Garden Breakfast

After a busy and so fun few days, it's so nice to be relaxing in the garden. This morning, we had our favorite Pancakes. I am allergic to flour (sigh...no bread!) but this Pancake is the perfect alternative, and it's oh so good!

Oatmeal Pancake

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese

4 egg whites

1tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Whirl all ingredients in a blender til smooth. (we use the Bullet!)

Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray, add batter, and cook on medium heat until both sides are lightly browned.

This baby gives you 28 g of protein, at 288 calories. We top with fruit, a little splenda, and sometimes on very special occasions like today, with some whipped cream. It's delicious!

Eating a leisurely breakfast on the patio, I had the time to really look at the garden. It is at its best right now, almost in that "eek, it's overgrown stage" but not quite.

Our Eden Roses are still blooming away, they have done so well this year, probably because it has been quite a bit hotter than we are used to here by the beach. They are twining all around the patio overhang, so beautiful and romantic!

I love all the Lavenders, this year we planted a huge cement urn full of them, and they are doing so well, lots of those fragrant, purple and lavender flowers, they are a favorite of bees and humming birds, so the urn has plenty of visitors each day!

This used to be the herb garden, Mr. FGH has tried a few new things (not really in love with them myself) so now it is a little overgrown. Somewhere in there, are the herbs. The little cherub bird bath is hiding in there, somewhere. Luckily the birds can still find it, and they are busy taking a bath each afternoon before they retire for the evening.

The Morning Glory in full swing. A busy place as bees, butterflies and humming birds all love to come and drink nectar from these stunning blue blossoms! (my back fence neighbor hates this vine, it does go everywhere, and fast!)

A beautiful Geranium, I have an old ladder (I took it out of someone's trash 20 years ago!) on one side of the patio, and I just use it to display seasonal pots of color. This geranium is a favorite, it looks a bit more pink than in real life, it's a great peach~pink color.

The Ferns are such great colors. The one above is your regular, garden variety fern, the new leaves have that gorgeous Chartreuse Green color we all so love!

This rabbit's foot fern was here when we bought the house. They are interesting, with furry parts that do indeed look like a rabbit's foot!

Looking at the back fence, you can see the Bouganville. (also hated by my back fence neighbor!) The color is fabulous, but this one is about to get a really good haircut, it tends to take over. And it has the sharpest ever thorns! yikes.

You can't beat the hot pink color, though! It really perks up the garden, and will bloom late into the summer, when most of the other plants are kind of at their end. Hope you had a fun and happy holiday weekend!