Sour Milk

Way back in the mists of time, when I was pregnant, someone told me about a Chinese superstition. Supposedly if you kill a cricket your cow will give sour milk for a year. At the time we had a lot of crickets getting into our building. So in the interests of making sure that my baby's food supply didn't go sour for a year I would go catch the crickets with a cup and a piece of paper and let them go outside. I did it that whole summer and I am pleased to say that it must have worked because my milk supply has always been bountious. I picked up this guy at a garden place because he reminded me of that time. Yesterday morning at work a cricket came into our office again and I had to smile. :) So I figured that I would go take a picture and write about it again before I forgot again.

A Break

Just for Rosemary, here's another picture of Joseph's Coat. :) Not that you need anymore selling of course.

Today my in-laws are here for a visit. So for the next few days I get a bit of a breather. It seems that from the moment that I come home I have a shadow that follows me everywhere and I can't seem to get anything accomplished. So tonight when I got home, we went to eat at Macaroni Grill for dinner. We had a very good time and got in and out before it got too busy. There was still some light when we got home, so I slipped outside to sneak in a little gardening. The pond pump needed to be cleaned out so I broke out the elbow gloves and got busy. Every time I have to clean out the pump, I always wonder why I put fish in the pond again. Goldfish anyway, they're messy and these hide under the water and I hardly ever see them. I'd have done about as good to put some minnows in there I think. ;) After cleaning the pump I went checking around to see what else was happening.

My Betty Corning clematis has a lot of blooms on it.

The Hen and Chicks are looking kind of lanky, I might have to move them.

And the Veteran's Honor rose is covered in buds.

After I got done outside, I came inside and took a long relaxing shower. There wasn't a little girl crying outside the bathroom door wanting to get in. She has been reveling in her new audience. From what I hear she was a little shy and stand-offish until they brought out the presents and now she has new best friends. :) So here's to getting in a little Me Time in the next couple of days, it's been a while!

Scalping Neptune

This isn't Neptune, before I start, it's the Callirhoe that I bought from High Country Gardens last year and planted in my scree garden. It didn't do well in its first spot so I moved it, then couldn't remember if that was where I moved it and that it was actually a weed that I was doting over. But I shouldn't have questioned myself, it was indeed the Callirhoe and it has rewarded me. On to the title. I have been a bad rose custodian of late. Mostly because I was pregnant, then I had a newborn, and now I have a toddler. I've meant to prune them, meant to treat their diseases etc, but it just hasn't happened. My Neptune rose has been drastically leaning to one side since last year. I tried to shape it some as I cut flowers and meant to give it a good pruning later, but alas it didn't happen. So today Neptune got scalped and cut back pretty good. It was leaning into the camellia bush beside it and I didn't want to put it off anymore.

I also got the front beds cleaned up some, got the primroses pulled up (like they'll ever be gone!), and some of the dead stuff trimmed back that I was supposed to have already done. Otherwise, I was busy with the little one. This weekend has been especially rough, because I am on medication that I had to stop breastfeeding her while I was taking and believe me, she isn't taking it well. It's been a looooooong weekend, and not in a good way. Here are some more pictures of the happenings around our place. The following roses are blooming:

Joseph's Coat

Angel Face

Gingersnap

And finally, my ice plant finally got blooms on it this year:

Second Chances

Thanks to my dear friend Onetruth, my garden is no longer without the protection of a gnome. After reading about our crisis she lept into action and look who showed up on my doorstep. Thanks so much! I'm sure that the Gnomeslayer will have mercy on this one. ;)

Bennett's Nursery Trip

This morning the Gnomeslayer and I went on a trip to Bennett's while DH went to get a haircut. It was a beautiful day to be outside and the flowers were blooming. I noticed some of the detail on the sidewalks that I hadn't noticed before, shown in the above picture. The azaleas were blooming.

As were the hellebores.


This is a Brazilian Glory bush.


The whole morning was kind of ruined because someone was burning something closeby. The smell of smoke was hanging around and it was making me queasy. I didn't want to keep the peanut out in it so we did a quick look around and then headed out. I did pick up a couple of creepy crawly plants to put out in the scree garden, so I have to get them put out later today.

The Gnomeslayer

My poor garden gnome fell victim to my 15 month old daughter today. I was cleaning out the pond pump and she was running around while hubby was watching her. Neither of us thought it was breakable, I thought it was made out of plastic. She grabbed him to give him a hug and dropped him. Unfortunately his bird-bearing arm was left behind on the cold uncaring gravel. Now I guess I'll have to be on the lookout for another one. :)

RIP

Buzzy Buzzy

Friday ended up being a very scary day. We had strong thunderstorms roll through, and tornadoes touched down 30 miles away. We ended up spending a good part of the afternoon glued to the TV and weather radio. Thankfully the worst that we got was some quarter sized hail and strong rain/winds. Our prayers are with those that didn't get off so easy. The weather was beautiful after the storm rolled through so I took Quickbeam out to see how the plants had fared. We found the bee above happily working in the bright sunlight.

In lighter news, we had a luncheon at work on Thursday. I was undecided on what to bring for a while, and then I remembered that my friend had found a recipe for a Pig Pickin' Cake for me after hearing me lament about not having one. For those of you unfamiliar, in eastern North Carolina pork barbecues are called Pig Pickin's. I sampled one of these cakes at a work luncheon and really liked it. I asked the gent that brought it for the recipe, but being a crusty old smart a$$e @$#@#$ he only replied that it was "made from hooves & snouts" in a really wise guy tone. Unfortunately for the old windbag, the internet exists so I have my recipe after all. :)

Pig Pickin' Cake

1 (18.25 oz) package yellow cake mix
2 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (16 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
Shredded, sweetened coconut to taste

Prepare the cake according to package directions, adding the drained oranges in before you blend up the cake batter. Bake according to package instructions, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

To make the frosting, combine the crushed pineapple, whipped topping and pudding mix. Spread over the top of the cake. Sprinkle liberally with coconut. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

So Far So Good

So far my plants seem to have made it through the cold snap, I even found a little strawberry on one of my strawberry plants.

The butterscotch jessamine is really opening up now.

The tulips are blooming.

Lady Banks still has her finery on.

And the salvia is blooming too. :) Hope that's the last cold snap!

Busy Day

Yesterday was the first really sunny day that we have had free to work outside. We had severe thunderstorms/tornado warnings on Thursday and it was pretty touch and go for a while. So we set out to Lowe's first thing Saturday morning and picked up a new pump for the pond. We started out with weeding out the scree garden. As you can see above, the horsetails have started going nuts. It put out runners under the the landscape fabric and they are popping up everywhere. So I spent a lot of time trying to root up as much of them as I could. Then I pulled out the old pump and put in the new one. Quickbeam kept us jumping, keeping her out of places that she shouldn't be. Then Q mowed the front and back yards. After that I decluttered the junk that had ended up on the back porch over the winter. So by the time we were done, we were DONE. We lounged around for the rest of the evening and today. I had wanted to get my rosebush transferred into the front flower bed but alas it wasn't meant to be. Hope everyone else got to do some gardening too. :)

Faith in a Tuber

I came across another happy surprise while I was checking outside for garden happenings. Last year I posted about my lotus that I planted. It didn't ever do a whole lot and petered out around July or August. The one I planted in NC did the same thing so I wasn't too too worried. And my faith was rewarded when I saw the first lotus leaf start unfurling in the lotus tub today. This lotus is a Chawan Basu lotus, and I can't wait to see what it does this year. :)

Forest For The Trees

I took Quickbeam out this evening when I got home from work. We checked the mail and then went into the backyard. She likes to grab the windchimes and ring them wildly. I let her do it as long as my ears can stand it and then we look to see what is blooming. I was checking over the creeping phlox that is blooming, and the butterscotch jessamine. The 'pink chintz' thyme even has a few blooms on it. And then I suddenly realized that the Lady Banks rose had buds all over it and that some had even started to open...go figure. I almost didn't see the forest for the trees. :)

A Visitor

This morning my 15-month old daughter was standing looking out the front window as she likes to do sometimes. I heard her tapping around on the glass and didn't think much of it. Then she came over and sat on my lap, and the tapping was still going on. So I went over to look and imagine my surprise when I saw the gentleman above, sitting on the windowsill. He would sit there and look intently, I am assuming at his reflection, and then would start fluttering around and pecking at the glass. We have a tint on the windows that reflects light out so I couldn't get a very good picture through it. He kept at it for almost an hour this morning, and his lady girlfriend was sitting on the rosebush outside the window being mightily impressed by her man.

I actually had big plans for this weekend, we were going to finish cleaning up the front flower beds and do some weeding in the back, but a big storm yesterday and this morning put that off of the table. It actually sounded pretty scary last night and we were under a tornado warning for a while. Thankfully it blew over and we didn't have any problems except for some clutter from the back porch blowing around in the yard.

Alas, I guess the weeds in the scree garden will have a few more days to grow. Hopefully the weather will be better next weekend!

Gaylord Opryland Resort - Nashville

We're finally back from our Nashville trip and very glad to be at home. My dad stayed at the Gaylord Opryland and we visited him there Friday and Saturday. We packed up before the sun came up this morning and headed home. I am definately glad to be back. The Gaylord was beautiful but was really crowded and really expensive. We stayed at a nearby hotel and drove over. Here are some of the pictures that I took. For those that haven't heard of it the Gaylord is a huge hotel/resort/convention center almost like a big greenhouse. There are waterfalls, rivers and even boat rides in it.

There were beautiful plants everywhere. I lusted after quite a few of them.

And there were fish in the ponds and streams.

And there was other wildlife too.

Overall it was a fun visit, and it was good to see my family. Now I am back to reality and have to get ready for work tomorrow. Boooooo!

Spring Fever

I don't like to complain...oh nevermind I really do. I have been down with the flu since Saturday evening. After a couple of really bad days I have felt quite a bit better but my low grade fever has been dragging on and on. I really hope it is gone today because my dad and his wife are coming in to Nashville this weekend and we are supposed to go up and see them. Of all of the weekends the flu had to walk in on, it had to be this one. ;) So enough of my crying...

All around outside spring is happening. My creeping phlox is a blanket of color right now. The Butterscotch Jessamine above actually had buds on it back in January and was the first thing to bloom in the garden this year.I even have a bloom on my strawberry plant. :)

And finally my daffodil is getting ready to bloom too.

Why Primroses are a Bad Idea

Okay, maybe not for everyone in every situation, but definately for me and mine. I planted them in a couple of our houses and apparently they didn't do very well. I've always been enchanted by their pretty flowers as pictured here.

The problem is that they spread seedlings EVERYWHERE. I mean there are hundreds of them coming up in the front flower bed, long after the original plants got yanked up. If I ever get these things eradicated they will never be planted in one of my flower beds again. Unless I have a really big area that needs to be naturalized I guess. :)

In Like a Lion

We woke up this morning to a blustery snowy day. I know that my readers farther North are probably not impressed but this is the first snow that we had this year that stuck. I got my little one up and dressed and took her outside to see the white stuff.

I still only have the flowering quince that is blooming and got a similar picture this time last year.

And to make things even better I got this in the mail yesterday.

Magazine Stash - Part Four

It's been a busy week here. I've had midterm tests and papers to write. I have also been busy at work and there isn't much going on outside yet. But now the tests and papers are done for the moment and I am back to my decluttering project.

Crimson Flag - These have such a beautiful and vibrant color.

Hopley's Oregano - Another beautiful plant for the fall garden. This has beautiful red-violet foliage and bluish foliage.

Corbett's Red Heather - I tried to find a source for this but couldn't. It is heather with reddish foliage. Again, good for the fall garden.

'Golden Ring' Japanese Barberry - Can you tell that it was a fall magazine that I was looking at? I had a barberry bush in my garden in NC but haven't gotten around to planting one here.

Climbing Carolina Aster - Okay, so I swore off of more climbing plants, but I might have to make an exception here.

Snowdrops - Another of the bulbs that I need to get planted.

Flowering Maple - I would like to get one of these because they remind me of my Grandpa. He had one shortly before he died. I just need to decide what color to get. :)

Green Thumb Sunday 2/15/09 - Flowering Quince

I finally have something different too look at. :) The flowering Quince in the front flower bed bloomed. It has had buds on it for the last month or so and they finally opened up. I spent part of the afternoon outside letting our Munchkin run around and get worn out for napptime. It was a beautiful day with puffy white clouds in the sky. Not bad for Febrary!

Green Thumb Sunday 2/8/09

There's nothing new really to report. There are a couple of bulbs pushing up, and some buds on the flowering quince. It was a beautiful afternoon, warm and sunny. I happened to look out the window and caught a bluebird on the remains of the succulent feeder. I admit that we went for a drive yesterday and I left my camera at home so of course missed a truly spectacular cloud picture. It never fails that you see something truly impressive when you don't have your camera.

There are a lot of branches and bark fallen from the treeline in the back. I love the textures and patterns of the lichen.

And of course my creeping phlox is still plugging away like a trooper. :) I'm sure you'll all be glad when I have another plant to take pictures of :)

Green Thumb Sunday

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Random Thoughts

The weather today was in the 60's and we spent some time outside with Quickbeam. Mostly letting her run off some steam. I stood for a few minutes basking in the warm sunlight and listening to the sound of the wind in the trees. I used to live in a wooded area and heard it all the time. I was struck by how rarely I hear it these days. Sometimes living in civilized areas isn't such a good thing.

On another front, I read an interesting article yesterday. The Dollar Stretcher is of of my favorite websites. This article discussed how so many people try to manage their weight and debt, when it's their cluttered lifestyle that causes the main problems. An interesting thought. :)

I made a comment on Rosemary's blog about an issue that I have when cutting back on expenses. Even though cutting back is something that I WANT to do and decide to do willingly, it is always painful for the first couple of weeks. I am a PITA because I am feeling whiny and deprived. Then I get into the groove and am fine. That's why we try not to binge and purge depending on our income, but establish a sensible spending limit that we can stick to through highs and lows.

So as always I am thankful for our blessings. :)

Part Three

Down to business:

Irises - I am a sucker for a Irises (though not so much the bearded ones). It is probably one of my favorites. I got a mixed order of Siberian Irises last year from Roots & Rhizomes, including Ego, but I only got one bloom from them so far. I found an article about them and my eye got caught by Bumblebee Deelites. Kind of funny how I want to attract bees to my garden and then find a flower that looks like them. ;)

Viburnum - I want to add lots of fall color to my garden and Viburnum is a good way to do so.

Ruby Grass - Grass is something that I want to add more of to my garden. All flowers can be pretty boring. This Ruby Grass caught my eye. It's zone 8 but I think it might work in the protected corner of the garden. I can't ever pick the easy ones. :)

Henry Eilers - I love novel flower shapes and this version of the brown-eyed susan caught my eye.

Fu Dog - My husband and I both have a love for Asian inspired art. I would like to find a Fu Dog (Chinese Guardian Lion) statue to put in our garden.

Cherry Trees - I love the coppery colored bark on some of the cherry trees, as well as the blooms. I would like one but I don't really want more shade in the yard. I will have to weigh it. :)

Cardinal Flower - This is one of the plants that I would like to put around my pond or streambed. It's been on my wish list for a while.

Indian Pink - This is a new one for me, I saw it in an issue of Alabama Gardener. Beautiful flowers aaaannndddd a hummingbird magnet. :)

Passionflower - I have been intrigued by these flowers for a long time. There is something that is so over the top about them that I both want one and don't. I usually favor very simple, classic flowers but every now and then more novel plants creep into my garden.

Choptank Azalea - I saw this in an article and immediately fell in love with it. Rarefinds is the only place that I have been able to find it.

And, by the way I underestimated the number of magazines, it had to have been 40 or more. I'm about 2/3 of the way through now and my bookcase is definately getting roomier. Almost like seeing results from a diet. :)

Pruning Part Deux

I took some time over the weekend to work on my magazine stack. I actually made some pretty good progress and had some help from my offspring. :)

Bioswale - There was a really nice picture of a bioswale in one of my magazines. It was the one that gave me a vague idea when I saw the drainage ditch in our back yard. It is basically a dry streambed, with gravel and larger rocks and plants on the side. I would like to do something like that with our ditch.

Blue Spruce - I love, love, love the blue spruces and would like to find something like that to plant around here somewhere. I'm not sure if they themselves do well in our area, but there has to be something with that silvery green foliage.

Centaurea - I love the blooms on the Centaurea plants, I needs one. :)

Chick Fountain - One of the pages had a neat picture of a bird bath with hen and chicks spilling over the edges. It would be neat to combine other succulents in with it too.

Bird Garden - One of my plans is to have a nature garden outside of our breakfast nook window. I'd like to be able to see a lot of birds, bees and butterflies. So I found a pretty in-depth article on gardens specifically to attract birds. I already have a lot of the plants that it calls for in my regular garden and I could probably divide some of them for this.

• Black-Eyed Susan
• Bee Balm
• Blazing Star
• Butterfly Weed
• Goldenrod
• Joe Pye Weed
• New England Aster
• Coneflower

Pardancandas (Candy Lilies) - I have always been attracted to these in garden catalogs. I had a blackberry lily (which is one of the parents of these) once upon a time but for some reason never got one of these.

Poppies - I love poppies and have tried unsuccessfully to grow a couple of them. Maybe one day I'll get the hang of them. :)

Scree Gardens - I found the article that inspired me to make my scree garden to begin with. I've been happy with my initial attempt, but I need to tweak my plantings next year. I have to say that Sweet Alyssum was my best performer.

Castles - I found a garden of a gent that made miniature castles in his garden for his kids. This also ties into my miniature something that I want to make in honor of Ave Maria Grotto.

Strawberry Cake - There was a recipe in a Martha Stewart Outdoor Living magazine for a strawberry cake that looked goooooooood.

6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pie plate

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. plus 2 Tbs. sugar

1 large egg

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 lb. (1 1/2 pints) strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Put butter and 1 c. sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Pour batter into buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbs sugar over berries. Bake cake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pie plate. To serve, cut into wedges. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days.