Nature

Garden Party

Posted on by Ang Anderson

I consider myself very blessed to have my own little ya-ya sisterhood with a group of ladies that get together on a regular basis.  This group consists of my mom, sister, aunts, cousins, and in-laws, along with friends we love to include.  We have enjoyed many wine and appetizer nights.  We have spent the afternoon at a bead store and made our own jewelry.  We have held swap parties, of which I promise to post more detail at a later date.  We go out for dinner and movies.  We have an annual cookie exchange.  Sometimes, we even do crafts!  Good food, drink, company, and conversation are sure to be found at each event.

A month ago, the event was a garden party.  It was graciously hosted by my aunt and God-Mother Pam.  We donned hats and sun dresses for the occasion, and shared delicious food and drink while discussing flowers and other lady-like subjects.  We all brought perennials to share with each guest.  We had a lovely time!

I love the detail – the cute sign, the print on the fabric, and the flanking of peonies and daisies.

Did you notice the Mimosas, Mojitos and Tea?  Yes, we like our beverages.

Here is a table setting, complete with gloves and scones.  It all felt very English.  Lovely.  Bloody lovely.

A summer event is not complete unless it includes fruit.  Yum!

A delicious (and addicting!) creamy bruschetta dip rests in her glass dome, waiting patiently to be consumed.

Refreshing little cucumber sandwiches on rye.  Very tasty!

To go along with my summer fruit fetish, I brought my Blueberry Tart to share.

Chocolate mousse garnished with blackberries and mint sprigs was the perfect finish to our luncheon.

The peonies decided to bless us with their bountiful blooms.  Gorgeous!

This was like having our own little landscape nursery to shop from right at our disposal.  There was Cilantro, Thyme, Parsley, Bleeding Hearts, Bee Balm, Coneflowers, and more.  If you have six people attending, you bring five of whatever you would like to bring and then everyone receives five new perennials/herbs/etc.  It is truly a wonderful way to share what you already have and receive new blooms in return.  I love it!

I look forward to many more garden adventures –

Ang

Strawberry Season

Posted on by Ang Anderson

A few weeks ago, the strawberries in our locale were ripe for the picking.  So, my friend Beth and I scheduled a trip to the local berry farm on our weekly play date.  It was an adventure like no other.  It usually is when you add two almost-five year old boys and two-year old girlies times two.  It involved two berry farms (the first one was unexpectedly closed) and two separate donut purchases (the first one was unexpectedly awful).  We each picked two buckets.  Well, I picked one and a half and Beth picked two and a half.  Her kids are more well-behaved than mine.

I came home with these two flats of gorgeous berries.

Now the big decision was what to do with these delectable delights…

Let’s have a closer look, shall we?  Little berries, what would you like to do?  Your time laying in the sun is about to come to an end.  I think the majority of you will be crushed and made into sweet jam.  A few of you will be eaten just as you are.  Another bit of you will be made into this lovely Strawberry Summer Cake.  The decisions are tough when this much delicious-ness is involved.  I have to admit that as a Libra, I am just a wee bit indecisive (*voice drips with sarcasm*), so this is good.  Quick.  Easy.  Painless.  (Well, maybe not for the berries…)

I just checked out the local grower we purchased from and the last day of picking is tomorrow.  I love supporting local growers!  If you get the chance to get some from a farm near you, I promise they will not disappoint.  If you already have, good on you for contributing to your local economy.

Every year, I am thankful for strawberry season and the jam that we have year-round as a result.

Berry Blessings –

Ang

Floral Identification

Posted on by Ang Anderson

With summer officially commencing a few days ago, I felt compelled to post some pictures of my recent flower expedition.  This doesn’t begin to touch the oodles of flowers that exist in all kinds of varieties and species.  These are just a few we have on our property, most of which I have no idea what they could possibly be called.

That is where you come in, my friends.  I am hoping that you can tell me what I actually snapped pictures of.

I could really use your help.  I need you to be brave and comment on the post or email me.

Here are the flower photos, in their bright summer glory.  I posted the photo number in a caption below each photo and as I receive responses, I will update the captions with the correct names.

Flower Photo #1
Flower Photo #2
Flower Photo #3
Flower Photo #4
Flower Photo #5
Flower Photo #6
Flower Photo #7
Flower Photo #8
This one is an Iris. I am not a complete flower idiot. Just a partial one. 😉
I just had to take the anticipation of this one. We are so close to enjoying the Peonies in their beautiful abundance.
I'm going with pansy?

Thanks in advance for your help.  I don’t have much of a clue.  (Can you tell?)  I know what I know.  Isn’t that the same for all of us?  *smiles*   I am pretty sure that there are some experts out there who will be able to identify these lovely beauties so I can admire them by their given names.  For now, they are all flora bellus.  I just checked my Latin and apparently Flora was the Flower Goddess.  Count it as my weak attempt to say ‘beautiful flowers’ in Latin.  I also have a Great Aunt Flora who I bear a close resemblance to.  Now I am just rambling…

But maybe I’ll write more about Flora sometime soon.

Enjoy the Blooms –

Ang