Borders are starting to fill in and flowering shrubs add nice bursts of color. Lilacs are already fading with the unseasonably hot temperatures but the humidity enhances their fragrance and it just fills the air! A tree peony planted 3 years ago bloomed for the first time ever. The rhubarb got away from me and sent up its feathery seed stalks. It’s more tender and less stringy if eaten before that happens. I love the look of rhubarb but the taste, not so much. Last year I made a lot of crumbles, cakes and breads with it and wasn’t really crazy about any of them. I even tried making rhubarb pickles but they turned into a soggy mess. Maybe a rhubarb chutney would be good.
My daughters brought me a semi-dwarf peach tree, a gooseberry bush and some raspberry plants for Mother’s Day. A big hole had to be dug for the peach tree… twice the depth and width of the pot it came in. It took over an hour to dig because of all the rocks. I backfilled the hole with soil, compost, leaf mold and added a good handful of dry dog food to the mix as well.
My little dog Flora trails around at my side all day long. I feel lucky to have such sweet company.
handmade. homegrown. beautiful life 
I’m not a fan of rhubarb either, so I’ve been it added with other things like strawberries to make pie and jam.
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Strawberry rhubarb pie was my Grandfather’s favorite. I’ve never tried it but I’m thinking now that maybe I should. Looks like there’s going to be loads of strawberries soon. Thanks, Judy!
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I love seeing trees planted! I hope it thrives in its new location for you. Dog food? If I did that, I fear Delilah would dig it up just for the snack. 🙂
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Haha!!! Delilah! I bet she would!
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Your garden looks lovely,worth waiting for the peony it’s beautiful
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Thank you! It was worth waiting for and after 3 years , a very unexpected surprise.
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I think dog food in the hole would also tempt a lot of gophers in my area! I recently was at a restaurant in Mpls where they had rhubarb in with the tomato curry and it acted like celery. So good! (Chutney would be good, I’m sure.) I also have to mix it with strawberries to get something I like. I usually make blueberry/rhubarb jam cause it extends the fruit and tastes good!
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I like the idea of mixing blueberries and rhubarb and would not have thought of that. Thanks, Susan!
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Lovely write-up Cynthia. Your garden looks lovely and I think it must be so nice to see everything coming into bloom. Here it’s gone so cold again and windy that it is affecting all the growth and blossoms. We are hoping that soon the temperature will rise again, in fact it is the wind factor that is making it so cold.
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Thanks, Agnes! Wind can be miserable. Frustrating this time of year when weather takes a turn for the worse. Here’s hoping that wind is blowing something wonderful your way!
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What a lovely way of looking at this Cynthia, thank you for your inspiration.
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Oh how beautiful and what a sweet little four legged companion you have there.
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Thanks! She is a sweetie! She gets so filthy in the dirt but we both love it:)
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My first peony bloomed today – and I’m in South Jersey! Your garden looks lovely, Cynthia.
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Thanks, Jodie! This weather has been strange, don’t you think? South Jersey is beautiful!
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Very strange weather. Very dry here, and yesterday it was miserably hot and humid until evening. Then it got chilly for no apparent reason.
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Everything has come up so quickly. I hope the later heat will be kind to you
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Looking at your garden, it doesn’t seem like we are very far behind you. That is odd because your weather was mild and springlike while we were still getting snow.
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Your peony is lovely. And that is one big hole!! Digging rocks out is hard work – you deserve something tastier than rhubarb after all that effort…
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Haha!! That hole definitely called for ice-cream!
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We have a lot of rocks too. We also have peach trees, but can’t manage to get them without spraying for diseases, so we’ve pretty much stopped messing with them. If you plan to do yours organic and are successful, we’d love to hear about it!
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I have no experience with fruit trees. Suddenly I have 6 of them. I’m with you, if I can’t manage fruit without resorting to poison then I’ll forego the fruit. I’ve been doing some reading on the subject. I’ll wait and see how it goes!
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Cynthia I envy you your peony – it’s one of my favourite flowers. Too bad I can’t grow it here.
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Beautiful and fragrant flowers! I didn’t realize they couldn’t be grown in warm climates.
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Lovely tree peony! To keep it flowering strongly for years to come, add mushroom compost or garden lime (they really like alkaline soils). The peach tree is looking fantastic – I hope Flora doesn’t mind sharing some of her food 🙂
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Oh thanks Matt! I will do that! Good to know, my soil is on the acidic side. I’ve seen the mushroom compost but have never used it. Maybe the reason why it hasn’t bloomed until now is because of the ph.
I am a little concerned about planting a tree that has already blossomed. I’m keeping my eye on it. So far, so good:)
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Cynthia, I love to double click your photographs and see all the details. Like your sweet Flora’s face and the big turtle sculpture. The yard is beautiful. The hole is big. Your sparkly-eyed pup is a doll.
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Thanks, Ginene. I find it challenging to photograph gardens. That is just a small piece. Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to capture them better. I love Flora’s sweet little face!! I’m just crazy about her
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I love being outside with my animals. That peony is gorgeous. Interesting tip on the dog food. I’d love a peach tree. I do have a gooseberry bush. The flowers are surprisingly a lovely smell. Lastly, in my haphazard comments on all you’ve posted about … I concur on the strawberry mixed with rhubarb … we make a yummy crumble with it. Haven’t done it since I was a kid but my sister and I have agreed upon doing so.
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So far my gooseberries haven’t yielded much but they are only 3 years old. Do yours produce a lot of berries?
Fingers crossed on the peach tree, lol. Fruit trees are new to me.
Thanks for the strawberry rhubarb comment too. It’s raining today so I think I will make one. I would love to find a way to use that rhubarb that tastes good !
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Yes it does produce a lot of berries. I was surprised when they changed colour to a red as they ripened. We have crabapple and mulberry. I want more fruit trees
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Mulberry!! I’ve been reading about those!! They are great trees. Imagining how gratifying it will be for you when your pretty house is done and is surrounded by all these fruits and berries and flowers!
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It is lovely but they are invasive to forewarn you. The birds east the berries and spread the trees everywhere. Guess I also missed that we have grape vines. One day it all shall be very beautiful.
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It all looks gorgeous!! We had such warm weather too and the smell of lilac was lamost intoxicating ( in a pleasant way ;0)) Too bad you do not like rhubarb…I love it but I never cook it as long as recipies demand and add less sugar. I often combine it with strawberies in pies and muffins, or with nuts in cakes or…jumjum;0) But hey, life is good without rhubarb too! xo Johanna
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I’m not giving up on rhubarb yet. When I was a kid, I used to munch it down raw, stalks of it! It does bother me to add a ton of sugar . It feels like it defeats the purpose of eating healthy things from the garden. Strawberries sound like the magic ingredient to go with this rhubarb:)
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Have you tried strawberry rhubarb pie with orange? It’s at the top of my favorite list. I too planted gooseberry, peach, and raspberry this spring. Great minds think alike.
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Lol!! Yes they do:). I never tried that but it sounds good. Thanks!
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Your garden does indeed look really great. A shame you aren’t keen on rhubarb but the suggestions above might make it less of a chore to eat 🙂
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I think I am going to like the strawberry/ rhubarb combination. Sounds good with the orange too. I cooked up all those things last year with just plain rhubarb and everything was too sour and sugary at the same time. Thanks Helen!
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