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Tags

container planting, food, garden, home, life, nature, plants, spring, Virgina

slow snow slide…try saying this fast

Yesterday marked the official end of winter in my landscape, so said I. The droopy snow slide of last week is now merely a memory. Today, with the sun blazing in all her glory, I headed out into the garden to complete yet another task on my spring checklist.

This planter, and her sister, survived many years of neglect, continuing to flourish season to season. However, during the winter, both planters collapsed, or the contents did, forcing me to pay attention.

sunken in the center

This sedum is bullet proof and flowed for years, simulating water, as the centerpiece of my restored herb bed—now it needed surgery.

with my trusty Rambo knife, surgery was successful

When I planted this container years ago, I placed onion bags filled with  packing peanuts into the bottom. This provides great drainage, reduces the amount of fill dirt, and will biodegrade in a thousand years, making this process very sustainable!

a good use for those non-biodegradable peanuts

notice the peanut filled onion bags tucked into the bottom of the container

landscape cloth and good earth await

operation successful thanks to a good knife

The old flat sheet provided a great catch-all for any wandering bits…

A few fresh peanuts were added

then all were covered with a bit of landscape cloth. This prevents dirt from clogging the engineered drainage

I just adore the color of these Angelina Stonecrop ‘Sedum rupestre’ ‘Angelina’ PPAF or trailing perennial.

In no time this plant will spill over the edges of this container creating a fountain effect

meanwhile the mower charges

I repeated this surgery on the second container, then proceeded to the lower garden where the eight sections of retired sedum were re-purposed. They should do well in this hot, sunny lower area.

Virginia soil is full of clay, therefore this mortar pan is handy when adding amendments like Pro-Mix.

slave girl at work–moi!

tools of the day

time for a late lunch–butternut squash ravioli

with brown butter and sage

a tasty reward following a good afternoon’s work

So fare-thee-well winter storms and heavy snow.
This gardener is out in her domain, making a small difference in her spring landscape on a highly productive Friday afternoon.

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

doin’ what comes natur’lly~one woman’s relationship with her garden

Tags

garden, garden chores, garden paths, home, humor at home, landscape design, lifestyle, popovers, Virginia

Instincts are magical. Intuition is a driving force. Little voices that inspire can be subtle or hit us over the head.
I cherish the kitty head bump instincts and have finally learned to hire muscle when I need to address the larger-than-life projects. As Gershwin said it, “you can’t get a man with a gun”, yet a few hundred dollars and a three hours of man power can create memorable landscape transformations.

plain Jane garden path entrance and dormant turf

The little voice hit me over the head last week when I strolled the winter garden and gazed down the front path—a path that has been in place since September 11th.
This voice whispered “too narrow” and I replied “OK” and proceeded to tack string outlining the sod to be removed.
Editing lawns is one of my favorite garden chores, as I loathe any tasks associated with it, especially when forced to mow during high humidity and triple digit temperatures. Virginia is not the place to have turf and I have given in to most any weed that thrives there.

other end of narrow path

pathetic attempt by moi to remove dastardly sod

hired muscles at work

wider path

finished path, hurray!

After my hired muscles finished this simple path, I lead them around to the side yard to install/reuse the hideous black plastic edging from the front project. This is my gazillionth attempt to conquer the slope dramatically eroded by recent heavy rains—

Ouch! following heavy rains

ongoing attempt to soothe Mother Nature

OMG!

rock is the solution

two small boxwood and blue princess moved

burning bush transplant nearly broke backs

Following the muscle departure, I raked, watered, and tidied the disturbed areas. Next week I must don my mulchqueen hat and tuck these shrubs in for the their next chapter.

As a reward, this morning I treated myself to a carb/maple syrup/buttery pop-over breakfast before I dressed for my morning stroll.

quick Sunday breakfast

comfort food

What garden accomplishments are you most proud?

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

 

she’s gone about as far as she can go

Tags

crepe myrtles, daily life, environment, gardening as a meditation, in the winter garden, nature, pruning, sustainability, winter chores

winter landscape

I admit it, when daytime temperatures are in the 30′s F, I tend to dawdle inside the house. I wash things with detail—

restore the fluff of those lamb warmers

take cozy late morning naps on the loveseat—
then create wholesome hot lunches—

local eggs

easy over

then force myself into a warm down work jacket, wool cap, heavy jeans, and Bean boots. Once outdoors, with pruning tools in hand,

former bonsai pruning tool

I begin by observing branches of either crepe myrtles or dogwood that often require annual surgery.
Winter is the perfect time to observe the skeleton or bones of the garden. Deciduous plants, shrubs, and trees reveal both strengths and weakness, permitting the astute gardener a chance to alter branches and crown before the end of dormancy.
Late yesterday afternoon I climbed to the top rung of my ladder to reach numerous myrtle branches that needed editing. Regrettably, I must find a taller ladder to finish that task, so today I approached the lone dogwood.

lone dogwood in need of thinning

burn barrel with back log of pruned material

With a light hand—almost a meditative process for me—the dogwood succumbed to its procedure and is now rid of dead, damaged, touching branches. Alas, I can only reach one-third of the way up the crown, yet when I locate that ladder or person with a ladder, both myrtles and dogwood will be in great shape for the upcoming growing season.

winter interest in the garden

favorite winter companion

promise of spring

Tomorrow is Saturday and the weather forecast is for rain and sleet.
I am so tempted to bring the old bird-cage indoors to apply the rusty metal primer, yet the warning label forbids this type of application. I must await 50 degree F mercury to proceed with my projects.
I have gone about as far as I can go…

Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

baby it’s cold outside

Tags

buttered noodles, cayenne pepper, fast food, food, healthy food, pumpkin pulp, quick meals, quick recipes, spicy pumpkin, sustainable living, vegetarian

Remember those containers tucked away in my freezer, filled with pumpkin pulp? Well, if I inspired you to roast and freeze your pumpkin back in November, NOW is the time to reap your reward—spicy pumpkin soup in just minutes. Defrost and add one container (2 cups) of pulp to a lightly sautéed sliced onion in a small soup pot. Add a heaping teaspoon of ground ginger and a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper to the pulp. Add enough organic vegetable broth to dilute and simmer 10 minutes. In batches, puree this mixture in a blender until smooth, adding one-quarter cup of heavy cream to each batch. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and black pepper and your winter warmer is complete. This makes about one quart of soup. Serve with crusty bread or buttered noodles. Just the healthy meal to warm both body and spirit! Try it—simple, wholesome, and oh so delicious.

If this soup is not consumed in one sitting, simply store in the fridge, up to one week, and re-heat on low heat. Thin with veggie broth to desired consistency.

To see the entire pumpkin roasting topic, visit my thank a pumpkin blog found listed in the left column of this page. Bon Appetit!

thank a pumpkin

Tags

Bombay G&T, Buy Fresh Buy Local, Cinderella pumpkin, comfort food, Cooks Illustrated, food madness, healthy food, quick recipes, soup, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

October brings shapely pumpkins to market and I always select a beautiful Cinderella—as I relate to the story. Work, work, work, during the holidays.

Today is Thanksgiving and I pause food madness and create a luscious soup to share with my dedicated blog followers and devour for my main course.

This pretty pumpkin decorated my front stoop from October until this morning, when she came inside for a final shower.

Next she succumbed to the ice pick…

Next she roasted for two hours until tender.

Then the process began to remove the meat from the skin—separating the seeds and string, all while avoiding spills of the copious liquid. In retrospect, simply cut the pumpkin into huge wedges, seed, then roast. I vaguely remember doing this last year and most the liquid evaporated, making the pulp removal a breeze.

Sautee a sweet white onion in 2T olive oil, add 1.5 lb. drained pumpkin pulp, 1T sugar, 2t ground coriander, 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth (I use Imagine Organic), sea salt and black pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add sliced/peeled pear, remove from heat for 10 minutes. Use a stick blender to puree. Add 2T sweet butter to finish.

Serve in pretty cups garnished with chives and cilantro. Serves 6

Freeze any remaining pulp in 2C containers, as this is the perfect portion for more soup or pumpkin pie. Cooks Illustrated has a perfect pumpkin pie recipe that calls for cooking the pulp a bit more to remove additional liquid…a super solution.

Tasty soup indeed and my reward comes with a Bombay G&T.

Oops, I see the Cinderella light flashing! Now where is that glass slipper??

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

POST SCRIPT: This is pumpkin is actually a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, an heirloom variety. Another favorite is the Rouge Vif D’Etampes if you can find it.

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

busy summer daze

Tags

Bluebirds, feeding backyard birds, food, fresh mozzarella, garden, garden fairies, lifestyle, nature, photography, sustainable living, Virginia

This blog captures images covering multiple topics:

Baby blue birds should fledge this Thursday. I can no longer open their box although I wish I could monitor the third nestling. I wring my hands—these photos were taken on day nine and day thirteen. Today is day fifteen. I am in awe of these delicate creatures and their amazing ability to go from egg to flight in a mere eighteen days.

On day nine, I discovered blowfly pupa in the nest box and decided to destroy the infested nest. I built a new one from coir strands and raffia. The chicks appear to be well. Mama did not notice the new accommodations. Blowfly is a killer of chicks, therefore monitoring is important.

nestling bluebirds day nine

day thirteen–notice how small the third chick is on right side~born last

By day thirteen the chicks eyes are fully open and they will no longer gape for me. Temperatures here hit the 100 degree mark a few times over the past week, and both adults and chicks were terribly stressed. The patio umbrella helped, and the fan moved enough air to keep them alive for another day.

YES, I did drag an electric line across the yard and erected a fan on the ground below the nest box. By opening the nest box door a crack, air moved through the hot box. YES, I do pamper the bluebirds in my care. That is what monitoring is all about. And YES, I am exhausted. Let us hope that all three chicks fledge. The third chick is three days younger than the first, and that may lead to its demise. Time will tell.

On Sunday, my neighbor Stella delivered another beautiful thank you card as I refreshed her fairy pots with petunias last week.

These are the images of her three garden fairies.

 I enjoyed her father’s garden tomato topped with fresh mozzarella and basil.

Summer is a time of challenge on many levels, as Mother Nature has her way with everyone and everything. I attempt to cling to her good and learn from her wrath.

After all I am mere mortal.

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

just a snack between views

Tags

home, garden, photography, quick recipes, food, zebra swallowtail, butterfly, chevre, toast, crunch crunch, lavender flowers

Recovered from the snake drama for the time being, a much prettier view manifested for me in the garden today. For the first time in eleven years fluttered a zebra swallowtail. I could not believe my eyes and grabbed the camera. A very shy beauty, this zebra dotted and dashed as I failed many shots. This one is not perfect, yet will convey the splendor of this fine flutter-bye..

Back in the kitchen, I decided to splurge on brunch, and pan fried two slices of my signature bread, Rustic 21 in butter until golden. Two wedges of chevre topped with sliced almonds then drizzled with local honey finished this scrumptious snack. Of course the second the photo was snapped, the cherve was mushed onto the hot bread and crunch, crunch, crunch. If I could sell it this way at market, I would charge a king’s ransom…

This kind of light meal does not occur often, as I rarely return home from market with an unsold loaf. Today…Yum!

Fresh lavender flowers would be a nice garnish.

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

bread, snow peas, and key lime pie

Tags

birds, farmer's market, feeding backyard birds, food, healthy food, lifestyle, photography, sustainable living

Fridays are always busy here—especially in the kitchen.

Since I rise early, by 10AM there were seven Key Lime Pies cooling in the fridge;

by noon the madeleines were golden and packed neatly into their bags; fifteen pounds of granola await the trip to town and containers of chive/artichoke pesto rest in the freezer.

Fresh bags of chard are tucked along side the pie boxes—the precious snow peas debut tomorrow and will bring high praise dollars. The scones and bread are last items to cool—finally I can unwind until four AM Saturday, when the alarms sound.

I created two additional quick meals in the past two days, adding a few snow peas and spinach from the garden. I do not consume what goes to market, as once the recipe is perfected, the items merely become revenue. I say this following twelve years of specialty baking, an occupation I stumbled upon while supervising contractors during a LONG home renovation. Now that the house is finished, I want to retire from food production, yet my clients threaten to disembowel me if I do.

The next two photos are quick meals over the past two days.

Out in the garden the hydrangeas are spectacular. It struggled for a few years, yet in its new location appears to thrive—a triumph!

Most back yard birds thrive, while Ethel, the flightless grackle, finds the birdbath positioned to accommodate her remaining days. She thoroughly enjoyed this bath—her first.

At dusk a huge raccoon scurried across my lawn, only to climb the cedar tree and gaze down at me—undaunted. I fear Ethel’s days may be numbered, unless her wing feathers support her flight soon. Never a dull  moment in this home, garden, or life.

Remember to glide your mouse over these images for further captions.

Happy Weekend to All!

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

too tired for pasta

Tags

cannellini beans, chive flowers, deelish, food, grilled salmon, healthy food, quick recipes, steamer basket, vegetarian

Today I wanted a quick evening meal. Out in the garden, I cut spinach. From the fridge I pulled kale, and from the pantry a 15 OZ can of Cannellini beans.

I began by rinsing the kale and spinach. Into the steamer went the torn kale for three minutes. Then, on top of the kale, went the spinach for two.

Meanwhile drain the can of cannellini beans.

Next I removed the steamer basket from the pan and chopped the veggies coarsely.

In the same pan empty of water, I placed three tablespoons each of sweet butter and olive oil over medium heat to melt.

Then I plopped in the beans, chopped veggies, sea salt and heated them briefly.

Immediately placed in a small serving bowl, I added fresh chive flowers, sliced almonds, and a couple chunks of cherve. Deelish! Serves two.

(The butter makes a smooth creamy little sauce.)

I enjoyed this as a humble, healthy meal, yet it could make a handsome side for those who eat larger meals aside a slab of grilled salmon.

Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved

another day in the berry patch

Tags

fast food, feeding backyard birds, flea beetles, food, garden, healthy food, quick recipes, red pepper flakes, sage flowers, sustainable living, Virginia

Word is out—the local berry patch is open for business. Each spring locals await the news. I like to attend opening day, as the first two rows of O’Neils are the best blueberries ever tasted. Donning long pants, shirt, and gnat netting I head out. This year’s gems did not disappoint. In just under and hour I plucked nearly four pounds of fruit.

Any berries found with worms went into my breast pocket for the back-yard birds. There are numerous fledgelings on the ground this week and they are so funny when tasting morsels for the first time.

When checking out, I always stock up on the limited edition berry patch honey produced by a local bee man. Yummy.

Heading home with pastoral views galore, I again am filled with gratitude for living in this rural paradise.

Back home I placed the berries in single layers on sheet pans in order to allow them to fully ripen at room temperature over the next twenty-four hours. This is a valuable tip, passed on to you—lessons from the grower.

Never cook or freeze blueberries.

This is sacrilege.

This fruit is perfect from the bush, and should only be eaten raw out of hand during season. Processing destroys the overall integrity of this prized fruit.

So much for jam, man!

Therefore, after twenty-four hours on the counter, these yummies go into a storage bag, unwashed, then into the fridge drawer. Only when I grab a handful, do I rinse what I eat. When the bag is empty, I then dream of next year’s harvest—another binge satisfied.

Try this berry zinger iced tea with blueberries. YUM!

(brew double strength and add agave while hot)

For lunch today I strolled the garden and found some lovely spinach, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, and beautiful sage flowers.

Flea beetles are at bay now, so produce thrives.

Back in the kitchen, I began water for pasta and gently washed kale and a large handful of spinach. I steamed the kale for three minutes then added the spinach for another two. When the pasta was al dente, I rough chopped the greens and mixed both into the hot pasta then added a splash of olive oil, a dollop of sweet butter, sea salt and red pepper flakes. When this dish is cold, it will make a nice salad for tomorrow’s lunch. I will add my favorite dressing to it then.

If you have never tasted fresh sage flowers, you must. I promise a grand surprise. The subtle yet clear flavor is outstanding and memorable. These flowers usually never make it to my prep table, as they are wonderful eaten in the garden. I must create a few recipes—say sage flower infused vodka or sage flower ice cream.

OMG, if you have sage blooming in your garden, go taste now!

OK, this blog is complete.

Thanks for visiting and following—your comments are always appreciated. Have a happy and safe holiday weekend. Virginia is headed for her first 90-degree temps of this year. OMG!

Copyright © 2012 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved