Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Oh, baby we have been waiting for you

Every spring, since 2000 when I planted this sweet flower, I watch daily as she gets ready to bloom.
I am usually graced with a bloom or two a day and then she will have about 10-12 open.
This year we have had a lot of rain and as I walked out today I got a whole bunch of open flowers.
Boom! here she is:

 She is just grand.
And her sister is putting it out as well.

I thought I would just walk through  the various gardens that I have going and the rain has helped everything.
We have a salad garden going and this year we are looking at a good crop with actual heads of lettuce and Swiss Chard:


It does not take much to see the weeds, but if you look hard you will find Thia Basil coming up from the seeds Mark shook off the plant from last year.
Then I went over to check the sage which I love to look at, but am not a fan of eating.
I don't know why I don't care for sage- I have tried but we are just not meant for one another.
I do love the flowers though.
Maybe that is enough for us, just a little luv...

As I was admiring the sage that little voice in my head said- check the mushrooms.

Oh boy mushrooms!
These are cut and sitting on the counter waiting for me to throw a pasta dish together for tonight.
I love getting these and hope for more.
( maybe I should add some sage to them....naw.....)
All this and some pottery making going on.


I started out with a short fat one and then decided it was not me and switched over to the other one.
These are small guys that will get no handle.
Just a wee pitcher for those times when you want a wee bit of something like Salad dressings, Maple Syrup or cream.
Just a good pinch of something.
I have also just finished up some berry bowls and small batter bowls.
I find I use the small batter bowls to hold homemade salad dressing and if you are in the mood Gravy works great in them.
We serve gravy about once a year around here, but when we do the batter bowl is the ticket.
Maybe I should put some sage in the gravy.......
Cheers,
M

15 comments:

Kellie Jensen said...

We have some purple clematis in the back yard, and I planted a pink and white one at the mail box this year. I imagine you don't like sausage if you don't like sage. I do, so I'm sure I have probably eaten your share for you. hehe

Trish said...

Meredith..thankyou for the greenery pics :)..and flowering plants!..I chuckled because I was just telling a friend that I rejoiced when I found two short little (and I mean little) green sprigs on my chives plant this morning..hahaha..and then I see fabulous LARGE greens in your photos..ahhh the differences between climates always amazes me. We have had our first small rain shower.. I love the freshness in the air..
And..great little jugs!..:)
Happy eve!

cookingwithgas said...

Kellie- but I do like sausage- just don't add extra sage to mine.
Trish- yes we are in full spring and what could pass for early summer around here.
I enjoy it so much when I see things come back! I hope you see more green soon.

Linda Starr said...

I hope those muchrooms are safe to eat; yep sage in the gravey, is that clematis, so beautiful, love the pouring jugs.

Michèle Hastings said...

beautiful flowers! sage is great mixed with rosemary, thyme, fresh ground pepper and a little salt - rub all over boneless chicken breasts and cook in a little oil in a hot cast iron pan - add some sliced onion, mushroom and pour some white wine in the pan when close to done.... YUM!

Debbie said...

Reminds me of the old gardener's adage: "Sleep, creep, LEAP!" Supposedly, the first year plants are put in the ground, they just sit and do nothing. Next year, a little. But the THIRD year: that's the Leap year. Beautiful clematis!!! I put a piece of cement over the root zone, and it seems to keeps the soil cool and alkaline and they do better here in the humid summers of Louisiana.

I so enjoy your blog. Your plants and your pots are just gorgeous!

cookingwithgas said...

Hi Debbie- welcome and thanks!
linda-these are safe mushrooms- I plugged the logs last spring.
MH- might try that chicken and hey you have we are MH2 over here!

Judy Shreve said...

Love your spring garden pics! And yes to Michelle - that's how I fix our chicken too! Yumm.
And I love the little creamer/jugs too :-)

jim gottuso said...

hi meredith,
how does your garden grow?... looks like it's going gangbusters. i wish i had been paying attention when my dad and grandfather tried to teach me about mushrooms. i'm not confident enough about species to get them in the wild and cook them for dinner. i heard a show on the radio about the author of "the horse whisperer" and how he and a couple others ate some mushrooms they had gathered and all three of them went into kidney failure the next day. lots of rain here too, everything is verdant but i'm ready for a little break in the moisture.

cindy shake said...

I would LOVE a flowering climber like that! It's just beautiful. We still had frost last night...but the sunshine is giving us all hope that our Spring is here! Won't be until Memorial Day for my lettuce starts to go in the raised beds :(

Julia said...

I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as Cindy...it is still acting like winter here in Utah with frost and snow and freezing rain. We are preparing for floods as bad as we had in '83 - the spring runoff and excess snow and water this year are causing problems for everyone, especially those close to the rivers and creeks.

It made my heart hurt with jealousy just a bit to see your lovely large herbs and lettuce when the only place I can grown anything even close to that size is in my kitchen. :) The mushrooms look delicious. Ah, jealousy again!

GORGEOUS small pitchers!

cookingwithgas said...

Jim- you are having a mountain of rain.
We all thought this winter was bad but good grief what a "spring" rain this has been.
I do not eat mushrooms from the wild but grow these safe ones- they are yummy by the way...
Cindy and Julia I hope spring comes soon for you both and I will think about you when I am eating my greens!
Julia- I wonder if you can grow mushrooms?
Like you need one more thing to do!

Nancy Blokland said...

I am jealous, we have 50 some degrees today, but are expecting snow and rain again tomorrow with temps in the 30s. I will wait another two weeks before putting any seeds in. My solace is that it means more time for the wheel and berry bowls and mugs. Thanks for your beautiful flowers and pots.

Angels' Roost said...

Where is the "like" button? ;~P

cookingwithgas said...

Hello to you and thanks for stopping in to read and leave a comment.
We are in full spring and I love these cool mornings and then warm days.
Cheers!
M