Look at this beautiful Savoy cabbage I cut yesterday.  The main head is 5 inches across and the outer leaves bring it to 10 inches!!!  That’s a lot of cole slaw.  

 

Oh yeah, the red stems at the bottom of the picture are beets!!!  Sorry, I forgot to take their picture.  Next time…

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Patty and I went out the other day looking for a little patch of Chanterelles, and when we looked up into the woods, this is what we saw!!!  Chicken of the Woods growing on a fallen tree.

 

This tree was cut down about 8 or 9 years ago, and has been lying there decaying.  And these gorgeous, (delicious) mushrooms are helping it do just that.  

 

We only took a few, but might have to go back and get a couple more.  They taste like chicken, really.  We cleaned and chopped and cooked them with onion, celery, carrot, and a prepared package of Alfredo sauce.  Served over pasta.  Very good.

 

Please, please, please!!!  Remember wise foraging practices when you find edibles in the wild.  Always positively identify it before you even TOUCH it.  Once you are absolutely positive, only take a little, and cook before you taste it.  

 

Just because I can eat mushrooms without gastric distress, doesn’t mean that you may have a different reaction. 

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

Get a look at the North Georgia Candy Roaster squashes!!!!

 

We grew some last year, and they did so well.  So I saved some seeds when we cut into the squash, and planted them again this year.  I planted 6 plants, and they are running into that bed that had oxeye daisies last week.  The squashes will run up to 10 feet!!!  So they can’t go in the vegetable garden.  They need their own space.  So here they are taking up as much space as they like.  

 

And looking fine doing it.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look at this beautiful dinosaur kale.  Lacinato Kale, to be more precise.  Grown from seeds.  I love the color of these leaves, and the texture is crinkled, looking quite prehistoric.  

 

These plants stand about 3 feet tall now, but by the end of the season, they will be taller than I am.  Not big for a person, but pretty tall for a plant.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is another type of cauliflower, called Romanesco.  I’ve never seen it in the grocery store, so I thought I’d give it a try in the garden.  I spent $1.95 for 30 seeds.  I planted 12, and got 12 baby plants.  Who needs 12 cauliflowers?  I only put 6 into the garden.  I gave the others to a couple of friends for them to try.  

 

Well, ours are doing great, and aren’t they interesting looking?  The word ‘fractals’ comes to my mind.  

 

The seed catalog said they will grow 7” heads, so we have a while to go, but I love looking at them every day.

 

They make me smile;  I hope you got a tickle out of them too.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Last week I told you about wrapper leaves on the cauliflower, to keep the heads white;  it’s called ‘blanching.’

 

Well, I left one unblanched, and this is what happened.  It started turning purple!  I don’t see this as a bad thing.  Do you?

 

I love trying and learning new things in the garden.

 

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

 

 

Ok, here’s my second favorite Dad.  My favorite is my own Dad, but Jon is definitely my next favorite.

 

As you can see, Gizmo is pretty fond of him too.  

 

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY AGAIN!!!

 

This is my favorite picture of Momma and Daddy.  Linda gave it to me years ago.  It looks big here, but its real dimensions are just 2 1/2” tall and 3 1/2” wide, frame and all.  I love it.  

 

I think it was taken in 1945, when they were just 21 and 26 years old, before any of us were born.  Weren’t they cute?  

 

Now you can see where we get our good looks.  

 

If you would like to learn about the history of Father’s Day, go to https://www.farmersalmanac.com/when-fathers-day 

(Sorry for all the ads,) but the article is interesting.

 

 

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL OUR FAVORITE DADS!!!!

 

 

 

This is what we see when we start out on our walk.  It is at the end of Crabapple Lane.  This Magnolia tree survived the winter and is doing beautifully.  And right now it is blooming.  So pretty.

 

Look around in your travels, and you will probably see lots of other Magnolia trees blooming.  If you can get close enough to smell them, do it.  They smell fresh and lemony.  

 

In the fall, the flowers will grow into interesting seed pods, with bright red seeds.  But now is when they are the prettiest.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

The dill is blooming.  And it is GORGEOUS!!!  

 

There are 3 five foot sections of the garden loaded with dill.  Dill doesn’t like to be transplanted, so you have to put the seeds directly on the ground where you want them to sprout.  Last summer when it went to seed, I sprinkled the seeds all along these rows, and now it is thick and beautiful.  It’s kind of a tight squeeze to walk between the rows of dill.

 

After the pollen gets finished doing its job, all those tiny flowers turn into little green berries.  When they dry, they will be next year’s seeds.  But it is the berry stage that I love the most.  I cut several stems, bring them inside and put them in a crystal vase on the landing.  They are glorious and last a couple weeks.

 

It looks like this year I have enough to share with my friends.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!