I just read in The Farmer's Almanac that the next few days are good for planting, especially leafy greens.

 

This is leaf lettuce, grown from seed.  It has leaves ready to eat in just 40-50 days.  You can even plant it in a pot and have lettuce way into the fall.  

 

This is so pretty, it could go in your front flower bed.  What about as a temporary border, or tucked into those big rocks?

 

Other cool weather greens are kale, spinach, mustard, swiss chard, arugula.  We love our cool weather greens;  they are so easy to grow and give us so much.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

Foeniculum vulgare,  Fennel.  Herbaceous perennial.  Every part of the plant, from the seed to the root is edible.  Fennel is also called anise.  I give you the botanical names because several other plants are called anise.  This way I can be more specific, and you can learn the way I did, scientifically.

 

There are a couple of varieties.  Florence fennel is the one grown commercially for its succulent bulb, and the bronze form, which is the one we grow.  The bulb of bronze fennel is still edible, just not as big as the one you can buy in the grocery store.  In the garden, nobody is companionable with fennel.  Don't know why, but I've read it more than a few times, so I don't push my luck...

 

Fennel self-seeds once it is established.  We brought this with us too, when we moved from VA.  I love that Black swallowtail butterflies are attracted to it.  They use it as a host plant for their caterpillars.  We would capture the tiny caterpillars and raise them in my classroom, watching as they grew, made their chrysalids, and emerged as adult butterflies.  What a thrill for 3 and 4 year olds.  For me too!!  Sometimes I still capture the caterpillars so I can see them emerge.  It's very exciting!!

 

Fennel is also delicious.  We add the berries (the plump, unripe seeds) to lots of things.  They are great with tomatoes, eggplant, in pasta salads, you name it.  If the flavor of licorice appeals to you, you need to grow fennel.  Come get the seeds and plant your own.  I love to share the garden's wealth.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Origanum spp.  Oregano and Marjoram, hardy herbaceous or shrubby perennials. 

 

When we moved here from Virginia Beach, VA,  I brought a small rectangular planter of oregano with us.  We planted it in the area just above our house.  In the last 13 years it has spread enough to fill that whole garden bed.  I cut it back every year, and Jon has mowed it on occasion.  It is related to mint,  and you know what that does!!  DON'T buy oregano!!!  Come get fresh oregano and dry it yourself.   

 

Nobody in my life should ever have to pay $$ for Oregano.

 

Oregano is an ancient culinary herb.  The Greeks gave it the name: oros ganos, meaning joy of the mountain.  And the sweet spicy scent of sweet marjoram is a symbol of happiness, reputedly created by Aphrodite.  In ancient Egypt, it was well-known that oregano had the power to heal, disinfect and preserve. 

 

We grow oregano today to attract bees and butterf!ies.  Oregano also goes into most things we cook:  bread, pizza dough, salad greens, most vegetable dishes.  It can be used fresh or dried.  We harvest it, then hang the branches to dry, and crush the leaves just before using.  I'll add Jon's pizza dough recipe in the recipe section.

 

Really, come get some before cold weather sets in.  It can even be transplanted now into pots.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Rosmarinus officinalis.  Rosemary, a tender evergreen perennial.

 

We love our Rosemary, but other plants don't, so much.  The volatile oil that we love is too strong and overpowering for others to get along and play well with Rosemary.  So I never use it as greenery in a flower vase with other flowers.  In a vase by herself, maybe, but not as a companion.  Actually, a vase of Rosemary alone can brighten the air in a room.

 

Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant, so it wants warmth and moderate winter temperatures.  Planted in a southern, well-protected location, your Rosemary bush can live for years. You can easily grow Rosemary in a pot too, just protect it in winter.   And if it doesn't survive the winter, harvest it, hang it to dry then put the leaves in your spice cabinet, and use the branches as skewers on the barbecue.  Skewer chicken, shrimp, lamb for the grill.

 

We add the fresh blue flowers to salads, and the dried leaves to our breads and pizza dough.  Best to dry and store the leaves whole, and crush just before using.  

 

Give it a try;  Rosemary is definitely worth the trouble, if nothing more than to just brush up against her and breathe.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Oh, how we love this herb!!!  Ocimum basilicum.

 

There are many types of basil but this is the popular one for pesto.  We also grow a delightful citrus basil that comes back every year.  It is an annual, but the citrus basil easily self-seeds every year.  We've had good luck growing basil from seed but you have to wait for the soil to warm in spring.  It doesn't like "cold feet."

 

So we plant basil along with our peppers, after the ground has warmed up, toward the end of May.

 

I will add a pesto recipe in the recipe section.  It's good with or without the nuts and cheese.

 

Don't buy basil in the grocery store; grow your own!!  It's easy enough; you can even grow it in a pot.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

Salvia officinalis, sage.  The name salvia comes from Latin salvere, and it means to be in good health, to cure, to save.  

 

Sage grows in our area as a perennial.  It grows well from seed.  I planted several varieties close together,  and it has spread by self-seeding.  It likes dry soil, so it tolerates our dry, hot summers, and neglect;  qualities I admire in a plant!

 

And, the deer don't bother it!!   Another admirable quality.

 

Sage is a valuable culinary herb as an aid to digesting fatty foods, both savory and sweet.  The leaves can be mixed with onions, and used for poultry seasoning.  You can blend it into cream cheese, or make sage vinegar or sage butter.

Flowers can be eaten in salads.  We put a few leaves in a vase on the table at happy hour, to wrap around a piece of cheese, or use as a dipper.  And we always add fresh sage leaves to our Thanksgiving turkey on the grill.

 

I hope you will add a little sage to your herb garden.  Besides being tasty, it is beautiful!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

These are leeks growing in our garden.  See the baby ones?  They grew from seeds dropped from the blossoms.  They will be next year's leeks.  Since leeks are so good in soups, we will harvest the big ones this winter.

 

My friend in San Antonio, told me that you can replant the root ends of leeks, and they will grow new ones.  So that's what we do.  You can even do this with store-bought leeks, if their roots are still attached. 

 

Leeks look like big spring onions, but they are a little  too tough to be eaten raw, unless you choose young ones and slice them really thin.   Once they are cooked they become soft, with a delicate texture and flavor, milder than onions.  It only takes about 15 minutes to get there.  I'll add my leek soup to the recipe section.  

 

Got a little space in the flower bed?  Plant a couple leek roots.  They are beautiful as they grow and bloom.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

Winged Sumac, Rhus copallina.  Or Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra,  depending on the twigs (one is smooth and the other has barky wings.)   They look very similar at 45 mph.

 

There are several Sumacs that grow here:  

 

Staghorn sumac with its velvety red flower spikes, easy to spot at 45 mph.  ;)

Smooth or Winged sumac (pictured) and 

Poison sumac which has white berries and causes a skin reaction much like Poison ivy.  

I've seen lots of Staghorn and Winged sumacs in our neighborhood, but no Poison sumac.  It may live here, I just haven't seen any.  

 

Sumac is a small tree or large shrub, some reaching 15 feet.  We have one that I can see from my living room, and we watch the birds all winter eating the seeds.  I don't think it would be a good idea to park your car under it, but it's great to see cardinals and bluebirds up close.  Deer also love grazing on the twigs.

 

Sumac is in its glory right now, leaves turning red, and bright red berries feeding lots of wildlife.  Be sure to notice them in your autumn travels.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

Jon's daughter, Sheri took this photo when we were hiking up Blood Mountain last weekend.

 

It is Goldenrod, Solidago spp.  There are more than 100 species growing in North America, and over 24 species found in our eastern mountains.  It's hard to pinpoint the species, because they tend to cross-pollinate and hybridize.

 

Some may be regarded as weeds, but I love seeing their sunny brightness on our hillsides.

 

Goldenrod is often blamed for causing hay fever.  Not true!!  Hay fever is actually caused by ragweeds and other wind-pollinated plants.  They are blooming right now too.  Ragweed is also in the picture, top right, spiky flower buds.

 

Goldenrod is blooming all over right now, adding beauty everywhere.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read in The Old Farmer's Almanac that today and tomorrow are good days for planting.  The moon is in the last quarter, in the sign of Cancer.  It's a very good time for planting seed beds, and flower gardens.  Also good for root crops.  I wonder if that includes my tulip bulbs....they do live underground until they bloom.

 

I think I'll go buy my pansies and get these pots planted:  red tulips for spring, and purple pansies on top for winter. Nope, pansies aren't ready yet.  Maybe I'll look for mums.

 

If you haven't ever stopped in at Buds and Butterflies, (on 19/129 toward Blairsville) NOW is the time to do it!!  Christina grows the most beautiful Chrysanthemums, and they are starting to show color.  This is the best time to buy mums:  you can tell what color they are going to be,  and you get to enjoy them longer.  

 

They come in all sizes: 

8" pots are 5.99 or 3/15.  10" pots and hanging baskets are 14.99.  Or you could go for the big ones:  12" pots are 19.99, and 14" pots are 26.99.  They are the prettiest!!!  Last year mine lasted until the frost in November!   That's 2 whole months away.  Plenty of time to enjoy!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!