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Lilies In My Vermont Garden

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

This week has brought some brilliantly colored lilies in bloom my Vermont garden.  I seem to have successfully triumphed over the super destructive red lily beetles that have plagued my lilies for the past few years–diligent destruction of the buggers in the spring along with fearless squishing of their gross larvae have paid off so far.  These are Asiatic lilies, not day lilies so they hold their blooms for several days.  Here are a few of the beauts that are the first bloomers of the summer!  The orange with the brush strokes of burgundy were the first to pop.  #BringThePretty

These lilies are a deep pink with lots of buds yet to bloom.

Lilies have six petals and six anthers which are covered in deep orange pollen.  Florists usually remove the anthers because they can stain clothing…and hands…and the flower petals, too!

These lilies are the shortest of them all at about 12″ tall.  They are red, although they look a little pink in this photo.

We call this the “First Perennial Garden” since, as the name implies, it’s our first garden we planted when we moved into our house.  The allium are just past their prime; there are still a few peonies barely hanging on; the astilbe is just starting to show its colors; lady’s mantle and sedum are taking over the front row; and bee balm will be the next to bloom.  It could use a good weeding, too!

So that’s what’s new in my Vermont garden this week.  I’ll be in my studio for the next few days working away and I’ll have a fresh wedding post for you on Tuesday!  I hope y’all have a great holiday weekend!  Happy Fourth!

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First Day of Summer in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

It’s the first day of summer so it seems like the perfect time for a look at what’s cookin’ in my garden.  Last week we returned from 10 days in Italy {more on that later!!} and I must admit that I was worried I would miss out on my peonies blooming, but luckily I returned to many gorgeous blooms.  Here’s a look at what greeted me when I got back…

There are so many petal in these babies…

These pale pink peonies are gigantic and SO beautiful!

We also came home to our best crop of strawberries yet!  These were the first picked, but we’ve gotten several pints so far.

These Sweet William (aka dianthus which is the carnation family) make a beautiful display.  I threw some seeds out a few years ago and didn’t expect much to happen, but they’ve become more beautiful each year.

It’s a gorgeous day here in Vermont and I hope it’s a great day wherever you are.  Here’s a link to my very first peony post and here are more peony pictures for ya.  I have some flower pics from Italy to share with you on Thursday!  #BringThePretty

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Alison’s Garden: Springtime in Vermont

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

As far as flowers go it’s still early spring in Vermont.  I’ve got a few daffodils holding their heads up high, but tulips are the main attraction lately.  I’ve never planted a single tulip bulb in the 7 years we’ve been in our house, but year after year they keep on blooming.  I consider myself lucky!

Here are a few tulips in my Vermont garden this week…

A couple of my favorite things about tulips are that they open during the day when the sun is shining and they close up their petals at night AND when you cut fresh tulips and put them in a vase they will continue to grow.  Have you ever noticed tulips getting taller after you’ve cut them?  I suggest clear, fresh water without any preservatives for maximum vase life for tulips.

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Springtime Weddings in Vermont

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

Spring means melting snow, followed by some freshly fallen snow, the maple syrup is a-flowing and a-boiling, and ultimately, it is mud season in Vermont.  As our friends and neighbors tap their trees and welcome their newborn lambs, the sunsets suddenly seem more beautiful and the Vermont wedding season begins!

Springtime in Vermont offers couples crisp days and wet feet in April followed by flowering trees and magnificent lilac displays in the middle of May.  Local, in-season flowers won’t be found in abundance other than some greenhouse grown blooms.  By the end of May as lilacs are fading away (and sometimes not until the very beginning of June!) we’ll start to see the delicate (and beloved by me!) lily of valley.  I have a fantastic supply right outside my front door!

Springtime weddings in Vermont are not necessarily for the faint of heart.  Much like our late-fall couples you can expect snow at any point during the first month of spring so planning an indoor ceremony and reception is essential.  By the end of May we are starting to see signs of summer and weddings move outdoors!

Here are a few pictures from my garden in early April…

Tulips have started leafing out only to later be covered by snow, of course!

This is what my coral pink peony looked like on April 3.  They’ll be blooming in mid-June.

The fuzzy, serrated leaves of poppies bring a promise of summer.  Blooms pop in early June.

Your florist can get a large variety of fresh flowers no matter what season you select, however when you are looking for “local, in season” flowers in Vermont you’ll find the largest variety available from early July through August.

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Vermont Welcomes Spring

Monday, March 21st, 2011

It’s officially springtime in Vermont and after a beautiful weekend of solid vest-weather {and our first wedding of 2011!} it’s seriously snowing right now.  Vermonters should know that we cannot get ahead of ourselves when spring teases us with her first appearance.

While I was out and about checking on things in my garden yesterday I snapped a few signs of spring.  When I showed my husband my photos he said, “You know it’s going to snow, right?”

Crocus mark the change of the season.  An emblem of youthful gladness.

Daffodils break through the surface of the soil and leaf debris. 

You can almost see the flowers eager to bloom.

The branches of the Japanese pussy willow are curly and wild.  One of my favorites for sure.

Also called ‘fantail pussy willow’ these willows are taller than I am.

These are lilac buds.  Lilacs are one of our most highly anticipated blooms in Vermont. 

What signs of spring have you noticed?  I’ll have some pics from our first wedding of 2011 for you tomorrow!

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Honeysuckle in Alison’s Garden

Friday, November 12th, 2010

OK, so there has been a frost…well, quite a few of them…and it’s November, well, mid-November at this point, but my honeysuckle vine is still hanging onto a few final blooms.  I noticed this pop of pink as I was headed out to my compost pile yesterday and was amazed to see the honeysuckle triumph over the cold.  It’s one of the first plants we planted in our perennial garden 6 years ago and while it wasn’t an impressive bloomer this summer its late-season blooms seem noteworthy to me.  There are many different varieties of honeysuckle (about 180 varieties!) that grow as shrubs or vines.  You’ll know honeysuckle by its sweetly scented, trumpet shaped flowers.

Do you have any late-blooming flowers in your garden?

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Japanese Anemones in Alison’s Garden

Monday, October 11th, 2010

When summer comes to a close and there is hardly a blossom left in my garden there is one beautiful bloom that stands out among the sedum.  Anemone japonica is one of those late blooming flowers that adds a little something special to my fall garden.  They are a perennial, a member of the ranunculus family, and while the petals of the Japanese anemone are dainty the stamens and stigmas make a nice display.

Here are a couple of shots I took in my garden the other day.  I especially love my Japanese anemones because I got them from my friend, Mariot, who has beautiful Vermont gardens at her bed and breakfast, Homeplace.  I pulled some tiny plants from her garden 2 springs ago and this is the first time they have really bloomed for me.

I think they are so delicate and lovely.

What is your favorite fall flower in your garden?

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Heirloom Carrots in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Our Vermont garden was planted with several varieties of heirloom vegetables this year and that includes carrots.  ’Danver’ carrots have grown in our garden the past couple of seasons, but I added a row of multicolored heirlooms just for fun.  Here is a pic of our very first carrot harvest a few weeks ago.  Red, white, pale yellow and orange.  Aren’t they perrrtty?  They’re delicious, too!

I love a shredded carrot salad, but now that it’s getting colder outside I am thinking about a carrot soup!

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Cucumbers in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

I love the taste of a freshly grown cucumber from my garden.  Unlike store-bought cukes that have a thick waxy coating and taste pretty much like nothing, a garden-grown cucumber is refreshing, crisp and surprisingly wax-less!  Toss them in a salad and they are delicious, put them on top of a homemade falafel and they add the perfect crunch or marinade them in some Chive Blossom Vinegar (get the recipe here!) and you can enjoy them for weeks…if you don’t eat them all in one sitting that is!

Here is a cute little cucumber flower.  This is only the beginning.  Tiny tendrils grab ahold of the nearest trellis.

The cucumber is starting to form on the end of the blossom.  Pretty neat, huh?

Here is a full grown cuke, ripe for the pickin’…just watch out for the spikey spines.  Ouch!  I wipe them down with a towel upon harvesting to dull the spines.

Did you know cucumbers are usually over 90% water?  They are in the gourd family are also technically a fruit (much like the tomato) because they develop from flowers, but we commonly consider them a vegetable.  What is your favorite way to eat cucumbers?

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Green beans in Alison’s Garden

Friday, August 27th, 2010

I never realized how much I like green beans until I started growing them in my garden.  You plant the seeds and they grow.  It’s really that simple.  For the past few years we’ve planted beans, watched them sprout and THEN witnessed the aftermath of hungry deer who ate them almost to the ground.  Luckily, although they were chomped they continued to grow and produce a lovely crop of beans each year.  

I love watching my beans make their way through the dark soil as they seek sunlight.  This year I grew and heirloom variety of bush bean called ‘Contender’.  It’s an early bean, delicious and stringless.

A seedling starts to emerge.

It’s already been a long journey and you can see the leaves start to unfurl.

A proud little bean sprout!

Then deer chomped our beans!  Bummer.

Happy to report that the beans recovered and produced beautiful flowers and beans!

I like to steam my green beans for about 2 minutes and add a little olive oil, salt & pepper, but they are so good I will eat them raw from the garden, too.  How do you prepare your green beans?

 

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