Beauty in the Garden

With all the rain the iris are looking great. This Orris root iris was a present from Jane. The roots are dried and ground to make a fixative for potpourri, but not by me. I like the flowers too much.

The sweet cicely, Myrrhis odorata is beginning to bloom. I have already harvested some leaves to mix with fruit, reducing the need for sugar , but it's the green seeds that I watch for so that I can chop them into fruit salad. The have a delightful licorice flavor that adds a special sweetness. I've tried freezing them for later use , but like so many things they are best fresh.

The first two beautiful blue flax flowers on my Linium perenne are a welcome sight. I can't say enough about this plant. These lovely blue flowers will last one day, but tomorrow and tomorrow... new flowers will appear. The delicate foliage makes for a graceful plant that is gorgeous for a very long time.

Last year Ed transplanted a wild columbine from the woods to the shade garden. This plant is usually delicate with one or two flower stems. Ed's super soil obviously had a big impact on this plant. It's putting on quite a display. It must be happy there.

We were delighted to see a red-bellied woodpecker in the garden this morning. From what we could tell it was a female. The black and white speckled feathers on her back were magnificent. Sorry I couldn't get a picture.

Both Ed and I did some morning weeding. We made some good progress, but as soon as things dried off, Ed tackled the meadow grass with his mower. It's very long and will have to be raked. Thank goodness Ed likes to do it.

Sweet Cicely

This is a beautiful plant. It's a perennial, has a neat habit, lacy fern like foliage and fragrant flowers. That's a lot, but with this plant there is more.

The leaves chopped and added to a strawberry rhubarb pie reduce the amount of sugar needed.

The young green seeds have a delightful licorice flavor. I frequently sample them while working in the garden. Chopped seeds turn an plain unsugared fruit salad into a gourmet treat. Garnish it with the flowers and leaves and you have a work of art! I always freeze some seeds in a zip lock bag for late summer and winter fruit salads.

Later the seeds become woody and then turn dark brown. They are no longer good to eat, but have been used for furniture polish.

This plant grows well from fresh seed planted in the fall. As with many plants that self-seed well, you can have the same success by planting the seeds at that same time. If you can't get fresh seed from a gardening friend, you need to look for a plant.