Late Winter Gardening

I had a hard time saying, "late winter."  Isn't it spring?

In this post I'll show you around the yard and tell you about my latest gardening projects.  One friend actually asked me to do this, and I enjoy doing it for the record.  I won't be offended if the rest of you don't make it to the end of the post :-)

I was able to cross a lot of plants off my wish list last fall!  I finally planted a huge amount of bulbs.  Coming up here amongst the pansies are peony tulips and white flowering allium.

Pansies and Narcissus Dutch Master

I have an area at the end of a bed that doesn't get enough water, and today I planted it full of succulents.  

I never really liked the look of succulents (too desert-like, I thought), but last summer I ate outside at Meriwether's in Northwest Portland and sat right next to a pot full of a beautiful mix of them.  I wish I had taken a picture.  Anyway, now I love them, and I'm excited to watch this area fill in.

These may not be beautiful to you, but nothing is more exciting in the early spring to see sweet peas popping up their little heads!  It's not too late to plant some, but the sooner the better.

This is a new green I'm trying.  It's not too early to plant lettuces, spinach, peas and carrots!

Did you know that you can take sprouting organic potatoes and put them straight into the dirt?  It's a little early, but I'm counting on not getting any more super hard freezes.  Click here for more information about growing potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Scroll down a bit to "Potato Cultivation."

Whenever the kids help me garden they get to put their name on it!  Abby and Ryan helped me start some plants from seed.  They are in the shop right now under full spectrum florescent bulbs.  They must be set on a timer to have at least 6 hours off each night.

These are Ryan's Lobelia:

I forgot to have the kids water them when I went to CA and they dried out, but managed to survive!  I'm most excited to see if the petunia seeds I saved from last year will germinate.

This anemone has long been on my wish list...  I first saw it at Elk Rock/Bishop's Close.  I love early spring bloomers!

My favorite tree - a magnolia.  I call it "The Hope of Spring" as I stare at the buds all winter long.  I can see it from my bed.  Love this tree!!!

Happy Gardening to all!

Worth Reading

From Don Miller's blog.  I especially loved the second part beginning with:

"So two questions I’m asking myself these days are what is my field to plow, and am I plowing it?"

Click Here to link to Don's blog.

Blogs for a Cause

Do you like the re-do on my blog?  I sure do, and what I like best is that the $30 it cost me is being donated to charity.  Thank you, Nikki!  (see her button on the left)

Of the $30, $25 goes to support Nikki's humanitarian work.  She is a 20 year old Canadian, and in her last year of college.  She sponsors four children in Africa and Haiti, and has gone to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Ethiopia to work in orphanages, malnutrition clinics, schools, etc. This coming May she will go to India.

The other $5 goes to a monthly charity.  This month's charity is Heartline Ministries in Haiti, which has an orphanage and women's program, that "endeavors to be the hands of Christ in Haiti."

I needed a re-do so my blog would match (and not clash with :-/) the Botanical Interests button that links to the fundraiser to benefit Open Arms International .  Please spread the word to your gardening friends!  It's time to start planning for spring!

Seeds for a Cause!

If I talked with you about gardening at all last year, you probably heard me raving about Botanical Interests seeds.


I first discovered them at Portland Nursery, and was taken by the beautiful colored sketches on the front of each packet.  As it turns out, they are not only aesthetically pleasing, but organic, heirloom, and family-owned.


Does it get any better?


Well, as a matter of fact, it does!  Now when you buy seeds from Botanical Interests (using the link or button above - very important!), 25% of the proceeds go to Open Arms International. 


Open Arms International is administratively based in Portland, but serves in Eldoret, Kenya, East Africa.  They provide a safe haven for children orphaned by AIDS and other tragedies.  They currently house twenty-six children in two homes, with a set of house parents in each home.  I love this model for orphanages.  Please read more about them on their site!


And, if you want to share this fundraising link for seed shopping with others, please use this link.  http://www.botanicalinterests.com/store/register_affiliate.php?AffiliateId=332
(Once you actually get to their site, the link will look different, so don't copy it there.)


For now, it's time to start thinking about planting sweet peas.  January and February are the months to plant for an early summer bloom!

A Couple Good Reads

I loved these books.

Jansen's Gift is a true story, about a woman who suddenly loses her son.   In her grief, she finds a greater purpose for life and ends up helping children around the world.

 Scared is fiction, based on the real life experiences of Tom Davis, President of Children's HopeChest, a Christian-based child advocacy organization helping orphans in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Both show the vulnerability of children and the reality of modern slavery

(often in the form of sex trafficking).  They will break your heart and give you hope.

And if you think you've got problems... you won't think so anymore.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie
(for a cozy fall night! As requested by Nadia :-))

2 pounds ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 quart homemade beef stock
1 small can tomato sauce
½ t. Wizard Worcestershire Sauce
1 t. balsamic vinegar
1-2 t. sea salt

1 bag organic sweet corn (Trader Joe’s)

Yukon Gold Potatoes
Kerrygold butter
TJ’s Organic Sour Cream
Sea Salt

Grated Cheddar Cheese (Tillamook Sharp)

Frozen Spelt Pie Crusts from Whole Foods - pull them out of the freezer as you begin.

Brown beef and onion. When onions are somewhat softened and beef is partly cooked, add diced carrots.

When beef is fully cooked add stock, tomato sauce and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes. I don’t even know the recipe anymore because Courtney always makes them, but I’m guessing a bag of potatoes – boiled, drained and smashed, 2 sticks of butter (or one package of Kerrygold), a lot of sour cream, and sea salt. This is too many potaotes for the pies, but we like leftover mashed potatoes around here.

Stir in corn to beef mixture and simmer until it’s heated.

Pour beef mixture into 2 or 3 pie crusts. Top with mashed potatoes and cheese and bake until crusts are done – 25 mintues or so.

Yummy!

Waiting and Bountiful Harvest

I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. Psalm 52:8

The other day I had a bunch of plants that I really wanted to move. Some were getting too much sun, and some weren't getting enough. I had all kinds of ideas about where to put things, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was just too hot, and I knew that they would die if I moved them at that time.

So I had to wait.

It made me think about situations we are in, when we really want change. We know we're not in the best place but there seems to be nothing we can do about it, and we pray, and we wait and it seems like nothing is happening. Yet God, our master gardener, feels our pain. Just like I really wanted to move my plants, God wants to put us where we'll blossom. But He understands the perfect timing and circumstances that are beyond our knowledge.

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18

Part II Bountiful Harvest - just a few fun pictures

I have been so pleased with the limelight hydrangeas. To my knowledge, these are the only hydrangeas that tolerate heat and full sun. The have done beautifully around the pool and also make a great cut flower (best if cut in the early morning).


I think it's fitting that the African basil (on the left) outperformed the standard basil this summer! On the right are Courtney's zinnias (planted from the seeds she got at Justine's birthday party) but if I ask really nice she lets me pick some from time to time. We're going to try to save some seed this year for the first time - from several different flowers. I've heard you can even save petunia seed - we'll see!

As always, I plant tomatoes too close together and without enough support so they are sprawling everywhere... but yummy all the same. This year, I'm almost as excited to see a slug eaten or overripe tomatoe because they make the chickens so happy! And I'm getting about 9 eggs a day now.