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Apr 7, 2008 | 9:49 PM PST
Tags: spring , srping time , spring time gardening , lettuce , cabbage , cauliflower , broccoli , spinach , peas
Now is the time to start the spring time gardening. Here in IL, we have received so much rain that there has even been some flooding. We are fortunate to not have had any flooding right where we live, but all the rain has slowed us up in being able to till the garden and plant our seeds and small plants. I am so looking forward to being able to get out into the garden. I just love gardening. And last years garden was such a success, that I am praying this years will be as great, if not greater! I want to plant similar things as I did last year, like lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach (which I think I love the most of all the spring crops), peas and so forth. In addition to my garden being a success, I pray your is a success as well. God bless all who read this post.
RubyRedTomatop>
Apr 4, 2008 | 2:42 PM PST
Tags: pomegranate , bloom , spring
I just got some manure top dressing down before last nights gentle rain! Gentle rain is really cool, because here in Texas it usually is either bone dry or knee deep.
I went out this morning to pull a few weeds and inspect the manure soaking (yes, that is what I call excitement these days). I was all hunched down there yanking out tiny weeds, and stood up too close to the tree. I bumped a limb and received a nice dose of raindrops down the back of my shirt. After doing a little jig and sneaking a peek to see if any of my neighbors saw that ( Whew!), I turned my gaze towards the limb all prepared to give it a stern talking to. But I stopped in my tracks...
Well, lookie here!
I have counted about 10 blooms so far. They turn into fruits as the flower is pushed off. They will be ripe in late October.
and the mama tree (My 4th season with this pom - I am guessing it is 6 yrs total(?)):
Mar 29, 2008 | 3:54 PM PST
Tag: Spring
It is hard to believe that we are almost in April. The last two and a half weeks have been a blur of activites, none of which are garden related.
Two of our daughters were home for their spring breaks at seperate times, with a short overlap. It was nice to spend time with each of them and the family as a whole. The third daughter also had a week break and it was different than the other also. Time with her has been spent looking at colleges in an effort to make a selection. There are still two more to view and then it will be time to make her selection. It has been fun but at the same time un nerving. The thought of financing another college education is a bit scary. This step forward in her life is going to be a great one for her and I am happy for her. For DH and I it means changes at home based on the empty nest-that will be fun and scary in its own right.
Part of the spring break activities inclued sewing a medival style dress for one daughter and that was great fun. Easter was quite. All in all it was fun to spend time as a family and we are all on the count down to HS graduation, college selection, and the summer.
THere have been meetings to attend, work that needed completion and interest outside my gardening that I have been focusing my energy on. Additionally, my computer is dying a slow death. First the internet connection went arye and now the blue screen of death seems to be with me more than not. By the good graces of our daughter I write here today. After all the high ticket repairs on two of our cars in the last two weeks, I don't see a new computer in the near future.
While I have spent quality time in the garden of my family, I am looking forward to getting my hands into the earth. I have missed my connections here at GG.
On the gardening front, my greenhouse blew over in the big windstorm but fortunately wasn't damaged too much. We are hoping to get it set back up tomorrow so that I can refocus my energy back on gardening. The signs of spring are everywhere, green here and there..........getting bigger by the day........and the email notification that UPS will be delivering bare roots on monday!
The tumble has been tumbled, but not enough moisture so I have altered that and will continue to tumble. Both sides are going now. Manure will be delivered by my neice in a couple of weeks and next week it is time to put the first pea seeds in the ground.
I am, still very excited about spring coming, sharing in the creation of beautiful plants..............garden on!
Mar 27, 2008 | 10:15 PM PST
Tags: seed , seedling , spring , oops , weed
I have always bought the $1 starter plants as I have a relatively small plot (16x8) and very little time, skill, or patience.
Eager to get started this year, but fearing one more March frost, I gazed longingly at the little peat cups and at the 4-sided Tower of Babel on a swivel. It was filled with seeds of every sort and so many packages! I am partial to edibles but couldn't resist a pack of echinacea (purple coneflowers) and some other perty, young, colorful things.
With high hopes, I decide to take the plunge. I even bought a bag of seeding dirt and a bag of compost - which I can never get into the cart without thinking of my dad back in Mississippi. I'd say, "I'm a real city slicker now, they just tricked me into paying real US dollars for a bag full of cow droppings!"
Having grown up pretty rural, that thought never ceases to amuse me. I can see ol' Cecil laughing out loud as he loads one more plastic bag with cow chips for the city slickers. Shaking his head, he knocks the dust from his seat and climbs back into a 1978 Chevy and heads across the fields for home-spun supper. But, I digress.
I filled each peat cup with a level of seeding dirt. Deciding to err on the side of BrownThumb-caution, I elected to place about 5 seeds per bin. Mind drifting, the thought of Easter eggs crossed my mind as the peat containers reminded me of my formative years dyeing Easter eggs with my Mom.
I made little tags to mark each section. "Let's see: 4 rows of cilantro, 2 Jalapeño, 2 of these new fangled gargantuan Jalapeños, one row of my experiment (broccoli), 1 row of eggplant and some bell peppers." Into each bin, I gingerly spread the seeds apart from each other, taking care to insert them to the exact depth called for on each package, checking each with an electronic seed-sensing caliper.
(OK, I made that last part up. You get one outrageous lie per blog entry from me - then I'm spent.)
I was nearly OCD in my attention to spacing, count, and marking. One more row... I reached for the scissors, nipped off the corner and shook out a few seeds. As I reached to place the last packet back on the table, the package caught the edge of the table. And that's when my over-active reflexes altered my planting season with both drama and flair.
Snatching frantically at the opened package of seeds, my right hand shot forward, catching the package in mid-air...
...and continued on to arc through every open pack of seeds that I had placed (intelligently) just above my seeding tray. Both hands became a frenzied blur sandwiching all the packets for a timely save.
" awHahw Hohhn!! Not zo fest my leetle frends!", I thought in my very best cheesy Three Musketeers-fake-French-accent.
Somewhere about mid-gloat I noticed that both jalapeno packages were upside down and gloriously raining seeds across 90% of my seed trays. They fell in slow motion, tumbling, catching sunlight on the way down like little tiny fire-laden jewels.
Well.
Dang.
Staring down at my assortment of what appeared to be some 200 seeds and more than a little disgusted with myself, I opted to bury them all and let God sort 'em out. Having wounded my pride and lost my patience, I walked to a 10 gallon pot with last season's weeds growing in it. I hacked the weeds lickety split and sowed the remaining seeds helter skelter with all the care that a hacked-off gardner can muster. I dumped a little cover soil on top and spun on my heel to leave. Harrrrrumph!
So now I have trays full of seeds - moistened up and placed to get just a little reflected sunlight. Before long, my terribly skilled efforts have produced many seedlings - most of which are jalapeno, I am sure. I got excited all over again, forgave my idiocy, and began to dote over my little seedlings. There's just something cool about going to seed!
That is, until they began to look a little sickly. So I tried to place them outside for a small dose of afternoon sunlight. This is apparently a bad thing. The next day, all of my 1 1/2 inch seedlings promptly fell over like tiny trees at Mount St Helens. Now, I am confused. This is a pattern I repeat in various forms over a couple of cycles and now I have NO seedlings successfully sprouted in my crazy little peat pot experiment.
Ironically, the helter skleter planting method in full sun has produced a pot full of healthy looking sproutlings. How amazing is that?! Yesterday, I think when I walked by the pot I heard a tiny chorus of voices yelling, "Maama, Mama!"
...which is kind of unsettling since I'm a guy.
If anyone can expound a little on the best methods of veggie seeding, I think we can all agree it is worth my time to study it.
Trowel on,
BrownThumb
Mar 22, 2008 | 6:39 PM PST
Tags: truck , seed bed , Spring , Easter
for the end of this day and its chores. I have 3/4th of the bank out front mulched. My son in another town is going to have to borrow our truck for a week or two, so any more mulching will have to wait.
Doesn't hurt my feelings a bit, as I have so many other things I want to do before it begins to be hot all the time. Lots of digging and moving and weeding to do. Plus the seed bed screen to make and I keep forgetting that I need to finish cleaning out the fence line. After all I did buy that chainsaw to help me with that job. At least I have not planned any more new beds. Just getting the existing beds ready for summer.
I am really seeing plants peeking up all over. It is just so exciting this season called Spring. I am going to take a few pictures tomorrow. That is if I can still walk around after eating Easter dinner at my sons house. The son that is borrowing the truck will be here to eat with us as well. So it will be a very good day for this ole mom/granny.
Received my Astilbes from Spring Hill this week and got them right into the ground. Also ordered some of those plant holders. A big circle with three legs to keep bigger plants from falling over. I think I will enjoy them. I have been making use of some old tomato cages until now. These may look a little prettier.
Going out to visit friends that have a greenhouse over flowing with veggie and flowers. They began growing in the greenhouse to support their gardening hobby. They sent pictures and it is hard to believe they have all those wonderful plants growing. They have over 300 tomato plants alone.
I am hoping he will let our Master Gardeners know when he is going to start selling. He has a little sign that he puts out at the end of his driveway, a small table under his carport that holds a scale for weighing the produce as it comes in during the summer. He has it all down to a gardening science.
Happy Easter Everyone, hope you have a great day. See you on Monday.
More to Come Later
Mar 14, 2008 | 4:34 AM PST
Tags: spring , seed starting
There is life outside here in SECT! I found it, spring IS coming!
Spending the last part of the winter planning out the garden and dreaming about getting outside and digging in.....literally has been a build up to spring that only brought me down. The graphed out garden beds showing where each plant will live, the pile of seeds waiting to be planted, the tumbler that sits next to the garden, the pile of newspapers and bundles of peat moss, the pot maker......they are all indicators that I should be gardening!
Stuff is in the tumbler, and I keep adding to it but I must confess there were a couple of days I didn't get out there to add and turn because the ground was so wet I would need rubber rain boots to slosh around in out there=sloggers just don't cut it!
I love reading the blogs here and seeing the photos. It is all very encouraging and enjoyable to see the progress of my friends yards, seedlings and learning experiences. It is enough to say that the last couple of weeks have been difficult ones and I really NEEDED some food for my soul.
The other day I jumped out of my pity party and took a muddy stroll around the yard and discovered many signs of life. Additionally, it occurred to me that if I collected all he stems, old leaves, cut down the grasses etc off the plants I may very well have the green matter needed to fill the tumbler and really begin the two week process of composting. While manure, I thought, would be the easy solution, the reality of getting it to the back corner [because of the mud] made this a non-option.
After walking around a bit I decided to get the camera and document. When that was finished I came inside reviewed my start seed dates-putting into perspective where I was-and then my daughters and I made the seed starting pots out of newspaper. DH and daughter are planning on putting up the greenhouse today so even if it rains, as planned, I can still get outside and get things started. These were all good things.
His morning I am posting the photos that will serve as a record of where my babies are now and serve as proof that spring really is on its way.
Mar 13, 2008 | 5:51 PM PST
Tags: kale , dianthus , daffodil , spring , mow , weed , viburnum , peach
We have had some wonderful weather here lately and I have been taking advantage of it in the garden! Over the past couple of days I have been doing bits of weeding here and there. Always doing a little at a time helps me keep up on it over the growing season. My girl and I took advantage of the beautiful morning and spent some time enjoying the garden :)
She likes the Daffodils:
We also took some time to examine the dianthus buds:
p>Later on, when she went down for her afternoon nap, I set out to do some more garden chores. I mowed the back yard, edged the beds, raked and weadeated. Always looks so nice when that has all been done!
Here are some more spring happenings I caught along the way:
Baby Peach Tree Planted last spring is flowering:
Viburnum is leafing out very nicely:
Clematis Armandii is starting to bloom:
Carolina Jasmine is doing its thing:
And last but not least...we have a surprise crop of kale growing from seeds that we planted last fall that never germinated due to the drought and total outdoor water ban. We have had so much rain lately that they decided to grow :) LOL
Mar 13, 2008 | 1:48 PM PST
Tags: spring , herbs , butterflies , hummingbirds
Thank goodness! I've discovered I've become the 'wuss' I've teased Rick and my in-laws about being in regards to the cold. I HATE it! Don't much care for the extreme heat either, but at least the heat doesn't cause me no end of agony. Been having a hellacious time with my arthritis, spending a lot of painful days and sleepless nights. I'm looking forward to warmer weather and less pain.
Working on planning my garden for the coming season. Since my space is so limited I've decided that I'm not bothering with vegetables this year. The yield is just so not worth the hassle. I'm going to focus on flowers and herbs instead. One or two plants of any of the variety of herbs I use on a regular basis will be plenty for two of us, but 8 green beans do not a meal make. I'm thinking of doing plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. And since both are usually attracted to the same plants, it'll work well with my limited space.
My main concern with that is I know a lot of butterflies like to lay their eggs on herb plants. Last year I lost my dill and cilantro to caterpillars. I'm thinking about having Rick help me make some kind of screen tent to cover the herbs I want for cooking ... the man can rig up just about anything. I can add some dill and cilantro and other herbs to my flower plantings for the butterflies to lay eggs on, then herbs for everyone!
Mar 12, 2008 | 9:46 PM PST
Tag: spring
Today I planted artichokes, corn, squash, tomatoes, herbs, and a few flowers. We had high clouds and 60-degrees... perfect for working hard. The plums are in full bloom, but the walnuts, pears and apples are still asleep. They'll be awake soon. The violets are perfuming the whole garden... nothing like that scent! What a great day!
Feb 19, 2008 | 9:28 AM PST
Tags: autumn joy , sedum , coreopsis , allium , iris , spring , globe
I ended up having the day off today....so my little girl and I spent a while playing in the garden this morning (once it warmed up a bit).
I noticed some more signs of spring (just when I was beginning to wonder if some of the things I had planted and moved survived).
The globe allium blubls are emerging!!!!!! That is SO exciting. I got them on sale, but even then they weren't so cheap. Also, the autumn joy sedums that I divided last spring seem to be coming back nicely. And, the iris that I divided in the fall is starting to show itself again. So fun when things work out the way you hoped!
Of course, things don't always work out...one of the coreopsis that i got during a summer sale and looked great until frost is not showing any signs of regrowth and the other ones are. I will give it a bit more time before I give up on it completely.
Feb 7, 2008 | 2:34 PM PST
Tags: hosta , cast iron plant , mahonia , spring , ornamental grass
I have been slowly working away at getting all of my ornamental grasses cut back and ready for spring. Its quite a chore when you have a decent number of them. Well, today I finished cutting all of them back and mulching them. I have 11 or so Variagated Miscanthus, and 2 Zebra Grasses. It feels great to have this chore done - and it looks so nice and tidy. My little girl also helped me with some more clean up....
We Dug up 2 cast Iron Plants that were planted in the azalea bed but were somewhat hidden and not doing too well, so I divided them and moved them to the Hydrangea/ Hosta Bed:
Once I had them in the ground, I top dressed each one with a shovel full of compost. Hopefully that will help green them up a bit.
Also pruned back the artemesia, transplanted a mahonia that was in a bad spot, cut back the clematis jackmanii, cut back the liriope seeds, and deadheaded the camellia. Once the little one went down for her nap, I worked on getting more brush to the curb. I also noticed that a lot of things are starting to come out of dormancy and get ready for spring!
The daffodils in the front are starting to emerge, a couple of the things I bought on clearance in the late summer are showing signs of coming back (the butterfly weed and some hydrangeas most noteabley) The creeping phlox and veronica are also starting to bloom :) The roses I purchased from the Antique Rose Website are showing new growth, all the trees and shrubs have their buds, EVEN the weeds are coming out of dormancy! HAH! So fun watching it all unfold!
Here is what the front of the house looks like today:
My view from the front porch today:
I really am enjoying getting the yard all tidy and ready for spring...very gratifiying!
Feb 1, 2008 | 5:37 PM PST
Tags: companion planting , veggies , spring , plan , shopping list
Well, the steps survived! It wasn't a torrential down pour, but it was more than a drizzle....the great thing is that the rain helped clean up the creek even more and the steps look more settled in.
I spent the afternoon dragging more brush to the curb. I also pruned my crepe myrtles and autumn ferns.
But, most notably, I did a lot of garden planning. I have been reading a book on companion planting lately and I really want to use this system in my spring/summer vegetable beds. But, its a lot to think about and my usual method of buying what sounds fun and throwing it in the ground was just making my head hurt...so I needed to plan.
First, I made my wish list of things to plant, then I jotted down their appropriate companions according to my book, then I made my shopping list. And, finally, I got it all down on paper!
Shopping List:
Seeds
:
Spinach
Radish
Carrots
Beets
Cosmos
Onions
Calendula
Plants: (Due to the drought...I plan on starting a lot less from seed this go around)
Cherry Tomatoes
An Heirloom Tomato
Big Boy Tomato
Eggplant
Bell Pepper
Brussel Sprouts
Bush Beans
Pole Beans
Spaghetti Squash
Strawberries
Corn
asparagus
Basil
Parsley
Asters
Dill
Chives
Bee Balm
Black Eyed Susan
Marigolds
I have 2 existing raised beds in the back (about 8 feet by 8 feet) The plan is to add 3 more by spring time... Here is the plan I came up with:
I know its a bit hard to see on the computer...but it will be so helpful to me. I will print it out before I go shopping and have it as a reference while I plant. Now I can get all that confusion out of my brain and onto paper....so, on to the next task!
Jan 29, 2008 | 2:15 AM PST
Tag: spring
Three days of sunny weather and the temperature at 10 deg C - 50 deg F encouraged me to weed and turn over the soil in the front garden. Some crocuses are out and one daffodil whist in the back garden the snow drops are about to burst open.Primulas in a trough are in bloom.Two thirds of the weeding have been done in the back. Why do weeds grow faster than your plants? The scree garden looks healthy and some plants have silently grown and spread as has the grass. It covers the stepping stones in the lawn during the winter when you think nothing is happening. At our last garden group meeting we discussed summer flowering bulbs. We will shortly be visiting Anglesey Abbey (near Cambridge) to see the acres of various snowdrops in bloom. All the garden centres are packed at week ends but beware of buying plug plants unless you can keep them in heated conditions and grow them on. This year the cost of Geraniums has doubled so grow them from seed and cuttings. I will plant my peppers next week and hope that this year will be as good as last year. Little and often in the garden helps to avoid aching backs and get us in trim for spring. The sun has just come through so off I go!
Jan 23, 2008 | 8:34 AM PST
Tags: winter , spring , lilac , rosemary , thyme , oregano , mint , garden , mountains , snow , sage , herbs
Not again! We're surrounded by snow and expecting another storm this weekend. We had blue skies and sunny days for a week, but now...harumpf! Just when my little lilac tree was starting to bud. Poor thing is confused with spring/winter/spring/winter.
Just the other day, I was thinking: What will my herb garden look like after the two feet of snow melts off? I have rosemary, thyme (of two varieties), oregano, sage, mint, and who knows what else may come back up - and twice as big this year, I hope!
When I moved up here in the mountains, I had to uproot my big bin I had planted with herbs. Of course, they all died, as it was in the dead of winter. I grieved over the loss of my little plants, but didn't hesitate to plant another round. They all did very well, and now I am awaiting their return!
In the meantime, I can wish and dream, looking through the seed catalogs.
Anyone have crocus or daffodils yet? Hyacinth? Oh, how I miss those lovely flowers!
I have iris growing at the side of my house, and one little hyacinth. I must get busier this year and plant more!
Jan 14, 2008 | 1:37 PM PST
Tags: holidays , winter , spring , garden , digging , seeds , catalogs
The holidays are over, my days are now mine again. As much as I treasure the holidays, no matter how fun they may be, they always seem a bit stressful and wear me out! I'm always happy the holidays are finished.
Since January is in full-bloom (and nothing else IS here in the high country), I turn my thoughts to work, work, and more work! As it all piles up on my desktop, I gently remind myself that one must take a very necessary break from all this hard work and...well...
Now is the time for all good people to order seed catalogs, dream about Spring, and relish the thought of digging in the soil of Mother Earth to create their very own garden!
I have had dreams of wearing my garden clothes, my gloves, and that silly gardening hat I have hanging in my closet...dreams of comparing one seed to another and how it will look when it pops out of the ground.
The snow, two feet deep, is trampled to slush on the path to my mailbox from my constant forays to check for the latest 'wish books' so that I might have an excuse to take an afternoon break, sifting through hundreds of color photos reminding me how my garden should look! I'm sure my husband would love to install many a mailbox around our property so that he would be relieved of shoveling duty!
In the meantime, I read, dream, and enjoy a strongly brewed cuppa coffee whilst perusing my catalogs. It's as good as Winter gets!
And, I love it!
Dec 18, 2007 | 4:38 PM PST
Tags: baking , sharing , batface , spring
has turned into baking. Something I don't do often. So far there is an Applesauce Cake, Pumpkin Bread and Chocolate Chip/Pecan cookies. Making Lemon Squares this evening. Want to bake Banana Nut Bread as well. I guess you can tell how I gained those 30 pounds I lost over this last year in the first place.
Decided since we were visiting the doc, the hairdresser, the rehab gals and want to share with my Chiro guy, this would be the time to bake.
The boys and their familes will be here on Saturday for a Christmas brunch. So there will be apples seasoned sweetly and cooked slowly in the crockpot, Sausage/Egg Casserole, bisquits, bacon, perhaps waffles for those that don't do the casserole bit. There are always a few that don't do the really tasty morsels. Then we will roast some of those pecans my DH has been feverishly cracking. Some of those will be salted and just for me I will use a little sugar and cinnamon on a few.
And under my little 4ft prelit Christmas Tree will be a gift for one and all. My gift from hubby will be my pierced ears, shining for all to see and hopefully not shining from infection. I intend to keep them clean. He also has found a charcoal grey set of pearl jewlery he wants me to get, necklace, earrings and bracelet. Mind you we are not into surprises in this house. Although I do surprise him once in awhile and he did do some shopping alone today while I waited in the car. No telling what that might be. Surprise - Surprise!!
All in all it will be a great day. Any day with your kids and family members around is a good day.
We got a good freeze last night, was a reported 22 degrees early this morning. My neighbor and I were commenting on the fact that one of her new plants for the year, the Batface Cuphea does not look as though the cold hurt it at all. We are eager to see if it will be a comeback for the spring. We both really liked it.
There will be some more cutting back and pruning right after Christmas and then the gardens will really be put to bed for a few months. To think here in the south, by late February, early March the bulbs will be ready to display their beauty. Bring it on.
More to Come Later
Dec 14, 2007 | 6:25 AM PST
Tags: fall , cleanup , rake , leaves , blooms , spring , grass , color , front , yard , back
Its been a while since I have spent a good chunk of productive time in the garden. And, yesterday...I did just that. In the morning, my girl and I made Christmas cookies and when she went down for her nap, I headed out to the garden. I did some clean up; such as raking and pruning. I also had some fun with my new camera. The weather here has been very wacky! The highs for the last week have been around 80, so we are having a false spring....things are blooming and buds are appearing. Its quite strange, because there are still many signs of fall in the garden. The Laurapedelum is in full bloom:
And yet, the grasses are showing all their fall color:
After a couple hours of clean up (It didn't need as much work as I thought, I guess all the hard work in the summer really payed off) This is what the yard looks like:
Front yard:
Side view of front yard:
Back Yard Views:
May 9, 2007 | 10:38 AM PST
Tags: tulip , edible , flower , spring
There are now more than 3,000 named varieties of tulips, coming in all sorts of colors, sizes, and bloom times. A couple hours drive, north of my home are fields and fields of tulips grown and sold all over the United States. In the springtime, people from all over flock to those fields to witness the beauty of the tulips and celebrate the ending of winter.
I too celebrate the blooming of tulips in my yard, as they herald in spring and bring color back to my garden in a way that drives away the doldrums of winter. I planted tulip bulbs a couple of years ago, during the fall, after ordering a collection of varieties described as romantic, with hues of red, orange, and yellow.
I got mine from a Dutch tulip company, which had an incredible selection of varieties. I haven’t seen anywhere else offer as much selection as the Dutch companies, so if interested, I’d recommend looking there first.
Tulips require a period of cold for them to bloom, which is why I planted mine in the fall.
My tulips have been pretty low care. In the summer the stalks die and I trim them back, not so much for the health of the flower, but to just keep my flower bed looking nice. A few of my tulips look diseased this year, in which they look burnt and didn't reach their full height. From reading on the topic, it sounds like what could have caused this is that they didn't get enough water in the growing phase, which is pretty important for tulips.
All parts of tulips are reported as being edible, though I have only tried the petals. I found the petals to have a pleasant flavor, kind of like that of a sweet pea, which is a flavor I have liked since I was a child. My kids like the flavor too and have shocked visitors to our house by nonchalantly eating the flowers as a snack. My Grandmother once told me that during World War II, people in Holland supplemented their diet with Tulips.
The petals can add great color to fruit salad or desserts. I’ve been meaning to try a recipe I have seen for awhile of stuffed tulips, in which you take a tulip blossom and stuff it, kind of like you would stuff a sweet pepper, and bake them in the oven. Since sweet peppers don’t really grow well in my area and tulips do, this has looked like a great and colorful thing to try. Tulip blossoms have some resiliency in their structure, so they would be good for something like this.
Apr 30, 2007 | 6:38 AM PST
Tag: spring
Beautiful bright sunny day today first up going to cut the grass with all the rain we had its really greened up and needs a hair cut. After that will work on the beds want to move and split a few things going to plant a pansey basket for the back door. I finally bought 2 of the hydragea endless summer shrubs i have been wanting these since they came out and they will replace the spirea at the back border of the rock garden. need to find a home for the service berry out front site is to shady and they get lost up against the fence the foliage is just too dark. so much to do so little time :-)
Apr 23, 2007 | 4:04 PM PST
Tags: watercress , water plant , edible , creek , spring , water garden
I have a spring that starts in my next door neighbor’s yard, forms a little creek in my yard, before flowing in to and out of a pond.
Here is a picture of the top part of my creek, which has filled with watercress, below the ostrich ferns.
I planted watercress by seed in my creek a couple of years ago. I believe seed is the easiest way to plant it, due to the fragility of the plants. Since I planted it, it has been growing to such an extent that in the spring and fall time it can go from a little plant to filling my creek in about a month’s time. During the summer it seems to slowdown in growth. I have had to be pretty aggressive in controlling it, which has been easy since the plants are not deeply rooted and kind of float on the shallow water.
Watercress has a kind of mild peppery flavor to it. My primary use has been as a substitute for lettuce on sandwiches, which is pretty good. I tried adding it to stir fry, which I heard is done in China, but it didn't pass my kids taste test, so I doubt I will do that again.
Wikipedia claims that:
"Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C....Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a mild stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have cancer-suppressing properties." Wikipedia also warns to not harvest it around farm animals, due to possible contamination from parasites, of course, this should apply to any vegetable or salad green harvested and used in its raw form.
I am looking for more great uses of this prolific plant and would love any suggestions.
