Our potager garden came to life thanks to much inspiration from
this book, the gardens of Williamsburg, and a very talented hardscape designer who helped to make our vision a reality. It's a place where we grow herbs, tomatoes, strawberries and lots and lots of flowers. The garden houses a hodge podge of things planted together in a messy sort of way, but it's contained in a very orderly fashion so it's pleasing to the eye. I thought I'd take you on a tour today and show you what's in bloom.
The planting area is surrounded on all sides by a small stone wall and fence. It's a very managable size, just big enough to grow a little and share a little.
There are four quadrants in the center, divided by a brick pathway that's been laid on a base of sand. These quadrants are four feet by eight feet and are filled with basil, garlic chives, parsley, oregano, rosemary, lemon balm, melon sage, dill, tomatoes, and a variety of annual and perennial flowers.
The perimeter of the garden contains more flowers, a bucket of mint, strawberries, peonies, boxwood, and a row of thyme.
I love to fiddle with the garden in the very early morning when the birds are chirping and the temperature is still cool. There's always something to do :: a little watering, a little deadheading, some harvesting and always some stepping back and admiring the miracle of nature.
Do you remember
these? Well they are just growing and blossoming all over the place. There are White Coneflowers:
and Mexican Sunflowers:
and Foxglove:
and Purple Coneflowers:
and several others that weren't captured in today's photos. We've had fun playing in the garden this summer and look forward to seeing what comes back next year. I hope you enjoyed wandering around with me and be sure to help yourself to a strawberry or two on your way out.
Off and on, I'll see a post on someone else's blog about "keeping it real". It usually stems from a comment received from a reader who voices frustration or a feeling of inadequacy because sometimes it appears that the blogger's life is too perfect. Most of us, as bloggers, choose to photograph and write about the positive and beautiful in our lives because that's what fuels our souls. We look for the beauty around us, zero in on it, and strive to share it with others. If something makes us smile or feel inspired, than maybe it just might do the same for you.
Let's keep it real here. If you see a photo of my freshly weeded, watered, and deadheaded garden, chances are my floors are covered with dustbunnies. Or if I show you the latest quilt I've just finished, you can be sure that there are piles of laundry and ironing just waiting to be done. It's all about trying to find that balance, something that I will always struggle with. So, while I'll never focus on photographing what didn't get done (too much negative for me) I've decided to add little tiny glimpses of life's imperfections every now and then. How about we start with my potholders:
I'm not sure how long I've had these, but I probably got them to match the color of the carpet in my old house (yes, I actually chose that color carpet but it was 1990 so I forgive myself). Every time I use these a little voice in my head says "you really need to make yourself some new potholders, something cheerful, something fun". This dialogue has been taking place for years. So guess what? I'm making myself some fun new potholders.
I've had this waffle weave Japanese fabric in my stash for a while and it definitely makes me smile.
For the middle layer, I'm using this new to me product and one layer of cotton batting.
I'm excited to retire my old worn-out potholders and to replace that negative dialogue with a new, much more positive one. The breakfast dishes can wait :)
Meet my kitties, Butterscotch and Mollie. They are very sweet and loveable creatures.
Meet my Great Room furniture (i.e., Molly and Butterscotch's scratching posts).
The chance to start fresh again on Mondays.
A lazy Sunday evening.
I tried another new recipe this week. These are called Cinnamon Girls and they're healthy truffles from Matt Amsden's 
These truffles are from the same cookbook. They're called Savoy Truffles and I posted about them way back in January. I happened to see the recipe 
There was a little crisis happening here this morning :: I couldn't find my camera. I looked in all of the obvious places and it was nowhere to be found. I checked all of the rooms in the house :: three times. I checked the garage, the shed, the outdoor tables. Gone. Completely gone. The silly part was that I actually started to panic. How in the world would I be able to do a blog post today without my camera?
Fifteen minutes into the search I decided I'd just have to wait until hubby came home from work so the search could continue with a new pair of eyes. I was already late to pick up my mom (have I mentioned to you what a great mom I have?). On our way to our destination I happened to look behind me and there was the camera on the floor in the back seat of my car. How it got there I really have no idea. No recollection whatsoever of having the camera in the car with me. Scary. Anyone else out there in your forties having memory glitches?
So all is well now, my camera and I are reunited and I thought I'd show you some photos of the wildflowers that are still going strong.
I fixed BLT's for my guys this weekend :: twice. They love them that much. I was excited to use ingredients that were, in one way or another, completely local. Do you see that gorgeous lettuce? It came straight from our friend's garden. And the tomatoes are from our own little kitchen garden in the backyard. They are Patio tomatoes, a bit on the small side and very tasty.
The bread came from a local bakery and the bacon from an old-time meat market that's been here for years and years. So, except for the mayo (Trader Joe's) the meal was made entirely from local ingredients. Until.............
I'm still working with and loving this Tanya Whelar fabric, Grand Revival. Yesterday I finished a pillow cover for my bedroom. It's simply a 20"x20" square of fabric that I machine quilted in a grid pattern and backed with natural linen.
I'd never done a grid pattern before, but it was super easy. I just used a piece of tape as my guide and used my walking foot to ensure that all of the layers fed through evenly. The layers for the front piece were (1) the top decorative fabric, (2) cotton batting, and (3) a piece of thrifted white cotton sheet. The backing is two pieces of linen that overlap so that the pillow form can be inserted.
