It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
2 cups cold heavy cream
12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese
½ cup sugar
¼ cup Kahlúa liqueur
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Pernigotti
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 (8-ounce) packages Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies
Shaved semisweet chocolate, for garnish
OMG. We'd need to do some serious gardening before we eat that.
Er, I'll just swing by the grocery store to pick up my contribution.
I would also be happy to bring a Trifle to your Virtual Social Gathering! I learned how to make a good one, taught by my Mum, and alway very refreshing! My Mom and her 3 sisters always made Trifle for every family event, but my Mom's was the best! I also make a mean Sausage Roll and Corned Beef Pasty's, if we are serving for a croud! Can't wait, just name the date!
Sharyn, I also love the cottage gardens! My garden is nothing like I would have designed it, but it does have an overgrowth of donated succulents that I will share with everyone!
I would be glad to have a tour; perhaps I'll bake another batch of cupcakes, pick some lemons from l'orangerie and make fresh lemonade, maybe with sprigs of mint from the kitchen garden.
If we have time, perhaps we can create bouquets of herbs, or something like Herbs de Provence bouquets for each visitor to take home.
Would you be willing to donate a trifle? I'll supply the fresh fruit. We could even have some bake sessions, either preceded or followed by caregiving discussions. The challenges it brings are more easily dispelled when addressed with good company and food.
I'm thinking we could also have a swap garden to share plants with others.
Trifles remind me of one of the best brunches in the area, a little over 20 years ago. It was at an historic old inn, which still had hitching posts outside for the horses. The floors creaked as we walked on old wood which was probably as old as the inn. Antique furniture lined the walls; the rooms were more dimly lighted as old period lighting was used.
The modern world was left behind as we entered this old colonial inn, and prepared for a feast that exceeded the best of any of the 5 star hotels in the area.
The food included standard brunch items, but there was always a large, delicious trifle. I could easily have seconds or thirds if I hadn't already eaten too much. And now, I think I need to rummage around and see what I have to create a trifle.
Plant problems....first, my experience with acrylic or plastic pots is that they prevent aeration. Clay pots are great but can lose moisture too quickly in hot weather. Plastic pots don't breathe and can keep the soil too warm. Through experiments, I learned that some flowering plants, such as wax begonias, thrived only in Styrofoam pots. They're not very attractive, but I think the next time I use one I'll grow morning glories and train them downward to entwine themselves around the pot to create a lovely "pot trellis."
I'm wondering if that's what happened - the roots overheated in the CA heat and just died?
Another option is some type of unwelcome insect critter made a home in the pots and ate the roots. Did you see any signs of this? Was the soil heated or decontaminated before use?
I think I'd sterilize the planters, try to drill holes in them for at least bottom drainage if they don't have that, and perhaps drill a few along the sides. How large are these pots? Test them with one daisy and something else, to see if both plants survive or don't. If the daisy doesn't, there might have been something that attacked its root system. I don't know what diseases might be specific to daisies.
Definitely replace all the soil for the rest of the daisies, but root them first if there are no roots left at all. If you have other plants in similar pots, I'd guess that either the soil was a factor, the plants were diseased, or the plants got too much sun.
The daisies might regenerate, but I'd try to root them in water, in a cool place, before repotting them if there are no roots at all left.
The year before last I lost half a dozen hydrangeas and a buddleia bush. I think I hadn't prepared the soil well enough.
Since many of us love chocolate, I thought some chocolate brownies with bits of raspberries might be a good start. So I wandered into my several thousand square foot conservatory, modeled after an English Victorian style, to pick some fresh raspberries from the repeat fruiters I'm growing in containers. Naturally I liberally sampled the berries to ensure their quality met our standards.
Of course I'll need some fresh chocolate, so I dipped into my stock of chocolate berries that I harvest periodically from the South American portion of the greenhouse. Grinding them with my little hand held grinder released a fragrant aroma that elevated my spirits, as well as my energy.
Hand picked nuts from bonsaied walnut trees were added to the brownie mix.
My kitchen became even more fragrant while the mixture was baking in my old fashioned wood stove oven, naturally vented outside in my Victorian summer kitchen refreshed by cooling breezes from open windows on every side of the room.
By the time the brownies were finished, even the local birds had come to rest on the window sills and sing lovely songs, perhaps in hopes of getting a few brownie crumbs?
Fresh chocolate also contributed to the frosting, with a touch of dried and ground raspberries to complement the flavor of the brownies.
And now they're cooling on a lovely Wedgewood plate, waiting for visitors to sample.
But, we need something to drink: tea...or lemonade? Will someone else contribute this?
Coffee and cupcakes are being served on "General Topics."
You would be most welcome there.
You are invited!
I have a gardening question. There are four 24" planters (some acrylic type of fake stone) and plants have died or rotted. They were still blooming yellow flowers, but when I went to trim the one, it just fell apart, rotted at the base. Cut short now, no foliage at all.
Will it grow back, being a hearty yellow daisy type bush that lasted 5 years?
When/if I replant the planters, should I replace all the dirt? Half the dirt, just add new?
Thanks for any advice. I already killed a new hydrangea this year. A new fall planting woukd be nice, starting over. Of course, it is still summer, and I want to plant early for fall.
These planters are the same ones my bouganvillia and rose bush are in, doing ok.
If you've ever read the Victoria magazine, you'll get a sense of that gracious lifestyle. And these days, we need some grace in our lives,
Some of the posters decided to create a virtual gathering place, like a parlor, great room, living room...someplace where we could chat, and enjoy virtual food. We used to have these kinds of gatherings after the Jane Austen Society meetings. I needn't mention that the food was delicious, but so high in sugar that it was easy to get dizzy from the sugar spike.
The food prepared at home by the Victoria forum community and virtually shared was literally "to die for." Scones, home made bread, fresh salads from home grown produce, special English dishes, trifles...and much more.
So, I think you could virtually share some of your blackberry scones - just tell us about the fragrance of baking them, of your first bite and how delicious it was, whether you ate them with freshly brewed tea, or coffee... We'll enjoy your hard work and visualize your delicious scones.
I would think you could probably substitute blackberries or blueberries; they might even compliment the huckleberry flavoring in the scone mix.
(an exaggeration); I will contine to use this recipe for scones:
Get up, get in the car, drive to starbucks early enough to capture those expensive biscuits (not one dollar) that are flying off the shelf, share with hubs, drop him off at work, return home to brush off the crumbs. He says, "I didn't know I was still hungry!".
The only time he talks to me, so the scones are so worth it, imo!!!
How do you make your cranberry and orange glaze? Chopped or minced cranberries? Orange juice, dried orange peel, or chopped oranges?
I'm thinking that you could probably make a blueberry sauce as well?
Good thing the humidity here is 80% and the dewpoint is 74 or I'd be making biscuits.
This would be a nice way to begin a Fall day - but let's wait until CWillie's summer is ended so she can enjoy too!
I agree we need to make sure the Wisteria doesn't consume CM. There are so many valuable people on this forum and she's one.
CWillie, I used to be able to get nice, firm but soft scones; but lately the stores that sell them seem to freeze them, then thaw them (maybe when their commercial freezers become crowded) and they're hard. Yuk.
And since we're discussing baked delicacies, one thing I've avoided is exploring the local French bakery. I would probably come out with a maxed out credit card and my arms full of delicious, tasty, but fattening goodies.
A radio play was already done, on BBC, called "Day of the Triffids". Those plants sounded worse than CM's wistaria, people were disappearing! CM's story was well written, I agree, but let's try to make sure she doesn't disappear, Lol.
Recipe for Scones:
Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
My scones have cranberries and orange glaze. Take and eat!
That's okay though, at least there's no chocolate syrup on them.
Now, where did I place those recipes for biscuits that I knew someday would have to be filed???
Yes CWillie, landscapers use red twig because it grows fast and is readily available.
If you want a container planting, get a large container on wheels, and wheel it into a storage area for the winter. However, you would need space, and there's also the issue of the plant not getting water or fresh air.
The Victorians had the right idea - conservatories. But unfortunately, most of us don't have the funds or space to add a conservatory to our house. A greenhouse might work, but that's also dependent on funds and adequate space.
Another option is to grow it in a container, accepting that it will be a sacrificial but donor plant. Take cuttings in the fall and plant them in a protected area, then transplant them to the desired site. When the plant becomes too large, use it as a mother plant again.
But that's really not a great solution, unless you're really dedicated to have a red twig dogwood. I've considered it for making wreaths, although I don't know how supple the branches would be for that purpose.
A third option is to bonsai it. My aunt and uncle had an alpine nursery; she handled the alpines, he handled the bonsai evergreens. I wish I'd spent more time with them learning how to bonsai, as I want to try it with some maple seeds I have.
I've seen structures such as those old watering troughs used for bonsai; there might be something more practical though, such as a large planter box. I haven't done any bonsai-ing yet, so I don't have any good insight into the technique at all.
Is there any other place you could plant them, say as a windbreak? Given their rapid growth, they could provide cover for overwintering birds. Donation to a nature preserved might be another option. They could grow freely and shelter birds during inclement weather.
But the posts here reminded me of those years, when I was a Brownie, then a Girl Scout. I even saved my badge sash - it's packed away somewhere with precious mementos of childhood, hopefully along with my ballet and tap shoes which I could never wear now but instantly bring back memories of the studio where I took lessons for a while, until we moved away and transportation became an issue.
Does anyone who was a Girl Scout remember the Girl Scout Songs? I still have my GS songbook, as well as my GS knife (wouldn't be w/o it!) Handbook, and somewhere my compass.
After reading the Campfire posts last night, I couldn't help wandering down Girl Scout Lane and humming "High up, high on a mountain, we've founded our chalet." I could also envision beautiful Swiss mountains with pastoral sections, even a rural goat herd or two, massive peaks in the distance, and of course beautiful, contemplative weather which prompts one to just sit down on the grass and appreciate the beauty of nature.
Of course I had to research the song, of which I remembered only the first verse. But I was struck by the appropriateness, especially in these turbulent political times, of the last words.
"We'll go to Our Chalet
And this its dedication
Shall never fail nor be undone
Each race, each creed, each nation
Beneath its roof are one."
If only human integration as well as acceptance and tolerance for other cultures could be so easy and peaceful.
Send, Sharyn, and anyone else who might have commented, thanks for this trip down Memory Lane. It's a trip I plan to take more often now.
Your very poetic post is quite articulate and very clever in describing your unwanted invasion. Gave me some chuckles even as I was envisioning a scene from one of those programs on what happens after human made structures are abandoned and foliage takes over.
It might even be the basis for a sci-fi movie - there have been creeping blobs and other fantasies about unwanted and threatening invasions. Why not "Invasion of the Wisterias"?
On a more serious note, I'm wondering how the wisteria got through the bricks (?) or other material siding the house. I know that invasive vines can cling to brick, but I'm not sure about actually breaking through it. I suppose if the house and bricks were old, they would be more vulnerable.
If you want to make some money from it, I suppose you could take clippings and sell them at a farmer's market. And although I've never tried this, if you could clip it back to the entry point and terminate its existence there, that might help as well. Stripping the bark might help discourage it's adventurous growth and exploration, although bark is I think more vulnerable outdoors since it compromises sun protection.
I've used vinegar spray on outdoor weeds; it was mildly effective, but capped in a plastic bag might make it more so. Maybe your wisteria will find the environment unsuitable and not to its liking and go elsewhere.
Cwillie, we are zone 6-7 with some snow.