"Make MORE macarons while the sun shines"

I had another successful day of macaron shell baking today thanks to more lovely weather. My macaron "display" for the wedding is shaping up.

organized and ready for fillings

Meanwhile in the garden, more Peonies have begun to unfurl their swelling round buds. I enjoyed their fragrance while doing some weeding in the flower beds.

 

 

 

 

Species Geranium or Cranesbill in white

Euphorbia!

 

For today's macarons, I experimented with equal weights of almond meal and powdered sugar to great success. The macaron shells baked up nicely and I got a less sweet and more pronounced almond flavor in the shells.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in other gardening news: The tub garden on the front continues to fill in nicely, the window box is doing well and I am trying my best to keep the cats from munching on my Sellaginella(club moss) plants

 

 

Happy Earth Day & Week

Triple stem Paphiopedilum

It's been a busy week here at "the cottage". I have been busy working in the garden and also baking macarons for the EARTH day celebration on Saturday at the Tallapoosa Center.

One of the things I do not neglect is a good breakfast before gardening. I normally have a big pot of tea but once in a while, make a French press of coffee for variety.

Ethiopian Nekemete

Freshly ground beans are a must

Water just off the boil

 

 

Pahiopedilum bud about to open

It looks like another good growing season for the garden since we did not get a late freeze. All the plants have come out of dormancy nicely. It's so nice to have lots of green back in the garden.

Blueberries looking promising

Hobbits Foot Sage continues to intrigue me

The backyard all leafed out and after the first mowing of the year

Clematis Henryii

"White Dawn" rose in bud, climbing Hydrangeas and Northern Sea Oats

Close up of climbing Hydrangea

First sighting of the resident bunnies in the backyard this year. They don't seem to eat too much and are rather cute hopping about in the mornings and evenings

Filbert: "Bunnies? did someone say bunnies? look how powerful my paw looks, good for catching bunnies"

It's a good thing for the bunnies that Filbert is an indoor cat.

 

I also got my summer annual seeds planted. This year, I am sticking with the flowers that have done well for me in the past years: Green and White Zinnias, Nasturtiums, Cosmos and also some "White Eyed Susan" vine. I tend to loose seedlings to wildlife in the garden so I always start them in pots and keep them in the greenhouse till they are a few inches tall before transplanting them out into the raised beds.

 

    

Tacos and Tanks!

Double-File Viburnums and Variegated Solomon's Seal

I enjoyed a lovely morning entertaining visitors to the garden this morning, traded plants for pistachios and then headed out on a potting soil and taco lunch mission. On the way to lunch, we took a few detours and I ended up picking up a galvanized tank to house my "Sum & Substance" Hostas I got earlier in the week on the front porch. Lunch at La Vaquerita was delicious as usual.

$1.50 tacos: chicken and rice with mole, carnitas and pastor

delicious and fresh guacamole

house made horchata, a drink made with rice

On the way to lunch, I got acquainted with my new favorite plant, the "Cherokee" rose. 

A beautiful wild looking white native rose, the Cherokee rose, looking forward to adding some to my garden

After lunch, 2 hours of "tooling"around town resulted in lots accomplished. I stocked up on macaron ingredients, got 12 cubic feet of my favorite potting soil (3B Mix), a few additional plants to go with the hostas, some herb plants and a new pair of garden gloves. I got to planting immediately after getting home, hoping to get it all done before the storms arrived. 

Kitties like to watch me garden

My least favorite task was removing the not so attractive sticker on the galvanized tank!! It was ridiculous how much "goo gone" I had to use to get every last bit off. The tank company needs to rethink their ugly stickers. I was barely done cleaning the tank before the sky got darker and wind picked up. The storm was definitely rolling in as I could smell the moisture in the air. I was halfway done when the storm arrived, heralded by the city sirens. I continued to work on the porch as it thundered and poured and got all the planting done. I hosed off the mess on the front porch, including a weeks worth of pollen build up and inspected the flow on all the gutters while it rained and actually cleared one of them, a satisfying task for sure since I now know the gutters are flowing properly.

I planted the tank with "Sum and Substance hosta, "Citron" Heuchera(a couple of the plants I kept partially as houseplants in winter), double and white elfin Impatiens, a new Coleus called "alligator tears" and duck foot ivy(I thought very appropriate since we live on Mallard Ln.). The planting was actually a breeze, the big mess was filling the tank. I started with a layer of gravel for drainage and then a layer of potting soil and old root balls from last years dead annuals and then a layer of 3B mix potting soil. After getting showered and cleaned up from the storm, I tackled the task of supporting the Paphiopedilums. These hybrids with giant blooms need a little support.

 

 

After a quick supper of leftover "Mei Fun" , I sat down to a comforting cup of tea and flower cookies from Oriental Marketplace while listening to the pouring rain outside. I am glad the garden is getting a drink and hope the storms do not do too much damage, especially on all the wonderful local farms who will be open for tours tomorrow.