Little Acorn

Putting the Garden to Bed

It finally stopped raining long enough to dry things out so that I could get out into the garden and give the grass one last mow, plant some bulbs, mulch the vegetable beds and do one final organization of the tool shed before this gardening season is declared done. It seemed to become Autumn really quickly after the Thanksgiving weekend and I was worried that the rain wouldn't stop long enough for me to get my projects done, but today was a picture-perfect beautiful day. Autumn is my favourite season and today it was at it's best - sunny but crisp and cool, with colour everywhere and that very particular smell of Fall in the air. As I was mowing, it suddenly washed over me that I had a daughter and that she'd be here soon. The next time I mow the lawn, she'll be here. When the daffodils that I planted today bloom, she'll be here. I've been working on the garden since we moved to this house in 2005. Back then it was nothing but a muddy dog run, with amazingly vigorous weeds of all sorts and a few shrubs planted in all the wrong places (including the poor little palm tree I found languishing in the deep shade back in the far corner), but over the years the garden has been transformed and now there are flowers to smell almost year round and grass to lay on while you cloud gaze and places to grow vegetables and herbs. One of my favourite spots is a tiny secret garden just right for reading books in the shade in the summertime while the honeysuckle blooms overhead and the birds watch from the tree tops. I always knew I wasn't just making this garden for myself, but for my family and I can't wait until we can explore it together.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

This summer there was heat a'plenty and almost no rain (both highly unusual for us here on the west coast) so I had a bumper crop of tomatoes. Red ones. Yellow ones. Paste tomatoes. Huge beefsteaks. Little green stripy ones. There are still a LOT of tomatoes finishing up their ripening down in the laundry room. We've been eating a lot of fresh salsa, bacon and tomato sandwiches and caprese salad, but we just couldn't keep up and I needed a way to store some of this deliciousness for the cold and drizzly days of winter. When I found this recipe for slow roasted tomatoes, I just knew that I'd found the way, so yesterday I was up early to get a pan in the oven by 8 because they take a full 12 hours to roast. Of course at a bleary 7 a.m. I didn't actually look at the recipe and just went by memory so I did remove the stem socket even though it told me not to. Didn't seem to matter, as after 12 hours at 200 degrees the skins just slipped off.I decided to give this batch a whiz in the food processor before bagging it for the freezer. Next time I think I'll roast just red or just yellow, as the orangey colour it ended up is not as appetizing as it could be. It doesn't really matter what it looks like, because it tastes amazing. It's so very rich and savoury, with a concentrated but mellow tomato flavour and I know it's going to bring a sparkle to lots of dinners this winter. Did I tell you we're getting a freezer? It's the kind that is almost as tall as me and looks like a refrigerator. It's very odd, but it's the freezer entering this house that seems to be the biggest symbol for me of a shift in our lives. Sure, we've got a crib box and mattress hanging around in our dining room and there are some meltingly tiny clothes on suitably tiny hangers in the closet, but it's the acquisition of this freezer that is really making me feel like a grown up.

Tomatoes Before Their 12 Hour Roast:
Tomatoes After Their 12 Hour Roast (please imagine amazing smell):

Slow Roasted Tomato Puree:

In the garden

With all the excitement over the small person, I've neglected to show you how my potager has been feeding the two of us for months now. Salad fixings started being picked back in June and we've had a pretty steady supply of butter lettuces of many colours, mesclun and mache all summer, later joined by carrots, scallions, herbs and just lately, shallots. We pulled the first of the potatoes in July and have been eating delish russian banana fingerlings in all sorts of ways (but just boiled and buttered is still my favourite). The other potatoes will come up out of the ground soon and those will be our keeper potatoes. There's nothing like a homegrown potato. So creamy textured and flavourful and digging them up was like a treasure hunt.The zucchini continue to produce like they're on a mission to take over the world and so far we haven't grown to resent them. My almost-famous zucchini frittata (which isn't really a frittata but that's what it's always been called so I'm not changing it now even though it's more of a cross between a crustless quiche and a savoury cake) has been a staple this summer. The herbs are great this year, with the basil being the star as always and I can't wait for the tomatoes to ripen so that we can start eating basil + tomato + cheese in various yummy forms almost every night - salad, sandwiches, pizza, pasta - all good. We had that intense heat in July which was bad for me, but good for the garden. Now we seem to be swinging back and forth between summer and fall, so hopefully everything has a chance to ripen before the autumn truly arrives. I just put in some leeks and other fall crops, so hopefully we'll be continuing to eat from the garden even once the rains are here to stay.

Oh. The flowers are nice too. But this is my first year growing food and I'm still pretty awed by the whole thing.

Pride

I know I shouldn't really by as proud of growing zucchini as I am. Bragging about growing zucchini is kind of like bragging about growing dandelions, but I have to admit that I'm excited about my zucchini. This heat wave we've been suffering through has been heaven for the kitchen garden and the zucchini are inflating almost before my eyes. I've heard all the jokes about zucchini and how ridiculously easy it is to grow and I know that it's considered pretty idiot-proof - but this idiot grew zucchini this year for the first time and I'm so very proud. I'm picking them small so that hopefully this warm and fuzzy feeling towards my zucchini doesn't fade. Isn't it so very pretty ? So pretty that instead of dicing it up immediately for veggie patties like I planned I instead took it out to the yard to take arty photos of it.

Anticipation

Is there ever such a thing as too many tomatoes? I don't think so. It's my first year growing more than just a cherry tomato in a pot on my deck and I decided to stop myself at five different kinds (which was probably prudent) They're all really getting down to the business of getting huge. On of them is taller than me already! What we can't manage to eat fresh will get stored away for the winter when the tomatoes in the store are all pink and gritty and even a frozen batch of summer-made tomato sauce will be heavenly. None of them are quite ready yet...but every single day I go out there and visit them all, just to see how they're coming and for some aromatherapy. Am I the only person in the world who lists "tomato plants" as their favourite smell? You can keep your roses, fresh baked bread, clean laundry, bonfires and apple pie. They're all good smells, but nothing pushes my olfactory buttons the way tomato plants do. If they made a tomato plant perfume I would totally wear it. Very sexy, in a grinning, lecherous way, I think. Soon there will be MANY tomatoes, and I'll get to enjoy more than just the smell. Every one of the plants is setting a LOT of fruit right now. The anticipation is killing me. Nothing like the first homegrown tomato of the summer. I think I'll eat it right out there in the garden, with the sun shining and the juice dripping down my chin.

This Post Rated X

There's a lot of romance out in the garden lately. The birds and the bees, you know. But when I came across this display of raw animal invertebrate passion, I just had to go in for the camera. Yes, that's right - I caught snails doing it. I admit it - I was fascinated. The snail population in my yard is a little...dense...for my liking, but I just couldn't break these two lovers up. Oh, the slithery embrace. Oh, the slime.
I watched for a really long time...

Peonies, finally

Just about a month late, my peonies have finally started to bloom and I've brought in my first tiny bouquet. The pink which is just opening up is a very fragrant Sarah Bernhardt and the white which has been blooming about a week is a Shirley Temple. The Shirley Temple was mislabeled at the nursery, but it turns out to be one of the stars of my garden. It has huge white blooms just tipped in red here and there and the smell is heavenly. It only takes two peonies to make my kitchen smell swoon-worthy. Come in closer for a sniff...

Oh, that's right. Can't smell things on a blog. Too bad. Trust me - swoon-worthy.
The little cream jug this bouquet is in is from the Hotel Minerve in Paris. David liberated it for me from the breakfast tray on our last day in Paris way back in 2002. Ahhhh, Paris. David and I spent nearly a month there, seeing the sights, being crazy in love, taking a million non-digital photographs and getting rained on day after day after day (and NOT proposing or accepting a proposal of marriage, but that's another story). It was a record settingly cold and wet spring - but we were in Paris and in love, so the weather didn't matter. I love this little jug and all the memories it carries with it. Whether it's holding peonies in the summer or hot chocolate in the winter, it always makes me smile.

What's Blooming?

This is year three for most of the plantings in my garden and things have really settled in, spread out and started to bloom. There were some casualties though. Our harsh winter seems to have done in the calla lilies and I've lost the battle with the snails over the lupine. The large leafed hostas look pretty chewed up as well so they may get gifted to a gardener with less of a snail problem (or one who is more willing to go to war with them). The smaller leaved variegated ones are fine though. Who's to say what's super tasty to a snail?  What I like best about the finished area of the garden is that it's becoming quite low maintainence. My goal was to have no bare dirt, and without bare dirt after my big weedfest in early spring I really only pull the odd weed throughout the summer. Now that the plantings are established it doesn't need much watering and the shrubs are finally getting tall enough to start giving us the privacy we were needing. If only I could talk David into getting rid of the grass, then there wouldn't even be any mowing to do. Finally I can be out in that area and just enjoy it without seeing all the work to do. Of course there are still other areas that are basically wild right now - heaps of dirt, blackberries, binderweed, herb robert, dandelions, chickweed and other nameless weeds. Once my whole garden was like that though, so slowly it's being converted.

There's lots of colour out there right now, mostly from the foxgloves which blooming in white, purple and every shade of pink and from the Nelly Moser clematis, which is blooming it's heart out this year with huge dinner plate sized pink and white blooms. The one plant that is repeated in my garden a lot is Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla Mollis). It's just so easy care and attractive and it seems happy in every situation I've got it in, from hot and dry to partly shady and damp. It's a big blousy plant with interesting leaves and I love the acid yellow colour of the tiny blooms.
I'm still waiting on my peonies this year. Everything is late after our long cold winter, but the peonies which usually bloom around my birthday are still a couple of weeks away.

Potatoes

Yes - that's a growing potato plant. I bet you didn't think much about the "plant" part of potatoes, did you? Maybe it's my eastern European ancestry, but I LOVE potatoes. When I started to think about growing food the first thing that came to mind was potatoes. Organic, tasty and interesting potatoes like you can't find in the grocery store. Back in April my seed potatoes went in and I waited, and waited and waited, but FINALLY my potatoes are taking off! Mmmmmm. Baked potatoes. Scalloped potatoes. Mashed potatoes. Roasted potatoes. Boiled potatoes. Hash Browns. Steamed potatoes with butter and dill. Au gratin potatoes. Potato salad. Potato pancakes. And of course - fries. I deep fry exactly twice a year - Valentine's Day and David's birthday - and on both those occasions the dish is french style frites with parmesan, parsley and garlic with an aioli dipping sauce. I hope some of my homegrown potatoes make good frites...

Much Prettier

I couldn't leave you over the weekend with a picture of raw meat, could I? Instead I'll leave you with the plant I love the most in my garden. This subtle beauty is variegated Solomon's Seal, officially known as Polygonatum Odoratum "Variegatum". It was a charity plant sale treasure three  years ago, and although it's been painfully slow to establish and the slugs and snails like it a bit too much, it's still become my favourite. This year it has really begun to spread, and it is finally starting to live up to the potential I've known it had for years. It's just so pretty. The sweet white bell shaped flowers are just about to open, but I couldn't wait to show you a picture. If you want more information on it, you can check out this site.

My Potager

Usually I call it the kitchen garden, but I'm feeling rather French today, so I'm going with "potager". So far most of it still just looks like plain old dirt... No sign of the potatoes yet. I'm dying to dig one up to see what's happening down there, but I'm resisting the urge so far. The peas and shallots have both popped up and seem to be doing well, but other than that, NOTHING. It's been perfect seed weather and I did my research on how and when to plant things, but I just don't have faith. I've never been good with seeds and I'm also very very a little impatient, so I'm having trouble believing that those patches of dirt I water diligently will ever be lettuce, mesclun, carrots, chives, parsley or scallions (those are the things I've planted so far that haven't sprouted yet). I've already decided that I should have taken the easy (and expensive) way and just bought plants from the nursery, but I'm stubborn and I think that if other people can grown from seed I can learn to do it too. Some trial and error will likely be involved, but I will grown things from seed!
I know my blog has been pretty garden-centric lately, but I promise I'll get back to some crafting/collecting/cooking content soon. I think I have spring fever - I just want to be outside all the time!

Happy Earth Day

Where else would I celebrate Earth Day but in my garden? It was a glorious sunny, breezy and warm morning and I could practically hear everything growing out there. I may not own much land, but what I have I'm making more beautiful, more productive, more bio-diverse and more friendly to birds and insects all the time. When I look around my yard and see all the work I still want to do (and there's a lot of it), it's good to remind myself where there are now flowers, trees, shrubs, vines and vegetables there was once nothing but mud, rocks, weeds, broken glass and vintage garbage. I can't get over how ALIVE my garden is now. The birds wake me up every morning, nests are being constructed in all the trees and the hummingbirds are stopping by daily to see if the honeysuckle has bloomed yet.The mason bees are out there pollinating, the ladybugs are doing their job and keeping the place aphid-free and I'm looking forward to the butterflies and dragonflies making their appearance in the summer. I'm in such a good mood today I'm not even going to say anything bad about the snails.

It's good to be home

Although it was good to be away, too. I had a great week hanging with my Mom in my home town and now I'm back where David seems to have survived. I swear he ate nothing but Froot Loops and toast in my absence (even though he's a fabulous cook) and he seems to have watched way too much late night television for someone who has a job. But he did water the seeds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust and clean the bathroom for my arrival, so he obviously wasn't too weakened from his all carbs/no sleep bachelorman week. While I was gone spring arrived and the garden has exploded. All my perennials are joyously thrusting themselves out of their winter sleep, all the shrubs have fresh new green leaves, the daffodils are smiling and nodding all over the yard and the grass seems to be growing an inch every day. Unfortunately the weeds have also exploded. Wowza. I have a new weed this year which is proving very successful and is spreading itself through the lawns and bed and all over our gravel driveway. From doing a little research, I think it's chickweed. It's prettier than most of my weeds with its little white flowers, and it's shallowly rooted and not too hard to pull and it smells a lot better than the Herb Robert, but the rapid spread is rather alarming so I'm trying to get it under control before it gets much further. It's making the dandelions look very well behaved. Chickweed, yes? Any ideas for getting rid of it?
 

Finally

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, that's better. The first of the daffodils are finally blooming and the weather is forecast to be clear and sunny all weekend long. I know it could just be a tease, but it's starting to feel like maybe spring is finally coming. Yay for spring! Yay for sunshine! Yay for flowers! Yay for yellow!

Spring

Spring is NOT springing up around here. March came in like a lion and went out like a...what's a windy, wet and cold animal? A walrus with gas? We've had exactly ONE lovely day of seasonal weather so far this month and that was on Sunday. After our legwarmer photo shoot David and I worked in the garden for awhile and for the first time in a long time it wasn't grey, blowing or rainy. I was without a sweater and the sun felt wonderful warming my shoulders. I planted some shallots, checked on the peas and potatoes (no sprouts yet), mowed the lawn for the first time this year, pulled a bunch of weeds, scattered some poppy seeds, loaded the composter and did some pruning. The yard was alive with all the bird song, as well as lots of fighting/romancing (I can't tell the difference). There were sparrows of every sort, bushtits (go ahead and snicker, I do), purple finches and of course the robins. The robins this year are a little...eerie. There are a few of them that are just plain curious about me. I can stand a foot away and have a conversation with them and they will stay there, cock their heads like they understand and just tweet back at me, rather than flying off like a sensible bird would. Last year the robins were very successful in their babymaking and by the summer we had a gaggle (maybe 8 or 10) juvenile robins hanging around in the yard. I don't know anything about ornithology, but could these robins be some of last years babies and are just so used to me out there that they know I'm no threat? Are they just particularly stupid trusting birds? I don't know what it is, but it is awfully nice to have some company out there. Yes, I did just admit that I hold conversations with the birds in my yard. It's just one of the items on my neighbours list of why they think I'm crazy...