Beloved Flavor: Sandplum Jelly


Dad picks from an unusually tall bush.
So pretty shimmering in a jar and so tasty spread on a piece of toast, sandplum jelly is a delightful legacy of the Kansas and Oklahoma sandhills. I do not believe that it is available commercially, but you may be lucky enough to live where the sandplums grow wild and then you can make your own. 

A Kansas Country Garden: 4 Reasons to Love Daylilies

The highlight of my summer garden has to be the daylilies (whose botanical name is Hemerocallis). Vivid splashes of color alternating with soft billows of pastels give beauty and substance to the garden. There are lots of reasons to love daylilies. Here are four reasons that I love daylilies.

Each flower lasts only a day. 

If I could only have one daylily, it would probably be orange.
Yes, that is something to love about this flower. That simple fact compels me to stroll through the garden each day and see, really see and cherish what is here today. It will not be the same tomorrow. Such beauty! So short a time! "Consider the lilies," said Jesus (Luke 12:27) and though the flowers he was referring to might not be quite the same as what grows in my garden, his advice is always worth following. True, there will be more blooms as each stalk has multiple buds, but tomorrow today's blooms will be faded and shriveling. Daylilies are mini-prophets whispering to us, "Embrace today. See it! Appreciate it! Tomorrow cannot be known, but this moment can."