Big Daddy has spent about 20 years dreaming of growing his own fruits and veggies. It was tough to do in South Florida with the rather wet, hot weather, the sandy soil and the sun burning down on you with no relief.
When we bought our house a couple of years ago, Big Daddy's eyes lit up when he saw the 16 x 16 foot garden, already fenced in. He had plans for that area that did not include any of the flowers that were there...
He spent the winter of 2011 flipping through seed catalogs, buying soil testing kits, having our water tested (it's City water, so I'm not sure what he was looking for), taking the soil temperature.... boxes and boxes of plants and seeds were misdelivered through out the neighborhood, so we got to know our neighbors a little bit... actually, in a few cases, I got to know the housekeepers as some of my neighbors apparently don't answer their doors themselves.
Weird.
Big Daddy bought Peat Moss and mixed and mixed and mixed it in to our soil.
He bought some funky dunky compost from Canada that's made with lobsters and he mixed and mixed and mixed it into our soil.
He took over my indoor growing area in the mud room with flats of seeds that he was starting...
I asked for two things in this garden: Jalapeno plants and Tomato plants.
I got 3 Jalapeno plants which pretty much took their sweet time to get used to their new home.
Then they started to produce the mildest peppers you have ever encountered. What? We had given a whole bag full (probably 1 lb) of peppers to a friend. Who is from Texas. Who wanted them for some kind of super hot Jalapeno jelly.
Weren't we embarrassed when the entire batch was "ruined" because it was so mild?!
Eventually, the plants started to produce hotter peppers (can someone please explain this to me?)... and we were getting maybe 1/2 pound of peppers per day... now there's only so many Jalapenos you can put into a salad before it's too hot to trot, so we had a bit of a build up....
Until one day.....
I was making Buffalo Wings.... See my recipe somewhere here, under recipes, for Wings. We love wings.
I figured, the flour was out, the panko crumbs were out... I had some sour cream and "shred ched" (shredded cheddar) ... the oil was hot.... are you thinking what I was thinking????
Home made Jalapeno Poppers!!!
They were hot! They were spicy! They were tasty! They were delicious!
Here is your chance to make my "Poppahs"!
Jalapeno Poppahs Ala GruvEmom:
6-8 whole Jalapenos
4oz Cream Cheese, softened for 15 seconds in the microwave
2ish oz shredded cheese
1/4 C flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 C Panko crumbs w/ Italian Seasoning or Flavored Bread Crumbs (your call!)
1 egg whisked and in a saucer or small plate
Preheat about 1-1/2 inches of vegetable oil to 350degrees
Line a
Cut tops off of the peppers, then use a steak knife to remove the seeds
Stir the cheeses together and use a spoon to fill each pepper from the top
When the peppers are stuffed with cheese, one by one:
roll them in the egg
roll them in the flour
roll them in the egg
roll them in the panko/crumbs
Carefully, put them in the hot oil
Turn them gently with metal tongs and cook 2-5 minutes until the bread crumbs are a toasty brown.
Remove the peppers to a small plate or small flat cookie pan that has been lined with paper towels and let the peppers drain and cool for a minute.
Serve hot with any kind of dipping sauce you like (I prefer Bleu Cheese dressing!) and a napkin or two.
Feel free to make your own decisions on cheeses/ stuffing/ coatings - but let me know how you like them!
Oh, PLEASE be sure to handle the peppers with care. ALWAYS wash your hands after handling them and before touching your face or eyes or kids... just trust me....
Gruve On!
Showing posts with label Gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gardening. Show all posts
Jul 26, 2013
Aug 2, 2012
Cool as a Cucumber Salad
If you are like me, and you have a scary garden, you might have planted a few cucumber seeds last Spring.
Maybe you planted 5 seeds and they grew. And you were pleased.
And the cucumbers grew some more. And you were very pleased. Because you like cucumbers and were excited to be able to not spend money on something you buy every single week throughout the year.
And then you went on vacation for two weeks.
And you came home to find that those 5 seeds took over your garden and swallowed your house.
My house is fine, but only just. The cucumber vines are watching me. I can feel them. They are waiting to make their move.
Big Daddy had a great idea this year, he took a section of mesh fencing and a couple of old, metal fence stakes, and made a sort of an angled trellis for the cucumbers. He trained the vines to grow on the trellis so that the cucumbers don't sit on the ground and rot. The cucumbers dangle through the fencing and grow really, really, really big.
They grow really big, very, very, very quickly. They are almost zucchini like in their size and number.
Fortunately, Big Daddy works with a lady who has a teen aged son. The lady refers to her son as "Hoover". I don't think he's named for President Hoover, I think he just inhales every bit of food in her house.
I hope her son doesn't decide not to like cucumbers. If he does, I'm going to have to set up a farm stand at the end of my driveway and you will see me on the news because I don't have a license or permit to do so and the town will come down on me and I will have to call the news channels to come and document my liberties being squashed (or in this case "cuked").
Just so you know, if that does happen, and you see me and my house on TV, we are renovating. I don't really live in a burned out meth lab. It just looks that way. There is no way to dress up a dumpster.
So, if you, like me, have a plethora of cucumbers, here is a simple, inexpensive and versatile salad for your end of summer dinners, picnics and par-tays.
If you come up with your own yummy version, won't you come back and share it with us?
Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced as thinly as possible
8 oz Sour Cream (whole fat, skim, no fat, it's up to you)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional: herbs of your choice - I use Dill Weed (dried)
In a large bowl (because you need room to stir it up), place the cucumber slices and the onions.
Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
Dump the Sour Cream on top
Stir thoroughly to combine
Sprinkle in some Dill Weed or whatever dried herb will enhance the delicate flavor of the cucumber and stir again.
Cover tightly and refrigerate for a while . Stir again before serving.
When you remove it from the fridge, the salt will have made the cucumbers sweat so it might look watery. This is completely normal and will thin the sour cream out a bit, which is desirable.
Consume with in a day or two, stirring before serving/ eating.
ENJOY!
Maybe you planted 5 seeds and they grew. And you were pleased.
And the cucumbers grew some more. And you were very pleased. Because you like cucumbers and were excited to be able to not spend money on something you buy every single week throughout the year.
And then you went on vacation for two weeks.
And you came home to find that those 5 seeds took over your garden and swallowed your house.
My house is fine, but only just. The cucumber vines are watching me. I can feel them. They are waiting to make their move.
Big Daddy had a great idea this year, he took a section of mesh fencing and a couple of old, metal fence stakes, and made a sort of an angled trellis for the cucumbers. He trained the vines to grow on the trellis so that the cucumbers don't sit on the ground and rot. The cucumbers dangle through the fencing and grow really, really, really big.
They grow really big, very, very, very quickly. They are almost zucchini like in their size and number.
Fortunately, Big Daddy works with a lady who has a teen aged son. The lady refers to her son as "Hoover". I don't think he's named for President Hoover, I think he just inhales every bit of food in her house.
I hope her son doesn't decide not to like cucumbers. If he does, I'm going to have to set up a farm stand at the end of my driveway and you will see me on the news because I don't have a license or permit to do so and the town will come down on me and I will have to call the news channels to come and document my liberties being squashed (or in this case "cuked").
Just so you know, if that does happen, and you see me and my house on TV, we are renovating. I don't really live in a burned out meth lab. It just looks that way. There is no way to dress up a dumpster.
So, if you, like me, have a plethora of cucumbers, here is a simple, inexpensive and versatile salad for your end of summer dinners, picnics and par-tays.
If you come up with your own yummy version, won't you come back and share it with us?
Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced as thinly as possible
8 oz Sour Cream (whole fat, skim, no fat, it's up to you)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional: herbs of your choice - I use Dill Weed (dried)
In a large bowl (because you need room to stir it up), place the cucumber slices and the onions.
Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
Dump the Sour Cream on top
Stir thoroughly to combine
Sprinkle in some Dill Weed or whatever dried herb will enhance the delicate flavor of the cucumber and stir again.
Cover tightly and refrigerate for a while . Stir again before serving.
When you remove it from the fridge, the salt will have made the cucumbers sweat so it might look watery. This is completely normal and will thin the sour cream out a bit, which is desirable.
Consume with in a day or two, stirring before serving/ eating.
ENJOY!
Apr 4, 2012
The Value of a Great Garden Center
When we bought our home last May, many people familiar with the place kept telling us "You have no idea what you've got there.", and "Just wait until you see what you have, you just have no idea". We heard this to the point that we got just a little nervous. Was there a subterranean, 50's era bomb shelter under the stepped lawn? Were there Doomsday Prepper propane tanks underground? Was the septic system a beard for a missile silo? What lurked beneath the pool?
It turned out that there are amazing, mature gardens, that bloom in waves of color all year long from the first of the Forsythia to the last of the Mums. The Forsythia are in full bloom now, despite Big Daddy's attempts to eradicate it along with his personal war on Pachysandra. There are many Daffodils and Tulips (which we didn't know were here) as well as the bulbs that MiniMe, Big Daddy and I planted last year. Fortunately, they survived The Dog helping us.
In running about our usual life, and going to the Home Depot, we kept passing a small sign that attempted to direct the reader to "Reynolds Farms" just off the beaten path. We didn't give it much thought as we had just bought a house and it needed a lot of stuff, the 2 carts of stuff per Home Depot trip kind of needed. If you are going to "The Depot" might as well pick up everything, instead of stopping at 2 places, right? Not so much!
We were thrilled to find Reynolds Family Farms last Fall.When we had our chimney lined , the Chimney Dudes had a lot to say about what kind of wood to burn. They had no confidence in me, whatsoever, since I'd lived in SoFlo for so long and had only ever bought either, a couple of those neatly wrapped "one evening" packages of wood or a Duraflame, from the grocery store. I got a lot of lectures: never burn pine, cardboard or wrapping paper, and by the way, get your wood at Reynolds Farms.
It was Autumn, and Big Daddy and I wanted to plant some new trees and shrubs, so we moseyed on down to check the farm out and see what bargains we might find during the upcoming clearance sale. Well, I can tell you, it's a great place. Family owned, family run, family staffed. And they all know what they're doing. And they're not afraid to tell you what to do if you don't know what you are doing, including telling you that you are doing it wrong!
I walked in one day, and explained to the very nice lady behind the counter that 1)we'd lived in the tropics for the last 20 years, 2) we bought a house with mature gardens and we weren't sure we knew everything that was there, 3) We were pretty sure that nothing had been fertilized in ages, 4) we wanted to add certain trees, which I knew the names of , but had no idea what they looked like or what they should look like, and 5) that I needed to "register" for firewood, as per the direction of the Chimney Dudes. 6) Oh, and I need some dirt, 4 yards? Delivered? 7)Oh, and we need to know how to prep our soil for the Blueberry bushes that Big Daddy had on order. The Blueberry bushes which he has dreamed about and tried to grow for 22 years.
She stared at me for a minute. I was a little afraid that her eyes were going to turn into cartoon dollar signs because, really, I'd laid all of my cards on the table. She heaved a big sigh, blinked her eyes and told the others behind the desk "Hold my calls, I'm going to be a while." Other people might have been insulted but I had realized that I was going to need a complete "re assignment education" due to my change from Gardening Zone 11 to Zone 3 (I think we're a 3, anyway).
Nope just googled "What gardening Zone is my zip code". Turns out we're Zone 6b.
So, she and I set out for a tour of the trees that Big Daddy had written down. There were 3 of the Dwarf Cherries. None of them in great shape - not that I would have known - but my new friend said "I'm not selling you these. Go to another nursery or come back very early next Spring.". Now in my opinion, there is the sign of a good business. They have what you say you want, but because they wouldn't put it in their own garden, they don't want to sell it to you. Right then, I felt a little more at home in my new community.
The kind lady walked me through the different kinds of - I think it's sphagnum moss - that we needed to mix into the soil for the blueberry bushes. 2 bales, please! She also told me exactly how Big Daddy should mix it in and how deep he was going to need to go with it. It sounded to me like a lot more work than Big Daddy was planning on, but these were his Blueberries and he'd waited 22 years for them.
She showed me where the fire wood was kept and explained the program - did I want to prepay 100 pieces then pick it up a few at a time or have it all delivered? Yes please, on account!
We reviewed the fertilizer that we should buy and use right then versus what we should add in the Spring. 2 bags, one of acid loving and one of nitrogen rich, went on the list, as did the 4 yards of dirt, to be delivered.
That was our big purchase, for last year anyway. I returned throughout the winter for firewood, and at Christmas time for some some decorations and small wreaths for the upstairs dormer windows.
Big Daddy and MiniMe spent the winter combing through seed catalogs for their long dreamed of vegetable garden. I understand that there are going to be Soy Beans (edemame), Onions (for pest control), Tomatoes (for me), Cucumbers, Jalapenos, Brussels Sprouts (yum), Corn, Honey Dew Melons, and I think more. Oh, don't forget the Cotton. Yes. Yes, really. I know. No, I don't know.
The seeds have arrived, and many of them have been planted in small, reconstituted peat pellets, which are then placed in plastic trays with clear plastic tops for a green house effect. Some of them have even sprouted, the Brussels Sprouts and Cotton being in the lead.
I told Big Daddy that he could have 1/2 of the enclosed flower garden for his veggies. He advised me that the enclosed garden is the future site of his dreamed about Green House. The catalogs have begun to arrive.
Big Daddy spent a couple of days "relocating" the plants that I wanted to keep (Any bulbs, all of the Iris, and please move the Lavender), while getting rid of the rest (Oregano, Chives, Sage). Loosening and turning the soil as he went.
Yesterday, Big Daddy presented me with the first of what I'm quite sure will be many lists for Reynolds Farms this year. Down I went, to gather the rest of the fire wood on our account, 5 bags (to start) of compost/ peat moss mix, a large bag of fertilizer for the garden (along with directions on how and when to use it), a container of fertilizer for acid loving plants (not sure which ones those are - maybe the Snow Flower Hydrangea we planted last year?), and there was something else... oh, more hay for keeping weeds at bay. I hope. And a bag of fertilizer for my Peonies, whom I can hear screaming for food when I venture closely enough to their bed.
When I arrived at the nursery, I had expected Spring to be in full force. I thought the rows would be bursting with new trees and bushes and that there would be giant flats of plants, ready to go into the ground. I was mighty surprised to see that the only thing on display was the Pansies! It was quiet, as I guess garden centers are just before the end of the hard frost and the beginning of the real planting season, and I went into the shop in search of someone to help me. There was a warm fire burning in the wood stove, and a buzz of activity at the counter with deliveries of dirt and turf being divvied up and assigned to different trucks and drivers. A young lady offered to help me as I was wondering aimlessly, looking at all of the pretty stuff on display.
I could have gotten lost in all of that pretty stuff.
I asked about the fertilizer and the compost/ peat stuff and the wood and my Peonies who are starving for food (I'm sure they've suffered enough of my love and attention for this year), as well as the hay.
My friend from last year popped up from behind the counter, squinted at me a little, and turned to my garden center guide - "oh," she said "this lady lived in Florida and just moved here. You need to tell her everything and figure out what she's doing before you decide which stuff to give her. She's got Blueberries in one spot and Peonies in another." She then turned to me and said "Do you want us to put the hay and wood in your car while you get the rest of this stuff?"
Yes, please!!!
So, while I may pay an extra $3 for a container of fertilizer, than I would pay at a "Big Box", the return is priceless. People who value my business, my time and my willingness to learn how to grow again. In every way.
I'm really happy to be home!
It turned out that there are amazing, mature gardens, that bloom in waves of color all year long from the first of the Forsythia to the last of the Mums. The Forsythia are in full bloom now, despite Big Daddy's attempts to eradicate it along with his personal war on Pachysandra. There are many Daffodils and Tulips (which we didn't know were here) as well as the bulbs that MiniMe, Big Daddy and I planted last year. Fortunately, they survived The Dog helping us.
In running about our usual life, and going to the Home Depot, we kept passing a small sign that attempted to direct the reader to "Reynolds Farms" just off the beaten path. We didn't give it much thought as we had just bought a house and it needed a lot of stuff, the 2 carts of stuff per Home Depot trip kind of needed. If you are going to "The Depot" might as well pick up everything, instead of stopping at 2 places, right? Not so much!
We were thrilled to find Reynolds Family Farms last Fall.When we had our chimney lined , the Chimney Dudes had a lot to say about what kind of wood to burn. They had no confidence in me, whatsoever, since I'd lived in SoFlo for so long and had only ever bought either, a couple of those neatly wrapped "one evening" packages of wood or a Duraflame, from the grocery store. I got a lot of lectures: never burn pine, cardboard or wrapping paper, and by the way, get your wood at Reynolds Farms.
It was Autumn, and Big Daddy and I wanted to plant some new trees and shrubs, so we moseyed on down to check the farm out and see what bargains we might find during the upcoming clearance sale. Well, I can tell you, it's a great place. Family owned, family run, family staffed. And they all know what they're doing. And they're not afraid to tell you what to do if you don't know what you are doing, including telling you that you are doing it wrong!
I walked in one day, and explained to the very nice lady behind the counter that 1)we'd lived in the tropics for the last 20 years, 2) we bought a house with mature gardens and we weren't sure we knew everything that was there, 3) We were pretty sure that nothing had been fertilized in ages, 4) we wanted to add certain trees, which I knew the names of , but had no idea what they looked like or what they should look like, and 5) that I needed to "register" for firewood, as per the direction of the Chimney Dudes. 6) Oh, and I need some dirt, 4 yards? Delivered? 7)Oh, and we need to know how to prep our soil for the Blueberry bushes that Big Daddy had on order. The Blueberry bushes which he has dreamed about and tried to grow for 22 years.
She stared at me for a minute. I was a little afraid that her eyes were going to turn into cartoon dollar signs because, really, I'd laid all of my cards on the table. She heaved a big sigh, blinked her eyes and told the others behind the desk "Hold my calls, I'm going to be a while." Other people might have been insulted but I had realized that I was going to need a complete "re assignment education" due to my change from Gardening Zone 11 to Zone 3 (I think we're a 3, anyway).
Nope just googled "What gardening Zone is my zip code". Turns out we're Zone 6b.
So, she and I set out for a tour of the trees that Big Daddy had written down. There were 3 of the Dwarf Cherries. None of them in great shape - not that I would have known - but my new friend said "I'm not selling you these. Go to another nursery or come back very early next Spring.". Now in my opinion, there is the sign of a good business. They have what you say you want, but because they wouldn't put it in their own garden, they don't want to sell it to you. Right then, I felt a little more at home in my new community.
The kind lady walked me through the different kinds of - I think it's sphagnum moss - that we needed to mix into the soil for the blueberry bushes. 2 bales, please! She also told me exactly how Big Daddy should mix it in and how deep he was going to need to go with it. It sounded to me like a lot more work than Big Daddy was planning on, but these were his Blueberries and he'd waited 22 years for them.
She showed me where the fire wood was kept and explained the program - did I want to prepay 100 pieces then pick it up a few at a time or have it all delivered? Yes please, on account!
We reviewed the fertilizer that we should buy and use right then versus what we should add in the Spring. 2 bags, one of acid loving and one of nitrogen rich, went on the list, as did the 4 yards of dirt, to be delivered.
That was our big purchase, for last year anyway. I returned throughout the winter for firewood, and at Christmas time for some some decorations and small wreaths for the upstairs dormer windows.
Big Daddy and MiniMe spent the winter combing through seed catalogs for their long dreamed of vegetable garden. I understand that there are going to be Soy Beans (edemame), Onions (for pest control), Tomatoes (for me), Cucumbers, Jalapenos, Brussels Sprouts (yum), Corn, Honey Dew Melons, and I think more. Oh, don't forget the Cotton. Yes. Yes, really. I know. No, I don't know.
The seeds have arrived, and many of them have been planted in small, reconstituted peat pellets, which are then placed in plastic trays with clear plastic tops for a green house effect. Some of them have even sprouted, the Brussels Sprouts and Cotton being in the lead.
I told Big Daddy that he could have 1/2 of the enclosed flower garden for his veggies. He advised me that the enclosed garden is the future site of his dreamed about Green House. The catalogs have begun to arrive.
Big Daddy spent a couple of days "relocating" the plants that I wanted to keep (Any bulbs, all of the Iris, and please move the Lavender), while getting rid of the rest (Oregano, Chives, Sage). Loosening and turning the soil as he went.
Yesterday, Big Daddy presented me with the first of what I'm quite sure will be many lists for Reynolds Farms this year. Down I went, to gather the rest of the fire wood on our account, 5 bags (to start) of compost/ peat moss mix, a large bag of fertilizer for the garden (along with directions on how and when to use it), a container of fertilizer for acid loving plants (not sure which ones those are - maybe the Snow Flower Hydrangea we planted last year?), and there was something else... oh, more hay for keeping weeds at bay. I hope. And a bag of fertilizer for my Peonies, whom I can hear screaming for food when I venture closely enough to their bed.
When I arrived at the nursery, I had expected Spring to be in full force. I thought the rows would be bursting with new trees and bushes and that there would be giant flats of plants, ready to go into the ground. I was mighty surprised to see that the only thing on display was the Pansies! It was quiet, as I guess garden centers are just before the end of the hard frost and the beginning of the real planting season, and I went into the shop in search of someone to help me. There was a warm fire burning in the wood stove, and a buzz of activity at the counter with deliveries of dirt and turf being divvied up and assigned to different trucks and drivers. A young lady offered to help me as I was wondering aimlessly, looking at all of the pretty stuff on display.
I could have gotten lost in all of that pretty stuff.
I asked about the fertilizer and the compost/ peat stuff and the wood and my Peonies who are starving for food (I'm sure they've suffered enough of my love and attention for this year), as well as the hay.
My friend from last year popped up from behind the counter, squinted at me a little, and turned to my garden center guide - "oh," she said "this lady lived in Florida and just moved here. You need to tell her everything and figure out what she's doing before you decide which stuff to give her. She's got Blueberries in one spot and Peonies in another." She then turned to me and said "Do you want us to put the hay and wood in your car while you get the rest of this stuff?"
Yes, please!!!
So, while I may pay an extra $3 for a container of fertilizer, than I would pay at a "Big Box", the return is priceless. People who value my business, my time and my willingness to learn how to grow again. In every way.
I'm really happy to be home!
Mar 26, 2012
The Truth is... My Garden Scares Me.
Last May, Big Daddy, MiniMe and I moved into the very, very old house of my dreams. With it came the beautiful yard and garden of Big Daddy's dreams - sans greenhouse, but I understand that's in the plans. Then we got the puppy of MiniMe's dreams.
We went to contract just around mid March. There was snow on the ground - about seven feet of it - and the fish pond was frozen over. After the thaw, the pond turned out to be a fabulous pool, surrounded by its own beautiful and ever changing gardens.
During the process of buying the home, several people who knew the home had said to me, "Wait until you see the yard, you have no idea what you have there. You just don't know!".
I smiled and said things like "Looking forward to it!", "So excited!", "Can't wait!". Meanwhile, I started thinking..."Well, I went to the yard, I walked around the yard, I know where the septic is. I realize that the pool is not a fish pond... what the heck don't I know?... is there something I should know?" I started to get a little nervous.
We hadn't closed on the house yet, so my access was limited but, I was still able to see the yard burst into life after it's winter slumber.
I grew up in New England but, this Spring renewal was new to me as a homeowner. I'd spent most of my adult life in South Florida where the yard is a year round project. Except for the ability to raise orchids effortlessly, I really had no interest in what went on in the yard. I had had enough of the mowing, hedge trimming, frond gathering. bleah. I've mentioned it before - I'm glad to be home!
The Spring sun eventually came out, the ten feet of snow melted, the birds began to sing and the Forsythia burst into bloom. Great yellow clouds of color blasting out of sticks growing in the back yard, the front yard, the side yard...all of a sudden, there was a whole lot of yellow!
A couple of weeks later, I was surprised that clouds of pink had joined the yellow in the back yard. Two gnarled and overgrown trees in the back yard turned out to be cherry trees that just seemed to burst into bloom, while the many daffodil and tulip bulbs that had been hidden by the soil began to poke their heads out of the newly thawed ground.
The grass began to turn green, and some pointy, dark pink tips grew up from the ground in a thirty foot long oval depression. I realized that the entire area was a bed of peonies - my favorite flower. Yay!
Things were poking up all over the yard and I began to realize that, when people had said "You have no idea....", they were referring to the gardens, which were coming up in wave after wave of color.
I toured the yard with the seller, who pointed at various areas of dirt and greenery and told me what was there and when it would bloom. The problem is, I didn't know the difference between a New England plant that was growing on purpose, and a weed. So I did nothing. Oh, sure, I pulled up some grass that grew in the wrong place. But, when that turned out to be some Japanese Iris....I became afraid to cut anything back.
So I stopped weeding and trimming and cutting until I could stand it no more. Late in the summer, when the Peonies stopped blooming I decided to trim some tall weeds that had started to take over, and I started pulling and cutting. These weeds were just about ready to bloom and I did NOT want them to go to seed and spread over my Peonies!
My plumber was working in the house at the time and saw me out the window. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He yelled out the window.
I looked up at him. "Cutting weeds back? I don't want them to choke out the Peonies. I really love Peonies."
He looked at me like I had 3 heads "Stop cutting! Stay there. DO NOT cut anything else til I get down there!"
Uh oh. I hoped it wasn't endangered. With my luck though, it probably was some kind of crazy subtropical protected plant species. I dropped the clippers and my gloves and backed away. I started to bite my nails. I squeezed my legs together and hopped on one foot like I had to go to the bathroom.
My plumber burst through the back door with a purposeful stride, stomped across the yard and up to where I had been working. He looked at the trug full of weeds I'd cut. He slapped a hand to his forehead like one of the three stooges.
"What. are. you. doing? What?!" he said
I looked at him. "Weeding? Just ... cleaning up ... " I laughed nervously, still hopping and biting my nails.
He looked at the sky in a fit of frustration. "Phlox. Those are Phlox. You have Phlox throughout your entire yard. I have tried to grow Phlox in my yard for years. Decades! TRIED! And I can't get it to grow more than 6" tall and die. And here YOU are (he points at me with one index finger, the other hand gesticulating wildly) cut-ting-it-down! It's Phlox. It will bloom for the whole summer."
"Oh. huh" I said, stopped jumping... put the other foot down.. looked around and tried to block his view of the 14" stalks I'd just cut. "So, do you think I killed it?"
By this time, Mr. Plumber was much calmer, realizing that I was not actually killing my Phlox, but ignorantly trying to make things better. He told me that if I left it alone, he thought I'd still be able to enjoy some of it. I had Phlox blooming until October, so I'm willing to bet that it was ok to cut down the stalks that I did!
The plumber still works for us when we need him. He's a great guy but slow to forgive. He always greets me by asking what I've killed lately.
Now this winter, being the polar opposite of last winter, we had very little snow in New England (less than a foot) and temperatures were extremely mild. As Winter turned to Spring, the bulbs that we planted last Fall blasted out of the ground, practically in full bloom. I've never seen a Tulip with a 2 inch stem! I'd really been looking forward to bouquets of Spring flowers... maybe next Spring!
The other day, I decided that I did know a few weeds from "the good stuff" by now, so I spent 3 hours with the Peonies. I'm hoping that the Moss and the Ground Cabbage will recover quickly. I hope I didn't kneel on too many stalks that hadn't had a chance to grow above the ground yet....
Next week, I might go for the Roses. I'm going to need new gloves. And maybe a face mask.
We went to contract just around mid March. There was snow on the ground - about seven feet of it - and the fish pond was frozen over. After the thaw, the pond turned out to be a fabulous pool, surrounded by its own beautiful and ever changing gardens.
During the process of buying the home, several people who knew the home had said to me, "Wait until you see the yard, you have no idea what you have there. You just don't know!".
I smiled and said things like "Looking forward to it!", "So excited!", "Can't wait!". Meanwhile, I started thinking..."Well, I went to the yard, I walked around the yard, I know where the septic is. I realize that the pool is not a fish pond... what the heck don't I know?... is there something I should know?" I started to get a little nervous.
We hadn't closed on the house yet, so my access was limited but, I was still able to see the yard burst into life after it's winter slumber.
I grew up in New England but, this Spring renewal was new to me as a homeowner. I'd spent most of my adult life in South Florida where the yard is a year round project. Except for the ability to raise orchids effortlessly, I really had no interest in what went on in the yard. I had had enough of the mowing, hedge trimming, frond gathering. bleah. I've mentioned it before - I'm glad to be home!
The Spring sun eventually came out, the ten feet of snow melted, the birds began to sing and the Forsythia burst into bloom. Great yellow clouds of color blasting out of sticks growing in the back yard, the front yard, the side yard...all of a sudden, there was a whole lot of yellow!
A couple of weeks later, I was surprised that clouds of pink had joined the yellow in the back yard. Two gnarled and overgrown trees in the back yard turned out to be cherry trees that just seemed to burst into bloom, while the many daffodil and tulip bulbs that had been hidden by the soil began to poke their heads out of the newly thawed ground.
The grass began to turn green, and some pointy, dark pink tips grew up from the ground in a thirty foot long oval depression. I realized that the entire area was a bed of peonies - my favorite flower. Yay!
Things were poking up all over the yard and I began to realize that, when people had said "You have no idea....", they were referring to the gardens, which were coming up in wave after wave of color.
I toured the yard with the seller, who pointed at various areas of dirt and greenery and told me what was there and when it would bloom. The problem is, I didn't know the difference between a New England plant that was growing on purpose, and a weed. So I did nothing. Oh, sure, I pulled up some grass that grew in the wrong place. But, when that turned out to be some Japanese Iris....I became afraid to cut anything back.
So I stopped weeding and trimming and cutting until I could stand it no more. Late in the summer, when the Peonies stopped blooming I decided to trim some tall weeds that had started to take over, and I started pulling and cutting. These weeds were just about ready to bloom and I did NOT want them to go to seed and spread over my Peonies!
My plumber was working in the house at the time and saw me out the window. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He yelled out the window.
I looked up at him. "Cutting weeds back? I don't want them to choke out the Peonies. I really love Peonies."
He looked at me like I had 3 heads "Stop cutting! Stay there. DO NOT cut anything else til I get down there!"
Uh oh. I hoped it wasn't endangered. With my luck though, it probably was some kind of crazy subtropical protected plant species. I dropped the clippers and my gloves and backed away. I started to bite my nails. I squeezed my legs together and hopped on one foot like I had to go to the bathroom.
My plumber burst through the back door with a purposeful stride, stomped across the yard and up to where I had been working. He looked at the trug full of weeds I'd cut. He slapped a hand to his forehead like one of the three stooges.
"What. are. you. doing? What?!" he said
I looked at him. "Weeding? Just ... cleaning up ... " I laughed nervously, still hopping and biting my nails.
He looked at the sky in a fit of frustration. "Phlox. Those are Phlox. You have Phlox throughout your entire yard. I have tried to grow Phlox in my yard for years. Decades! TRIED! And I can't get it to grow more than 6" tall and die. And here YOU are (he points at me with one index finger, the other hand gesticulating wildly) cut-ting-it-down! It's Phlox. It will bloom for the whole summer."
"Oh. huh" I said, stopped jumping... put the other foot down.. looked around and tried to block his view of the 14" stalks I'd just cut. "So, do you think I killed it?"
By this time, Mr. Plumber was much calmer, realizing that I was not actually killing my Phlox, but ignorantly trying to make things better. He told me that if I left it alone, he thought I'd still be able to enjoy some of it. I had Phlox blooming until October, so I'm willing to bet that it was ok to cut down the stalks that I did!
The plumber still works for us when we need him. He's a great guy but slow to forgive. He always greets me by asking what I've killed lately.
Now this winter, being the polar opposite of last winter, we had very little snow in New England (less than a foot) and temperatures were extremely mild. As Winter turned to Spring, the bulbs that we planted last Fall blasted out of the ground, practically in full bloom. I've never seen a Tulip with a 2 inch stem! I'd really been looking forward to bouquets of Spring flowers... maybe next Spring!
The other day, I decided that I did know a few weeds from "the good stuff" by now, so I spent 3 hours with the Peonies. I'm hoping that the Moss and the Ground Cabbage will recover quickly. I hope I didn't kneel on too many stalks that hadn't had a chance to grow above the ground yet....
Next week, I might go for the Roses. I'm going to need new gloves. And maybe a face mask.
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