Despite the gray clouds and pounding rain of yesterday morning, I think it is safe to say that summer is here.

Nothing tastes sweeter than the first ripe strawberries, washed with the hose.

The long, cold spring is finally giving up and my flowers are beginning to peek out, promising sunny days to come.

Here are some great pictures Justin took recently:

Purplelicious.

I’ve had these iris (irises? That doesn’t seem right. Who knows.) for three years and this is their first bloom. How exciting!

The roses that I got from Jen last summer are really getting revved up and, once I get the aphids off, I will put some pictures of them up too.

Flowers make me so happy.

Works For Me Wednesday is hard without a topic!

This was the first week of our CSA, because nothing will get me to eat more vegetables like paying for them up front. The crazy weather is delaying some crops in our area by up to a month, so I wasn’t sure what we would find when we went to pick up our share.

This week it was greens, greens and more greens. Looking at this stash, I’m thinking cold chicken salad with a vinaigrette, apple-rhubarb applesauce, egg white scrambles or frittatas - oh yeah, this will work for me. I’m also going to look up some veggie smoothie recipes - who knows, maybe Andrew will eat them in milkshake form.

Since Andrew’s goal in life is to be a tractor driver, the CSA brings an added bonus of spending some time at the farm this summer. In July the kids get to work in their own garden plot and the siren song of you-pick berries and fresh herbs is calling my name.

Most CSA’s in our area are still accepting sign-ups for the summer share, you can find more information on your local CSA here and check out Rocks In My Dryer for more great Works For Me Wednesday tips.

I only have one long sleeve shirt on today. This, and the promise of above 70 temperatures for the weekend, gives me great hope that spring might finally be here to stay.

My columbines also serve as kindling for that hope.

I could stare at these beauties all day.

I’ve taught him well. He’s singing to the columbines.

My excitement about the coming of Spring borders on indecent.

We chose to celebrate this mid-winter holiday with the always popular President’s Day Barbecue.

The weather was clear and cold. Perfect for cooking out and eating in.

It was so nice to get reacquainted with my garden and all the joys of our backyard.

My Hellebores are leading the way for all the garden loveliness to come.

Andrew did some important spring cleaning in the quarry…

…and tuned up his lawnmower in preparation for a busy summer.

Hurry, Spring!

Does anyone else notice the gaping hole in my rock wall?

Winter makes the saddest gardens.

My bluebells are even more zealous than I am.

Coming Soon: Roses

The next 8-10 weeks are going to suck!

I love raising a gardener, no one else in my life gets nearly this excited about turning the compost pile.

This is what I was so excited about a few weeks ago.

Recently, a few gardening friends and I took an informal tour of some of the fantastic gardens in my neighborhood. Since these ladies are people that talk to strangers, we stopped and chatted pleasantly with some of the people who were out working in their gardens.

My bubble of neighborhood harmony was burst when we got to my favorite garden on the route. The owner was out watering and we complimented her on her stunning flowers. She proceeded to spew forth a tirade of hatred and malice describing how her neighbors planted trees that blocked her sunlight and how her garden used to be so beautiful and now it was ruined because of the bastards that lived next door.

It hurt my ears and my heart to hear that much bitterness.

The creating and keeping of gardens is about joy. It is about carving out a little piece of paradise to share with the world. It is about artistic expression and color palate, about growth and abundance. It is about hope - for spring, for rain, for harvest, for the cool quiet of winter when all is renewed. I run by that garden a couple of times each week. Usually it is still dark and my headlamp catches the edge of the flowers. I whisper a prayer as I pass, that joy would return to that home, that peace would return between neighbors, that the work of gardening would bring healing.

The thought of all those beautiful flowers struggling to survive in an environment of despair and death makes me want to run away.

So I do.

I love this part of gardening.

Jen gave me two rose bushes from her back yard so that she could grow veggies. The roses were very settled in her yard, as they had lived there for many, many years and I wasn’t sure if they were going to survive the move.

(This is, obviously, a lovely yellow rose that is currently adorning the fence in my front yard. It will be even lovelier when I triumph over the effing aphids.)

(This is the one I was really worried about, Jen had to cut through the main root it get it out. It is a climbing rose that will, one day, cover my ugly shed with sweet flowers. Those are chives in the foreground, companion planting rocks!)

I love gardening!

A few weeks ago it was hot in Seattle. Crazy hot. Too hot. My plants were sad. Despite my best, early-morning watering efforts leaves were turning brown and stems were drooping. I was worried.

For the last week and a half it has been wet and mild.

I think the plants will be just fine.

Start here:

Add some rocks:

And some plants:

Get some AWESOME stepping stones:

Lay out your plants:

Get dirt in your fingernails:

And smile!

…and then? Pure strawberry bliss!

These are some of my favorite plants. The flowers smell like fresh honey and it blooms for most of the summer.

Plus, I think the fairies would be very happy in them.