walking through the garden

June 28, 2011 – 5:10 pm

We took a walk / ride through the garden this morning. It looks beautiful.

summer garden

Orange is my least favorite color, but there are some totally beautiful orange daylilies. Like ‘South Seas.’

'South Seas'

The girls walked through a lot of the east front yard, but decided they had gone far enough on their own steam. So they headed to the garage with Pa and picked up the wagon.

when walking is too far, Pa will pull you in the wagon

We saw a tiny Summer Azure butterfly. It’s wingspan is only 3/4 of an inch.

Summer Azure butterfly

We saw lots of daylilies on our garden walk. Like ‘Fooled Me.’

Daylily 'Fooled Me'

And this polymerous ‘Hyperion.’ A polymerous daylily has more than the usual three sepals and three petals. This one had five each.

polymerous 'Hyperion'

A beautiful day for looking at beautiful flowers.

front yard garden

touring the garden with Pa

The hosta ‘Sunny Disposition’ is lovely with its bright yellow leaves and its pretty lavender flowers. It holds up to a lot of sun.

Hosta 'Sunny Disposition'

For little girls, though, a short rest out of the sun is always a good idea.

precious cargo

“Look, Pa! A mommy bee!”

purple coneflowers

We passed the fenced garden on the way to the back yard.

fenced garden

In the back yard, the girls climbed the mulberry tree.

twins in a tree

climbing the mulberry

climbing the mulberry tree

And picked raspberries. We have just enough bushes to snack from.

pickin' raspberries

Yummy!

eating raspberries

Time to swing with a little help from Pa.

swingin'

The tiger lilies have opened.

tiger lilies

Many of the hostas are blooming right now.

Hosta 'Squash Casserole'

After enjoying the garden, it’s time to go in. We pass a pot of coleus at the back door. If anyone local has other kinds than these, I’d love to have a start. Am willing to trade!

coleus

We’ll be in the garden again later. Right now, DH is watching a Tour de France preview show, the twins are playing with the laundry basket full of toy horses, and I’m keeping my leg up for a while. Everyone else went to Six Flags for the day, so it’s pretty quiet here. 🙂

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family, our garden, twins | Comments (0)

gorgeous in the garden

June 27, 2011 – 4:35 pm

Last Thursday, we had a beautiful day. Started around 70 degrees and didn’t rise above 82. I went out in the morning to get some garden pictures. Had a great time, enjoying the weather and the garden.

Hosta ‘Squash Casserole’ under the Japanese maple.

Hosta 'Squash Casserole'

This hosta, ‘Ventricosa,’ came from my paternal grandmother’s garden. Family members, if you’d like a start, let me know. We’re happy to share. I also have some of Grandma’s lily of the valley that grew under the shrubs along the porch, and some of the surprise lilies she had planted along the veggie garden. If you’d like a start of any of those, just say so. We’ll dig some for you.

Hosta 'Ventricosa'

Saw some little garden critters out there. Not sure what this one was…I snapped it accidentally while taking a picture of the catnip.

catnip and some kind of bug

The wood bees love the catnip, too.

bee and catnip

This little Cabbage White butterfly was more interested in the ‘Six Hills Giant’ catnip. Though, I’m wondering if this catnip was mislabeled by the nursery…it isn’t a very tall plant.

Cabbage White butterfly

Found a little Spotted Lady Beetle on the daylily ‘American Revolution.’

Spotted Lady Beetle

Queen of the Prairie ‘Rubra’ is blooming. It took a few years to become established, but has made a nice patch by the garage door.

Queen of the Prairie

This gooseneck loosestrife is a great bouquet flower. It adds an interesting form, but also remains fresh looking for at least two weeks.

gooseneck loosestrife

The “ditch lilies” (actually growing in the ditch) are drawing close to the end of their bloom time.

ditch lilies

We have raspberries!

red red raspberries

Hosta ‘Northern Exposure’

Hosta 'Northern Exposure'

Daylilies ‘Big Smile’

Daylily 'Big Smile'

The last of the Asiatic lilies were blooming. I need to add more of these to the garden, to extend their bloom time and to fill the bloom space between the peonies/irises and the daylilies.

last of the Asiatic lilies

I love the blue airiness of the Russian Sage.

Russian Sage

The daylilies are at peak bloom. If you’re local, come on over and walk around the garden. We love to share it.

daylilies

front yard

summer garden

Love the daylily season!

Check out Bloomin’ Tuesdays at Jean’s blog to see more gardens and lovely flowers.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Comments (7)

menu plan monday ~ june 27, 2011

June 27, 2011 – 3:35 pm

We’re having a great time with our older son’s family who are here visiting for the week.

The twins played in the mud puddles Sunday afternoon.

mud puddle fun times two

DH reintroduced the girls to his mom, their great-grandma.

Hi, Great Grandma

And we’re getting and giving plenty of lovin’.

Pa and his girlies

Lots of fridge food (leftovers), so most of the time everyone does his/her own thing for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Here are the supper menus for the week.

Monday
Chef Salad
Watermelon

Tuesday
Fridge Food

Wednesday
Vegetable Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Garden Salad
Corn
Peas

Thursday
Lunch ~ Sandwiches / Veggies and Ranch Dressing / Grapes

Supper
Pork Chops
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Garden Salad
Corn on the Cob

Friday
Taco Salad
Tortilla Chips

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Turkey in the Crock Pot
Rice
Garden Salad
Corn
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

dishwashers and pizza makers

June 25, 2011 – 10:48 pm

Our older son, his wife, and their family arrived at midnight Friday for a week’s visit. We are so happy to have them home! The parents and Sissy went to bed and the twins stayed up with Pa and Ma. They were too excited to go straight to bed! So they washed dishes for grandma.

it's fun to wash dishes at grandma's house!

After washing dishes, their jams were so wet we had to change them again before putting them to bed.

Grandma's dishwashers

Poor tired Pa. While the girls washed all the plastic we could find, grandpa took a catnap.

What Pa does while the twins wash dishes at 1:15 am.

Come to find out…this morning our son came downstairs to find the twins washing dishes again. But unassisted this time. Pa was on a 34 mile bike ride (celebrating our anniversary of 34 years of marriage) and Ma was still asleep! The girls got up by themselves, came down and resumed their job. 😀

Today, the twins helped me make pizza for lunch. First, you pat out the dough…

patting the dough...

…then spread the sauce.

spreading the sauce...

Pepperoni goes on this end…

this end gets pepperoni...

…and spinach over all.

making pizza with Ma

Some mushrooms down the middle and some feta on the end of one pizza, sprinkle on the cheese, bake it, then eat it!

it's DEE-licious!

I made the pizza...I ate the pizza.

After lunch, our younger son and his wife and their friend and her daughter came to visit. The girls shopped the yard for daylilies and hostas. The kidlets played on the playground. Lots of fun, even though it rained a bit.

"shopping the yard" for daylilies

fun on the playground

Off the bed. Tomorrow is a new day of fun with the family.
~~Grandma, otherwise known as “Ma”

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family, twins | Comments (1)

garden tour

June 22, 2011 – 10:11 pm

This morning, we enjoyed sharing the garden with a group of Master Gardeners. It’s always a joy to have other gardeners visit. They appreciate the garden, the plants, and the effort.

garden tour

Many thanks go out to my sister Margaret and her husband John, who came Monday evening and worked through Tuesday and early Wednesday to help us prepare for the tour. They pulled weeds, spread mulch, and went home with a carload of plants to put in their own garden. A very small token of our gratitude!

The garden is a sea of color. If you are local, please feel free to stop by and enjoy it!

front yard garden

‘Mardi Gras Parade’

'Mardi Gras Parade'

‘Jedi Tequila Sunrise’

'Jedi Tequila Sunrise'

‘Palace Guard’

Daylily 'Palace Guard'

‘Ivory Edges’

'Ivory Edges'

front yard

The daylilies are certainly holding center stage right now, but the rest of the garden is full of color, too.

front porch

Ox-eye (False Sunflower) Heliopsis helianthoides

Heliopsis

hydrangeas

We’ve had plenty of rain this spring and early summer, so the hostas are happy.

birdbath

Honesty and hosta

hosta bed

hosta bed

We have a few Asiatic lilies and they were beautiful this year. I want to get more of these.

lilies

pink lilies

Thanks again, Margaret and John, and Genny, who came last week to help in the garden. I hope you’re having some fun in your own gardens! ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Comments (0)

menu plan monday ~ june 20, 2011

June 20, 2011 – 4:15 pm

Today is my sister Genny’s birthday. Happy birthday, Genny! Genny is a giver and she gives to me all the time. She comes down to help with any kind of project I want to do. She works full time and saves vacation days so she can come in November and help me decorate for Christmas. If you know anything about me, you know that is a huge job. We couldn’t do it without Genny’s help! So happy birthday, Genny! You make a huge difference in the lives of so many people and I’m one of them.

making a pattern

We have a garden tour planned for Wednesday. A group of Master Gardeners are coming to enjoy the garden. The daylilies are blooming beautifully. We’re hoping for a rain-free day for the tour!

front yard

Our older son and his family are arriving Friday to stay for a week. We can’t wait to see them! You can look forward to lots of pictures of our grands. 🙂

The menu for the week is as follows.

Monday
Crockpot Chicken over Rice
Garden Salad
Steamed Green Beans

Tuesday
Lunch ~ Chef Salad

Supper ~ Pizza

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Garden Salad
Red Grapes

Thursday
Caesar Salad

Friday
Tacoritos
Taco Chips
Corn on the Cob
Garden Salad

Saturday
Lunch ~ Fridge Food / Sandwiches
Veggies / Dip
Red Grapes

Supper ~ Grilled Chicken
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Corn
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Fruit Salad

Sunday
Lunch ~ Spaghetti
Homemade Sauce
Garlic Bread
Garden Salad
Steamed Green Beans

Supper ~ Fridge Food

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (1)

happy father’s day!

June 19, 2011 – 9:57 pm

DH is not only a wonderful husband, but a great father, as well. Our children know they can *always* depend on him, no matter what.

self portrait

And he’s a great “Pa,” too.

letters with Pa

up high!

This time of year, if he has any free time (not so much lately!), you’ll find DH on his bike or in the garden. Seems I have a lot of pictures in this pose…

DH pulling out lemon balm

hosta bed under the mulberry tree

mulching the hostas

Here he’s trying out one of his Father’s Day gifts…a new reel mower. We still need the riding mower for the big mowing job, but this is going to be a great way to take care of those small spaces that the big mower doesn’t handle well.

new reel mower

Father’s Day was a good one. DH enjoyed his favorite main dish, Marinated Pork Tenderloin, for dinner and a choice of apple pie and peach pie in the afternoon. Yes, I said “and.”

apple pie for Father's Day peach pie for Father's Day

After a full Father’s Day, DH also enjoyed a little couch time, watching some cycling time trials out of Switzerland.

watched some cycling

Thanks, Honey, for all you do for us. We love you!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in family | Comments (1)

ready for a few more?

June 16, 2011 – 12:14 pm

There are more daylilies than I can feel OK about posting. Don’t want to bore you! But aren’t these beautiful?

‘Chicago Flapper’

'Chicago Flapper'

‘Gentle Shepherd’

'Gentle Shepherd'

‘Refiner’s Fire’

'Refiner's Fire'

‘Daring Deception’

'Daring Deception'

‘Neal Berrey’

'Neal Berrey'

‘Spider Man’

'Spider Man'

‘Wild Mustang’

'Wild Mustang'

‘Atlanta Full House’

'Atlanta Full House'

‘Amy Michelle’

'Amy Michelle'

Enough, already? Or enough of a tease to make you want more? 🙂 If you’re local, drive by. Come in and look around. The garden is beginning to show some great color!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in daylily, our garden | Comments (1)

a few pretty blossoms

June 13, 2011 – 4:34 pm

I have taken a lot of daylily pictures the past few days and would like to share a few with you. DH and I check out the FFOs (First Flower Out) every day. Sometimes the FFO is not the best looking blossom, so I don’t post every one on its debut, but we’ll be getting better pictures as the daylily season unfolds. You can see a lot more daylilies from our garden on my flickr site.

‘Novelty Number’ has a beautiful blend of color.

Daylily 'Novelty Number'

‘Two Part Harmony’ was planted in our garden in 2009. It’s looking great this year.

Daylily 'Two Part Harmony'

‘In Springtime’ had never impressed me until we moved it from one bed to another. Now it’s showing better color and is growing on me.

Daylily 'In Springtime'

A pretty pink one, ‘Chorus Line’ has the green throat I like so much.

Daylily 'Chorus Line'

‘Pure and Simple’…orange in a lovely way.

Daylily 'Pure and Simple'

‘Tiger Track’…orange in an in-your-face sort of way. This one is stunning when viewed across the garden, and even more so close up.

'Tiger Track'

‘Monterrey Jack’ is one of my very favorites. The yellow is a beautiful shade.

'Monterrey Jack'

Daylilies come in so many colors, shades, sizes, forms and textures. Here’s a subtle one, but no less beautiful than those more intense.

'Courtly Love'

‘New Note’…another gorgeous color.

'New Note'

‘Fairy Tale Pink’…soft and lovely.

'Fairy Tale Pink'

There are a lot more blooming in the garden. I’ll share them soon. Remember, if you’re local, we do sell daylilies. All proceeds go to the mission fund of our church. If you see a plant on this blog or in my flickr stream that you like, make a note and give us a call.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in daylily, our garden | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ june 13, 2011

June 13, 2011 – 11:44 am

Seems the weather is going to be cooler this week than last, but perhaps wetter. We’re not adverse to a little rain, though. The garden would appreciate it.

The daylilies are providing a lot of color in the garden right now. This is the “common” daylily, otherwise known as a “ditch lily” around here. But if you look at it closely, there’s nothing common about it. How pretty is that?

hemerocallis

The elderberries are blooming, too. So pretty, when you stop for a close-up look.

elderberry blossoms

We hope to have weather that permits us to work in the garden this week, as we have a group of Master Gardeners coming on the 22nd for a tour. This weekend, two of my sisters and my brother-in-law came to help weed beds and spruce things up a bit. They worked so hard! And we appreciate it SO much!! And we girls got matching garden hats. 🙂 BTW, the trim on the house is being painted as I write. By next week, it should look fresh and new!

garden helpers

With a pretty busy week ahead, I plan to keep the menu simple.

Monday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice
Didn’t get to this yesterday, as planned, so we’ll have it this evening.

Tuesday
Chef Salad
Around here, “chef salad” means you throw anything you want into a big white bowl and pour your favorite dressing over it. Makes a meal.

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Garden Salad

Thursday
Baked Chicken
Garden Salad
Steamed Garden Beans
Corn

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Lunch ~ Taco Salad
Taco Seasoning for meat

Supper ~ Spicy Shredded Pork

Sunday ~ Father’s Day
Marinated Pork Tenderloin ~ DH’s favorite!
Garden Salad
Steamed Garden Beans
Corn on the Cob
Homemade Rolls

Apple Pie and Ice Cream
We usually don’t make a dessert, but since it’s Father’s Day…he deserves it. 🙂

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (1)