Community Supported Agriculture

Hubby and I signed up for a spring membership with a local organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. We got our first box the other day and it was filled with all sorts of wonderful surprises.

Our box included D'Anjou pears and Pink Lady apples...

...green kale, arugula, mizuna, turnips, and micro mix, ...

...and a lovely assortment of portobello and crimini mushrooms (which the farm is known for)...

...Red Chieftan potatoes...

...and a lovely loaf of fresh baked bread!

Our first CSA meal was a penne dish with arugula pesto, portobello mushrooms, organic fennel sausage and Greek olives.

Hubby made this meal and it was delicious. It tasted just like summer.

Note: To find a CSA in your area, go here.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea are one of my favorite flowers. Last summer I planted twenty hydrangea bushes. The varieties are Endless Summer, Limelight, All Summer Beauty, Little Lamb, Nikko Blue, Greenspire and one climbing variety.

I love their country elegance and their larger than life blossoms.

I'm not sure what variety these are, but like the Limelight variety, they have beautiful pale green blossoms. I have to trim the stems almost daily to keep them smiling. Perhaps because the blossom heads are so large.

This variety has smaller blossoms and doesn't need as much trimming. I've had these for about two weeks now and they're still very bright and fresh looking.

I can't wait until my hydrangeas are blossoming. Many have started to leaf out but I'm afraid blossoms are still many, many weeks away.

But they're so worth the wait.

All Things Spring

You know it's truly spring when the orchards are on the verge of blossoming. Very soon the valley and hills will be twinkling with little pink and white flowers so deliciously beautiful that you'll want to walk down orchard row upon orchard row trying to take them all in.

Meet my new friend. She lives on a sheep farm down the road and she's fulfilling my desire to make new furry friends. My sweet adorable alpacas (here) have been moved to another field so the sheep are my new adorables to stop and say hello to. And she's the perfect kind of furry friend...completely squeezable!

Indoors, spring is shining brightly through the white ranunculus on our bedroom dresser.

And of course the heavenly pink ranunculus on my nightstand. Can you kiss a flower? What would Hubby think if I leaned over and kissed my ranunculus before we went to sleep at night? I'm afraid he'd think it was fairly normal behavior.

My new spring bonnet is the latest addition to my spring 'wardrobe'. I found it at an antique store and it simply made me smile. Do you think I should wear it on Easter? Do you think it will 'go' with jeans and a warm sweater?

Happy Easter dear friends.

xoTrina

Pink, Silver and White

As the ranunculus started to show signs of fading, I trimmed their stems and gathered them up into two small arrangements. I just love, love, love the combination of the pink, silver and white on the kitchen shelves.

I also love how their centers look like the little bum of a bumble bee.

What I love most about flowers is their heavenly power to completely embrace you with their intoxicating beauty.

I left the milk glass vase arrangement on the kitchen shelf...

...and placed the mint julep arrangement on my nightstand so that I may open and close my eyes to their mesmerizing beauty.

Ranunculus

My Mom always planted ranunculus in my Grandmother's garden every spring. I always think of the them oohing and ahhing over these full feathered flowers whenever I see them.

They make me smile...them and these.

I wish they'd last forever.

First Farm Cut Flowers

I stopped in at the flower farm yesterday. I thought for sure they would be open by now as I could see the the bright yellow daffodils smiling so happily out in the fields. But they're still busy with their spring yard work, getting ready for opening day the first week of April.

Nevertheless, the owner greeted me with a smile (I'm a loyal customer you see) and insisted that I take a pail (I happened to bring one along) and cut as many daffodils as I'd like (I had my clippers too). As she put it, she'd rather see them enjoyed than fade away out in the fields all alone (me too).

The fields felt so quiet compared to the time when all the flowers are growing here in the summer. But seeing the eager daffodils all bright eyed and bushy tailed against the slowly awakening landscape was a a good sign that more flowers are soon to follow...like these and these.

I love the bonnet-shaped face of this variety of daffodil. And there were lots of them...lots of smiling faces basking under the soft late winter sun.

The owner of the flower farm joined me out in the fields to pick a pail of her own so I was able to get some clarification on cutting daffodil and tulip stems for arrangements.

The gooey sap of the daffodil flower contains calcium oxalate crystals. When their stems are cut, the sap starts to flow and is poisonous to other cut flowers. If you'd like to mix daffodils with other cut flowers, you should soak the fresh cut daffodil stems over night (this makes the sap stop flowing). The next day, rinse the stems under water before putting them in the vase with the other flowers.

Also, the information I was given previously on not cutting your tulip stems was false. Tulips do not have the same toxic sap as daffodils and therefore are fine to cut and arrange with other flowers.



Since I've been in a tulip craze for the past several weeks (yes, more white tulips!), I did a little more research when I got home. I found that you should always re-cut your tulip stems. Cutting the stems opens up the flowers uptake channels allowing them to take in the water they need and therefore extending its vase life. It's also suggested that you refresh or change the water daily.

By far, the most fascinating realization I unearthed during my tulip research is that unlike other flowers, tulips continue to grow after they've been cut. They also tend to grow towards sources of light, which is why tulips seem to arrange themselves (they're interior designers at heart) in the vase.

Another way of looking at it was explained by David Caras of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Center in New York City. As he put it, tulips prefer to "dance in the vase." Unlike other flowers, "they refuse to stand still."

I just love that.

Tending the Grapes

It's time to start thinking about our grapes, which is a wonderful feeling. It's the first sure sign that winter is happily behind us and that the warmer months are sure to come.

Every year about this time, Hubby enthusiastically sets out to prune the grape vines. Since taking over the neglected vines four years ago, he's been experimenting with various pruning practices and we're feeling pretty good about our first true crop this fall.

Here's a quick glimpse of a prior year's harvest.

We're more eager than ever for an abundant crop this year because we've finally decided what to do with all those grapes! We're going to make our first batch of Concord grape wine, grape juice and grape jelly to give to family and friends for the holidays.

The following are just a few examples of wine label templates I found online here.

I like the rich warmth of this gold label.

I also like the softness of the pale green.

This green and fuchsia label would be especially festive for the holidays.

While Hubby patiently pruned, a certain someone wasn't far from his side.

Both were out until dusk.

2 very different, but beautiful houses. Which do you prefer?

Incase you haven't noticed, I've been loving Country Living Mag. lately. Don't be fooled, it's not all chintzy florals and rooster collections, they have a great grasp on what it means as a lifestyle. It can be modern, retro, or casual, and it's not your grandma's "country." Anyway, in their Feb. issues they featured two houses, both very different, and both worth sharing.


House 1 - simple with a Scandinavian design smarts





I like the home office/sewing room in the photo above.

Home 2 showcases great antique finds - some splurges, some bargains.


Don't worry, the zebra skin is faux.


So, which home is more you!?

images via Country Living Feb. 2010

A beautiful shabby chic Savannah cottage with some Scandinavian flavor

February is a great month for the home decor magazines. I had a stack waiting for me when I returned from Spain, and I've never used so many page markers! I thought I'd start off sharing all the things inspired me with this light and pretty Savannah cottage- which was condemned when the couple bought it for $29,000. I have a crush on Savannah so my ears always perk at the name!


*hint: click on any image for a giant version!


I really like this simple, clean kitchen

I like the bedding and nightstand here, but I think all the objects above the headboard are a bit much. What do you think?

I really like flat(ish) weave, striped rugs. I really, really like them when they're only $2.99 like the one above from Ikea.

Read more about this adorable cottage in Country Living's February 2010 Bargain Issue