Purple, Purple Everywhere

A week ago our yard was covered with shades of purple. Now the color is fading giving way to spring green and waiting for the next batch of color to burst open.

the Wisteria in full bloom

I love the look of these blooms and the smell. 

But a week ago: Purple. It was so pretty. And really made me smile.

more blue than purple 

 It's been fun to see what will bloom. I'm not good at recognizing plants. Some flowers I know, but many I don't. But watching and waiting to see what pops up in our flower beds has been a wonderful joy.

 And it certainly brightens my days. Especially when often the skies are still gray and covered in clouds. Though on that note we have had some sunny afternoons, which I've enjoyed.

 Gardening will be this summers exciting adventure as I learn how to tend to what we have, remove what I don't want and try to add or adapt to fit my own tastes and talents.

 As overwhelming as it all feels, I look forward to learning. And really watching the beauty of my yard come to life brings joy and smiles.

Ok these are not purple, but they are gorgeous . 

Grapes

One of the many exciting things growing in our yard is a line of grape vines. The row takes up an entire length of our garden plot. And just as we closed on the house, they were becoming ripe.

 Sadly after our first picking, I didn't get out there again for a week and a half. Which meant we lost a ton. So after two pickings I think we are about done. :( But on the upside we did get to enjoy some of them.

And next year I'll be more on top of things. And hopefully have read up on how to care for them better. My reading list is getting longer by the second.
For our first picking we enjoyed Grape Pie out of Simply in Season.

It was pretty easy to make. I used a gluten free pie crust from my Gluten Free Baking cookbook.

 The boys enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it.

 I then made grape jello with the rest. That was not a hit. I think next time I might add just alittle sugar. The next bunch I picked I turned into 6 jars of gape jam. :) I'm looking forward to enjoying that. And I'm hoping that when I add these jars to the blueberry and strawberry jams I made earlier this summer we can last all winter and spring without buying store bought jam. We'll just have to wait and see though. And if we don't make it, at least it give me a better estimate for next year. I"m hoping that next year I can add grape juice to my canning list

Yeah for Grapes!