Our Garden

Every year we plant a little garden.  Nothing big, but so therapeutic.  Tomatoes, basil, snap peas (that never make it in the house because we eat them as we pick them,) and maybe some hot peppers for Mike.  

One of my favorite things about this garden is the row of little purple flowers that I plant along the front.  This year they all came back spontaneously around the garden so I dug them up and moved them to the front.  And they bloomed so beautifully!

Last year we planted 3 little raspberry plants and got like 2 berries.  This year – they exploded!  And fresh raspberries?  Oh Yeah – so YUMMY!   The first ripe one that I watched for days disappeared the moment it was ripe, I think to a bird or squirrel.  So I outsmarted the little critters and covered the bushes with some mesh.  We had a wonderful crop of berries and ate every one.

So many yummy breakfasts with whipped cream and fresh berries on crepes, bagels, waffles…Diane let me have some of her raspberries and between my bushes, her bushes and Albertsons…. I had enough to do 4 jars of raspberry jam. (She has so much sun in her backyard and her bushes are huge!)

   And then later on I bought some blackberries when I drove thru Tri-Cities and made 12 jars of blackberry jam.  (My personal favorite!)  I had forgotten how much I loved fresh picked blackberries but Tammy brought me some home that she picked herself on the Oregon coast.  MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOODNESS!!  The ones I bought were much more tart and expensive…  I love summer gardens!