Hey guys!
Taking a few days off for the Memorial Weekend. Will be back on Fri. May 29th with a post. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday!!!
Tammy
Eeny Meeny Miny Mo?
Would you believe All the seeds I planted less than a week ago have germinated? I was truly amazed. Now I need to thin the cucumber plants. How do I decide which will stay and which will go? I find this stressful.
My lettuce seeds are coming up nicely. I managed to sow them in a fairly even manner. 
Can’t say that for the basil seeds. 
I really must stop taking that glass of wine out into the garden. But, seriously I do sow my basil thick like this and have found that it works really well. And like I said before, I am not very good at thinning.
So, here are my cucumber seeds that I have to decide who will stay….
…and who will go. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo….
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What is that?
I bought several kinds of seeds awhile back, and I do mean A while. So far back I can’t remember exactly. But by straining my brain and comparing notes of other plants I finally decided…. I planted these seeds about a year and a half ago to two years. I am unsure of the season – may have been winter or into spring.
They came up readily enough. They produced green foliage that very suspiciously looked like a weed. They stayed green through the winter, which made me even more wary.
The only thing that saved them from being uprooted was I knew I had planted something there. But what? I couldn’t find the seed packet to remember what they were called. I new I had the information, but for some reason never took the time to look for it.
But this Spring, something began to happen to those “weeds”. A tall shoot appeared and little white tubules formed. THEN, those tubules began to turn red. Something in the back of my brain said “Oh yeah, I think I bought something red to attract hummingbirds”. But what was it called???
Finally, I found the packet. So, now this pretty little baby has a name.
She is a penstemon, called Scarlet Bugler.
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Trying to Beat the Storm
I worked 8:30-5:30 on Friday and hurried home (if you can call sitting in traffic for an hour+ “hurrying”) to make preparation to plant SEEDS, for which I am already late. But, what to do? It has rained literally every day or was so wet it may as well have. So much so, I have not been able to get out in the garden. And another storm was coming.
I stopped by the local hardware/garden store and picked up two 6ft. tall bamboo poles for my trellis; they were perfect. This is the nylon trellis I ordered back in Jan.? and didn’t get until it was too late for my peas, so I am using it for cucumbers.
So Friday evening I am out in the garden, erecting this trellis in the waning light. Just me and the mosquitos. Yeah, they’re baaack.
Luckily, Saturday turned out to be rain free. So I was able to plant my cucumber seeds. I planted A&C pickling and De Bourbonne. I had googled planting cucumber seeds and found a very informative site from Texas A&M. Their suggestion was to plant on little “hills” and place about four seeds on a “hill”. So I have two “hills” for each variety. I don’t know if you can see the little “hills” very well in this photo, but they are there for now. Hopefully they won’t be washed away. The article stated that cucumbers need well-drained soil.
I also planted my basil seeds in the bed where I took out the peas and parsley. I will also plant purple hull peas there soon. I planted three types of lettuce in a large pot so I can move it to shade in the afternoons if needed (petite rouge, little gem, and mignonette bronze). I don’t know why I am just now planting lettuce. I had originally planned to plant in a bed but had to change to a pot. If I had realized I would be planting in a container, I could be eating lettuce by now. Oh, well.
My tomato and pepper plants have blooms on them.
porter tomato
pepper
And one even has a tiny pepper.
jalapeno pepper
Very exciting!
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Peony Pleasure
I have to admit it. Sometimes, just sometimes mind you, I can be really hard-headed, stubborn even. One, of those times, is when I believe I am right and the other is when you tell me “Oh, yes, but you can’t grow those here.” Hmm.
Such is the case with peonies. “Oh, it doesn’t get cold enough here.” “Those are for up North, zone 3 (granted, that is ideal)”. So, I was determined to have them.
I planted them on the northern exposure of the house. I planted them in an area where they could grow undisturbed (in front of my white azaleas). Did you know that peonies can last for 50 years? I planted the root with the little eyes at just the right depth (one inch depth for warmer climates, zone 8-9). And then I held my breath… because the first year they barely bloomed. But I was patient, or stubborn if you wish, and sometimes that pays off.
Since it was going to rain and storm on Saturday evening, I ran out and cut a bouquet. Because, you see, there is nothing more beautiful, more spectacular, or more glamorous than peonies.
What do you think?
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Tough Love
Now, for you rose-loving people, what I’m about to say may be disturbing . I have had it with growing roses.
Does this mean I am removing all roses from my garden? Absolutely not! But I am sick and tired of black spot on ALL my roses, no matter what I do. Now, to be honest, some of this disease is my fault. I planted them in the wrong spot (no airflow), or didn’t clean around them well in the Fall (allows the fungus to overwinter) or didn’t spray them with my organic treatment at the right time ( I get busy and/or forget). However, there have been times when I did everything right and I still have the dreaded black spot.
So, what I have decided is SOME ROSES ARE JUST NOT RIGHT FOR DALLAS, TEXAS. Sorry, didn’t mean to shout…. and some are just not right for me. There, I’ve said it.
So. I am getting rid of the hybrid tea roses which have never been pretty and I’m sticking with the more hardy old fashioned roses; climbers, bourbons, rugosas, and miniatures.
This climbing rose (the two pictures above) is called Zephirine Drouhin (I’m a sucker for anything French) but you would be too if you could smell this rose. It is heavenly. A true rose smell, if you know what I mean. This Bourbon climber is a repeat bloomer and has been around since 1868. Isn’t that amazing?
This rose is called Baronne Provost. (I have seen this spelled Prevost also, but mine was spelled with an o. who knows?) Anyway, it is an old garden rose bred by a frenchman named Desprez in 1842. It has a strong rose scent and hips. I just love the way it starts out like a little pink cabbage. To me, it is the perfect cottage garden rose.
This one is a miniature someone gave me and it has several different colored blooms on the same plant (probably grafted that way).
Taking out the roses which were not doing well, will also give me some much needed space for vegetables.
But for all my whining and wailing, I do have a rose that I just dearly love. It’s the Peggy Martin rose. Some of you may be familiar with this rose. After hurricane Katrina ravished New Orleans, this was the only thing left in Peggy Martin’s garden. So, cuttings from her rose were sold to raise money for New Orleans. So, I bought one. Boy, am I glad I did.
This is one tough rose and I sure do love her.
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Things
Heather at www.HeatherBakes.com tagged me earlier in the week and this is the first chance I have had to reply. So, here goes. (written on Sun. posted on Mon.)
8 Things I Look Forward to:
- l. harvesting homegrown tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, basil, lettuce, etc.
- 2. eating said produce
- 3. kids graduating from college ( I will get a raise when that happens) 🙂
- 4. not having a mortgage payment (woohoo)
- 5. more free time to spend with family and friends
- 6. traveling
- 7. not commuting to work everyday
- 8. an ice cold diet coke
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
- 1. picked last of the English peas
- 2. pulled weeds
- 3. planted plants
- 4. made several trips to Lowes and Calloways
- 5. talked to my daughter on the phone
- 6. got mom’s opinion on plants
- 7. cut irises for a bouquet
- 8. watched the Mavs beat the Spurs!!!!!!!
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
- 1. eat and not gain weight
- 2. speak a foreign language fluently
- 3. have an apt. in France or Italy
- 4. write a book
- 5. paint (and I don’t mean the house, honey)
- 6. control the weather
- 7. not be afraid to work with power tools
- 8. have Candace Olsen redo my entire house (how divine!)
8 Shows I Watch:
- 1. Heroes
- 2. American Idol
- 3. House Hunters
- 4. House Hunters International
- 5. Divine Design
- 6. Barefoot Contessa
- 7. Curb Appeal
- 8. Texas Rangers baseball
If you haven’t checked out Heather’s blog, well you seriously should. You will love it! Also, check out her lists and the other bloggers she tagged.
Also, I wanted to mention fromgardentotable can also now be accessed at www.fromgarden2table.com. But, you can get there from the original site as well.
It is raining cats and dogs in big D, huge puddles at fromgardentotable.
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I’ve got peas!
My pea pods filled out nicely!
Remember how they started?
The weather is turning much warmer, yesterday 80 degrees, today was in the mid-80’s. By tomorrow, it should be in the upper 80’s (weather people are actually saying it will hit 90). My peas will quit producing soon. Maybe today, who knows. So……..I harvested them.
Even though I may not have a bumper crop, I think it is kind of cool that I actually got English peas to grow in Texas. So, heeere they are! (um, minus two pods I opened and ate in the garden)
They tasted sooo good! These I just steamed a bit on the stovetop until tender. They were amazingly sweet. But, one of my favorite ways to have fresh English peas is with new potatoes in a cream sauce.
New Potatoes and Peas in Cream Sauce
Boil the potatoes (about a lb.)(they really need to be tiny red new potatoes) in salted water until tender, drain and set aside. Cook the freshly shelled peas (about a lb.) until tender; either in boiling salted water or by steaming. Drain and set aside.
Make a bechamel sauce or sometimes called a cream sauce. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Blend in 1/4 cup flour. Cook about a minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add in 1 cup milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. white pepper.
Combine the potatoes and peas, top with the bechamel sauce and gently stir to combine. It is amazing!
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Just call me Lucky
I am so fortunate to be a part of an extended gardening family. My Mom and Dad gardened together for years and everything I learned about gardening I learned first from them. My Dad passed away in March, so it is our gardens (for me and my mom) that are our solace.
But, I am also lucky in that I have lillies that were in my great-grandmother’s garden which made their way to my mother’s garden and then to mine. I remember she had a cottage-style garden in front of her house with flowers on both sides of the walkway as you approached the house. Cottage gardens are to this day my favorite.
My Aunt Pat is also a gardener. She lives on acreage “out in the country” and has probably a quarter acre of irises and lillies planted around her house. Last year she divided her irises and lillies and shared some with me. Some of them bloomed last year, BUT almost all of the irises are blooming this year. So, I just had to share them with you.
Hope you liked them!
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Wonder Woman
This past Saturday, I worked like a madwoman to enlarge a vegetable/herb bed next to the house before the thunderstorms were to come (which they did on Sat. night).
I’ve probably said this ad nauseum, but my garden is very, very small. So, I am always looking for SPACE. I have looked at a certain area of the garden, for I don’t know how long (we have lived here 10 years) and just realized I could expand it about two more feet. Doh!
This is what I did: First, I dug up all the grass/weeds with a pitchfork. Then I broke up all of the soil (I was really wishing for a tiller). If it was pure clay, I threw it OUT. (I determined this by – (now pay attention because this is very scientific) if I could not break it into smaller pieces with my hand, it was tossed.
Then I put the edging in. Oh.my.gosh. this was such a chore. I used a rubber mallet and my Wonder Woman strength to shape and pound it into place. It took for-ev-er.
Then, I added a layer of shale and mixed it in.
Then I added a layer of top soil and mixed it in. 
Then a layer of gypsum. ( I am determined to break up this clay.)
Finally, a layer of bed planting mix
(which contains compost, more shale, etc.). I used the shale and gypsum at the recommendation of my local nursery. I had sent in a soil sample which they analyzed. ( I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the report I received. I was looking for something more specific and scientific.) The shale once placed in the soil will remain forever and helps to keep clay soils from being so compacted. The gypsum is similar in that it also aerates clay soils but it is finer in texture. Garden gypsum can be applied on top of beds and lawns without having to be worked into the soil. (A real bonus – let me assure you)
I planted tomatoes and peppers in the new space . 
Other gardening chores were taking out a front row of parsley (it would soon go to flower and I want to plant something else there) and overcrowded plants of salad burnet. I then cut the remaining plant (salad burnet) way back. I made the discovery that ONE plant of salad burnet is plenty. My compost pile smelled like cucumbers from the discarded plants, which was rather nice.
Wonder woman was extremely tired, but very pleased with the results.
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fromgardentotable 