Garden Success

I have really liked mixing the beds this year with multiple plants. It seems to work with the natural order instead of against it.

I planted mostly native plants this year, and it was a definite win. More pollinators for sure!  

I have tried growing the Queen Anne's lace plants that are made for gardening, but I have a problem with the biting black bugs that love to spend time on them, so my new replacement plant has become oryla, and it was perfect! 

Sweet peas are a favorite, but we bolt to hot weather so fast here in my climate that it might not be worth it to grow them. They really are pretty though and smell great, even if they succumb to the heat in June.

I discovered you can just throw sweet alyssum seed in the garden about the same time you plant peas, and they grow without a fuss.

Cosmos, always a favorite, but I like the shorter varieties.

Major excitement over these strawflowers; they were stunning. 

Johnny's Ballerina zinnias with some volunteer zinnias; they were very pretty, and I was a fan.

Of all my roses, this Lady of Shallot has been performing well.

I continue to have good results with the Bubblegum petunias in my raised planters.

The pollinators have been very comfortable in my garden this year.

The Pelargonium continues to like the backyard with a little afternoon shade. Geraniums...I think it is funny to call them by their scientific name, like the British do.

We have had several more bird nests. This is a cardinal's nest.

We had to get up high and get a picture of the eggs to identify them, and then we saw the mother and father cardinal tending the nest.

We just love our beautiful butterflies. I do as much as I can to give them habitat.

These are some of my favorite garden successes this year. I have been emphasizing native habitat over obsessing about weed control. Sometimes the weeds get ahead of me, and then I pull them and take note if any beneficial insects are living there! The chipmunks are very happy with my yard too. They are hard to spot because they are very quick, but the 45-degree angle they hold their tail at when they are scampering about gives them away. I saw one this morning and thought it was a butterfly at the top of the fence, and I watched for a few more seconds and realized with that give away angle they hold their tails, it was a chipmunk.  

In Victory,

Sherry

Mixed Berry Jam in Breadmaker

If you have ever tried a Marie Callender's Razzelberry Pie, that is what this jam tastes like. It is one of my family's favorite pies. You could vary the berries depending on what you have on hand, but this is my favorite combination of berries. This is also one of my family's favorite ways to eat said berries, on ice cream.

Mixed Berry Jam in Breadmaker

Yields: 6 cups

2 cups raspberries

2 cups strawberries

2 cups of blueberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons fruit pectin 

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Pour into bread pan. Start breadmaker. Place your breadmaker on the jam function and start machine. This takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to cook and then let it cool for one hour in the bread pan on the counter. Then transfer into storage containers. Some of mine went into the fridge and some was frozen. Stores in the refrigerator 3 weeks and in the freezer for one year.

*I have a Hamilton Beach  breadmaker and I got the instructions out of the instruction manual that came with the machine.

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

 

Sunflower & Black Forest Dahlia

I had a volunteer sunflower come up, and it went perfectly with these Black Forest Ruby Dahlias I got from Baker Creek Seeds this year. 

I have had mixed results with dahlias in my climate, but these did really well.

The key to growing them seems to be where I place them in the yard. These had some bright morning and noonday sun but a little afternoon shade. This dahlia has to be my favorite dahlia I have ever grown from seed. 

I saved my sparrow's nest that came from my flowerpot. The babies happily made it to flight and took off with a watchful mother.

I continue to enjoy the flower shed, and I am often arranging.

Here is a Lady of Shallot rose with a miniature tea set I found at a thrift store for my granddaughter.

My favorite cosmos fell over during a storm, so I picked most of them and made a bouquet,

In Victory,

Sherry

Raspberry Jam with Beadmaker

I am making jam again; this time it is raspberry. I made this in the breadmaker, and it is so easy. It has become my favorite way to make jam. 

Raspberry jam is perfect for adding to cheesecake.

The set on this jam is just perfect!

Raspberry Jam in Breadmaker

Yields: 6 cups

6 cups raspberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (used bottled)

2 tablespoons fruit pectin 

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Pour into bread pan. Start breadmaker. Place your breadmaker on the jam function and start machine. This takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to cook and then let it cool for one hour in the bread pan on the counter. Then transfer into storage containers. Some of mine went into the fridge and some was frozen. Stores in the refrigerator 3 weeks and in the freezer for one year.

*I have a Hamilton Beach  breadmaker and I got the instructions out of the instruction manual that came with the machine.

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Summer Zinnias

Here is a bouquet of some of my favorite zinnias this year.

strawflower

There are also a few strawflowers I grew for drying. 

I placed the bouquet in the cottage corner by some recent thrift store finds. Yes, I found Mason Cash mixing bowls at the thrift store!

In Victory,

Sherry

Strawberry Jam with Breadmaker

 

I have tried several times to make strawberry jam. On the stovetop, I usually make strawberry sauce or strawberry concrete. At some point, I decided to give making strawberry jam in my bread maker a try. If at first you don't succeed try, try again....eh?  

It worked so well this time! I made three batches in one day and they were all perfect! 

I have a Hamilton Beach  breadmaker and I got the instructions out of the instruction manual that came with the machine. The machine had a jam setting, so it takes the guesswork out of how to set the machine. The recipe was adapted with less pectin than called for to get these results. 

Strawberry Jam in Breadmaker

Yields: 6 cups

6 cups strawberries, capped and chopped into to small pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (used bottled)

2 tablespoons fruit pectin (I used standard pectin and low sugar, both did well.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Pour into bread pan. Start breadmaker. Place your breadmaker on the jam function and start machine. This takes about 1 1/2 hours to cook and then let it cool for one hour in the bread pan on the counter. Then transfer into storage containers. Some of mine went into the fridge and some was frozen. Stores in the refrigerator 3 weeks and in the freezer for one year.

This jam turned out so well! I am forever hooked on making strawberry jam in the bread maker. I ended up with 18 cups of jam. While the breadmaker was cooking through the cycle I capped and chopped up the rest of the strawberries for the next batch and froze some of them for pies or desserts later. I had 35 pounds of strawberries to put up this day. 

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry