My New Bed with Wine Bottle Edging January 31, 2015

 Just trying to think of something useful to do with all the empty wine bottles we go through...

Project Completed in the Max's Garden January 31, 2015

 Years ago I made a massive flowerbed in the side yard.  But I never liked it - creepy walking through it and hard to weed it, and hard to appreciate it because you couldn't walk in it.  So for the last month or so I have been creating paths with cedar logs, digging out the soil in the paths, and filling new beds with that soil.  I have transplanted some Pink Muhly Grass and a Copper Canyon Daisy that were in the way, but for the most part, I didn't have to move anything.  In the above photo there is an Anacachoe Orchid tree that I will be able to get to easier and baby it a little bit this spring and summer.  These beds are located in a mostly shady area of the yard.

 In the above and below photos, the three flowerbeds were all one bed.

The two beds at the top of the photo above are new beds that I just built using some of the dirt from the paths I created.  One of the things I'm going to plant are Nicotiana seeds.  I ordered a large packet of seeds a few weeks ago.  Nicotiana flowers are very fragrant.

First Daffodils of Spring January 31, 2015

I don't know the name of this daffodil.  It was mixed in with some Erhlicheers that I bought several years ago.   

Weekend at the Farm January 16, 2015

 This is a metal sign / yard art Josh gave me for Christmas.  He knows me well...

Arrived Thursday evening, limping from a fall off of a ladder and a bandage across my nose from having a basal cell carcinoma cut away from my nose - stitches from the top of my nose to the bottom.  I don't look too good!

• Friday I cleared out the remaining part of the garden that I am splitting up into multiple flowerbeds.  
• Went to the Antique Rose Emporium on Friday.  Yahoo, they were having a sale - half price perennials and $12 roses.  I bought 5 Country Girl mums.  I saw them blooming in the fall last year when I was there, and I was entranced.  Pale purple daisy-like flowers blooming when most things are not.  I loved them, and if they reseed like my Ox Eye Daisies (which they remind me of), they are plants that can really transform my fall garden for the better.  I also bought 3 Indian Pinks.  They are shade lovers that bloom red and yellow flowers.  I bought one Gardenview Scarlett Monarda.  Finally, I bought a Climbing Pinkie rose and a Zepherine Drouhin rose, they are both climbers.
• Jess and Nathan had Oliver's birthday party here on Saturday.  The weather was really pretty - cool and sunny.  About 25 guests.
• Sunday morning I planted my three Spigelia Marilandicas (Indian Pinks) in one of the shady beds I made a couple of weeks ago.
• I planted three of the Country Girl mums in the Star Garden next to my Gruss an Achaan rose, and I planted the other two in the flower bed with the Morning Glory tree.  I had to dig up a bunch of Picasso dwarf cannas.  I put them in pots and will check with my neighbor and my co-worker to see if they want them.
• I planted the  Gardenview Scarlett Monarda in the Morning Glory tree.  That flowerbed has been kind of uninteresting. Hopefully these two plant additions will help.
• I planted the Climbing Pinkie next to one of the metal conveyor belts that my husband set upright in cement in the Star Garden.  I will train it up that support.  Climbing Pinkie is a Polyantha rose, which is a cluster-flowered rose.  It was introduced in 1952.  This rose is supposed to be a prolific bloomer.
• And finally I amended the horrible, rocky soil at the edge of the Rose Garden closest to the front driveway and I planted the Zepherine Drouhin.  This climbing Bourbon rose was introduced in 1868, the flowers are cerise. The Bourbon rose class has the wonderful smell that you associate with the "true" rose smell.  My husband is going to set up a tri-pod around it so I can train this pretty rose upwards.  I would have preferred that he set up the tri-pod first for fear he will trample all over the rose, but he isn't ready to do it.  He spend his time putting in extra shelves in the laundry room and cleaning the oven - both good chores!
• Filled two big black buckets with potting soil, mixed in some greensand and organic fertilizer, set up climbing structures in them, and planted Burpeeana Early peas in the Vegetable Garden.  
• Sowed two rows of Early Wonder beets in the Vegetable Garden.
• Dug up a clump of gingers and moved them to a new bed.  The Hoja Santa will take it over this summer, so I was proactive for a change, and I moved it before it started suffering.
• Fertilized my newest Banana Shrubs and my Brussels Sprouts.

Herbs I Grow in Burton, TX January 10, 2015

I have many herbs growing in my gardens.  I love them.  An herb is any plant that has culinary, medicinal or utilitarian uses.  Some of my herbs:

Alliums - this family includes onions, chives, leeks, and shallots.  My favorites were dug up from a deserted house.  They are leeks.  They disappear in the heat of the summer, but return reliably in the cool weather.  They send up a huge ball-like cluster flower about the size of a tennis ball.  The leaves are a grayish green, wide and strappy.  I also grow chives, and I have some wild garlic that a friend gave me.  In my Vegetable Garden right now I am growing red onions and garlic.  Chives have mild diuretic, laxative, digestive, and antibacterial  properties .They are high in vitamin C, A, B and potassium.  They are also good plants to interplant amongst roses because they deter aphids.
Angelica - known as the herb of the angels.  This plant has religious associations.  Legend has it that an angel presented the plant to man as a cure for the plague in the 15th and 16th century.  Today, the seeds flavor liqueurs such as Vermouth and Benedictine.
Wormwood - I have a decorative variety (Powis Castle) and the "real" wormwood from which the liqueur Absinthe is made.
Bergamot - also known as Bee Balm and Monarda.  The leaves make a very flavorful tea.  Back in the day it was once known as liberty tea because it was what ladies served for years after the Boston Tea Party.
Borage - supposedly brings men courage.  As the crusaders marched off to war their sweethearts placed borage flowers in their cups.  It is said to dispel depression.  Today, its cucumber-y taste makes the young leaves a fine addition to salads, and the flowers are edible.  Rich in potassium and calcium.
Peppers - I always have peppers growing.  Peppers aid in digestion, circulation, and they reduce fevers.  Peppers used as ingredients in lotions will stop bleeding. I leave the last of my peppers on the plants, and they re-seed very prolifically.  I pull up the plants that are in the way, and I leave the rest growing.
Catnip - cats love it, of course, but it also makes a fine ingredient for tea.  It will re-seed very nicely if you let the flowers go to seed.  I also grow Catmint, in the same family but different.  Cats are not as attracted to it.  It can be used as a tea ingredient, but its silvery foliage and pretty blue flowers make it a great front-of-the-border plant.
Columbine - I grow the red and yellow Texas native, the Hinckley which is also a Texas native, and I also grow McKenna's Giant and a very pretty purple variety.  Columbine was once considered a healing herb, but now people grow it for its pretty flowers.  Columbine re-seeds very easily.  Columbine needs shade which makes it very useful - not a lot of flowers that grow in shade.
Comfrey - also called boneset, and knitbone.  Comfrey is a perennial with a long tap root.  I finally started growing it in a pot since the voles love those long, delicious roots.  Comfrey contains allantoin, a substance used in treating wounds and ulcers.
Chicory - easy to grow from seed, and I have a lot of it growing, but it never gets very tall because the rabbits love it.  It is a perennial.  The roots make a coffee substitute drink, and it is a popular Cajun beverage.
Elderberry - a perennial shrub that is shade tolerant, pretty dense white flower umbels in the spring.  The flowers and berries are edible.  The berries make the famous elderberry wine, and the flowers are often used to flavor tea.  It will spread pretty aggressively.  I planted mine last spring, and I already have new plants springing up in the paths nearby that I will have to transplant.
Fennel - a perennial herb whose leaves and seeds are used to flavor foods.   It is the larval food for several varieties of butterflies, so I always keep it around for that reason.  It is easy to grow from seed.
Feverfew - evergreen perennial with very pretty flowers, interestingly, bees do not like Feverfew and will not gather pollen from them.  It is an excellent migraine cure and fever reducer.  A useful plant because it stays green throughout the winter.
Germander - its use as an herb has fallen away, but it once was thought to be a cure for snakebite and a cure for gout.  Mine grows as a ground cover.  There are also shrub varieties.
Ginger - I have always grown gingers, but lately I have become more interested in them.  All ginger roots are edible, but some varieties are grown specifically to be more flavorful, and some are grown to be more decorative.  Some of them, for example White Butterfly ginger, have an absolutely wonderful smell.  The leaves can be used to wrap food in when it is being cooked.
Gotu Kola - a famous Chinese herb, perennial ground cover that has anti-aging properties.
Hops - Hops is a vining perennial, the flowers are an ingredient in beer-making.  Josh gave me my hops vines.
Horseradish -  I grow mine in a tub because they are supposed to be aggressive and very hard to dig up (long, tenacious roots).  Young leaves and roots are edible.  Horseradish is used as an antiseptic, antibiotic, and stimulant.  It is a laxative and a strong diuretic.  It cleans sinuses, treats inflamed gums, and aids in digestion and respiratory problems.  Pretty handy to have around.
Lamb's Ear - Pretty silver, fuzzy leaves that have a styptic quality.  Was used in the Civil War to stop bleeding under bandages.  Not easy to grow here in the humid south. I often have to replace it.
Lemon Balm -  Smells wonderful, the flowers are much-loved by bees.  Really good in tea to ease anxiety, insomnia, nervousness.  It is one of the longevity herbs (other longevity herbs are sage and gotu kola).
Mint - Not enough can be said about mint.  The Pharisees paid their tithes in mint, anise, and cumin in ancient Egypt.  Mint is mentioned in medieval plant lists.  They were grown in early English gardens and brought to Britain in Roman times. They grew in the 9th century convent gardens.  Chaucer writes of "a little path of mintes full and fenill greene!"  In mythology, Menthe was a nymph who was much adored by Pluto.  This angered Pluto's wife, Proserpine, who had her revenge by metamorphosing Menthe into the plant we know as mint.
Mugwort - perennial plant used in beer-making and other drinks.
Nigella - also known as Love-in-a-Mist.  A re-seeding annual, the seeds are used in baking.  An ancient plant that is mentioned in the bible - the black fitches.  The French use Nigella seeds as one of the four ingredients in their quatre epices.
Parsley - high is vitamin C, flavorful culinary herb.  Also a larval plant for my dear butterflies, so I always keep some growing.
Pennyroyal - from the mint family.  It is an abortifascient (causes babies to abort).  Traditionally planted around doorways and stuffed in pillows because of its reputation for deterring fleas.
Calendula - the greens are edible, cooked in stews for example.  The flower petals are edible as well.  These plants like cool weather; they will not make it through the summer.  Easy to grow from seed.
Rosemary - aside from the wonderful flavor the leaves impart in foods, the essential oils are used in lotions and shampoos.  In ancient times Greek scholars wore garlands of rosemary around their necks to impart wisdom and aid the memory.  Its reputation for aiding memory led to its use as a symbol of fidelity in lovers, and it was gathered into wedding bouquets and bridal wreaths.  Likewise at death, the loved one was remembered with branches of rosemary.  And rosemary and juniper berries were burned in the sick chambers.
Sage - one of the longevity herbs.  In the Middle Ages, it was used as a cure-all much like aspirin.  Should not be used by nursing mothers because it dries up the milk flow.  Conversely, if one wants to stop nursing, eat sage.
Sorrel - perennial bitter green, used as a digestive aid.  Edible, can be used in salads.
St. John's Wort - said to dispel depression.  Named after St. John the Baptist from the custom of gathering it on St. John's eve to be used in warding off evil. It has a long history of witchy use.  The flowers can be used as a yellow dye.
Henna - the famous dye used in Indian hand decorating and  hair dye.  The leaves and flowers are pulverized with an acidic agent such as vinegar to make the dye.
Tansy - the roots are used as as green dye, and the flowers are used to make a yellow dye.  Once used in Tansy Cakes to clear the blood of ill humors that collected in the body from the poor diet of the Lenten season.  It is also an ant and fly repellant.
Thyme - in addition to being one of our most beloved culinary herbs, it was known as a symbol of courage.  A sprig of thyme was sent to signal the secret meetings of the French Republicans during the revolution.  Soup made of thyme and beer was considered a cure for shyness.  The colonists covered their lard with thyme on the trip over since it made it more palatable (no doubt owing to its antioxident qualities).  Thyme has a long association with the Netherworld.  Many perennial plants were thought to be magical due to their tendency to remain green in the winter months.  Branches were thrown onto the coffins of loved ones to ensure passage into the next world.  It was thought that our souls inhabited the thyme blossoms.  Thyme can be a real pain because of it tangled growth habit, hence the saying, "To know humility one must weed the thymes."
Valerian - the roots of this plant are used as a very effective sedative.
Violets - the flowers of my pretty ground cover are edible.
Yarrow - no longer used as anything but an ornamental, it was once used as a healing plant to treat solders' battle wounds.
Roses - roses have been in medicinal garden for centuries.  The petals are used in salads, desserts, oils.  The hips are very high in vitamin C and used in teas.  Rose hips were used by the ancients to build blood and stamina.  Essence of rose is used in eye baths and as a sedative.
Aloe Vera - famous for soothing burns and other skin ailments.
Lion's Tail - properties similar to marijuana when smoked.  Very ornamental orange flowers.
Arugula - reseeding annual that is delicious in salads, aids in digestion.
Bay - small evergreen tree.  Oil can be used for skin diseases.  Mildly narcotic when used in tea.  Leaves put in the cabinets will repel insects.
Blackberry - leaves and berries very high in vitamin C.  Leaves can used in teas.  Berries make wonderful jelly and cobblers.  Diarrhea remedy.  Spreads aggressively.
Butterfly Weed - also called pleurisy root because it is a cure for that ailment.  Tea made from the root is a remedy for bronchitis, pneumonia and dysentery.  Larval food for the Monarch and Queen butterflies.
Echinacea - makes the gorgeous pink flowers that are so loved by all insects, but the medicinal properties are found (in all parts of the plant, but mostly ) in the roots.  They have a strong antibiotic that fights infection and is good for the lymph and immune systems.  It is also a blood purifier.
Hoja Santa - huge, gorgeous leaves that are used in Mexican cooking to wrap cheese, chicken, etc enchilada style.  The leaves have a distinct root beer flavor, hence its common name Root Beer Plant.  It can be taken as a tea to relieve nervous anxiety, stress, and restlessness.  Use sparingly, too much is a bad thing with this plant.
Horsetail Reed - source of silica, so it is good for the finger nails and to correct skin and hair problems.  Unusual and attractive plant that does not needs good drainage, can be used as a bog plant or put in a low place in your yard that collects water.
Sassafras - small tree or large shrub, very pretty red fall display.  The bark was once used to make root beer (now artificial flavoring is used).  Sassafras is used to make the Cajun spice "file".  An oddity that makes this plant interesting is that it has three different shaped leaves.  Birds love the berries in the fall.  Great landscape plant.
Mulberry - All parts of the tree lower blood pressure.  Mulberry is effective for coughs, colds, asthma, bronchitis, constipation, and pre-maturing gray hair.  The berries are delicious if you can get to them before the birds do.
Sweet Myrtle - evergreen shrub.  The leaves are antiseptic and astringent and can be used on bruises, acne, and hemorrhoids.  The dried leaves used to be stuffed in pillows.  Used to play a role in weddings as a symbol of chastity and beauty.
Oregano - important perennial herb.  Besides its culinary uses, it makes a good evergreen ground cover.  The bees love the flowers.  Traditionally used in teas to treat cough, menstrual pain, muscle spasms, head aches, and sore joints.  Essential oils used as skin antiseptic.
Castor Plant - oil from the seeds is used to make castor oil, that unpleasant medicine that was once used for all stomach problems.
Barbados Cherry - edible berries.
Turk's Cap - edible fruits that can be cooked down into jelly.  Larval plant for sulphur butterflies.  Shrub with pretty red flowers, likes shade.
Aztec Herb - perennial ground cover with little white flowers in the spring.  Leaves are very sweet, used by the ancient Aztecs as candy.  The high camphor content makes it unusable as a natural sweetener like Stevia, however.
Vitex -  deciduous small tree / large shrub.  Seeds are used in the same way that pepper is used.  Seeds contain a chemical said to quell the sexual desires of men and women, hence the common name Chaste Plant.  Used to be stuffed in the mattresses of young women in medieval times to keep them pure.  Leaves, berries, roots used to treat malaria, coughs, and dysentery.
Beautyberry - grows wild all over my property.  The gorgeous purple berries make a fine jelly.
Yaupon - grows wild all over my property.  Yaupon leaves have a very high caffeine content, the same as coffee.
Poke Salad - grows wild on my property.  The leaves make a fine vegetable, served in the same way as collard greens or mustard greens.  Poke has to be boiled and drained several times, or it is poisonous.
Day Lily - in addition to being very fine decorative plants, the unopened buds have long been used in Chinese medicine to treat depression.


  



  

Weekend at the Farm January 2 - 4, 2015

 

 My neighbors' dog, Hank, is making himself at home much to the consternation of my Sadie dog.

Arrived Thursday evening. It's been raining and cold for a week.  Everything is saturated.  No leaf shredding this weekend!

• I've steered away from leaf shredding in the Shade Garden.  I just rake the leaves off the paths and dump them into the areas where I have plants growing.  In the Shade Garden (which is a woodland garden) I mimic the forest floor - leaves and other debris fall, carpet the ground, and break up into healthy compost.
• Received some white Nicotiana alata seeds in the mail that I ordered last weeks.  5,000 seeds - you would think that would look like a lot of seeds, but it is a tiny packet.  I have planted them before, so I know they are tiny seeds.  But when you hear the number 5,000 you still can't help but think it will be a big package.  Not so.
• I also ordered, but have not yet received, Purple Loosestrife and Rose Campion seeds.  I have tried to grow Rose Campion from seed before but had no luck.  Rose Campion is a silvery foliage plant with hot pink flowers.  Purple Loosetrife has flower spikes that are similar to the fall blooming Mexican salvia, but it is a summer bloomer.  I've never had great luck planting spring seeds, don't know why.  But I would love to have these two plant additions to my garden.
• Other seeds I want to grow:  I used to have Hemlock in my Medicine Garden that I grew from seed.  It eventually disappeared.  Hemlock is a conversation piece plant.  I want to grow it again.  Valerian - I have grown it from seed before, and I still have some left, but I want a larger patch of it.  Borage - another herb, pretty blue or white flowers.  It is actually a little sprawl-y unless you pinch it.  Easy to grow from seed.  Laceflower - I have never grown it.  It is also an herb.  Marigolds, Feverfew, African Daisy, Gloriosa Daisy and Cosmos are some of the flowers I'd like to grow.  I'd also like to grow French Hollyhocks and more Columbine.
• The dogs and I were by ourselves most of the weekend.  We laid around, napped, walked. The weather was rainy and cold. Pretty nice.
• Saturday morning I raked pine needles and spread them around a couple of my roses in the Rose Garden, in the bed with my two new Banana Shrubs, and my White By The Gate Camellias along the Boardwalk.  I haven't quite finished spreading around the camellias - that area is pretty big.  
• I also raked lots of wet leaves and spread them around my Mojito Colocasias.  They are so beautiful, I don't want to lose them to a hard freeze.  
• Dug up the enormous root systems of the four Castor plants I grew in the Vegetable Garden last summer.  Three of them came up easy, one was a bitch to dig up.  Forked in lots of shredded leaves into two of the boxes, getting ready for spring.  I have big plans for the Vegetable Garden this spring with the help of some of those big buckets from Albert Myers:  sweet potatoes (I've never grown them, they sound like fun because you have to grow slips and then plant the slips), scarlet runner beans (I harvested some seeds from last year), tomatoes (of course), green beans, beets (planted about 6 weeks before the last freeze), peas (same timing as beets), potatoes (planted in late February if I can find them that early), chard (because it's pretty - about 3 weeks before the last freeze), peanuts (never grown them, should be fun), carrots (planted same timing as chard), squash (for the yummy squash blossoms), cucumbers, lettuce, and dill.  This will all change if I can't get a hold of those buckets from Albert in time.
• Made spit pea and ham soup Saturday afternoon.
• My dear uncle Brooks passed away on Saturday.  He was very old, but it is distressing nevertheless.  My most vivid recollection of him was not when I was a little girl, but rather when I went to his house in  Pasadena, and he he enthusiastically showed me the plumeria in his garden - 90 years old, but he still had plants he was excited about.  What a charming man, a hard worker, very old school, very devout. 
• Spent Sunday morning raking leaves in the Medicine Garden.  I dumped them in various flower beds in the Medicine Garden and in the beds in the circle drive.  Looks much better.  Still need to rake in the Shade Garden.  After that I will be done with the major cleanup of leaves for the year.  There will still be places here and there that need raking, but not truckload after truckload!
• About noon I made a pot roast for dinner, drinking the left over Chianti Classico I poured over the roast... at noon....
• Trimmed my Yuletide Camellias a little.  They finished blooming so I figured this was a good time.  I have them growing on either side of a faux door on my Greenhouse.  I don't want them to cover up the door.  I'm trying to train them into more of a column than a ball.  I hate cutting away at a camellia, they are such slow growers, I probably cut away an entire year's worth of growth.
• Fertilized my brussels sprouts and broccoli.  Vegetable Garden looks pretty good.
• Mulched the Kitchen Herb Garden.
• Mulched the red Autumn Sage along the back of the house, decided it's so weedy that leaf mulch wouldn't be strong enough, so I put down some pine needles.
• Bert arrived on Saturday night - he had the cub cadet with him.  So I was able to use the cub on Sunday to drive over to where there were lots of pine needles.  Raked pine needles and mulched the Erlicheer bed and some more of the space around the camellias along the Boardwalk.