The scent can only be described as Heavenly... as you pass by when it's in full bloom the scene is simply breath taking.  A gentle breeze carries it's perfume wafting pass your face, you close your eyes... your olfactory senses take over...such a pleasant and peaceful experience. Her name is Sweet Autumn Clematis and she is one of my favorite vines. I have a weakness not only for climbing roses but also for this beauty.  I've planted several though the garden's and each year I fall in love a little bit more. My oldest vine climbs on the front arbor beside my breakfast patio. She has two David Austin 'Fairy' shrub roses planted at her base. Their delicate frames hold the tiny blossoms that grow in clusters covering the greenery in an airy coat of pastel pink. I love to sit at the table taking in the sensory overload that surrounds me while having my quiet time early in the morning... listening to the birds flutter about in the depths of her vines until they relax and realize it's only me... keeper of the gardens.

The Breakfast Patio has lent me many hours of relaxation and was one of the easier projects that we've tackled. We laid the black ground cover and then had five yards of pea gravel brought in for our floor. It is nicely sheltered from wind and passing cars by the front arbor, a picket fence, the house and the Banister Garden. The area affords much relaxation and is a pleasant place to visit with family and friends or to be all alone. To see the photo's of my patio and arbor during different stages, please go to my NEW blog site at www.fordragonfliesandme.wordpress.com   

Please visit Dragonflies Facebook Like and Share with all your friends at http://www.facebook.com/pages/For-Dragonflies-And-Me/550000798362651?skip_nax_wizard=true

Photographing your gardens....
I've been asked if the photos in my blogs were my own and I can happily say that the majority of them are. I've photographed everything from barns and mailboxes to horses, sheep and my favorite subject... yes you guessed it, flora! When I started photographing flowers my eye was always captivated by the intricacies of the petals, the lines and indentations of the foliage... I love my macro lens for intensely close shots. My favorite photo is of a Gerbera Daisy I took several years ago (see photo attached)... you can see the pollen on the stamens and every crinkle in the petals... it simply whispers perfection. I've tried to encourage all of my readers to take before and after shots of the garden spaces that they are creating. You will be very thankful later when you go back and see the progress that you've made. It is also great fun to share with other garden loving friends over a cup of tea... think garden journal!
Today I thought I would give a few tips on capturing that perfect shot.  
*Walk the area you want to capture and look around for the perfect angle. I've already knelt or laid down to get it.
*Experiment with different angels, I've got some great shots from a second story window looking into the branches of a tree as well as down a tree trunk.  Likewise stand directly under a tree almost touching the trunk and shoot upward.
*If taking a shot to get a distance shot, stand on the one side of the road and shoot with the angle aiming on the other side of the road; or stand dead center and watch the road turn into a point... great effect!
*Be sure to look behind the subject you want to capture- make sure there are no distractions in the background or on either side.
*Don't center the subject- divide your screen into 3 imaginary column's  |_|_|_| . Put your subject in the right or left column. Try it both ways to see what will be added within the scope of the landscape. If you are doing a close up, look to see which looks more balanced. See my Gerbera Daisy photo for an example of this. (Attached) The nice thing with this is you can use the mirror option in a graphic's program to change it is you may need to.
*Take multiple photo's to be sure you have options.
Like I always say... have fun and be creative, that's how you'll get the best results!

After a long day on your feet what could feel better than a foot rub... here is a great and super easy home made foot scrub recipe! Enjoy friends! 

Rosemary-Cornmeal Foot Exfoliate

1/4 cup rosemary infusion (tea)
2 Tbsp. ground organic rolled oats
1/3 cup organic cornmeal
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 nonmetal bowl

1. Brew a strong tea by pouring 1/4 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of fresh rosemary; cover and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
2. Using a food processor or blender, grind the oats until very fine and powdery.
3. combine cornmeal, powdered oats and the oil in a nonmetal bowl; add rosemary tea, 1 tbsp. at a time, until a smooth paste forms.

Massage each foot with the paste, scrubbing rough areas. Rinse using the remainder of the rosemary tea in the rinse water, if you like) and pat dry.
Finish by applying a moisturizing cream mixed with a few drops of rosemary essential oil.

Happy Day,
Jean www.fordragonfliesandme.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/For-Dragonflies-And-Me/550000798362651?skip_nax_wizard=true
www.wreninthewillow.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wren-In-The-Willow/137572243072292?ref=hl   

It is definitely an early spring at Cowlick Cottage Farm. This morning, I harvested the shallots that I planted last fall … a full month early. Those beautiful, pink orbs are taking a sunbath right now, drying out a bit.  Harvesting them is fun. Just take a trusty trowel and insert it deep under the entire shallot bunch. Then pop them out. Be careful not to damage the beautiful shallots! I’m going to make a shallot and lemon thyme vinaigrette to celebrate the harvest tonight. I love shallots, and the homegrown ones are ever so much more flavorful than what is available at the market (if you can even find them). 

 
A spectacular shallot harvest! 

Before the shallot harvest, I took my customary morning stroll through the garden, camera and coffee in hand. Everything is coming up roses!  Take a look at some of my buds.

  
Baby Sungold Nectarine 

This is our one-and-only nectarine from our brand new tree. I treasure it and check on it every day. We planted lots of fruit trees this year – a whole little grove, including Sungold nectarine, Satsuma, Ponderosa lemon, Meyer lemon, Key lime, and Pummelo. We already have Shinseiki pear, Alma and Celeste figs, and Flordahome peach trees in their second year. I am not expecting too much fruit from them this year. They are an investment in the future.  As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is today!

The first tomato! 

We have planted several varieties of tomatoes, mostly heirlooms. This is a little hybrid tomato called Totem. It is already loaded with fruit and will definitely be the first of the tomato harvest this year. I’ll probably dress it simply with Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and sea salt. And a bit of fresh goat cheese and herbs. Can’t wait! We are also growing Black Cherry, Purple Cherokee, San Marzano, Homestead, and a few others. Tomatoes are like shoes…you cannot have too many!

Squash blossom 

We also planted many varieties of squash…more than ever this year. There is butternut squash from our own saved seed, several varieties of heirloom pattypans, old-fashioned sugar pumpkins, and an heirloom lemon squash. We love them all.

Baby Huey and Ginger 

Our chickens, the Spice Girls, are always nosy and curious about what we are doing. We get beautiful eggs from them every day, and we reciprocate with fresh treats from the garden. They devour everything from cabbage to strawberries and herbs. 

 
Spice Girl Eggs - Fresh Daily! 

We had an abundance of eggs this week, so I used the gorgeous, rich yolks to make vanilla custard ice cream. With real vanilla bean and organic cream. Topped with barely whipped, rum-scented heavy cream. Because I’m just a little naughty!

Yolks for Vanilla Custard Ice Cream 

And if that is not decadent enough for you, I am also harvesting strawberries, and it’s been a fantastic season for them. Deep red, large, and juicy, they are Jacob’s favorite. I’m preserving some today by making old-fashioned strawberry sauce…to crown the homemade ice cream. Ta-da! 

Camarosa Strawberries 

On the ornamental side of things, the roses are amazing this year. Their color is incredibly vibrant. In my almost-wild side border, heaven-scented honeysuckle is clambering through the pink roses. Their sultry scents are heady and intoxicating. 

Rose and Honeysuckle 

Coral geraniums are planted in our huge patio pots, along with sweet potato vine and ornamental red grasses. They should be gorgeous in a month or two!

Coral Geranium 

  And a big pot of petunias with sweet potato vine and euphorbia greets family and friends at the back door.

Petunia and Euphorbia 

Gardening is rewarding in so many ways. It feeds our senses, reconnects us to nature, and makes our spirits sing!  Gardens give us hope. Are you experiencing an early spring this year? What do you dream of growing?

It’s been an unusual spring in Vermont.  A day of record breaking heat followed by a blizzard that unleashed two feet of snow on the Northeast Kingdom.

Snowy days, cold days, gunmetal gray skies, all harbingers of a season that should be long gone but I know winter can’t last forever despite what Mountain Man says. I rejoice in each frigid day knowing the cold will leave when nature decides its time and last night, my patience was rewarded..

Right at sunset.

Pink piercing the gray.

Gentle colors filtered through trees laden with buds, tired of frost.

Morning once again.  Time for barn chores.  And look what awaited me.

World of mist, hints of azure.

Sun, so long absent bringing all it illuminates into sharp relief.

Ephemeral mist.

Lending enchantment to our farm.

And I thought of this passage I had so recently read, written by Louisa May Alcott:  “Far away, there in the sunshine, are my highest aspirations.  I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and follow where they lead.”

Today I will walk into the sunshine and embrace its warmth.