Summer

Summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The wet cold spring (the coldest an wettest in 116 years) and the cool June and early July has finely yielded  to a pleasant, but not hot summer. These are the days that we cherish in the garden. It is not too hot, the major weed pulling is over and it is time to enjoy the fruits of our labor with dinners outside and a dip in the pond on hot days.

Our garden party July 9th was an evening to remember. It was not too hot and not too cold. The jazz trio played. The garden tour was well attended and the sun transformed the garden into gold as it set. The only glitch was our caterer's lengthy food service. Some of you waited as long as an hour for dinner. Big River Events has a commitment to excellent food at affordable prices. But how do you  feed 170 people in 2 hours with individually prepared food to order without a long wait? After lengthy discussions, we think our caterer has it worked out for next year so there will be a much shorter wait time with only a slight increase in food prices. Feedback from the the artists indicated that you were more interested in the garden and having another glass of wine than in their art. We will await your feed back as to whether we add more artists next year.   

The fundraiser for Growing Gardens produced by Chef in My Garden in conjunction with Andina Restaurant and chef Hank Costello on July 24th was one of those summer evening dinners that will be remembered for a long time. The food was divine with very creative and unusual Peruvian dishes to delight the taste buds. The staff of 16 pampered the 50 diners and turned our upper terrace into an outdoor restaurant. We also learned about the unusual peppers and spices that go into the the dishes and have motivated us to start trying to raise some of these culinary delights in our nursery. Check with us next spring for availability.

Now is the season to enjoy your garden, to savor it's beauty to drink in it's fragrance and art. Walk by that weed without stopping to pulling it and head for the hammock. Now is the season for serious hammock time. Try to wear it out.