June One

Today I harvested the garlic scapes. A brief search online for "best way to use scapes" resulted in lots of suggestions for pesto. So, pesto it is. The scapes ended up being more fibrous than I thought they would be and I had to switch out blending mechanisms a few times. Maybe I need to harvest less stem next time or maybe younger.

 They are pretty neat curly-ques.

Blended with olive oil, a little salt and water. 

Into my pesto trays for freezing.

I haven't grow Rattail Radish since living in my last house over 13 years ago. I'm not a huge fan of radishes, but I remember these being alright. Verdict: they still aren't my favorite food in the world, but maybe pickling would make them better. These are fridge pickles- white vinegar, water, salt, 1 chili, 1 garlic and rattail radishes. Just stuff them in the fridge. No processing. 

This was the first big harvest of peas. When they start to come in I just eat them in the garden, but at this point I'd stuff myself. Here are 2 lbs of snap peas & snow peas. I LOVE snap peas, but if I could have one complaint- this is one food that I can't preserve. I don't like them any way but fresh and then I pig out until I don't want any more and there are usual some left. I need to share. 

The serviceberries (Amelanchier canadensis- native to the NE, E and SE US) are coming to fruition. Kiddo and I harvest 1.5 quarts. I made jam following a recipe online: 4 cups smashed berries, juice from 1/2 lemon, 2 cups sugar (too much) and I didn't have lemon rind so I used orange, which was a nice added flavor. Cook for about 15 minutes, boiling & stirring constantly and then hot water bath for 10 minutes. This is my first time not using pectin and the product isn't completely thickened. These berries are probably a little on the less than fully ripe side, but the darker ones don't hang around long. Robins are big fans. 

 

Mashed & Canned.

                       
The frog pond isn't very froggy this year. We haven't had a lot of rain and we had a very delayed spring. I am worried about the impact on the frog/amphibian population this year.

 New board across the pond-that-isn't so that

I can plant on the other side. 

 Gray Sedge or Burhead- Carex grayii

 Two kinds of Hibiscus- H. lasiocarpus (above) 

and H. laevis (below).

The Water Irises should be happier this year with 

the removal of the pear tree. 

This is how dry the pond is. It has had standing water in it

one time this spring. Silver lining= fewer mosquitoes?

Pickerel weed. Just bought this spring

from Effinger's

Soft Rush- Juncus effusus

Newly planted & raised from seed this winter/spring

Swamp Milkweed- Asclepias incarnata

Thalia- most of it is either delayed or didn't make the

hard winter. It seems what is coming up is around the perimeter.

In bloom:

Meadow Rue- Thalictrum dasycarpum

Garden Heliotrope or Valerian. Valeriana officinalis

Virginia Sweetspire- Itea virginica

 

The "Veg" Garden:
Which is probably more fruit than veg when you think about it. I should start calling it the fruit garden.

 Onions & Chives in bloom. 

Potatoes in the row behind them.

Squashes under the row cover.

 Left row: Dutch Yellow Shallots, Carrots, Basil and more

Row #2: also seen in above photo

Smokey and the Tomato tepee. 

We had about 1/3 inch rain on Monday and the maters

took off. Had to rewind up with twine this morning and bring in more.

Smokey in the asparagus bed.

Still needs to be painted & screwed together.

Tomatoes & Marigolds

Happy June One. 

I can't post as fast as plants grow.

Every day there is something new and I feel like if I don't post each day I will miss something! So, not a lot for words today, just a lot of going-ons.

Before & on Memorial Day: Events

 
Before and After 
I get so repulsively excited when Stinkhorns pop up in the yard! Immediately upon opening the back door I KNEW it was there. Just follow your nose. The flies found it and removed the spores in no time flat. See the brown mass on the first photo and then gone on the second?The next day the fungus was gone, like it never happened. Fleeting natural events. Since I'm in charge of celebrations today I celebrate the Stinkhorn.

I bought a successive broccoli seed mix from Territorial Seed this year. Several of the varieties bolted quickly. Instead of wasting the food plant I collected the leaves, stems and flowers and made a stir-fry with them. It was completely satisfying. If this happens to your plants- just eat it!

  When life hands you bolted broccoli
                                                                               just eat it. 

Our lovely bolted broccoli stir fry, fresh strawberries and salad from the garden. 

What do you do when you have leftover cucumber & melon seedlings, but no place to put them?

You make a new bed!         

 Below: outline the bed with a shovel & sticks        

 Put a thick layer of newspaper & straw down

 Make depressions in the straw, add compost, plant seedlings.
Wa-la = new bed with more plants. Who needs grass, anyway?

Food in Jars

                   

The folks brought over some surplus berries = freezer jam.


1 head of local cabbage + 2 shredded carrots + salt + caraway = future sauerkraut.

I easily forget that NOW is the perfect time to harvest, dry and store some herbs, like chives & oregano. Done.








Garden at the Back Porch

 Relocated water fountain

 Pot of Browalia & Rosemary

 New wall plant hanger- from Freuhlingsfest with  

Goblin-fingered jade

 This year I did fewer porch pots and am trying annuals and herb combos.

Here I have Curry plant, Lavender, Berggarten Sage and petunias.

New- Verbena- Glandularia bipinnatifida

(say that twice)

The "Old" Garden

 Doing fine. Looking Good.

The Broccoli & Carrot bed.

Das Biergarten

 Salvia "Caradonna" Catmint & Perennial Cornflowers in bloom.

Centaurea dealtbata- Perennial Cornflower

Grown from seed- Thompson & Morgan (source)

Skyward Caradonna

 Memorial Day visitors: this Lovely Black Rat Snake and

a smaller, possibly Water Snake, near the garden. 

Third snake of the season. Three different species!

Happy Snake Day! 

First Harvest:

 These petite snow peas were accidentally purchased from Baker's Creek. They grew fast, short and were productive, but I don't LOVE snow peas. I would have rather grown snaps. Oh well. They aren't being wasted. 

First Serviceberries are coming in- the robins told me so. I wish they would just eat the ones I can't reach and save the "low hanging fruit" for me. 

 

The rose: Is it Cecile Brunner? I can't remember. She is lovely and oh so aromatic. She lost the support of the old dead peach tree this year, but doesn't appear to have suffered.

 She flushes in bloom

See her behind the prairie? She's huge!

In other bloom news:

 The torch lily by the veg garden.

 The Coreopsis I started from seed last year- first bloom.

Above & below.

 Missouri Primrose

 Clematis- violacea

 I can't get enough of the diversity in these

old fashioned petunias that appear each day.

A friend sent me this tshirt idea. 

I love a good play on words. 

This is my BIO...TCH face.

The "Old" Garden behind me. 

This garden needs to slow down a bit.