Bloom Thyme Friday: Welcome to My Herb Garden

Link | September 13, 2019 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This week I had some extra time to just “be” in my herb garden. It is a very special place for me. The fence was the first structure that Mr. G built for me after we moved into our “new” home. That was over 30 years ago. Pardon me while I shed a few tears. Looking back, 30 years seems like a blink… have you noticed that — looking back is like a quick vapor and looking ahead seems like forever. Those 30 years are filled to the brim with memories. Mr. G building the fence with 2 littles in tow. My daughter and son planting seeds; picking herbs we would use in cooking; harvesting lavender and other flowers and herbs that we used in crafts — some we sold as the Ladybug Herb Garden. (My daughter’s “baby” name was Ladybug.)

I wish I had a list of all the herbs, veggies, cutting flowers and roses (they’re herbs too) that have had a home in this happy, fragrant 16’ x 18’ space.

Let me show you around…

Basil that has gone to seed and making the pollinators happy growing in a tangle with chives and a very prominent black eyed susan that I didn’t plant. It is always a big surprise as to where the black eyed susans will show up each year!

Thyme that makes it’s way into egg salad, chicken salad and bean dishes. And is the perfect ground cover for herb gardens.

Zinnias and Cosmos (Mr. G’s Fav) running amuck in that beautiful way they do in the fall.

Nasturiums — because they are so dependably pretty and fun to add to salads.

Lambs Ears because of it’s color, texture and the fact that every child loves it. Behind the Lambs Ears is the lovely ‘Pretty Polly’ Almond scented geranium.

Okra … that should have been picked last week. Note: I don’t have a full on vegetable garden but add favorite veggies here and there around the garden, on the deck and on the driveway!

Banana peppers … that should have been picked last week. Zinnias were hiding them.

Chard … for smoothies and just for pretty.

Rosemary … because it’s beautiful, fragrant, delicious and has been used for years in a family favorite recipe – rosemary baked potatoes!

Plants that are here but have finished for the season…

Peonies, yarrow, sweet peas, sweet william and larkspur had their moment and have come and gone. The world they lived in was much more tame! Look, no jungle in late May!

Herbs you don’t see in my “Herb” garden…

Mint… the last plant my mother bought for me was apple mint. That was more than 25 years ago. While I’ll never be without mint for the memory of her and for the fact I use it all the time, it is planted safely in a pot where it’s “roaming” tendencies are kept in check! 😳

Oregano… has been taken out to the veriest back of the property where it can run amuck. It’s yummy but it is like mint in that it desires world domination!

Sage… It is one of my two favorite herbs. I love it for so many reasons — I love the flavor and I love the holiday memories attached to that flavor and that smell and I love how it looks. You don’t see sage in the herb garden because it lives and thrives in another area of the garden where conditions are dryer. While it looks so good with the other herbs, it’s happier elsewhere. And, it does very well beside it’s neighbor that doesn’t like the herb garden all that well either… Lavender – my other favorite. Who doesn’t love lavender!?! Is there a more relaxing fragrance in all the world? Not for me. I do plant both sage and lavender in the herb garden each year and while they mostly survive for a season, they don’t thrive. So, to have plenty, it is best to have “extras” where they are happier!

And, this brings us to Roses… they greet you as you enter. As it should be.

Thanks for stopping by for my herb garden tour. Now you know that my herb garden, like all the other “rooms” in my garden are a combination of plant types. Most of them tasty and many so aromatic — making it a destination I can get lost in!

Let’s all take a deep breath and inhale the earthy fragrance of herbs. I’m wondering what are your favorites? Is it sage or lavender or….

I bet there’s a story behind your favorite and I’d love to hear it! ❣️

Bloom Thyme Friday: Outside and In

Link | October 19, 2018October 20, 2018 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

The temps this week are getting more and more frosty and time for some of my favorite fall tasks. I am a bit late in getting some of these things done, but sometimes the “best” time to do things is when you have the time and I did.

Things like welcoming back in the houseplants that have enjoyed the sunshine and rain all summer but certainly don’t want to stay outside in the cold!

Bringing into the garage potted herbs and flowers, I hope to over winter. Note: Sometimes this works for me and sometimes it does not — but always worth the effort. These plants are put in a dark, slightly heated garage and get watered once a month until early spring and go back out! Most do make it!

By far the most fun task this week was clipping herbs and flowers to dry. Since there are only two of us, we don’t need as many cooking herbs, but this is a process I would do even if we never cooked — for many reasons. First of all I love every part of the process… gathering them and enjoying their fragrance. I love how they look in their little bunches hanging around! And, another huge bonus, it takes me back to those days when I was a stay at home mom and had a small cottage business of making potpourri and herb and flower wreaths. A local garden center requested them and it was so fun to do! Mr. G made me drying racks of all kinds for the bunches and bunches of herbs and flowers I needed. Hydrangeas, roses, lavender, grasses, yarrow, sedum, artemisia, tansy, sage, feverfew and such. Yes, sweet (and savory) memories.

In those days many of these dried bunches of beauty were also used as main decorations for the Christmas tree. Things were different every year. As the kids got older they helped to bring things in and of course in decorating. #familyfun Let me just say that both of our grown children are gardeners. I guess it is in their genes or at least in their memory banks!

You can read about my daughter’s garden here. My son has to have herbs for cooking and is always chasing the best tomatoes to plant!

POTTING SHED FUN THIS WEEK:

BLOOM THYME THIS WEEK:

Many bloomers were great at the beginning of the week but not so much today.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you have beautiful treasures from your garden to enjoy outside and in.

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY

Bloom Thyme Friday: Celebrating Overachievers

Link | July 14, 2017July 15, 2017 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Today we celebrate overachievers!

This summer we have had steamy, hot conditions and tons of rain. I mean R A I N. When it rains, it RAINS. Rain coming down like never before. Inches and Inches of rain. Most of us are well aware that roses like water BUT they do not like being drowned. I have roses out there who are asking for a life jacket. GULP!

But, there are also those overachievers … rain or shine they just keep doing their thing.

Here are 5 of my current favorite overachievers:

PINK CARPET ROSE
This blooming machine does not care if it is rainy, does not care if the Japanese Beetles come to town, or does not care if the rain doesn’t come. It is also forgiving of the huge tree that is encroaching upon it’s very being!

It just blooms and grows in the enchanting way that I love — not quite upright — not quite a climber — not quite a rounded shrub — just rambles around, hugging up to the fence and covering the ground in that perfect cottage garden way. It sure gets an A+ in my garden! The pictures here are of a group of 3 pink carpet roses.

YARROW
I have a love/hate relationship with Yarrow. Regardless, I will always have it in my garden.

It IS lovely.
It comes in so many colors.
It works well in a vase.
It is a welcoming host to so many good bugs
It is loved by pollinators.
It dries well.
And, it has medicinal properties.

Grow it but, keep an eye on it, it will take over and you will hear the low cough of it neighbors as they gasp for space!

DAYLILIES
So much bang for your buck. I really thought all the rain we’ve had this summer would be difficult for the daylilies. It has not been. They have done wonderfully and filled my garden with lovely blooms! Warning: here comes a ton of pictures!

HYSSOP

Hyssop is a herb that is truly a beautiful garden plant and beautiful compliment to roses. However it is a part of the mint family assuring it’s place as a major overachiever. The pollinators cannot get enough of this beauty and neither can I. Hyssop is also considered one of the Biblical herbs as it is mentioned in the Bible many times. One of the most heart wrenching passages mentioning hyssop is John 19: 28-30. Read about that here.

DAISIES
While daisies are not my favorite usually, this year they have stood up to the rainy conditions in a wonderful way. On the days when we are seeing the garden more from the inside than outside, the daisies stand tall and proud and are providing a bright light in all the gray. So, let’s hear it for the daisies! True to self, they are definitely exceeding their space this year, so I plan to divide them in the fall. I’ll have plenty of extras to share!

Just checked the weather and they are predicting a perfect day tomorrow. Low humidity and 80 degrees. Perfect. After a busy week, I need a day in my garden. And, after the pounding the garden has had this week — it sure needs me.

Hope tomorrow is just perfect for you too.

Happy Bloom Thyme Friday

Overwintering Plants

April 2, 2015April 2, 2015 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

When winter approaches I typically bring potted plants I want to save into the Potting Shed where there is controlled warmth and light (geraniums, mint, lavender, etc.), except for my large potted roses, they are taken to the garage (no windows). The roses go dormant and “spring” back to life in the spring. Because of “over crowding” in the Potting Shed, I took this pot of herbs to the garage too.

Last week I brought the pots out of the garage and couldn’t believe how well these herbs sprang back to life. They never lost their “green” completely and now they look almost robust! Today they are outside getting some sunshine and intermittent light rain. Let the thriving begin!

The roses left in the garage are doing quite well too.

I typically cut any spindly growth completely back and let the roses start fresh. But this one is recovering so fast that I may do minimal pruning and she how she does. Meet the “winter in the garage, in the dark version of the Coretta Scott King” rose. Anemic though she may be, I think we are going to start from here and see what she does.

Coretta Scott King in the garden last summer…

Happy Spring!

Bloom Thyme Friday: Garden 2 Table

June 13, 2014 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I love the concept of garden 2 table … cooking with the fresh food you grow yourself. My mother was a great gardener and she grew just about everything we ate. Because she canned and froze the extras we had food from our garden year round. (You can read more about her here.) But, if I am honest, my veggies keep getting inched out by roses and a couple of honey locust trees that are devouring our garden. However, we still have room for herbs and tomatoes — Mr. G makes sure of that. So, around here we are extremely grateful to area farmer’s markets to provide us with the other produce we love.

So many of my friends tell me they rarely cook anymore since their time is so limited! But, good news, there is someone who is inspiring us to get in the garden and in the kitchen by teaching us just how easy, fun and nutritious Garden to Table can be. My friend P. Allen Smith. Allen grows an acre of the most beautiful organic veggies you have ever seen and he is always testing new plants and gardening ideas. PLUS, he is a creative master in the kitchen.

What’s even better is that he shares his garden experiences and his mastery in the kitchen with all of us. Whether it is via his television shows (check out this listing for dates and times in your area.)

Or through his wonderful books, digital publications and you tube videos. Take advantage of all of these easy-to-use resources to be a master in your kitchen, especially if you are like me and spend most of your extra time in the garden and need all the tips and tricks in the kitchen you can get.

Follow Allen’s Garden Home Facebook page here for regular updates on what he’s cooking up in the kitchen and what’s going on in the garden.

SOMETHING NEW AND DEEEELISH

Don’t miss Allen’s most recent video for a Squash & Zucchini Casserole with Quinoa … can you say, “healthy comfort food you can feel good about.” I can’t wait to make this one! Take a look here.

And, yes, I did find enough room in the herb garden for zucchini! 🙂

THIS WEEK IN MY GARDEN

Around here we are having rain every day and boy are things lush even though the blooms are surely taking a hit. I did manage to get some pretty pictures after one of the rain storms earlier in the week…

Coral Drift ... I first saw growing in P Allen's herb garden and just had to have! — Coral Drift … I first saw this rose growing in P Allen’s herb garden and just had to have!

Poseidon Floribunda from the Simply Brilliant collection from Certified Roses. Check out their roses here.

The healthy blooming machine … Amber Carpet Rose.

Another shot of Poseidon. I can’t get enough of this rose!

Etoile des Violette clematis … perfect paring with New Dawn Rose.

Have a fun week in the garden! And…

HAPPY BLOOM THYME FRIDAY!

Container Gardening: From Ordinary to Extraordinary

June 23, 2012April 27, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I love growing in containers. I grow everything from tomatoes and herbs to exotic flowers and shrubs. Each year it is fun to decide what containers to use and what plants to try.

Through the years I have turned just about everything into a container for plants. Sometimes I find something unusual and the container is more important than the plant. But, most of the time my containers are ordinary and it’s the plants that make them special.

However, there is one container that I use every year that is very special to me, this little metal water pitcher that is filled with lemon mint…

This pitcher belonged to my grandmother … the same grandmother who went to see her doctor when she was in her 80s and asked the doctor to give her a pill that would make her feel strong enough to hoe in the garden. This little pitcher was a part of her everyday, ordinary life. To me it is completely extraordinary in the memories that it holds!

I am told she had the greenest of thumbs and could grow anything. And, you can be sure that I love it when other family members say, “You remind me of your grandmother, Mammy!”

Here are some containers in my garden and even a picture of me taken a few years ago dressed in one of Mammy’s dresses, holding her water pitcher…

My favorite plants to use in containers…

Tomatoes (Because I am obsessed)
Chile Peppers
Roses
Mint (…Because I love it and use a lot of it BUT it will take over if you plant in ground!)
Most used cooking herbs
Nasturtiums (Planted around my tomatoes)
Dorotheanthus Mezoo (Big name but excellent trailing plant)
Lantana (Hummingbirds & butterflies love)
Wave Petunias (’cause they can take the heat)
Geraniums
Coleus
Ferns
Gardenias
Succulents

For more on container gardening, click here.

What do you grow in containers?

You might also enjoy these family stories…

Memories of My Mom…

My Dad the Sailor…

Bloom Thyme Friday: Minty Fresh

August 5, 2011April 4, 2014 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I have heard it said that once you start growing mint, it’s difficult to stop. There are a couple of reasons for this … you will become addicted to the fragrance and yummy flavoring it provides and the other reason is that it is a true overachiever in the garden–sending out runners in every direction. I find it is best to keep mint in a pot. You won’t love it if it takes over your garden!

Since I garden in Zone 5 and put my mints in pots, I over winter them in my potting shed. They don’t get enough light to flourish but enough to survive.

One mint in particular gets my utmost attention in the winter … the Apple Mint. This mint was the last garden gift from my mother before she passed away more than 20 years ago. The Apple Mint has survived almost 25 winters. I have several pots going … just to be sure. I would be devastated if I lost it. Few things make me feel closer to my mom.

I am not the only one that puts a high price on mint–Luke 11:42 says … for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs.

Mint has long been regarded as a symbol of hospitality, the Romans would strew it around at feasts and banquets as a welcoming sign to guests.

I use lots of mint when guests come too … especially in my “famous” lemonade (click for recipe). In fact, we hardly ever have a drink in the summer that doesn’t have mint in it!

Currently I am growing these mints: