Mueller field in bloom

Poppies and flax and chicory, oh my. I've been meaning to take my camera to the fields along 51st street in the Mueller development for a couple of months now. And today turned out to be the perfect day. They make me happy every time I pass them. Why can't every developer throw out wildflower seeds?

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - March 2009

Finally some sun this afternoon! A lot of things are on the verge of blooming, and everything's a bit beat down by the rain, but:

A bee getting the end of the mountain laurel blooms.


Purple trailing lantana has enlarged its footprint over the years.


Sweet smelling alyssum attracts a visitor.


Okay, geraniums might be trite, but I love them.


The last of the pear tree blossoms; this tree is actually the neighbor's behind me, but a pear or two always seem to hang over the fence into my yard.


More borrowed landscape. This tree is between my house and the one next door, and I have no idea what it is. Scrawny tree, wisteria-like blooms.


More freesia. I need to pick some of these this afternoon.

After the rain

So nice to have real rain! Just over 2 inches since Wednesday, according to the gauge, with a slight possibility of more tomorrow. And then sun (and warmth) on Monday. The lawn's about to go crazy. Here's what's going in the back right now:

The cool weather veggies, like chard, kale, and mache, are loving this. Fennel and dill, too. The shallots are looking great, and beet and radish seedlings are coming along. I planted one tomato in this bed Monday, and it's hanging in there with no help from me. The freesia bulbs I planted three falls ago are a bit crowded but still producing the most amazing scented flowers (except for the white ones which smell like pepper). My own mini cutting garden.


And these are 7 of the 8 tomatoes I picked up at the Sunshine Community Garden sale last weekend. Definitely a case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach...or full-sun spots, anyway. These back beds really only get anything approaching full sun in the winter when the cottonwood and hackberry are bare. Guess I'll be buying lots of pots at Home Depot in the next few days, since these guys really need to get in some dirt soon.

These inland sea oats are thriving on the rain barrel runoff.

Evolution of daffodils

I stopped off at the Randall's grocery yesterday afternoon, and they had 10 stem bunches of daffodils for $1.50! 20 beautifully cheery flowers for $3. Here they are just after I put them in water, three hours later, and again this morning.

Blooming today

Another gorgeous day here, and spring is coursing through the plant veins. This is the first year my redbud (planted by birds 4 or 5 years ago) has bloomed. And the geraniums are loving the sunny days/cool nights. Can't wait for the pink jasmine and mountain laurel buds to open. Freesia should be in flower within the next week. Yay!

Sunrise

Couldn't resist taking a shot of the sunrise Thursday morning.

Blood Orange Frozen Yogurt

I bought some blood oranges about a week ago because 'tis season for all things citrus (and they seem so cool). But with easy-to-peel, flavorful satsumas around, I kept skipping over them. So, I decided they'd go in some frozen yogurt along with some vanilla bean. It turned out to be the best sort of tart-sweet yogurt (not the overly jam-sweet of US yogurt), and I used the leftover unfrozen yogurt to pour over waffles. Why is there not more orange yogurt around?

This frozen yogurt has a beautiful bubblegum pink color, but sorbet would be much better for showcasing the deep red color. I'll have to give that a try next. Also, a full vanilla bean might be in order.

BLOOD ORANGE FROZEN YOGURT
32 oz plain yogurt
1/2 vanilla bean
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup blood orange juice

Drain yogurt in cheesecloth-lined sieve, covered and chilled, for 12 hours. Discard liquid. Put sugar, water, and half vanilla bean in small saucepan; heat until sugar dissolves. Remove vanilla bean and reserve; put syrup in fridge to chill. Combine yogurt, oj, syrup. Scrape in vanilla bean seeds and whisk together. Put in ice cream maker and make according to instructions.