Last night we devoured scallops with bacon, chard, and pasta with pesto for dinner out on the porch.  The food was as fresh as it was going to get, either from the farmers market or our own garden.  If only we could live like this every day, sigh.  Summer is too short.  But!  It's not over yet and I am hoping to trade inspiration with you.  I'll give you a recipe to help you enjoy your fresh garden veggies if you give me one!

Zucchini Pancakes (We ate the entire batch in like 20 minutes - so good) I just did an internet search and altered a recipe. Here is what I did: Take the following ingrediants and mix them all together in a bowl and then fry them up like pancakes til they are browned on each side. 1. Shredded zucchini (one large or more) 2. Three eggs 3. Two cups flour (I used gluten free baking mix) 4. Shredded hard goat cheese (Or a friend used feta) 5. Onion (I used chives and green onions) 6. Parsley 7. garlic powder 8. onion powder 9. salt and pepper to taste 10. one cup milk (i used water and goat yogurt b/c my fam can't drink the cow) ENJOY!!!

Whatcha got for me??? 

This year the Easter Bunny visited my daughter for the first time.  What did she find in her basket?  Gardening tools!  I have always viewed Easter as a celebration of spring.  Symbols of fertility, the Easter Bunny and colored eggs delight us as we awaken from a long winter.  Pastels gently boost us from shades of gray. 

My new gardening Easter tradition stems from recent visits to my grandparents.  My Grandma and aunts purchase spring bulbs - hyacinths, lilies and tulips - at their church fundraiser.  They take the flowers home after the Easter service.  I now buy myself some spring bulbs too and add them to my garden.  After finding just the right spot to plant them I love imagining their first awakenings in their new home next spring. This year I added some miniature daffodils, grape hyacinth and pink hyacinths. 

Spring time is my favorite time of year in the garden.  My imagination plays out the growth and blooming succession and it is my time to continue to build on my creation from the previous season.  The creation of my garden is a process much like how I paint a painting.  I add a little here, move some of it over here, and repeat the pattern here, a dab of yellow, purple, green, pink.  It’s meditative and renews my spirit.

I spent this Easter digging up hostas and replanting them to line the driveway alongside the preexisting row of hedges, separating purple irises and creeping phlox and creating new cluster arrangements, moving my wisteria to a sunnier spot, and of course, planting my blooming bulbs.

My neighbors probably think I am crazy.  I just stand in the front of my house staring at my yard.  In my mind I am so happy, my imagination devouring my recent efforts, enjoying the anticipation of the joy of each botanic expression throughout the season. 

This year, I will have someone to share my garden with, my little daughter.  I can’t wait to dig in the earth with her and watch her imagination run wild.