:: a happy nest ::

this week's harvest.

carrots!

Head on over to this week's Garden Wars at RVAnews to see what's been growing in our veggie patch this week.

this week's harvest.

mama and Thea shelling peas together (taken with camerabag on my iphone)

Head on over to garden wars, week 4 to see what's been happening in our garden.

in bloom.

dahlias

This spring, I am really learning how much I love gardening. I think I could spend all day digging in the soil, pulling weeds, and deadheading flowers. This work of my hands settles my restless mind and leaves me with a sense of internal stillness and clam.

Over at Garden Wars, John shared a glimpse of our flowering garden. Here are a few more shots from my lens.

hydrangeas

lavender

echinacea

crepe myrtle

 

And, a little something sweet that I am dreaming about:

 

harvest.

 

our first harvest of radishes

For the past several weeks, we've been collecting our garden's first offerings: radishes, kale, and chard. 

Thea and I have developed quite a fondness for green smoothies, and the best ones are made with kale harvested from our own back yard.

Here's the basic recipe:

1 banana

1 cup peaches (I often use frozen organic peach slices)

~8 leaves red russian kale

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (if needed, add more)

1/3 cup peach juice

3 TBS vanilla goat yogurt

I like tasting the kale (and so does Thea!), but using less kale and/or additional fruit will reduce the earthy flavor. I've got my finger's crossed that Thea is starting to outgrow her food allergies, and I'm hoping that we'll soon be able to experiment with adding other fruits.

For a weekly peek at our harvest, and to see how it stacks up against two other rva back yard gardens, head on over to the garden wars at rvanews.

from the garden : peonies

In our garden, we are fortunate enough to have ten peony bushes - a wedding gift from my mother and step-father.

These flowers are one of my absolute favorite, and my heart skips a beat every time I see dozens of these big, flirty blooms gracing our picket fence. Bliss.

But, I have a confession to make: this is the first year that I have actually brought any of these beauties inside the house. The ants have always scared me away.

This year, however, my mother-in-law shared a little trick with me. Just dunk the blooms in a large bowl of warm soapy water, and then shake away the excess water. I didn't even add soap to my water and it worked just fine. 

As long as the blooms aren't near the end of their (short) lives, they should easily withstand all of the dunking and swirling and gentle shaking.

Enjoy!

Tell me, what are your favorite flowers?