I took a walk in the garden this morning and it looks SO good!!!  Check out the Swiss chard.  
 

I planted the seeds in March, and this is what they're doing now.  The variety I planted is Bright Lights.  It is a rainbow blend of Swiss chards.  As each seedling gets big enough to handle, I transplant them individually into plastic six packs.  Then when they fill up that root cup, I transplant them into 4 inch pots.  After that they go into the garden.  Pots are much easier to keep watered.  Once they're in the garden, they're pretty much on their own for water.  
 

Swiss chard is related to beets and spinach.  If you look at the seeds you can see the family resemblance.  You can also see the similarity in their deep roots.  I've not really noticed a difference in taste in the different color stems, I just love the way they glow in the garden.   
 

We use Swiss chard like spinach or beet greens:  we eat the young leaves raw, and bigger leaves get cooked just like spinach.  I cut the stems into 1 inch pieces and sauté them along with onion and celery, then add the chopped leaves and steam for about 5 minutes.  Yummy AND beautiful!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is a quilt kit I bought about three or four years ago.  I love the colors, and the size was just right for Momma's bed.  I knew she would love it too, so cheerful!  I started putting together the turquoise strips, then bogged down with the appliqué daisies.  Well, I got up the courage to tackle them a year ago.  Got going, and finished piecing the whole thing.  
 

I took it to Rhonda Adams in Murphy last February to be quilted.  She has one of those magic, computerized machines that does the quilting.  See the beautiful designs that make the fabric pouff?  That's what she added to my piecework.  Momma would have loved this.  I know:  I do.  Now, all I need to do is bind it all the way around, and it will no longer be a UFO (unfinished object.)

 

Rhonda gave me permission to give you her phone number, for your next quilting project.  Backporch quilters. (828) 557-8059.  She's amazing, very reasonably priced, and a gifted artist to complete your project.  
 

HAPPY QUILTING!!!

 

 

This is Asclepias tuberosa in my wild garden.  We planted it about 5 years ago.  That was before we extended the deer fence.  They ate it all, I thought.  But it has come back.  And it's spreading!  Yay!!!!

 

Also called butterfly weed, it attracts Monarch butterflies.  They lay their eggs on the undersides of the leaves, and the caterpillars eat the leaves until they're ready to cocoon.  Then we get a whole new generation of Monarchs.  You can see butterfly weed down in the meadow too, orange flowers this time of year.  Look for patches of orange in your travels.  It might just be butterfly weed, waiting for Monarchs.
 

Glad to support all the butterfly populations.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is bronze fennel in the flower bed.  There, because nobody (the other plants) in the garden likes fennel.  Not sure why, but everything I've read says that.  I'll tell you who does like fennel:  black swallowtail butterflies.  That's why we grow it.

 

The butterflies use the fennel as a host plant for their caterpillars.  Sometimes we collect the caterpillars when they are big, and put them in an aquarium to cocoon and emerge as adult butterflies.  Then we release them into our flower garden to feed on nectar plants.  It's very exciting.  My preschoolers loved watching the whole process.  We love watching it still.  
 

This fennel isn't the kind that grows nice bulbs for salads, but the fronds are quite tasty, and the seeds are great in lots of dishes.  
 

So much fun in the garden this time of year.  Talk soon.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Well, here it is June, and I still haven't planted some stuff.  Tomatoes and tomatillos still need a home.  My garden is full, maybe you can use a plant or two.  Let me know.  They are great, healthy plants, and I'm happy to share;  but do it soon, cause they are going on the compost heap eventually.  

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

This is Elderflower in bloom.  Sambucus canadensis.  This one is on Stonebriar across from the Nickleys' house.  
 

Elder is a native shrub with representatives throughout the United States. It is very common here in western NC and northeast GA.  As you're driving, you can see them with their large, white, flat-topped flower clusters.  Notice them now in bloom, then in August and September when they have set dark purple berries, you'll know what they are.  
 

Elderberries are edible, and medicinal.  An extract that helps prevent flu is often made from the berries.  Commercially, it is sold as sambucus, or elderberry syrup.  Some people make wine from the flowers;  never had that, but we do add the berries to our morning tea.  
 

I wouldn't suggest trying to harvest the berries from this tree though.  It's way down in the gully, looks snakey to me.  It's also important to consider WHERE a plant is growing when thinking about foraging.  Plants that grow near heavily travelled areas may be polluted by car exhaust, and plants growing on private property are not ours to forage.  So think about these things before collecting wild edibles.  Best to just look and admire in the wild, and appreciate them for their contribution to humanity.  And order your berries from Vitacost  https://www.vitacost.com// or Amazon.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

You know that for a plant to make fruit, it must first bloom.  That applies to trees too.  
 

As we started down our road for a walk today, I noticed the Persimmon tree is blooming.  Not big, showy blooms like some trees, but blooming.  We stopped for a photo op, and I'll update you as they progress toward fruit.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Jim and Roxanne's lilies are blooming.  So pretty!!!!  They have lots of different ones, and the perfect location for growing them:  morning sun, partial shade.  
 

Lilies need to be planted in the fall, and planted deep:  8-10 inches deep.  This gives these heavy heads stability.  They are very attractive to the deer, so Jim fences them when they start to come up, and sprays that stinky 'deer off' spray on the leaves until they start to bloom.  
 

If you're interested in growing lilies yourself, you can usually buy the bulbs in the fall.  Or go to Brent and Becky's in Gloucester, VA.   https://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/  You can see their catalog on line, or request a catalog and dream about what gorgeous bulbs you can grow in your garden.

Meanwhile, walk over to Jim and Roxanne's and see their beautiful lilies in bloom.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

See, I told you.  Some radish flowers are pink!!!  Eventually they will go to seed, and then we can replant them.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here are fire pinks in our yard.  They are all over the neighborhood, and surrounding area.  You have to look kinda close, though, because they grow close to the ground.  These are tangled up with fading daffodils.  
 

Botanically, fire pinks are Silene virginica.  They are native perennial wildflowers, and can be seen along roadways and at the edge of woods over much of the eastern United States.  Even though the common name is fire pink, they are brilliant crimson in color.  The 'pink' part refers to the family:  same family as carnations and dianthus, which are often called pinks.   
 

Be on the lookout;  they are blooming now and for the next few weeks.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!