It is still early for harvesting, but the beans were ready! The lettuce we have been eating while we thinned, and the radishes are at the end of the second planting. There are peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash set on.
The third planting of radishes went in today. A side note about radishes, they are a wonderful weight loss food. You can grab a couple when you feel like munching; the twang and crunch make them are satisfying and with a glass of water you fill content till your next scheduled meal.
Back to the garden. The big news is the apricot tree. It has 7 pieces of almost ripe fruit. Not bad for a 3 year young tree that is only 6 feet tall. And so pretty, I love the color.
It is good that there is a holiday set for remembering. It is easy to go about our daily lives enjoying the many freedoms this country has to offer without thinking about all the miracles and sacrifices that have brought those blessings to us. So on this Memorial Day I'm giving thanks to all the patriots who have stood to defend America, all those heroes who have given the ultimate in freedom's cause, and all the families that love them.
There is a Magnolia tree in our front yard that has begun it's summer blooming. The flowers are beautiful. Their fragrance in wonderful, it waffs through the air sultry and rich. The dark leaves and contrasting large white blooms are delightful to behold. Everything about a magnolia flower evokes elegance; the scent, the coloring and thickness of the petals, the bulbed center and the whiteness of the bloom are a perfect balance of simple and stately. Looking at a magnolia tree in full bloom, your thoughts turn to older times of columned porch plantations, southern belles and gentile hospitality. The latin name of the Southern Magnolia, MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA, pretty much says it all. Grand flower. It is a perfect description.
We like fresh vegetables, and nothing is fresher than picking vegetables from your own garden. Because we live in Subdivision, and have a unfenced yard in a community with rules, we had to get creative about how to plant a garden. We choose to not put in a flat tilled plain garden or 4x8' growing beds, my brilliant husband built landscaping beds around the house, patio, and deck and planted them with herbs, fruit and vegetables. The yard slopes, so the planters around the patio are tiered. We have 3 dwarf fruit trees, blueberries bushes, rhubarb and a number of perennial herbs mixed with annual vegetables as our back yard landscaping.
Her is a view of the planters around the patio (before the weed whacking was done) Top tier has radishes, buttercrunch and blackseeded simpson lettuce, spinach, broccoli, squash and onions. The lower tier has cucumbers, peppers,and tomatoes. In the background you can see our pine tree and daisy field. The other corner of the yard has a butterfly garden.
This year the beans are growing along the back of the house. Last year the tomatoes were here, and the year before we had pole beans on a trellis in this spot.
The oregano, rhubarb and the cherry bush have been in this planter 2 years. We did get to harvest about 4 stalks of rhubarb this year and expect more in years to come. The cherry bush will probably produce a crop next year as well.
It is the end of May and already we are harvesting. The herbs, oregano, chives, and cilantro we have been using for several weeks. The first planting of radishes have been gathered and the second is about ready too.
It is kind of weird when your children start staking their claims to your possessions as their inheritance decades before you have plans of passing on. Perhaps there is a certain wisdom in proclaiming early in your adult life what you expect to claim upon your parent's death. It might cut down on difficulties later. Weirdness aside, our daughter has demanded these are to be her 'inheritance'. Six original Beatles albums. They are less than pristine, well loved by her father in his youth, they are what she wants. Her father has agreed she is to have them, but not yet. Today they went up on the TV room wall. Recently we dragged them out of the box where they have lived the last 30 years, through half a dozen moves, and put them 12" x12" frames. Dad will get to enjoy them, silently, for years and years and years (I hope) and someday daughter dear can fight with her brothers to claim them.
Isn't this the cutest house?!? I think it is darling: the wrap around porch and the turret are charming. This is my dream house style, the Victorian farm house. A house with character and quirks and maybe a mystery in the attic. Wouldn't want one with no front yard next to a street. Part of the appeal is when it is siting off by itself on a hill, or surrounded by woods and fields. Perhaps this is a leftover wish from my little girl visions of happily-ever-aftering. It isn't likely that I'll ever own such a place. We have a lovely house in a great area now and no desire to move. But I can still look and imagine now and again.
Some gifts keep on giving. Last year my husband presented me with some small potted calla type lillys on Mother's Day. They were in a 4" pot, with a colorful foil wrap and very pretty. The blooms lasted for several weeks, and the leaves stayed pretty through the summer. They made a happy center piece on the table. I kept the soil moist and in the fall as the leaves turned brown, I cut off everything and put the pot on a shelf in the garage. Out of sight, out of mind, there it sat, until last week, when we cleaned the garage. Thinking he would throw the soil into the garden and the pot in the trash, my good man picked up the pot and discovered tiny green shoots barely coming out of the soil. Into the house it went. I hadn't considered that the lillys were bulbs and could grow more than one season. It was a delightful discovery.
Today for my early mother's day present, sweet husband bought me a new cobalt blue pot to replace the ugly plastic green one the lillys came in. Of course, one pot wasn't enough of a gift in his mind, so I also got to pick out a new pot for the prayer plant. The prayer plant has been with us for 31 years. Yes, you read that right, THIRTY ONE years. It too was a Mother's Day gift, the same year our second son was born. That is how I know how old it is, without the birth of a child reference I would have long ago forgotten the plant's age age. (I can barely remember my own) It too came in a 4" pot. There were many times in the first few years, I almost tossed it, because the leaves would die away, except one or two and then it would revive and send up new curled leaves that unfurled in all their spotted splendor. The leaves fold up a night, like they are saying their prayers, and then open up to the light each morning. It also has tiny white blooms that come up each on a single stem. This plant has made every move with us and I've become rather attached. It was probably 5 years old when I finally figured out how to keep it moist, not wet, and it began to grow more than six leaves at a time. Twice it has been repotted, and once about ten years ago it was so big, I actually divided it and shared half with a friend. It has been full and big, filling a 10" pot nicely for the last decade. In March it started looking very droopy, and the leaves began to go brown. I started to worry, it wasn't looking very healthy. Then I noticed new curled leaves coming up in the middle, so I cut off all the dying leaves and watched as plant rebirthed itself all through April. Not yet as big as it was, but surely getting there, now seemed a good time for a new container.
It was a lovely afternoon to be outside. With potting soil, and some rocks for the lining the bottom of the containers I went to work. And I'm very happy with the results.
Mother's Day is less than a week away, time to get busy making Mom's gift. She had mentioned a few weeks ago that it was hard for her to carry anything while she is using the walker. Light bulb moment ! I knew right then that sewing her a pocket organizer for her walker would be this year's Mother's Day gift. So I whipped out some fabric from my stash and here it is.
Here is a flat view of the top. The pocket without the button is actually divided into 2.
On the back you can see my markings for the machine quilting and the placement of the velcro.
Here are a few hints to get you started if you would like to try one for a friend, family member, or donate one to a charity. I used cotton quilting fabric and batting, but if you chose something heavier like a decorator fabric, or denim, you could leave out the batting.
Back and front: cut 2 from dark fabric 24.5 x 15"
Pockets: cut 2 from floral 18 x 15"
Batting: 24.5 x 15"
6 " hook and loop (velcro)
Machine quilt back to batting, and add velcro. 2" pieces set about 2.5" off center and about 3/4" from edge. Loops on the left and hooks on the right. You want the hook and loop to match when the piece is folded. Be careful to leave about 5" space between them so there is room for them to go over the walker bar and still attach to each other.
Fold pockets in half wrong sides together to make a 9x15 rectangle, baste to each end of top. Add 1" velcro to back and inside of one pocket. (The button is only decorative, my mom would have a hard time with a button and button hole) Stitch a divider line in the other pocket if desired. Mine is about 5" from one edge.
Put front and back right sides together and sew around (I use a 1/4" seam) leave 6 inch opening for turning. Trim corners, turn, press, and top stitch close to edge around to close opening.
