Sea + Prairie

in the garden :: late spring

It has been a few days since I've been in the garden.  It has rained and rained and rained for days now.  We're about to float away here in Virginia.  And I've been forced to back off a bit and let nature do its thing.    

There are mornings that my boys wake up in the morning and I swear that they were 2 inches shorter when I put them to bed the night before.  That's how Im feeling about the garden this morning as I walk around and see what a few days of rain can do.  

The mint is exploding!  

The sugar snap peas are full and fat with the new moisture.  

The garlic, onions and leeks are doing their thing.

The side boards of the  raised beds are barely holding in the chives, basil, rosemary and oregano that are spilling over into the yard.

The boys have been invaluable at helping me keep up with the weeding.  And Im so thankful that they are at an age to really enjoy helping out.  Seems like some of our best conversations happen while pulling weeds.  Something about the hands being busy, allows the thoughts to flow.  

And its a good thing, because as the boys were on the soccer field last week, I noticed the shorts were hitting them a bit higher up on the leg than they were last week.

It happens overnight sometimes, doesn't it?

crazy summer = beautiful garden

After a very difficult and crazy summer, I am welcoming Fall with open arms.

Welcome!

I'm glad you're here!

A few weeks ago, on a drive out to the farm to pick up our CSA and I spied the first yellow leaf clinging to a birch branch.  I almost broke into tears at the promise of a shift in the season - both the natural season, and our season of grief.

When things have gotten tough around here, in true "me" fashion, I've retreated to the garden.  And good for me I have done so, because the garden is beautiful right now.  The fullness of the garden right now seems to be in equal proportion to the heaviness I've been feeling.  

*note* when you are surrounded by things you can not change, its good to focus on things you can, like gardening.

**another note, I think I need to repaint the large pots on either side of the front door...hmmm....now what color?

The backyard vegetable garden took a beating thanks to Hurricane Irene, but the front beds are absolutely gorgeous in all their Fall bounty right now.  

This time last year, a good friend and I began tearing out the large boxwood bushes that covered the front of our house.  They were gangly and not getting enough sun now that the trees are beginning to mature.  It was time, and I needed a project on which to focus my energies.

The front beds sat there bare and frozen all winter leaving the neighbors to wonder what the heck I was thinking.

I planned those beds all winter long.

And when Spring poked its little head out the very first time, I began digging in again.

I knew I wanted to stick with more texture and a simple color pallet.  Purples, lime greens, dark, greens, whites, variegated leaves, and simple flowers that would attract birds and butterflies.

All of that planning and digging paid off this summer.

Today, I added a few dark purple colored mums to the pots on either side of the front door replacing some of the summer annuals that were looking sickly.  They blend perfectly with what's already in place.

If you interested, a list of what I planted is below.  Are you getting your beds ready for Fall too?  I'd love to hear what your planting.  What's your favorite new addition?

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Purple Leaves: Sweet Potato Vine, Weigela, Heuchera, Purple Cabbage

Lime Green Leaves: Choleus, Creeping Jennie, Japanese Maple

Texture:  Lamb's Ear, Swiss Chard, 

Smell:  Gardenia, Verbena

Variegated Leaves:  Hosta, Pittosporum

Edibles:  Purple Cabbage, Kale, Swiss Chard

Pops of Color:  Echinacea (Purple Cone Flower), Swiss Chard, Verbena, Salvia, White Periwinkles, Morning Glories

Attractive to Birds and Bees:  Sweet Potato Vine, Verbena, Salvia, , Gardenia, White Periwinkles, Echinacea, Foxglove

busy, busy, busy

in the last 8 days we have...

finished 2 teacher quilts,

picked zinnias 9 from the garden,

visited the Contemporary Art Center's Boardwalk Art Show and Inflatable Art Exhibit with 2 good friends,

eaten 3 cantaloupes from the market, and eaten our weight in popsicles,

picked 7 tomatoes...there's always one that can't follow the rules of how to become a pretty tomato, eh?

visited with our 2 cousins (1 tia, 1 tio and an abuelita) at the beach,

played 6 games of kickball, 

run in from the rain 3 times,

said good bye to 4 great teachers,

and umpteen jillion friends (but just for the summer),

...and today is only the first day official day of summer.

 

Looks like its going to be a busy one!

Using Spring Greens : Swiss Chard

This morning it is quiet.

Other than the mama mallard duck outside the front door quacking away for her breakfast.

She had an injured foot for awhile and she couldn't walk very well, so she set up shop in our flower beds.  The stalking cats didn't even seem to bother her.  So Wyatt started feeding her every morning.  Now she's gotten a bit demanding and quacks loudly if she doesn't get her morning meal.

I've been busy this morning.

Right now the whole house smells like spinach.  When I was a kid I used to hate that particular smell.  But now love it.  So earthy and rich.

Between the chard that I have raised and what we've been getting from our CSA, my cup overfloweth with swiss chard.  I'm trying to be better this year about freezing what we can't use right away.  So far so good.

Chard seems to be one of those greens that are a bit new to some of us and if you receive a bunch in your csa, you might not know what to do with it.

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The NYT has a great article about the health benefits of chard and a nice list of recipes.  We have tried several of them and so far our favorites are to throw a bit into our pizza like we would spinach and thrown in eggs with a bit of onion and tomato.

From what I've read so far, the only greens you can't freeze is lettuce.  So, everything else we're freezing for later use.

Kale, Chard, Spinach, Turnip Greens, etc. can all be blanched and frozen.

I've been collecting recipes using chard.  Below is a list of some of our favorites.

 

How To Freeze Swiss Chard And Other Spring Greens

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Step 1 - Pick the greens!

Remember that the greens cook down quite a bit, so you may feel like you have picked a lot, but they will cook down by more than half.

Step 2 - Wash the greens

Step 3 - Trim off any brown edges or damaged pieces 

Step 4 - Blanch

Fill a large pot half way full of water.  Bring water to a boil.  Add greens and boil briefly for 2-3 minutes.

Step 5 - Cool

Stop the greens from overcooking by dipping them quickly a bowl of ice water.  Then drain them in a strainer.

Step 6 - Bag the greens

When greens are drained, seal them in ziploc type bags.

Step 7 - Label and freeze

Using a sharpie marker, label and date the bags and pop them in the freezer.

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If you have a great use for chard or other greens, I would love to hear how you are using all of these great spring greens!

A Most Perfect Morning

 

Sometimes people ask, if you were to have a day to yourself, what would you do.

Well yesterday I didn't have an entire day to myself, but I did get a morning.  And it could not have been more perfect.

One of my best friends and I have had some time blocked off on the calendar for what seems to be weeks now.  We didn't know what we would be doing, and honestly it didn't really matter.  But we knew getting together was important, chatting, grabbing a cup of coffee.  Wandering...all very important you know.

We ended up driving out to a little rural area just South of here.  Just the drive was therapeutic.  As the grocery stores and drive-throughs gave way to planted fields and farms stands, I could just feel the pressures and stresses we've both felt as of late melt away.

We ended up at a new little antique/vintage/handmade shop called Southern Fried.  We were there 30 minutes before opening time, but the owners let us in and browse anyway. Love it when shop owners are so nice. If you are local you should definitely check it out.

Next we ended up at one of our favorite plant nurseries.  It is not the cheapest place to buy plants, but they put things together so nicely it is a great place to get ideas of color combinations and textures.  You end up thinking about putting plants together you'd never think of.  Kind of like browsing through an Anthropologie store.  I can't afford to buy anything, but just looking at different ways of putting together what you already have is inspirational!

We didn't end up buying much.  I picked up some Lamb's ear to replace some I lost when I re-did our front flower beds.  And my friend picked up a gorgeous dark purple pepper plant (I can't remember the name now) that neither of us had ever seen before.

And I loved seeing all of the new colors, most importantly salmon colored verbena.  I have some around our mailbox in purple, but never seen it in this soft peachy color.  Love it!

And succulents!  I could very well become addicted to all of the new varieties of succulents.  That wouldn't be such a bad thing would it?

So happy to be heading into a very busy next few days feeling a bit more rested, calmed, centered.

There is a lot going on this weekend.  We'll see how much we can fit in, but our next few days may include any combination of the following: 

• The Warbirds show is this weekend.
• And its sheep shearing time at our favorite farm.
• Scouting some logs to make some of Blair's stump tables.
• Updating the ipod with songs from Alexander.  Thanks for the rec Sara!
• Alyssa has her second soccer game on Saturday night.  Go Piranhas!
• A birthday party for a little friend to attend.
• A breakfast meeting.
• Two more soccer games for the boys.
• Strawberry picking is a must!
• And I'd like to work on the teacher quilts too.

It might all be a bit too much to ask, but if I get half of it done I'll call it good!

Happy weekend to you!

From Garden to Table

Our first harvests from the garden are making their way to our dinner table slowly but surely.

Our greens include, baby chard, spinach, red leaf lettuce, butter crunch lettuce, dill, cilantro and parsley.

The boys are even eating salad now tossed in a little raspberry balsamic vinagrette.

Progress!

In the Garden: Very Early Spring

I've been trying out a new little garden helper program called Sprout Robot.  This little application is one that makes me think, "Now why didn't I think of this."  But nevertheless, I am in love with Sprout Robot.

You simply plug in your gardening zone, pick from the extensive list of fruits and veggies you would like to grow and Sprout Robot delivers sowing dates, transplanting dates, etc to your email inbox.  Brilliant!

Totally takes the guess work out of it.

With all of the talk about food prices and gas prices on the rise, it makes me really happy that we will be growing twice as much food for ourselves as we did last year.  Every little bit helps, eh?

Now, we had a pretty good little freeze last week after Sprout Robot said I could plant. But I keep a few old bed sheets ready to throw over tender seedlings for just this issue.  The little lettuces and kale did just fine.  My mom reminded me that my Aunt Grace used to put Ball canning jars over her seedlings.  And you can re-use old milk jugs for this as well.

For you folks up North, I hope you all are getting a few more signs of Springs arrival.  Here on the Virginia coast it is supposed to be almost 80 here.  But don't be too jealous.  We'll be back into the 40's tomorrow.  Ahhh...February, you drive me crazy with your teasing.

 

Spring Spotting

First it was Molly's daffodils over on flickr.  Then Blair posted about her hellebores popping their pretty little heads up.

All of this talk about Spring made me do a little walk around our yard to see what signs of Spring might be showing themselves.  Actually I said a little prayer before I walked out the front door that there would in fact be some sort of encouragement in the way of Spring. Please!

I was not disappointed.

 

Spring Inside

-Seeds are sprouting

-Sun is showing up in places (like the front stairs) we haven't seen all winter

Spring Outside

-the garden is waking up

-leeks and winter onions will be ready soon

-daffodils are about three inches up already

-the woodpile is much, much depleated

-there are buds on the maple tree out front...buds!

 

I'm glad I did all of that Spring spotting this morning.  There is a fire in the fireplace again. We are expecting snow tonight.

Gotta love February.

Winter: In the Garden

I know the title of this post says "in the garden", but I have to be honest.  There is not much going on in the veggie garden right now.

Despite having some old windows ready to use as a temporary cold frame, we were in Texas when the real cold weather decided to arrive.  So very few of my winter plantings made it.

But hope is alive!  The seed catalogs are arriving!

The boys and I have spent a good amount of time perusing through our most favorite seed catalog.  The Baker Creek's Heirloom seeds are our favorite.  With so much color and variety, this catalog is perfect for children...and those of us with children.  We are already day dreaming about striped tomatoes, purple potatoes and yellow watermelons.

And this year, we will have to new raised beds to fill!

I think one will be the tomato bed.  One for spring greens and onions.  This will give us the ability to actually rotate our "crops".  Oh, the possibilities.

And every garbage day the boys keep an eye out for tires.  The boys loved growing potatoes in tires so much last year, they were bound and determined to increase production this year.  We've picked up six more unwanted tires, so we are off to a good start.

We were able to see my friend Julie's amazing garden last year while in Maine.  She had the most amazing set up and I returned completely inspired.  I haven't been able to get Julie's garden our of my head.  

The photo above is one I took of Julie's garden last summer.  The others on my hard drive continue to be my inspiration.  (Hi Julie and family!)

Before you know it, our seeds will have arrived and we'll be transplanting seedlings.  And not long after that we'll be tasting the first fruits of our labor.

What are you planning on growing this year?  Are you trying something new?  Feel free to share a hint or good idea.  A gardener can always learn something new.

What's Growing In The Winter Garden

It is cold here this morning. It didn't officially freeze, but it got pretty close.  I even lit the first fire in the fireplace this morning.  Every time I light a fire by myself, I am thankful that my Dad taught me well.

With the time change we had an extra hour to snuggle in front of the fire with warm vanilla milk, which has not replaced hot cocoa.

This is the time of year, when it first starts to get cold, I just can't seem to get warm.  I take warm baths and carry around a cup of tea all day.

But out in the garden, the plants loving the cooler temperatures.

Kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, lettuces, onions, leeks and other greens all love cool mornings and sunny afternoons.

One of the best things about winter gardening is no pests!  We are usually fighting the cabbage worms, but not this season.  Those pretty full leaves are testament to the lack of garden pests.

So far we've been having lots of fresh salads, but soon we should be able to add a few more items to the dinner table.

Anyone else growing a winter garden?