The Philadelphia International Flower Show

My older daughter and I went to the Philadelphia International Flower Show yesterday. It was a beautiful day to be out and about (and not at work)! We were able to walk from the parking lot to the convention center, and stroll around the block to Starbucks when we needed a break, without coats on. Lovely!
The theme this year was Hawaii, and there was plenty of orchids and tropical plants.

And Hawaiian Dancers

Me, by orchids, inside the big wave at the entrance

My beautiful daughter by some tropical plants

But I do not live in a tropical paradise and so I quickly found landscapes that spoke to my heart. I loved this little path through spring bulbs. I think paths invite you into a garden to explore. Of course, tulips are major deer food around here, if the squirrels haven't gotten them first, so I could never get this look.

But don't you just want to wander up that path and see where it brings you?

There were plenty of vegetable patches. Most in neat little rows, some all interplanted, and there was a wall full of lettuce! My daughter and I joked that the wall would be chewed up as high as a bunny could reach.

Cool tomato support system

So perfect - in a perfect world with no deer or rabbits

These turnips had to have been 8 inches across!

I just loved all the garden displays. I took photos of cold frames because I do so desperately want to build some cold frames and harvest greens through the winter. A gentleman suggested to me that I could find old windows on Craig's list. I may start looking.

And I fell in love with this shed - it's big enough for my husband's lawn mower and other man stuff and still room enough for my gardening supplies - and has a side door so I wouldn't have to climb over the lawn mower to reach the rake like I do now. 

Isn't it perfect? It's on clearance for only $6599.00! Sigh. Perfection has a price. One that I cannot afford.

I also did some shopping while at the flower show, of course! I got some seeds, my favorite gardening gloves 3 for $20.00, a cool garden broom that is like a cross between a broom and a rake for $20.00, 3 dozen roses for $10.00, some garden flags for the front of the house and this cute bird bath, which at $39.95 may not have been a steal, but it supported the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which hosts the Flower Show, so I'm good with that.

We also found a free wine tasting area - not just wine, but wines and spirits. I am not sure what that has to do with flowers, but it was a nice break for us. My favorite wasn't any of the wines, but a mojito. I am famous (in my family) for making a great mojito with my homegrown mint. (My secret ingredient is simple syrup as opposed to sugar). The sample mojito used sugar (you can taste the difference) and was a bit sweet - very tasty, but not as good as mine. But it reminded me of summer and the wonderful weekend mojitos to come! Yum!

We ended the day at a special event called Wedding Wednesday, because my darling daughter is getting married in 2013....in my backyard!!! More about that later. 

We tasted champagne and cake (I had the best cake I have ever had - I couldn't figure out what made it so good. It looked like a pound cake with white frosting. It was actually a peach cake. Very subtle - really good. ). We also tasted food from a caterer that was not really good. You would think you'd bring your best to an event like this. All in all, we were looking for flower ideas and there were not very many florists, and not too much creativity. Really? At a flower show? 

I understand someone was getting married that night at the event, which my daughter and I both agreed was kind of sad and impersonal, so we didn't stay for that. We did make leis at the wedding event which was cool.

My daughter putting on her finished lei

All in all it was a lovely day and lovely to spend that much time with my beautiful daughter. The flower show runs through Sunday, March 11, if you have a chance to attend. It is so worth it.

The first weekend of March

There is not a lot to do, this first weekend of March. The weather is cool, but not cold and I am chomping at the bit to get in the Potager and dig. But I do not want to damage my soil structure. 12 more days until pea planting day!
So I sow more seeds indoors - beets and peppers and hollyhocks.
And I work on projects outdoors with my talented hubby.

Hubs made a pea trellis for me and I strung twine on it. It is 36" high, enough for my 30" high growing english peas and dwarf snow peas. I still haven't decided if I need any twine to go horizontally. I'm hoping simpler is better. Then after I was done I folded it up and put it back in the shed. Sigh.

Then we tackled the raspberry bed. Hubby made supports and we strung coated wire between them. I weeded the bed and then mulched the raspberries with grass clippings. I also cut back the canes that were well over 6 foot long.  Since none of my canes bore fruit last year, I did not cut any of them. This year I will cut them after they finish bearing fruit. I also cleaned up the stray canes that were all over the ground outside the box. Raspberries really spread! I have to remember to keep on top of them or they will take over. You remember the thorns that covered Sleeping Beauty's castle, totally obscuring it from view in 100 years - that had to have been raspberries! It was nice to have them somewhat contained by the wires. It was getting difficult to walk around back there!

I will admit to digging a wee bit - I found this cute English Daisy outside the Agway and plopped it in the ground that very afternoon. It seems to be surviving.

I also potted two pansies and placed them by my front door, removing my winter decor. But the next morning, a hungry deer had chomped down the one easiest to reach. Now my pansies are liberally coated in ground cayenne pepper. Game on deer!

I also gave the decorative grasses by my patio a much needed haircut and topped off the compost pile with the cut grass. Now I am beginning a new compost pile and that one will sit for a long year. I have noticed that Mr. Binx spends a lot of time hanging out at the compost pile, keeping the critters out of it. Good garden cat!

I am linking this to  at An Oregon Cottage. Be sure to stop by and get your fill of garden dreams!

Gardening has begun - sort of

This last Saturday in February blew in with high winds and an occasional snow squall. But it didn't daunt my spirits! Today was a planting day for me.

Tucked away safely in my cabinet over the kick space heater is a tray of seeds promising spring goodies to be planted out when the weather is warmer. I planted three Rosa Bianco eggplants , 3 red russian kale, 3 escarole, 3 broccoli and six lettuces (2 each of buttercrunch, oakleaf and simpson elite). With the exception of the eggplant and the broccoli, all of these can be directly sown outside next month. I'm curious to see if these give me a quicker harvest or if the ones sown outside when they should be will just catch up and all be ready to harvest at the same time.
I've planted tomatoes out in May and then planted some out in June and they all start producing at the same time. Sometimes it is just when nature says it is time.

After learning last week that I should have planted my shallots in the spring, I found a little green shallot plant showing in the garden today. I didn't move the mulch to see if any more were growing. It was cold and I didn't want to damage any of them if they were. I'll see soon enough.
I love the way things just grow when nature tells them to.

That's what I'm hoping for the cilantro seeds I sowed today. I didn't get to put them in last fall, so I sowed them today. The hope is that they will come up when nature determines it is time for them.

I was so amazed at how workable the soil was, considering it's still February. I was just wondering if I should try to plant something else when a little snow squall blew in. I will wait patiently. Only three more weeks until Saint Patrick's Day - the official pea planting day!

And as an update, in case you were wondering,  those poor onion seedlings I face planted into last week came up fine.

Happy President's Day

Very happy for me! I am fortunate to have President's day off. I headed to a garden shop and picked up some goodies to plant in my garden come spring, along with some seed starting trays. I walked outside in my sweatshirt all day and was fine. I wish I knew that this mild weather we have had all winter would last. I could plant things now and get a head start! The weather teases me, saying come into the garden, but I resist because I know if I do it will probably hit us with a major snow storm.
But while I cannot plant things in the garden yet, there are things already planted that are reappearing or remaining, much to my delight!

This is actually the time of year this plant should be flowering. I was worried that since it bloomed all winter it would stop early, but look at all those buds! I love this plant.

My rosemary looks like it may survive the winter! I am really excited by this. I have never had rosemary make it to Thanksgiving before. The summer savory next to it is also doing well. I have never grown this before so I don't know whether is dies back or not.  And the thyme behind the savory is still green. That usually  gives up around New Year's Day. I have enjoyed using the fresh herbs all winter.

The chives and the garlic chives are coming up.

The garlic is growing well. The shallots are not. I just read this weekend that in the North shallots are planted in the spring for fall harvest. They are only planted in the fall in the south. Oops. But maybe with the mild winter, they will come up. They may have been fooled into thinking they were down south!  I'll wait before I replace them.

Inside I have started seedlings. This sad looking tray of onion seedlings have now been renamed as the onions that saved my face.
I tripped over the open door of the dishwasher while carrying them. I managed to keep the tray upright and get it safely to the floor on the way down before realizing to my horror that my face was still on a collision course with the tile floor. I quickly bent my face down into the soft dirt in the seedling tray and came up with a face full of dirt and a small cut on my nose. I can't imagine what damage the tile floor would have done! My full face plant bent the tray and squished and moved many of the onions. They seem to be recovering, but if they die, I'll have to say they did so for a good cause!

February Tasks

February tasks for the garden include doing all the January tasks I didn't do. :/
And planting begins inside this month! I've decided to follow Kathy's Gardening time table found here Skippy's Vegetable Garden , which means my onion seeds should go into a growing mix by next Monday. Which means I need to get to a garden center to get supplies Saturday morning. Ahh, garden centers, I've missed you!
My first seed packages came in the mail yesterday. It is like Christmas all over again!

From Pinetree Seeds I got two types of cucumbers: General Lee for eating fresh and Homemade Pickles to make ... homemade pickles! I bought beets again, hoping that this is the year they do well for me. I left the Detroit beets I had been trying and gave Early Wonder a try. I'm dreaming of a roasted beet salad with goat cheese. I also bought a package of leek seeds, American Flag which is also called Giant Mussleman. I have never grown leeks, but I love to cook with them. I bought another pack of my beloved 8 Ball Zucchini - this variety keeps producing and is just the right size for the two of us.  I also bought atomic red carrots. I can buy organic carrots at the grocery store very cheaply so I have decided not to grow normal carrots. But I love the idea of red or purple carrots from my garden to mix with the orange store bought. And I bought another package of freckles lettuce, because I loved the freckles lettuce I had last year. I still have some seeds left, but I wanted to make sure I did not run out of freckles lettuce this year!
January was unusually warm this year and I have been harvesting thyme, parsley, cilantro, summer savory and rosemary right up until last night. If I had known it would be so mild, I would have planted some cold weather vegetables!
Last night winter decided to come back and gave us a fairy land dusting of glittery snow that clung to every branch in my yard.

It is so pretty to look at and the roads are clear. My favorite kind of snow! I'm hoping that all the plants that started coming up thinking it was spring will survive the rest of winter and reappear when the weather warms up.

My lenten rose, still blooming, covered in snow. I think I will buy some more helleborus. It is such a pleasure to see something in bloom while all else looks dead and bare.

"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."
-  Gertrude S. Wister

Foodie Friday: Lamb Chops

This is the first time I made lamb chops, not on the grill. And I don't think they turned out right.  I'm not saying they didn't get eaten.

From the Potager, I mixed rosemary and thyme.

I added fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.

I spread this over the lamb chops and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.

The rack got cute little foil caps to protect the bone ends and went into a 400 degree oven for 7 minutes and then finished off in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes longer.

I forgot to take pictures of it when it was done. It was prettier than what you are looking at, which is a few pieces that had been thrown back in the oven to cook a bit more. I know lamb chops should be rare, but these were a bit too rare.
I am so not ready to be a food blogger!
But I am loving the fresh taste imparted from the herbs still available in the garden. Have a wonderful weekend!

Winter has arrived

Temperatures in the teens, a brief snowfall last night ...it looks like winter has found us!

"And finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow."
Roy Bean