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.

First tomatoes

So, just cherry tomatoes and one yellow pear so far, but it was still exciting to pick the first batch this morning.

Freesia

This is my favorite cut flower: the scent, the cheerful colors, the ease of growing it. Plus, it's a reminder that spring is officially here and I need to get myself out and plant veggies.

Fall Asters

These flowers produce an amazing burst of color for a week or two alongside my driveway, then they're fairly unnoticeable for the other 50 weeks of the year.

Today's fruit & blooms

'Juliet' tomatoes in a pot on the patio, straggling through summer.

The cypress vine came up from last year's seed, and the blooms are white, deep rose or red.

This variegated hibiscus needs to be repotted; it just started blooming recently.


I'm not sure what this flower is...maybe from the calendula seed that I threw out?