Postcards from the Garden

I so wish I could share the heavenly fragrance of this garden with you!

This was the calm before the storm in the side garden . . .
Below: Climbing Abraham Darby (David Austin English rose) In the far background, growing over the gate Climbing Don Juan

If you have roses, or rose covered garden arches, showers of rose petals are inevitable  --unless you're vigilant about dead-heading. (Dead-heading means removing the spent blossoms.)

the weather is usually quite 'changeable' for Memorial Day weekend, and this year was no exception.
Yesterday was a mix of brilliant blue skies, changing to overcast,  some light sprinkles a pattern which repeated throughout the day  . . . then the high winds whipped up in the late afternoon ~ 


David Austin English rose 'climbing 'Eden'. In the background, climbing 'Zephirine Drouhin' (French Bourbon Rose)

which wreaked havoc on the rose arches . . .


Close up, full blown (Eden)

I'm glad I was able to capture a couple of shots of one or two of the rose arches over the path just moments before the wind had its way.
*sigh*
I'm going out now to mend/tieback/clip and do major petal clean-up right now.


I hope you all had a nice long weekend ~ Happy Tuesday!

xo ~mari

Rose Petal Jam and 5 Minute Artisan Bread

At the end of the blooming season before our first freeze, I gather some rose petals to make a few jars of Rose Petal Jam.
I garden organically, no pesticides and natural fertilizer, so the blossoms are completely edible. There is no color added to the jam, its color is the result of the petals you choose. The most fragrant roses make the most flavorful jam.I used a mix of David Austin English pink roses, and several blooms from the Don Juan (deep red) climbers that grow over the arched gate at the entrance to the main rose garden.


Usually the jam is a very delicate pink, but this time (because of the red Don Juan petals), the color was much more intense ~ a little deeper than usual.( If you like the hand crafted serving board in these photos, you will want to go by Thibeault's "The Vancouver Island Gallery" to see the gorgeous hand-crafted wood offerings to learn more. )

The process is very simple ~ just the washed rose petals, lemon juice, water and sugar, and pectin (to assist in thickening).Since this jam will be used up and given away, I don't process it for longer storage. It is kept in the refrigerator or freezer and is best used within a couple of weeks.


I wish I could share the intense fragrance and delicate flavor of homemade Rose Petal Jam, it is absolutely heavenly.


It makes a fine spread for scones, biscuits, muffins, waffles or pancakes, etc. as well as your favorite bread ~ in this case the Five-Minute a Day Artisan bread.The sweetness of the jam contrasts and complements the tart, sour flavor of the bread beautifully.


The recipes for making Rose Petal Jam are all very similar, some like to add herbs such as lavender, lemon verbena or thyme, or grated lemon or orange peel, even a splash of vanilla or rum, but I prefer it plain. You can find many recipes for Rose Petal Jam or Jelly on the internet;THIS one is a favorite. Note the pretty color that is produced by using all pink petals ~ that is my favorite; but this time I had more reds than pinks so the red is more predominant in this batch.


Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Please stop on by at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday andHow Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday to see all participants this week.

Tablescape ~ Romantic Table Under the Rose Arches

Welcome to yet one more outdoor tablescape, the days are growing shorter so I'm taking full advantage of any time we can spend outdoors.

Lots of images this week, so I hope you have a moment to allow the pictures to load~

I couldn't decide whether to do a daytime or evening tablescape, so I photographed it both ways.








The setting is our newest garden, it's now just turned two years old. It is planted in mostly roses, clematis and perrenials which attract bees and butterflies in the summer. In spring it provides quite a show with tulips, daffodils and peonies.









Beyond the garden gate (pictures coming up) the focal point of the garden is a long sandstone pathway which meanders through ~ 6 large rusty arches placed several feet apart span the entire walk; both sides of each arch are planted with two pairs of roses; each arch provide support for these climbing roses ~ all but two arches are planted with some of my favorite fragrant old-fashioned David Austin English roses.






This part of the property used to be a barren, weed filled area. It is one part of the property that receives quite a bit of sun, so the rose and clematis arches provide welcome shade on hot summer days.







It's a really pleasant place to set up one of the bistro tables and chairs and enjoy a glass of ice tea, lunch, perhaps a glass of wine and appetizers, or a candlelight dinner.







This day I pulled out a vintage quilt and worked the tablescape around the casual, yet slightly elegant theme.







Needless to say I never buy roses during bloom time; these are from the garden.






I like the mix of casual lines and neutral plates with crystal.












These little roses are some of my favorites; "City of London".

I'm very fond of "everyday" dishes form the 1930's and 40's such as these cream soup bowls made by Homer Laughlin, 1945.

The goblets are from my first set of crystal when I was a young bride; it is by Rogaska, the pattern is "Gallia".

The candle holder is one of a vintage pair by Cambridge. I love the look of the bobaches with prism crystals both in the sunshine and by candlelight, too. :)

Soon the sun will set and I'll turn on the string lights which are hung up high on the perimeter of this garden to light our way.

The grape vines are now two years old; if all goes as expected they should offer up their first crop next summer.

Let's enter through the gate at the front of this garden ~ the arched gate is planted with the deeply fragrant ruby red climbing roses; Don Juan.

The fences on each side of the gate are planted with Black Corinth grapes, also known as "Champagne" grapes ~ though they are not the grapes from which Champagne is made, but named because of the minuscule size of the fruit. Maybe resembling tiny Champagne bubbles to someone who nicknamed them Champagne grapes?

Here's an image ~ the largest grapes in the cluster are about 1/4-inch in diameter; aren't they adorable?! :)

I'm quite excited; because as well as good eating, the fruit can be dried then used in baking; resembling black currants... I'm dreaming about cinnamon glazed cream scones made with these tiny grapes.

There is something about dining with candlelight under the stars ...

Thank you for coming by!

I hope you've enjoyed our little visit.

Sources:

Blue Bistro Table & Chairs : Stonewall Kitchen

Vintage Quilt: My MIL *heart*

Chargers: Neiman Marcus/Horchow

Flatware: Comptoir de Famille, France

Dinner & Salad Plates: American Atelier; Baroque
Napkins: April Cornell

Soup Bowls, Blue Vase, Candle holder ~ all vintage

Thank you to Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch" for hosting this weekly event!

Please click logo and stop by to see all of this weeks entries.

Pink Saturday ~ David Austin English Roses

Welcome ~

It's time for another PINK Saturday!

I'm featuring roses today because soon

the last of this years crop of roses will be spent ~

So I take every opportunity to spend time in the rose gardens enjoying their perfume and beauty.

I always cut some to share with others, and make some casual bouquets to place around the house, too.

Windows open to catch a warm breeze, and roses on the table ;

I'm not quite ready to let summer go just yet.


Thank you for stopping by!

If you like what you see ...

Follow Me!

~ And ~

I would love it if you would leave a comment. :)

Thank you so much.

~*~*~*~*~

To see a list of all of the wonderful bloggers who are participating please check Beverly's beautiful blog



How Sweet the Sound.


Thank you for hosting us Beverly!