April showers bring May flowers, right? I certainly hope so.

My mother and her best friend, Debbie, came up to Greensboro this weekend for their annual Spring gardening weekend. They arrived on Friday in time to check out a project I’m working on downtown and enjoy a casual grilled steak dinner in the backyard.

On Saturday we hit New Garden Nursery early and picked up a bounty of colorful blooms – as well as many many bags of mulch. Before the rain hit, my Mom and Debbie were able to transform my backyard and prepare it for another spring and summer full of flowering fun.

Meanwhile, I stopped by The Fresh Market for a Mediterranean themed dinner of lamb burgers, a fresh salad of heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, olives and whole marinated artichoke hearts and an enormous grilled Turkish flatbread from Nazareth Bread. I must admit, this was one of the better Mediterranean meals I’ve made – I can’t wait to share the lamb burger recipe!

We ate our last bites before the rain began — and did not stop until, well, it’s still raining now…

On Sunday, we slowed down for a day of shopping (at Midtown Olive Press and Savory Spice Shop!) and lounging by the fire. Yes, a fire at the end of April! We concluded the weekend with a homemade asparagus tart with goat cheese and white truffle oil, leftover salad and a crisp dry bottle of rose.

Another busy week ahead. I’ll share the recipes to keep you looking for the weekend!