What's Blooming at Buttermilk Cottage this May

Beautiful iris are now gone, but bloomed gorgeously in early May

I consider myself a

"reluctant gardener,"

because I have never 

really had a huge interest 

in gardening.

However, when I bought the current

Buttermilk Cottage,

I also bought several established beds.

This calla lily was in a bed in front of the house,
but was moved to a side bed when it first started peeking up
and is looking lovely in its new spot.

Since these established beds...

* were already there,

* I am not one who likes to waste things,

and

* I care about the appearance of my house,

inside and out,

I have spent the past two years

learning about gardening.

I have discovered that...

* gardening is a process

* if something isn't working (pleasing) in one spot,

dig it up and put it somewhere else,

* perennials are my BFFs in the garden,

and

* there is ALWAYS weeding to be done.

These three small azalea bushes

were bought on impulse last spring

when they were blooming.

They ended in a new bed along the

backside of the house.

I watched them with anticipation

during April

when all the other azaleas in the 

neighborhood were blooming.

I got nothing.

But now late in May

this is what they give me!!!

One of my favorites

that comes back beautifully 

each year is Coreopsis.

Also known as tick seed/tick weed,

 that name does not do it justice.

I have been thrilled to discover

it attracts finches,

which look too exotic

to be just flying around!

Speaking of "exotic,"

this lily was purchased last spring,

again because it was blooming,

to be used as a container plant

on my deck.

It did fairly well,

but at the end of last season,

I found a spot for it in the ground

and look what it is doing now!!!

Although the hosta are not yet blooming,

I had to show them to you

because they are HUGE!

Once they started poking through 

the earth in early Spring,

you could almost see 

them growing by the hour.

To conclude,  

the daylilies are beginning to bloom this week.

They have almost outgrown this spot

and I am anticipating

thinning them out

and transplanting a few

to other spots in the yard.

I'm not sure I can really call myself

a reluctant gardener any more.

Although the work can be hot,

dirty, and sometimes backbreaking,

just look what can happen!

April showers really do

bring May flowers!

Our First Lane Cake Entry!

It was my sister in law, 
Pat's turn to choose the cake
for this year's
Davidson Cake Bake Off.
Remember, this is not really
a  competition.
For the past several years
a cake has been chosen by one of us,
then my sister Nancy, brother Rick,
sister in law Pat and me
bake the cake, 
using a recipe of our choice.
(We all live miles apart,
so this has been a fun way
to "do something together.")
We then share our thoughts and pictures.

Pat's choice, 

The Lane Cake,

was first baked more than 100 years ago 

for the annual baking competition

at the county fair in Columbus, Georgia

by Emma Rylander Lane

of Clayton, Alabama.

It was the first prize winner!

Pat baked her choice,
one with a strawberry-pecan filling
and cream cheese frosting,
using a recipe from
TASTE OF THE SOUTH MAGAZINE.
It was a birthday cake for her husband, my brother Wade.

In Pat's words,

"The filling for this cake was a challenge,

but this was the first time

I had attempted making a filling.

I don't think I got it quite right,

it ran out the sides

when I was assembling the cake.

Overall, I think it turned

out pretty well.

It tasted good!"

Looks good to me Pat!

Come bake with us.

Bake your version of

The Lane Cake

and then share your

pictures, recipe and thoughts with me.

I, in turn, will share on my blog!

Bon appétit!

Catching Up

Is it possible?

Is Spring almost over?

I have let SO much time pass 

since my last post.

It has been a busy time at 

Buttermilk Cottage.

That's my only excuse.

In March I hosted two dear friends from college days.

Virginia, my roommate for three years,

who now lives in Texas,

and Marie, who lived across the hall

and now makes her home in Alabama.

We had a lovely visit of several days,

talking ourselves silly,

eating and visiting a few points of interest

near here.

 We made a trip to Abingdon, Virginia 

where the Barter Theatre

was doing CAMELOT.

What a treat to see the show,

which we had all seen together 

when it came out as a movie

all those years ago!

The challenge has been made for this year's

Great Davidson Bake Off.

This is an ongoing and yearly

friendly baking competition between

my sister Nancy, brother Rick,

sister in law Pat and

anyone else who wants to join us.

It's not a real competition because

we cannot taste each other's cake,

but we all bake the same cake,

and share our thoughts on it.

This year's cake choice was Pat's.

She has chosen the Lane Cake,

a traditional Southern cake

that has numerous variations.

Think about joining in with us.

All you need do is make the cake

with a recipe of your choice,

send me a picture or two 

along with your thoughts on the cake.

More about this later.

I have recently finished this book 

by Delia Owens.

It is a first novel,

a coming of age story of

Kya, the "marsh girl"

which takes place in North Carolina.

Her prose is lovely and lyrical.

I enjoyed it a lot

and you might too,

especially if you have an

interest in the natural world.

Finally, I am in the midst of this year's

home improvement project.

I think I'll tell you about it when the

job is completed.

The picture above

is a hint of where the work is being done.

Enjoy your May,

it will be gone all to soon!