Stuff is POPPING out Everywhere ;)

Flee!

Flee fly flow!

Vista,

cumala, cumala Vista.

Oh, no, no, no, not the Vista

Eeny-meeny-desimeeny...

A new Lilac Lilacs that have been here since this home was built @ 120 years ago Lilacs I transplanted from the Niece of the original owners lived in what is now our home

Lilacs over Sarah's Koi Pond

Poppy

Iris almost ready to burst forth

Ferns

YUMMY! Check it out!

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Facts on Fiddleheads

Shrimp and Fiddlehead Medley

Purple asparagus originated from a region around Albenga, Italy. This "cultivar" is known as Violetto d/Albenga. Although the spears are of deep purple color, the ferns are actually green. The farmers in Albenga region propagate the plants using seeds from open pollination. Seeds are usually collected from vigorous female plants producing large spears. ~~

Purple hybrids produce larger spears but fewer in number per plant than the green hybrids Green, White and Purple!

To keep the purple in asparagus, add acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to its cooking water. The acid anchors the red pigment, anthocyanin. If you don't do this, the color fades to green--a bit extravagant, because you pay a premium for the purple. Dishes that maximize purple asparagus's color maximize its value, as in the purple, white, and green asparagus platter and the citrus salad. To keep the purple in asparagus, add acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to its cooking water. The acid anchors the red pigment, anthocyanin. If you don't do this, the color fades to green--a bit extravagant, because you pay a premium for the purple. Dishes that maximize purple asparagus's color maximize its value, as in the purple, white, and green asparagus platter and the citrus salad. ~~~~~~~~

Purple Asparagus recipes

Spring Tabbouleh Recipe

used it raw here.

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Blueberries the kids called them boo babies the picture shows the blossom that sure looks like pantalets to me

Sweet Shrub Scientific Name

Calycanthus floridus

Common NameSweet shrub; Sweet Betsy, Carolina allspice

SWEET SHRUB (Strawberry Bush, Sweet Shade)Sweet Shrub is native to the Appalachian stream banks of the Smokies, where it is also known as Carolina Allspice, Strawberry Bush, Sweet Shade, and Bubby Blossom. Women used to place the flowers in their bodices as a perfume, hence the name "Bubby Blossom". Sweet shrub was once commonly found as an ornamental around colonial homes, especially south of the Mason-Dixon line. Several large bushes can fill a small yard with the combined fragrance of strawberry, cantaloupe, spiced apple, and burgundy wine. Sweet shrub has a distinctive maroon-red flower about 2" across. It is pollinated by small beetles that were the first pollinators of flowering plants and were instrumental in the evolution of flowering plants, long before bees and flies appeared on the scene. When the flower first opens it has the fragrance of spiced apples as it opens over a period of 7 to 10 days. Flowers first appear in mid-March with a flush of flowers in April, and a trailing out through May. Even the leaves are fragrant when rubbed, and in the fall they turn a sunny yellow. In colonial times the cinnamon-flavored bark was used as a seasoning. Sweet shrubs are ideal for planting close to the house near a window where the fragrance may drift indoors. Plant additional plants by a favor-ite path or sitting area. Will flower splendidly in full sun, but is best adapted to light shade. Flowers in 2 to 3 years from seed. Medicinal: Useful for damp spleen. An excellent herb for moving stagnant chi. The leaves, twigs, and buds have diaphoretic properties. An emmenagogue, and possibly has some anti-viral activity.

The seed pod