Summer is marching along at a good pace and I'm so grateful that I have plenty of blooms still to sooth my eyes and my soul. My gardens are ever changing from day to day and I can't keep up as rain sometimes prevents me from weeding or deadheading on time and so it never looks totally tidy but everything blooms anyway and we all know beauty is so temporary.... Somehow there's are life lessons to be learned in all of this.
Yesterday I made Ricotta cheese to use in a lasagne and I only took photos of the beginning and ending. I had a little bit of extra milk for the calf and since I'm trying to wean her off milk and I decided to use that extra milk in making a fresh cheese.
Ricotta is a very quick and delicious Italian cheese made by using vinegar or lemon juice to curd the milk. The milk is slowly brought to a temperature of 200༠F. on low heat using a thermometer and vinegar s added and stirred. The milk is then covered and put in a warm place undisturbed for approximately 6 hours or until the solid separate from the whey at a temperature of between 80 F. to 100 F. I turn my oven on till it register 100 F. and turn it off.
Once the curds are ready I used a double layer of clean damp cheese cloth to drain the liquid off and I add a bit of salt , mix it in and refrigerated it for at least 24 hours before using.
I took a walk around my garden to record what was blooming and I'm posting it here for my own use but feel free to come along. I know that you've seen all these flowers before but they feed my soul and I can look at them long after they are gone.
An Echinacea purpura that is starting to bloom, but it looks like a mediocre specimen.
A blue Campanula Blue Chip
Lobelias that I started from seeds.
A closeup of Purple Wave Petunias started from seeds.
A self seeded Campanula Blue Chip that has reverted to white, growing between the patio blocks.
Yazoo Eye-Catcher Daylily that gros along the rock wall.
My poor Bada Boom Begonias are getting way too much sun but they are tough just the same. I started these from seed .
A William Baffin rose bush that doesn't get enough sun. and is still spreading. I may have to move it to where it gets sun all day, but where?
I don't know the name of this Daylily but it's an old variety.
An old fashion Daylily
Some Sundrop flowers also known as Evening Primrose. I have them all over the place as they brighten the back yard on a somber day.
A closeup of my Grootendost hardy rose bush that really got a beating in the hurricane.
Some of my Sundrop flowers are still blooming despite being beaten down by hurricane Arthur.
A closeup of Jackmanii Clematis by the shed.
This vibrant orange Asiatic Lilly almost didn't made it because of the red lilly beetle infestation. I'm so glad to see it bloomed this year. Hopefully it will be bigger next year if I can keep those pesky lilly beetles at bay.... pesky weeds too.
This poor specimen is called Royal Velvet and I thought that it had died but it didn't quite died yet. It gets a bit too much runoff from the roof.
This is a large Standard Hosta they get so huge.
A close up of Houldini Clematis
Here you can see Jackmanii Clematis trying to get a foot hold by the white Clematis next to the chimney.
I never planted this pale pink Astilbe. It's a cross bred between the dark pin and white Astilbe that grows in front of the house. It's past it's prime in this photo as it's loosing it's color.
Houldini white Clematis that has overtaken a Jackmanii Clematis by the chiminy. The snowbush tree next to it is taking all the nutrients and poor Jackmanii has a hard time growing.
White Astilbe, past their prime.
Sombrero Way Daylily
Another variety of Hostas and I don't know the name .
Stella Del Oro Daylily
A closeup of one of my John Davis rose bush. I planted one in memory of mom and one in memory of dad. My dad love growing rose bushes.
I love this bright yellow Tetra Asiatic lily
A closeup of a Tetra Asiatic Lily
These are Tetra Asiatic Mix Lilies
A Tetra Asiatic red Lily
These beauties are Arthur Moore daylilies. They bloom in profusion. in the back of the house.
My Scotia tomatoes that I started from seeds are growing well in these crates but need frequent watering .He red you see through id a red lilly and not a tomato.
A salmon color Asiatic lily, but I have no idea what is the name of this variety. I almost lost them last year because of the red lilly beetle infestation. I picked them every day but they kept coming.
A rescued Asiatic Lilly bulb at the end of the season sale. I don't think it bloom last year.
Rainbow Gold Daylilly
Little Showoff Daylilly
A Value Village pot I got last year . The blue pansies self seeded themselves in the garden last year and I stuck them in the pot and they are now blooming along with a begonia and lobelias that I grew from seed.
I started my own Purple wave Petunias a bit late but it's growing well.
I grew the lobelia from seeds and that marigold just grew on it's own from seeds that wintered over outside and I just transplanted it in this old pot.
A bunch of Hosta that are over crowded by the gazebo.
Very pale cucumbers in full bloom growing in a big pot by the Gazebo. Very bad exposure.
Some type of Sedum blooming along my rock wall, very hardy and will grow even on rock with very little soil.
I just love how this Hosta is ruffled.
Varigated Hosta
Yellow bush beans starting to bloom
Fountain Tune Daylilly
New Note Daylilly
We already ate two meals from these Sugar peas with edible pods, so good in stir fry.
Cafe Society Daylilly
Lacy Bonnet Daylilly
Mary Todd daylily
My beautiful Grootenburg rose bush got beaten pretty bad by hurricane Arthur especially on one side with lots of broken branches.
Late in the season I bought 2 of these hydrangea on sale at Cosco on impulse with no place to plant them so late in the fall they looked dead and dried up in their pots so I stuck them into the cedar hedge just in case there might still be a tiny bit of life in them and this Spring they greened up with the best of them and I still had no proper place to put them. I dug out some plants and stuck them in the ground by the gazebo as they are supposed to stay relatively small. Now they are getting some little flower buds. I'm anxious for the surprise blossoms later on...
Jackmanii Clematis with millions of buds yet to bloom.
A lace cap Hydrangea that I didn't prune this spring.
Pink Astillbe
Experimenting this year, growing cucumbers in my left over compost bins.
So sorry for the length of this post but I'm using this as a record of what's blooming on this date for my own future reference.
Thanks for your visit and comments. Life is short, enjoy.
JB
Yesterday I made Ricotta cheese to use in a lasagne and I only took photos of the beginning and ending. I had a little bit of extra milk for the calf and since I'm trying to wean her off milk and I decided to use that extra milk in making a fresh cheese.
Ricotta is a very quick and delicious Italian cheese made by using vinegar or lemon juice to curd the milk. The milk is slowly brought to a temperature of 200༠F. on low heat using a thermometer and vinegar s added and stirred. The milk is then covered and put in a warm place undisturbed for approximately 6 hours or until the solid separate from the whey at a temperature of between 80 F. to 100 F. I turn my oven on till it register 100 F. and turn it off.
Once the curds are ready I used a double layer of clean damp cheese cloth to drain the liquid off and I add a bit of salt , mix it in and refrigerated it for at least 24 hours before using.
An Echinacea purpura that is starting to bloom, but it looks like a mediocre specimen.
A blue Campanula Blue Chip
Lobelias that I started from seeds.
A closeup of Purple Wave Petunias started from seeds.
A self seeded Campanula Blue Chip that has reverted to white, growing between the patio blocks.
Yazoo Eye-Catcher Daylily that gros along the rock wall.
My poor Bada Boom Begonias are getting way too much sun but they are tough just the same. I started these from seed .
A William Baffin rose bush that doesn't get enough sun. and is still spreading. I may have to move it to where it gets sun all day, but where?
I don't know the name of this Daylily but it's an old variety.
An old fashion Daylily
Some Sundrop flowers also known as Evening Primrose. I have them all over the place as they brighten the back yard on a somber day.
A closeup of my Grootendost hardy rose bush that really got a beating in the hurricane.
Some of my Sundrop flowers are still blooming despite being beaten down by hurricane Arthur.
A closeup of Jackmanii Clematis by the shed.
This vibrant orange Asiatic Lilly almost didn't made it because of the red lilly beetle infestation. I'm so glad to see it bloomed this year. Hopefully it will be bigger next year if I can keep those pesky lilly beetles at bay.... pesky weeds too.
This poor specimen is called Royal Velvet and I thought that it had died but it didn't quite died yet. It gets a bit too much runoff from the roof.
This is a large Standard Hosta they get so huge.
A close up of Houldini Clematis
Here you can see Jackmanii Clematis trying to get a foot hold by the white Clematis next to the chimney.
I never planted this pale pink Astilbe. It's a cross bred between the dark pin and white Astilbe that grows in front of the house. It's past it's prime in this photo as it's loosing it's color.
Houldini white Clematis that has overtaken a Jackmanii Clematis by the chiminy. The snowbush tree next to it is taking all the nutrients and poor Jackmanii has a hard time growing.
White Astilbe, past their prime.
Sombrero Way Daylily
Another variety of Hostas and I don't know the name .
Stella Del Oro Daylily
A closeup of one of my John Davis rose bush. I planted one in memory of mom and one in memory of dad. My dad love growing rose bushes.
I love this bright yellow Tetra Asiatic lily
A closeup of a Tetra Asiatic Lily
These are Tetra Asiatic Mix Lilies
A Tetra Asiatic red Lily
These beauties are Arthur Moore daylilies. They bloom in profusion. in the back of the house.
My Scotia tomatoes that I started from seeds are growing well in these crates but need frequent watering .He red you see through id a red lilly and not a tomato.
A rescued Asiatic Lilly bulb at the end of the season sale. I don't think it bloom last year.
Rainbow Gold Daylilly
Little Showoff Daylilly
A Value Village pot I got last year . The blue pansies self seeded themselves in the garden last year and I stuck them in the pot and they are now blooming along with a begonia and lobelias that I grew from seed.
I started my own Purple wave Petunias a bit late but it's growing well.
I grew the lobelia from seeds and that marigold just grew on it's own from seeds that wintered over outside and I just transplanted it in this old pot.
A bunch of Hosta that are over crowded by the gazebo.
Very pale cucumbers in full bloom growing in a big pot by the Gazebo. Very bad exposure.
Some type of Sedum blooming along my rock wall, very hardy and will grow even on rock with very little soil.
I just love how this Hosta is ruffled.
Varigated Hosta
Yellow bush beans starting to bloom
Fountain Tune Daylilly
New Note Daylilly
We already ate two meals from these Sugar peas with edible pods, so good in stir fry.
Cafe Society DaylillyLacy Bonnet Daylilly
Mary Todd daylily
My beautiful Grootenburg rose bush got beaten pretty bad by hurricane Arthur especially on one side with lots of broken branches.
Late in the season I bought 2 of these hydrangea on sale at Cosco on impulse with no place to plant them so late in the fall they looked dead and dried up in their pots so I stuck them into the cedar hedge just in case there might still be a tiny bit of life in them and this Spring they greened up with the best of them and I still had no proper place to put them. I dug out some plants and stuck them in the ground by the gazebo as they are supposed to stay relatively small. Now they are getting some little flower buds. I'm anxious for the surprise blossoms later on...
Jackmanii Clematis with millions of buds yet to bloom.
A lace cap Hydrangea that I didn't prune this spring.
Pink Astillbe
Experimenting this year, growing cucumbers in my left over compost bins.
Thanks for your visit and comments. Life is short, enjoy.
JB
