I don't know about you, but we have a few tropical (read: indoor) plants that we put outdoors for the summer.  They love the bright light, and the warm days and nights.  This is my Night blooming Cereus.  She has doubled in size this summer, being outside.

 

BUT...I just saw that the temperature is going to drop this Saturday.  When the night temps drop below 50°, we bring everybody into the basement.  My weather source shows 50° on Friday night,  and 46° on Saturday night.  That's fabulous for us, but some plants can't take it.

 

We don't haul in the mums, or other hardy stuff, but it's a good idea to either bring in or protect your tender indoor plants.  It's a big job, but we will bring in the Benjamin fig, cereus, and a few others.  The small ones may go back out during the day, but the big ones only get moved once!  

 

Before bringing them back inside, like today, I will hose down the leaves, and deep water the pot to get rid of any creatures who may have moved in over the summer.  Mostly, I'm looking for ants.  I don't want them inside!!!  This will give enough time for them to relocate, and the plant to dry enough to move it.

 

If you have put out your philodendrons and pathos, sansevierias, or Norfolk Island Pine, you might consider shifting them to their winter positions.  They will love you for it.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

I am not an expert in this field, but I have several friends and relatives coping with Alzheimer's disease and dementia:  as patients and as caregivers.   I want to be better equipped to communicate with them.  Better equipped to communicate with the patients AND their caregivers.

 

I subscribe to Alzheimer's Reading Room and i get occasional readings delivered to my inbox.  I don't know how, but they are often VERY timely and appropriate for what's happening.  The readings are almost personal to me.  Today's reading especially spoke to me, that's why I thought I'd share.  4 lessons I learned

 

If you have loved ones with dementia or know someone who cares for Alzheimer's or dementia patients, then Alzheimer's Disease has touched your life.  There is so much we don't understand, but it's so helpful to learn from someone who has been there, done that.  

 

I have this hope that if I can learn about something vicariously, and really understand it, then maybe I won't have to experience it myself.  So far it's working.  At the very least, I'm learning to be kinder, maybe more patient.  I need that.

 

LIVE WELL!!

 

 

 

I just found this caterpillar in the fennel.  It's the Black swallowtail that I was telling you about.  It uses fennel as a host plant.  Another good reason to grow fennel in your garden.

 

Black swallowtail butterflies also lay eggs on other members of this family:  parsley, dill, carrots, queen Anne's lace:  Umbelliferae.  In my experience, the caterpillars like the particular food they grew up with.  I've tried to feed fennel to caterpillars I picked off of parsley, and they would not shift to another food from the same family!!  Very picky eaters.

 

We still like to put the fat caterpillars in a dry aquarium, feed them until they make their chrysalids, then watch as they emerge as adult butterflies.  So I either have to provide enough food to get them full grown, or leave them alone to fend for themselves, (probably the best way, definitely the easiest.) 

 

Either way, I know we are providing food for Black swallowtail butterflies.  Very exciting!!

 

I think I'll nab this one before a bird or praying mantis gets it.  He is just right for making a chrysalis, so I won't have to feed him for much longer.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

If you have been interested in my latest subject: herbs, you may like to check out this website.

 

http://www.herbwisdom.com 

 

It talks about all kinds of herbs, nicely organized from A to Z.

Not only does it address culinary herbs, it also covers herbs for health and healing.

 

I love this site, and have bookmarked it for my quick reference.  You can't have too many resources.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

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!!