Thanksgiving Preparations (November Bloomday)

Although it is still too early for an accurate extended weather forecast, I hope that at least part of Thanksgiving can be spent outside on the patio. Hubby and I are hosting approximately 12 this year for a potluck style dinner. Not only have we been planning out menus, grocery lists, and indoor and outdoor cleaning schedules, but we are proceeding through phase two of the renovation of our 1950s ranch. The master bath upgrade is underway; it has literally been unusable (we're talking holes in the ceiling, no electricity or water) for the past five years. Phase one of the renovation (everything else except the bathrooms) really tired us out and it took us this long to get motivated again. As well as the bathrooms, we had the exterior stucco repainted and the house numbers replaced. I love the modern colors - they bring this ranch into the twenty-first century!

With new paint, the curb appeal has vastly improved, and all we need to do in the front yard is some weeding and trimming. The new layer of mulch will help to lock in moisture (we'll hopefully run on rain water through early spring) and will minimize though not eliminate weeds. In the back yard, I have pruned the roses, mulched the flower beds, and trimmed the lavender and fuchsia. All I need to do now is clean up the patio furniture and I will have an restful outdoor room ready for Thanksgiving, far from the bustle of the kitchen. Crossing my fingers for good weather! Now, onto my next and most favorite task, making pumpkin bread!

Ornamental kale with mulch

Sweet peas are in, but I doubt I will have blooms by Solstice.

Yay! My second round of winter vegetables are poking through the soil!

Starting the soil amending process

Must cook something with the kale

What is missing? That ugly pole - this opens the vista beautifully!

Enjoy the Silence

One of my favorite places to relax, recharge, and seek inspiration is the Self Realization Fellowship Garden in Encinitas, CA. The garden overflows with tranquil beauty and multiple garden benches invite you to sit and behold the scenery. There are so many choices: watch the koi swim in the fish pond, revel in the jungle-like surroundings, view the brilliant succulents, or stare out to sea and watch the waves crash upon the shore. I like to write here and collect my thoughts. I do not shut my eyes to meditate, for I cannot shut my eyes for long in such a beautiful garden.

Stairway from lush jungle-like portion of garden to drier, succulent section

Aloe blooming against the backdrop of the Pacific. Succulents bloom from mid-winter to early spring.

Rich texture and color of lower lying succulents

Watching the surfers from the cliff's edge

Contrast of cliff, sand, and sea

 In a garden of gorgeous vistas, don't forget the lovely details!

Koi

Take a seat, be quiet, and rest.

Please keep in mind that this is religious center, and the Self Realization Fellowship generously allows public viewing. Please respect your hosts and the other guests by maintaining the quiet and meditative atmosphere as well as not disturbing the flora and fauna.

Hours: 9-5 Tuesday through Saturday, 11-5 Sunday, closed Mondays.

Directions: Take Santa Ana Freeway 5 south to Encinitas Blvd. (100 miles from Los Angeles). Turn right and go to Coast Highway 101. Turn left and continue to "I" Street, turn right. Drive one block and turn right onto Second Street. The Temple is on the right in the middle of the block.

Yes We Have No House Plants

The only indoor plants I grow are cat trees!

Since I have such great love and fascination for greenery, flowers, and vegetables, many of my friends ask me why I have no plants inside my home. I must sheepishly admit to having a black thumb when it comes to house plants. I forget to water them and I over water them. My perfectly situated garden gets the perfect amount of sun. The interior, however, not so much. The plants either get too much sun or not enough depending on where I place them. Its not like I can place them just anywhere, for I have to contend with the mischief of four playful (and often naughty) cats: Wingus, Dingus, Clingus, and Jingus.

Before adopting Wingus, I had a lovely spider plant that moved with me from apartment to apartment, then to our first home, a condo south of our current address. Once given the run of the condo, Wingus decided to make a snack of my poor plant. Thankfully, it was not poisonous. Three more cats and countless chewed petals, blooms, and leaves later convinced me that indoor plants were not a good idea. Besides, anything not nailed down or placed on a super high shelf just ended up broken on the floor anyway thanks to Dingus. Missing your keys, glasses, phone? Chances are Dingus knocked them off the counter, table, or other furniture and pushed it out of your eye's immediate gaze. I have contemplated hanging a fern from the ceiling, but thought better of it. The last thing I need is Dingus's 20 pound frame swinging from the rafters.

Why fight nature? Perhaps I could place intentionally cat friendly plants in the house for some extra greenery and texture. So, I planted some cat grass in a couple pots on the patio. Once they had gained a good five inches in height, I brought them in and placed them in a sunny spot by the sliding door. Clingus was immediately intrigued. But instead of a few bites, he ate the whole salad bowel! He barfed up a stringy mess - YUCK - and I banished the poor damaged plant to the safety of the outdoor elements.

Clingus demands catnip!

Ergo, no more plants. The kitteh hoards occasionally get some catnip when Hubby and I want to watch them go batshit crazy - always a good time! All joking aside, many household plants are very poisonous to cats, including but not limited to multiple kinds of lilies (including amaryllis and star gazers), begonias, cyclamen, hyacinth, and geraniums. For a full list of plants poisonous to cats and dogs, please go to the ASPCA website. Don't let that pretty flower kill your furry best friend!

Dingus attempts to break my camera.

Jingus in dreamland

Wingus sits on my gardening hat.

Basil and Arugula Pesto

With my sweet basil fading into the autumn and my arugula close to going to seed, I needed a recipe to incorporate and enjoy their deliciously pungent flavors. This is a variation of Mama Tomato's beloved pesto recipe, minus the pine nuts and parmesan cheese (making it vegan).

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of sweet basil leaves

1 and 1/2 cups of arugula (use young leaves and remove tougher leaf stems)

2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

6-8 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/8 teaspoon of cumin

Pinch of ground red pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in food processor. 

Serve on sliced bread or pasta.

We took the finished product to Mama and Papi Tomato's for dinner and it was a spicy addition to hearty minestrone soup. Hubby spread it on his bread (adding parmesan cheese of course) and drizzled it in his soup for an extra kick. Speaking of extra kick, I was worried that the pesto would be too spicy. It was spicy and strong, but wonderfully flavorful. I recommend for garlic and arugula lovers and adventurous foodies!

Arugula is on the right.

Spent basil

Tools of the trade

The final result!

Big Bad Bugs

Just as I thought the garden would descend quietly into winter, I took a look under the leaves, on woody stems, and in the nooks and crannies of the garden and found the dreaded pests! Those obnoxious eaters of garden vegetables, decimators of lovely limbs and beautiful flowers - they are everywhere it would seem! 

First, I noticed caterpillars in the butterfly garden. Now, this in itself is not a big concern. It is a butterfly bed, for crying out loud. So, I should expect (and hope for no less) some caterpillars to overwinter and gestate the designated spot I created for them. The are only holing up in my butterfly bush (how appropriate) and not eating any of my winter vegetables or annual and perennial flowers. This I can grudgingly accept, although I doubt the birds will extend them the same courtesy.

Next I noticed my blue hibiscus, normally so hardy and healthy, dropping yellow and brown leaves into my lavender. I peered deeper into the heart of the plant only to discover ugly, beetle-like, unmoving bugs covering the woody branches and trunk of the shrub. Quel horreur! It looked like these disgusting things were sucking the poor plant dry. Ants also covered the affected branches. I did my due diligence research and found them to be lecanium scale. I removed the damaged branches forcibly with my handy pruners and scraped the evil things off the trunk with a gloved hand. I will need to follow up with an insecticidal oil soap soon to root out any hangers on and prevent a re-infestation. 

Slugs are the bane of every gardener, especially the vegetable gardener. My defense so far has been no defense; I expect a few casualties now and again. It is the price to pay when you attempt (semi) organic gardening. I am debating trying out the beer trick; supposedly if you place a shallow dish of beer in your vegetable beds, the slugs will be attracted to it, then fall into the dish and die an inebriated (and hopefully happy) death. This sounds like an old wives tale to me, but I may have to try it. I am tired of them eating my Swiss chard (pictured), lettuces, cabbage, radishes, and flowers.

My poor roses are infected with orange rust yet again! Time to remove foliage and spray. I can complete a drastic prune as the season turns to winter, but I do not want to lose my gorgeous blooms until the plants go into semi-dormancy. This would not be such a problem if my infuriating neighbor took care of his roses - they keep re-infecting mine! Since the are growing onto my property, I will give them a good whack this weekend - Hah!

On a happier note, Hubby and I are endeavoring to continue cooking with ingredients from the garden. To that end, I have been researching new recipes to utilize what we have on-hand. Below is a cannellini bean soup made with home grown Swiss chard, basil, and sage. Delicious! 

Companion Plants for Roses (October Bloomday)

Roses are such a romantic addition to a garden; they remind me of a more genteel and gracious time. But the question becomes, what the heck can I plant along side them? Most tradition rose gardens are strictly roses, with no other ground covers, companion plants or other color around them. While allowing the roses to take center stage, this can create a stark effect in private gardens, especially during roses' dormant winter period.

I have discovered that the best plants to intersperse among the roses are hardy perennials and annuals that can take full sun to partly filtered shade. My favorite rose companions are the following:

1. Catmint - Not to be mistaken for catnip - they are in in the same mint family, but are entirely different species; catmint is a perennial ornamental while catnip is edible for humans and their feline companions. Catmint has mint-like leaves and has lovely purple flowers that attract beneficial bugs.
2. Nasturtiums - These annuals do well in the shadier parts of a rose bed. Seeds germinate without much attention other than watering and will continue to germinate year after year if you let them go to seed. They will need to be trimmed to keep them off the rose bushes. At the end of last spring, my nasturtiums were eaten by aphids, but I count my blessings the bugs did not attack the roses.
3. Pansies  - I love to mix warm and cool colors in my garden, and blue and purple pansies help provide the cool colors I love, especially in the cooler months. The do well in filtered sunlight as well. Keep in mind, they will last up to 2 seasons at the most.
4. Alyssum - Once established, this hardy annual does well in both cool and warm weather. These small, white (other colors available) flowers act as a ground cover and is another enticement to beneficial bugs. It does not create too thick of a ground cover, making it easy to remove rose debris such as petals and leaves from the rose bed.

A word of warning about placing edibles near roses - roses have a tendency to develop blights such as mildew and gold rust infestations and consequently, they will need to be sprayed to ensure their health. Chemical pesticide sprays and edible plants do not mix and for safety's sake, I recommend separating roses and edibles. I did plant lettuce in my rose bed last winter, but I was not able to eat the lettuce due to spraying my roses for orange rust. Orange rust spreads on the wind, so in the event of an infestation, keep the rose bed clear of rose debris, mainly infested leaves. I have trimmed back my companion plants to make this process easier. Companion plants should never grow so think around the rose bush that the rose bush is stifled. Airflow through the rose bush is necessary for good health. Be wary of over large and invasive root structures, since those can stifle the rose bush as well (all of the above plants have not invasive root systems).

Roses at the Inez Grant Parker Rose Garden in Balboa Park. Notice there are no companion plants.

My double delight roses back in April with nasturtium and alyssum.

Rose bed in September before clean up. Catmint is in the bottom right corner.

Rose beds in September after clean-up of dead leaves and fallen petals. New nasturtium growth and experiment in  planting annual dianthus & impatiens. Note the thinner ground cover; this makes it easier to remove rose debris.

Preserving the Pomegranate Harvest

Autumn is the end of one harvest (tomatoes) and the beginning of another: pomegranates! I thought they were fairly traditional autumn eats, but evidently they are harder to procure, sometimes even at a steep price. I pulled four fruits off my double tree to take as a hostess gift to Hubby's aunt as a thank you for hosting Rosh Hashanah.  Her eyes lit up in amazement and thanks, "How did you ever find them?" "Um, I grew them." 

Southern California is ideal for growing pomegranates. Once established, they tend to be hardy and prolific. Plant in full sun in soil with decent drainage. Although pomegranates are self-pollinating, many experts recommend planting two young trees together to ensure the mingling of male and female parts. I subscribe to this method, especially after such a prolific harvest! The two saplings will need to be staked together, fertilized and watered about once a week during the dry season.  I place mulch around the base of the tree to help maintain moisture and reduce the amount of watering needed to sustain the plants. I fertilize over time with a fertilizer stake - stake it and forget about it! The weight of branches and fruit tends to pull the tree down, so be prepared to remove fruit and lash branches to the support stake as needed. After the fall harvest (September - October), the leaves will turn from green to golden and will drop leaves as the air grows colder. Post-harvest is a good time to trim back and reshape the tree as desired. The tree will then remain dormant until spring. Do not trim the tree after it begins producing flowers in spring, for you will seriously reduce your autumn harvest!

Have you ever wondered why pomegranate juice is so incredibly expensive? In a word - extraction. Extracting juice from citrus and apples is so easy in comparison. But the pomegranate has a devious, permeating rind that intersects the entire fruit; it is a bitter pith that must be removed before the juice covered seeds can be pressed into tart culinary gold. After removing the pith, small fruit covered seeds need to be juiced rather than a whole piece of fruit. Consequently, making juice of the "blood stone" takes a long time, is tediously boring, and incredibly messy. Juicing this fruit is not for the faint of heart!

Cut the skin of the fruit as if you were quartering it. Do not cut through the fruit, only the skin!

Open the fruit under water in a large colander like a salad spinner.

Separate the pith from the fruit covered seeds. This is tedious and takes a very long time, hence the high price of juice.

Add the fruit covered seeds to your juicer. The juicer must have a very fine mesh filter to separate the seed from the fruit.

You can either store in a plastic container for further use or freeze in ice cube trays for later use.