Ample Harvest

The Garden Writers of America just published on their forum this interesting new organization. It's called Ample Harvest. They're connecting backyard gardeners nationwide with local food pantries. When you've got an abundance of produce - zucchini anyone? - you can donate it to a local food pantry who will give it to the needy.

My friends who work at our church's food pantry tell me that the number of people asking for help has increased. Makes sense, since as the economy soured, many of the local businesses around here have let people go - and there aren't many other jobs. The food pantry in your local community may also have more people showing up looking for help.

I have no personal experience with Ample Harvest, but I'm sure at some point I will have more vegetables and fruit here at Seven Oaks than my family can eat or that I can preserve.

Gary at Ample Harvest dropped me a note saying that right now they need FOOD PANTRIES to sign up. I know that many people who read my blog work with the poor and needy in their community. Some run food pantries, others belong to religious organizations who help the poor. If you'd like some food donated to your group to share with the poor - please go to Ample Harvest and sign up! Can't hurt and can only help.

Check out Ample Harvest at http://www.ampleharvest.org/

May Showers Also Bring Flowers

Thanks to all who sent me such kind notes. My readers are the best on the planet. Really. So are all my buddies on Facebook who actually read this stuff when it feeds over onto my notes page. I really appreciate your kind wishes and I know the people on my prayer list appreciate the prayers.

After 10 days without rain, we were SO happy to see those dark clouds piling up this weekend. It's been an intermittent, rain-like-crazy cloud burst followed by humid gloom few days, but the garden plants grew inches overnight. John and I walked the orchard today. He measures the baby trees against himself to see how they grew. Two pear tree shot up another few inches, and the apricot tree is over the top of its protective cage. Best of all, the tiny plums are growing bigger! I can almost taste them...yum...fresh plums!

I've been picking strawberries like mad and today noticed that all the plants have set runners. I hope I left enough room for them. Jack (John's dad who lives with us) made strawberry jello, which I hate, which is good because then I won't be tempted by the sugar. But he added sliced strawberries to it and there was enough left over (sans disgusting Jello) for a nice fresh snack for me.

The broccoli rabe has set seed for good, so I've got to pull it out. I've tried cutting it way down, hoping to get another crop of the stems and leaves. It's so delicious when you saute it with some butter and garlic. But it just grows flower stalks and sets seed. The spinach came roaring back after I froze about two gallons of the stuff last weekend, so I have a feeling I'll be back in the kitchen putting up more vegetables in the freezer.

The flower garden...oh I cannot stop looking at it. We planted wisteria against the woods and I can see them from my office. There will be a wall of purple flowers some day. Snapdragons hiding from last year are now peeking up over the evening primrose and along the pathway. In the butterfly garden, the Butterfly Weed and Monarda just burst into bloom. We've had brilliant yellow and blue butterflies when the rain stops, and lots of brown ones too. I squeezed in a lantana and hope it soars up into the giant bush I had last year; boy did the butterflies love it!

Today's photo is actually from the butterfly garden and shows off some beautiful nepeta (Cat Mint) and Salvia.

Blooming Time

It's been busy here, both in the office and in the garden!  I love working from home, but I do miss the intellectual stimulation of speaking with peers - I've been so blessed in my career to call some of the nation's most brilliant marketers my friends. The internet lets me connect with many, but there's something about those New York City lunch hours that's hard to replace over the internet (especially Indian food from those tiny cafeterias in the garment district...yum!)



So I thought today I would just share photos from the flower garden. Here's what's blooming right now. A feast for the eyes. The honeysuckle along the country lanes is blooming and the perfume hangs heavy in the air. My lavender is just about to bloom too. Between the honeysuckle, the roses and the lavender, if I could bottle the air around here I'd be rich!

The guys have been hard at work in the back of the house this week adding the patio. We are planning a big raised deck. There will be a sidewalk curving around to the garage. A new garden is going in between the sidewalk and the house. We're planning a water feature there but aren't sure yet what we want. John wants a more natural-looking water element, like a small waterfall and a tiny pond. I like that idea but I've always wanted a garden fountain. I think we are leaning more towards a small waterfall with a pond. At least with a pond, I can have a goldfish. Although out here - and with Pierre - I'd better make a screen to fit over the pond, or else I will be feeding all the raccoons!

The Garden Sleuth

Or: The Importance of Keeping a Gardening Journal

I love mystery and detective stories. And while I aspire to be Jane Marple or Hercule Poirot, I'm a bit more like Nancy Drew (on a good day) or Shaggy and Scooby-Do (when Shadow is with me).

Take the mysterious plants in my garden.

I have this gorgeous iris in the back of the flower garden. I planted three groups of iris last year in that spot, and two emerged, victorious. I know that the two are the same variety, for I bought two of the same and one different - and arranged them in the garden as A, B and A.

But for the life of me, I couldn't remember what "A" was called. And my little plant marker made from a recycled cake frosting can was wiped clean by the winter snows. So much for permanent markers. I think they only remain permanent when I accidentally draw on my white shirts with them.

Then I remembered. My gardening journal!

What a fancy name for a three ring binder stuffed with loose leaf and with seed packets and plant labels Scotch-taped onto the pages.

But there it was: Iris, Cherub's Smile!

Hooray!

And another clump of mystery plants identified: old fashioned Sweet William. I've never grown them before, completely forgotten I'd planted them, and the plant labels are again missing in action thanks to Shadow chasing her tennis ball and plowing right into the flower bed.

A garden journal doesn't have to be fancy or pretty. Mine sure isn't. But it sure is helpful.

You can:

• Tape the seed packets to a piece of paper and note the day planted, day harvested, or day bloomed. This can help your planning for next year.
• Keep track of wildlife sitings.
• Note unusual weather, such as early frosts or droughts
• Track fertilizing dates and types so you can see what works
• Note any pests you've encountered - and what you did to rid yourself of them
• and whatever else you fancy

So if you're not keeping a gardening journal, grab some paper, an old notebook, or whatever pleases you, and start one today. They really help.

I'm living proof!

Wildlife Update

When we first moved to rural southern Virginia after living our whole lives on Long Island, in the shadow of New York City, we expected a lot more wildlife than what we could see along the city streets. Our first year at Seven Oaks, the wildest things we saw were deer (constantly grazing in the yard and necessitating the cages around the fruit trees), wild turkeys, turkey vultures or buzzards, and one huge turtle that somehow decided using the orchard as a highway was a good idea.

We were really surprised by the lack of song birds, but this year, the song birds are here - an amazing array of brilliantly colored birds, with songs ranging from liquid trills to raucous cries.

We think what happened is that it took a while for the birds to find our nice, three acre clearing. For at least the last 20 years, our land was entirely loblolly pine. Without the diversity of tree species, many common birds won't nest or feed. Seed eaters can't find much and neither can the insect eaters. We think it took the birds a while to find our area and move in.

Now that the clearing has been here for two years, and we have nice, lush grass and clover, birds are more attracted. The new vegetable garden is a big hit with the song birds too. The bluebirds love to perch on the tops of the fences and sing, and we watched the female bluebird soar in and out of the vegetable garden with various worms and things in her beak. I have seen indigo buntings along the driveway, too.

It sounds as if somewhere in the woods close by, we have a nest of hawks or other raptors. Their cries are unmistakable, and the silences, followed by several voices in chorus, makes me think that Mom and Dad raptor are busy feeding their young.

Lastly, we've got reptiles - oh boy, do we have reptiles! Aside from the black snake I ran into on trail a few weeks ago, we had a huge one in our driveway. Thank goodness it just slithered off into the woods. Pierre caught a blue-tailed lizard or salamander last week and brought it right to me while I was watering the plants. John managed to release it back into the grass, but it promptly ran under the porch. Pierre refused to give up his vigil, his nose pressed against the screen that keeps larger animals from burrowing under the porch. I had to bodily haul him back into the house when play time was over.

We have this lizard friend pictured at the top of today's post living in the pile of slates we bought for the flower garden paths. The pallets are still sitting next to the driveway, since we can never find time to finish the paths.

I think this lizard is Sceleporous undulatus, or the Eastern fence lizard. The Virginia Herpetologic Society (a group of folks who study lizard species here) has information on this guy here.

Like our owls, he's one of the most common lizards in Virginia. But he sure is fun. Every day, he sits on the rocks and suns himself. He let me sneak up and snap this photo of him. We're starting to think of him like a pet. We need a name for him! He has such a round belly for a lizard. He doesn't seem the least bit afraid of us, either. I have to be careful not to let Pierre near him.

And although I will probably write a separate entry on Friday about my peonies, I just had to share these photos with you. I planted the roots in fall 2007, had greenery last year, and this year - amazing flowers. Since it can take 3-5 years for peonies to get started, I am thrilled with them. The white is supposed to be Festiva Maxima but it lacks the telltale pink on the petal tips, and the pink is one called Sorbet. I have a dwarf variety and a President Taft peony in the island bed in the lawn; the President Taft peony will bloom this year too. Enjoy!

Greens Anyone?

I ran outside to harvest my broccoli rabe this morning before the rain starts. I'm making a warm broccoli rabe, potato and garlic salad for tonight's dinner to accompany the roast chicken. I rinsed a huge bowl of the stuff but still have tons more outside.

Here are photos of the greens bed in the vegetable garden, taken just about a week apart. It's amazing how fast things grow once spring arrives!

May 2....................................May 10!















I love green, leafy vegetables. I write a lot about vegetarian and raw food diets and I always include articles on eating greens.

Burbank Plum

Our Burbank Plum tree has set fruit! This is only its second year in the garden. We bought it as a three-foot tall whips (stick-like baby trees) from the Arbor Day Society.

The Burbank Plum (Prunus salicina) is a no-fuss plum tree that bears reddish-purple fruit with a bit of yellow in the skin. It's supposed to grow 10 to 35 feet tall.



According to the Arbor Day Society website, it prefers "non alkaline, sandy loam soils" which is exactly what we've got. Luther Burbank developed it in 1883 from Chinese and Japanese plums.

We planted two Methly plums nearby, and the pollinating flies were going crazy on the white blossoms. Looks like they did their job. The little plums look like olives.





These are pictures from our orchard. We have about half an acre planted with thirty fruit trees. The plums and apricots are doing the best. The cherry trees look the worst. The cages aren't to keep the trees in - they aren't that badly behaved - but to keep deer and other critters out.





We were told that it would take 5-7 years from the time we planted the immature trees until we harvested some fruit. It looks like these plums must REALLY like it here!

Garden Update

The rains finally came, and the garden is watered. It's a good gardening rain too - the kind that stops and starts, giving the earth time to soak up the rainfall, pause, then take another drink.

Because of the rains, we haven't worked outside since Saturday. The first draft of my gardening book for beginners went to two writer friends yesterday to critique, and also to one of my former editors who's agreed to edit it. I am very thankful for everyone's time and feedback before it is published later this month!

All of the tomato plants are in and most of the peppers. I was hoping to hide from hubby how many pepper seedlings I had (I admit, I went a little nuts this year planting them and I have yet another flat sort of hidden in the basement, if you can hide something under grow lights) but he immediately saw how many there were. I reassured him we can freeze the peppers and he looked relieved. Actually, there's nothing that conjures memories of the garden like taking a bag of homegrown peppers out of the freezer on a cold January night to make pepper steak or stir fry.

So the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, acorn squash, spaghetti squash and cucumber plants are in. I planted sweet corn seeds and watermelon seeds. I've also put in two cantaloupe plants. The herbs too are all in, except for the peppermint, which needs a bit more time in the house. I've got tons of basil, cinnamon basil, dill, chives, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley, lavender, thyme, and calendula all over the garden. I like to plant herbs all around the vegetables.

And lastly, the big news from the weekend working in the vegetable garden: the blueberry bushes LIVE! I was going to pull them out of the fruit garden to make room for more cantaloupes, but suddenly I spied new leaves growing from the brown stem. Hurray! I left both bushes in the fruit bed, hoping they will both make a return.

The carrots, turnips, and beets are all thriving, and yesterday I harvested my first fresh salad right from the garden. Lettuce, spinach, and rashes went right from the garden to the sink to my salad bowl. The spinach was melt-in-your mouth good, not a hint of bitterness like store bought spinach.

I'd better start eating more salads. Yesterday we took both pets to the vet for their annual checkups. And while both got clean bills of health and we got some nice praise from Dr. Gates for our well cared for pets, little Pierre is no longer little Pierre. That darn cat is now 15 pounds! So he's on a diet, and Shadow has to watch her waistline too. Now it's me, Shadow AND Pierre all on diets.

So more salad and bike riding for me...and a little cutback in the crunchies for kitty....and no more cookies for Shadow.

Ode to an Iris

Here she is. My iris.

Blooming officially May 2. In New York, her blooming date was around Father's Day, so my guess is about right...we are about one month ahead of the season on Long Island.

This iris traveled from Huntington, Long Island, New York in a plastic bag with a little dirt in November of 2007 when my father in law sold his home and moved in with us. We planted it along the driveway before the garden was planned. I just stuck it in the dirt and hoped for the best. Last year we had a lot of green and one flower or two. This year, she's a mass of thick blossoms.

My father in law can't remember where he bought it, or when. "Oh, years ago," he says with a shrug.

We got a few blooms from it on Long Island. It had a coveted spot of sunshine in a little square bed on the lawn that houses my iris and the daylilies.

In Virginia...it is thriving. It is just soaring. It seems to love its hot, sunny location.

Irises LOVE this part of southern Virginia. I have never seen so many irises since moving here. All along the back country roads you see huge patches of thick iris growing at the ends of driveways, along farm lanes. Everyone's got an iris or two. You can even find ads in the newspaper from people who divided their iris and have plants to give away - they have so many, they run classified ads to give their plants new homes!

Our town, Prospect, is a ghost of its former self, with many of the old Main Street buildings boarded up or turned into apartments. There are a few large Victorian or turn of the century houses along where the old railway line used to be. I drive through Prospect on my way to church on Sundays just to look at the irises. At the corners, along the front lawn, edging the railway side of the street are enormous clumps of iris, some measuring three or more feet in diameter. Most of the irises are white, but you will see some blues and purples among them. How long they have been growing is anyone's guess, but some are clearly decades old.

One of my goals for the garden is to plant one or more irises every fall. I hope to build a collection along the edge of the woods...and knowing how iris seem to love Virginia, I believe that one day I'll have some real show-stopping clusters too.

If anyone has a guess as to which variety of iris this is - especially given the strong grape-soda pop smell of the flowers - let me know PLEASE. I would love to add more.

Here's to iris!