'HONORING MEMORIAL DAY' ~ SALUTE TO THE GARDEN ... MAY'S RED, WHITE & BLUE

"The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree."

~ Thomas Campbell

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE MAY GARDEN

'JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE' ~ ORIENTAL POPPY (Papaver orientale)

"Beauty is not the face; beauty is a light in the heart."

Khalil Gibran

ORIENTAL POPPY

(Papaver orientale)

'Light of the heart'

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ PAEONIA 'SCARLET O'HARA'

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made,

and forgot to put a soul into."

~ Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

Paeonia 'Scarlett O'Hara'

MONDAY MUSING ~ MAY MINI- GARDEN TOUR

"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow."

~ Author Unknown

EXBURY AZALEA

DOUBLE HIBISCUS

ROCK GARDEN

BEARDED IRIS

ROCK GARDEN

HOSTA ~ LADY'S MANTLE

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart')

HOSTA

FADING TRILLIUM

WILDFLOWER GARDEN

RHODODENDRON

HEUCHERA ~ LIGULARIA

EXBURY AZALEA

ALLIUM

BACK GARDEN

(Allium, Ostrich ferns, exbury azalea, hosta, Lady's Mantle, Daylilies)

'MAY YOUR LIFE BE LIKE A WILDFLOWER ... ' ~ CHEVRE and MOREL CHEESECAKE

"May your life be like a wildflower growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day"

~ Native American proverb

Yellow Lady's Slipper

(Cypripedium Calceolus L.)

Orchid Family

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CHEVRE and MOREL CHEESECAKE

(Goat Cheesecake with Mushrooms)

~ Savory Cheesecake from France ... Routas Culinary Director Frances Wilson

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Base:

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup breadcrumbs

5 Tbsp. melted butter

course salt & freshly ground pepper

Topping:

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 washed and finely chopped leek

4 oz. washed fresh morel mushrooms

(or favorite wild mushrooms)

12 oz. fresh chevre

(or favorite goat cheese)

12 oz. softened cream cheese

1 cup creme fraiche

1 lightly beaten large egg

1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs like tarragon, parsley or thyme

3 Tbsp. flour

2 tsp. salt

2 egg whites

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Combine Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and butter in a bowl. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper. Press into base of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Heat butter in a pan and add leeks. Cook over low heat to soften the leeks. Add morels. Cook for a couple of minutes. Allow to cool.
• Place chevre, softened cream cheese and creme fraiche. Mix in the egg, chopped herbs, flour and salt. Add leeks and morels and combine.
• Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold into the mixture. Pour mixture over the base.
• Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour our until almost set. Cool in oven for a further hour. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve as appetizer or lunch dish with green salad.

NOTE: Found in swamps, bogs, wet woods. Flower is yellow, inflated pouch, single or sometimes 2 per stem. Petals are long, narrow, twisted, and mottled with brown or purple. Stem is leafy with 3-6 broad, parallel veined leaves that somewhat sheath the stem.

(Michigan Wildflowers in Color)

Protected Michigan Wildflower ~ DO NOT DISTURB

MONDAY MUSING ~ 'THE LILAC'

"Here comes the time when, vibrating on its stem, every flower fumes like a censer; and noises perfumes circle in the evening air."

Charles Baudelaire

LILAC

(Syringa vulgaris)

'BEHOLD THE GARDEN FAIR' ~ MID-MAY MARVELS

"How fair is a garden amid the toils and passions of existence."

~ Benjamin Disra

Centaurea montana

Allium

Chives

Allium

Azelea (Karen)

Rhododendron & Azalea

Heuchera, Japanese Painted Ferns, columbine, bergenia

Centaurea montana, heuchera, oriental poppy, tulip, Lady's Mantle

Blooming Buddies

Blue

Exbury Azaleas

The Garden

The Wildflower Garden