Thursday, February 21, 2019

The Yard: 2/19/19


My first official real-time yard post at the new house.
Kinda exciting.


Most of you know, I am not a winter gardener.
I hate to be cold.
I have zero desire to be out working in the dirt anytime between October and March.
Okay, sometimes we get nice days in February, but this year so far has been a bust.


I went out one day over the weekend with my pruners, thinking I'd tackle at least one of the kagillion pruning projects, and was immediately overwhelmed.
So I cleaned out raised beds instead.
I couldn't feel my fingers when I was done, so I headed back inside.
Then yesterday was in the mid-forties, with sunny skies, so I went out again and weeded the Rainbow Garden.
It was several hours worth, so I felt like I accomplished something.
Other than that, the only time I've been out there is for watering the greenhouse plants, or brief spurts with my camera.
All of these photos were taken on Tuesday.


I had never grown snowdrops (Galanthus) before.
Can you believe it?
I inherited quite a few patches of double flowered ones with the house.
I moved some around last spring to places I could see out the windows.
They're so dang cute.
These, coming up through the thyme, are in the septic tank bed.




A tiny clump in The Garden.


Under the hydrangeas next to the porch.
One of the things still on the to-prune list.



The daffodils are popping up all over the place.
I was in shock last year when I saw how many were here.
It's really quite amazing.
None blooming yet, but lots with buds showing.


The inherited Nandina out the kitchen window is loaded with berries.





This crazy hebe in the front yard has been blooming all winter.
I brought it from the old house.




I got several free candytuft (Iberis) babies our first summer here.
These out front are just starting to bloom.
No tag, but the dark center is different than I remember seeing on the ones in the old neighborhood.
Maybe I just never payed that close attention.




Another freebie, also out front, Euphorbia.



Over in the Rainbow Garden, the wallflowers (Erysimum) are blooming their little hearts out.
I bought a purple, orange and yellow off the clearance rack last summer.
The yellow one is alive, but hasn't bloomed since bringing it home.
The other two have had flowers non-stop.
Definitely worth the dollar bill I paid for each.






Over in The Garden, I found a surprise in the bed next to the pond.
A new peony that I bought last year is up and at 'em!
I got two at a street fair we went to and I think this one is 'Coral Sunset.'



And last, I finally did something I've wanted to do for years.
I picked one each of the blooming hellebores and put them in the birdbath.
They are so dang pretty.
I want all the different varieties!
I definitely need some doubles.
These are all from plants I brought with me.
There were a couple here, but they're not blooming yet.











And that's all I've got for today.
The sun is out again...it's so deceiving from this side of the windows...but I think I'll throw on some work clothes and see if I can't get another spot weeded today.
Until next time....




Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Valentine's Day 2019


Figured I'd throw some Valentine's day pics out there like the old days.


We did what we've done pretty much every year since popping out all these kids....
....dinner at home.


The table setting wasn't as elaborate as I've done in the past.
I used a tablecloth that the little one wanted for her birthday, but was too small with all the leaves in the table.  
It still didn't fit, but oh well.
Paper doilies, cloth napkins, the flowers that I managed to eek out of the yard, some conversation hearts and their little boxes of chocolates.
Just enough to make it more special than a random weekday.









The napkin rings were a gift from my aunt.


 

Hellebores, snowdrops (Galanthus), and wallflower (Erysimum) were put at each place.
By the way, my purple and orange wallflowers have been blooming nonstop since last summer.
Definitely a winner in the garden, especially this time of year.






My mom mailed this to the kids.
Isn't it cute?!
Under the money it said, Grammy loves you.


The Dad brought home these goodies.
It's like he knows me or something.


The Kid and The Girl both had basketball practice, so I didn't do much in the way of appetizers.
By the time everyone was home together, we were all starving and ready for the main event.
Just a little picky plate to munch on while The Dad grilled.




I prepped all the dinner stuff during the day, so everything would be ready to go once the crew was all here.
Brownies were baked first and I made a blackberry sauce to serve with them.



A London broil marinated overnight in my favorite easy marinade.
I got browned butter done ahead of time, then just put it back in the pan to remelt and fry sage leaves in, before throwing in some cooked gnocchi.
Breadsticks were doctored up and ready for the oven.
Halved tomatoes were slathered in pesto, sprinkled with seasoned breadcrumbs, then covered in shredded mozzarella.
Caesar salad was assembled ahead of time and tossed with the dressing right before sitting down.








Annnnd, everything cooked and ready to eat.
No fancy plating...everyone's bellies were rumblin'...just family-style dinner.





Haven't said this in a long time.....
Here's dinner on my plate:


And there's another Valentine's day family dinner for the books.
Until next time....



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