We grow over 100 dahlia’s and we cherish every one of them, however there are some that perform like work horses and we consider them must haves for our gardens and in floral arrangements. Each of these varieties are prolific with strong and long stems and ideal for cutting. Here are a few of our picks.

Ferncliff Copper

Ferncliff Copper has 5″ blooms and is especially gorgeous arranged in harvest bouquets.

Snoho Betty

Perfect purple Snoho Betty is continually remarked on by our guests.

Kenora Wildfire

This low bush beauty Kenora Wildfire pumps out volumes of huge bright red blooms and requires minimal support.

Scarborough Brilliant

And of course the intense colors of Scarborough Brilliant are stunning.

If you love beautiful flowers as we do and are interested in creating fresh dahlia floral arrangements also look into Bliss and Rosella, they are fantastic as fillers. All of our healthy dahlia tubers were purchased locally from endlesssummerflowerfarm in Camden, Maine.

Another one of the “Jewels” in Midcoast Maine is the picture perfect views atop Beech Hill in Rockport. The setting is special, and after a short and easy walk to the top of this 295-acre preserve you’ll see why. If the pastoral landscape of the beautiful grasslands with the Camden Hills as a backdrop don’t grab you while your walking along, than surely the scenic ocean vistas at the top will. 

After a few paces the trail quickly opens up to views of low bush wild blueberry’s growing in the grassy field.

Starting Out

Protecting The Blueberries

A Colorful Field Of Wild Blueberries

Trail

Looking Back At The Camden Hills

Soon after the half way point views of Chickawaukie Pond then Penobscot Bay appear. 

Chickawaukie Pond

Chickawaukie Pond(Rt) and Penobscot Bay(Lft)

Fall creates it’s own special beauty in Maine and especially so here. The preserve’s field of golden grasslands dappled with the fiery red leaves of wild blueberry shrubs is reminiscent of a painting. At the top of the hill sits a beautifully restored stone house known as “Beech Nut” handsomely adorned with a sod roof.

Beech Nut

An Easterly View

Mountains Of Acadia National Park(Background-Rt)

Beech Nut

Restored Sod Roof

Although the preserve is open year round, Beech Nut’s final open house for this year is October 24 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information on this beautiful preserve you can visit www.coastalmountains.org.

We grow a lot of herbs and I will harvest and dry them throughout the season, but one of the ways I preserve the “fresh” taste of herbs is by preparing a number of pesto’s to freeze for later use. Cilantro, Mint, Basil and Parsley are the 4 that I always have on hand. They take only a few minutes to prepare and come in handy for swirling into soups soups,  adding to salad dressings, tossing into pasta’s, accompanying seafood or meat dishes and the list goes on.  One of my favorites is combining parsley with pistachios. 

Shelling Pistachio Nuts

In this recipe I used dry-roasted and salted pistachios but obviously you can use unsalted and adjust the salt addition to taste. 

Parsley and Pistachio Nut Pesto:

• 1 large bunch parsley leaves or 3 Cups packed
• 3/4 C good olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt-or to taste
• generous 1/2 C shelled dry-roasted and salted pistachios

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until evenly blended but still able to see tiny bits of nuts.

Parsley and Pistachio Pesto

If I was to serve this as a pasta pesto dish I incorporate fresh grated cheese and 1-2 Tbls softened butter to it just before serving.  All the nuts and dried fruits I use for cooking, baking or just plain eating are from Sunnyland Farms in Georgia, they are one of my favorite sources for high quality products.

There is a period of time each year when we practically live on tomatoes and it’s here. For three weeks now we have collected most of our semi ripe tomatoes so as to maximize on ripening as many as possible for current and future enjoyment. Every possible inch we can spare in our home is devoted to “tomato ripening space.”

These are just a few of our favorite indulgences that take full advantage of the intense tomato flavor and sweetness of our home grown.

Roma Plum Tomatoes

Plum tomatoes are hollowed out and placed in baking dishes with olive oil, our own dried oregano, pinches of course salt and then slow roasted on a low oven temp.

Roasted Tomatoes

After they cool, they are dressed with chopped parsley and minced garlic from our garden.  We most enjoy these atop crusty bread with fresh goat cheese and a couple of drops of aged balsamic vinegar.

We grow two varieties of cherry tomatoes(Sun Sugar and Grape) and  I make numerous types of fresh salsas and tomato dishes throughout the summer.  

Beautifully Ripened Cherries

We savor this dish that brings out the true essence of these sweet cherry tomatoes and I make variations of it, but this remains a favorite.  It’s simplicity is divine and we love it on top of pasta with grated cheese.

Red And Yellow Cherry Tomato Salad

• 2 lbs yellow and red cherry tomatoes quartered
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp course salt
• 1 cup green “ripe” olives sliced 
• 12 basil leaves thinly sliced

It also makes for a tasty pizza topping.

Cherry Tomato And Parsley Pesto Pizza

We Savor Each Bite

In addition, huge pots of sauce are prepared and then stored (canned or frozen) for later enjoyment on pizza, in rich meat ragus, etc. I make enough to sustain us through our long Maine winter and most of the upcoming year.

From Gardens To Table

Keeping Up Appearances

The perennial gardens keep us on our toes all season long however when the summer fades away our maintenance increases to keep the gardens attractive, neat, and interesting for the Autumn season. Aside from the current flowering plants perennials have been either sheared, pruned, or simply left alone with seed heads intact.

Photos Taken October 1, 2009

Helenium and Boltonia

We Have Many Ornamental Grass Varieties

Colorful Zinnias

Dahlia Patch Going Strong

We concentrated in our Dahlia garden today deadheading Dahlias and removing tired sunflower plants.

Keeping Plants Tidy

The spent 6 Ft + sunflowers were growing in patches in the garden, we clipped them down and left a 2″ stem for location purposes of later removal. 

West Side Of Dahlia Patch