Peony Place

Majestic Monarch

This beautiful straggler has been hanging out in my garden for days.  Not sure how much longer he'll last, but he's a beauty. 

Catch up....

As soon as I have time, I'm going to merge my three blogs.  Don't know where I'll end up, but I'll let everyone know.  Seems it's time to integrate my blog life.  What with working at the museum, I just can't keep up...and now that school has started again, I'm way too busy to keep three blogs.  Anyway, I sure do miss you all.  My garden is still producing faster than I can keep up with it.  My lavender never did bloom, but the morning glories are incredible every morning. Tomatoes are coming out my ears.  My green beans are so tough, though, that I think I'll skip them next year.  I have to boil them until they're gray to be able to eat them.

Morning glories galore

Hello World!  My mom left a few days ago and I practically collapsed with relief and a good bit of sadness.  I can't talk much about her visit...it had some miraculous moments...but I can truly say I was sorry to see my mom go home.  More about it later, perhaps.

At any rate, I've got tomatoes coming out of my ears...and hot peppers...and green beans. I've made two big batches of tomato sauce so far.  And my eggplants are coming along nicely, and I've got mucho mustard seeds drying and coriander and basil.  And I've finally got Morning Glories in the morning.  But alas, here we are in mid-August and I haven't one lavender bloom.  The fates are against me.  The plants are thriving, but nary a purple bloom to be seen.  I think I will have to try again next year.  It is possible that September will be kind to me and I will get some blooms, but I'm not counting on it.

I hope I have some time this week to catch up on everyone's blogs.  I cannot tell you how behind I am in housework, prep work for the new homeschool year, not to mention I have taken a part-time position that begins on Thursday.  I must remain calm. 

Oh, and here's a pretty picture of a Spicebush Swallowtail pterourus troilus.  He was pretty shy so I couldn't get a wide-open shot of him, but I did my best.

Looking back

I haven't been able to blog -- my mom is here and we're so busy with activities and visiting, but I sure do miss all you ladies.  Here's a photo of my great grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John H. Moyse.  They are the parents of my dad's mother.  They had eight children, six who survived to adulthood. They were originally from Cornwall. This was taken before 1920.  Don't they look so firm and strong.  I hope I can project that authority someday!

A silly woman

Look at the Nasturtium seeds I've collected so far.  I just read that you can pickle Nasturtium seeds while green and that they are as good as capers.  Hmmm..... And the vase of 'flowers' are really Snapdragon seeds that are drying.  I've also got a big bundle of Coriander seeds drying.  And, the tomatoes are finally ripening!  Lisa, I'm going to be calling you for some canning assistance.  I'm so excited!  Yes, again, I am a silly woman. :-)

The harvest cometh...

I've been collecting seeds!  The seeds of my seeds have produced prodigiously...Nasturtiums, Love-in-a-Mist, Snapdragons, Coriander.  After a very heavy rain yesterday I had to pull out some of my 'overripe' flowers. Some of the zinnias (over 2 feet tall) were bending over onto the driveway, and carrying everything with them.  Never fear, I had 10 pots of mums waiting to be transplanted.  It will take them a few weeks to start filling in, but I'll have lots of fall color now.  I had to pull out the Nasturtiums, too.  They were spilling into the drive and smothering everything in their path.  And the snapdragons were nearly spent.  Most had to come out.  I had some Marjoram that was being crowded out and now it may have a chance to thrive.  Also, I found that my Lenten Roses hadn't died after all!  I found one hidden among the zinnias, and the others I had transplanted have all begun to leaf out.  I am so glad!! I finally have a few tomatoes beginning to ripen and my French Climbing Beans are a couple inches long.  Does somebody know a harvest song I can sing?!!

Herb Lesson -- Dill

Dill is a hardy annual, a native of the Mediterranean region and Southern Russia.  Dill is mentioned in the Bible: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  (Matt. 23:23 In the Middle Ages dill was used in magic spells and to ward off witches.

Dill is quite easy to propagate.  Sow seeds in the spring. If you live where there are no hard frosts, you can sow dill in the fall and winter.  They enjoy germinating in cool weather and will do well.  They germinate readily and grow quickly to heights of up to three feet. Dill also does well grown in pots, just make sure the pots are deep as dill likes to grow deep roots. Also, sow seeds close together--dill tends to fall over when it gets tall and sowing seeds close helps the plants to hold each other up.

Dill leaves are used in many recipes today, including tuna salads, in sauces, and to flavor pickles. Dill seeds are easy to harvest, but  you must be careful when collecting as they tend to fall easily to the ground. Harvest when the seed heads are brown, and then cut the whole plant down.

Canning resources

I've been doing a little research on canning and preserving.  Here's some sites that might be helpful to anyone else who might be taking up this very worthwhile occupation. I just wish my tomatoes would start to ripen! Home Canning, Canning Pantry, The Nolls' Home Canning page.

Primrose seeds

I've got a number of English Primroses in my yard and I'm going to gather seeds to propagate for next spring.  They are such charming little flowers and they bloom for many weeks in the spring.  Right now they are spread out in small clusters, but I'd like to make a more dramatic statement and enlarge the clusters.  You can see the seed head inside the large sepals. The flowers are red and yellow and quite bright against the drab early spring landscape.

A Varmint Caught in the Act

Look at this sweet little ol' bun-bun.  I was loving him until I caught him in the act of stripping the bark from my peach tree! Ackkkkk!!!  Even in the suburbs we are not free from the depredations of varmints!

A rose

Finally decided what else to put in my front yard landscape. Roses. My husband just loves roses and we've only got one tiny tea rose in the backyard and a struggling fair bianca at the back door. Anyway, on one of our trips to the hardware store last week I found a very pretty and very fragrant rose bush called the Blushing Knock Out Rose (Rosa x 'Radyod' PP#14700). It is mounded with a height of 3 feet by 3 feet.  It's in a one-gallon container and is blooming like mad right now, as you can see.  I'm a little afraid to put it in the ground right now, so I've been feeding it and keeping it well watered.  I did get a rose book, which I really ought to peruse. I know for certain it's not a good idea to plant when it's blooming!  Oh I can just see the front of the house all filled with blooming roses and bringing their sweet fragrance up to dear hubby and I as we sit on the porch swing. Yes, I am silly.

Can I can?

A bloom from one of my hostas.

I bought some canning equipment yesterday....just the cans, lids, funnel.  I have a glass top stove and the pot I was going to buy said not to use on glass top stoves. Oy.  I guess I'll have to do a bit more research. I'm very fortunate though, because my friend, Lisa, is going to help me.  I have no clue what I'm doing.  She let me borrow her Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  I also ordered one.  It all seems so complicated at the moment, but like all things in life, just take it a step at a time and it's never as difficult as you think.

Thanks to Jennickless for the tuna recipe, and to April and Kristina for commiserating about relatives.

Am I a pumpkin head?

I was up early watering this morning.  Took a look at what I thought was the spahetti squash.  Yes indeedy, I think it is a pumpkin.  It is turning orange and getting huge.  We ate a baby one the other day, and it was quite sweet, but so full of seeds (that looked just like pumpkin seeds) and not much flesh.  I wonder if I've got two types of pumpkins in the garden. Next year I will have to be severe and not let any rogues grow. Here's the then and now pics. I don't know what to think!

She's coming...

My mom is coming to visit.  Haven't actually seen her since 1998.  Yeah, that kind of relationship. But, she's not in the best of health and wants to see the kids.  She'll be staying with us.  I've been planning dozens of activities so that we don't actually have to have extended conversations.  No big things, just little trips to local landmarks, restaurants, shops, etc. Dread is a strong word, but I can't think of another to describe how I'm feeling. Any advice on how to handle the visit? I think it'll be about a week (she hasn't actually told me how long she's staying...I think so she can either extend or curtail the visit at her desire). Anyway, here's a picture of Love in a Mist amidst a plethora of nasturtium leaves.  I like the contrast of colors.  I wish I was little enough to hide in there amongst the leaves.

Beauty amid carnage

Look at how my Four O'clocks are managing to bloom--despite the mess the Japanese beetles have made of the foliage.  I caught the little pests on my basil yesterday and yes, I admit it, I fully enjoyed smashing their little carapaces to bits.

Haricort verts

The first climbing bean blossom of the season.  My friend, Lisa, is already harvesting her beans and they look scrumptious!

The Great Artist

This pink zinnia is by no means a picture of perfection. But what held my interest is the flowers within the flower that I see.  How attentive to the minutest detail is our God!

Dogs Gone Wild

My foo-foo dogs had a run around the yard this afternoon.  Okay, yes, they really are that cute. I highly recommend foo-foo dogs--foo-foo meaning they have no other purpose than to entertain their owners.

Flowers and more flowers

Herb lesson