Steak Knives Are Not Just for Steaks

Today's Hint: Don't leave all those steak knives in the drawer. In fact, leave a couple out where you garden. They are perfect for skimming tiny weeds from the soil in areas where you need a delicate touch and do not wish to disturb more desired plants. A knife allows you to be more precise than a long-handled hoe. Plus they're perfect for jabbing down next to the root of a larger weed and popping it from the soil.

Some blades work better than others. I like a serrated, curved edge. If you're a yard sale aficionado you can find great steak knives for a pittance.

Keep your favorite garden "steak" knife with your other garden tools. (I keep one in a flower pot near the back door, but this is NOT a good idea if you have small children living or visiting with you. In that case, keep it out of reach!!)

You Can Have a "Secret Garden" of Your Own!

Sometimes I enjoy life in "miniature". My collections include pretty bottles of buttons, jars filled with tiny button-size sea shells from a Maui beach, and a glass container of dice of various sizes and colors. And, of course, bottles of more buttons. So this past weekend when my daughter brought me this tiny terrarium she made from a light bulb I was tickled with its tiny form and beauty.

Daughter found instructions online to take apart a burned out light bulb. (She advises you wear gloves and safety glasses and follow instructions here.)

Once the bulb has been cleaned it is an easy (ahem!) process to layer gravel, charcoal, and plants. In this case a tiny bird has been added to the scene.

While this light bulb terrarium is as tiny and as cute as can be, remember that you can use any kind of glass container of any size to create a terrarium of your own. Check here or google to find good terrarium instructions.

They really are rather simple to make and so delightful to the eye. For a kid project, select a larger jar with an opening large enough for them to handle with ease. Terrariums can be any size and shape but whatever container you choose, they're Fun!

Be prepared to enjoy a summer garden scene weeks before summer gets here!

Have fun!

Farewell to the Tigers

Good intentions sometimes turn into a lot of work. Take this morning, for instance. I fully intended to walk out to the garden, pick a dozen tomatoes, and return to the house. But once outdoors I got side-tracked and spent the next hour and a half pulling up tiger lilies.

Why would anyone do that, you might ask.

It's simple. See those purple stamens? They're loaded with pollen. And when the pollen comes into contact with clothing, it stains. Permanently. Or at least permanently enough that I do not wish to mess with it in the laundry room.

I will keep the original patch near the corner of the house. The tigers remind me of my Gramma Elise Susanne for they originally came from her yard over in Nebraska. I first brought a clump home to the farm when I was twelve years old. And I've moved them with me over the years each time I moved.

I'll keep this patch thinned back away from the sidewalk so that we do not brush against them while walking past. They'll be just fine in this corner.
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Today I Ate GREEN! It Tasted Weird! But Good.

I'd forgotten about green smoothies. Last year I made several after reading about them on the net.

Our garden contributed to today's lunch. (If you can call this lunch.)

Chard, collards, cucumber, beet greens, asparagus, a couple leaves of basil, one large tomato, half a frozen banana, and a half cup or more of cranberry juice. Blended into a Green Smoothie.

There is no "real" recipe. You simply dump whatever you have on hand into a blender, making sure there is some juice to juice things up a bit. You could add more fruit to make it more fruity. Or, a dill cucumber. Or tabasco. Celery. Apple juice is good. Whatever.

I'll admit two things. First...each concoction tastes different that the previous. Secondly, they all taste a bit "different". As in "weird". But if you have an open mind, most of them taste surprisingly pleasant. You get a ton of fresh veggie vitamins plus the fiber.

DISCLAIMER: A green smoothie of raw veggies is not recommended for those readers who are currently undergoing chemo and whose white blood counts may be low. With low white counts, the immune system is not working well. Raw veggies may contain bacteria, etc., that a normal person handles very well, but persons with a compromised immune system are usually advised by their doctor/nurse to eat cooked foods only.
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Daylilies and Squash

Last March I wasn't certain I'd be doing much gardening this year. Chemo was hitting me hard. Thankfully, each session seemed a bit easier than the one before. And it's been four weeks since I completed the last in the series of six. So I'm feeling really well right now.

Our backyard garden area is pretty small. That's because our city lot is pretty small but that is not all that bad...a small lot means that we can mow the lawn in less than 15 minutes time. Er, I mean, my hubby does. He's in charge of the mower. I'm in charge of maintaining the flower beds and keeping the weeds out of the small vegetable garden.

Early this spring a friend mailed me seeds from the heirloom Potimarron Squash. Now if there is one thing I know about heirloom squash varieties it is that they are NOT the new, compact bush variety. I knew the vines would require lots of room...room that we simply did not have.

However, I figured if I planted these few seeds behind the daylilies on the far side of the garage and if I checked them every other day and gently coaxed the growing vine to remain within the flower bed, then we could have a few squash come fall. So I planted. And coaxed. And watered. And since this is the far side of the garage...the neighbor's side...I've tried to keep it all looking rather tidy. The photo may be a bit confusing...what you see are squash vines twining their way through the daylily plants.

So here's the progress to date.

The vine is still tidy. The blossoms have set fruit but I'm disappointed that there are not More of them! Seems like a lot of vine for just a handful of squash.

The daylilies still look lovely. Isn't this orange one a beauty! (Actually this one is photographed near the deck.) Here's an interesting fact about daylilies. Each bloom lasts only one day. Hence the name. The next day the blossoms wilt down. A friend told me that she plucks the spent blooms and she maintains that this encourages the new buds to be lush in size. So some days (not all days) I do that. It's a good opportunity to enjoy the loveliness of the day's blooms. (You can click on the photo for a stunning close-up!)

Cucumber Slices Like My Mom Used to Make Them

We grew up on a small farm in western Iowa. Each year we planted plenty of tomatoes, beans, peas, sweet corn, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots. The potatoes were in a larger area in the nearby field. By fall the cellar would be full of canned vegetables while a large wood bin held the potato crop.

One of my favorite garden foods (along with fresh sliced tomatoes with sugar sprinkled on top) was cucumber slices in vinegar. Oh, Yum!

Today I picked a handful of cukes and sliced them for this delicious treat. If you'd like to try them, here's a simple dish. You will want 2 to 3 medium cucumbers. (I used about five smaller ones.)

First, wash the cukes. Then peel with a parer that peels paper-thin. (If your cucumbers are too mature, they will be seedy. Small immature seeds are okay. The older ones are hard and you will want to remove the seedy core and just slice the leftover flesh. But if the seeds are still tiny and chewable, leave them.)

Slice the cukes thinly and sprinkle with salt. No water. Just sprinkle with salt. About 2 tablespoons or more. Mix the salt in so the salt is dispersed throughout the slices. Let sit for an hour or so while the salt causes the slices to wilt down a bit. They will become juicy.

After an hour, rinse thoroughly to remove as much salt as possible. They will still retain a bit of salty flavor but you do want to rinse them to remove the excess salt.

At this point add a small amount of thinly sliced onions.

Then add the following mixture:

1/4 cup vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Mix together. This does not seem like enough liquid for the cucumbers but they will juice up a bit overnight. Put them in the fridge overnight to let the flavors blend. (If you really do need more liquid, just increase the amounts a bit.)

By the way, I love these old pyrex bowls with glass lids. They are perfect for storage in the fridge and I much prefer them to plastic ware.

Today's scripture for your reflection is James 1:17 where James writes this... "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Potimarron! And No, I don't Know How to Pronounce It!

Monday Morning News! Yay, I passed my blood tests and can do my final (hopefully) chemo this Wednesday.

Other Monday news. My squash vines are looking a bit dry so I'm giving them a soak with the soaker hose. Potimarron squash are a winter squash from France and are supposed to be one of the best for baking and roasting. We're big fans of winter squash (and summer squash for that matter). The photo is from the Seed Savers Exchange where you can purchase seeds for heirloom veggies. I got mine by begging CinnamonGirl to save me a few last summer. Her garden is a lot bigger than mine and I envy her energy and her veggie harvests!

More Monday news. Ants are setting up housekeeping in the cracks of the sidewalk. Ants must stay out in the garden area. It's a rule at our house that they must not build homes under our sidewalks. Hence, out comes the Terro. If I could convince them to move in some other fashion I would. But I can't. Sorry, little ants.

And as Bugs Bunny used to say in his stuttering voice, "that-at-at-at-ats all, Folks!"

How To Winter Over Your Geraniums In the Coldest Climate!

Geraniums tend to be almost as common as weeds in warmer states such as California, but in Iowa they are cherished for their brilliant blooms. However, they are not winter hardy and most people buy new plants each spring.

However, you CAN winter over your geraniums. There are three ways to do this. You can bring the pots indoors and place them near a bright window or a patio door where they will continue to grow. Many times, though, the short daylight hours cause them to grow long and leggy. In that case, trim them back about mid or late February and they'll put out new growth.

But this takes up a lot of space if you have a lot of plants. The second option is to pull up the plants by the bare roots and store them in a paper grocery bag in a cool, dry, dark basement. The plants will shrivel up to nothing and appear dead. In late February or March repot them, give them plenty of light, and watch them grow.

In the first photo newly repotted plants show just a smidgeon of new growth. (Click on the photo for a closeup. Actually, I should have trimmed back much of the dead branches on this plant.)

The third option is to place pot and plant in a dark, dry basement. The plants will appear to die. I cheat a bit and perhaps once a month give them just a bit of water to entice them to live. In the second photo, you can see new growth on potted plants that I wintered pot and all in the basement. The plants had dried down to almost nothing and after bringing them upstairs I carefully trimmed them back to live stems. Today we are getting a quiet, misty rain and I've placed them outdoors, mindful to check nighttime temps, just in case it freezes.

By the way, sandwich trays or dinner plates from the thrift store are perfect under the pots to protect your floor or deck from water and dirt.

Tiger Lilies, Gramma, and Memories

In an earlier post I mentioned my grandmother Elise Susanne. (Click on her name to read how she and my grandfather first met.) In their declining years they lived in a small house in a small town in eastern Nebraska. In back of the house was a huge garden. Half of it was taken up with a raspberry patch and apple trees. The other half was for vegetables. To the side of the house grew a patch of flowers, including a stand of tiger lilies.

Some time after my grandparents died we made the two-hour trip to their home. The house was to be sold and family members were invited to take any of the belongings inside the house. While there, I dug a small clump of the tiger lilies and transplanted them to our farm home across the Missouri River in Iowa. I was about ten years old.

Over the years as I've moved from one home to another, I've managed to take along a clump of the tigers. I like their sturdy hardiness, their willingness to grow in hard soil. They put up with harsh sun and dry years and still they keep blooming. Gorgeous orange tigers with purple-tipped whiskers.

They remind me of my Gramma (no, she didn't have whiskers!!) and as I type I can see her home in my mind's eye. I can smell the not unpleasant smell of a home where old people dwell. The raspberry patch out back is vivid in my memory as is the large circle of ornamental variegated grass in the front yard. I remember the summer visits when adults sat in the shade and talked and we kids played softball on the school playground across the dirt street and sipped kool-aid as a treat. If we chanced to stay overnight we little ones were placed on the floor with our heads tucked underneath the library table. It seemed a cozy place to sleep and we didn't seem to notice the hard floor beneath us. A blanket and pillows made our bed.

There was no plumbing in that house. An iron pump stood just outside the back door. An outhouse stood at the end of the back sidewalk, out near the alley.

I visited that house on Memorial Day in 2001. The windows were all knocked out and I stepped through an empty window frame to go inside and walk through the house. I was amazed that this tiny home could have contained all the things of my memory.

The living room, now so tiny, had once held Grampa's heavy wood rocker with the black leather seat, an old Stickley type sofa with hard wood arms and which opened into a sofa bed, an oil burner heating stove, an upright piano, a library table, a small oak buffet with plate rack, and Grampa's oak roll-top desk. They must have been crammed in side by side but my child-mind did not see them that way.

The kitchen held Gramma's celery/cream/green wood-burning cookstove. Behind the stove was a wooden box that held the chunks of wood for the stove. A counter in one corner functioned as work space and sink. There was an oil-cloth covered dining table, a cot against the wall behind the table, an upright victrola atop which sat an ancient television with a screen only about six inches across. Off one corner of the kitchen was a tiny pantry and on one shelf sat a blue depression glass cream pitcher with a picture of Shirley Temple. At the time I didn't even know who Shirley Temple was. The front porch was barely large enough to hold an old trunk and the short path to the outside door. In back was another porch where Grampa had a small cot and where he shaved. A mirror hung above an enamel wash basin on a stand in the corner.

As children we were not allowed to run willy-nilly through the house. The one time that I entered the bedroom as a child was the week my grandfather lay dying. He must have been close to death for we were brought in and we stood around his bed and were then ushered out again.

That visit to the long-empty house five years ago made me recognize that some memories can be false. I had always remembered there being a doorway near the sofa that led to an upstairs bedroom. That afternoon that I climbed through the broken window I was surprised that there was no such doorway and never had been. Somehow my mind had tricked me into 'remembering' a room upstairs. But, no, this was a single story house and had always been so. There was never an upstairs room. The memory must have belonged to a different house or perhaps my mind invented it.

I like where we live now. But if we ever move again to a place that has any kind of a yard, I will take along some of Gramma's tiger lilies. I think she would like that.
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Tending the Garden

One winter we spent some time in a small apartment on the beach. The lady who was overseeing the place lived down below our balcony. One morning I watched her paddle around in sandals and sweats, moving from one plant to another, trimming, watering, weeding. She had a cactus, two small trees, an assortment of geraniums, succulents, and other plants in pots scattered around the lot. The lot itself was an asphalt parking lot for tenants but she had created a "garden" with those pots, adding beauty to what was bleak, growing things green and colorful.

It made me think, that after all these generations from the beginning (from Eden), man still has a message inside to "tend the garden". We love to plant, water, watch things grow, whether it be vegetables for sustenance or flowers for beauty. In my case when I visit the garden early in the morning to water a single plant I end up there for hours, wandering from one plant to another, pulling tiny weeds, trimming dead leaves, moving plants from one place to another because they are in the wrong place. "Tending" is built into us from the beginning. In spite of living in this broken world that is marred by sin, we still "tend".

In Spite of the Work I Think I'm In Heaven!

This week we purchased three cases of Rainier cherries. These babies are so beautiful it's almost a shame that you can't keep them forever simply for their beauty. However, they're fragile and in spite of having eaten as many as we can personally eat, and having given them away to friends and family, we still had plenty left to can.

I've never canned cherries before. So I got out my Ball Blue Book, checked the instructions, and began work. I packed the first batch with whole cherries but my Beloved suggested we pit them. He helped which was a big factor in changing my canning methods.

It was pretty easy, really. Pull the twigs. In the case of the whole cherries, prick them slightly with a knife as I dropped them into hot syrup. And in the case of the pitted cherries, two pair of hands made work fairly quick.

I do have a cherry stoner (or cherry pitter), one of those hand-cranks. I've used it before on smaller sour cherries but the size of these beauties made it impossible to use the crank. So back to the quad-hand method we went.

A large bowl of fresh cherries is in the fridge and we'll eat them for a couple days more. The rest are lined up in a row on a basement shelf. Aren't they beautiful!?
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Little House in the Big Woods

I think that Laura Ingalls Wilder would have loved my version of the Little House in the Big Woods. When I spotted this little ceramic house at a yard sale last year I knew it belonged in my flower garden.

As for the Little House books, they were a favorite part of my life in fifth grade. That was decades ago. Actually, it feels as if it were eons ago but I recognize that "eons" would make me ancient indeed, so I'll stick with decades.

Our fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Hattie Linden, was a brusque no-nonsense woman. She was tall and in appearance somewhat resembled Eleanor Roosevelt. She insisted on decorum in her classroom, she was fair to all, and she taught us well. Each day after noon recess she would quiet our exuberance by having us put our heads down on our desks or sit quietly while she spent 15 or 20 minutes reading to us. First from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and when those were completed, she went on to read about fur trappers Jedediah Smith and Kit Carson, and other adventurers of the Old West. She seemed to love reading to us. And we loved listening.

Thank you, Mrs. Linden. From the bottom of my heart.
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Sometimes a Bouquet Needs No Blossoms

I like to bring in flowers from my garden. Particularly roses. My beloved spouse thinks roses belong in the yard where they certainly do look lovely. But I like to put them in a vase where I can enjoy their beauty and their fragrance every time I walk past.

However, there are other plants in my yard that look nice as a non-floral arrangement. Hosta leaves, for instance, do nicely in water and make a bold statement either alone or with other plants added to the mix. Their glossy shape and texture are lovely.

But this second bouquet? What is that, you ask? These are onions gone to seed and their sculpturely shape shouted "We Look Great!!". I brought several inside, placed them in a vase, and thought, "Whooeee! Cool Arrangement!" Until the next day, that is, when I noticed that the water was beginning to have a sour onion odor. Out they went. Still....they look kinda cool, don't you think? Think of them as a "short-term" ornamental.

Glass Whimsies For the Deck

I'm a confirmed buyer of Great Yard Sale Finds. I try to look at things with a creative eye. Currently out on the deck I have three glass whimsies hanging where they will catch the morning sun. They were originally part of a candle holder which by design was really, really ugly. However, the glass! Half an inch thick with an impressed design on one side. AND there were pre-made holes in the corners of each piece which made them perfect for hanging. I bought them for the express purpose of dismantling the candle holder and recycling the glass. I thought initially about hanging them in a window and I may do that this winter. But first, they will spend the summer out on our new deck.
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Sarah Bernhardt in Bloom

Most of my peonies are blooming late this year. This is a Sarah Bernhardt purchased three years ago from Gilbert H. Wild & Son Inc. All of my other peonies are "heirloom" in that they are transplanted from one yard to another over the years. This peony is the only one in my backyard with a "name" and the color is lovely. A huge bouquet sits on my bathroom counter where the mirror doubles its blooms. Be sure to click on the pic for a close-up. Too bad the net doesn't allow for fragrance. Sigh!

Peonies Are In Bloom

How you pronounce "peonies" depends on where you live. Here in the Upper Midwest, populated by German and Swedish immigrants, we say PEE-uh-nees. I've heard other people call them pee-O-nees with the accent on the "O". It makes no difference how you pronounce the word, the flower is utterly beautiful. Cllick on the photo for a spectacular close-up.

When I was growing up, every yard had several peony bushes. If the weather cooperated and the blooms were "on time" the flowers made lovely bouquets on Memorial Day.

They also make a lovely bouquet in my living room and the fragrance fills the house. I wish they would develop a peony that blooms throughout the summer. Heaven!

How did I take this photo? I sliced the peony in half and laid it on the scanner. Leaving the lid open gives it the black background. My scanner is old and there are probably glints from lint, etc., but the results are still lovely.

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Where is Edward Scissorhands When You Need Him?

I'm not much of a movie person. In fact I watched the 1990 Edward Scissorhands for the first time this year. I guess I was too busy in 1990 to watch a weird movie about a weird Edward. Should have taken the time...it's a cool movie.

I thought of Edward today while I was setting two stepping stones into the corner of the lawn. Once I had them low enough that the lawn mower won't clip them I needed to trim the grass around them...just to see how it looked.

Do you think I could play the part of Scissorhands in a remake? Perhaps eclipse the performance of Johnny Depp?

Snip Snip Snip.

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There is Sin in the Garden !!!

Our backyard is small but I've crammed it with as many perennials as I can. Plus, there are two small raised beds for veggies. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, kale, spinach, asparagus and more. This day, in the cool of the morning, I put in two hours of "tending the garden", giving a large area that first light weeding of the summer.

Then I discovered it! Sin! In the Garden! Almost hidden from view! (for a closer view, click on the photo)

This little discovery in my backyard reminded me of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Sin entered their paradise and they were expelled to forever live by the sweat of their brow (for more, read Genesis, chapter 3).

Somehow this lone dandelion seed had found a foothold and was able to grow, waiting for the day when it would send out its hundreds of seeds ready to reproduce and infest the entire garden. Rampant Sin!

It was a reminder to me of how sin hides and lies in wait, biding its time until it can become master of our lives. I could go on an on, but I won't. My thought is simply this ... there is Sin in the Garden! But someday there will be a new garden and there will be no more sin. (Rev. 21:1 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth passed away...")
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Eastern Redbud - Glorious in Spring

We've moved four times over the past twenty years. At three of those homes I planted an Eastern Redbud because I love its conspicuous spring color. Some describe it as 'purplish-pink'. I am more inclined to call it a 'fluorescent pink'.

When the blossoms appear (they appear all along each branch) they are initially a dark purplish pink. Or perhaps it is a pinkish-purple. As they begin to open the color lightens and from a distance they almost glow.

The Redbud is a rather small tree and is therefore perfect for a spot near the deck. My neighbor likes it, too. Our homes are very close together and the Redbud stands where she can see it from her patio. She says, "I've always wanted a Redbud and now I've got one." She's a sweet lady and I love having her for a neighbor.

The Latin name for this tree is Cercis canadensis. And no, I'm not a gardening expert ... I looked it up on google (big grin).
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Spring is Sprung. Or Daffodils and Asparagus. Or I Finally Had Time to Look Over My SPRING Backyard

Whew! This has been a hectic month. Dealing with hospitalization of a family member as well a lot of paperwork. Right now I'm the chief cook, bottle washer, and unregistered nurse. It's been a busy time and a lot of running and fetching. But I don't mind. I love this person!

Last evening, though, I had time to check out the daffodils and the asparagus. Daffs are a wonderful perennial bulb that multiply each year. They cheer me. And asparagus! This is the third year for the plants and I'm anticipating yummy meals for the next several weeks.

The deck? We designed it ourselves and a friend built it for us late last fall just in time for winter! So this is the first we have actually had opportunity to sit and enjoy.

Our small backyard is perfect for the two of us. Mowing takes all of 15 minutes (front and back yards). The flower beds allow me space to have a variety of perennials. They require a bit of spring cleanup but once that is done, they are good for the summer. And we have a couple raised beds for veggies. Yep. Just right. I like our home.
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