Friday Favourites: Here and There

 

Outside my window the faintest streaks of orange and pink are quickly fading into darkness. And it's only 9 pm. By the end of August our days will be about 1.5 hours shorter than at the beginning. It seems that the garden is well aware of the shortening days, too, and everything is in a hurry to ripen. There are many apples on our two trees this year and we'll be picking them in a few weeks. Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, fresh crunchy apples - such a delicious fruit. 

One of my hydrangea bushes produces enormous mopheads in a variety of colours - brighter then softening to these purple and blue hues. Just a single mophead is filling a low vase on the coffee table, like a pot wearing a flowery hat. 

When I paint I use a scrap of watercolour paper to test my colours. I had the idea to draw designs in those daubs, and quite like the effect. It's now a bookmark used by my husband. I think I'll plan on doing more of these. 

The roses are showing off just now with plentiful large blooms. Secret, above, glows in the evening light and smells wonderful. Another rosebush, Boscobel, is covered in coral-pink blossoms. Last summer when granddaughter Cora took a sniff, she said, "It smells like baked raspberries." Quite descriptive for a three-year-old. 

After reading about planting flowers among vegetables to encourage pollinators, I seeded some cosmos at the end of a couple of beds. They are blooming profusely now and are constantly full of bees. 

This morning I picked a pound of green beans, several tomatoes, much basil, and two fistfuls of sweet peas. With some of the basil I made a puree and froze it in ice cube trays. The rest I set on a platter to dry. There is much more basil in the garden and I'll be making pesto later. 

A few weeks ago my eldest daughter and I were chatting and I mentioned seeing an advertisement for 40% off David Austin roses at a local nursery. Cristal jumped up, "Let's go!" So we did, each bringing home two rosebushes. There wasn't a great selection, but we chose Harlow Carr, a pink rose, and Molineux, the yellow one above. How pretty it is. 

I am taking a blog break for a couple of weeks and look forward to catching up with you all on my return. 

Friday Favourites: Slow August Days

 

August - a month of contrast, of winding down, of full summer. Already the days are shortening. The sun glows with fierce intensity, but slipped over the horizon, coolness descends quickly. Now in the garden golden Rudbeckias add their brightness. Roses enjoy a second flush. Sweet Peas carry on with their abundant and fragrant blooms. 

"Bees blew like cake-crumbs through the golden air, white butterflies like sugared wafers, and when it wasn't raining, a diamond dust took over, which veiled and magnified all things."

Laurie Lee, Cider with Rosie

Our across-the-fence neighbour grows thornless blackberries that droop over into our garden. "Help yourself," he says, and we do. He is disappointed that the berries never become very sweet, but they make wonderful sauces and jams. 

In every neglected corner of the city wild invasive blackberries sprawl. Armed with clippers, people wearing long-sleeves as armour against the fierce brambles, pick buckets of the sweet berries. I freeze them for baked crumbles in the cold of winter. 

"The kitchen smells of spices and syrups, mint and sweet pepper. It is the time of 'putting up,' a rewarding time for country folk. I believe it is an instinct in man to store things against the winter, even when there is a supermarket a few blocks or miles away. It is part of the rhythm of life."

Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Calendar

Dahlias are slow to bloom, but are coming along now. Soon there will be enough to clip a bouquet. They are such lovely long-lasting flowers and will bloom until the first frost, usually in October. I'm hoping some of the brighter varieties will soon show their faces. 

I love these lingering summer days and am in no hurry at all to see them pass. We sit and read on the deck in late afternoon and when dinner is done. Often, the book waits while I admire the garden. I notice the immense sprawl of the Red Kuri Squash plants with their huge leaves. There are at least eight squashes forming and I look forward to their harvest in another month or so. The Sugar Pumpkins planted by the little girls are growing round and orange, delighting them and me. Pole beans are climbing ever higher, with bees buzzing around its flowers. Tiny green beans are beginning to form. Almost every day I pick a cucumber to slice into a salad. 

"My garden - oh, the delight it has been to me this summer! I am positively revelling in flowers. Roses - such roses!

L. M. Montgomery, The Complete Journals of L.M. Montgomery, The PEI Years, 1901-1911

We had a Black Mission Fig tree for a number of years that produced a few early crop figs and lots of second crop ones that never had a chance to ripen before autumn. Three years ago we replaced that tree with a Desert King variety known for its plentiful early crop. This year dozens of figs hang heavy on the branches. I've made a delicious fig and onion jam to eat with crackers and cheese, and for this evening I'll be preparing a Fig and Blue Cheese Flatbread for guests. 

The sun has risen over the hedge now at 8:30 and dappled light covers the back garden. It's time to leave my computer and do the things I want to do today. There will be some inside chores and some time outside. All part of the rhythm of life. 

Wishing you a most lovely weekend.