Butterflies, Bumblebees, and Blue Blossoms in The Gardens

Blue . . . one of the most difficult colors to include in a garden, and especially in large amounts that bloom for longer periods of time to enjoy!  And who doesn't love the color of blue?

I've got blue iris that bloom for about a week and a half in the spring, little blue pansies in the winter that you can barely see, some Russian sage, and a few blue hydrangea that I can't grow further than a few inches with the hungry deer out here in the countryside.

So for this "Wordless Wednesday", which I am now officially re-naming "A Walk in The Gardens Wednesday" (at least on my blogs that's what I'm going to focus my Wednesdays on), I'm focusing on the color of blue in our gardens!  While outside mowing the front pasture this afternoon before the rains set in, I was just staring at these huge, awesome, and completely-covered-with-blue-blossom bushes, and had this little 'a ha' moment for today's post.

These beautiful perennial blue bushes grow larger every year, are incredibly carefree (well you might want to give them some nice fertilizer food twice a month like I do to keep them extra happy and blooming), THRIVE in the heat and drought, require minimal watering, are deer resistant (YAY!) and attract butterflies and bumblebees to 'healthily' your gardens even more!

About four years ago, we lined our very long driveway with these blue floral bushes mixed with taller pink crepe myrtle trees and some green 'adiago' grasses (also beginning to bloom right now . . . but that's another garden post).  All heat and drought lovers!  And when you live on an acreage with a 'well', you have to be ever-so-careful with your water use!

Everyone asks me:  what is the name of those bushes?  "Blue Mist Shrubs" aka: "Caryopteris".  You can buy these guys in small pots in a specialty nursery (not Lowe's, Home Depot, or WalMart) for around $5.00 or so.  THEY GROW FAST, so don't worry!  The second year of bloom is mind-boggling with how fast and how large they grow with so many blue blooms.  They reach about 4 to 5 feet tall and so you need to plant them at least 3 feet apart, a point at which they will grow together into a lovely hedge!

PLUS, when summer is ending and everything else in your garden has finished blooming, except for those annuals that we plant for color, these bushes just show off among the greenery, along with the flowering crepe myrtles!

Only a few negatives:  They lose their leaves in the winter because they are woody bushes, not evergreen.  Plus, as a good gardener, you need to cut them back in the spring just like you would do with your ornamental grasses so that they have a healthy growth in the coming summer season.

But let me tell you, they are so worth it!  I look forward to these blue blooms at the end of every summer before everything turns yellow, gold, orange, and red in fall.

This is just one of summer's 'last hurrah' in the gardens!

one bumblebee so drunk in happiness, he's upside down!

we have these bushes mixed in with our pink crepe myrtle trees (for height).  

This little crepe myrtle is 3 years old that we planted at just about 2 feet tall 

-- the deer made it difficult to get them to this height, but with patience, 

they will continue to grow and fill out!

blue, blue, blue . . . covered with blue blossoms!

a BIG THANK YOU to the editors of "Bon Bon Break" an on-line e-magazine for featuring this post in their publication which you can find by clicking on this link!

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Cheese ~ Stuffed Fried Zucchini Blossoms with Fresh Tomato Sauce & Basil Pesto

Oh zucchini!  "A joy in July or a joke in September!"  

Truth is, what would summer be without zucchini and tomatoes fresh from the garden?  Zucchini simply capture the green colors and flavors of summer.  When fried alone, or stuffed and fried, they are marvelous as appetizers or for a mid-morning treat!  A platter of fried or baked stuffed zucchini/squash blossoms is an everyday delight on Italian tables.

And with zucchini comes those beautiful buttery, yellow, golden blossoms that attract bees humming in bliss while stuffing themselves with pollen that blesses them from the interiors of each blossom!

To prepare garden-fresh zucchini/squash blossoms in a delicate veil of crispy batter is comparable to nothing on earth.

Fresh-picked squash blossoms from my garden this morning, ready to prepare in the kitchen!

squash/zucchini/pumpkin blossoms are pretty enough for a delicate bouquet (they won't last longer than a few hours though!)

just a shots (above and below) of how profusely they are growing in just one portion of my garden…. you have to look very closely, because often they grown hidden underneath very large green leaves 

and yes, the plants have outgrown the garden and are well into our backyard now!

Zucchini/squash plants are similar to tomatoes . . . they have blossoms first!  

Let's just call it vegetable garden 'flower power'!  

The difference is that these lovely yellow blossoms are BIG!  Big enough to cut, open, lay flat, stuff, and FRY!  Zucchini blossoms, squash blossoms, pumpkin blossoms . . . whatever you choose to grow and/or call them, are the little beauty delicacies that for years Italians have known that they are completely edible, delicious, and very hard to come by.  Why?  They bloom only in the morning hours of your garden, and they wilt within hours.  The window of time to harvest any squash blossom, to stuff them, and to fry them is very, very small.   

Thus the reason why you'll be hard-pressed to ever find fried zucchini/squash blossoms on menus in the U.S.  Few people know of these outside of the culinary and Italian world.  

Nothing poisonous, OK?  Actually, I don't think there's even a major taste to these blossoms.  They are just the "envelope" or "pouch" in which to stuff and fry.  What you end up tasting is the fried element of the dish as well as the stuffing.  So please don't fear . . . try this . . . it's fun, and so yummy!

  

zucchini/squash blossoms play a little game of 'find me' every morning under the huge plant leaves

 just another shot of a platter of blossoms below showing you how they will CLOSE up within a few hours of harvest.  you have very little time to prepare them to eat.  sure, you can still dunk these in the batter, but they will be round instead of flat . . . the flavor alone will not be changed.

please click on the link below for this delicious recipe!

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Fabulous Food And Fotos ~ A Few More From Maui!

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Jet lag really sucks!  Nearly three days after returning home, I'm still trying to adjust back to East Coast time (USA) from Hawaii time and the six-hour time difference.  I haven't fixed a thing in the kitchen, since my head is so out of it!  I'd probably burn down the kitchen while falling asleep at the wheel stove!  But for Wordless Wednesday, I'm going to simply share just a few of my last shots taken on Maui . . . and this time they include some famous dishes that are sought out by foodies who visit the islands.

Above are the famous "Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut Syrup" from The Gazebo overlooking Napili Bay.  Enjoying this sweet indulgence early in the morning with a hot cup of kona java is absolutely one of our must-do breakfast rituals whenever we visit.  The portions are so large, that we each take home half and then re-heat them the next day for a second breakfast. These monster-sized pancakes really do hold up nicely overnight in the frig!  When you're there, make sure you pick up a bottle of the coconut syrup that they sell right there at this "very small" eatery.  There are lots of brands of this syrup available for sale on the islands, and the brand that The Gazebo uses is the best!  Click on this {link} to read the reviews of this great little eatery!  If you choose to go to The Gazebo, know that they do not take reservations and each and every day there is a 20 to 30 minute waiting line before the place even opens at 7:30 all the way through the lunch hour.  Yea, that good!

Macadamia Nut Pancakes

1/2 cup macadamia nuts (chopped)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

3 tablespoons butter (melted)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Coconut syrup and whipped cream to lather on top of the pancakes. 

In a mixing bowl thoroughly mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Combine the dry and wet mixtures until the batter is lumpy.

Heat a non stick frying pan or griddle over low heat.

Pour batter for the size of the pancake that you prefer onto the frying pan or griddle.

Sprinkle some of the chopped macadamia nuts onto each pancake, flip it overand cook until golden for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Next on the photo show is this incredible hamburger, "The Luna" from Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina on Front Street, winner of the best hamburgers on Maui since 2005 (click on 'Cool Cat Cafe' for the link, full menu, and reviews).  To put the size of this burger into perspective, the plate that it is sitting on is a dinner plate . . . it took up HALF of the enitre plate.  I was being a real pig, and ate the whole thing.  My husband had no problem eating his entire burger too, "The Bogy".  The Luna was a 6 1/2 oz. angus beef burger with bacon, melted Jack cheese, avocado, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and thousand island dressing.  Warning:  You will stretch the diameter of your mouth as you try to bite into these!

Here's a sample review from 'urbanspoon':

"I see a lot of people are talking about the burgers at Cool Cat Cafe in Maui, and there is a reason folks.  TEXAS has some of the best burgers you can wrap your mouth around, and this burger joint puts out one of my top 3 ALL TIME best burgers I've had...and i have had many a burger in 62 years!  We're talking the type of burger where the grease runs down your hand with flavor, large slices of onions and tomatoes, and the cheese tops it off, dripping over the bun. This a two-handed burger my friends...nothing skimpy here."

Got the picture?  And now I have just got to work on re-creating these massive babies for our Memorial Day grilling!

I realize that the above photo is not one of food or tropical scenery.  Yes, it is a picture of the commode in our favorite restaurant on Maui, Mama's Fish House.  I included it just to demonstrate that only on Hawaii would guests be treated to such tiny attention to details such as these tropical flowers tie-twisted to the tissue paper.  Not just your ordinary potty room experience!

The food at Mama's is literally as dreamy as is the scenery directly in front of the restaurant (shown below).  "Zagat" ranks Mama's Fish House as one of the top 5 restaurants for 2011!  Yes, when you make your reservation, go EARLY for your seating time so that you can sit as close to the beach as possible.  This is what you will look out at while you dine on extraordinary, fresh fish:  turquoise blue waters with white-capped waves rolling in and wind sailors dotting the horizon!  It is truly heavenly!

Our daughter Lauren, her husband Dawson, and our son Jesse gave us a gift certificate for our Christmas gift (which really helps because this is the most expensive restaurant on Maui).  Mahalo and grazie to you three sweeties!

For a real cyberspace treat, click on this {link} to Mama's to hear some fantastic Hawaiian music, view photos, recipes, menu, awards, and more!

Every night is a beautiful sunset, including those that we enjoyed from the lanai (deck) of our hotel room.  Below you can see how romantic every evening becomes before drifting off to sleep with the sound of the surf outside your room.  As they say, "Maui no ka oi" which translates from Hawaiian into "Maui is the best".

But truthfully everyone, even though Hawaii is a lovely paradise, there's really no place like home!  

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Wordless Wednesday on Maui!

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Aloha!

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Pineapple Cake with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream & Caramel ~ Pineapple Sauce!

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There's simply nothing like fresh fruits and vegetables!  The flavors are so much more intense and the way they are meant to taste without any additives and/or preservatives!   And if there is only one fresh fruit and/or vegetable that is a must-eat for me while in Hawaii, it is pineapple!  It's the very first food item that we purchase in the marketplace!  I enjoy pineapple simply cut up into cubes, but my husband doesn't, so I knew that I needed to either grill, bake or cook some pineapple in a different way to get him to eat it!

So with fresh macadamia nut ice cream on hand, the logical thing to create was a pineapple sundae of some sort.  So I came up with this idea:  slice up some of the pineapple pound cake that my husband bought, serve it ala mode with mac nut ice cream, pour over those with a brown sugar-butter caramel sauce with sauteed pineapples, some banana slices and sprinkled chopped macadamia nuts!  It was sweet, loaded, and decadent!  Plus this recipe was fast and easy . . . I just made it up as I went with what I had on hand in our mini-kitchen (I did run across the street to the store to pick up a small bag of brown sugar and a tiny container of cinnamon that I can pack back home).  My husband was in Hawaiian pineapple paradise!  I was in sugar-high-overdose mode, but the caramel sauce was worth every second.  This is so "ONO", which means 'delicious' in Hawaiian!

Pineapple Cake with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream & Caramel-Pineapple Sauce

12 Tbsp butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. cream or whole milk

2 slices of fresh pineapple, core removed, cut into cubes

1 fresh banana, sliced

Pineapple pound cake

Macadamia Nut ice cream

chopped macadamia nuts

In a very warm saucepan, melt the butter, but do not burn.
Add the brown sugar and stir well.
Add the cinnamon and cream/milk.  Stir well again.
Add the pineapple cubes and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes.
In individual bowls, place a slice or two of pineapple cake.
Place a scoop or two of macadamia nut ice cream on top of the cake slices.
Sprinkle the banana slices on top of these.
Pour on the pineapple-caramel sauce.
Sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts.
Garnish:  orchids or mint if you have them

Aloha!

Pineapple Cake With Sauteed Pineapple-Caramel Sauce With Bananas In Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Ala Mode

Maui's own Roselani Macadamia Nut Ice Cream was perfect for this tropical sundae!

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Almost Wordless Wednesday on The Acreage!

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Happy May Day (a little late)!  This is "Conversation Piece", my favorite azalea, a late-season bloomer

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"Coco", my 11-year old Siamese out in the gardens with me.

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Here's "Nelly Moser" clematis again, getting more vivid by the day.

Meet "Brother Cadville", my favorite David Austen rose.

Red "Knock-Out" roses with "Renee Michelle" azaleas in the background.

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Lastly, the 'unknown' David Austen rose on top of the arbor.

Have a beautiful day!

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Almost Wordless Wednesday on The Acreage

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David Austen old-fashioned, antique roses.

The same rose climbing up the arbor that my husband built.

Loaded with buds yet to bloom!

Underneath the arbor.

and a final close up of this climbing rose (don't remember the name!)

Nelly Moser Clematis increasing in size by the day.

Renee Michelle Azalea in full bloom (it's a late-season bloomer).

Renee close up and popping with color!

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Somewhat Wordless Wednesday ~ ~ A Southern Spring Is Near!!

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Yes it's true, this is the first sign of spring here in the South.  My daffodils are about 4 inches high!  Oh I know that I'm going to need to do some separating of these daffodil bulbs, but that's OK!  I'm almost dancing a jig of happiness right now, just knowing that spring and my favorite season (for the beginning of gardening) is just around the corner! I just could NOT be completely wordless about this moment in my gardens on the acreage! .
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Shades of Pink in the Garden

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I don't know what color is most beautiful to you in the garden, but to me, without a shadow of a doubt, that color is PINK!  I just adore the loveliness of all the different shades of pink dominating my gardens.  I also plant flowers in soft yellows, blues or whites to harmonize with the pinks.  However, I never use orange flowers, and only have one red flower variety:  ruby red double Knock-Out roses because they can withstand this Southern humidity so much better than my other roses can.

I haven't posted about my garden since Spring when my bleeding hearts, daffodils, azaleas, and iris were in bloom, so I felt that it was long overdue to 'take a walk in my gardens'!  So come along and see what bloomed this summer on the acreage!

One of my David Austen roses

Simple Vinca . . . it's the ONLY flower that the deer don't eat in my garden!

A David Austen old-fashioned rose bud

Another David Austen rose variety trailing in the arbor that hubby built for me.

Pink yarrow next to the gardenia with a fairy visiting!

A glorious close-up of Sunrise/Sunset Echinacea

More clusters of pink yarrow

One of my brilliant pink daylilies

And finally, a fluttering butterfly that is naturally attracted to Ruby Echinacea!  

Wasn't he/she nice for sitting still long enough for this camera amateur to take a photo?

I hope that you have a beautiful day . . .
and that you can get outside and smell some fresh flowers!

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Garden Topiaries! Out and About At The Annual SC Festival of Flowers

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This week we mingled with tourists and local residents to celebrate gardening during the 3-week long Annual South Carolina Festival of Flowers.  The focus of the festival is on everything flowers and gardening, but we also have a 2-day equestrian event, golf, 5K runs, triathalons, garden photography displays, luncheons with master gardener speakers, a car show, jazz and blues bands, food tents, private home garden tours, and much more.

But what I always anxiously look forward to see every year are the creative topiaries that are put together by just about any group of people - - from elementary and middle school students to businesses and garden club members.

Local businesses provide the funding for the topiaries which last just about one month.  So I thought that I'd share some of this year's nature-sculptured creations which were based on a "Safari" theme.  All of these topiaries (and more, 22 total) are placed along the sidewalks of our quaint little downtown area.

Which topiary do you like best?  I love the giraffes, the horse (of course!) and the Jeep!

Horse Topiary

Lions Topiary

Giraffe Topiaries

Swan Topiary with Horse Topiary in Background

Aligator and Turtle Topiaries Along the Stone Stream Downtown

Butterfly Topiary

Ducks Topiary along stone waterfall Downtown

Elephant Topiaries

Puppy Dog Topiary (cutely placed next to a fire hydrant!)

And last, the local Jeep dealership's annual Jeep Topiary!

So now which of you can create topiaries?  I know that I can't at all!  I just enjoy looking at them!  Thanks for taking a little downtown stroll with me.  Have a beautiful, flower-filled day wherever you are!

Happy Gardening!

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