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Last summer I planted a Passion flower vine on a large trellis in the front yard. This year the foliage climbed to the top of the trellis and up there the blooms are smiling at the sky, but can’t even see them.

My solution to this dilemma is to cut the blossoms and bring them inside where I can enjoy the exotic, incredibly 3-dimensional flower, up close and personal. Because the stems are short I put each single flower in a cute little glass and they smile up at me at the kitchen table.

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One of my favorite garden perennials is Lady’s Mantle. It is an old-fashioned, classic English garden plant and it thrives in my yard in both sun and shade. Not only does it come back every year, but it self-seeds and starts lots of new plants. I use the volunteers to fill in the bare spots in the garden and as under plantings for tall flowers like lilies and roses.

I am intrigued by the distinctive beauty of the leaves; they unfold like a lady’s fan and hold droplets of water that look like cabochon diamonds. The blooms are tiny stars and cover the plants in airy clouds of chartreuse.

I have been making lots of bouquets for the past three or four weeks. I love them in simple little airy arrangements in clear glass. I also use them as filler, like baby’s breath, to showcase larger blossoms.

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Last Friday, my friend Galina and I went out to several u-pick farms east of Salem, OR. We picked blueberries and sweet cherries.

The golden cherries are Rainer and the dark ones Bing. We enjoyed eating the sweet, warm cherries right off the tree.

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Last week, I hosted a small party for Maddie, my neighbor and a recent college graduate. We have been neighbors since she was a baby and now she’s home for the summer before leaving for Rwanda, Africa to do volunteer work in the medical field.

It was a sweet afternoon of celebration and friendship with lots of fresh summer food.

The weather was perfect – sunny and cool – one of those days from heaven! All the flowers were from the garden with the sweet peas always my favorite, so lovely to look at and perfuming the air!

I served the food in the garden room and then we had a leisurely lunch on the patio. I will share several of my recipes from this lunch in some following blog entries. We enjoyed Banana Cream Pudding for dessert and that recipe is in my July 21, 2011 entry.

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Last Friday at lunchtime I visited Minto Growers Organic Farm and Produce stand on South River Road in Salem, OR. They not only have organic produce to buy and some u-pick (blueberries right now), but they are preparing and serving great food from a small trailer.

I ordered a raspberry shake, locally made sausage sandwich and a salad of butter lettuce, blue cheese dressing and roasted hazelnuts- see the photo of this one above. The food was delicious!

Is there anything better than right off the farm, especially when it’s organic and picked and prepared on the spot?   Of course you have to have the right cook too and they certainly do! Sally Miller is preparing the food for her daughter Elizabeth who is the organic farmer and owner of this sweet business!

Go to www.mintogrowers.com for more information.