Bloom Thyme Friday: Hyperion Daylilies

July 27, 2013July 26, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This week the garden is filled with color but most of the color is not coming from the roses. This is the time for the rose companions to take center stage.

One of the flowers taking center stage is the Hyperion Daylily.

Few perennials are as easy and as rewarding as the Hyperion Daylily. This is truly an oldie but a goodie. It has been around since 1924. Even though it is super easy, it is well behaved and doesn’t move around too quickly and doesn’t need dividing for several years.

However, it is very easy to divide and share. I can’t tell you have many “starts” of my Hyperion Daylilies I have given away through the years. Happy am I each year with this lovely plant blooms.

And, oh by the way, it has a lite and lovely fragrance! 🙂

Here are some other lovely blooms in my garden this week…

What is taking center stage in your garden this week?

P. Allen and Pesto

July 20, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

For weeks I have been in the mood for pesto! Maybe it’s because I saw a video by P. Allen Smith for Arugula Pesto and I love Arugula! Or, maybe it’s because my garden friend, Diane LaSauce, posted recently about Kale Pesto (recipe here) and about the pesto she makes and takes to her local farmer’s market.

I decided this weekend was the perfect time. But, when I looked at my trusty food processor, I knew I wanted to upgrade. So, I asked my garden/cooking friends on Facebook Garden 2 Blog page what food processor they would recommend and everyone said Cuisinart.

A quick trip to Costco and I had my shiny, new food processor and was ready to get started.

P. Allen has a super easy video on making the Arugula Pesto…

This was SOOOOO delish and so easy. Give it a try.

What do you think I should make next in my shiny, new food processor!

Beetle Mania

July 12, 2013July 12, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Every year about this time I find my self in the throes of Beetle Mania as the Japanese Beetles have converged on my garden. Seems they love all the things I love … roses, plums, flowers, grape vines and on and on. Year after year my plants have turned black as they were covered with thousands of these ugly, plant-eating bugs just munching away.

Ugly little critter via Wikipedia... — Ugly little critter via Wikipedia…

But, not this year. They aren’t here. And, before I celebrate, I have questions…

What happened?
Are they coming later?
Is this the end of the world?
Is this the result of the past two years of drought?
Is this the result of a very, very, very rainy spring and early summer?

Are you having them in your garden? Fewer than usual? What do you think happened to them?

The Real Beatlemania

All this talk about beetles makes me think of the REAL Beatlemania. I still miss the Beatles. Do you remember when they were on the Ed Sullivan show? I do. I was screaming. Just saying…

Time to swoon…