Lemon Verbena Lady's Herb Garden

Harvest Time in June-uary!!

2012-02-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Hard to imagine that we harvested some vegetables on the last day of January 2012! We dug a few purple and gold potatoes, a couple of beets and some cress. Pretty good for January. We also got some perennials cut down and the epasote that has seeded around. Some of the plants are looking good like the 'Berggarten' sage and the 'Provence' lavenders.

And look what we found starting to bloom. A dandelion!

Saw the 14 day forecast and we aren't cold through mid February! It's a little scary. Really need a break during the winter to recharge the gardening battery! Got my walk in. That's the good news don't have to battle snow and ice to stay fit. Always enjoy being out with nature. Hope you are having a great day or evening wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

June-uary!

2012-01-31T13:40:00.000-05:00

There are golfers on the golf courses here. This is January people! What happened to the snow? We usually have a January thaw, but we haven't had much cold weather. Here is my little curry plant. Pretty much not too hardy here in the 'Burgh! It's looking pretty good. The long range forecast doesn't look too bad either. That may be a problem later on. The bugs may be worse. I just think there needs to be a bit of sub-zero weather to clean everything out. Oh, well, we actually thought about cleaning up the garden today, because for some reason, it didn't get done as it usually does in the fall! Well, as you can tell, we did get too far with that idea! We are both inside working on projects of other sorts. Well, I hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Long Overdue and Maybe in Time for Valentine's Day!

2012-01-29T14:25:00.003-05:00

We have this bay rum tree that I bought The Herbal Husband several years ago. He also found the bay rum aftershave through the J. Peterman Company catalog. I thought it had gone out of business. Guess I was totally wrong. They have unusual finds and one of a kind items, but no longer the bay rum aftershave. The bottle has Dominica written on the bottle. That's where The Herbal Husband spent some time working before we met. We didn't meet there. We met here in the 'Burgh. So The Herbal Husband has been asking forever for me to make him the aftershave from the bay rum tree we have. I found a recipe in Scrapbook #8 that contains all kind of cosmetic recipes from Susanna Reppert and The Rosemary House. Hope it is OK to share the recipe with you.

Bay Rum
2 cups spring water
1/2 cup bay leaves
1 T glycerine (I found this at my local pharmacy.)
2 cups rum
1 t orange extract
1/2 t lemon extract

Bring water to boil and steep leaves. (I steeped them for 30 minutes because they were dried.) Cool and strain. Add glycerine and mix well. Add extracts to alcohol. Mix alcohol mixture with bay water. Mix well and bottle. Store in a cool, dim place. Tastes good too!

The last photo is only half of the recipe. It makes a generous four cups. I used the bay rum leaves so it made the scent more intense. I may leave out the extracts in my next batch. The bay rum leaves seemed to have those orange and lemon tones without the extracts. Hopefully this will keep The Herbal Husband smelling good this year.

Windy here at the moment and rain/snow coming soon. Just glad I figured out the blog mess from yesterday. So if you mysteriously lose your text, but everything else is intact, try changing your template! I'm still think conspiracy. Hope you are having a great day or evening wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

I Think I'm Back in Business!

2012-01-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

I was going to talk about this bottle today, but as usual I got sidetracked! I googled a general question and found that changing the template got the text back for one person. So I tried it and it seems to work. I'm just happy to have text and photos together again. I may be playing around with this template because I'm not all together happy with it. I think Blogger is trying to get us to switch to those wild templates they introduced last year! Thanks for your support as always.

I'm Even Having Trouble with my Posts in Facebook. Looks like the post is there, but when you click the full article, it brings you over to the blog and the text is gone! Yikes. Never know what you've lost until it is gone.

2012-01-28T19:21:00.002-05:00

Oh, my posts are OK in Facebook! I am Typing in the Title Box! Still Don't Have an Answer from Blogger. Have links and photos but no text. When I edit posts from previous days, my content is all there. Text, photos, etc. My sidebar has lost the text as well, but it is all there when you check the various gadgets under the Design link. Hopefully, I will have an answer shortly or it will reset itself! Thanks for your support.

2012-01-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

I obviously won't be posting until I get this fixed! So please stay tuned! I have asked a question on the Blogger Help Forum! You can leave me a comment. Am I the Only One Who Isn't Seeing the Text in My Posts? Comments or e-mail!

2012-01-28T13:30:00.003-05:00

Is Anyone Else Having a Problem? I Don't Seem to Have Text in My Posts! HELP! Send me an e-mail!

2012-01-28T13:04:00.002-05:00

Look What Came in the Mail!

2012-01-24T15:37:00.001-05:00

This is from Urban Farmer Seeds from Indianapolis, Indiana. I'm getting their e-mail newsletter and they had an offer I couldn't pass up the other day. A $10 coupon! So I got a herb seed starting kit for basil. We have very low light here in the winter. Worse than most places. So I will start these sometime in early to mid April so they will be growing by mid-May or so. What I love about Urban Farmer is that they make all (or most) of their seed packets from magazine pages and the plant marker is from recycled material. They are having a seed sale so check it out. Maybe another problem for Sharon Lovejoy! Just saying! We did have snow. Didn't get a photo posted or maybe I should do it now. See how dark it gets here. We have the lights on a lot during a 'Burgh winter. It's gone already so don't feel bad. We had a day in the 40's and it rained. So bye, bye snow! Well, hope you are having a great day or night. Talk to you later.

I Forgot I Had This One!

2012-01-23T19:40:00.000-05:00

I got a comment from one of The Herb Companion readers on Facebook the other day about this catalog from Landreths' from New Freedom, PA. Their catalog is $5.00, but it is very well done with the 2009-2011 catalog cover taken from an original 1884 cover. The firm was founded by David Landreth in 1784 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As it says in the catalog, "he chose Pennsylvania because people appeared to have more free time there, and Philadelphia was the center of wealth and sophistication in the United States." Can't go against that decision! I forgot that I purchased it at the Mother Earth News Fair in 2010.

The D. Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America. As a small American company, Landreth is doing whatever it can to help support jobs for Americans. For customers purchasing $50 or more, they will refund the price of the catalog. Better check on the website and see if that is still possible. They have the African American Heritage Collection, seeds for the patio gardener and a children's garden collection. They also have heirloom and classic vegetable, flower and herb seeds. They have about a page and a half of herb seeds. Lots of basil choices, cumin, fenugreek and purslane (One of my new favorites since Jekka was in town.) So check them out. I still need to get into my seed stash and figure out what to order! So check them out and help them keep Americans employed.

Really mild here (50's) with rainstorms and I know the south keeps getting hammered. It is almost the end of January! We did have snow the other day. We have just forgotten about that entirely! Hope you all are safe and dry tonight. Talk to you later.

If I Don't Post For Awhile!

2012-01-21T22:35:00.001-05:00

Come over to Pinterest and check to see if I'm alright. It's addicting and you keep getting e-mails that tell you someone has repinned a pin that you just uploaded or downloaded or liked a pin. So then you have to check out their boards. Oh, I think I am in trouble! I promise to come back. Oh, Leslie from Comfrey Cottages what have you started? Have another cup of ginger tea. Talk to you soon.

Good Foods and Herbs For GERD Sufferers

2012-01-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

I enjoy the newsletter from Health.com. You can sign up for their e-newsletter and it often has a story on reflux disease or GERD. I think they are repeated often throughout the year because so many people are effected (or is it affected?) by GERD. For example in 2011, they talked on September 8th about how to reduce reflux and on September 15th they discussed heartburn easing foods. You get the idea. Check it out even if you don't have GERD, you may find some good and worthwhile information on a problem you have.

In Dr. Duke's book, The Green Pharmacy, he talks about a couple of spices that may help like powdered cardamom or cinnamon to eliminate gas. Can I just say I need to slip a bit more cinnamon into The Herbal Husband's food more often! Just saying! He also talks about papaya and pineapple both are loaded with digestive enzymes and have been widely used to relieve heartburn and indigestion. Papaya with a little honey may even prevent it if eaten before a meal or between courses. He adds that some nutritionists suggest that kiwifruit might help as well. He talks about having a salad from the Bible with foods like almonds, chicory, dandelion, garlic (can't), lettuce, mustard, olives, onions (can't) and walnuts. It's funny. He calls garlic and onions anti-heartburn ingredients. Can't say that for me!

These foods are listed on the health.com website as:

13 Foods That Fight Acid Reflux
Oatmeal
Ginger (Hello, I should have been reading this before!)
Aloe Vera (for thickening) (I would get this in the health food store.)
Salad but no tomato-onion-cheese-high fat dressing
Bananas
Melon
Fennel
Chicken & Turkey
Fish & Seafood
Roots & Greens
Celery
Parsley
Couscous & Brown Rice

While I was at the hair salon (beauty shop back in my time) I found a parsley and fennel salad from Rachel Ray's Everyday Magazine. It was in her holiday magazine so it serves 20! A bit too many, but I'm going to try and cut it in a quarter and make a little and let you know how it is. Will probably have to eliminate the mustard. It is a bit too harsh for me. I have been resorting to balsamic vinegar and olive oil as my dressing choice or lemon juice and olive oil on my salads. I don't want to go without dressing. Not eating chocolate or tomato sauce has me depressed enough.

I did a little salmon with fennel while The Herbal Husband was away last year. Orange juice for me is very problematic and I will probably try that recipe again with vegetable stock or fish stock. The Herbal Husband is going to Peru for three weeks in March! Get to eat more seafood. Yay! So hope this list helps you and me! Ha! I'm sitting sipping my ginger tea. Really it is hard to believe that it worked so well for me! As my friend, Kathleen Gips from The Village Herb Shop says hooray for ginger! You will see in my banner page that the skies are clear at the moment and we awaiting our next storm. A beautiful winter day here in the 'Burgh. After being spring like we are in the depths of winter. Talk to you later.

A List of Foods You May Want to Avoid with GERD!

2012-01-19T15:07:00.002-05:00

This list of foods to avoid comes from the Mayo Clinic website.

Everyone has specific triggers (and they may not all be triggers for you). Common triggers such as fatty or fried foods, tomato sauce, alcohol, chocolate, mint, (cilantro), garlic (raw), onion (raw), (peppers and cucumbers), (spicy foods), (carbonated beverages), (citrus fruit, except lemons), (fruit juice, except apple juice sort of) and caffeine may make heartburn worse. Avoid foods you know will trigger your heartburn. (That's sometimes difficult to do!)

My comments in that quote are in parenthesis and bold letters. You may not be able to tolerate peppermint but you may be able to tolerate spearmint which is in the photo above. Spearmint seems to work better for me. My master gardening friend and I were discussing why most antacids are peppermint flavored. I have no idea. I have to get fruit flavors if I take antacids at all and you know I do. I also have trouble with cilantro, both raw and cooked. That's a big problem because The Herbal Husband makes something called Seco with meat, potatoes and cilantro and it is delicious but I always have to take something extra when I have it. That's just between you and me!

The other food that pains me (pun intended) to avoid is tomato sauce. I can have a bit of tomato in a salad or on a sandwich but I can't eat pizza with tomato sauce or a big plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce! I make my own sauce and I can't eat it! I sometimes have a little bit of sauce and drink a big glass of milk with it. I know Tyler Florence does a Spaghetti Bolognese sauce that has milk in it, but can you can it? You see over the years when at the end of the season I have canned whole tomatoes and then as our stash of canned sauce has dwindled, I have tomatoes that I can make into sauce. I just googled the question and my thought is that I can add it to the sauce when I'm heating it in the microwave for me after the sauce is canned without it. Does that make sense? If you have added milk to homemade spaghetti sauce and canned it successfully, please let me know!

Again this is my food list to avoid if you have GERD. You may or may not have these items on your avoid list.

The wind has picked up here. We are supposed to get snow. Not a lot but enough to interrupt our dinner plans for this evening. Hope you are having a great day. We'll talk about foods that are good for GERD in my next post. Talk to you later.

GERD and Herbs

2012-01-18T15:27:00.001-05:00

As you may know I have had GERD for the last 12 years. On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst, I'm a 15. I had a cough, congestion and hoarseness from the beginning that wouldn't go away with any cough syrup or antibiotic. I finally went and had a scope done at an ear, nose and throat specialist and found out that acid was coming up into my throat. Not a good thing. I have been on medication of some kind since. For the most part, my GERD has been under control. For the better part of the last week, I have been having a burning sensation in my throat and my medication times two failed to help. My major trouble is my lower esophagus sphincter is lax so the acid just has a party every chance I give it. I also have a hiatal hernia which gives me other complications. No tomato sauce!

My English Herbal Companion emailed and encouraged me to try homeopathy. She said it does take time, but it works. I thought I really don't have time. I can't have this acid in my throat. I was already biopsied for Barrett's esophagus which could lead to cancer! Not good. I usually don't talk medicinal herbs on this blog. I am not a practiced medicinal herbalist, but I'm sharing my story with you so it may help you. One of my favorite websites is the Mayo Clinic for health information. Well, long story short I went to one of my medicinal herbal books. Yes, I do have them, but I haven't used them as much as others. This may change after the story I am about to share.

My Herbal Companion, Bonnie and I got to hear Dr. Duke speak in 1998. At various times, I read his book because it is easy to follow and he uses good common sense and research. Why I didn't remember this section on heartburn is unclear. I must have read it at least a couple of times over the last 12 years. The first paragraph talks about a colleague that had come to him asking him for a remedy for heartburn. He told Dr. Duke that he had used ginger and it had worked. Dr. Duke was surprised because he knew it would be good for nausea caused by motion sickness and morning sickness in pregnant women. Dr. Duke also suggested that he add peppermint, but he also states that some people cannot tolerate peppermint and I am one of them. I can tolerate spearmint which works just as well. I don't understand why antacid which sometimes I have had to rely on is peppermint flavored!

Heartburn does not occur in the stomach. It is mostly in the throat. That is because the lower esophageal sphincter doesn't close completely allowing acid back into the throat. That is exactly what I have. So I thought I don't have anything to lose. I might as well try it. First, though I had purchased some ginger root candy (I can't find this candy on the web any longer or I would suggest it for you.) at The Village Herb Shop in Chagrin Falls. I was chewing on a piece every so often and it was helping the symptoms. Not completely but it was helping. Then I made a tea from the root and sipped that and when I completed the tea, my symptoms were gone! I'm not kidding. I have gone back to one pill instead of two. I did see a new GI doctor in the practice where I go and he was impressed. We talked about other herbs Dr. Duke suggested including camomile, dill seed and fennel seed. Because I take blood pressure medicine, I have to be careful about which herbs I use, but he said all of my choices were fine to try. He said we prescribe ginger ale for patients with upset stomachs and he was pleased that this worked so well for me.

So always go to your doctor if you have persistent burning in your throat. If you know you have GERD and you are looking for relief, try candied ginger or ginger tea. Here is what I did: Take about three slices of fresh ginger root and chop them up and place them in a tea ball or strainer. Pour boiling water over them and let it steep for about 5 minutes. Enjoy! As always, do your homework. What worked for me might necessarily work for you. GERD is a very serious disease and if you have heartburn two or more times a week, you need to seek the advice of your doctor. Again this is my experience. Your experience may be completely different. I'll let you know about the other choices of herbs in later posts and I want to discuss foods and herbs you may be should avoid and others that you may want to incorporate into your diet.

And look what came in the mail today. I think there is a message here for me. This is one of the seed catalogs I discussed in my Herb Companion post, Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Isn't this the most beautiful cover for an herb catalog you have seen from Mountain Rose Herbs? You don't have to wait for the paper catalog to show up, but I love on the inside it says, "~Our catalogue is best viewed while sipping tea~" Think I'll do that! Very cold here, but we were in the 50's yesterday! A weird and wacky January in the 'Burgh! Talk to you later.

Maybe You Can Help Me with Pinterest?

2012-01-17T21:56:00.003-05:00

My buddy, Leslie of Comfrey Cottages has pinned me (get it) with a Pinterest account. I actually do get it. So come follow me and see where this adventure takes us.

More Herb Seed Catalogs in the Mailbox!

2012-01-16T16:32:00.000-05:00

I decided to update my post for The Herb Companion called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Here are the latest arrivals in my mailbox.

Select Seeds is one I have ordered from for a number of years from Connecticut. They specialize seeds and plants of cottage annuals, flowering vines and fragrant flowers and scented leaves and perennials. Also they have herbs and edibles and heirloom tomato selections in both seeds and plants.

Horizon Herbs was one I found online from Google from Oregon. They have a wide range of organic seeds and plants for spring and summer planting, cover crops, vegetables, culinary herbs and spices, Strictly Medicinal herbs, rare, historical, dye, cacti, odd and wonderful herbs, trees and shrubs. You get the idea. They have seeds of Medicine and Seeds of Sustenance. Haven't order from Horizon yet! See if it may have what you are looking for.

The last one in the mailbox is from one of my favorite international herb sellers, Richters in Goodwood, Ontario. Their catalog is a great reference source for me. They have the latest and greatest herb seeds and plants for sale. They sell plants both by mail order for the United States and with the right paperwork, you can go to Canada and bring your herb plants home with you. Going to do that someday soon! All three of these catalogs have lots of different varieties that you may be looking. Check them all out.

Well, we are cool not cold again. Very odd winter so far. Not complaining, but the plants are really confused! Hope you had a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2012-01-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

It is so cold out! As you can see, we didn't get the snow forecasted. I guess you can say that's the good news, but the bad news is, IT'S FREEZING! I didn't dare step outside. That's why the photos are a bit blurry. The wind chill is in the single digits here! What a difference! Hope you are staying warm and toasty wherever you may be or cool and comfortable if you are in the southern hemisphere. It's laundry day so there was much moving in the basement of the herbal jungle! I did a post about it back in November. Here's a link. Got to run. Talk to you later.

We're Slightly Confused Here and It Doesn't Take Much!

2012-01-12T15:18:00.001-05:00

As you can see by the banner photo, we still do not have snow on the ground. Here is my patch of pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens variegata) and it actually has some green showing. Very unusual for January 12th!

These two are feverfews (Tanacetum parthenium) that are nice and green. These have a double white flower. I really like the single daisy flower better. They seem to self sow just as well whatever you may have.

We have a few gray and green herbs here, mostly sages, Nazareth sage and Compact sage (Salvia officinalis 'Nazareth' and Salvia officinalis 'Nana'), thymes like Provencal thyme (Thymus vulgaris 'Provencal' and germanders (Teucrium chamadrys).

One of my favorites in salads, salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is always green through the winter when it isn't buried in snow.

A 'Bergarten' sage (Salvia officinalis cv. 'Berggarten') and a bloody dock or bloodly sorrel (Rumex sanguineus) are looking good as well. Just between you and me, the bloody docks have also begun to multiple and crowd out other plants.

Then there is my problem area. Always have liked my ornamental grasses until they have started to invade the herb garden! Will have to dig up all of the good plants and get out the invading species and replant my herbs. It will be an ongoing process. It may be that we will have to cut down our ornamental grasses in the fall so that they will not seed so prolifically, but we also like to feed the birds and give them cover. It also covers the cats as well. Well, another subject for another day.

This final photo is a golden sage (Salvia officinalis 'Aurea') which also was a winner this summer.
Well, the snow is finally coming tomorrow. First, they said it wasn't going to amount to much and now they are saying up to 5 inches! So I made the grocery run today and hopefully we won't lose power and we will be all warm and cozy in the 'Burgh. Hope you are staying warm or cool wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Part 3

2012-01-09T12:35:00.001-05:00

This herb seed catalog from The Thyme Garden is mentioned in my latest Herb Companion blog post called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This is a $2 catalog, but it is a wonderful catalog just full of wonderful herb seeds and interesting information. They started out as a restaurant and then bought a farm to carry on their herb seed and plant business. They do have herbal lunches during the summer months plus they host weddings. What a beautiful place to have a wedding. It is definitely on my herbal list of places to visit on the west coast. I will be honest though. I have never ordered anything until this year! So here are my selections.

Top row from left to right: Quillquina (Porophyllum ruderale) is a cilantro like plant from Bolivia, Shunginku (Chrysanthemum coronarium) an edible chrysanthemum, Black hollyhock (Alcea rosea nigra) one of The Herbal Husband's favorities and also an edible flower, a complimentary packet of Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), unclear whether this is an edible flower or not. Some say yes and others say no. It is not poisonous so you can decide. Maybe using petals as a garnish to start as they do at The Thyme Garden. On the bottom row from left to right: Lemon Savory (Satureja biflora), an unusual savory native to South Africa. It is an annual for us, but if you put it in a container. It self-sows into that container and you can keep it going inside during the winter. I found the plant at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Ohio, but lately they have not carried it, Black Lovage (Smyrnium olusatrum), the description says it is a native of the Mediterranean area and W. Europe. It looks like a huge parsley plant. All parts of the plant are used in cooking and have a mild celery flavor, Lime Basil (Ocimum americanum) is a different flavor to make jelly and I had a bumper crop of lemon basil jelly last year. Let's try lime this year and finally, White Borage (Borago officinalis cv) because it reminds me of Sissinghurst Castle and their white garden.

I love the Thyme Garden's small seed packets, but I love what's on the back on the package the most. I think it sums it up beautifully!

Welcome to Our Herb Family! Raise 'Em Right! Can't wait to get started. We are still having unseasonably warm weather. Hope you are having a great day wherever you might be. Need to go make lunch. Talk to you later.

A New Herb Group Near Derby, England

2012-01-06T21:28:00.002-05:00

This was the river outside our bed & breakfast in Shardlow, Derbyshire, England in 2009. That was a wonderful trip. Now my blogging friend, Debs Cook is trying to form an herb group in her area of Sinfin, Derby, England. She already has a programme schedule for the year. It's a nominal fee of 3.50 pounds for refreshments and guest speaker charges. Here is the link for her post New Herb Group in Derby for 2012. She'll be posting about the group's activities so we can all learn something new about herbs even if you aren't down the lane from her house.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Part 2

2012-01-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

Can't complain about the mail when they are bringing such great packets! Today's mail brought my seed order from Renee's Garden Seeds and one that I talk about in my latest post for The Herb Companion called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I have ordering from Renee Shepherd for many years when she had a catalog called Shepherd's Garden Seeds and now she is online and through select retailers around the country. I do not buy a lot of herb plants in seeds. I do not have the space to grow many plants nor the time to tend them indoors. So we have begun sticking to annual flowers that can be direct sown in the garden.

This packet included from left to right (top row): 'Whirlybird Mix' nasturtiums (no spur on the back of the flower), 'Alaska Mix' nasturtiums (variegated leaves), 'Buttercream' nasturtium (mounding variety), 'Vanilla Berry' nasturtium (mounding variety) and 'Cup of Sun' nasturtium (mounding variety), 'Chocolate Cherry' sunflower (ornamental) and 'Sunzilla' sunflowers (giant). I'm hoping to use the 'Sunzilla' as a border in the back of my garden. I did that several years ago and it looked so cool. Haven't been able to duplicate it since! Ugh! Then Renee's Garden has joined the Hunt for Bees and gave us a packet of 'Lemon Queen' sunflowers. I have had something like these in past gardens. So if it will bring the bees, I'm in!

As you can see by the banner photo, the snow has retreated and we were in the 50's today! Not complaining but the bulbs may start to grow. I'm trying not to pay attention! If I ignore them, they will just stay underground! Hope you have had a great day. Talk to you later.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2012-01-05T17:40:00.000-05:00

Always enjoy the holidays and not why you may expect! It's the time for all of the wonderful seed catalogs to come through our mailbox. Something different than junk for a change. My latest post for The Herb Companion catalogs (get it!) my list of favorite and new favorite catalogs for purchasing herb seeds called Herb Seed Catalogs Mark the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Guess what? I already got my first order in the mail today from the above catalog, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. You can read about it at The Herb Companion, but here are the seeds I ordered:

From left to right on the top row are: Janet Scott (very profuse blooming) pink sweet pea, Beaujolais (a rich, burgundy wine color) sweet pea and Blue Reflections (a mix of blue and white) sweet peas and a FREE tomato called Riesentraube. On the bottom row from left to right is Elephant dill (late-flowering) that is productive, Sweet four o'clocks (delightful exotic fragrance), Jewel Peach Melba nasturtium (dwarf plants) and Dwarf Cherry Rose nasturtium (I have a theme going on with the nasturtiums!) Have ordered more seeds. So will share those with you as they come in. Isn't it great? Now I have to check out the seeds in our seed stash. Mostly veggies. I know you have one too! So the snow will go bye bye for a while since our temperatures are going into the 40's. Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Well, Someone Finally Threw The Switch!

2012-01-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Well, Happy New Year 2012! We finally have winter weather to report. I went out to do some errands and barely got back home. We had that wonderful lake effect snow, but it reminded me of New England! I do love the winter sunsets when the sun is out. Beautiful crisp colors.

Our house looks so different but in a good way with the white door. The rhodies are the best thermometer this time of year. Well, hope you are staying toasty in the northeast and even in the south.

Looking at 2011 I didn't do a very good job blogging about herbs! Very haphazard, herbally speaking. Will try to do better this year. Working on some tea combinations. Will talk about them in the coming days.

An Herbal Year in Review!

2011-12-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

January 1, 2011

First, I think 2012 is going to come in much like 2011 did! Here is a photo of the garden on January 1 and you will see in a couple of days that it is much the same.

Float Plane Trip Going to Whistler, BC, Canada in May, 2011

We had several trips this year. Probably more than we were entitled to, but they were great. Starting in May with Vancouver and our float plane trip to Whistler. I will never forget that ride! It was fabulous.

Apothecary's Rose and Rosa Mundi in June, 2011

We got to spend June here with our Gallica roses, the Apothecary's Rose and Rosa Mundi. I bring this up because 2012 the Rose is the Herb of the Year! Yippee!

Overlooking Some Lavender in the Town of Sault, France, July, 2011

I just had a mess of stuff ticked off the bucket list this year including driving in the south of France (Not!) and visiting the lavender fields. It was a thrill of a lifetime and maybe now that the garden is done, I can post a couple posts about the trips. I have posted a few things but I need to finish both Vancouver and Europe! We'll have lots to talk about!

A Glorious Rose Called 'The Fairy' in September, 2011

We spent the rest of the summer trying to get the garden in some kind of shape for the offseason. Some plants got fried in the heat and some didn't do well without supplemental water. It was a mixed bag, but most herbs survived even neglected as they were. 'The Fairy' rose always seems to do well in our garden. I'm trying to sneak a few other bushes in the garden. We have a red one that we just bought this season and it bloomed a lot, but didn't get much size. Hopefully, 2012 (Rose is the Herb of the Year!) it will do very well.

Lemon Verbena Attacked by the Stink Bug, but Still Producing Leaves in October, 2011

Yes, my dear herb, lemon verbena was attacked by the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, but it continued to produce leaves and made batches of lemon verbena jelly. I have a new recipe I need to try before posting it for you.

A Mini Spice Wreath for Christmas Gifts, December 2011

The last few weeks of the year were really productive for me. I made several wreaths of both potpourri and spice to give as Christmas gifts. I made a few tea bags with a new blend and generally had a great time. Hopefully, 2012 will be a wonderful herbal year for us all. I'm coming up on 1,000 posts and I just don't know how the time flew by so quickly! I'm going to try and recategorize my posts so they will be easier to find! Break the "Favorite Herbs" down so they are maybe annual, perennial, biennial and tender perennial. Well, it will take me some time, but I think it will be helpful to all of my dear and devoted readers.

So The Herbal Husband and I want to wish you a very safe and happy new year and I'll talk to you again next year!

I Guess I Can't Be Any Other Name!

2011-12-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hope you had a nice Christmas! It was very quiet around here. I cooked most of the weekend. Write that one down. It doesn't happen often! Maybe in the new year it will happen more. Well, wanted to show you that both of our lemon verbenas still have their leaves and are growing new ones as well! As I always tell you they usually drop their leaves and go dormant. This year I guess we dug them up with enough time that they got used to their surroundings. Well, we were supposed to get a light dusting last night and that didn't happen we just got almost an inch of rain. Maybe over an inch. We have been a lot warmer than usual, but today we are in the 20's. Now it feels like Christmas and it's over! Ha! Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Merry Christmas to All, but Not the Same Without Snow!

2011-12-23T15:34:00.001-05:00

I'll have to enjoy looking at the snow on our holiday card, cause we aren't going to get any for Christmas! Going to take a small break and pout! No really, I'll probably be back before the new year is here!

From The Herbal Husband and I, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and more than that a very peaceful holiday with your family and friends!

Our Christmas Wreath!

2011-12-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

This wreath is a trip down memory lane and sometimes I don't like to go down those paths. For some reason, The Herbal Husband loves this wreath. It is more than 20 years old and it hung on my mother's apartment door at a retirement home where she used to live. I added some fresh holly to it so it would look a little better. Still warm here. The good news is I got a great walk in. Not much like the holidays. Hope your decorations are making you merry! Talk to you later!

Herbal Tea for the Holidays!

2011-12-21T15:17:00.001-05:00

I am making a conscious effort to make more herbal gifts this year. I was looking at my pile of containers filled with herbs and thinking I need to make something from the herbs I have. When you have a lot, it is easier to make something. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm always looking for tea on a cold winter's day and since it is the first day of winter, it's in the 50's! Ridiculous.

OK, the photo above is measuring out the herbs. The tea blend I made is of lemon balm, lemon verbena and spearmint. I found it in an Savoring Summer Iced Teas from The Herb Companion by Maggie Oster and click on winning iced tea combinations, you will see different combinations. I thought this one would be good hot as well. It is two parts lemon balm, one part lemon verbena and one part spearmint. So what you ask is a part? My definition of a part is any measurement you want it to be. In my case, I made a part, a cup. So the recipe becomes 2 cups of lemon balm, 1 cup of lemon verbena and 1 cup of spearmint. If you only have a teaspoon or so, a part would be a teaspoon size measure.

I combined all of the leaves into one container and took some scissors and snipped through the leaves. You can do this as you are putting them into the main container. I thoroughly mixed all of the herbs together and then put two teaspoons into my make your own tea bags from Nichols Garden Nursery out in Oregon. The directions just calls for one teaspoon, but I was generous and used two teaspoons and the bag seems to last for at least a couple of cups. Even if I crush the bag before brewing the first cup, it seems to be better for the second cup. I thought it was good hot, but you may enjoy it cold as well. That is how it is meant to be served.

Finally got a wreath up on our new door, but of course, there is controversy about which wreath to put there! I'll show you in an upcoming post. Winter solstice is upon us and it's in the 50's! Just weird! Hope you're having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

One More Post About The 2011 Herb of the Year-Horseradish!

2011-12-20T19:26:00.001-05:00

These were the products from our day of celebrating Horseradish at The Village Herb Shop in Chagrin Falls this spring. I did have a sheet (two sided) from a friend who was a very good cook and involved in a local herb club who talked about horseradish. Of course, even though I was a legal secretary and extremely organized in my distant past, I can't seem to find that double sided sheet of paper about horseradish recipes! Before I lost the sheet though, I did nip one recipe for a quick and easy dip that you can take to any holiday get together. Thanks to Lee Price!

Horseradish Dip

8 oz. package cream cheese (light is OK)
1/2 cup sour cream (light is acceptable)
1/4 cup horseradish
3 T. minced parsley
4 t. lemon juice
1 T. grated onion
Pinch of salt (optional)

Blend all ingredients thoroughly. Chill before serving with veggies or crackers.

If I find the other recipes, I will pass them along! Here is a link to an excellent article from my favorite herb magazine, The Herb Companion by Susan Belsinger called 2011 Herb of the Year: Horseradish (Amoracia rusticana). There are a lot of great recipes in it and growing tips as well. So as we say goodbye to horseradish, we look forward to talking about (a little more than horseradish) the 2012 Herb of the Year, Rose! It is just down right warm here. Ridiculous! Winter comes tomorrow and we may be up to 60 degrees again! Hope you aren't buried in snow yet! Talk to you later.

Spice Wreaths for the Holidays!

2011-12-19T14:47:00.001-05:00

Well, here is my current post for The Herb Companion magazine about these cute little spice wreaths from Marge Clark's book Christmas Thyme at Oak Hill Farm. My post is called My Favorite Christmas Thyme Book and Spice Wreaths, Part 2. Hope you enjoy it! The weather is cold but no snow on the ground. Talk to you later.

And The Winner Is. . .!

2011-12-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, the wait is over! The Herbal Husband thought he could slip his name into the basket! I wouldn't let that happen! CAROL, you are the winner! Congratulations! I think I do have your address, but if you want to confirm it to me at you know that lemonverbenalady address. I'll get it packaged up and in this afternoon's mail! I will also send you additional directions by e-mail for the soup mix and a precise listing of ingredients for the Italian Salad Dressing Mix because as I said before we eyeballed the measurements! Thanks to all of you who entered. Now off to fill the box with goodies.

Please Don't Miss The End of the Giveaway!

2011-12-14T21:22:00.002-05:00

Even the bluejay is impatient waiting for the end of the giveaway!

and there's more.

One of my dedicated readers from the U.S. is going to win all of this loot! So don't delay! Click on the picture at the top right hand portion of my home page and enter! Don't waste a comment here. Go to the original post, please. Please no anonymous comments! Thanks. The giveaway ends at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, this Friday, December 16, 2011 so we can package up your prize and get it in the mail in time for Christmas!

The Herb Channeler for The Herb Companion

2011-12-13T14:16:00.002-05:00

The latest post for The Herb Channeler is up on The Herb Companion website and it is called My Favorite Christmas Thyme Book and Dried Herb Wreaths, Part 1. So there will be a Part 2 shortly! You can check out how they turned out. I do like the ones I made with the Jello molds a little better and I liked my herbie buddy in Maine who suggests using a canning lid and just make a hole big enough for a candle. Then you can just take the lid out from the ring when it is dried! Very clever, Joanne. Thanks for the idea. Getting packages ready to send. Don't forget to enter the giveaway! It will be gone in an instant! Cold but sunny here. Not typical 'Burgh weather. My buddy, Miss C is in her annual Christmas band concert this evening. Should be loud and festive! Talk to you later.

The Return of Muffin Sundays!

2011-12-11T10:55:00.000-05:00

Start Out With A Fresh Fruit Salad

Then Have a Couple of Rosemary Raisin Muffins

Just in Time for Christmas, the Rosemary is Blooming!

Well, since The Herbal Husband does a lot (Just about all. I can't get a turn! Although today I'm going to be cooking and baking all day!) of the cooking, I do all of the baking. I have tried since I've lost weight to not eat as many sweet items as before. They do catch up to you. The Herbal Husband has to have something sweet at the end of dinner each night. We usually have Jello or he has 1/2 of a Klondike and I have a yogurt cup. I digress. When Bonnie and I were up at Kathleen's Village Herb Shop on Friday, she had it jam packed with holiday treats. Bonnie and I both noticed separately a packaged mix from The Invisible Chef for Rosemary Raisin Muffins. Under the word Directions it states "Perfect for parties, brunch or any time you need a special treat!" Well, Muffin Sunday always has to have a special treat. These were so yummy! They didn't need my jelly. They had tons of flavor with rosemary, golden raisins and toasted pecans. Can't wait to get back to Kathleen's to get more mix. She had stocked up on our favorite lemon bread mix, but I didn't need it! Once panettone season is over, we'll be baking our lemon cake for afternoon tea! One more thing! Just in time for the holidays our prostrate rosemary is blooming in the garage. A beautiful sight!

I Didn't Want to Leave You in Herbal Limbo!

2011-12-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

I was hopeful that my Herb Companion post would be up on their website to give you the recipe for these Mini Potpourri Wreaths from Marge Clark. I used a mini bundt pan the other day and I think it turned out good as well. Above is those individual Jello molds from bridge club days. My Herbal Companion, Bonnie says she picks them up at Thrift Stores. Mine are my mom's. There are lots of different styles and designs. Here is the one above decorated with some wired ribbon. Don't you love ribbon that's wired?

Maybe a bit too much, but you get the idea. I think I have to cut that one side off a bit! I found packages of Norfolk Lavender potpourri at my local T.J.Maxx store several years ago and I've been holding on to them. OK, they got misplaced! Well, I could see them. I just forgot what I wanted to use them for! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. One package made two wreaths and that was about one cup in each mold. The wreaths in the photo above are from a package containing both rose petals and lavender with a bit of fragrance.

Mini Potpourri Wreaths

For one 2-1/2” to 3” wreath, you’ll need:

1 to 1-1/4 cups potpourri (the prettier the potpourri, the prettier the wreath!)

(I found that the rose petals and the lavender flowers were about 1 cup to fill the mold.)

1 tablespoon white glue (such as Elmer’s)

1 tablespoon water

1 2-1/2” to 3” ring mold

Latex gloves

Measuring spoons and cups

Plastic spoon for mixing

A knife for removing wreath from mold

2 or 3 cup empty cottage cheese container for mixing

Doughnut cutter with handle removed or a mini bundt pan or a doughnut pan or individual jello molds

Nonstick vegetable spray or margarine for greasing mold

Essential oils

Ribbon or other dried flowers for decoration

1. Grease the mold with margarine (Marge calls it oleo.) or cooking spray (Very important. Don't skip this step.).

2. Use a cottage cheese container (or some other disposable container) and mix the water and white glue together to make a thin paste.

3. Add the potpourri and stir well to coat the leaves and petals with the thin glue mixture.

4. Pack mixture into the prepared mold and tamp it down with your fingertips (This is where the gloves may be necessary.) Don’t worry about seeing the glue because it will dry clear.

5. Drizzle the glue left in the container over the potpourri mixture in the mold.

6. Let mold set for about 6 hours or overnight. (I left mine dry overnight.) Run a table knife around the outside of the mold and gently ease wreath from mold.

7. Let dry for several days, turning occasionally to dry evenly on both sides. Decorate with additional dried flowers or herbs and ribbons.

8. Because the glue mixture coats the potpourri, the wreath may lose its fragrance. After the wreath is thoroughly dry, add a drop or 2 of essential oil (your choice) to each wreath.

9. To store, wrap each wreath in plastic wrap or in a small plastic bag and keep out of direct light until ready to use at holiday time.

When you get ready to put them away for the season, rewrap them in plastic or place them in a resealable bag and put them in a covered box away from heat and light.

This is the attempt from the mini bundt mold pan. It was just rose petals coated with the glue mixture and pressed into the mold. It has some fragrance, but I may add some essential oil to liven it up! Marge Clark has a mini spice wreath recipe as well and I'm going to work on some of those this weekend. Hopefully, I can share that with you later this weekend.

The cold has reached us and it is starting to feel wintery! Hope you are having a great day decorating with your family. I'm going to get back to my work table and work on those spice wreaths. Talk to you later.

A Taste of Italy Gift Basket and a Bit More Giveaway! U.S. Readers Only!

2011-12-10T10:53:00.004-05:00

Yesterday my Herbal Companion, Bonnie and I went to our favorite herb shop in Chagrin Falls, The Village Herb Shop to make A Taste of Italy Gift Basket. It is the most wonderful time of the year at Kathleen's shop, Christmas. Boy, if you aren't in the mood once you leave there, you are a Scrooge! OK back to what will be in your box should you win it:

A Taste of Italy Gift Basket

Herb Seasoning for Pasta
Herb Seasoning for Pizza
Hearty Pasta Soup Mix
Herbal Bread Dipping Mix
Italian Salad Dressing Mix

So five different herb blends. The soup mix has the beans and pasta included. I have to remember to e-mail the winner the directions for the soup once you want to mix it. Ha! Well, I know the winner will let me know if I need to do it! We also eyeballed the ingredients (no small measuring spoons) in the Italian Salad Dressing Mix so you will get the exact measurements to make another batch once the first one is gone! Also, you will win the additional prizes in the next photo. The napkins from the last giveaway that I think you will enjoy using for a party either now or next summer, two jars of jelly, one of Horseradish since it's the 2012 Herb of the Year, a jar of Spicy Basil Apple jelly, a new flavor this year and a small ornament proclaiming Joy!

As I say in my title, this giveaway is for U.S. readers only. Last time I had someone win from North Pole, Alaska! So who knows! One entry per reader, please. This contest will be open until next Friday, December 16, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. No anonymous comments please. I have been using Kathleen's blends for years so I know you will love these. I hope you know how much I appreciate you as readers and treasure each one of you. So Good Luck!

OK, So Here is Another Hint!

2011-12-08T15:11:00.001-05:00

Sort of a bad photo. There are two mini ring molds now and they are filled with . . . Remember they were used for individual jello salads at bridge club. Ahh, I remember those days fondly. Herbal ice rings were a good guess, but not correct. This is not an edible project. I'll be away for the day tomorrow, but tomorrow evening, we'll solve the mystery or you can keep guessing before hand. These are so easy to do and it might help with your holiday decorating! I've said enough!

One of My Favorite Christmas Books and Jello Molds!

2011-12-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite books this time of year. Marge Clark has written several cookbooks with comfort food and herbs always in mind. This one is like being at her home in Indiana for the holidays. Sadly, Marge (I feel like I knew her.) was killed in a car accident 12 years ago! I have been working on my latest post for The Herb Companion and it involves this book and a couple of the craft recipes inside. I'll leave you with this question what do herbal crafts and jello molds from the 50's have in common?

It has finally gotten COLD here, but cold is very relative because we were 60 degrees two days ago! I know some of you have already shoveled SNOW! Well, it is the holiday season. Stay tuned tomorrow or Saturday I will be announcing a mega herbal spectacular giveaway! You won't want to miss it! Talk to you later.

Not Too Good At Multi-Tasking!

2011-12-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

Yikes is it possible, we have less days to get finished what we need to get done before the holidays? I'm just throwing that out in case you haven't started to panic yet. We don't entertain much over the holidays so I'm just getting you motivated to get moving if you need to get in entertaining mode! Hopefully, in the coming days I will share a holiday craft or two and maybe a new tea blend or two before Christmas comes for stocking stuffers. Less than three weeks!

Have a little rose petal jelly, cream cheese and crackers in the meantime. The consensus of The Herbal Husband and I was that this jelly needs a bit of help, like a tablespoon or two or rosewater. I tried it all natural and my roses weren't quite fragrant enough to give the jelly flavor. So if you're lucky enough to have roses still blooming, try the recipe at the link above, but add a tablespoon maybe two of rosewater. So I'll get my act together and start those craft projects. Still mild here. Maybe that's why I'm not too in the holiday mood! Talk to you later.

A Frosty Garden!

2011-12-01T10:04:00.003-05:00

Just discussed with Taylorsoutback last night how green our garden was. Well, TO it is going downhill fast! This is this morning. Frosty, man, frosty!

The birds have been having a field day with the seedheads of the coneflowers and rudbeckias. A sad time, but as I always say I need a break from gardening. Hope you have a great day. I need to run and pack up the winners prizes. So I'll talk to you later.

And The Winners Are!

2011-11-30T10:18:00.000-05:00

Corinne and HC Greenery won jelly!

Danielle Pertuso, Carol, Sharon and Tufa Girl Won Pins!

Taylorsoutback, Flowerlady and Grace win napkins!

Everyone who commented! Please ladies send me your full names and mailing addresses to lemonverbenaladyAThotmailDOTcom and if you have a blog name your blog name so I can match what you won with you. One additional task for Grace of the bottom two napkins which one do you want? Gardeners Know The Best Dirt or the Potted Herbs? I really appreciate all of you participating. I'm doing one more giveaway before the holidays so stay tuned. One of you (Can't remember who?) asked about jelly recipes. If you go near the bottom of my blog there are a list of labels for my postings and I think there is one for herbal jelly recipes. Click on that link and it will take you to the recipes. Look forward to hearing from you all. Congratulations!

A Miniature Railway or Two for the Holidays!

2011-11-29T17:08:00.001-05:00

My big Peruvian/American kid wanted to go and see the Miniature Railroad & Village at the Carnegie Science Center. If you are in the Pittsburgh vicinity, I would take whomever wants to go. It's for kids of all ages. It was a great day to go because the kids are still mostly in school and it was a rainy day.

The kids who were there had a great time and so did my big kid! Mostly set in western Pennsylvania, it includes a part of the steel mills, Forbes Field where the Pirates were actually fun to watch, a western PA small town the incline that provides transportation up and down the hillside near downtown Pittsburgh, Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece and Luna Park, an amusement park. It was a lot of fun to see it again and they are taking very good care of it.

If you are in the Chicago area, you should take the kids or grandkids to the Museum of Science and Industry and check out The Great Train Story with its 30 plus trains that go from Chicago to Seattle. We also went to the Chicago Botanic Garden to see their Garden Railway. They have the Wonderland Express at the moment. Here are some photos from the outdoor display around Halloween.

I so loved the buildings made out of sticks and twigs and other natural materials that I sometimes forgot to take the trains! It is all about them! It was a lot of fun to see even without a small kid! Remember my kid is big! Lastly I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Winter Flower Show at Phipps Conservatory featuring The Nutcracker this year. Get out and enjoy the holiday events in your town or city. Looks like everyone that commented on the giveaway is going to get something! It ends tomorrow morning! It took me forever to get this post together. Hope it makes sense! Talk to you later.

Still Green But Not For Long!

2011-11-27T13:30:00.002-05:00

We were out yesterday raking the last leaves and mowing for hopefully the last time! The top photo is the jasmine that is hardy for us in Zone 6. It has a small pink flower, but it is unfortunately not good for tea. I can't believe how it has grown! We bought it at Well Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey. They have a great catalog and they still do mail order. I am putting together my favorite mail order herb seed and plant list for The Herb Companion and will be posting that in the next few weeks. The middle photo is a look into the upper garden overlooking the herb garden. The ornamental grasses are taking over! The last photo is of the Everblooming Cecile Brunner. Still doing her thing! I made a small bouquet for the table and I'll share that with you on the banner page. Don't forget the giveaway! Click on the link on the right hand side to give me a comment. The contest ends this coming Wednesday, November 30th at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time. Hope you had a great turkey day. I'll leave you with our dinner. We make a darn good turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T13:14:00.001-05:00

I'll leave you with a photo of a panettone from Panera one of our favorite places for breakfast and lunch. This one has walnuts and cranberries. The Herbal Husband enjoys his treats for the holidays. I have to temper mine and eat it once in a while. I have always wanted to make my own. Martha Stewart makes one that looks easy. I mastered Martha's pie crust so maybe I should try her panettone recipe. This is not the recipe I remember, but the mind plays tricks sometimes! It looks a lot more complicated than what I remember.

Well, we want to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving day to those of you who read about us in the U.S. and hope that you enjoy your family and friends. The Herbal Husband was already asking if I was going to get the turkey ready! Just cooking the breast so not as much work as the whole bird. We do simple for the holidays, but we hope you enjoy your celebration! Talk to you later.

Not the Usual Way It Behaves Indoors!

2011-11-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

We get a little crazy bringing in herbs for the winter. Here in the 'Burgh warm weather can last through early December and it looks like it might do the same this year. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but both of the lemon verbenas we brought in have kept their leaves. Not typical. May get problems down the line. In between is a lavender called 'Ice Coconut' which is a compact lavender which grows very well in a container. Maybe a lemon verbena bread is called for! Click on the link for the recipe. Hope you have a great day! We have the turkey thawing in the frig. Talk to you later.

A Potpourri of Herbal Giveaways!

2011-11-21T15:36:00.006-05:00

Two U.S. Winners Will Win One of Each Flavor of Herbal Jelly

Lapel Pins for Foreign and U.S. Readers-Four Total

Again Four U.S. Winners-Herbal Napkins

I have been blogging more than three years now and it's about time I do a giveaway. So this is the first of two giveaways. The second one will be in early December in time of Christmas. Because of postal rates around the globe, the lapel pins are the only practical giveaways I can do for foreign readers. I hope to do other jelly giveaways next year if this one goes well. Now you have to comment on this posting, one comment per reader please. Please give me some kind of contact information if you do not have a blog and if you are overseas. If you do not, your name will not be included in the drawings. Also, please do not post an anonymous comment. It will not count. I will post this post in the upper right hand corner on my home page and if you missed it as the days go by, you can still enter through that link. This giveaway will end at 10 AM eastern standard time on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Winners will be announced after 10:30 AM on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Good luck! As always, thanks for reading about our adventures.

The Doors of the 'Burgh!

2011-11-20T12:09:00.003-05:00

Finally, we got the doors finished on Friday. The top photo are the back door and garage door and the bottom photo is the front door. We have both gotten locked out of that door already. As I mentioned I don't have to give it a hip check to get it close. It is also easy to get locked out! We do have a key pad on the garage door so as long as we remember the code! Ha! We're OK! The front door window lets so much more light in. It is the north side of the house so it is good to let the light in in winter. I have a special door knocker that I was hoping to get on the front door. The installer said because it is a steel door, he would void the warranty by drilling holes in it! Yikes! I guess it's sticky tape to the rescue! Hopefully I'll show you that part of the project soon. One more thing about the doors especially in the front. Since it is now back to white, if the ivy takes over, we will know where to get in the house! Sorry I have been a no show. The Herbal Husband has me on a strict schedule of movies! Need to start those giveaways! So stay tuned! Talk to you later.

Still Blooming in the Garden!

2011-11-16T15:19:00.000-05:00

Calendulas with Dark Centers

Double White Feverfew

'Walker's Low' Nepeta

These three flowers are always around for the end of the gardening season. I will probably have a couple of calendulas flowering for my bouquet on next week's Thanksgiving table! Yikes! That came around quickly! I especially like the single flowered feverfew. This happens to be a double one. It can be invasive in the garden, but I have quite a few invasives, don't I? The last flower in this trio is a nepeta called 'Walker's Low'. It is an early bloomer in the spring and as you can see a late bloomer as well. The bees were working the nepeta. It was fun watching them. Giveaways are coming! Trying to get them in before next week so you will have them in time for the holiday season. Another cool, rainy day. Talk to you later.

Old Friends/New Friends at Aji Picante!

2011-11-14T11:16:00.003-05:00

We went to see the movie Anonymous yesterday in Squirrel Hill. Excellent movie with Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen. We were walking back to our car when we noticed a new restaurant had opened in an old Panera location. It is called Aji Picante. The Herbal Husband looked in and saw an old friend from his architecture school days in Peru. A few years ago! They invited us to join them. They were having dinner with other old friends from local architecture days. Above is my favorite, causa. The Herbal Husband always makes causa for me on my birthday. If you click causa it will take you to The Herbal Husband's recipe for causa. It is delish and so was Aji Picante's. It was a bit spicy. So be prepared!

The Herbal Husband had another favorite of mine, lomo saltado. Here it is. The Herbal Husband makes this dish during tomato season and we didn't have much of that this year! He enjoyed Aji Picante's take. Here is a review from our local paper, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the restaurant. The reviewer called it a more elaborate taste of Peruvian cooking.

We enjoyed seeing our old friends and make new ones. Thanks for the photo photos, Vincenne! Hope you had a great weekend. Another rainy day cancels the front door and it drags on! Hopefully on Friday! Talk to you later.

The End of the Garden Sort of!

2011-11-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

The pineapple sage is happy in the living room window. While the one in the garden is done for this year.

Yes, that really is the pineapple sage. Didn't get to make any more jelly. Didn't have enough leaves and it doesn't dry well. Sooo. Some years it goes well and others not. It is a blustery warm day here. Got leaves raked. Probably not the best day. They are still coming down, but it is supposed to rain here tomorrow and Tuesday. I think the door will have to be postponed once again. Been waiting since the end of September. Weather delays! Well, hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.

Lots Going On!

2011-11-12T21:07:00.002-05:00

Didn't have much gardening time this week. Trying to get my car fixed so it wouldn't sound and smoke like a tank! That's all I'm going to say and OMG after more than a few dollars, it's quiet again. It is a senior so I will have to expect more incidents to happen. Hope they can come up with a few good cars soon. I may be found on the side of the road because my car just falls apart! Enough. On to more pleasant tasks. I actually did clip some herbs for drying. They have hung around until I got the chance to clip them. Hopefully, I'll get my act together and make some tea blends. I still have some dried herbs from last season. Fortunately they have been in airtight containers, so once I get it together, I'll make some blends and share them with you. Got to clean off the worktable again! A never ending task!

A little bouquet with lots of calendulas and the Fairy rose is still blooming a bit and a bit of sage. Hope you had a great day. I'm going to show you the end of the herb gardening season tomorrow with one photo. Hope you had a great day. We are still celebrating our anniversary. Went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Verona Village Inn. Now it might become your favorite as well. If you make reservations, you are usually seated right away. No waiting 20 minutes! It's a good thing. Talk to you later.

24 Years Ago Today!

2011-11-07T19:36:00.000-05:00

The Herbal Husband and I tied the knot. Here is a surprise dessert I bought at the store this afternoon. The Herbal Husband loves chocolate mousse so I found these small chocolate mousse tartlets. The perfect size. His words. Mine is a small fruit tartlet. Very good as well. We also got another road trip to eastern Pennsylvania for the annual Allentown toy show and to visit our friends over last weekend. I hope this is the last trip of the year. We traveled a bit too much this year. Now I have to fix my car. I hate that part. When a car becomes a senior, it usually starts to just come unglued!

This trip has been a standard in our lives over the years. I went to Well Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey that still was without power since last Saturday. Hope power is back now. Power crews and tree crews everywhere. There were trees that had lost branches but not their leaves. Very sad. A lot of damage. The herb farm had 18 inches of snow!

Look at all of those herbs! Too bad I couldn't take any with me! It is going to be mild here for the next few days. Always next year.

Also went to Sally Lunn Tearoom & Restaurant in Chester, NJ for afternoon tea in the morning! Had cherry rose tea and a pumpkin scone. Forgot that strawberry jam was served. Not a good choice with the pumpkin scone. Should have had my Spicy Basil Apple Jelly. Now that would have been good. I will leave you with that tease. I'm promised way back in August that I would be doing some giveaways. Probably not just one. Have to discuss it with my packer extraordinaire, but it will be at least 2 and maybe 3 giveaways because I have been blogging for a long time. So I hope you had a great day. It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh. Just like the day we got married. We were out shopping on our anniversary. Had The Herbal Husband's favorite cornflake crumb chicken. The recipe is on the cornflake crumb box. Very easy and delicious. Hope you had a great day. Talk to you later.

The Herbal Laundry is Back and Your Opinion!

2011-11-02T11:41:00.002-04:00

Haven't done the laundry in a while. We always find something else that needs to be done more. Now the herbal trees are back in the basement and I need to make the best of the fragrance when I'm trying to get to the dryer! Always something! Hope you are having a great day. BTW, what do you think of the new templates for Blogger? They seem a little too messy. Talk to you later.

Getting a Second Bloom and Tidying Up!

2011-11-01T17:03:00.001-04:00

I cut back the yarrow in August (It's in the center of the photo.), I think and it's going to bloom again. I really try to tidy up the garden. It doesn't always happen until late in the game, but for the most part it is necessary. Diseased plants go to the trash and healthy plant material goes to the compost. I like to keep some of the flower heads for the birds to nosh on. They love the coneflowers and the black-eyed Susans. I have even seem them on the mint seedheads even.

I love the calendulas in the fall season. I am hoping to have a bouquet of herbs on the Thanksgiving table and that I will have calendulas in the mix.

I usually have a second bloom of chives about this time of year. It is a really good bloom this time. There are usually only one or two. It was a beautiful day outside. Got out for a walk and the sun is very bright. Always good before winter really sets in. Hope you had a great day. Talk to you later.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:37:00.000-04:00

What A Difference A Day Makes And. . .!

2011-10-30T13:48:00.000-04:00

you can have tomatoes later in the season. Our tomato plants were planted July 31st and as you can see, we had tomato, basil (bought in the store, sorry), avocado, Feta cheese and olive salad. The Herbal Husband picked our tomatoes green and we wrapped them up in paper and they are just getting red. Not a sun ripened taste, but I'm just amazed we got any tomatoes this year! The last photo is of raspberry muffins I made this morning. Last of the fresh raspberries.

As you also can see by the banner photo, we lost our snow, but not the cold. I took a walk and nearly froze. Have to pull my winter weather gear out. I'm going to try and walk outside more this winter if I can. I've got metal in my ankle so I need to be careful that I don't damage it again. It can't be fixed. Hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.

An Article for Beginner Herb Gardeners

2011-10-29T11:02:00.001-04:00

I know some of you need help on what to do in your herb garden at all times of year. There is so much to tell. The Herb Companion website is a wonderful resource and not just because I blog for them. Sal Gilbertie has written a new book for beginners and The Herb Companion has put an excerpt from that book on its website. Here is a link to the article called From Our Bookshelf: Herb Gardening for Beginners. It won't be published until next year, but maybe it will help guide you in the short term. I am going to try over the next months to rearrange my blog to make my labels geared to what you should be doing in your herb garden. I have been posting for a long time so it may take awhile for the rearrangement.

Christmas Decorations in the Stores Before Halloween and Now This!

2011-10-29T10:38:00.001-04:00

As you can see by my banner photo, we have snow before Halloween! This is a back garden photo. I remember one year not too long ago, we had snow on Halloween. Sooo all I can hope for is that it changes to rain soon and gets the heck out of here! I love snow don't miss quote me. I just love it once the trees have lost their leaves! This is not all that pretty and will be bad for the plants as well. Hope your day has been snow free. Talk to you later.

So What Have I Been Up to?

2011-10-28T11:48:00.000-04:00

I decided not to put out the Out Weeding Sign to take an herbal timeout like usual. I just stole away in broad daylight and went to visit our old and dear friend, Jim. He had to move out to Chicago to be closer to his only daughter. His dear wife, LaVerne passed away last year and he also lost his older daughter last year as well. We love Jim and we wanted to be sure to see him at least one more time. He is 95 and thinks he is 100! Here is a photo of him with me.

He recognized us, but I don't think he knew our names. I was just happy he remembered us from the good times we had with the two of them. He had been married to LaVerne for 65 years! What a loss! He does have his lady friends (We called them his girlfriends and he corrected us.) that take care of him at meal times. There is one lady that has learned how he likes his coffee and she always has it ready for him when he gets to the table! It was wonderful to see him and to know he is doing pretty good.

Of course, we did a little bit of everything. I drove 1,200 miles for your safety and mine. 450 miles out and back and 300 miles in between. Got to downtown Chicago, the Botanic Garden, a toy show and a visit to St. Charles and the Fox River. I was exhausted when we got home. I think I slept most of Tuesday! Got a new back door on Wednesday. Had issues with the new front door. It is tough when you order a door that isn't even in the design catalog. It is waiting for replacement hinges and a door jam and is being stored in our garage. Maybe after Halloween! Finally don't have to do a hip check on the back door! The Penguins may have been able to use me with Crosby out! HA! That's really funny!

Well, I have sort of liven up the surroundings on my blog home page. The lemon verbena that was attacked by the stink bug has recovered so I'm going cut it down and make jelly today.

Because someone threw the switch again and it is COLD here. Need to find my gloves! Well, I hope you aren't as cold as we are! Talk to you later.

A Sad Tomato Crop for The Herbal Husband and Herbal Transfers!

2011-10-17T14:19:00.000-04:00

Between the deer and the cooler weather, the tomato crop was a disaster this year. Well, we weren't able to plant plants when it was a good time. Then we went away and couldn't water or take care of them. So these plants were purchased at the end of July! So I guess it's a miracle of sorts that we got anything at all. With my GERD, tomatoes have fallen from favor with me. I have them in small doses. Gone are the days to have a big plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce! Boo hoo! The Herbal Husband did bring the survivors inside and wrapped them up in paper. One is turning and the others have remained steadfastly green. Maybe fried green tomatoes for The Herbal Husband!

It is still windy here, but dry. We are going to try to bring the garden inside! Ha! A small joke! However, we were discussing the plants we couldn't leave outside and that list is growing by leaps and bounds. It happens every year, the rosemarys, the lavenders, the scented geraniums, the lemon verbenas. You see an s on the end of all of those plants names. That means there are at least two coming in! WOW! Test the master gardener abilities! Hope you are having a great day. We are going to be busy around here for the next couple of days! Talk to you later.

"E" is for Epazote

2011-10-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides) is an annual or short-lived perennial for gardeners in the northern part of the United States. For those of you in the south, it may be more of a perennial and may be a problem. It reaches to a height of 5 feet and needs sun. It doesn't need amended soil. It grows easily in areas where it may not be wanted. Its flowers are more seed like than flower.

Chenopodium means goose foot and that is one of its common names. It has a camphor smell to it. We don't use it often, but the bottom photo shows it cut up in a pot of beans. It is said to help lessen the musical noises after you eat the beans. I think to a certain extent, it works! The camphor smell is cooked away and does not affect the taste of the beans.

It is also used as a tea and is known as Mexican tea. I have not tried it and I'm not sure I'm going to because of the camphor taste. It is not one of my favorites. Although in reading The Herb Companion article, it says that the Native Americans and Mexicans drink the tea to facilitate childbirth and ease painful periods among other uses. Another common name is American wormseed because it is used as a remedy for intestinal parasites. Yikes! So if you making plans for your herb garden next year, maybe epazote is an herb to consider. Hope you have had a great day. Talk to you later.

More European Adventures-Graveson and Arles, France!

2011-10-14T16:02:00.000-04:00

Pizza and Salad at a local restaurant in Graveson, France

The Herbal Husband's Favorite-Tiramisu

Lavender and Rosemary-A Staple of Southern France

The Sunflower Fields in Bloom on the Way to Arles

The Rhone River in Arles, France

Can You Believe it! I Found a X-Stitch Store!

A Romanesque Church

The Coliseum in Arles

Cat on a Bike with Basil!

Van Gogh made a Painting of this Bridge

Our Brand New Rental Car!

We left The Netherlands by train in the morning and by the end of the day we were in the heat and sun of the south of France. We stayed in a lovely bed & breakfast in Graveson, France called Le Cadran Solaire. We spent our first full day going to Arles and then St. Remy de Provence and then back to Arles. The distances were so close that it wasn't a big deal. More about Le Cadran Solaire and St. Remy de Provence in a later post. Arles is a very ancient city from Roman times, but the Romans were everywhere at that time. I did find a x-stitch shop and picked up a couple of small graphs. Hope to get them finished in my lifetime! I really have to get The Herbal Husband's sampler done of his citizenship! It will be 20 years in February! Well, fortunately the brand new rental car wasn't in a crash in the south of France. They are very crazy drivers there! It has been rainy, hailing and windy. A wild day in the 'Burgh! Hope you are having a great day. Have a great weekend! Talk to you later.

Finishing a Trip or Two-Poulsbo, Washington!

2011-10-12T11:52:00.000-04:00

My Cousin Has a Beautiful View!

Found Herbs at a Local Nursery

Poulsbo Harbor

Famous Sluy's Poulsbo Bakery

After seven days of beautiful weather, the rains have come and our doors have been postponed! So instead of a door post, we'll go traveling. I'm so far behind on sharing trip photos that it doesn't matter what I talk about! If your memory is hazy, let me refresh it. We went up to Vancouver, BC to visit The Herbal Husband's nephew and family. We then rented a car and took the ferry over to Victoria and saw Butchart Gardens and had tea at the Empress. We took a second ferry into the United States to see my cousin and his wife in Poulsbo, Washington. They have a beautiful view of the Hood Canal and the mountains. We even brought good weather to them. We had beautiful days as you can see from the photos above. We went to a local nursery and found some really wonderful herbs. Always sad not to be able to take any home! Had to go back into Canada! Then we went to downtown Poulsbo and walked along the harbor and had to stop at Sluy's Poulsbo Bakery. Yum! We had a great time although short visit with my family. Hopefully we will see them again soon. Hope you are having a dry day. The rain will continue so maybe the traveling will as well. Talk to you later.

Looks Messy, but Really Delicious!

2011-10-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

I'm still doing my own cooking (The Herbal Husband comes home tomorrow!). Because I have GERD, I have to watch what I eat. I do love my seafood. This is salmon (wild caught) with a tiny bit of onion and a small sliced fennel bulb (supposedly good for GERD) and fronds, a bit of butter and about a 1/4 cup of orange juice. I placed it in a piece of foil and cooked it in a 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes! It was tasty! The asparagus recipe is in my new post for The Herb Companion and hopefully, will be posted in the next day or so. I only will say that sage leaves cooked in butter! Delish! I ate most of the sage leaves before I could get a photo! Ooops! Our stretch of beautiful weather is coming to an end. The Herbal Husband comes home from Florida tomorrow and we get our exterior doors on Wednesday. So a doors post will be in the offing! Hope you had a great day! Talk to you later.

Herbal Jelly Handouts Here or There!

2011-10-08T11:24:00.000-04:00

OK, I know most of you didn't get to the Mother Earth News Fair at Seven Springs, but 12,000 others did. Still, 30 brave souls sat through my talk and you can get my handouts without having to watch me wilt! Here is the link for The Zen of Making Herbal Jelly. Under Real Food Stage, you will see my name and the title of my talk. You can download them and then save to your Desktop and do the green thing and save a tree by not printing them or you can print them and not save a tree. Up to you. Boy, never realize what The Herbal Husband does around here until he's gone (Not dead, just on vacation!) I'm trying a couple of new recipes tonight and hopefully, I'll be sharing them with you if they turn out. Another great day in the 'Burgh and it's the local high school's homecoming. People are all excited! Going to rake chestnut hulls among other things. Hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.

The Two Cap Rule!

2011-10-07T09:50:00.000-04:00

The deer started to browse what few TOMATOES we had growing the other day! Sooo we had to pull out all the caps. It doesn't always work, but the deer think that there is someone working in the garden. They are also browsing the trees that have sprouted back from the ground. That's OK! The Herbal Husband thinks we can train these wild beasts! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The Herbal Husband is off in Florida visiting a cousin and wife. They were amazed that I don't own a bathing suit. Florida is OK, but they will talk family and enjoy eating fried fish. The weather here is supposed to be excellent and I couldn't miss it after ten days of rain. Already cut most of the garlic chive flowers. They are seriously challenging my herb garden. Well, got to go feed the birds and enjoy the day in the garden. Will share my adventures. Talk to you later.

These Finally Bloomed!

2011-10-04T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Herbal Husband loves his Peruvian morning glories. He brought the seeds back several years ago. Maybe when I was with him in 2006. Always beautiful on a fence. They were slow to grow this year because of our traveling. They have come on strong in September and October. It is still dreary and wet here. My windshield wipers are so tired one came off as I was trying to put it back together. We are supposed to be sunny starting tomorrow. It will be a wonderful sight. Hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.

Not Your Typical Scented Geranium!

2011-10-03T11:02:00.001-04:00

When we left for Europe in July, we had to plant most of our potted herbs in the ground. This scented geranium wasn't doing nearly as well as it is now that it has been raining 40 days and nights (kidding!). I just ran out to get its name for you. It's called 'Madame Nonin'. Of course, had to find out about the Madame. Known for its beautiful flower and I think I missed them! I also stumbled onto this website Hobbs Farm and Greenery when I googled 'Madame Nonin'. Lorraine Smith has a passion for geraniums. She is in Hope, Maine. Need to do a road trip some summer! I think she must have every known scented geranium! Could stay at Sharon Lovejoy's Comfort Found Literary Lodging! Googled Hope and it's not too far away and then there is always L.L. Bean in ~~Rockport~~ (Ms. Sharon reminded me it's Freeport, not Rockport!) I so wanted to be a mapmaker when I was young. The math kept me from it! So Lorraine says cut it back and bring it in. Will do, Lorraine! Going to have warm weather here again SOON! Hope you are having a good day. The Herbal Husband is getting ready to go to Florida! Talk to you later.

This Is Ready to Come Inside!

2011-10-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

This sweet lavender (Lavandula heterophylla) is not hardy for us. Gardeners in the deep south or far west and south (like Zone 9 and south) are lucky enough to put this in the ground. I would not use the flowers from this in cooking. I would only use Lavandula angustifolia varieties, such as 'Hidcote' or 'Munstead' as long as it says angustifolia on the tag.

The only lavender outside the angustifolia variety of lavender would be one called 'Provence' in the Lavendula x intermedia varieties. It is mostly hardy for us. I was in love with it and during one cold wet winter several years ago, I lost 8 plants. It was devastating! This sweet lavender because of its size will either be in the garage (my favorite place for herbs) or the basement. It may not have enough light in the basement and that becomes the real issue for herbs in the house, light. The tag along plant is a nicotiana that seeded somehow. I don't know how The Herbal Husband does it sometimes! Those Peruvian tricks! Well, the air is very brisk here and we are really wet! We have a closed low that just keeps spinning around. My grass is like a field and the weeds that I haven't gotten to weed are going to be great Halloween decorations! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hope you are having a great day in autumn. Talk to you later.

Not Your Typical Basil! (UPDATED FOR TUFA GIRL A/K/A FW DIRT)!

2011-09-30T14:26:00.001-04:00

This is one of my favorite basils. It is a green pepper basil. Yes, it does smell and taste like green peppers. It has survived through the 40's because it has been close to the rock wall this season. It is a very decorative plant.

Sorta of did a half done (You can insert the word you like better there.) post yesterday. Tufa Girl a/k/a FW Dirt asked me botanical name, etc. If I had had time FWD, you know I would have. Here you go, FWD.

Here is a really good article link from The Herb Companion and Jim Long, FWD with the botanical name, Ocimum selloi.

We tried to save seeds from our plant and gave them to our niece in Peru. The seeds didn't germinate. Seeds when they drop in the container do germinate. Jim mentions two sources Mulberry Creek in Ohio. They don't do mail order any more. Nichols is the other source and I can't see them there either. Companion Plants in Ohio does sell the seeds and here is the link to buy green pepper basil seeds. Hope you can get the seeds.

Got to run. Already saw 50/50 at the movies. 50/50 is good, but language is rough. If you don't like the f word, this movie is not for you. Talk to you later.

This Was Amazing This Year!

2011-09-29T12:14:00.001-04:00

The Night Blooming Jasmine Framed with a Peppermint Scented Geranium!

There's That Peppermint Scented Geranium Again!

Now It's Blocked by the Kaffir Lime!

Blooming At Night!

The jasmine suffered while we were gone, but stress is a good thing when you want something to bloom in a container. If all you have are green leaves and no blossoms, let it be a little stressed (e.g. not watering it consistently or fertilizing it too much) and see the results. It worked for us. I bought this night blooming jasmine for The Herbal Husband several years ago at Well-Sweep Herb Farm. The container that it is in as just got bigger and bigger! It is a delicious smell at night when it is in bloom! Maybe more about the peppermint scented geranium in another post! It is going to be transplanted before it comes in for the winter. Rainy here and a cool down for the weekend. Made rose geranium jelly this morning. May have to buy another bottle of wine to make more. Talk to you later.

The Flowers That Can't Tell Time!

2011-09-28T12:49:00.000-04:00

My four o'clocks were blooming around 10 o'clock today! They never seem to know when they are supposed to bloom. Maybe it is because they have a little Latin in them. Oh, that means they would be later! I do not know why these are early and I don't really care because they are beautiful. Always happy to see some late bloomers in the garden. Will share more tomorrow. Talk to you later.

My Adventures at Mother Earth News Fair and Zen Moments

2011-09-27T15:05:00.000-04:00

Under the Tent the Toyota Plug-in Car!

A llama from The Herbal Husband's Birth Place, Peru

The Timberstone Room Where I Spoke

Cinnamon Ice Cream

A Baby Alpaca!

Demonstrating Horseradish Jelly

Not Very Zen Like Table

Herbal Tea for My Zen Moments

Started with Raspberry Jam

And Ended with Rose Geranium Jelly

Well, I can make jam and jelly in my kitchen all day. I struggled at the Mother Earth News Fair and didn't finish the horseradish jelly I was trying to make. I did get it into jars in the back and canned it when I got home, but that wasn't what I was supposed to do. I get very excited to share my passion and some times it gets too overwhelming. I tried to do too much and 45 minutes isn't a long time until you must do something and it doesn't get finished like you want. The Herbal Husband was there to support me and he was a great comfort, positive, loving and just what I needed after I finished. I also want to thank K.C., Gina, Allison from The Herb Companion magazine for helping me and supporting me. James D., Christine and my volunteer, Jen, for their support as well. Got to see some of the fair and of course, have cinnamon ice cream.

Took a day off and then it was back making jam and jelly this morning and afternoon. Had to have a cup of herbal tea during the moments. I made a batch of raspberry jam this morning and two batches of lemon verbena jelly this afternoon and finished with a rose geranium jelly batch. Then I set up the last rose geranium batch with the last of the wine. I might have to get another bottle of wine, because I still have a lot of leaves left. Going to try and catch you up on the garden. Have some photos to share. The weather is still pretty good. We did have almost an inch of rain last night! The sun is out at the moment. Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Prayers Are Just Amazing and So Are You!

2011-09-23T20:45:00.000-04:00

Bonnie and I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for John. He is making progress although he has a long way to go including surgery at some point. Bonnie was very touched that I put a call out on my blog and you responded. She was very pleased! She says thank you for all your continued thoughts and prayers. Had to have a little comic relief! Chippie found a new resting place on St. Fiacre. Mary fell apart and had to be carried away! As you can see the garlic chives are out in full force. I really am going to renovate the herb garden next year. It's going to happen! Lots of preparation for Sunday! Don't usually talk while making jelly! This might not work out! While you're saying your prayers, say one for me as well! I thank you in advance for your support! Talk to you after the big event.

A Special Request, Please!

2011-09-21T09:46:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to ask for your thoughts and prayers for my dear herbal companion, Bonnie's husband, John. He has been sick and Bonnie got him into the hospital yesterday. So get well soon, John! We are all praying for you!

Need an Herbal Timeout!

2011-09-16T19:28:00.000-04:00

Hope you will understand about this herbal timeout. I am trying to get my herbal ducks in a row and focus on my upcoming demonstration for the Mother Earth News Fair on September 25, 2011 at 3:00 on the Eating Well stage. Talk to you after the 25th!

Love The Late Summer/Early Fall Fairy Rose!

2011-09-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

Really one of the workhorses in the garden for me is my 'Fairy' rose. This one is pink and we have a little red one as well. It is also blooming even in its first year stages. Lovely in arrangements and as decoration on cakes or in tussie mussies, the 'Fairy' just blooms and blooms through the summer and into fall. Remember it is an edible flower. We are going to have a couple of nights in the upper 30's and I think as I remember from last season, it will survive those with flying colors. Going to be making some basil jelly this afternoon. As I said in a previous post, basil doesn't like the 40's and will start turning black. So for those of you who have had frost already, I will be thinking of you when I make my first batch of basil this afternoon. A couple of more basil jellies tomorrow and a batch of raspberry jam as well. Made sure I got my walk in today because standing around in one place can be hard on the joints! Don't you love this time of year. Hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.

They Started Our Garden Twenty Plus Years Ago!

2011-09-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

Impatiens started our garden 20 plus years ago. So it is fitting that it would reappear again because of the wind or the birds. It is funny how flowers come and go and then come back again. Our neighbors annual flowers are impatiens. So maybe it is a gift from them! Hope you are having a good day wherever you may be. I'm going to be with Miss C later today after her volleyball practice. We are going out to dinner just the two of us. I think she will do most of the talking! Looking forward to spending time with her. I think the basil will need to be cut tomorrow. We are going to have temperatures in the 40's tomorrow night! Basil doesn't do well. Making a new jelly flavor. Talk to you later.

The Only Way to Plant Mint!

2011-09-12T15:44:00.001-04:00

Fortunately, this silver mint (Mentha longifolia) has come back from the dead. It wasn't watered enough while we were gone. Mints are survivors usually, but you never know. You need to plant mints in containers. I don't heed my own words, but you should! Plant them in a 12" or bigger pot about three inches down from the lip of the pot. Also you can line the bottom with landscape fabric so the roots don't creep out and plant themselves in the ground or patio! I have several plants that are planted in the patio and need to come out before they take over the garden! I think that's my new mantra! Congratulations to Sam Stosur on winning the U.S. Open tennis tournament! She played very well! Looking forward to Nadal and Djokovic in a little while. Hope you had a great day. Talk to you later.

The Fireworks Have Started!

2011-09-10T12:46:00.000-04:00

Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks' or 'Fireworks' goldenrod is an annual event and a perennial favorite in my garden. It started in the front garden and has moved or been transplanted all over the garden. Sometimes a good thing and other times I wish it would move on and it does with help from you know who or on its own. Our skies are iffy today. I walked earlier and carried my insurance-an umbrella! Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Look What I Found!

2011-09-09T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Herbal Husband was very excited the other day. He said you have to come and see what I found in the garden. Call it look what I found (or planted) in the back of the garden. A papaya tree! I'm not kidding! And guess what is coming inside for the winter. A papaya tree! You may ask, LVL, do you have room for this papaya tree? I would answer you, probably not, but you know The Herbal Husband. Where there is a papaya tree, there had better be a space inside the house or no more papaya tree! I just try to limit the exposure and damage to everything that comes inside. With all of the brown marmorated stink bugs we have now, that will be one major insect that we have to careful not to let come in for the winter. You can go around the garden and knock them into a jar of soapy water. I have to change the name of my jar from beetle juice to stink bug juice! I'm sure we have a few already inside. I'm sure I told you about the day I went to the coat closet and one walked out. They are all over the raspberries! Yikes! They are really causing damage and there are a lot of them everywhere in our garden. I was reading today about an Asian Wasp that may be a predator. I'm going to buy a bunch of them if it proves to be correct. Well, hope you had a good day. Working on timing my demo for the Fair. Talk to you later.

Something We Haven't Seen For Awhile and the Cat Count!

2011-09-08T13:57:00.000-04:00

The Sun Finally Appears!

The Original Kitty Waiting for Lunch!

A New Bigger Cat!

Usually we don't hit our gray days until winter. This rain is getting to The Herbal Husband and me. Fortunately we haven't had the flooding rains that other parts of the state have gotten! Rain did provide time for The Herbal Husband to write an article for an English toy magazine and I got my handouts ready for Seven Springs in two weeks! Now all I have to do is practice making the jelly! I can do it in my sleep, but in front of people will be a different experience. Then there are the cats and we now are into multiples. We have at least two residents and may be more! Well, hope you are having a great day. We are having date night and going to Panera and the Oaks Movie Theater for a foreign film. Get my glasses cleaned! Sometimes I'm reading so much at the foreign film, I don't enjoy the film! Ugh! OK, enough whining! Talk to you later.

One of My Favorite Late Summer Herbs

2011-09-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

My bronze fennel is blooming in the back garden. It's a little hard to see in this photo. I'm going to watching closely (Ha!) so I can cut the flowers before they seed everywhere in the garden. I think that the bronze fennel looks good with the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’). Really muggy and hot today. Got another batch of raspberry jam made. Got to get my Mother Earth News Fair handouts done and speech timed! May disappear for a couple of days. Hope you have a great Labor (Can't believe it!) Day weekend! Cooler here next week. Talk to you later.

Speaking of

2011-09-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Sunflowers! I wanted to show you my volunteers. Sometimes they are the best and since we haven't been around much to plant seeds, the birds have done it for us. Thank you birdies! They are an edible flower as well. You can cook the new flower buds like an artichoke, but then you wouldn't have flowers! You can also sprinkle the petals into your salads. Works for me! Strange day today. It's muggy and we had heavy rain this morning and now the sun is out. Maybe I can get my walk in after all! Talk to you later.

The Plant Whisperer!

2011-08-31T19:51:00.000-04:00

The tall yellow flowers in the background of this photo are native sunflowers. They can be aggressive and take over a space. We always use the sticks and strings to conquer this giant. The Herbal Husband and I tackled the job today. At one point, The Herbal Husband was muttering to himself. I asked what was wrong and he said he thought he had trained the stems to stand upright so that we could put the string around them easily and they would listen! I can't make this stuff up! I thought he is thinking he is the plant whisperer! Well, hope you had a great day. I had to mow the yard. So I'm fading fast. Will talk to you later.

My Birthday Flowers!

2011-08-30T19:13:00.000-04:00

Just had to share my birthday flowers. No, not from The Herbal Husband, but from our dear friends in Uruguay! I'm a very lucky girl! They are from Pro Flower. They came very well wrapped and lots of instructions and information to make the flowers look good and last. So if you need flowers for a special occasion or just as a treat, try them. Well, we had a beautiful day in the 'Burgh and I was inside cleaning! The Herbal Husband was out watering the garden so I would have gotten wet weeding! He is sort of like a dog who hates the vacuum noise. I know he probably has more than selective hearing. He probably could use a hearing aid or two. Oh well, hope you are enjoying your day. Some of you are still without power and we are praying you are OK soon. Talk to you later.

A Day of Celebration and Multitasking!

2011-08-28T22:45:00.000-04:00

Had to Make Blueberry Muffins for Breakfast!

The Herb Garden on My Birthday

A Candlelit Breakfast Table

Raspberries from the Garden in Our Fruit Bowl

Made Two Batches of Raspberry Jam

The Century Inn in Scenery Hill, PA

My First Course was Seared Scallops with Arugula Salad and Bacon!

A Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

A Lemon Tart for My Birthday

A Beautiful Sunset to End the Day

I feel kind of sad that I had such a fun and full day and others are in the dark and flooded out! Hurricane Irene was a terror and stayed way too long in some parts of the country. As you can see by the photos I did way too much on my birthday, but Mother Nature had us picking raspberries yesterday and I had to make jam today. Raspberries don't keep, but it went quickly this morning. Usually the early crop doesn't set up well for jam, but it was already set up before we left for dinner tonight. I forgot to take a photo of my entree. It was grilled salmon and The Herbal Husband had maple glazed pork. Yes, I pigged out. Back to writing everything down tomorrow. I'm picking up a few extra pounds and need to focus on getting them off! Always something! I'm thinking of all of you on the East Coast that got battered by Irene! Hope everything gets back to normal for you quickly! Talk to you later.

Tansy Workshop at the Village Herb Shop and It's My 900th Post! WOW!

2011-08-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

Tansy Blooming in My Garden

Getting Ready for the Tansy Workshop

Ant and Insect Repellent Bags

Kathleen Gips, Herbal Owner of the Village Herb Shop

A Fragrant Pet Pillow

Breaking Up Cinnamon Sticks!

Corn Cob Fixative Waiting for Essential Oil

Moth Chaser Closet Bags

The Beautiful Herb Garden at VHS

Look Out Kathleen, the Garlic Chives Will Take Over! Not On Your Watch!

Wish I Had Noticed That Truck!

Lots of Statuary and Bird Baths to Look At

The Edible Flowers Garden

Well, my herbal companion, Bonnie and I went up to Chagrin Falls for the day and spent time with our dear friend and herbal teacher extraordinaire, Kathleen Gips at her first tansy workshop at the Village Herb Shop. Both Bonnie and I have a thick file of recipes and information from Kathleen that we have accumulated over the years. We keep learning so much from our visits. We enjoyed lunch with Kathleen as well at Rick's Cafe.

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) can be an invasive herb that should not be used as a culinary or medicinal plant. Never ingest tansy. It is toxic. Tansy contains thujone which is a relatively toxic compound, capable of inducing both convulsions and psychotic effects in human beings. If you have older herb books, they may have recipes using tansy. Please do not use those recipes. It was trial and error back in the early days and sometimes mostly error!

In the workshop today, we started by stripping the tansy leaves from the stems to make up 1/2 cup of material and added a couple of stems of lemongrass chopped up and placed half in one small muslin bag and the other half in another bag to make ant/insect repellent bags. They can be used on windowsills or any place where ants are getting inside your house. They are also known to repel flies. We also made a pet pillow (Bonnie took mine home for her kitties. I couldn't call The Herbal Husband a pet! Could I?) Then we also made a couple of moth chaser bags and they are already smelling the closets up nicely. Kathleen clips all of her very aromatic herbs through the season, drys them on trays in her dining room and then places them in bins to be used for her workshops. In this case, santolina, tansy, and southernwood to name a few.

In the link above, it talks about interplanting tansy with potatoes and that reduces the Colorado Potato Beetles by 60 to 100%. That sounds like a very good thing! They link the reduction in populations from the avoidance of the beetle to the essential oils of tansy. I would say if you are going to plant it, plant it in a back corner of your garden. It will take over in a short period of time. Tansy did attract ladybugs in all stages a few years ago when I wanted the tansy moved! Yikes! That was a dilemma!

So a few photos of the workshop and then the Village Herb Shop's lovely gardens. Kathleen has classes where you work in the gardens and learn about the herbs and how to maintain them. They may be just about over for the season. You can check out the Village Herb Shop to see what events are upcoming. They are definitely ready for Halloween! Hope you had a good day. Keeping our fingers and toes crossed for all of you on the east coast, especially all of my blogging friends up and down the United States. Please stay safe and blog when you can to let us know you are OK!

A Visit to Middachten

2011-08-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

A Castle Still Owned and Lived in by Generations of the Same Family!

A Beautiful Setting

Even a Moat with Koi!

A Storks' Nest on the Chimney!

A View to the Garden

The Rose Garden

One of The Herbal Husband's Favorites, A Fig Tree!

One of My Favorites Growing Beneath the Fig, Nasturtiums!

Part of the Perennial Border

A Boxwood Hedged Garden

Our Dutch hosts treated us royally! Middachten is a beautiful castle and gardens. It has remained in the same family for generations and has never been sold. It is still lived in today. It was first mentioned in the history books in 1190 because of its defenses and it was destroyed in the late 1690's. Once rebuilt around 1698, the gardens were also redesigned in the style of Versailles and in the late 18th century, the English garden was added. It had a lovely herb garden and I will be sharing that part of the visit on The Herb Companion blog next week. Hope you are having a great day. It's off to see One Day with Anne Hathaway later today. Will let you know how it is. I did see The Help and liked it, but thought it could have been shorter. It just dragged a little for me. Talk to you later.

A Great Repeat Herbal Flower!

2011-08-24T12:19:00.000-04:00

If you can keep deadheading your calendulas, you will have them until frost. That's the good news. The bad news is that I keep repeating myself! Yikes! Why don't you tell me these things? You just let me blab away! It's a slow garden year and I feel disconnected at the moment. I spent a good part of yesterday weeding which was very fulfilling. A good weeding always helps me get back in touch with my garden. Maybe I should get back to traveling and take you with me? More traveling tomorrow!

A New Favorite Basil!

2011-08-22T17:45:00.001-04:00

Since we were away so much this summer, we didn't buy a lot of herbs like usual. I found several sweet basils at the nursery and one 'Siam Queen', a spicier version with an anise flavor. It is nicely ornamental with purple flowers and one of the leaf stems is variegated. Usually variegation comes from a virus, a good one not a bad one, I think. 'Siam Queen' has added an interesting note to our tomato, feta, olive and basil salads sort of a Greek caprese salad. The Herb Companion had a great article on the original Italian caprese salad in the last issue. Hope you enjoy it. It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh and I was sitting in Home Depot trying to get my door order straightened out! Ugh! That's all I have about that! Hope you had a great day! Talk to you later!

Enough for Another Tree!

2011-08-21T12:42:00.001-04:00

I think you remember the artemisia tree I made last Christmas. Well, I got three bags full of artemisia this time so I think it may be even better than last year's. I'll let you in on a secret last year's is still in the dining room. The Herbal Husband thought it was a good every day decoration. Well, after how he decorates. Let me remind you if you have forgotten, The Herbal Husband's Holiday Decorating. So it is looking hopeful that I will have a much fuller Christmas tree or maybe we should call it an everyday tree this year. Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

Late Summer (OMG) Garden!

2011-08-20T21:35:00.001-04:00

The native monarda (Monarda fistulosa) is blooming nicely. It is leaning a bit trying to get the most sun. We propped it up with some sticks and strings this afternoon. We had some blooming when Jekka was here in June and now the late summer (OMG) plants are blooming away. Having a long vacation in the middle of summer has thrown me completely for an herbal loop! I'm slowly finding all of the weeds that were just about to bloom. They can disguise themselves very well. There was one weed in the raspberries that was at least 7-1/2' tall and had a stem like a small tree trunk. Had to make sure I got that one out before it sprang forth and multiplied! Rain tomorrow. Hope to get my handouts for Seven Springs finished. Will show you more garden photos tomorrow.

Always Glad to See These!

2011-08-18T11:50:00.000-04:00

We usually have an early crop of raspberries from last year's canes. Between our July trip and the heat though, there were very few or no early raspberries. These were delicious! So I have been in search of jelly jars to make sure I have enough for the incoming crop. Yippee! Have to get back to my handouts for The Zen of Making Herbal Jelly. I'm not so sure there will be much zen, but hopefully there will be a lot of good information exchanged! Beautiful day outside. Should be out there! It's been one of those years! Hope you are having a great day everywhere you may be. Talk to you later.

Sunday, September 25, 2011, Mother Earth News Fair, 3:00 PM

2011-08-16T16:10:00.001-04:00

Well, it's official. I'm going to be at Seven Springs on Sunday, September 25, 2011 on the Eating Well stage at 3:00 PM at the Mother Earth News Fair demonstrating how to make herbal jelly and you will get to try some as well! So if you are in the area, please come and join me. You can click on the photo in the upper right hand corner where the jelly jar is to get a list of speakers who will be there over the entire weekend. My name will be added shortly to that list. The weather outside is very pleasant and I'm in here on the computer. Something wrong with that. Well, hope you are having a good day. St. Fiacre has taken Mary's place guarding the herb garden. More about that in a later post. Talk to you later.

I Think Peggy R and I Have the Same Idea!

2011-08-15T11:47:00.001-04:00

My blogging friend PeggyR from My Affairs with Art & Daily Life and I have the same idea and it's all good, PeggyR! I know that they are tiger swallowtail butterflies and they have just been everywhere for us this year. They seem to love our butterfly bushes (good thing!) and there were about seven or eight the other evening flying around. You might have to click on the photo to get a better look. Hope you are having a great day! Need to go work on my list of things to do! Talk to you later.

We Do Have Figs!

2011-08-13T20:17:00.000-04:00

The brown fig is usually the last one to give in a season. This season our green figs lost their leaves when they spent July in the garage. Do you blame them? The brown fig held on to its figs and it has started to produce. You can tell they are ready when the ants are rummaging the fruit. We have been having them in our morning fruit salad. Delish! Got another day of weeding in the garden today. Tomorrow looks like the laundry may get down because the rain is going to move in. Hope you have had a great day wherever you may be. Had to get more storage for my photos for this blog. Changing my banner photo tomorrow. Have a changing of the guard to talk about. Stay tuned. Talk to you later.

The Zen of Weeding!

2011-08-12T23:09:00.000-04:00

It was such a beautiful yesterday and today in the garden. I spent some time weeding before I mowed today. Makes it so much easier. Here is an article I found in the latest issue of The Herb Companion magazine. I could swear it was called "The Zen of Weeding." It's called Garden Maintenance Methods online by Tammi Hartung who wrote a book called Homegrown Herbs. Have it on my wishlist. She will be speaking at the Mother Earth News Fair on September 24 and 25 up at Seven Springs. I think I will be speaking there as well. Hope I get to meet her. Well, in a nutshell, she says to embrace weeding because in the end, it helps you and your herbs. Hope you had a great day. Sorry this is so late in the day. Been really busy. Talk to you later.

This Poor Tree-Herbally Speaking!

2011-08-11T22:27:00.000-04:00

This poor bay tree is on life support! It has been in the living room until we came home from Europe. It probably should have been outside sooner. Although it might not have made it with the heat we had while we were gone. The good news is is that it is growing new leaves and if any plant can make it, it would be this one. The Herbal Husband has had some herbal miracles happen on his watch. We had a Kaffir lime get down to one solitary leaf and survive to be big and beautiful. So expect nothing less than that from the bay! It was a beautiful day in the garden. Was out weeding and will talk about it tomorrow after I mow! Enjoy the day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.

A Dutch Breakfast

2011-08-10T11:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I really don't eat much chocolate any more, but I had to try what my Dutch hosts sometimes have for breakfast. The top photo is shaved chocolate that comes in a box. You butter a piece of white bread and then shake the chocolate on to the bread. Devine! The second photo is of a spice cake or gingerbread. It was very good as well and very Dutch. Everything in moderation! The heat has broken here. We ordered our doors yesterday. Yippee! Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. Talk to you later.