Last night's sunset...

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And today's peach pie.


So I got some gorgeous peaches from the Fruit Truck that sells at Steamboat Island road, across from the school. They go to the east side of the mountains, load up and come back and sell the produce. Great stuff. Tried the trick of dropping the peaches into boiling water for one minute and then wiping off the peels. A bit messy but very effective. Not sure if it is an improvement on peeling by hand or not. Also used Martha's suggestion of freezing your lattice work crust before setting it in place. Makes it much easier to handle and it thaws quickly for sealing into the edge. I put it together on a piece of waxed paper then slide it onto a cookie sheet to go in the freezer. 20 minutes and it's ready to go on the pie. So much easier than trying to pick it up loose.

May pics

Way over due for a few new photos. Here's some irises:

Ritz - One of my favorite SDBs.


Pilgrim's Choice - The color is ethereal and impossible to capture with a camera. You have to see it in person. here's a close-up.




I. taochia - The slugs keep getting the flowers before I can get a shot of them. The color is amazing. So rich and metallic.


The annual open garden weekend is coming up: May 23-24, 10am - 5pm. Other times by appointment. Drop me a line - mikes.garden (at) gmail.com. I made this double sided sign to sit by the road at the end of the driveway, as the place is a little hard to find. I thought it turned out pretty good, even if the lettering is sloppy. I'll get the stand finished the next rainy day.


Miles came for a visit last weekend and helped me out in the garden. We got so much done! (And thank you so much, Miles.) He took the following three pics while here. I thought they were excellent. Especially the sky. The blue flowers are brunnera 'Langtrees'. Excellent shade plant. Very tough as well as beautiful.

Spring has sprung

Warm sunny days - finally! It was up to 70 yesterday and we were out all day in it. So nice, and I got loads of stuff done. Here's the south side of the driveway as you get to the curve. This had been full of weedy fir trees and blackberries, but our wonderful neighbors, the Pearson's, have been working to clear it out for us. We'll be replanting with different trees and shrubs once it is finished. Right now I am working on removing the weeds and making beds out along the drive. I've filled it with irises of two colors, massed, and moved the red hot poker here as well. The hummingbirds that nest in the area will enjoy that.


The cats are enjoying it as well, and all the early daffs are blooming their hearts out.






We had friends over for a bonfire in the evening and watched the sun set. It was a beautiful day. Hope yours was as well.

Fresh pics

It's been awhile since I downloaded my camera and went thru the pics. Here's some recent shots from around the place. Not much is happening due to lack of funds to adequately deal with the weeds, but we're doing what we can.

Here's a shot of a not-so-lovely but quite delicious Apple Tarte Tartin I made from a Cuisine at Home recipe. It is basically an upside-down cake.


I love kniphofia. this bright yellow-orange one kept the hummingbirds happy for awhile and sure made a bright spot of color in the garden. The deer leave it alone so I'll probably get more of these.


Sempervivum 'Mount Usher. Gorgeous coloration.


A wonderful pelargonium Joey got for me for my birthday - isn't it just stunning? I'm hoping I can keep it alive thru the winter so I can enjoy it for years to come.


Here's Mr. Pansy looking quite adorable, and hiding a heart filled with badness. The little stinker got mad the other morning when he didn't get to go out and peed on my shirt that was laying on the vinyl couch - right in front of me! I think we have solved the mystery of who peed on the bed in the guest room and destroyed the mattress and a pillow. What a bad kitty. It's a good thing he is so cute.




And finally two shots of recent sunsets. We've had some really stunning ones lately. Not sure what is going on to color them up so well. One looks like a forest fire and the other was so neat - the clouds started melting like a watercolor painting, with long trails fo mist falling slowly down just as the sun was going down. Very neat effect. Click on the pics to see larger shots of them.


Until next time, happy gardening!