Lilies and Gardenias

My orange and yellow lilies are just opening. I think it's early, I remember late June as the time for these lilies. The garden is full of dragonflies (perhaps due to the May flies that were right on time!) The temperature is unusually hot. A cold front may allow us to open windows tomorrow (please! we are still painting!) The gardenias are blooming and they are fantastic for cutting and bringing inside. It just takes a few, the fragrance is so strong.

Bee on Lavender

Bumblebees are all over my lavender plant. The lavender plant has overtaken my sage so I need to replant/seed the sage in another spot. I've been busy spring cleaning and painting ... well, I'm cleaning ahead of the painting. It's a refresh of the home which is just what lavender gives us,a clean and somewhat soapy refreshing smell!

Squash Blooms

The squash plants are sure looking good this year. We are looking forward to fresh yellow crooknecks and green zucchinis. If you have a Joy of Cooking book handy, the recipe for zucchini casserole is delicious. I double the sauce to make it extra good.

Shortcut

A bumble bee takes a shortcut to the nectar of a torn Foxglove bloom. Usually the bee has to crawl way up into the bloom to get to the same spot. Foxgloves are perfectly designed for the bumble bee.

Carolina Blue

Not the color of the box, but a Carolina Wren nesting in a bluebird box. I was headed out the front gate when a bird almost hit me in the face. Thinking it could be the wren headed back to her box I stayed around for a bit (being very still) and sure enough she came back to the box. I bet she has five eggs.

Sugar Peas

A shot of my sugar peas growing. I prefer Sugar Ann's but I believe these are Sugar Snaps. String the pod and cook it whole. I stir fry them in a bit of olive oil. I was introduced to the Sugar Ann's long ago by the late owner of Aggie, the famous highway horse. This was back when she had a little highway stand. I stopped for strawberries but got a bag of peas and a cooking lesson on the peas as well. I was hooked! I believe her recipe included a bit of garlic in the pan and although I love garlic I love these peas nice and clean. They are even good raw in a salad. I eat them standing in the garden. Thank you MQ!

Lilies and Hippeas

A crush of lilies and red streaked hippeastrums in my garden. The pitchfork is not for them, just left after a daffodil thinning.