My Favorite Viburnums

 I have really fallen in love with viburnums over the years. It all started when we bought our home in 2004 and there was planted a Shoshoni Doublefile Viburnum.  The shrub started out small, planted between a peach tree and a royal star magnolia.  With a little bit of compost each year, it has now completely outgrown it's expected size range and has overtaken the space.  I've trained it to be a small tree rather than a shrub.  I love the shade it offers the shade-loving perennials under it.  Each year it grows bigger and bigger!  This next year, I need to consider pulling or transplanting the two trees on either side of it.

Another favorite of mine is the Eastern Snowball.  I just love the happy, white snowballs that blossom this time of year.  They remind me of cheerleaders!  One feature that I love about this variety are the generous blossoms they give.  Even the smaller, younger shrubs produce lots of blooms.  I have a few smaller shrubs growing around my garden and they each bloom every year.  I love the way the snowball blossoms look in a vase or in an arrangement.

A few other varieties that I have growing in my garden that I love are Korean Spice, Burkwood, Pink Dawn,  and Diana Koreanspice.  They are all so hardy, add great color throughout the seasons, and some of them smell so wonderful.   Here's a great link that explains more about viburnums.  If can't say enough about viburnums!

Let It Grow

We've been so busy around here, life hasn't allowed much time for working in the garden.  We've had family in town and have taken a couple out of town trips.  Over the weekend, after being away for a few days, I came to an overgrown garden that seemed like it had grown several feet while I was away!

I reflected on how easy gardening can be if I let it.  No fuss, no weeding, no digging; just letting things be.  I let the rainy days take care of the watering and the breaks of sunshine take care of the feeding.  Sometimes it's just nice to sit back and let things take care of themselves.  Of course, the grass will eventually need to be mowed and unwanted weeds taken care of.  But for now, I'm just enjoying time with family and letting my garden be.

Lavender Lemonade

Between my parent's home and mine, we have nearly 30 lavender bushes of different varieties that grow big and happy each summer.  Several of our English lavenders are in bloom right now, so my mom, my boys and I spent the weekend cutting fresh bouquets.  The lavandins are still a little ways off from blooming.  For now, we're enjoying the fresh bouquets hanging from our family room beams.

When I was in college, I worked at a cute little cafe that doubled as an antique store.  It was quaint and filled with all sorts of things that I adored.  I had my first taste of lavender lemonade there and thought it was such a refreshing treat during the hot summer days.  Since then, I make it every summer when lavender is in bloom.  Here's my very simple, very flexible recipe for a sugar-free lavender lemonade.  I hope you're enjoying these late spring/ early summer days, we sure are!

Lavender Lemonade

1 cup hot water

1 cup (about two handfuls) dried or fresh lavender buds

1 cup honey

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2-3 cups cold water

Start by making a simple syrup of with equal amounts of honey, dried or fresh lavender and hot water.  Let it steep for several minutes.  Add an equal amount of fresh lemon juice.  Dilute to your liking with cold water; I usually add 2-3 times the amount of cold water.  Adjust the sweetness/ tartness by adding more honey, more lavender or more lemon juice.  Enjoy!

A Favorite Corner

Just as in my home, I find little corners of my garden that seem to speak to me more than others.  This little nook is one of them.

Three years ago, there was a giant cedar tree here that was unhealthy and needed to be taken down.  I felt horrible having to remove it, thinking of how long it had been there and home many animals called that giant tree home. But for safety reasons, it was necessary.  With it's absence, a huge covering was lifted and sun was able to reach parts that it wasn't before.  And I've had fun filling the space with pretty perennials and bird feeders.

Seattle has some great garden shows throughout the season.  My favorite one, Sorticuluture, is coming up this weekend.  It's held in my hometown, just up the road from me.  If you're lucky enough to live in the Seattle area, I encourage you to attend!  I always find fun things to add to my garden, plants and garden art that you wouldn't find in regular nurseries.  Three of my favorites that are in this little corner are Meadow Rue Anne, Dwarf Ranunculus, and a copper bird feeder.

Happy Gardening, Friends!

Herb Infused Vinegars

My edible garden is starting to bloom around these corners!  Several of my herbs are happy as clams and showing their pretty blossoms.  Rosemary is still holding steady, chives are showing off right now, as are some of my sage and thyme plants.  As the weeks and months progress, additional sage varieties will blossom, peppermint will start showing it's colors and lavender will soon be in full swing.

I always enjoy snipping herb blossoms and using them in salads and other recipes.  One of my favorite ways of using herbs is infusing their blossoms in oils, vinegars, sugars and salts.  Today, I wanted to share a few photos of my process of infusing herb blossoms in vinegar.

It's very easy and gives such a nice added flavor to recipes that call for vinegar.  I start with gathering my supplies and sterilizing them (not necessary, but helpful).  Snip and wash your blossoms then pack inside a jar or glass bottle.  Fill the remaining space with vinegar, cover and refrigerate.  That's it!  Stir every now and them to mix the flavors.  The longer you let them steep, the stronger the flavor will be.

It's fun to experiment with different types of herb and vinegar combinations.  In these photos I used chamomile and lavender mixed with white wine vinegar, sage mixed with rice vinegar, thyme blossoms mixed with balsamic vinegar and chive blossoms mixed with red wine vinegar.

A few weeks ago, I tasted the most delicious raspberry infused vinegar, it was heavenly.  I also had a small piece of lavender infused caramel, which I'm so excited to try making later this summer when my lavender is in full bloom.

Have fun, and enjoy!

Favorite Fillers

Today I wanted to share 4 of my favorite plants to use as gap fillers in my garden.

My absolute favorite gap fillers are hostas.  I just love how their big, lush green foliage fills in around their neighboring plants.  They come in a variety of solid and variegated greens.  Some are flowering while others simply boast beautiful green foliage.  They're easy to thin, so transplanting and spreading to other areas around the garden helps you receive more bang for your buck.  This year, I've thinned quite a few of my hostas, which makes them look sparse at the moment.  But I know in the coming months, they will fill right in and cover up the gaps that are around them.  They do well in shade, so they work great under larger tress or in areas that don't receive much light.

(Shade loving hosta, lady fern, and solomon's seal.  They were tiny 4 inch transplants a few weeks ago but each have already tripled in size)

(Variegated Hosta growing under a Shoshoni Viburnum)

Another favorite are Shasta Daisies.  They may not typically be used as a "filler" plant, but I appreciate their pretty green foliage and how they tend to mold in open areas around them.  Who knows why, but these guys love my yard.  I've already divided several times a tiny little 4 inch plant that I purchased four years ago.  In early Spring, they are very easy to thin and transplant in new areas.  I've also given many away as gifts.  Although they bloom later in the summer, I enjoy their pretty green foliage this time of year.  They are happiest in full sun, but also do well in part shade.

(Thick Chamomile foliage that grows in full sun on the left, Shasta Daisy foliage in the center)

Chamomile, which is considered a weed in some parts of the world, is another plant that isn't typically thought of as a filler.  In my garden however, I love how their delicate, lace-like leaves spread all over and fill in gaps.  I grow both varieties - Roman (a perennial) and German (a self-seeding annual).  Both varieties spread wherever they want and give pretty little blossoms all summer long.  Some gardeners keep them under control in containers.  Their tiny seeds spread like fire in late summer and they can be considered invasive, but I actually like the way they take over open spaces.  They love full sun, where their foliage gets full and thick.  They'll grow in shade and will still flower, however the foliage won't be as full.  In the cooler spring months here in Seattle, they start of tall, thin and leggy.  But come July and August, these little plants will bulk up in volume.

(Leggy Chamomile in bloom)

My favorite plant to cover lower ground areas is Irish Moss.  I just love the varying tones of green and how it fills in around stones, pavers and bricks.  I wish it grew faster, in my garden this is a slower growing plant and has taken several seasons to fill in just small areas.  Come summer though, I love the tiny white blossoms that shoot out of the compact green foliage and appreciate how much it's grown over the years.

What are some of your favorite plants to use as gap fillers in your garden?  I'd love to hear of any success/ failure stories you may have.