Author Archives: cathyboettner

My husband and I were talking about plans for the holiday weekend and we decided that we wanted to have homemade lemonade to serve. Here’s the recipe: 2 cups water 2 cups granulated sugar 3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (you could substitute lime juice if you prefer limeade) 14 cups ice cold water 2Continue reading “A Yummy Drink for the Holiday Weekend!”

Aldi had some really pretty white roses when I stopped in there yesterday, so I got some. They would have been fine on their own, but I added Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Astilbe, and some boxwood and it turned out like this…. Such a fresh spring arrangment!

We are invited to a little graduation party today, so I went out to the garden to pull together a quick arrangement to bring. Right now, I have Oak Leaf Hydrangeas and white Astilbe blooming. I cut both with very long stems. I have never cut an Astilbe this long. I also cut some BlueContinue reading “Impromptu Arrangement”

I put this garden in a couple of years ago because this is the side of the house that faces the road. It is on the Northwest side of the house, so it is a pretty shady spot in the yard. So far this year, the hellebores (Lenten Rose) and Bleeding Hearts have put onContinue reading “Shade Perennial Garden”

Last fall, we enlarged the vegetable garden on the south side of the house. This year, we added planting mix to it and topped it with mulch. Now, it’s time to get growing! I planted San Marzano tomato seeds and Cherokee Purple tomato seeds. I had a really good germination rate and ended up withContinue reading “Other vegetables–most all started from seed”

I bought a couple batches of romaine lettuce this spring and I planted it in March. I had to dig the first batch up in preparation for some extra cold (13 degree) weather and replant it once the coast was clear. I have been picking the outer leaves every week for the last several weeksContinue reading “Vegetable Garden–So MUCH lettuce!”

When we bought our old house, the woman who lived there had sown Lunaria (money plant) on the woods side of the fence and it grew well and self-seeded. I liked it really well and also moved it to one of our garden beds and allowed it to self seed there as well. When weContinue reading “A really neat perennial–great for fresh arrangements, and dried”

We are having dinner with my mother in law and my mother and family for Mother’s Day. We haven’t had a gathering this big at our house since the pandemic began, so time to pull out all the stops. My thought process started with the white and black canisters that have silhouettes of a boyContinue reading “Mother’s Day Table”

A friend asked me for ideas on how to decorate a table for a brunch to celebrate a baby boy’s baptism. This is a hard one because it’s a religious event. I pulled out the silver baby items that I had handy–there are a few more but buried deep in boxes–baby cups and a porringer.Continue reading “Baby Boy’s Baptism Brunch”

I am going to do the centerpieces for my niece’s wedding at the beginning of October. I found a bunch of driftwood in the river which looked cool, so I asked her if she wanted to use it for her centerpieces. She agreed, since she wants a Northern California kind of vibe for the reception.Continue reading “1st Try at Wedding Centerpieces”