My Lovely Garden … Mon Joli Jardin

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

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Walking in the rain. Created the most delicious lasagna. Friday was a super day.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

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Friday morning .. wasn’t sure if it was going to be a sunny day or if the rains were actually going to happen.  Air was quite muggy.

Spent a few hours outside, continuing to sort plant pots.  Check on seedlings.   Mix the seaweed in amongst the garlic and into some veggie beds.  Having quite a lovely time of it, really, just working away, here and there. Feeling great that the yard is taking shape.  It will take a few more weeks and then I’ll really have done a thorough job of tidying up.

Finishing planting some fancy geraniums,   Found the best area for my new grape plant .. at the south side of the house.   Just have to dig up the hard soil about a foot and then place the vine in firmly.    When the sun does shine, this part of the yard is the absolute hottest.  I’ll take some pics when I’ve planted it.

Filled with joy when I discovered that a Salmon berry plant was thriving at the side of the yard.  Last year it looked like a dry stick and so I was just so sad.   Here it’s been growing strongly, beneath some bushes .. so time to relocate this little guy, so it can grow in more open space.

There are about 20 Red Hot Poker plants all thriving well in pots.  These I had potted up last year and just left them to grow .. or not . .and they have all decided to grow.   So, time to share these with others, as a yard can only handle so many, I think.  The birds love the brick-red tubular flowers .. as do the butterflies and hummingbirds. Just as I’m clipping away roses from the side yard, the faintest of little rain drops start to fall.   Then nothing .. so I wasn’t sure if the rains were going to be the type that start and stop.

Kept clipping away. Next, time to check on my latest seeds to see if they’ve sprouted .. . nothing yet.   And then to the very back, to place some stakes around the Silverberry bush, which should be growing tall and instead is tending to loom over the yard … soon had the main branches aiming upwards, adding more space to walk around the back area. Now the rains were pouring down in earnest.

I lingered outside awhile.  Enjoying the feeling of being outside in the rain.  Lovely damp earthy smell as the water hits the ground.  Feeling like a kid again .. listening to the birds.   After awhile … time to head indoors. And time to work on the recycling inside.    Found a bucket of music cassettes .. some going back 20 years.   Troupe music from  several forms of folk dancing, middle eastern dancing, clogging.

Let’s see .. when is the last time that I’ve played these tapes .. too long .. time to recycle. So for a few hours I stand at a counter, tiny screwdriver in hand, slowly undoing the 5 screws that hold the cassette together.  Salvage the plastic bits in one container, the metal bits in another.   And, unfortunately, not able to recycle the actual tape .. well, I’ve seen sites where clever people have actually knitted things from this tape, but I know that’s not going to happen here.

So, out it goes. I’ve dissected about 20 or so cassettes …. and time for a break.

So I go for a little walk out in the rainy .. see a neighbour with her daughter and most beautiful little baby .. all are so happy .. and I smile as I continue my walk. Love walking in the rain! And later, back home, time to cook up another gigantic lasagna dish.

This time I’m using the Lambs Quarters that my pal D has collected when we went to the beach.  Thanks to her I have a huge bowl of these most lovely greens to use, instead of spinach. Using those amazing no-cook lasagna strips makes the process so easy.  I cooked up a mixture of chopped onions, ground chicken, ground veggie meal, the last of the frozen tomatillo’s from last year’s harvest and a few frozen green tomatoes.

Add salsa and canned tomatoes (blended up).    First I browned the onions and meat .. then added the rest. Spread a layer of this mixture into the lasagna pan, then a layer of lasagna sections.   A thick layer of the Lambs Quarters.  These are considered a weed .. but, as I’m finding out .. a lot of “weeds” are highly nutritious and delicious.

Then added 2% cottage cheese, some sauce, some shredded mozzarella and repeated layers  till there was absolutely no more room in the pan, except for the last layer of just blended tomatoes on the top .. to soften the lasagna.  A thick layer of shredded mozzarella .. and into the oven.

Cooked for an hour.   MMMMMMMMMM

Sort of thought of taking a photo, but by then, I’d cut into the lasagna .. oh, it was delicious.  So just imagine the most golden brown cheese encrusted lasagna dish that you have ever seen in your life .. times two .. and that would be the finished dish! Absolutely the best lasagna!

Some will be frozen for future meals .. that is .. if we can stop ourselves from cutting a slice and heating it up for a meal!

Twas quite a day.


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More on garlic and the powers of EM

Monday, June 18, 2012

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So, the winds arrived on Sunday .. well, they were really a continuation from the past few days.  They really dry out the soil so I had my little garden sprinkler on in several places, in particular in the garlic patch.

Still gathering some garlic scapes.  Funny, some of them are so small, they are easy to miss.  I’ve read that only hardneck has scapes, but I’m also finding them on the soft neck also.

I’d purchased 4 types of garlic from Richter’s a few years ago… had started off with a lovely sign for each type, or so I’d thought.  Quite cute, I thought, writing the name of the garlic on a large shell, using permanent black felt marker.   Until the weathering from the rain and the winters caused the letters to fade.  I was then left with quite a quantity of garlic and used to guess which bulbs they were.

Well, the Kazakhstan, Music and a few others were just mixed in together.  Now I realized that I am not the world’s best organizer in the world of plants and that just suits me fine.  Gotta live with what’s there, right?  I’ll leave it to other gardeners to neatly label, sort and plant nice orderly gardens.  That just doesn’t work with me.

And this just adds to the zany colourful and magical world of gardening.

I’d also purchased a few Elephant garlic cloves from a market stall and planted these alongside the fence at the side of the yard.  Last year I was rewarded with several baseball sized single cloves.  These were just delicious . .mild and flavourful.

What I would love is a large field so I could plant more garlic .. am I obsessed?  That’s ok if I am .. not a bad obsession, I think.  Our next place will definitely have more space for gardening.  I’m using this year to show my sweetie that I really can be tidier and organized (in my own way, though!) and am getting to be more successful in growing fruits and veggies.

This success, though, is mainly due to that most wonderful EM .. with the addition of seaweed.  And also some spent hops which I collect from time to time.  Adding to the lovely garden beds.  And the best compost of my life .. now that I’m more aware of the correct procedures of composting.  Information learned in the OMG course, Gaia College.  Changed my life forever in the way that I garden.

So, anyway, yesterday .. I’d been hit, out of the blue, by some kind of bug that must have been picked up when we went out for supper a few nights ago.  So I fought it as best I could.  Taking a spoonful of concentrated EM … feeling the improvement.  Lots of water with lemon.   Tried to work outside, but no energy .. oh, I dislike being ill, yes I do.

Still, I dressed up for gardening, not keeping a good woman out of her garden!  Topped up the bird feeders … they were empty, whether due to the winds shaking the contents about or perhaps a heavy influx of birds, who knows!

Wandered back to the latest gardening area.   Planning to fill in some areas with spoiled hay, seaweed gathered last week.  Mix in some soil.  Plant some squash and some basil.  Lovely.

And I have this great little herb seed gift pack from years ago to plant up.  The kit contains some great little labels, printed on think copper sign posts.  They will look great.

Played with my new lawnmower .. so happy to have a push mower again!  Two-fold activity .. burn a few calories and cut the grass without pollution and noise .. hmm .. that’s three-fold!

Gathered a few more roses for drying.  Abundant blooms this year.  Can you say “EM”?

Wandered around the garlic plants .. those scapes keep growing, even when picked.  And today, I’ll make up another batch of garlic scape pesto, adding lots of garlic gathered from last years crop.  This is green-gold!!

Another great day.  And today .. energized, time to go outside and play some more.

🙂


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The Universe is kind .. and now I have a manual lawnmower and a grapevine to plant, in the sun

Saturday, June 16, 2012

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So, yesterday, I spent nearly the whole day in the garden, from early morning till later afternoon.

My intention was to proceed with the clearing up of cuttings made last spring, sort plant pots.  Decided to make a pile of things to give away, including the majority of those fantastic hard styrofoam flats that are just magic for propagating those difficult things, like boxwood, bay laurel, etc.

There are about 80 cells in each flat.    Each cell is about 2 inches in diameter at the top and tapers down to about 1/2 ” .. and they are about 4 ” deep.   They offer tremendous protection throughout the seasons to encourage root formation.  And the root formation for the bay laurels are very strong.  Each time I pried up a cutting from a cell and saw the tremendous root growth .. my belief in the magic of gardening was affirmed.

So I emptied 4 of these flats, have a few more to go.   I was very strict with myself, and any cuttings that didn’t show any roots .. well, they go into the compost.

Next .. I looked at the flats of Boxwood .. what to do with these plants?  I’d originally made the cuttings  …. just to see if they would root.  And they all did!  I was going to have a plant sale, but … changed my mind.  And then the idea began, of actually using these little plants in the yard.

So, I began digging away at the back side of the yard .. at the location where I had located my gigantic leaf compost pile last year.   The soil here is very good.  Gently digging away at the area … I began planting the tiny boxwood plants.   Shook away the soill they grew in, dusted the roots with mycorrhizal fungi to encourage strong growth.

Soon, I had a little border of these plantings.  They look tiny now, but just wait a few months!  I temporarily placed some other potted plants here and there, just to see what the effects would be.  Some variegated grasses, daisies.   Irish Moss will be at the front of the row.  They add a touch of brilliant green foliage and brighten up this area.

Once I’ve determined the final shaping of this area and the little veggie place at the back (where I’ll plant those Kentucky Wonder beans!) .. then I’ll put some ground up tree branch mulching … the final remnants of some free material that I gathered from a residence, thanks to Used Victoria.

This will add a good finish to the ground, allowing a soft surface to the little paths here.   And I just don’t like the look of bare ground, anyway.  The mulch will add a sort of carpet like feel to this area.

After hours of digging, on my hands and knees, moving things here and there I was just getting a little tired, so decided to go inside, make a cup of Yorkshire Tea .. and just for the heck of it .. turned on the computer.

Went to Used Victoria and … voila . … there was an ad for a push mower, only a year old and just $10!  Plus, I was the first viewer!!!  Quickly called the owner, and I was the first contact!  So raced over there .. and made my purchase!

I’d really been wanting a push mower.  The last one I owned had been quite heavy and difficult to move, so I’d given it away.

Plus, met some lovely little doggies and some rescued ferrets.  Turns out this gentleman and his wife care greatly for these little animals.  At this time, they have 4, but in the past, they’ve had quite a few.  So inspirational to meet such lovely kind people who care for animals.

Yippee ..  my new lawn mower in my car .. time to make a few grocery purchases on the way home.  And, what do you know!  Plants are on sale at a local supermarket!   There was a lovely selection of ferns, so I chose 4 (includes a Japanese painted fern, beautiful).   Was thinking also about getting another grape-vine, but decided against it.

I’d planted a grapevine in a sort of sunny/shady area a few years ago.  It’s not grown much.  That is, it hadn’t grown much … until .. I watered EM on it!  Now it has flourished and is growing like crazy.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I was able to actually see grapes this year.

Well, wonder of wonders!  There was a grapevine in the store that was going to be discarded, and magically, it was given to me!    This one I will plant in the sun and feed it lots of EM.

How lucky am I, then?   Two wonderful items that I’d really wanted and now I have them!

Back home, I try out the mower .. works great.   The front grassy section of the yard isn’t even, so I had quite a workout and burned a few calories.  Great fun.

So, Friday was a wonderful day for gardening and so onwards and upwards, will continue today!

🙂


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Another lovely day in the garden …

So .. I’ve been enjoying all my precious time in the garden.  Still so much to do but I find that things develop in their own good time and I just learn to flow with it.

I’ve been tending to my compost bins, alternately layering kitchen scraps with manure, hay, cardboard, kelp, glacial rock dust.   MMMMM

My garlic crop is fantastic and yesterday I clipped the scapes .. they are delicious.

Surprise potato plants have been emerging from the garden.  It’s true .. once you plant potatoes, you’ll always have them.

Mixed in alpaca manure with the spoiled hay, leaf mulch and some pea cuttings (planted to inject nitrogen in the soil)    Tomorrow I’ll plant the lovely kale plants (gift of my neighbour) and the balance of the sprouted garlic that I’d not yet planted.