In Our Garden - Mid May

Happy Sunday! The kitties have really been enjoying the porch weather...

Here's what's blooming now in our garden. The cherries are still green:

So are the serviceberries:

The peonies (my absolute favorite) are almost here!

The chives are filling in:

I spent today clearing out the herb garden just outside our kitchen door, and then planting the new herbs I got (went to a lovely greenhouse with my friend - photos coming soon!).

Planted in the herb garden:

• Cilantro
• Curled parsley
• Dill
• Italian large leaf basil
• Mojito mint
• Lavender ('Munstead')
• 2 Arugula plants 

Already in the herb garden, back from last year:

• Another type of mint
• Thyme

Also planted some fruits and veggies in pots. We're planning on building raised beds this summer, but don't know that it will happen in time to plant much besides garlic in them, so for now at least we have these pots going...

Planted in the pots:

• 2 'Hansel' eggplants (1 per pot)
• Jalapeño
• Super chili
• Yellow bell (sweet) pepper
• Carolina Gold tomatoes
• Husky Cherry Red tomatoes

Sunday dinner at my parents' house as usual...

And a few shots of my mom's garden. She is the most talented gardener I know, and her yard is always lovely:

xo,
Katherine

In Our Garden - May 8th

Pennant by The Bees Knees Shoppe.

Happy Mother's Day! We had a wonderful, relaxing day. Spent the morning and early afternoon with my guy's parents. Went out for brunch to The Craftsman in Minneapolis, and it was deeeelicious! Can't wait to go back. Then we all went to their house for awhile.

We had dinner and spent the evening with my parents at their house and grilled. It was the perfect, gorgeous day for that.

In between we spent a little time at home, worked in the yard a bit, and mowed for the first time this season.

In our garden, the lilacs are going strong!

Here's the state of the cherry tree and serviceberry tree. The blossoms are gone, and the fruits aren't quite here yet!

The thyme is growing back in our herb garden, and the chives are filling in nicely.

With so many lilacs, we knew we had to incorporate them into our Mother's Day gifts.

This past summer I went to Arkansas for a weekend of Canning at Freckled Hen Farm with Natalie. While we were there, Megan led us in such a great craft - what I made that weekend is the jar in the background above, on the left below.

The one next to it is what my guy and I made this weekend. We made two of them, one for each of our moms. We used the smaller jars since the wood we had was narrower. My guy saved the wood from flooring he pulled up at work (it was just going to get tossed in a dumpster!). The leather around the jar is a belt I thrifted from Goodwill. I've been keeping my eyes open for good belts while thrifting ever since we made these with Megan last summer.

On the back of the wood we nailed a hook for hanging it up.

And of course we filled the jars with lilacs. Our moms loved them!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
xo,
Katherine

In Our Garden - May 1st

Happy May Day! I picked this bouquet from our May garden (more photos and details at the end of this post!).

Some of the lilacs are just starting to bloom...

...others are still buds.

The rhubarb is looking fantastic! I'm ready to pick some and cook with it. Yum!

We have just a few tulips left.

And the chives are beginning to bud.

There's some growth on the raspberry bushes, and just the hint of flowers to come.

The cherry tree is holding on to its blossoms.

The serviceberry tree, which was covered in white just a week ago, has only a few flowers left.

The rhododendron is looking stunning right now!

The ferns are beginning to uncurl.

The pagoda dogwood by our porch is beautiful.

I went out this morning to pick some of the spring flowers in our yard to make a May Day bouquet.

My guy and I go to my parents' house every Sunday for dinner, and we wanted a little something to take to them today.

A riot of pretty colors from the garden, plus a cheerful happy flag from Natalie Creates and a homemade tag by me (with washi tape!) were just what we needed!

I love the red edging on these yellow tulips...

Hope your Sunday is wonderful and filled with color!

xo,
Katherine