In the Garden: Midsummer

Happy Midsummer Night's Eve! I do believe I hear the fairy bands tuning up their instruments outside right now. If not, the lightening bugs are sure celebrating something. In honor of the day, I harvested most of our scapes and made some delicious garlic scape pesto for dinner.  I modified the recipe by increasing the basil amount to about a cup and adding flax seeds instead of almonds (just because that's what I had on hand!). There's still plenty more scapes in the fridge, and I want to try this kale-scape recipe next.

I picked up a dining bug cover to use on our tiny bit of strawberries. It seems to be working okay so far. I am still being cautious and picking when they just turn red so that the slugs and bugs don't feast first. I love strawberries, but I don't think growing them is my thing.

calendula

I am already beginning to dry herbs and whatnot and trying to do meal planning around our garden gifts. This coming week it's time to start adding cilantro to some of our dinner plans. 

I'm also making sure to take advantage of all the wild flowers on our morning walks. There's a steep hill by the river covered in daisies. It makes me so joyful whenever we go by, and usually I have to take a few back with me. These wild flowers were for a special purpose... midsummer flower wreaths.

 The peonies are flooding our senses everyday with their beauty and aroma. I think there's a mason jar with one in every room of the house.

I made a little birch bark teepee woven together with yarn for the fairies to sit by the garden. Oona is very fond of it and wanted to keep it indoors with her toys... 

For our flower wreaths, I made crochet loop bands that we could all wear for our midsummer bonfire.

And just in case you're skeptical of the garlic scape pesto, here's a picture. It is indeed yummy.

 It's nice to have evenings like this to sit back and enjoy the all the labors of the gardening season. I sat on a picnic blanket and wove flowers into crochet bands while the girls collected more.

Oona volunteered to get mint for Daddies wreath.

Music was played, fairy wedding arenas were set up, and the teepee was adorned with flowers and artwork.

There's a little fairy drawing over the doorway.

Sacrifices of mint were thrown on the fire and a drawing was made of a garden for the fairies.

Oona left it for the fairies on our stone bench. She explained to me that the fairies will turn the picture into a real garden when they see it. Sounds good to me.

 I hope all this fairy magic blesses our garden and our home. Enjoying the changing of the seasons and I hope you look to see what wonders are blossoming all around you.

Here's my previous garden posts from this year:

June 12th
May 29th
May 11th

And here's last years posts:
May 28th
June 20th 
June 26th
July 16th
July 17th
July 26th
August 15th
August 20th
September 11th
September 26th
October 10th