Since my arrival from Spain I have been struggling trying to keep up with life. Gardening, prepping for summer web courses, and in the midst of it all, I made a wedding cake for 250 people! Even for me, this past week and a half was simply over whelming! I’m so happy the wedding cake turned out great, and over this past weekend I had the opportunity to get caught up with my gardening. I’m still behind on my blog so I have planned to share my gardening updates from the past few weeks and after that, I will roll into my trip from Spain which will include a very special giveaway especially for baby wearing mama’s!
So of course I have to start by showing you the cake I made this past weekend. It was for my cousin in law Tyler and his beautiful new wife Alishia!
A little background. Gabe’s grandmother, Agnus Bauman, made wedding cakes in her day. She was a farmers wife that adored chickens, her gardens, baked cakes and was a spunky gal! His family is always joking that I am so much like her. After she passed a few years back and I took up cake decorating, I was given her supplies. She made wedding cakes for both of her sons. What made Tyler and Alishia’s cake so special was that the same pans that made his parents cake also made his. It was a blessing to sit next to Grandpa Howard and have him talk about Agnus’s cake decorating days. We walked over to the cake so that he could take a good look and he shared some tips that he had learned from his late wife. He said it turned out beautiful. Those words made me smile.
Now to the gardening! I want to share in photos (and for my own documentation) garden updates from the past few weeks.
May 5, 2010
The day before we left for Spain, Nehe and I tended the garden and planted 10 of our heirloom tomato plants that we started from seeds.
May 25, 2010
On our return from Spain I was excited to see that the gardens looked great! Nehemiah was excited that our strawberry patch was starting to produce!! We’ve harvested at least 16lbs so far!!
The garden is growing even more and over the weekend my hubby was able to raise me 3 more beds in my community garden. I was able to plant all of my peppers, tomatillo’s and eggplant varieties. I still need to sow squash, cucumbers, beans, corn, more tomatoes and peppers. I’m almost there!!!
So how is your garden growing? I still have a few more gardening informational posts I’d like to get up. Topics including how to thin your seedlings, tending tomato plants, diseases and preventatives. Please feel free to share some photos on my facebook page. I will for sure be doing a round up of gardening pictures as soon as I finish sharing my Spain trip.
Until then!
WOW what a fantastic cake!! You are amazing. I also love the garden. I dream of having one someday.
SAme Here! You are a power house, strength given by God. You are an inspiration and hope to be a great mother like you someday!
Congrats on a great cake! So wonderful to continue a tradition. Sounds like you had a great time in Spain!:)
Of course I've already told you the cake was gorgeous. So nice to read the story behind your tools. How special that cake must have meant to your husbands grandfather- I'll be he'll be talking about it for a long long time.
Great garden photos Diane. What a neat way to plant potatoes. You'll have to keep us posted as to their progress.
Have a wonderful week. I must now don my grubby muddy clothes and head back out to weed some more and check up on the DUCKS!!!
lovely garden..omg…shd have taken a load of your time
Can you say a little busy? The garden looks amazing! But really, the cake is just beautiful and how lovely that the legacy of the pans are being passed along.
You really made that cake?! WOW! That is amazing!!!
Diana, time just flies…isn't it? Still remember what you did on last summer with your gardening. Wow…. I've been blogging for more than a year. And wondering what will be going on this coming winter and another summer and another….. Frankly, you look much slimmer now! hehe…. Hope you're having a wonderful day!
Cheers, Kristy
p/s the wedding looks stunning! Well done!
Love those pictures of your boys! And 16 pounds of strawberries – impressive!
The garden and the cake- both amazing! Your garden is so inspirational 🙂 I just put mine in tonight.. we haven't had one in a few years since we've been renting, but this year we decided to plant one in a friend's yard 🙂
Stunning garden, Diana!!!
I love your cake too….
Not to mention, how adorable your boys are…Everything is just perfect!
Love your garden. That cake is amazing. I would be so scared to make a wedding cake, but on my food bucket list, cake decorating is there.
First off, can I say beautiful cake??? Love the addition of fresh fruit:)
My deck garden is coming along – everything is growing, that is a start!
Amazing cake, amazing garden. Can I be you when I grow up :-)?
You make me miss my little ones- in college now, we would have a garden each year, as part of eating healthy but also for their homeschooling- I know I am crazy, but it worked to better their education, and they still eat healthy!
I am going to Spain this September with my husband and son- I saw your title and though I would come over from ChowandChatter- beautiful cake! Kids, and garden 🙂
Wow, you amaze me Diana! Both the crazy tall & beautiful cake and the huge garden. Your kids are so lucky!
I am doing my sister's wedding cake -first time working with fondant and doing any wedding cake!! I know!! Taking risks is my middle name! Thank you for sharing, I'm encouraged.
So are you going to harvest the potatoes from the sack? I tried the sack method and it failed the other time. But I notice that the type of sack I used is different from the one you have here. I want to see the progress and harvest of these. Pretty pretty please please keep updating. My husband has to know that it is possible to grow potatoes in a sack and harvest something. I think I will look for that type of sack too. Haven't seen them around here since ages ago. I think I should also do more research on the type of soil to use.
You are truly an inspiration. Keep up the good work.
Your garden looks great… and your kid is so gorgeous!
My son is 18 months old, and I already bought him a tiny watering-can, maybe one day he will follow me in my garden adventures.
Thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting!! It has been so crazy over here!!
Rosemary – I wanted to let you know that you can find these burlap bags at local coffee shops. They hold coffee beans so they usually have quite a few. My local shop gave me the bags, Perfect price!!! I will for sure keep everyone updated on the progress of the potatoes. I've heard mixed reviews so I'm anxious to see what I harvest 😀
Nice job! I love the shot of your beautiful lettuce bouquet and that cake is stunning. So wonderful to be carrying on family traditions that mean so much to the ones you love.
Diana,
Your garden is doing so well…you must be proud. Busy sounds like the understatement of the year. Sorry to hear about the condition of your grandmother (great?), but glad you had a chance to get over there and see her!
The pics of the wedding cake didn't show up for me, but I'll check back later. Hope you get a bit of a reprieve soon…take a few minutes here and there & have a cup of tea (or coffee). 😉