Buds on the wedding flowers!

This week we finally have some progress on the flowers. The sunflowers and zinnias have buds and the ageratum and asters have already begun to flower. Anne should be inspired with this news! I'm hoping that in 5 weeks there will be much for her to work with. Are they flowering too soon? Can they keep this up until July 25? Can we keep the weeds from overtaking?

The beets for the wedding salad are looking good. I sent some pictures to Ken, the chef. As requested by Hannah, he will pair the beets with goat cheese from a local creamery in Hiram and drizzle with some balsamic vinaigrette.

Something from the kitchen...finally!

This week I was forced into doing something with our tiny harvest of sour cherries. Liz's ultimate frisbee friends came last weekend for their tournament and just could not resist picking the sour cherries from our two new trees. They proudly came in with about 2 cups of little cherries which I put in the fridge until this morning. Having just seen a recipe for cherry crumble in this month's Cooking Light which called for 2 pounds of cherries, I attempted it anyway with my 2 cups. the result was amazing. I took a piece over to Connie Thomas while it was still warm. I think she ate it before I was out of the driveway. It reminded me of my very first sour cherry pie which was baked by her former neighbor, Kathy McLean, many years ago... let's just say it was before Hannah was born. Anyway, although it lacks height, it doesn't lack flavor.

Hannah & Ian's Wedding Shower

Last Saturday was the beginning of our celebrations this summer. Twenty-five friends and relatives came together to "shower" Hannah and Ian with good wishes and gifts. The weather was perfect (could we be so lucky again in July?). Janet and John were in town to help with "Parade the Circle" as they do every year, so the timing of the shower had everything to do with that. My wonderful sisters-in-law, Sandi, Ivette, and Joy took over the kitchen and I truly enjoyed the party. Terry proudly led tours of the gardens, as did Hannah, and we all had a good time visiting. Grandma met Ian's parents for the first time and John promised to dance a polka with her at the wedding. She is looking forward to it very much.

What's in Bloom

This week was full of beautiful blooms that you will not see in July so I couldn't help but show them to you now..... the rhododendron along the front walk, honeysuckle on the porch trellis and a clematis on the rose arbor.

Memorial Day Weekend

We finally got every flower seedling in the garden - 800 of them - that's right 800. 20 rows of 40 plants each. AND we planted 21 flats of annuals in the garden beds - that's another 792 plants, for a grand total of 1,592. That's just FLOWERS. This number does not include vegetables already planted such as beets, lettuces, onions and tomatoes. Hopefully, the beets will end up in the wedding dinner salad if Ken (the chef) is up for roasting 25 pounds of beets. How local is that? 10 feet from the tent.

Seedlings

We will be happy when these go into the garden. Terry's task will be to keep the deer away. a neighbor told us about a home remedy that works: 2 eggs and 1 cup of Murphy's Oil Soap dissolved in 1 gallon of water. Mix and let ripen for a few days. Hmm... Splash on plants with a wide paint brush, Jackson Pollock style. As soon as I run out of the expensive deer repellent from Chagrin Pet & Garden I'll let you know how it works.