Rapturous Day in the Garden

Yesterday evening I was digging compost into my garden, turning the soil over and breaking up the clods. It was very quiet in the neighborhood, just birds chirping. The scent of the flowers from the lemon tree nearby were trailing through the air and the low sun was warm on my back. The baby corn seedlings were separated and waiting to be set into the rich soil of their new home. It occurred to me that I could very well have been transplanted to some kind of Heaven, this certainly must be what it would be like.

But this is my little garden, my own piece of Heaven that I get to enjoy everyday, no Rapture needed.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, March 2011

The fruit trees we planted a few years ago are really putting on a show right now, which I hope will translate into lots of fruit this summer! The best lookers are the donut peach and the Blenheim apricot. The bees are out in force.

Gotta do something about the aphids that appear on my hellebores about now. They've been getting them for a few years but it hasn't bothered me enough to get the spray bottle out. Hellebores are meant to be neglected right?

I'm loving this new Arctotis, curtesy of the Flora Grubb sale section; the Euphorbs are doing their thing in the parking strip; I forget the name of this Aloe, I think it might be a hybrid I picked up at the Ruth Bancroft Garden; I try to rip out the Geranium 'Bill Wallis' when I see it but I do like it combined with the Cal poppies right now.

I'm excited my Meyer lemon is putting out more flowers. Hopefully it is established enough now that I'll start getting lemons year-round now instead of just in winter. I let some leeks bloom and was surprised at the shape of the flowers - rather leek like! I need to bring in a bouquet of these yummy scented freesias.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!

Eating Local for the Holidays Challenge

I accepted the challenge by aHa! Modern Living's Jayme Jenkins to create a Thanksgiving meal using local ingredients from within a 100 mile radius. Well, I'll be honest, a lot of stuff I couldn't find locally (or was already in my cabinets and I wanted to use up that first) but I focused my efforts on the farmers markets and was able to get the majority of my ingredients within in my 100 mile target zone, some from my own backyard!

Here's what I found:

For appetizers - local cheeses and pears

Turkey - from California, but more than 100 miles away. I'll try to find closer sources next year.

Vegetables - Baked Leeks, from a friend's backyard

Glazed Multi-colored Carrots, found at farmers market

Sauteed Brussels with Apples and Hazelnuts, all from farmers market except hazelnuts, which were already in my cabinet, in leu of those I would have used local walnuts

Green Beans tossed with Walnuts, Dried Cherries and Shallot Vinaigrette, all local ingredients (minus some spices), my favorite recipe! I'll include it at the end.

Homegrown Tomatoes, ripened indoors

In addition we had Pumpkin Puree, Turkey Gravy and Creme Fraiche from Three Stone Hearth, a really amazing local Community Supported Kitchen.

Desert - Persimmon Pecan Tart with Creme Fraiche sprinkled with Candied Buddha Hand Citrus, all local or home grown ingredients, except the pecans, flour and sugar.

I am lucky to live where there are such bountiful farmers markets this time of year. I'm not sure what may be available to those in colder climates. While it's hard to have every ingredient be from within a 100 mile radius, it is fun to be aware of what can be had nearby, whether it is local meat, local nuts or even what can be stored from summer in your own root cellar. I'm planning on this being a new tradition to add to our holiday celebrations - a tradition that makes me thankful for the region I live in and what I can provide for my family and friends from my own garden. And I'm looking forward to cooking more local food for the upcoming holidays! What are your favorite local foods right now?

Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette from Bon Appetit:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup minced shallots

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup dried tart cherries

1 1/2 pounds trimmed slender green beans

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Whisk first 6 ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Mix in dried cherries; set aside. Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead. Bring to room temperature; rewhisk before using.

Fill a large bowl with water and ice; set aside. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl with ice water; cool. Drain.

Toss green beans, walnuts, and vinaigrette in a large bowl. Serve at room temperature.

Happy Holidays!

Orchard Year 2

Last year (Jan. 2009) I went a bit crazy for the fruit trees. I planted what can only be described as an orchard in my tiny backyard. I started off with a Blenhiem apricot, Flavor Queen pluot, Santa Rosa plum, Seckle pear, Comice pear and then just couldn't resist the Donut peach and Coffee Cake Persimmon. In pots I planted a Buddha Hand citrus, Kaffir lime and Kumquat. Most of them are crammed into 200 sq ft or so. I'll keep them pruned I thought. Let's just say I think my backyard will be quite shady in a few years.

Trees in general are really happy in my backyard. A year-round stream goes underground about a block away and then heads right through the back of my yard. Once plants get their roots down into the soil they seem delighted with the high moisture level. All the trees put on tremendous growth last year, even with two substantial prunings. The Donut peach even gave me a several lbs. of fruit last year. Have to say that I am totally impressed with that tree. Good crop the first year it is planted and an even better one coming along this year. In fact, I did the painful task of thinning the peaches recently. (Thin fruits so they are spaced every 3" or so.)



Not only will this help prevent branch breakage, it will give the fruit room to grow and allow them to get plenty of nutrients. There is only so much water and sugars a branch can move up to the fruit, too many and those nutrients will be spread too thin. A few leaves have had a bit of Peach Leaf Curl this year so I guess I'll need to spray it this winter.



Today I had to take out my Seckle pear though. It came down with a bad case of Fireblight. Bummer because it was setting several fruit this year. Just as the fruit started swelling, branch tips started turning black and wilting.



It is possible I could have saved the tree if I had cut it back hard right as soon as I noticed the blackening. But I just lightly cut the tips back and the next thing I knew the whole tree looked terrible. I probably spread it around when I cut it back too. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I looked up Seckles online and they don't seem to be particularly susceptible to fireblight but nor are they particularly resistant. Maybe next year I'll try one in another spot. Anyway, I'm taking out my Comice as well. The only reason I got it was that I read Seckles set more fruit with a cross-pollinator. I wasn't real thrilled to read about all the cold-storage requirements of the Comice though. Sounds like a pain to get the fruit to ripen. Plus I had to plant it in a spot that would eventually shade my Fig. So soon the Comice will be sent packing.

But today I was surprised to see two fruits swelling on my Apricot tree. I don't even remember it blooming.



Plus the Apricot was nearly girdled by my weed-wacker toting husband, a device he just got to edge our tiny lawn. I sternly warned him to keep that thing away from the trees but on its first outing he shredded the tender skin of the trunk to bits. The jury is still out on whether the tree will have long term issues because of it. It was his favorite tree of the bunch so hopefully he will be more careful in the future.

I fantasize about having enough land someday to have a real orchard so I can plant any kind of fruit and nut tree I could want. A girl can dream can't she?