Update: Garden Planted!

Well, most of it. The soaker hose still needs to be placed into it for when the rain barrel runs out and the rain stops.

Why does planting always take longer than I anticipate? I mean, I figure, I've got a plan and my plants are all ready but it take hours. Maybe part of it is that something always comes up. This year, it was netting the ground cherries right off the bat so my laziness wouldn't result in the birds getting all the fruit. This turned into my husband fashioning a support structure for bird netting out of old tiki torches and bamboo from our neighbor that fell into our yard after a snow storm this winter. As a bonus, this will also protect our blueberry bushes (more on that later...)

Overall, though, construction has taken its toll on the garden. Clay was shoveled into the bed, strawberries were smothered, and random debris was thrown into the beds. My garden plan taking aesthetics into account was scrapped when one of my beds became inaccessible.

I'll post photos tomorrow. It's dark now & the pregnant lady is tired from all the bending, stooping and reaching...

Postcard: Longwood Gardens (and Terrain at Styer's)

This past weekend, my husband planned a lovely garden-filled Sunday for me. We drove over to Pennsylvania to visit Longwood Gardens and the infamous nursery from the makers of Anthropologie, Terrain at Styer's.

First, Longwood Gardens. This former home of Pierre du Pont (yes, that DuPont) has just magnificent grounds. As in, it is completely worth the 2.5 hour drive from DC and $16pp admission. This place is *huge*; be sure to wear comfortable shoes! It has both inside and outside gardens making it even worth a visit if the weather outside is a bit frightful. I was tired (and the gardens were closing) before we could see it all (after 2 hours of wandering). Here is some of what you can expect to see:

Topiary garden

Main room of conservatory. Completely stunning. Although, those astilibes must have been forced; they aren't due to bloom until fall!

The start of a vegetable garden. I hope to come back in a month to see it planted!

Have you ever seen a DOUBLE snap dragon? Now you have!

Some things to note about Longwood, though. There are picnic areas outside of the gardens & no outside food allowed inside. Inside the gardens there are 2 restaurants that have Disney prices (as in, $2.75 for a bottle of water). Thus, I would recommend bringing your own refillable bottle (water fountains are scattered around) and either eating a hearty lunch or brunch via picnic or other restaurant before entering.

Also? There were a gazillion kids there and they seemed to be having a fabulous time. Besides large lawn areas where kids can work off some pent-up energy from the long drive, there were several exhibits (children's garden with water feature, maze to understand the role of bees, "Scent Seekers" as part of the fragrance exhibit, etc.) to encourage kids to learn and enjoy the plants. So, if you have little kids, I would recommend bringing them along. Non-plant loving teens might be bored out of their minds, though.

We also stopped by Terrain at Styer's. I have an unfailing love of Anthropologie, despite their clothes looking absolutely ridiculous on me. So, when I found out there was an Anthropologie-esque nursery, I knew I wanted to go. But at 2.5 hours away, it was a bit of a hard sell. However, coupling in nearby Longwood made a visit make sense.

Overall, I loved the containers, garden furniture and terrarium equipment they had there. The selection of cloches (not the super heavy, antique ones but still nice & hard to find 'round these parts). Unfortunately, everything was crazy expensive. As in, large fiberglass pots were $250. Granted, they were the most attractive, modern fiberglass pots I've ever seen. Their plant selection was sufficient and good quality, but I think local nurseries here have more variety for lower prices (except for a purple-flowering Pieris japonica...that was unusual).

I definitely see myself going back to Longwood and, since Terrain is on the way, I'll probably go back there too. There were also lots of antique shops that look interesting...maybe another road trip in June?!?

Recipe: Deconstructed Arugula Pesto Pasta with Chicken

Most delicious things are either accidents or acts of necessity, aren't they? I mean, I've heard that both Chicago deep-dish pizza and fried raviolis were mistakes. The lore behind nachos is that 2 women showed up after the kitchen was closed and the chef melted some cheese over leftover tortillas for them. The rest, as they say, is history!

This recipe started in much the same way. Well, if you can consider it a recipe; it's a lot of "throw in however much you have on hand." This is how it came about.

Once upon a time, my brother-in-law graduated from college and my husband's (very large) family attended it. Eventually, it was evening, we were all hungry and no one had thought to make a reservation (and in a small town on graduation night with a large party, a restaurant meal was out of the question). For some reason, pizza delivery was veto'd. Someone suggested we all eat at his apartment. Lovely idea! That way we could chat and linger as long as we wanted! Except, being a college male, he had exactly 2 pans: one small frying pan and one stock pot.

Pasta seemed like a quick, easy, and cheap way to feed a crowd (I think there were about 15 of us total). Except my father-in-law doesn't like tomato sauce. And my sister-in-law is lactose intolerant.

Enter this dish. No tomato sauce, the parm is on the side and you can cook the whole thing in one pot. Recently, I realized that it's basically all the ingredients of my arugula pesto, just kept separate. The husband and I tend to make this often when arugula (or even baby spinach) is in season since it's so easy and healthy.

Ingredients
2 lbs pasta (this is for a crowd!)
2 c chicken stock
1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded (or leftover grilled chicken chopped or poached chicken shredded)
6 oz arugula
4 Tbsp diced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
1/2 c pine nuts, toasted
Parm
Salt & pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain & set aside.
2. In pot used to cook pasta, put in stock & warm up. Add chicken if using cold leftovers as well.
3. When stock/chicken are warmed through, turn off heat and add arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts (and chicken if not already added). Season liberally with salt & pepper. Top with Parm.

Harvest Update: Arugula

Sometimes flowers aren't good things. Namely, any kind of flower bud on your lettuces, spinach or arugula. This is a sign of bolting, which lettuces tend to do when it gets hot out (and it's hot here. Did I mention I don't have AC right now? Fun times in the Radish Household...), and just means they will start to taste bitter. Still edible, but bitter. Thus, when I spied a few buds forming, I knew their time was limited and harvesting needed to happen. Here's the result:

A solid 12.75 oz (I zero'd out the weight of the bowl) of crunchy, peppery goodness. That would cost me about $4 at the Farmer's Market (usually arugula is about $5/lb). Since my seeds were probably less than $2 and this is my second harvest, I'd say arugula wins a "Plant This & It Will Actually Save You Money" award. Especially because I just threw some seeds in a pot & watered them a bit. Easy peasy & something any apartment/condo dweller with a patio or balcony and a bit of light can do.

What am I going to do with this bounty? A deconstructed arugula pesto over pasta with chicken for about half of it for tonight. The other half I'm not so sure about. I'm thinking maybe adding to sandwiches or maybe an omelet for the weekend. I have good luck with keeping all manner of leafy greens good for several days in the salad spinner in the fridge.

Seed Starting Update

It's that time folks: Hardening off time!

I hear that by the end of next week my garden should be no longer a construction zone and my plant babies can be put snuggly in their raised beds. This year, I didn't have a freak aphid infestation like last year. Whew! However, my sweet peppers failed to germinate. They were new seed so I think I did something wrong. Like let them dry out. In fact, remembering to water has been my biggest issue with my indoor seeds this year. I always think that I watered them yesterday until I pass by and see them sulking. If they were teenagers, I'm sure they'd slam the door at me.

In fact, in the photo above, you may notice some sulking tomatoes and basil. Yep, I waited too many days between watering! Again. I'm sure they'll pop back with a bit of love and actual sunshine. Oh, and water.

Despite my neglectfulness, the baby plants are looking pretty good. In fact, I've got flowers on all my squash (have been for weeks), one of my ground cherries and one of my tomatoes.

I'm really looking forward to summer!

Garden Update!

Well, my garden proper is still a construction zone with dirt piled up waist-high all along the walkways and creeping a bit into the beds. I'm glad I covered the beds with row cover to protect them from the compacted clay invasion!

But the pots on the other side of my house are seriously trucking along. This is about the south side of the house so it gets pretty good sun this time of year (in a month...not so much).

Arugula needing another harvest/thinning:
Carrots trucking along:
Greek mountain oregano getting ridiculously huge. These are 2 plants that started off last year in a 2" pot. And they looked pretty puny all last year.
Misshapen sage bush, now flowering. Anyone want any sage?!? This also started off last spring as a small plant.
Chive flower bud. I've never tasted a chive flower before...looking forward to the opportunity!
Interestingly enough, the bunnies haven't touched the arugula. Is it because it's peppery tasting? Because it's in a 16"-ish tall pot? Because they are super lazy? A few days ago I observed 3 bunnies (simultaneously) hanging out just feet away from the pots. They spent most of the afternoon stretching, napping and grooming. Oh, and sampling my toad lilies. But at least this year they are keeping it to one plant instead of destroying a little bit of all the plants....

How Even Apartment Dwellers Can Landscape

Long time, no post, eh? I pulled a muscle in my side which made anything involving bending over, reaching, lifting, etc. hurt. So, that pretty much ruled out most garden tasks. Luckily, the weather (and rain) have been pretty kind over the past week so things look OK outside. But that is another post.

I am admittedly obsessed with all things miniature. Those tiny little Le Crueset dutch ovens meant for melting butter? Totally tempted to buy one even though it's $20 & I don't have the need for melted butter. Also? Little spoons. I love eating pudding or yogurt with a tiny silver spoon (should be used for adding sugar to hot tea). And, finally, little landscapes. Whether it's a terrarium, bonsai, hypertufa, or just your basic pot filled with dwarf plants, I'm in love!

While on my "no outside because of allergies" and "no strenuous work because everything hurts" phase, I decided to create a simple mini-landscape for inside my house. Just like any landscaping you need to determine the right plant for the right place. With indoor gardening you thankfully have more control over the environment, however.

Thus, for me, the plants needed to love low light conditions and tolerate dry soil. (The latter condition is necessary because I am lazy with plant watering. If you tend to over-water your plants, look for something that loves moist soil.) These are perfect little pieces of dirt that even apartment dwellers with the lowest of light and smallest of available space can get their hands dirty with.

The result:
Yes, these pictures were taken on my stove! LOL! The larger plant is a dwarf philodendron, the upright green plant with pink flowers next to it is centeriaum soliloides (this admittedly likes things a bit more moist than the other plants), and the cascading plants are Pilea glauca/blue creeping pilea. I have no idea yet what I'll put in the other parts of the "strawberry" pot. I just used regular potting soil.

So, there you have it: An easy, peasy way to brighten a corner of your home. If you really want to go crazy, there are little houses, people, animals and other things you can find (I've seen on Etsy and Merrifield Garden Center had some things as well) to make your creation look more realistic.