Summer begins tonight at 7:09 pm ET, and though her days are long, they are also fleeting. Make time to pack a picnic from the garden, roll up a lavender-scented blanket and slip off to the lake. Oh, and don’t forget the sparklers for twirling in twilight’s blue hour. You’ve worked hard all spring, now it’s time to relax…
Photographs and Text ⓒ Michaela Medina/The Gardener’s Eden. All photographs, articles and content on this site, (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Thank you!
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An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Visits the Mountain Laurel Along the Secret Garden Path
Early this morning, warm sunlight streaming through dewy fog lifting from the valley, I slipped outside for my last springtime walk through the garden. The seasons change tonight —7:09 pm ET marking the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year— as we say goodbye to Spring and hello to Summer. How to celebrate? With so many lovely options, I’ve yet to decide. How will you ring in this much-anticipated season? A swing in the hammock? A cool cocktail? Maybe a dip in the lake?
But before she slips through the gate, let us wish a fond farewell to sweet Springtime. She shall ever remain in our hearts!
Springtime Sunshower in the Secret Garden
Spring Dances with Summer at the Secret Garden Door
Farewell to Springtime’s Sweet Ephemerals: Blushing Aquilegia and Fragrant Woodland Phlox
Photographs and Text ⓒ Michaela Medina/The Gardener’s Eden. All photographs, articles and content on this site, (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Thank you!
Do you enjoy The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through affiliate links (including Amazon book links). A small percentage of each sale will be paid to this site, helping to cover web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you so much for your support!
A Warm Welcome to Summertime with Pyrotechnic Flower Bouquets
Summer begins today at 1:16 pm EDT, and I’m welcoming her with open arms. After a long, cold winter followed by a wet, drizzly spring, I’m more than ready for hot and hazy, hammock days and sultry summer evenings. There are so many things to love about summer: picnics in the afternoon before a night filled with fireworks, leisurely days spent skimming stones on the river, strawberry shortcake for supper and picking homegrown tomatoes straight off the vine to eat with juice running down your chin, dancing barefoot on the terrace to Cachao with a chilled glass of sangria, and dining al fresco beneath a canopy of stars…
What are some of your favorite summertime pleasures?
Words & Photographs ⓒ Michaela Medina – The Gardener’s Eden. All photographs, articles and content on this site, (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reposted, reproduced or reused in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Thank you!
Do you enjoy The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through affiliate links here. A small percentage of each sale will be paid to this site, helping to cover web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you so much for your support!
A Midsummer Night’s Bouquet for Beneath the Pillow ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE
“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.”
- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act ii, Scene 1
Gathering the Ingredients for a Midsummer Night’s Dream…
Tonight is Midsummer Eve, originally a pagan holiday celebrating the Summer Solstice and fertility. In Scandinavia, it is traditional for young women to gather bouquets of flowers, (herbal blossoms of seven different species, according to some sources), and place them beneath their pillows before bedtime. According to legend, if a maiden falls asleep on Midsummer Night with blossoms tucked beneath her pillow, she will dream of her future husband…
Calendula – Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany
With these kinds of stakes in mind, I would suggest choosing your bouquet wisely. For sound sleep I would include fragrant valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and perhaps some other flowering, traditional mid-summer herbs; particularly mythical marigold (Calendula officinalis), lavender, (Lavandula dentata), bergamot, (Monarda didyama), sage, (Salvia officinalis), thyme, (Thymus),and of course a red rose, (Rosa) for passion – just be sure to cut off the thorns!
Blossoming, fragrant sage, (Salvia officinalis) ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE
Two of the herbal flowers I’ve chosen for beneath my pillow tonight: Valeriana officinalis and Rosa de Rescht ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE
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Sunset Mangotini – The Perfect Drink for the Longest Day of the Year… Photograph ⓒ Michaela at TGE
Solstice memories. It was the longest day of the year -and I was eight years old- when I snuck out on a stylin’ new, metallic-orange bicycle for my first unauthorized ride. Off, down the long bumpy driveway I went; coasting out onto the main road with the wind in my hair. The freshly coated pavement, patched with tar and gravel, made my eyes water… The smell of freedom. A little plastic flower basket, carrying who-knows-what, bobbed up and down on the front of my bike as I cruised past cornfields and cows, crackling power-lines and abandoned pickup trucks, and the newly-arrived summer residents, their windows trimmed with flower boxes and their yards filled with the scent of smoking bar-b-ques. School was out and time stretched before me like a warm, open ocean…
Summer. Seduced by the length of the day, I veered off the pavement onto a dirt road and ditched my bike along a familiar path where shadowy, fern-covered banks wound down to an inky brook. Running breathless, I kicked my hot sneakers to the rocks and waded knee-deep into chilly bliss. Before long I heard familiar sounds; the squeak of bicycle breaks and the laughter of friends through the pines. As I squinted in the blinding light, I made out the blurry, flickering silhouettes of my partners in crime as they sprinted down the hill. Oh the sweet taste of forbidden-rendezvous success! We giggled and gossiped and splashed for hours, ’till the light began to fade, and then we peddled back out to the main road together. Drunk on the sweet elixir of liberation, we dawdled; gathering daisies and tiger lilies, and tasting tiny, wild strawberries along the side of the road. By the time we parted, the sky had faded from deep blue to violet, and fireflies lit the road. For a moment the world stood still, and the summer night swirled around us like a luminous, green blizzard… Frozen in time.
Oh yes, I caught hell for that naughty joy-ride -and understandably so- but it was soooo worth it. Sometimes a little bad tastes awfully good, wouldn’t you agree?
Welcome warm temptress Summer – the season of sweet memories and beautiful dreams. Here’s to wildflowers, bright red strawberries, glowing sunsets, and sparkling summer nights….
Pure White Daisies…
Beautiful Thunderstorms…
Sweet Red Strawberries…
Warm, Sunset Kisses…
And glowing mangotinis…
The Sunset Mangotini
Ingredients for one cocktail, (adjust quantities 1:1) *
2 ounces of fresh, ripe mango puree (peeled and processed in cuisinart)
1 ounce of ice cold vodka
1/2 oz of Cointreau (orange flavored liqueur)
Freshly picked, deep violet-colored pansy blossoms
*a non-alcoholic version of this drink may be enjoyed by combining the mango puree with 1/2 ounce of orange flavoring as a liqueur substitute, (available in fine grocery stores). Skip the vodka and prepare according to directions*
Directions:
Chill martini glasses in the freezer well ahead of time. Prepare ripe mangoes by peeling, pitting and placing wedges of the fruit in a food processor with a metal blade. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
In a cocktail shaker filled half full with cracked ice, pour the vodka, orange liqueur and mango juice. Replace the top and shake well. Strain the contents into a frosty, chilled martini glass and serve garnished with at least one -or better yet two- violet colored pansies.
Enjoy the glow of the summer sun as it sets in your glass…
All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…
Do you enjoy visiting The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through our affiliate links. A small percentage of any sale originating from The Gardener’s Eden site will go toward web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you for your support!
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Summer Time in the Wildflower Walk. Read About Oli’s Wondrous Wildflower Walk Here
Minted Ice Tea with Lime: Click Here for Past Post & Recipe
Refreshing, Lime-Kissed Raspberry Daiquiris: Click Here for Past Post & Recipe
Song of Summertime Salad: Click Here for Recipe & Post
Garden-Fresh Frittata on the Terrace: Click Here for Recipe
My Favorite Potato Salad, Patricia Wells’ Pommes À L’Huile: Recipe & Post, Click Here
Long, Lingering Sunlight in the Wildflower Walk
Sweet Red Strawberries…
