Nastursiums

I've grown nasturtiums for years but often in vain.  I've always had them in pots and they have never really taken off.  So imagine my surprise and delight when they began to flourish this year in the garden! Apparently, for me, they like being in the ground much better than a pot.  Also, I'm loving this variegated variety!  The leaves are so beautiful!

Did you know that the leaves and blooms of nasturtiums are edible?  They have a peppery bite so they add beauty and taste to salads!  I love watching the children try the blossoms as it seems so unnatural to them at first!

A Garden Fence

Several weeks into our vegetable gardening venture, it became apparent that we would most certainly have to put a fence around the garden.  Both deer and bunnies had found our garden tasty enough to eat everything in sight!  Knowing that the fence we chose for our garden wasn't tall enough to keep deer out, Bryce installed a deer fence along the back of our property line since that's where they usually wander in.  The hope is that if one does venture in the fence will at least be a deterrent!  One can dream!

After debating the merits of an old wrought iron fence vs. a cedar fence, we went with cedar because we felt that it matched the overall feel of our home/yard better and it was much less expensive.  Also, I love the aged look of cedar!  I asked the fence company to build the fence very similarly to one I found online and overall I'm happy with it. The one change I would make would be to not have the edges of the wire showing.  I believe that would have involved more work to sandwich it between the pieces of wood, but I think it would have looked more finished.

My favorite thing about the whole fence is the gate handle that Bryce installed for me.  Years ago, I saw a gate handle that was a garden implement and it's stayed catalogued in the back of my mind until I had a place to have one too.  I love it and it's actually helpful to grab the handle when opening or closing the gate.  We have two gates opposite each other so that we have easy access from the shed and to the compost as well.

Notes from the Garden

Our garden has been such a delight for me this year, but it's also been a huge learning year as some things have been great successes and others total failures.  And of course all of this has only made me wish that I had triple the space as there is so much more I'd like to grow!

The deer have been a real nuisance! There is nothing as frustrating as having watched your young plants grow and flourish only to find them eaten down to the ground in one evening!  They ate the carrot tops, the bush beans and the pole beans!  They also had the nerve to trample in my beds- they are so rude.  Also, the peas never took and I have no idea why. All of a sudden the leaves started turning yellow and that was that.  We were all a bit bummed but will work on it again next year.

Oh, the tomatoes!  I had absolutely no idea that they would get this big.  They have literally overtaken the garden.  But oh goodness are they good!  I love that the children just go and snack on them right there in the garden.  They have overgrown so much that they are covering the leeks and onions and have even smothered the pole beans.  Clearly, I over-planted and will go easier on the tomatoes next year.

A large storm came through and blew down all the zinnias and broke them off at the base.  I had to pull many, but many survived and came raring back to life.  The dahlias are also growing beautifully and I've really enjoyed making little bouquets for the house.

We've had a bumper crop of cucumbers that we've all really enjoyed.  I've even been able to give many away which is always a thrill!  I used some of our chioggia beets to make what I believe is the prettiest dish I've ever made.  

First Harvest

We've had our first harvest in the garden and a very satisfying one at that!  The only bummer about harvesting our French Breakfast radishes now is that Grace is not yet home to enjoy one of her favorite vegetables!  Hopefully, they will last in the refrigerator until she gets home.

They were perfect atop fresh homemade bread* that was spread with butter and salt sprinkled on top.

*Is it still homemade if it's made in the bread machine?

Peony Season

Our peony season has ended and oh my, was it a beautiful and lovely one.  This was the best year yet for our peonies, and I'm happy to report that they have finally recovered from the disaster of a couple of years ago.  

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this years peonies was that I had so many blooms that I was able to give aways bunches of them!  That made me happy!

We even had a small dinner party to celebrate the peonies!

I made big and small arrangements for all over the house!  I even made Harris a "masculine" all white arrangement (he then let me know that he doesn't mind pink so much!). 

And here are some of the blooms...

Daffodils and Compost Pudding

Happy Friday!  Today's post is about two totally unrelated things but they are both pretty happy...

My daffodils are coming up and this little arrangement makes my heart flutter just a bit every time I look at it in the window.  Makes me want to plant about a million more daffodils.

Also, for Earth Day I made "compost pudding."  Funny story- Harris has been asking for pudding in his lunchbox, and when I told him we were going to make pudding for Earth Day he gently reminded me that he was talking about the pudding in the plastic cups that everyone else got in their lunches!  Ha! He did however admit that homemade pudding was way better (but would still like some plastic cup pudding in his lunch!).

Pudding + Gummy worms + crushed Oreo cookies= Compost Pudding

Limes + A Bullfrog

Late last spring, I excitedly bought a lime tree and two lemon trees, all of which were dwarfs so that I can bring them in when it gets too cold for them.  I love the idea of being able to walk out my door and pick my own lemons and limes.  Much to our excitement, the lime tree immediately set blooms and fruit started to grow.  However, at some point the limes just stopped getting bigger, and I'm not sure what happened or went wrong?  Did they get too dry?  Is a fruits size directly proportionate to the plants size?  Are they actually Key Limes instead of regular limes? I just don't know.  I do know that even though they were tiny they acted/smelled/tasted just like a regular old lime!

We made a fun drink to celebrate our first lime harvest, it's called a Bullfrog and is perfect for this frog loving family!

The Bullfrog

5 oz. lemonade

1 oz.  gin (the better the gin, the better the drink)

a lime slice for garnish

A Sideyard Project That Spans Years!

 

Way back in 2009 Bryce and I started work on a little stretch of side yard that is between a fence and our side porch.  Grass had been growing there but not well and we thought it would  be lovely to have a stone walkway.  We were lucky enough that a friend had given us tons of stone which we also used  for our front and back walkways.

This area doesn't get a lot of sun nor does it get much attention!  It's a little bit of "out of sight, out of mind" but most years I try to do a little something to it.  This year, I planted violas, hostas and ferns on the porch side hoping that they will eventually fill in a little and help with water run off.

Here's a little flashback to the area when we first started working on it...

 

Cutting and placing this stone was such a tedious job for Bryce and I'm pretty sure he swore he would never do such a thing again.  And can we talk about how cute this little guy is with his safety goggles?

After he placed all the stones, I bought Stepables and planted them between the stones but they didn't take at all. 

In the past couple of years we've had a mixture of weeds, grass and moss but mostly weeds.  However, recently the moss has been gaining ground which I'm very pleased about.  I'm hoping the moss will help to cut out all of the weeds!

Lavender Sachets (in a tea strainer)

Remember the lavender that I harvested back in the summer?  I finally did something with it!  Years ago I saw a suggestion in Martha Stewart magazine to put lavender in old tea strainers and use them in drawers and closets as scented sachets.  Lavender also has the added benefit of being a repellant to moths (I've had an unfortunate incident recently with a favorite wool cape).

I bought this strainer for a couple of dollars, including shipping, on ebay.  It's a nice large size and it cleaned up very easily.  Ebay had lots of choices including some beautiful sterling silver ones!  I think that I'm going to be on the lookout to add to my collection of two strainers!

I filled the strainer with lavender buds, tied a bow on the top and stashed it in a drawer.  Now I'm hoping that the lovely smell will subtly scent the drawer!