A Gray and White Day in the Herb Garden!

Yes, Sun and Snow At The Same Time!

A View Into The Back Garden!

I think I have mentioned that I am a four seasons kind of girl.  I love all seasons but particularly spring, fall and winter.  Summer gets too hot for me.  So I can't see me ever living in the south for example.  After whining about not having snow, I got my wish today in the form of about four inches of the fluffy white stuff.  I was not prepared though to find the sun coming out AND snow falling to the ground!  It was sort of an unreal experience.  The banner photo shows St. Fiacre being blinded by the snow.   The only other problem with snowy days in the 'Burgh is that it is very dark!  Lights seem to be always on these days.  It is OK!  We have turned the corner as far as light at the end of the day and by the end of February, we will accumulate another 1-1/2 hours of light.  So spring is near really!  A few more days of snow and cold and another winter will be in the back of our memory banks.

I still have lots to talk about.  I still want to talk about herbal teas, celebrate my love/hate relationship with cilantro, the 2017 Herb of the Year, and talk more about savory, the 2015 Herb of the Year.  You get it.  I am planning a special Valentine's Day tea for The Herbal Husband.  Sshh!  Don't tell him, but it will include some of his favorites and some of mine.  I will share it with you next time.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you soon.

A Sunny Snowy Herb Garden and Why Snow is Important!

A Beautiful Day in the Herb Garden!

As I have mentioned lots of times the 'Burgh is a pretty gray place in the winter.  This is the second really blue sky day we have had since cold temperatures have set in.  I really love snow in the winter for the insulation factor it gives the herb garden.  For when we have cold winds which will come maybe as soon as tomorrow, the snow covers the plants and protects them from those winds.

We have put an additional special covering on the lemon verbena that is in the ground this year.  I hope that it insulates the plant enough that it will come back in the spring.  We shall see!  Going to be working on some decorative wreaths with old potpourri and spices.  The recipes if you can't wait are on the right hand side at the top of the column.  I just love Marge Clark and her Christmas book is one of my favorites.

Lots of Great Menus for Various Holiday Meals and Crafts!

So hope you are having a great day.  Stay warm if you are going to be in the northern half of the U.S. starting tomorrow!  It is going to be nippy the next few days!  Talk to you tomorrow!

Herb Books Are Always A Good Gift!--Updated

I always think that books make a fantastic gift for any subject, but particularly for the herb gardener.  I love all of the classic authors, Adela Simmons, Bertha Reppert, Rosetta Clarkson, Mrs. C. F. Leyel, Helen Morgenthau Fox or Eleanor Sinclair Rohde to name just a few.  My contemporary favorite herbal authors include Emelie Tolley, Susan Belsinger, Jim Long, Tammi Hartung, Rosemary Gladstar, and Jekka McVicar.  Again to name just a few.  A friend on Facebook reminded me of the Language of Flowers and Herbs books that also fill my shelves are also great gifts whether old or new.  One of my favorite contemporary authors is Kathleen Gips and I believe a book in the photo is still available on Amazon.

Always at the Ready for Tussie Mussies!

You might also think about an herbal, spice or tea novel for that someone special.  A new one to me are the Spice Shop Mysteries of Leslie Budewitz.  I have not read any of them yet, but they all have recipes and who doesn't love a good mystery and a recipe too!  The other two series I have read all but the last two or three!  I have a lot of catching up to do.  Laura Childs' tea series and Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series are the other two favorites.  All available on Amazon.

The Spice, Tea and Herbal Mysteries!

A new book by Caz Hildebrand called Herbarium puts a very contemporary spin on the drawings of the herbs or maybe it is a take on the drawings from the old herbals.  Each herb has a page of focused information.  This is a English publication so there may be herbs that a U.S. reader will be unfamiliar with but that adds to the fun of learning, doesn't it?  I would recommend it.

Well, it has gotten colder here in the 'Burgh, but it is December already!  I don't know how the year flew by so quickly!  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Moving Day in the Herb Garden!

A Fourth of July Tradition!  Blueberry Muffins!

Happy 4th of July to my readers in the United States!  Hopefully you will have a safe and happy time today!  We had our traditional blueberry muffins for breakfast!  The Herbal Husband and I had another great cloudy day to move some chives out of my main herb garden.  I think they will thrive along with an extra lovage that we love to cook with.  Have a few more plants to fit in and I will just have to keep everything weeded.

Lovage Right Between Two Chives!

My red bee balm is in full bloom in time for the 4th!  Just love the flowers and leaves.  Maybe will do a longer post soon.

The Bee Balm Has Taken Its Own Path in the Garden!

Rain has started here in the 'Burgh.  Hopefully it won't dampen the fireworks tonight!  Hope you have had a great holiday.  Talk to you tomorrow!

Tower or Tree and Merry Christmas to You All!

The Tower of Babel by Barnaby Barford

I thought this was a perfect interpretation of a tree and maybe not a perfectly decorated Christmas tree, but Barnaby Barford put together this installation for The V & A (which is already gone and sold off) of 3,000 china shops photographed by the artist from the most derelict at the bottom to the richest at the top.  The project speaks at its base level about London, the British society and economy and the British as consumers, but it could speak to our economy as well in America.   The Herbal Husband being an architect was why I was drawn to this Tree/Tower as my first thought, but once I knew it was called The Tower of Babel, it made sense to me more and more.  In the Bible, The Lord comes and scatters the people and stops their building of the tower to the Heavens.  We need to find something that will give us more tolerance and understanding of every language and bring us together because we are in the end all human beings and we need to treat each other with dignity and respect.

So Merry Christmas and The Herbal Husband and I hope you are having a wonderful day with your family and friends.  This month has flown by but there are a few more posts to come in my 31 days of blogging!  Continues to be a California Christmas here.  Rain is arriving later this evening, could have been snow!  Going to walk some of those delicious cookies we have gotten from the neighbors!  Here is our Christmas card to you from the Kew Gardens!  I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Season Greetings from Kew Gardens!

Something for Garden AND Christmas!

Remember This Shopping Bag?  Here is What Was in it!

The Herbal Husband Gravitates to Buildings and If They Can Decorate The Garden, great!

A Table Top Tree for My Gingerbread Ornaments!

Decorated!

So had to cover both bases the other day when we went to Harmony, garden and Christmas!  They had a lot of cute items for sale.  The Herbal Husband's architecture side gravitated to the birdhouse buildings for the garden.  So I think my herb garden is decorated, don't you?  If we put them in other places in the garden, we will forget to get them before the snow falls!

And the Christmas side, I am always looking for smaller ways to decorate than what we used to do.  I found this table top tree (I know not the rosemary I usually get!) and I hoped that the gingerbread ornaments would work which I think they have perfectly.

Hope you are getting in the Christmas spirit!  The temperature has dropped here and there were snow flurries in the air!  But we will be 50 again by Monday!  Just crazy weather!  I think I will get back to talking about my England trip and the Herb of the Year, savory!  Please stay tuned!    

The 34th Annual Victorian Christmas House Tour, Pittsburgh, PA!

"Allegheny West, only eight small blocks, is the City's smallest neighborhood and is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.  As we celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour, the Allegheny West Civic Council also celebrates 50 years of community reinvestment!"  This was a part of the introduction to the neighborhood of Allegheny West on the Northside of Pittsburgh.

Where better to start the tour than in church, the Calvary United Methodist Church to be precise and their collection of Tiffany stained glass windows!

The Resurrection!

The Ascension!

The Apocalypse!

Inspired by the Great European Cathedrals, Gargoyles and All!

The Sanctuary is of French Gothic Design!

And the Mistress of the Tours Was All Dressed in Her Finery!

927 Beech Avenue

In the 1880's, the Klees built five adjacent homes, which became known as Klee Row.  These represented the most advanced row house design of the time.  927 Beech Avenue was the largest of the row houses and the Klees lived in it with their seven children.  The four sons each received a house in the row when they married.  What I liked about this house was that the current owner's father had built a tree out of wood to display his ornament collection.  His collection was divided between the siblings when he passed away.  So some of his ornaments were on their tree and she displayed a photo of the original tree and that it was in a national magazine some years ago.

Our Guide Talking About 946 W. North Avenue

Completed in 1889, this Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque style row house, one in a row of eight, is known as Denny Row, built by Harmer D. Denny, a notable Pittsburgh business man and great-grandson of Ebenezer Denny, the first mayor of Pittsburgh.  There were new home owners at 946 W. North Avenue who have taken a Danish Modern approach to their living space, but their tree was an artificial white tree with historical ornaments of famous Pittsburgh men and women.  We had 24 people in our group so it was difficult to get indoor photos of the living spaces except towards the end.  Each home's inside was unique and distinctive even to the Victorian outsides!

810 Galveston Avenue

It is the middle unit of three Italianate townhouses that were built in 1883 by Theodore Hugh Nevin and were once part of a group of 13 similar rental homes owned by Mr. Nevin on the street.  Mr. Nevin, in addition to being a landlord, was a banker and the owner of Pioneer Paints, a white lead paint manufacturer whose main plant was right down at the street at the corner of Galveston and Western Avenues.  The current homeowner did a major renovation from the 1980's decor to get the house back to its original 1880 ambiance.

The William Penn Snyder House

 The last house to be built in Allegheny West, the William Penn Snyder House was built in 1910-11 for William and Mary Snyder.  The builder of the Calvary Methodist Church was also the builder of this house.  William P. Snyder was an iron broker in Pittsburgh and later became president of the Clairton Steel Co. and founded the Shenango Furnace Co.  This new home was designed in a late French Renaissance style.  It was part of what was known as Millionaire's Row.  The building is owned by an insurance company now.

An Ornate Ceiling

The Decorated Tree in the Lobby

One of the Oldest Homes in Allegheny West, 840 N. Lincoln Avenue

The Martha and Robert Graham House originally constructed from 1862 to 1863 was in the Italianate style which was very popular during the time.  Robert Graham had been a manager at the Irwin Rope Factory.  After the passing of the Grahams, their daughter Mattie lived in the house and was nationally recognized as being one of the best known educators in the country and became one of the first female principals despite protests that women were incapable of performing in that office.  The home had a major reconstruction in 1918 to the Mission and Spanish Eclectic style which is its current style.  My favorite part of this house was the back patio and gardens.

Lovely Patio and Garden at 840 N. Lincoln Avenue

Our final stop on the house tour was at 719 Brighton Road also known as Holmes Hall.  BTW, as a group we had to sing a Christmas carol for the home owners before they would let us come in.  Nobody seemed to want to take on that responsibility.  So as I enjoy singing Christmas carols, the guide and I thought about what we should sing for each house.  It was fun!

719 Brighton Road

In November 1867, the wealthy widow, Letitia Caldwell Holmes, purchased her double lot of $16,000 when the average American worker earned just $129 per year.  Two years of construction produced her dream house--a Renaissance Revival masterwork--Holmes Hall.  The opulent home served Letitia and her family for more than 60 years.  By 1980, the grand house sat empty and neglected, but miraculously intact.  Holmes Hall is the oldest survivor of the spectacular mansions that gave Brighton Road and Ridge Avenue more millionaires per square foot than any other place in America.  The current owners took four years to renovate the mansion and the tours got a chance to see the public rooms of the house, the parlor, the ballroom and the dining room.

The Christmas Tree in the Parlor

The Formal Dining Room

Holiday Decoration on the Mantel in the Ballroom

The Herbal Husband Quite Happy Among the Trains and Toys!

For an extra fee some of the tour got to see on the third and fourth floors of the house, the largest private collection of antique American toy trains in the world, its displays and village layouts.  These floors are open by appointment and only during the two days of the tour.  It was quite something to see.  I have a very brief video and I will put it on my YouTube channel soon.  So if you are looking for some Christmas cheer, think of the 35th Annual Victorian Christmas House Tour in 2016 because 2015's tour is over!  Thanks to the committee who wrote the guide book!  I used some of their information for this post!  The final two photos are our friends, Michael and Mary.  Mary's house has already been on the tour and Michael's house has yet to be finished!  It is a huge labor of love and commitment to these houses to bring them back to livable homes!  Maybe some day his will be ready!

Our Friend, Michael's House

Our Friend, Mary's Decorated Front Doors

We had a beautiful day here, sunny and balmy.  Almost 60 degrees.  I think this will probably be the last nice day until next week.  It is a roller coaster because of El Nino!  Hope you are having a great day.  I'll talk about our afternoon in Harmony tomorrow!  Talk to you then!

Some Last Minute Ideas for Christmas Gifts, Herbally Speaking!

The 2016 Herb of the Year Calendar from Susan Belsinger!

Always on My Kitchen Wall!

Two of My Favorite Herb Magazines!

Latest Issue of Mother Earth Living on Stands December 15th!

Maybe a Membership to the Herb Society of America will be on your list!

When in Doubt, New Varieties of Herb Seeds Are a Winning Gift for an Herb Gardener!

These 31 days of blogging in December have given me a lot of light bulb moments so far.  Yesterday my 2016 Herb of the Year Calendar from Susan Belsinger arrived in the mail.  This calendar has morphed through the years into what I think the Herb of the Year calendar should be an in depth look at the Herb of the Year month by month.  Finally, you will learn all you wanted to know and possibly more about Capsicum the 2016 Herb of the Year.  As I hope you can see the calendar arrived with an adorable handwritten note from Susan, an extra touch!  So if you are trying to decide what to get that herbal person in your life or maybe just for yourself, click on over to Susan Belsinger's website and check out the calendar as well as all of her books.  Hopefully I will get to meet her one day.  She spoke for the local herb club and I was in France in 2007.  I think she understood!  The next calendar choice is from Maggie Oster another of my favorite herbal authors.  I have several of her calendars and perhaps all of them.  I like that she does a different herb each month and has tips strewn throughout the days of each month.  You can find her calendars and books at Amazon.

The next category is magazines which I love to read almost every day and sip a cup of herbal tea while reading.  The Herb Quarterly magazine is the oldest herb magazine left dating from 1979.  It has gone through some bumps in the herbal road, but I think there is some very strong writing and great herbal information.  Also there is The Essential Herbal magazine as Tina Sams the Editor writes The Essential Herbal magazine "is written by, for and about herbie people and the things they love - HERBS!" This magazine is the David among the giants and is doing well and increasing each year in size and content.  I just read that they have to increase their price for a subscription next year.  So if you are looking to get a subscription for yourself or an herbie person in your life, you will save money if you subscribe before the end of this year.  Also I guest blogged for The Herb Companion magazine which is now Mother Earth Living magazine for several years and the herbal content has been increasing over the months.  So there are three different and unique magazines that my fulfill your need for herbal material.

The next category is herbal memberships.  We are lucky enough to have several herb clubs in the Pittsburgh area.  The Herbarist magazine comes with a membership to the Herb Society of America.  You can join the local unit in my case the Western Pennsylvania unit or be a Member at Large which is what I am.  I just don't have the extra time to volunteer.  So I have chosen the Member at Large route, but you still get all of the benefits of membership.  My herbal companion, Bonnie and I attended the annual meeting of members in Williamsburg this year and next year it will be in Ashville, NC on April 29, 2016.  They are a great group and maybe group participation and learning about herbs is for you.

The next category for this post is seeds and their catalogs.  New varieties of herb seeds are coming on the market each season.  These are just two of the many catalogs I will receive over the coming weeks.  Pinetree Seeds is a company I have ordered both vegetable and herb seeds and always reasonably priced.  It looks like they have a new nasturtium variety that I may have to try.  Johnny's Selected Seeds is an employee-owned company in business since 1973.  Really I have said this before some seed catalogs have great growing information that I keep them by the garden door and Johnny's is always one of those special catalogs.

Remember your local herb shops, farms and small businesses this time of year.  I am going highlight a couple near and far.  Rosemary House and the Repperts got me started blogging many years.  Molly Sams, their intern did a blog post for them recently highlighting some great gift giving ideas.  I couldn't have said it better, Molly.  Here is a link to that post:  Holiday Gift Giving Ideas.  And then the near suggestion would be one down the hill from me off of State Route 8 called the Tea Loft that sells hand blended teas from Tupelo Honey Teas and locally made accessories, gift baskets and events and classes.  The Tea Loft is in Building 4 in the Allison Park Industrial Complex and it is a very cozy business once you get inside.  My favorite tea of Tupelo Honey's is a local blend from her Yinzer Tea Blends called Black and Gold.  "Spicy with a bit of sweet just like our city."  My friend Bonnie and I are planning to go back for a cup or pot of tea and take goodies to share.   So think about your neighborhood businesses and please support them during the holidays!

Hope I have given you some ideas for your herbal holiday shopping.  A gray and warm day in December!  I'll take it.  Hope you are having a great day!  Talk to you tomorrow!  
 

Plodding Along The Herbal Path and a Road Trip or Two!

The Herb Garden Still Has A Lot of Green and Gray!

Always Love My Annual Visit to Well Sweep Herb Farm's Christmas Shop!

One of the Beautiful Perennial Beds That Still Had Some Color!

My Afternoon Tea at Sally Lunn's in Chester, New Jersey!

Sharing Tiramisu with The Herbal Husband!

Red Anniversary Roses from Our Friends in Uruguay!

We have arrived in November already!  I can't seem to get on my laptop enough these days to blog!  So here is a recap of the last weekend.  We almost always go to Allentown this time of year.  It is not always on our wedding anniversary, but this year it was.  The Herbal Husband has a toy show that he likes to attend and I almost always go to Well Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray, New Jersey for the start of their Christmas shop and the Sally Lunn's Tearoom & Restaurant in Chester, New Jersey for afternoon tea even if it is sometimes in the morning when I arrive.  It is a lot of driving for me because remember I drive for your safety and mine!

Can I just say that besides the huge (more than 1,900 varieties) selection of herbs, perennials and exotics, Well Sweep Herb Farm is visually a feast for the senses.  The Hyde family who has owned the farm for 46 years and the quality is consistently excellent from year to year.  If you live in the vicinity, I hope you will support this herb farm with your business.   Their Christmas shop is stuffed full of all kinds of herb related gifts, dried flowers, books, potpourri items, and lovely Christmas and herb related gifts.   Fortunately for us that live further away, they still do mail order.  I have started to order each year just so I have some unusual herbs for my herb garden.  They do have a paper catalog still and you can download their catalog if you would like from their website.  One of my favorite herb farms in the east.  Here is a link to a post I did for Mother Earth Living called Herbal Travels:  Well-Sweep Herb Farm.  So nice to see that they are continuing to prosper.

I continued on down the road to Chester, New Jersey and stopped by one of my favorite tearooms, Sally Lunn's.  It has been in business 30 plus years and is still consistently very good.  It was very busy on Saturday and I sat for a time next to two ladies who had never had afternoon tea and needed to learn the proper way to steep loose leaf tea.  I came to the rescue.  My afternoon tea was delicious as usual and I took a scone, clotted cream and jam back for The Herbal Husband's afternoon tea at the hotel.  Didn't quite have the same atmosphere, but clotted cream is his middle name!

Then we made a reservation at one of our new favorite restaurants in Allentown.  It is called Henry's Salt of the Sea.  It is very cozy with a long bar and booths in the front.  They are known for their French inspired seafood.  I had sea scallops and The Herbal Husband had schnitzel.  We were both happy and we had a weekend of mostly good food and not counting calories.  The Herbal Husband showered me with wonderful gifts and cards.  He told me I got him a toy ship from Italy and I got him a LSU purple fig for his collection at Well Sweep.  We came home to a box sitting on our doorstep full of roses from our friends in Uruguay.  We were afraid they would freeze in the cold, but actually it was like them being in the refrigerator overnight.  It worked quite well.

As far as the herb garden goes, there are still many herbs that have remained green even with the cold temperatures.  I still have a part of the golden pineapple sage that is still alive and blooming, a shoot of a calendula may keep blooming for Thanksgiving (Maybe wishful thinking!) and the tarragon has come back nicely.  As always the chives are nice and green and so is the salad burnet.  All of the herbs we transplanted earlier are doing well.  I was afraid we were too late with our transplants, but they have worked out.  Would like to make a few Christmas presents, herbally speaking.  Here is a link to my post last year giving you links to an artemisia tree and spice wreaths.

Well, I hope you are getting things done more smoothly than I am.  My big project that I am trying to get done is my talk on Shakespeare's Herbs and Flowers for next March.  So please forgive me if I am not around too much.  I will try to post when I can.  We had a rainy day in the herb garden, but still milder than usual.  Talk to you later.

An Artemisia Wreath and Merry Christmas!

Reworked the Size of This Grapevine Wreath

Didn't Have Enough 'Silver King' Artemisia to Make a Tree

Add Some 'Sweet Annie' Artemisia

Here's How It Looks on the Front Door!

Well, three days until Christmas and it certainly doesn't look or feel like the holidays.  I think we are going to be 45 degrees today and 50's tomorrow and Christmas Eve!  No white Christmas for the 'Burgh!  We haven't had a white Christmas since 2002! 

I got my wreath done for the front door.  You can see the differences in the artemisias on the back wall of the house.  On the front door, the silver blends in with the door.  Will try to get one more post about artemisia before the year ends.  Going to take a few days off from blogging.  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you sometime next week!