This Week In My Garden

I'm joining Outdoor Wednesday over at A Southern Daydreamer again this week.
Check out all the beauty Mother Nature has to offer.
I'm also linking to Bloomin' Tuesday over at MsGreen "thumb" Jean
Love color? Jump over to Color Carnival for many doses of great color!


This last week has been a great week in the garden, everything is just bursting
with new growth and beautiful blooms.  We are in the midst of yet another
gentle Spring storm with just enough rain to give the garden the moisture it
needs.  First I'll take you to see some of the roses that are enjoying their first
flush of the new season.


This is my favorite yellow rose, 'Henry Fonda'

My favorite peachy pink rose, 'Norwich Castle'

A soft yellow all nestled in the lower foliage, this is 'Blythe Spirit'

A huge gorgeous deep pink rose, 'Brigadoon'

One of about six climbers in a soft peach called, 'Crepescule'

And as it fades it almost looks like old porcelain.

A yellow climber called, 'Golden Showers'

A pretty slightly floppy blousey white called, 'Penelope'

This vibrant always beautiful rose is 'Rio Samba'

Another pale yellow called 'Gold Cup'

A robust climber called 'Austrian Copper' that was cut down to about 30" a couple
of months ago is in full bud and ready to greet the warmer weather.

This is one of several 'Iceberg' climbers I have along the driveway, it was in full leaf when
we had a cold snap which yellowed the new leaves.  A dose of fertilizer will bring the leaf
color back in no time.

This is a 'Pink Iceberg' covered with big fat buds just itching to burst open.

Moving on to something a little more exotic, this is Melianthos major

sending up its burgandy/red flower stalks.

This is a cutting that I took late last fall and by putting it against a south facing wall
it picked up enough extra sunshine and heat to out distance the mother plant which is in
more shade under the Giant Timber Bamboo. It is a shrub ice plant,  Lampranthus copiosus.

An old garden favorite that both of my grandmothers loved, this is a no name
bearded iris given to me by a gardening friend.

That's it for today, storm clouds are coming in, more next week.

Rainy Day Tea Tray

I'm joining Marty over at A Stroll Through Life for her Tabletop Tuesday party!

And Lady Katherine Tea Parlor for her Tea Time Tuesday

And Tuesday Tea For Two at Plumed Pen

In from the garden where work on my new kitchen garden continues......another

storm is on its way in from the Pacific.  Time for a hot cup of tea, grab a cup

and a chair for yourself, while I go pick a lemon or two.

Thanks for stopping by!

I Don't Have A Lot of Blue .....

I don't have a lot of blue ...... but especially for this Monday,
I've put together a classic blue and white tablescape just for all the BLUE lovers.

Be sure to stop by Smiling Sally for more BLUE Monday

and

Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Vintage tablecloth shown with Post 86 Fiesta in Periwinkle, White and the limited run

Sapphire.  Chargers are Made In China, napkins from Cost Plus years ago,

napkin rings from Crate and Barrel also years ago.  Flatware is vintage "Deauville" and

the glassware came from Pier 1.  The Sapphire pitchers and other pieces in the center

were "not officially produced."

'Iceberg' roses from my garden picking up the candle light.

Sapphire juice pitcher , bud vase, S&P, mini disc pitcher and individual sugar bowl.

Be sure to take time in your day to stop and smell the roses.
They perfume your environment and enrich your soul.

Thanks for coming by to see me today!

Sunday Favorites: Inversé Glassware Rack

It's Sunday, which means it is time again for  Sunday Favorites
over at Happy to Design.

Join in on the fun and post a link to a past favorite post from your blog.
*****************


Today I'm not picking a personal favorite, instead I'm choosing to show you the
MOST visited link on my blog since I began posting back in August of 2009......
I can't say why it is so popular, but it is always visited for some reason!

Originally posted November 22, 2009

I've had this Inversé (inverted) glassware rack for about 10 years.  It's been in storage for three years since we moved to the new house.  Oddly enough I found the perfect storage solution for the rack by placing it inside an unused metal garbage container. Not as awful as that sounds, in that it was new and never used for garbage. (I think I bought the rack from Napa Style, which offers the same/similar rack now in a sealed rust finish.)

Now I've pulled it out to repurpose it as a display rack.  I never found it very functional as a glassware rack, either for out on the counter storage or as a drying rack which was its intended purpose.  After a series of incidents with glasses becoming unbalanced and lotsa breakage, it was relegated to the nether world.  Cute idea, but my experience was that my glassware was either too large or would not balance safely unless I stood there and watched it!

Displaying mugs and cups is always a problem for me and I have a large number of mugs, little pitchers, and children's cups/mugs that are usually languishing in a closet or box because there just is no good way to display them all.

This may turn out to be a major dust magnet and a passing fancy, but for now I'm just happy to see some of these orphan mugs and cups brought out of storage and back out into the light of day.

Saturday Rerun: Let's Go Swimmin'

On some weekends I'll be reposting some tablescapes from last summer.

Hopefully more visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy them on this second time around.

Darling vintage tablecloth that a fellow collector picked up for me, just love it!

 Turquoise and Rose Post 86 Fiesta with vintage Yellow Fiesta and the smallest of

the Marigold Baking Bowls. Carved wooden birds are from Jamaica, napkin rings

from eBay, glassware from Pier 1, flatware is Dansk.

The perfect feast to go with this watery tablescape ...... Homer wants to know what's for dinner?

Nothing better than fresh lobster, which requires salted boiling water, add a few celery stalks, some carrots and a couple of sliced fresh lemons to the water to reduce any aromas of the sea. 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your catch, use a CLEAN pair of tin-snips to make fast work of cracking the shells for your guests. Serve with lots of fresh lemon wedges and clarified butter. Enjoy!!

Should there be any leftovers (NOT at our house!), here's a quick and easy peasy Lobster Bisque that's great on a Sunday afternoon for a snack in front of the football game.

Lobster bits (the more the better, I usually simmer the shells in a small amount of water to loosen all the bits and flavor, gently reduce and remove the shells)

1 Can Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 Can Cream of Mushroon Soup

1 Cup Light Cream (Half and Half)

Pinch of Cayenne pepper to taste (Better yet 1/2 t - 1 t fresh very very very

finely diced Cayenne pepper from the garden)

Mix together, simmer being careful not to scald the soup.

Top with dallop of sour cream, fresh herbs of your choice, mine would be

fresh garlic chives or parsley.

Dry Sherry served in mini-creamers for each guest to add according to their taste.

Fresh San Francisco sourdough bread to make sure you get every last drop mopped up!