May 12, 2008

My Mother's Day! Come see my photos and please leave a comment

We woke up to gorgeous spring weather here in the Northeast and it was so wonderful to spend the day with my daughter, Alexis and dear friend, Kevin Sharkey.  We shared a really delicious lunch and had a fun and inspiring time together.  I hope you enjoy these photos. 

The garden near the greenhouse is growing really well - Hostas, Alliums, Epimedium, and Leucojum
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A new Hosta from Klehm's Song Sparrow Perennial Farms www.songsparrow.com is compact, bright green, and sturdy.
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More Epimedium, Hostas, Thalictrum and Aruncus
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The side terrace looks especially verdant this spring with all of the boxwoods, some stewartias, and the hornbeam hedge just leafing out. Can you believe how beautiful the Kmart Chippendale-style outdoor furniture is?
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A gorgeous purple wisteria standard just starting to bloom
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These were the wonderfully wrapped presents brought to me on Mother's Day by my daughter Alexis - the four brown and pink packages hold paper coasters printed with my initials, the big blue box is a pair of La Perla silk pajamas, the the colorful boxes were filled with baked goods
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You may know that Alexis is a fantastic baker -  she gave me homemade graham crackers, Butter-butters, and chocolate caramel bars.
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Alexis searches for and finds incredible boxes for her baking.
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Kevin gave me an amazing white porcelain lazy Susan cake stand.
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Here is the first rhubarb of the season.
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The sink is full of freshly-picked asparagus - we had some for lunch.
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The dining room table was set with pretty linens for our informal lunch
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A closeup of the place setting
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The Olson's from  Silicone Valley sent me some of the season's first bing cherries - so sweet, juicy, and delicious.
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A great cantaloupe cut into peeled wedges
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This is fresh cream cheese from Russ and Daughters in NYC - no preservatives.
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Alexis is now making her own bagels - we all had to admit they were the best bagels we ever had!
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Kevin said these asparagus were the best he has ever eaten.
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After lunch and Scrabble, we went to my friend's court and had a tennis lesson with Radoslav Radev - a great teacher and charming guy
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Kevin is actually a very graceful tennis player.
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Alexis and I look just a bit weary after horseback riding, lunch, scrabble, and tennis
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Woops! - at 5:30 I remembered that I promised to bring a lemon meringue tart to dinner at the Warden's.
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I baked two, just in case - they were unbelievably yummy.
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Katie Goldberg and her Seattle-based mom came to visit - Katie works in corporate communications - they wanted to see the gardens and the property.
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This is a type of Epimedium that is spreading in habit - it has bright green leaves and is edged in deep red.
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A wisteria standard blooming in a deep purple shade - see the new tee pees that we use for clematis integrifolia supports.
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This is a newly planted mature lilac standard - it should look spectacular in a few days.
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The old apple espaliers are under-planted with blue muscari
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