I don't have these kinds of problems

I recently got back from my trip to Yellowstone National Park and it was absolutely amazing.  I had no idea that the park would be so beautiful.  I took over 600 pictures (all with my iPhone camera...love that thing!)  so I'm currently in the process of going through them all.  

Here are a couple to start with...

At first when I saw this planter, I thought "Oh cute, they made a little covered wagon". 

But then I saw that all the flowers had these wire covers on them.  Are they in flower jail?  It all became clear when I turned a corner and saw this herd of Elk!

This is definitely not a problem that I have on my balcony!

Farmer's Market

It's finally June and the farmer's market has opened.  I went to the market in my town last weekend and got so much cool stuff.  I haven't been to a farmer's market in several years and the last time I went I was underwhelmed.  It seemed like there were more craft stands than produce stands.  I like crafts as much as the next person, but they aren't what I'm going for.  So I tried out a different market this year and was much happier.

I was open to getting whatever they had there, but I was hoping to see lots of fresh strawberries.  I've been really wanting strawberries ever since mine got eaten by birds.  Fortunately, I was not disappointed.  Almost everyone had strawberries for sale.

These nice ladies let me take a taste so I knew I was getting really good stuff.  I could have gone crazy and bought way too many.  I controlled myself though and brought home three baskets like this.

Aren't they pretty?  Fresh picked berries like these go bad a lot faster than the berries you get from the grocery store so I knew I had to use them up right away.  Luckily for me, that wasn't a problem.

First, I made a strawberry shortcake using some of the leftover lemon thyme cornbread from the other night.  It might seem a little weird to use cornbread in strawberry shortcake, but it really works out great.  The cornbread is a little drier on the second day so it soaks up all the yummy juices from the sugared berries.  The lemon in the cornbread is a really nice compliment to the berries.  Plus, I got to practice my fancy plating skills and slice it into pretty wedges like this...

I still had berries left that I needed to use up so I decided to make jam.  Most jam recipes call for a ton of fruit and I only had about 3 cups so I decided to just make a really small batch.  I made a variation of the Strawberry and Lavender Jam from Canning For A New Generation by Liana Krissoff.

This stuff is so good!  Unlike a lot of jams it isn't too sweet so you can still taste the fruit.  The lavender adds just a little something in the background.

Strawberry and Lavender Jam

I only made a third of the real recipe so these measurements yield about 1/2 a pint of jam.

3 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried lavender or heaping tsp fresh

Mash the berries with a potato masher.  I like to leave it pretty chunky.  Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until mixture is thickened stirring often.  Let cool slightly and ladle into a jar.  Store in the fridge.

Last, but not least, the farmer's market also had several fresh flower stands and places to buy plants and herbs to plant in your garden.  I resisted buying anything new for the garden, but I didn't come home empty handed.  My boyfriend bought me this lovely bouquet.

This type of flower is called Sweet William and in Victorian times it symbolized gallantry.  Sounds good to me!

Flower Shopping with the Fam

It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy.

~My Best Friend’s Wedding

Last weekend I went flower shopping with my mom and sister.  As we wandered around the garden section I got more and more jealous of the selection they had to choose from since both of them have plenty of sun in their gardens.  Although I’m getting quite an education about cool shade plants this year it is hard not to be jealous of all the beautiful sun-loving plants that other people get to plant.  I’ll admit I was pouting a bit, but then I found something to snap me out of my bad mood.

It’s a New Guinea Impatiens.  I was so excited when I saw a whole display of these.  I’ve already learned to make friends with impatiens since they do so well in the shade, but sometimes they seem a little plain for me.  I tend to gravitate towards the more exotic looking plants that almost always seem to need full sun.  This variety is the perfect combination of shade tolerant and flashy.  I love the really dark, almost black, foliage.

I was even more excited when I found coleus with similar shades of hot pink.  I’ve really come around on coleus.  I had always thought it was the kind of boring plant that everyone settles on when they need something to fill a shady area.  No matter how pretty, a bunch of leaves never seemed like an acceptable substitute for big, gorgeous flowers.  But now I realize how nice it is to be basically guaranteed color and texture in the garden all summer from the coleus leaves.  I don’t have to worry about how my plant will look once all the flowers have bloomed because coleus always looks nice.  It’s like I’ve been chasing the high school quarterback when really what I wanted was the class treasurer.  So now I’m “Team Coleus” all the way and I love how it looks with my new impatiens.

R.I.P. Hydrangea

Last month I wrote about how I had bought a hydrangea and that I wasn't sure how it was going to do since I'd never had luck growing them before.  Well I'm happy to report that it actually did very well.  It had beautiful healthy blooms for about a month.  Finally, some hydrangea success!  


Since the variety I bought wasn't an 'ever-blooming' variety (meaning it won't flower again this summer), I had to pull it out to make room for new stuff.  Ah, the circle of life.  It moves us all.  (Thank you Lion King).


I do have one small remnant of my beloved flowers though.  This little bloom wasn't quite ready to quit when all the others were so I decided to bring it indoors to enjoy.

Garden Update...flowers

April showers bring May flowers

When I first decided to start a garden on my balcony, I envisioned it mostly containing herbs and maybe an occasional veggie plant.  Flowers were much lower on my list of priorities.  Plus it seemed like too much effort to try to find pretty flowers that do well in full shade.   I’m really glad that I decided to make the effort though because the flowers add so much color and life to my balcony.  They make me smile every time I come home. 

What’s blooming now: Early May

I’m happy to report that my hydrangea is still alive.  Not only is it still alive, but it is actually starting to get new flowers.  I’m crossing my fingers that my good luck continues with this.

This bacopa  is a relatively new addition to the garden.  It was a gift from my parents because they knew I was looking for shade plants.  When I first got this one it was a little bit battered from being outside in the garden center and part of it actually broke off when I touched it.  But I replanted it in a bigger container with good soil and it is doing great now.  So don’t be afraid if your flowers are a little windblown or tired looking when you buy them.  Most likely they will come back with some TLC.

The lavender is continuing to grow well.  I had read online that lavender can be kind of tricky to grow, but so far I’ve had no problems with it.  It’s got tons of buds now and some of them are already developing flowers.

This last container started out as a bit of a garden fail.  I planted seeds (impatiens and coleus) weeks ago and have been waiting for them to sprout.  And waiting.  And waiting.  I’m not the most patient person when it comes to this kind of stuff, but it really seemed like nothing was going to happen with these.  So I told the seeds that if they didn’t sprout by the time I can back from my New York trip last week I was going to replace them with new plants.  Still nothing.  So this past weekend I planted these fully grown impatiens and coleus plants.  I can be a pretty tender hearted gardener sometimes, but I don’t feel bad about this decision at all.  I don’t think those seeds were ever going to do anything.  Plus, it’s not like I didn’t warn them…

Questionable Gardening Decisions...Giving into temptation

I can resist everything except temptation.

~Oscar Wilde

So…I bought a new plant yesterday.  I wasn’t planning to at all.  I was only in the garden department to get more potting soil and maybe a few more herbs.  But as I walked to the back of the store I passed by a display of hydrangeas and I knew I was in trouble.  See hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers, but I’ve never been able to keep them alive and blooming for more than a couple weeks.  And I seriously doubt that I get enough sun on my balcony to grow them now.  But did that stop me?  Nope.  I had that sucker paid for, home and planted within the hour. 

So now I’m hoping that I will at least get a few weeks of blooms before it decides to “kick the bucket” (or more accurately “kick the planter”).  

So pretty...

My precious

Lilacs

With every leaf a miracle . . . and from this bush in the door-yard,  With delicate-colour'd blossoms, and heart-shaped leaves of rich green.  A sprig with its flower, I break.
~Walt Whitman, When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd  (III, Leaves of Grass)

There are few flowers that remind me more strongly of Spring than lilacs so I was happy to see them still in bloom at my parents' house when I visited them for Easter.  I cut some down and used them to make this simple casual arrangement.  Now my apartment looks like Spring and smells amazing.

I was planning on just using the lilacs, but when I noticed that the purple tulips were blooming I decided to throw some of them in there too.  I love the way the different shades of purple look together.

I added a little bleach and 7-up to the water to make my own flower preservative.  Cut flowers from the garden don’t always last as long as flowers purchased from a florist, but I’ve had good luck with this technique.  For flowers with tough woody stems (like lilacs) I also cut a vertical slit in the end of the stem to help let in more water.