Late Azaleas

As always, my azaleas start to bloom after everyone else’s have faded. It’s a mystery to me and all my neighbors who stop by to look at my front yard’s garden.

I’ve added some ice-plants and marigolds to the heart garden in front. The blooms for both are yellow but I’m experimenting with adding some touches of yellow since the irises growing in the heart garden turned out to be yellow irises. The daffy also have a yellow center. Hmmm, pink, white and yellow – I hope it works or else there will be major overhaul of that flowerbed.

And the winner is….

Me!  I actually won the door prize from one of the booth’s at the LSU Garden Show. My mom & I had purchased some begonias from the Burden Center’s booth and the lady gave us some raffle tickets for a garden bag with some goodies inside. To tell the truth, I didn’t even look at the since I never win any of door prizes usually. I even jokingly told the lady I preferred a plant to a garden bag. What a surprise to receive a call from the Burden Center telling me I had won!!! Imagine my excitement when I went to pick up the prize. It was filled with amazing ergonomic garden hand tools. What a wonderful prize! Here’s a picture of the bag with matching umbrella, garden flag, and garden tools:

1st Tomato of 2011

The 1st tomato of the season naturally is the red tumbler of the hanging basket. I plucked it from the hanging basket and onto a plate. With a little salt and pepper, it was a delish and savory bite of tomato goodness. I look forward to more cherry tomatoes to come until my other tomato plants come into it’s own ripeness.

Somehow, it looks almost artistic on the plate. 

Baton Rouge Orchid Show

Last Saturday, it was a trip to the BR Orchid Show with Mom & Dad. There were some amazing displays. Naturally, some orchids came home with me. Dad’s pic was taken and published in the Sunday Advocate!

Back & Forward

Time just slips by so easily. Again, life takes over and one realizes that all those pictures of your garden has gone unposted! Does one go back and post them or move on? I have chosen to move forward with some quick flashbacks for everyone’s perusal . LOL. Too lazy to back post; anyways I’d never catch up!

There are Plant shows galore around this season. Of course the LSU Garden show on March 26th was a must visit. I bought a chocolate bell pepper, Mexican bell pepper, mole pepper, habenero pepper, sugar snack cherry tomato, sweet baby girl cherry tomato, patio tomato, Mortgage Lifter tomato plant, red tumbler in a basket, a cold hardy kiwi, 2 female & 1 male kiwi (the brown kind you buy in stores), hibiscus, double blossom begonia in a basket, 2 fairytale eggplants & a sage. I totally went to town.

My New Back Porch – Phase I Complete

Phase I of my new back porch is finished!  Phase II will have to be put on hold for a while due to the intense summer heat but I love what I have.  I’ve planted two hardy kiwi plants (hopefully 1 male & 1 female) and a Baronne Provost climbing rose to climb up the lattice on the side of the porch with some nice Vietnamese Perilla and a Stevia plant in the planter The Sushiman made for me.

Cilantro Flowers to Coriander Seeds

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is a funny plant.   The plant itself is called cilantro but it’s seeds are called coriander.  This annual herb grows best in cool spring weather around 50s and 60s.   When temps reach the 70s, cilantro tends to start to go to seed.   I love to use the leaves for cooking and garnishing.  Lately, I have been using fresh coriander seeds as a garnish for various dishes.  The seeds have a fresh herby taste vs. the nutty taste of dried coriander.  Many trendy gourmet restaurants have added fresh coriander seeds to their dishes as a garnish, also.   It’s a bit tedious to pick out the seeds one by one but worthwhile for the final dish.  The flowers are also edible.

Mighty Mints

Once upon a time in a land called the Kitchen Garden, three small Spearmint plants moved into a  3′ x 4′ plot.  There was plenty of land for everyone and they grew up happily.  The owner of the land was told by everyone to plant them in pots so the Spearmints would not take over the entire garden but the Spearmints seemed harmless and there seemed to be enough land for everyone.   As time went by, the Spearmints filled up their plot of land and began to move entire families into the neighboring plots of land.  They seemed intent on conquering the entire Kitchen Garden!  The owner objected to this and began to evict them from the neighboring plots of land but was kind enough to find new homes for them.   And away the young families of the Spearmints went to their new homes.  Meanwhile, new families of the Spearmints continued to try to expand but the owner continues to insist that the Spearmints remain within their boundaries.  Lately, the owner have found a Chocolate Mint and an Apple Mint who wanted to move in.  Having learned her lesson, the owner has graciously allowed them to move into two beautiful condo apartments, i.e. the hanging pots.

The Spearmints (2) Chocolate Mint (2) Apple Mint (2)

Dancing With The Dragonflies

This past weekend, I discovered dozens upon dozens of dragonflies visiting my garden.  I haven’t seen so many dragonflies since I was a child (I won’t say how long ago that was…).   These are welcome visitors since I am hoping they will cut down on the mosquito population in my backyard.  These were quite young dragonflies so I am assuming they just emerged from the larval stage.  It looked a dragonfly festival in my backyard with the swirling and flying dragonflies in the air.  My camera was not able to capture motion photos but I did catch a few that weren’t too shy to pose for the camera.

Search for the Culinary Sages

The culinary sage is another essential herb for the kitchen/herb garden.  Would your Thanksgiving turkey or stuffing be the same without this quaint herb?  Many would say nay.  I have grown the common sage (Salvia officinalis) every year from seed.  It is quite easy to grow in the ground or in containers.   The silver leaves make a nice border or accent plant in the flower garden, also.  But, my search for sages continues on….

While wandering through a local nursery, I found two new sages – Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Honeydew Melon Sage (Salvia elegans ‘Honey Melon’). I’ve read about the Pineapple Sage in other people’s garden blogs but have never heard of the Honeydew Melon Sage.   Needless to say, I snatched both of them up, along with an Apple Mint that I have been lusting for since my sister bought one last year.  The cutting she gave me never rooted and was a lost cause.

Honeydew Melon Sage will start to flower in May while the Pineapple Sage will begin in the fall.  They are both great hummingbird attractors.   Their leaves and flowers are edible and can be used in herbal teas, too.    The fragrance of these plants are amazing and the fuzzy leaves are fun to rub between your fingers.   I’ve planted both sages next to the Confederate Jessamine by the  swinging chair so I can swing and enjoy the mingled scent of jasmine, pineapple and honeydew – – tropical delight.

Honeydew Melon Sage:

Pineapple Sage: