs and sun-dried tomatoes; and cranberry and walnut topped goat cheese. 

I tasted several; all were very good.

Menu

Kits to make your own cheese

Picnic baskets

A lovely arrangement of Redbud Tree blossoms.

The creamery was featured in Southern Living magazine.

Art on the walls

On the outside looking in.

The basket of white geraniums and sweet potato vine caught my eye.

Sweet Baby Goats

Three baby goats were in attendance as well. Aren't they the cutest things?

This old building is located at the rear of the Belle Chevre retail shop. The creamery operation will eventually move into this space.

Along the Way

Have you ever seen Canola growing? I had not until two years ago. I had no idea the crop is grown in this area. What a beautiful field the plants make.

Suppose I had never thought about where canola oil comes from! A plant, naturally!

I had an enjoyable Saturday tasting cheese, petting baby goats and looking at canola fields. I hope your weekend was good, too!

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