a glorious day

It's a gloriously, beautiful day here in the PNW! The sky is bright blue, the sun in shining and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you a little bit about my garden. My garden is evolving. I've never taken a class, have no idea what I'm doing- really but I find gardening to be so calming, so relaxing, so therapeutic.

It might be fun to share my garden with you in stages as we go through the seasons. About this time of year I'm getting excited for my spring plants! My garden is prettiest in May and June. Now as I share with you my plants I only know the common names. I think that the korean spice plant is a viburnum. You are welcome to correct me if I'm mistaken. If you have a spot in your yard that needs some spring color May I recommend this plant to you. It's smell would be hard to rival! If possible you should plant this next to your deck or entry. I think my top two favorite garden plants for the PNW would be lilacs and peonies. Lilacs because they remind me of my grandpa. He had a long driveway lined with them and every spring would fill our home full of the amazing scent and sight of lilacs. My husband also loves them because they remind him of his childhood as well. Lilacs are slow growing so I would suggest buying the largest plant that you can afford. I bought a tiny 6 dollar plant which I planted 6 years ago and I am just now able to make several bouquets in the spring.



Another favorite of mine is sedum- autumn joy. It starts out in early spring almost looking like tiny little cabbages coming out of the ground and by the early fall is taller and turns a dark reddish/ pink color. I also love blue fescue grasses sprinkled through the beds for texture and color.



In the early spring before the peonies bloom my garden is blue and white. I love grape hyacinths because they signal to me that Easter is on the way! Last year I found these darling little blue primroses at the grocery and added them to the garden for early color. My favorite way to spend a sunny afternoon is outside with my hands in the dirt, Oscar by my side, and the sun tanning my arms. My boy was so happy to be frolicking about with me this afternoon!



My star magnolias are just about to burst into bloom and behind them you can see a rod iron trellis which is in place to hold my peonies as they grow.



We were finally able to afford a small hedge around the side of the playhouse. It was just planted last week! I love how it looks. Soon I will fill the window box with spring color. We will also finish the garden around the deck area to hide the rest of the gap. After a beautiful sunny day I love to bless my family with a light a fresh meal!

Might I suggest this Mexican Chop Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette from the Fried Chicken and Champagne cookbook?



For the dressing place 2 jalapeno peppers- roughly chopped with seeds, 1 T chopped ginger, 1 T chopped garlic, 2 T sugar, 4 T gluten free soy sauce (La choy), 4 T lime juice in a food processor and puree until smooth. Then slowly pour in 1 1/2c canola or vegatable oil in a slow, steady stream into the mixture while the processor is running. Fold in 1/4 chopped cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste.

for the salad:

chop up some jicama and gala apples into small chunks- about 2 c. Add about 2 c of corn (frozen is fine- thaw), 2 c of unpeeled english cucumber cut into chunks and pour the vinaigrette over the top. Garnish with cilantro! yum!

** I forgot that I added chicken to this salad. I just chopped up some chicken breast and cooked it on the stove in olive oil, onion, garlic and some mexican seasonings... red pepper flakes, chili powder, whatever you have on hand.

you could also serve chips and salsa on the side.