'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'

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)

'SHOW ME YOUR GARDEN ... ' ~ EARLY MAY COMPANIONS

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what your are. "

Alfred Austin

Azalea and Bergenia

'Love in bloom'

Azalea, Trillium, Bergenia

Angelique Tulip

'Spring Green' Tulip

Tulips and white dwarf Iris

Double tulip

Tulips

Japanese Painted Fern

Trillium

Virginia Bluebell, Hosta, Variegated Solomon's Seal,

Sweet Woodruff, Japanese Painted Fern, Geranium, Celandine Poppy,

Lady's Mantle, Trillium, Jacob's Ladder

Trillium and Maiden Hair Fern

Flowering azalea and fern

Hosta, Heuchera (Key Lime Pie), and Rhododendron

Budding Rhododendron

ADIEU 'SWEET MAY' (GARDEN DELIGHTS) ~ BLACK PEPPER POUND CAKE

"To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds and watch their renewal of life - this is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing a man can do."

~ Charles Dudley Warner

ORIENTAL POPPY (Papaver orientale)

MAY GARDEN STARS

WILDFLOWER GARDEN


GARDEN VIEWS


EXBURY AZALIA


GARDEN DELIGHTS


APPLE BLOSSOMS
(Michigan State Flower)


ORIENTAL POPPY
(Papaver orientale)
_______________

BLACK PEPPER POUND CAKE
~ A delightful 'sweet ending' (Southern Living)
___________
1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. ground mace (or nutmeg)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla

• Beat butter at medium speed with electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
• Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture. Mix at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
• Spoon batter into greased and floured 6-cup Bundt pan or 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes; remove cake and let cool completely on wire rack.