Lemon Verbena Lady's Herb Garden

Tree Decorating 101 by the Cats!

2009-12-09T10:33:00.011-05:00

As most of you know who read this blog on a regular basis, I am allergic to cats. Cats seem to follow us everywhere we travel. This cat was Spanish! So in this holiday season, I will share with you what our friend in Florida passed along to me. This is the link. Enjoy!

A Christmas Ladybug!

2009-12-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

We were in the kitchen fixing dinner the other night and we had some company. This ladybug joined us on the counter and was really at home racing around the counter. We had to be careful not to put a bowl or plate on top of it! I think it is a native species which I learned through the Lost Ladybug Project! I'm going to send photos in to them and see what they have to say.

Teasel Teddy Bear Ornament!

2009-12-07T15:06:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't updated that project from last year. I'll get to it eventually! I promise! It's on my list. This is a very cute project and hopefully, you have some teasels in a field near you. Here is a bear in pieces.

This photo is kind of dark, but hopefully you get the idea.

Teasel Teddy Bear

Here is the material list:

6 teasels: 3" long for body; 1-1/2" long for head; 1-1/2" long for arms; 2" long for legs; 2 tiny teasels (or briers) for ears; 3 peppercorns for eyes and nose, ribbon, wire for hanging and dried material for bouquet and glue gun. You will need protective gloves! These things hurt!

Directions:

1. Lightly trim off top spikes of all teasels except ears. Cut off all stems of teasels. Blunt end of teasel body in seat of bear.

2. Trim 1" indentation on side of each leg and arm teasel at blunt end to fit to appropriately trimmed 1" indentation on body.

3. Glue on legs and arms and hold to set glue. Trim indentation on head for neck and ears. Glue head to body, ears to head. Add the eyes and the nose.

4. After dried, loop wire around head and body and make loop to hang on tree.

5. Make bow and glue to front of bear and make a bouquet of dried flowers or a bowl from an acorn top and dried flowers and glue to arm or arms of bear.

Hope you have some extra time to make one of these charming characters!

Cinnamon Spice Ornaments!

2009-12-06T16:26:00.000-05:00

I got these two cute cinnamon spice ornaments the other night at the master gardener holiday gala! Cindy who blogs at Texas Tufa and A Daily Life asked for the recipe earlier. So here it is:

Cinnamon Spice Ornaments

Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes or 1-2 days air drying
Recipe makes 12-15 ornaments

3/4 cup applesauce
1-4.12 oz. bottle ground cinnamon
(You can substitute a portion of the cinnamon with ground ginger,
allspice, ground cloves, etc.)
1-2 Tbs. white glue to start

cookie cutters
cookie sheet (use an old one that you won't use for food again)
drinking straw
ribbon or string
plastic wrap
rolling pin
parchment paper to line cookie sheets
disposable gloves

1. Mix applesauce and white glue with spices to form a stiff dough. (Don't add all of the glue at once. Drizzle a little glue at a time until dough reaches right consistency, not too wet, or crumbly.)

2. Place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. With rolling pin flatten dough to 1/4" thickness. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and cut dough with cookie cutters. Move ornament to cookie sheet with a spatula. Cut holes for ribbon with the drinking straw. Bake at 200 degrees until ornaments slightly darken, about 40 minutes; place on rack to cool. You can also air dry for 1-2 days; turn ornaments occasionally to prevent warping! NOT EDIBLE!

We had a cookie table the other night for dessert and someone thought extra unwrapped ornaments were cookies! Not good! They may look good enough to eat, but don't do it! Hope you can make some for the holidays!

The Great Seed Experiment--Part II

2009-12-06T13:36:00.000-05:00

Putting the soil into the Propagator.

Planting the garlic chive seeds.

Putting on the green and red plastic on the lid.

The Great Seed Experiment is ready to begin! The question is what does red, green and white light have on the growth of seeds? Hopefully, my friend will have her answer soon! We will let you know.

The Great Seed Experiment Begins!

2009-12-05T20:49:00.000-05:00

We are getting ready for my best friend's daughter to come and start her science project. We have a great helper called the "Propagator." She is going to plant Allium tuberosum or garlic chive seeds. Hopefully, they will germinate faster because of the Propagator!

Fortunately I cut these garlic chive flowerheads down and put them in a bag to save them. They will self-sow rampantly if you let them. I have some that I haven't cut so I will be digging out the seedlings in the coming year! I couldn't download my photos from this afternoon. I'll update this post tomorrow hopefully!

OMG! It's the MGHG! (UPDATED)

2009-12-04T15:01:00.003-05:00

I guess you may have known a translation for the first part of my title. The second part is the Master Gardener Holiday Gala is tonight! Here is my cookie selection. I have so much fresh lemon verbena at the moment that I made lemon basil cookies, what else lemon verbena cookies! Here is the original recipe from Foods & Flavors from the Fairfield Herb Society Vol. II:

Lemon Basil Cookies

1/4 c. butter
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I used light)
1 egg yolk
1 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. grated lemon peel
1 box lemon cake mix
1 1/4 c. raisins or currants (I would reduce the amount to 1/2 c. or 3/4 c.)
1/4 c. shredded coconut
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 T. dried basil or 3 T. fresh, chopped fine (I used 3 T. fresh lemon verbena. I would not use dried lemon verbena. It gives it a different taste.)

Cream butter, cheese, egg yolk, and lemon juice until well blended and very fluffy. Blend in cake mix, 1/3 at a time, mixing last portion by hand. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by level tablespoons onto greased baking sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. (15 minutes was more than enough in my oven.) Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I liked the way these cookies taste (It's lemon verbena come on, who doesn't like lemon verbena.), but I'm interested to make them with dried or fresh basil and less raisins. I'll let you know how they turn out. The Herbal Husband is happy with the leftover cookies. Remember to order a herb cookbook from a local herb group or herb unit of The Herb Society. It would make a great Christmas gift!

I got the little fox ornament as my gift this year made of brushes. It is very sweet. The other two Christmas items are cinnamon ornaments. I will share the recipe with you this week some time. We had a good crowd and it is always fun to catch up with my gardening friends.

Gardening Pickup Sticks!

2009-12-03T14:35:00.001-05:00

I'm not getting the time I need to blog. So you will just have to wait for my update on last year's project! When we moved the kids around yesterday, we had to sort out the gardening sticks. I know, I know. I just remember playing pickup sticks for hours when I was young! If you store items correctly now, you don't have to worry in the spring when you are trying to get plants staked and can't find the right size stake. OK, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Stay tuned for my update! Hope you are staying warm or cool wherever you may be!

I Got Sidetracked! Are The Plants All Going to Fit?

2009-12-02T14:45:00.002-05:00

Well, you are just going to have to wait for my update from last year. We had to move the kids around inside the basement and garage so The Herbal Husband's car could fit in the garage! This is the night blooming jasmine and it should have lost its leaves by now! It would have been great if it were blooming! Doesn't have enough light. All the plants did fit! It is amazing to me that they always do and we always seem to have more to put inside! Probably not so good! The scented geraniums, lavender and rosemary are all in the garage. A very good thing! I finally got through! Whoo hoo! So the Several Days of Christmas may be continue tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Several Days of Christmas!

2009-12-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

Not doing the 12 days nor 24, but just a few to maybe get you and me enthused about Christmas or whatever holiday you may celebrate. We used to go all out, tree, party and decorating. When I lived in an apartment, the tree had to be cut down to fit! So hopefully in the next several days, I will inspire both you and I (or is it me?) to decorate and enjoy this season to be with loved ones and friends and family. This first item is a scrapbook that was put together over 20 years by a favorite herbal author of mine and one you all should know by now, Bertha Reppert. The Rosemary House has been in business over 40 years and, you can still buy this scrapbook if you are interested. It is jammed packed with herbal recipes, herbal decorating and herbal tips to get in the holiday mood. It would make a great Christmas gift for that special friend or family member. Ho! Ho! Ho! There is an update on a Christmas project from last year you don't want to miss tomorrow!

Winners in the Garden!

2009-11-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

We go from winners of herbal books to beets and one lone carrot! The Herbal Husband was out in the garden harvesting before we get snow later this week! I think we had a pretty good harvest this year. They are already cooked and ready to go for salad. Now we don't have our own tomatoes or lettuce!! Always works that way! We will savor every bite of these lovely vegetables! Hope you are still enjoying harvests of your vegetables wherever you may be!

And The Winners Are!

2009-11-29T22:33:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Bertha Reppert book, A Heritage of Herbs is....

and the winner of the Culinary Herbs and Condiments book is. . .

I will be getting in touch with both of you shortly to get your addresses. I just want to thank all of you for participating. I love writing this blog and all of your kind words is the greatest blessing to me.

Thanksgiving Clouds!

2009-11-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

Here in western Pennsylvania, we are coming into our gray period, winter. So on Thanksgiving while the turkey was roasting in the oven, the clouds were on the move! We actually had some blue sky that day. We cherish blue sky and sun in the wintertime! Hope you are enjoying blue sky and sun wherever you may be!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE HERBAL BOOK GIVEAWAY POSTED ON NOVEMBER 21, 2009! WE'LL BE DRAWING THE WINNERS TONIGHT!

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

2009-11-28T13:55:00.001-05:00

This was early Thanksgiving day when the pecan pie had just come out of the oven. Here is my post with my favorite recipe to use your leftover turkey. Hope you enjoy it! DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE HERBAL BOOK GIVEAWAY POSTED ON NOVEMBER 21, 2009! WE'LL BE DRAWING THE WINNERS TOMORROW!

Trying to be Invisible!

2009-11-27T11:57:00.005-05:00

The peanut caddy and suet are back on the Japanese maple. The Thanksgiving feast was enjoyed by bluejays, cardinals, a woodpecker, a crow (He waits below for a bluejay to throw him a peanut. I know I would not have believed it, but I have seen it.) and, of course, the gray squirrel. Click on the picture to get a better view! We need to get a bird cam so that you can see them all in action. They fly when I come outside to take picutres. I have tried through the window and it is not the same. Hope you all are stuffed with good food and stories from family and friends. We had a great day! DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE HERBAL BOOK GIVEAWAY POSTED ON NOVEMBER 21, 2009! WE'LL BE DRAWING THE WINNERS IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!

The Christmas Cactus Says "Happy Thanksgiving!"

2009-11-26T00:13:00.000-05:00

Once again our Christmas cactus is confused and blooming early! Natural decor for the Thanksgiving table! Such a beautiful bloom! Can I get one more exclamation point in this story? I guess I can! The Herbal Husband and I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving! Will talk to you later. Have to go check on the defrosting of the turkey!

Our High Wire Artist!

2009-11-25T11:02:00.001-05:00

Around this time each year, we have an interesting visitor. I wrote about it last year. I said it is in disguise! It's the black squirrel. We have all types of squirrels, gray, red and this black one. I'm always amazed that the animals know how to use those wires to their advantage! Well, the turkey is thawing in the refrigerator, but still hard as a dented bowling ball! It will be taking a swim in the pool tomorrow to finish its thaw!

An Herbal Lightbulb Moment-Mexican Mint Marigold in Tea Blends!

2009-11-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

Had an herbal lightbulb moment while I was exercising this afternoon. The Flower Lady and I have been having a discussion about tarragon and tea. Well, Flower Lady, I came up with the option for you if you want a tarragon flavor in your tea blend, it is Mexican mint marigold or Tagetes lucida. It dries very well and I used it in my first tea blend! Duh! I used it as a highlight. Sometimes I have so much information in my brain, I can't see the herbs for the trees! Mexican mint marigold is grown by folks in the south who can't necessarily grow tarragon. I think it is also easilly grown from seed if you can't find the plant. I don't always have enough space or time to grow the seeds and I can't always find the plant in western Pennsylvania. It is becoming more available in our area. Also I wanted to show you the photo of the book I use as a jumping off point for my tea blends.

Is It Really November?

2009-11-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

I do remember picking raspberries into November other years, but this is ridiculous! We were working in the back 40 yesterday and we found these beauties. They were savored in our fruit salad this morning! Delish! A mostly unusual season, but it has its perks, doesn't it?

Another Honeycomb of Tea! (UPDATED)

2009-11-23T12:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I was busy again over the weekend. I did not get much dried herbwise this season. Sooo I'm taking what I dried last season and I am making tea bags. Lemon Verbena Lady Blend II is made up of lemon verbena mostly, a little orange peel, orange mint and rose geranium. I had some last night and mostly got lemon verbena and rose geranium in the flavor. I'm going to have a second brew this afternoon or later this evening and maybe I'll have a different opinion. I'll let you know. UPDATE: I did have a second brew of the first tea bag and my opinion hasn't changed, mostly lemon verbena (a favorite) and rose geranium and the first time around there was a hint of orange mint. Because I have GERD (reflux disease) I shouldn't have too much mint! Mint and herbs are forever connected. It makes it tough when you want some in your tea blends. So I use one herb as a foundation and a couple of other herbs as extras or highlights.

Came Up With A Name For The Cat!

2009-11-22T13:11:00.000-05:00

This is our cat for the moment. It resides somewhere around our garden. It is here most every day. Sometimes chasing birds. The Herbal Husband does not like that. The other day I drove down the driveway and it was stalking a squirrel! The squirrel escaped up into the dogwood tree and flipped its tail at the cat! Like take that! It was funny. So the moles, voles, mices and other vermins, including a few chipmunks are under control. Which is a good thing! Oh, my name for the cat is Kitty. Can't get too attached with that name. Made some more tea bags yesterday. Will share them with you tomorrow.

An Herbal Book Giveaway!

2009-11-21T12:19:00.007-05:00

Just in time for the holidays, I'm giving away a couple of herb books. Actually this first book I bought in the early 1990's, but it was first written by Bertha Reppert in 1976. The bottom description on the cover reads: "Includes step-by-step instructions on herb gardening, over 75 modernized antique recipes, a how-to list of 50 useful herbs and summaries of over 230 native herbs." Some of the chapters include: "The Herbs The Colonists Found Here", "Early American Gardens", "Colonial Herb Gardens", "Heritage of Herb Gardening and Recipes", "Today's Public Herb Gardens" and "Garden Herbs at a Glance." This book was won on one of the fabulous bus trips of The Rosemary House. It is a reprint of the 1976 original.

The other book is a Dover reprint of a 1934 edition of Maude Grieve's book Culinary Herbs & Condiments. It has three different parts, "Part I-- Sweet or Culinary Herbs--Their Cultivation and Propagation--Plant List", "Part II--Herb Beers, Wines, Liqueurs, and Teas" and "Part III--Condiments, Etc. It will be a great addition to any herbal library.

Please post a comment on this post. This contest is open to everyone. One entry per person. Please note which book you are interested in and give me your contact information. The winners will be drawn at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, November 29, 2009. GOOD LUCK!

The Season of Giving!

2009-11-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is present time. In this house, we look forward to figs around this time of year. An early holiday present. Nothing like a fig warmed by the sun! This brown fig has no leaves, but it is still giving figs! My favorite! It was even holding on to the figs while we were visiting the beach! I think this particular tree has given about 30 figs this year. Not a record I'm told by The Herbal Husband, but still pretty good, I think. Hope you are able to have fresh figs in your life. It is a deliciously wonderful fruit. The season of giving continues over the weekend! Stay tuned!

An Herbal Plant Explosion!

2009-11-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

Well, if you have read my previous posts on lemon verbena, this is NOT supposed to happen! It has just taken off! Most of the time, it loses its leaves because the plant is mad it has to come inside. Sometimes we have leaves that hang on for dear life. This time it just went CRAZY! I guess it needed a vacation from us as well. This is one of three windows that has a southern exposure in our house. It likes it there!! I foresee several lemon verbena breads in The Herbal Husband's future. He will be herbally happy! If you missed the bread recipe the first time, here is the post again.

The Herbal Kids Got Some Sun!

2009-11-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

I am always amazed at how well herb containers exist in our garage in the winter. Even when we were gone a week in Miami, they did very well. Across the back of the bench are two containers full of 'Logee's Snowflake' scented geraniums. This is their third year and they continue to thrive! The other herb that is doing just fine in the garage is the sweet lavender which is tender for us. It would not survive in our winters. The Herbal Husband loves his lavenders. I think we have at least one more upstairs in a western facing window. It has lots of flowers and blooms on it! You won't believe the lemon verbena! I'll show you a photo tomorrow. Stay tuned!