That was last fall, and the picture below was Thursday morning, May 8th.

Then these two amazing men came to cut it, and a few others.

They have just cut the Tree of Heaven down and are sawing it up.

Simone is climbing up to start cutting the walnut.

The top and two limbs are sawed off.

It was a big job that took from 1:30 in the afternoon until 6:30 at night.

Now I have lots of wood to cut,

and brush to burn.

The view that evening,

and the next morning made the $500 cost seem like a bargain.

I’ll be thankful every day.

Wildflowers abound in the Smoky Mountains, as well as on my property. Trout Lilies have grown here for years, but this is the first time I’ve notice them when they bloom.

Purple violets are common, but I still let them grow anywhere except in the garden spaces.

Very few on my property are actually yellow.

Most numerous of all are these white violets. They cover the bank behind my garage.

Bloodroot is another pretty wildflower that pops up here and there.

These yellow trillium were given to me by a friend in Tennessee. They have flourished here, and have been shared with many neighbors. The yellow blossom has a lovely lemon scent.

They grow wild in this area also.

This black swallowtail is enjoying the nectar.

The candytuft has become hills of white blooms.

The redbuds in the picture are at their peak. The next day there was a red carpet of blossoms covering the driveway.

The wild dogwood trees were full, but the hybrid pink and red dogwoods had very few blooms.

The azaleas are just starting to bloom here, and the rhododendrons have only a few starting to come out.

They all need to be cut back. Maybe a few will get done this year.

These are planted around my kerosene tank to help hide it. They are in the back yard so few people see them, but I enjoy looking at them while I hang up clothes.

This is one of my favorites. It was cut back last year, but needs more.

Periwinkle keeps invading this azalea, as well as all the ones along the front below my deck.

There were hundreds of Dutchman’s Breeches.

After searching the internet I found out these are Toothwart.

The trout lilies, or White Dogtooth Violets, were the most numerous. This one grows beside a Mayapple that is smaller than the ones in the North Carolina mountains. Now I have transplanted them all, except for the Mayapple, from Missouri to North Carolina. That will add to the numerous variety I already have. Those will be coming up in a following post.

Now they are growing in the garden. It won’t be long before I can just pull some when I need garlic.

These chives jumped to garden path two years ago to grow in the mulch. They are ready to be used on baked potatoes, or in recipes.

Here is a recipe that uses both garlic and chives, and is a wonderful dip for raw vegetables.

Dip

1 cup homemade olive-oil mayo

Blend: 1 whole egg

2 tsp wine vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

Add in drops: 1 cup oil (this can be done in a blender or food processor)

Add: 1 cup sour cream

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 T chopped capers

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 t Tabasco

1/2 cup chopped chives

I tried using my hand blender for the mayo. It made nice, thick mayonnaise.

And the garlic is growing!

now looks like this.

The flower that is forming needs to be twisted off so the strength of the plant can go into the stalks, the edible part. The leaves are poisonous, but I don’t know about the flowers.

Some stalks are ready to be picked to make rhubarb sauce or cobbler.

I love this cobbler variation:

Rhubarb Sweetie

3 cups diced, fresh rhubarb or frozen, thawed

2 T orange juice

1/3 cup honey

1 T butter

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup honey

1 t vanilla

2 T sour cream

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 t soda

Arrange rhubarb in a 8×8x2 inch greased baking pan. Mix orange juice and honey and drizzle over rhubarb. Dot with butter. Bake in 350 degree oven until tender (or microwave).

Mix egg, honey, vanilla and sour cream. Mix in flour and soda.

Spread batter over hot rhubarb and bake in 350 degrees oven about 30 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Although this sauce takes time, it is very easy:

Rhubarb Sauce

Trim and cut rhubarb stalks into small pieces. (as shown above)

Put in a microwaveable bowl and add butter and honey (or sugar) to taste.

Microwave four minutes, then stir.

Continue microwaving, then stirring until sauce is smooth and thick.

This can be served warm on toast, pancakes, waffles, etc., refrigerated or frozen. It can be used just like applesauce.

One more good rhubarb recipe is Rhubarb Bread. I still like to microwave the cut-up rhubarb first and add whole wheat pastry flour instead of white. Also, if you add rhubarb sauce to replace some of the oil it is healthier.

The apple trees have buds coming out and there’s snow forecast for next week.  Everyone here is worried about damage again this year.

After no blueberries last year, I’m especially concerned about these blossoms that are already opened.  This year maybe covering them with sheets will help.

The candytuft is full of blooms and has spread to new areas.  It even jumped across the driveway.

This clematis was hit last year, but still bloomed later. 

My Bradford Pear has a redbud blooming in front, and a dogwood getting ready to bloom close in about a week. 

Maple trees add red color to the view both spring and fall. 

The squash was getting so big, and I had extra so I decided to plant three, as well as a basil and parsely.  The pots there are ready to protect them if a frost or freeze comes.

One artichoke made it through the winter, but then it promptly wilted. 

Mia is a constant companion in the garden.  She mainly supervises. 

This Bradford pear tree is the most beautiful it’s ever been. It’s the first tree to bloom at my house each spring.

From the underside this view shows a dogwood and rhododendrons waiting to bloom.

The daffodils had been trying to bloom for several weeks, but cold temperatures kept them closed. Now they are in full bloom.

The forsythia in front of my neighbor’s house is much showier than mine. These plants came from shoots from my plants. I cut mine back so much there was little bloom this year.

Periwinkle blooms all over. It seems to go where it wants.

More blooms to follow in the next post!

The first row has scallions, both red and white, and radishes. The radishes will be up and pulled before the scallions are ready. The next row was planted with Summer Glory Lettuce and Buttercrunch. There’s a kale plant that lasted all winter marking the place between the two lettuces. The next row had Mesclun and Green Ice.

A friend told me to mix lettuce seeds in cornmeal before planting so the seeds are spaced better. The last planted row is after an application of compost under the raised black plastic. In that row is Bright Lights Swiss Chard. The green plants in the back of the space are chervil that grew all winter long. To the left is another rhubarb plant emerging.

Peas are planted in a shallow trench, then covered. These are the Sugar Sprint.

After they are covered once, more soil can be added to give a better root system and control weeds as the peas grow. The sticks and rocks at the back are placed on mulching plastic and newspaper to control weeds. The board is across each space so I don’t compact the soil.

Now there is also a row of plastic covered compost.

Touchstone Gold and Chioggia beets are planted on this side of the plastic.

These three are rototilled, raked and ready for planting. The first space has rosemary that made it through the winter. The next has a few onions left from last year. The next to the last space has rhubarb coming up.

Rhubarb is usually the first plant I pick in the spring. It is so prolific that it can be shared with friends.

The turnip greens are still growing, and a few mustard greens.

All the Park’s seeds finally came up in the Bio-Dome. The Bush Delicata was so slow,

but did pop up just last week.

Next year I won’t plant the other squash until March. They are growing so fast.

Thanks to Raymond, Lissa, Kent and my son there is lots of wood stacked for this year and next winter. With the price of heating oil, this is a blessing!