Strawberry Rhubarb Rose Petal Jam Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 50 mins Total time 1 hour Recipe By: Sheila McDuffie Serves: 8 half-pints Ingredients 4 cups fresh rose petals (homegrown organic, please!) 1 cup well or bottled water 4 cups rhubarb chunks about ½-inch square 4 cups sliced strawberries, about 2…
Peony Bouquets
Kendra and Eduardo are home for a visit. The last few peonies were still in bloom and Kendra’s wedding dress still hung in the bedroom upstairs, so we did a bridal photo shoot. I love photographing peonies. They’re no shrinking violets. The pink peonies are sweet perfection for the bridesmaids. These peonies were planted for…
Tree Peonies
Guess what I splurged on (ssshhhh, don’t tell Lewis)? I’ve wanted a tree peony for ages. Here she is. -Sheila
Hellebore – Lenten Rose
There’s not much out in the garden yet to pair with these delightful hellebore flowers. They are much too sophisticated to hang out with daffodils. Their exquisite beauty works singularly, en masse, luckily. This frilly double white below is graceful with just a few blooms. After this photo, I snipped them to about 7-inches long…
Spring Fever
Happy Spring Everyone! Sheila
Dahlias
Left to Right: * Sellwood Glory * Cafe Au Lait * Maki * Iceberg * LÁncresse * B-Man Here is my order from Swan Island Dahlias. I’ve borrowed their photographs because I await some brown, somewhat sweet potato-shaped tubers. These magnificent…
Peony Flowers
Almost Georgia O’Keefe. When I was studying life drawing back in the 1970’s at The Art Student’s League in NYC, they had an exhibition of past students’ paintings in the large hall. When I walked in, across the room on the adjacent wall, I immediately spotted a very small still-life. Rabbit, copper pot, probably some…
Late Summer Flowers
These are some of the flowers I grew for my daughter’s wedding last month. Dahlias, zinnias, and cosmos. They really come into their full glory in August and September, hanging on until the first frost. Dahlia tubers need to be dug up 2 weeks after the first killing frost and stored through the winter. No…
Forcing Spring Bulbs
I had a book – Paradise Contained – with pictures of the most glorious bulbs grown in pots. The photographs would seem a little dated now; color preferences have changed and we’re a bit more sophisticated. There are a few things about starting your own bulbs indoors that make the time spent extremely worthwhile. Although…