Floral Friday - Just A Few Bloomers!

I just wanted to share a few of my current bloomers with you today. Of course the big heavenly blue morning glories continue to shine, but I didn't want to bore you with more of those so soon!


The geraniums are beginning to bloom again.



This white foxglove is just beginning to open up.

Aren't the deep reddish purple spots pretty?

The yellow buddleia (butterfly bush) is just full of buds, only a few have opened so far, but this bumblebee seemed really happy! This will bloom all summer, up until a hard frost.

Lavender. What more can I say but, ahhhhhhhh! I guess I should pick it, but I just love the way it looks in the yard, and the butterflies and bees love it, too.

Bees love betony, as you can see here.

The sweet rocket is almost gone.

Pretty pink zinnias.

Isn't this pink bachelor button precious!!! I had two come up this year, the other one will be purple, I think.

Hyacinth bean blooms. The hummingbirds just love these!

This is an 'anise hyssop' called golden jubilee. When I took this picture this morning it was drizzling rain and cloudy, which didn't do justice to the color. It's a really golden green, and the blooms are soft and pretty.

Next, the promise of things to come! Starting with blooms on the tomatoes (yum!).

Blooms on the squash plants (yum again!).

I was able to save one of the sunflowers the squirrels tried to destroy. It was only 'bent' and not broken, so I staked it up and babied it for a while, and it's rewarded my efforts with a tiny bud in the center.

The tall garden phlox is beginning to form buds. This one is a lavender with purple eye.

Lettuce leaf basil. I've never grown this type of basil before, and the leaves are a bit larger and more ruffled. I can't wait to have some of this on a sandwich, in a tomato salad for bruschetta, or in my orzo pasta salad.

Oh, I almost forgot! The cleome is coming up like crazy. I'm moving and transplanting and giving away cleome babies. It's a lovely flower, and re-seeds very heartily. It gets to 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall!

That's my bloomers for today. I enjoy going out every morning and looking to see what is new, what's coming up, what's changed. Having a garden is a constant source of enjoyment for me.

Have a great weekend, folks! Blessings, Becky

Another Easy-Peasy Recipe . . .

For Memorial Day or any day! Not only are grilled veggies delicious, but they are really good for you, so how can you go wrong!

I started these a bit early in the day for two reasons. One, I wanted to blanch the asparagus so it wouldn't take so long to cook on the grill, and two, because I wanted to marinate the veggies for a while.

So, I started with a big pot of boiling salted water threw in the asparagus spears for about a half a minute, then took them out of the boiling water and put them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. While the asparagus was cooling, I washed and sliced a small zucchini - yellow squash works well here, too. You can slice it any way you like, but for this batch I cut the squash in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 3-4 slices.

When the asparagus is cold and the squash is sliced, put it all into a zippered bag and add about 1/3 cup of your marinade, press out as much air as you can, seal it and put it in the fridge until you are ready to put it on the grill.

My marinade of choice these days is this one >>>


I just LOVE Ken's Steak House salad dressings, and this very good dressing also makes an excellent marinade for veggies and meats. In fact, I basted the boneless pork loin chops with this as I grilled them, and they were very, very good. I have tried their ranch, bleu cheese, country french with vermont honey (yum!) and this vinaigrette, and they are all very good.


I put the zucchini on when the chops were about 1/2 done because, being raw, they needed more time to cook. Then when the chops were done, I added the asparagus spears t the grill. All you really have to do is heat them up.


I also had oven roasted potato wedges, and a bit of butter with freshly roasted garlic for the pork. It was a delicious meal, and incredibly easy to prepare!

Many other veggies do well on the grill, including onions, peppers, eggplant - basically anything that is large enough they won't fall through the grates!

I have all my meals planned for this weekend and all of next week, and almost every meal is going to be cooked and/or eaten on the deck (weather permitting) and I look forward to having some nice relaxing evenings. So, what are YOUR plans for this holiday weekend???

Blessings, Becky