New Swallowtail!!

I left home with a chrysalis on the counter and came home to...

Butterfly Garden - List of Plants - Zone 7

Here is a list of the plants currently in my butterfly garden:

• Butterfly bush (white)
• Bee balm
• Aster
• Salvia (variety)
• Marigolds
• Cosmos
• Hyssop
• Flat leaf parsley
• Dill
• Yarrow (yellow & peach)
• Confederate jasmine
• Lantana
• Verbena (tall leggy & purple)
• Coreopsis
• Climbing hydrangea (not doing well)
• Unknown shrubs (2)

I have noticed this year that the butterflies spend a lot of time in the tops of my photinia's and white pine. I think they like the dense canopy.

Butterfly's in the Garden!

I am so excited about and proud of my butterfly garden!  Here are a few of the visitors I've managed to capture on film this year.

Monarch on Buddlea (Butterfly Bush)

Horace's Duskywing Skipper on Salvia leaf

Lola & the Swallowtail (perched on cosmos)

Grey Hairstreak on purple Verbena

Green Lynx Spider at home on a Cosmo plant

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Butterfly Bush

The Madness of Oak leaf Hydrangea's!

Oak leaf hydrangea's, Maple, cast iron plants

My big Labor Day 2010 project was to plant 3 Oak leaf hydrangea's.  Under a 60 year old Maple tree of unknown variety.  Hence, the "madness!"

I knew it was going to be a tough dig.  What I didn't know was that it wasn't going to be so much of a dig as a hack at the teeny spaces between the giant roots, curse, take a deep breathe, remember that I love gardening, hack...repeat.  Eventually, I found three decent spots under the tree which were not anywhere near where my landscape plan showed planting the oak leafs, but that's ok.  They are in and I think they look fantastic.

I also dug up and divided some cast iron plants and pocket planted them amongst the hydrangea's and along the slope behind the Maple.  I relocated a coral bell and painted fern that were not happy elsewhere in the garden.  After watering everything in, I sat down with a big glass of ice cold water and enjoyed the view.

Mushroom Pomodoro

or, at least that's what I'm going to call it!

Ingredients: sea shell pasta, mushrooms, tomatos, garlic, green onion, red pepper flakes, olive oil, basil, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.  Adjust ingredients based on how many servings you'd like to make.

Boil pasta, drain, reserve some pasta water
sauté mushrooms & garlic in olive oil (quite possibly the BEST smell on this planet!)
add diced fresh tomato
add pat of butter
little more olive oil
chiffonade basil, add to heated mixture right before you toss with pasta - - give it just a second or two on the heat.
Combine all ingredients.
Add pasta water as necessary - if it's dry.
Grate fresh parm on top, serve immediately.

Delicious!!  Very tasty post yoga vegetarian dinner.  Enjoy!
If you try it out, let me know what you think in the comments.

Something's in the air

We’re experiencing a major heat wave, which is miserable. I am having the BEST day, just wanted to share.

Car Repair updates & a delicious dish!

Betcha were worried, you hadn't heard from me in awhile!  Well, the SAAB A-C recharge went just fine.  This post is about the most yummy linguini primavera!

I am trying very hard to eat a little more healthily, locally and creatively.  Here's the result!

Ingredient List: linguini, fresh red and green peppers, white onion, broccoli, diced tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, zucchini, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, chicken broth.  I also had a chance to use some fresh herbs from my garden - basil, curly parsley and dill.