End of August

End of August of this very hot summer. The heat is back on, temperatures in the mid 30's C. Humidity stifling. Dry , no rain. Watering the gardens on my agenda today.
Certainly no one can complain that this summer hasn't been summer like.
Now that the sunflowers are setting seed the goldfinches are enjoying dining and throwing around seed shells....
The antics of these birds bring a smile , hanging upside down, chattering away, fighting off others looking for a treat.
Thursday the forecasters are predicting rain and cooler temps coming.
Wonder what the Autumn weather will bring? Hopefully a warm sunny fall , a favourite season.

Poor Hydrangea

It has been a very hot and dry summer. We haven't gotten a lot of rain here. Rain has been all around us but this little plot has been missed.
My usually lovely hydrangea has suffered more than any other plant. Yes, did water but this poor plant just could not take the weather. Sadly I won't be getting the lovely dried blooms for the house .

Last Week of August

Signs of Autumn approaching can be seen in the garden this last week of August.
Sedum Frosty Morn is showing off , a daylily is rallying with new scapes...
Autumn Joy sedum and Molina grass .
A true sign of fall coming, the only Mum I have starting to flower, really should get more
A huge Sunflower head enticing the birds.
It has been a true summer this year with lots of heat and humidiy; sad to see it go , still Autumn is my favourite time of year.

Tropical plant surprise

Early this spring all my houseplants were looking rather sad.
One in particular; a mixed basket , given to us some time ago,looked so sad . Several plants in it had died . 3 only survived.
Do I know the name of any of these plants. NO! Did I do any reseach? No...
Still I decided to fill the empty spots with fibrous begonias and sit it out on the shaded front porch. Let it live or die. Watering and feeding was attended on a more frequent basis.
Perhaps it was the very hot summer and the intense humidity, perhaps it was the weekly attention it received, maybe the higher light conditions but this basket has grown and thrived.. Besides all the new growth it has put on .
The poor unnamed tall one has added a little interest.Flowers!

Flowers up close and personal.
At least I think they are flowers. They are a soft pink colour at the tips.
I wonder if these bell shaped drops will open?
This houseplant basket will receive a little more tender care this winter.

LRW # 42 Altered Item

Little Red Wagon's challenge this week was to make an altered item. For me this was quite the challenge. Decided to alter a store bag covering their logo with my garden scene.Never decorated a gift bag before.

This was a fun challenge and opened lots of possibilities to me.

Bumper crop

With the hot and humid temperatures this summer the
4 little tomato plants planted early this spring have produced a bumper crop of tomatoes. There is nothing better than the taste of a tomato fresh from the garden.
We have eaten some in BLT sandwiches , Greek salads ,plain with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
The plants are producing so many I canned some this morning. 7 litres . As well as making a large pot of spaghetti sauce.
There is something so satisfying to hear the pop as the jars seal and see this lovely red stewed tomatoes ready for the winter to come.

Happy Birthday Rosanne

Enjoy the day!

Strawberry Yogourt Fruit Dip

It is my turn to bring treats to card making class. Every couple of months we each take a turn and supply the treats for afternoon tea..
So besides taking wine , this is a very fun "tea" party ; I made a fruit tray with a strawberry dip. This dip is so quick and easy I was a bit reluctant to post it but then thought everyone need a few quick appetizers.
Equal parts strawberry yogurt and cool whip . That is all that is in the dip . The dip is so tasty with the fruit.It is a pretty soft pink colour that is not showing up in the photo.
Happy with the fruit arrangement on the plate but really wanted fancy toothpicks which I could not find locally.

To go along with the fruit tray are some blueberry peach muffins and chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies, some crackers and cheese .





Happy Tea Time!

LRW,Summertime

The card challenge this week at Little Red Wagon is summertime.
Here are 2 cards I made, that say summer to me.
Flowers

Boating

Orchid , reflowering

This orchid is reflowering with 3 branching floral stems.

Blueberry Peach Muffins

The humidity disappeared for a few days over the weekend . Temperatures were lovely around 24 C. Just had to bake and use some of the lovely fresh local fruit. Blueberries and peaches are at their peak here.
Followed a recipe from Allrecipes but added a streusel topping.
Makes about 16 large muffins.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup blueberries
1 cup peeled sliced fresh peaches
Topping;
2 TBSP. brown sugar
1 tsp.cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 TBSP.melted butter
2 TBSP. flour
Oven at 400.
Used paper liners for muffin pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk ,melted butter until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until just blended. Fold in the blueberries and peaches. Fill muffin cups with batter.
Mix together topping ingredients. . About 1 Tbsp per muffin.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes .
Warm out of the oven served with a few more blueberries and peaches .

A nice mid afternoon tea time snack.

LRW challenge Circles...

Another fun challenge from Little Red Wagon .
Decided to utilize Nestibilities to make 3 circles, one scalloped for the Tent Topper style card....kept the colours monochromatic.. seem to be in a blue mood lately.

Corn Stuffed Tomatoes

August is here with an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit. Daughter Sherry was telling me about a corn stuffed tomato recipe she made by Martha Stewart.
Just had to try it. I used some of the bumper crop of tomatoes from my garden , the so sweet peaches and cream corn from a local veggie stand , yummy peaches from the Niagara area( yes, peach is in this dish) and lovely basil.
Whipped this dish up in about 20 minutes.. I let the mixture sit for an additional 30 minutes to blend the flavours.
Did use Martha Stewart's recipe as a guide but made it my own;

4 ripe medium beefsteak tomatoes
1 cup peeled chopped peaches
1 cup cucumbers, chopped and peeled
1 cup cooked peaches and cream corn, about 2 cob
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 spring onions chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil , chopped into strips

Slice off tops of tomatoes thinly , don't waste this lovely tomato. Scoop out the seeds and ribs, chop. Stir together chopped tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, corn, oil, lemon juice, spring onion, basil, salt, and pepper. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Season inside of tomato shells with salt and pepper. Fill tomatoes with tomato mixture, and garnish with basil sprigs. Serve immediately or can be refrigerated for about 1 hour..
Lemon helps the peach and basil stay to true colour.
This was a lovely cold supper on a hot day.... I added some fresh blueberries also local , some cherry tomatoes fresh from my garden , served on a bed of baby romaine. Oh, and half a cob of hot peaches and cream corn.... Heavenly.

August Garden

Foggy this morning.
The first few days of August and it is hot and muggy. Humidity high. Thanks goodness for A/C , not for the bills to follow.. Could whine about the weather but keep thinking come February these days will be a fond memory.
Southern Hibiscus is just starting to flower.
Frosty morn sedum Not 100 % happy with this plant , it is stretchy, flower heads more open then I would like. Wonder if it would do better if pruned once during growing season
Kong Sunflowers are flowering showing lots of branching with many seed heads to come.
Birds have been checking out the seeds to see if they are ready to eat yet.
This will sound odd but it smells like August in the garden... Anyone else think so?

LRW Challenge Christmas in July

Here is my card for this week's challenge.

Back garden flowers.

Tall African Marigolds started from seed late this spring are now starting to flower. They make a nice combo with the blue Lily of the Nile.
Stargazer lilies are starting to flower, they are not as tall as I expected but this is the first year.

Kong Sunflowers are just started to show some colour and set seed for the birds , it has made a height of 10 feet. which makes a nice friendly privacy hedge in my little back yard , the only thing is the flower heads are smallish...