Week 6

Lisa painted this small narrow pallet bright green then planted in front with morning glory. Pretty good DYI project when set on blocks in a raised bed.

Today's bounty.

4 Maple leaves represent Mom and Dad's 4 children (two of which are Lisa and I). Dad had this 4 leaf design on his Shady Maple Farm business cards. We have kept his design for our cards. Lisa quilted this wall hanging showing our continuation of Mom and Dad's love of gardening.

Sweet peas climbing the walls. It's a good thing. Light green nicotiana in front.

Sea holly nearly glowing in the morning sun.

Our bed of ornamental allium.

Lavender reaching for the sun.

Lisa and her little sidekick bringing in yet another cart full of flowers in buckets of water.

Scott, Anna's husband, made Lisa a gravel ramp to pull her cart up onto the concrete slab. Last year she would have carried the full buckets up to their spots. This new addition saves on her back which she had repaired after the harvest season last fall.

Blue scabiosa otherwise known as pincushion flower.

Pink hydrangeas.

Papery pink hollyhocks.

Very delicate looking in the dappled light.

A sherbet colored rose in the morning light.

Dark drumstick allium starting to bloom.

These may be a fireworks type of allium. They are pretty cool, catching the light as they droop over.

The bees love these large, tall allium flowers.

These are golden hops covering the small greenhouse's lattice work.

A pretty butterfly rests on the curly willow leaves.

Blue and white pincushion flowers.

Yarrow of many colors. The purple flower to the right is Sultan's Mix.

The many colors of Sweet William.

A wonderful full bucket of yarrow.

Dahlias by the bucket full!

Eucalyptus we grew from seed was ready for cutting. It is growing in the greenhouse.

Light pink Joe Pye weed, white hosta flowers, light and dark pink Lupine, in the background is blue Russian Sage.

Near left are an old school flower, lavender pink verbascum.

Tiger striped roses, a few dahlias with some additional goldenrod.

These rose buds can add to bouquets.

These bright orange roses have wicked thorns. Yikes!

She loves to ride in the golf cart. Ride?

This lily is extremely tall. I am 5' 8" tall and am taking the picture looking up!

Hanging out waiting to catch a ride. :)

Happy faces of sunflowers.

Beautiful sunflowers and love this smile!

My niece Amber is photo bombing!

Stephanie brought her girls out today and they all helped pick. Thanks Steph!

These rows are about 300 feet long. A few boxes of golden zucchini, yellow crookneck and green zucchini were picked today. Since these are heavy the golf cart gets its workout.

Angie and Caitlyn are picking celery.

Jillian handles these summer squash just as if she had on kid gloves. She has a good, gentle touch.

Grams ponders the cart full of summer squash. She is being a good girl and wearing her back brace for support. She had back surgery last summer. Now she has screws and plates in her back. You go girl!

A pretty smile to go along with her bouquet.

Grandma, to the right, has arrived to take a couple kiddos with her for the day. Caitlyn to the left is a little bit away from her due date. Many relatives and friends help us get our harvest in. Stephanie is taking a photo of the melons.

Veggie roll ups go along with a tasty kale salad.

Frilly kale in strips are really crunchy and delicious. Really!

Our celery in a virgin bloody Mary.

Lunch is served in the shade of the large black walnut tree. Thanks Anna. :)

Dessert is a big hit with the kiddos. Raspberry sorbet, oh my!

The cherubs patiently await their turn for dessert.

I think some of it made it IN her mouth!

Jillian helps Grams take off the blossom end of the lemon cucumbers. Bryan, my helpful husband, sorts them into display boxes.

The cherubs "help" with bouquets.

A few of today's bouquets. Flowers in buckets to the left are waiting to be selected to be added to bouquets.

A few more bouquets.

The girls show off their favorites. Yellow must be the IN color.

A bucket full of beauty.

Caitlyn, Angie with Levi, and Grams "clean" the green onions.

Angie still has Levi. Seems like she is having fun!

Greenhouse tomatoes are fairly uniform.

Pearl onions on the left, slug chewed celery in the middle, colorful carrots on the right.

 A variety of cauliflower hydrating.

Purple of Sicily cauliflower also cools off in a bucket of cold water.

Yellow lemon cucumbers rest near the golden zucchini.

Slicing cucs in the front, pickling cucs in the rear.

Large zucchini along with parsley.

Pickling cucumbers, chilling.

The collection of cauliflower and broccoli are draining before they are placed in the boxes.

Add yellow crookneck squash to the yellow table!

Rhubarb sitting in water. Sometimes the green stalked rhubarb is sweeter than the red stalked ones. This is the sweet rhubarb we grow.

Fresh picked basil in cello bags.

Many berries are ripe all at once this year.

Lucky Auntie Brea holding Levi.

Her own bouquet creation. Lovely! So are the flowers :)

See you on the next blog!