Up Close and Personal

Since I began gardening, I feel more "in tune" with our surroundings and those that inhabit them. A bit of history - my mom is the true gardener. Growing up, I detested the bugs and dirt. I rarely helped my mother in the garden except to pick the vegetables. Who would have thought that I would get this up close and personal with a bee? I sat there harvesting my basil plants while this busy bee was feeding on my sedum. It was so entertaining. Isn't nature grand?!



On the other hand, this little devil was feeding away on my tomato plants.

Cathedral Bells

The name of this flower caught my eye last year as I shopped for new seeds. My husband and I were married in a cathedral, so these remind me of our wedding day. On Gardener's Network, I read that they were difficult to start, but once it got going, there's no stopping this vine. Best of all, it's a fall bloomer so you can still have something of interest blooming in the garden during the colder months.



Isn't she a beauty? To me they look like the skirts of fairies! Yesterday, the flower was still lime green. Today it is a shade of lilac and soon it will be a vibrant purple.

Mon Petit Chou

My husband's grandmother is Polish, so he loves this! I usually make this with a head of cabbage, but I bought these adorable brussel sprouts at the farmer's market that were too adorable to pass up. This is a great fall/winter dish to cozy up with a pair of sweatpants.



Brown some onions and bacon in butter. There's nothing in the world better than onions, bacon and butter. Can you use turkey bacon? NO. Don't mess up my recipe! If you use turkey bacon for any reason other than religious, go no further.



Add the onions and brussel sprouts. Let them sweat a little and get brown.



Then add the slices of kielbasa. Let them brown and get all yummy.



Here's my secret ingredient. A bottle of beer! Turn up the heat and add the beer. It gets all bubbly and delicious.



Allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Enjoy it with some egg noodles and beet horseradish!

Why "mon petit chou"? It's french for my little cabbage. Both the hubs and I took french in school and mon petit chou is our little pet name for one another. Sssshhh No one knows.

Backyard "Truffles"

As I was walking through the enchanted forest that is my back yard, I tripped over what looked like a big magic white rock. I looked back and picked up the magic rock. It was no rock at all. It was a magic fungus!



Curiouser and curiouser...



I broke it in half to see what was inside. I wondered if it was like Alice in Wonderland. One side will make you grow shorter and one side will make you grow TALLER! Alas, I need some of that!



Looks like crusty bread. Serve with french onion soup. Bon Appetit! (Just kidding. You can't eat this!)

Lavender Bundles

Last week I trimmed our lavender bush and assembled a beautiful bouquet to place in our home. It was so rewarding to reuse something from the garden in your home.

Just when you think it's over...

Since last week's "final" count up we've had a "few" more stragglers.

• 62 more tomatoes
• 1 zucchini
• 1 watermelon
• 4 bell peppers
• 9 eggplants

The eggplants are really beautiful now. I don't think they liked the drought and heat in August.



As I weeded today, I found this little guy hiding amongst the leaves. It's the size of soccer ball.