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.

Remembering the Warmth of the Sun- Europe, 2011!

Just have to do something to not think about the snow and very cold temperatures that are coming our way!  So I had a great idea!  Why not finish our trip to Europe that happened in 2011?  I did a few posts about that trip, but not nearly enough.  We rented a car near Avignon, France and really got see the countryside, particularly the lavender fields.  It was very warm there.  The only very warm weather we had on that trip.  To refresh your memory, we went to The Netherlands first and then went by train to the south of France.  Weekdays and weekends are for the open air markets in various towns.

Hope you enjoy this memory of our 2011 trip to Europe!  It is lightly snowing here and getting cold.  More snow is on the way tomorrow!  It is winter, but a more extreme version than we have had for a very long time!  Stay warm!   Talk to you soon! 

Honey and Basil-two Staples of French cuisine!

The Fruit of Summer!

The Spice Ladies!

Lots of Bright Colorful Wares for Sale!

Wheels of Gruyere Cheese

Wheeling Fresh Herbs and Flowers in for Sale!

Who Knew?

The Carnegie Cottage

The Front Garden

The Welcoming Sign

A Pot of Lavender on the Windowsill

The Cozy Restaurant Interior

Asparagus, Beet Greens, Cheese and Egg Salad

My Salmon Entree

The Herbal Husband's Dessert

The Mystery Dessert!

Well, who knew in the middle of Holland there would be a restaurant called Carnegie Cottage.  Because we live in Pittsburgh and have buildings named for Andrew Carnegie, like a library system, a university and museums!   It is an inn and restaurant.  Located on a nature preserve and a woodland, it was a very cottage like building with a lovely garden in the front and an arbor shading the front porch.  The interior was very homey and cozy.  The food was delicious.  The biggest controversy of the evening came when ordering dessert.  They offered us a mystery dessert and said we would love it.  The Herbal Husband had to cause waves by only wanting chocolate mousse!  Well, when our mystery dessert came, The Herbal Husband wanted to try it.  I let him.  Our Dutch hosts didn't think that was quite fair.  I wanted him to know what he missed!  It was delicious.  The entire meal was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!  The hot and muggies are still here.  Rain tomorrow.  Hope we get it.  We need it.  Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Getting Closer to the Big Day!

Last September I was lucky enough to go to Open Garden Days at Jekka's Herb Farm in Bristol, England and meet these two lovely ladies.  On the left is Jekka's daughter, Hannah and, of course, Jekka.  We are getting closer to when Jekka will be visiting Pittsburgh and speaking to the Herb Society of America on June 24.  I just received Jekka's latest newsletter and I spotted her new blog.  Well, when I visited last year, she mentioned me in her September blog.  It took me until now to spot it!  Her new blog talks about chives and that's what my upcoming guest blog for The Herb Companion will be about next week.   GMTA, herbally speaking!  Stay tuned.  Got to get outside and walk before it rains again.  Horseradish jelly didn't gel like last time!  Going to experiment when I come back with a solution.  Keep your fingers crossed it works!  Talk to you later.

Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine-A Journey to Fenton House!

Here are the additional photos of Fenton House in Hampstead, England.  The first three were during the walk to the house from the Tube Station.  The next ones around the house and inside.  The last photos are of the three distinct gardens, the formal, the perennial borders and the kitchen garden.  It is really a lovely house and gardens and one if you are in the London area, you should not miss.  My English Herbal Companion and I had a great time. This is my last post on my England trip from last September.  Here is the link to the guest post called Herbal Travels:  The Fenton House Garden in England.  Hope you have a great day.  Talk to you later.

Found my Favorite, Lemon Verbena on the Way to Fenton House

The English Make Good Use of the Window Box for an Herb Garden!

What Not to Do With Trees in Containers!  Not Part of Fenton House!

The Front Gate of Fenton House

Big Bowl of Lavender as a Room Freshener

A View of the North Garden from the House

A Yew Hedge Forms the Entrance to the Gardens

Quite a Lavender Hedge!

A View of the Cross Borders.  I Spy Some Purple Sage!

Staircase to the Rose Garden with a Thyme Surprise!

The Rose Garden

 A Glasshouse

 A Flower Border in the Kitchen Garden!

The Orchard Waiting for the Apple Festival

 One of My Favorite Edible Flowers, Sunflowers!

 Nice Looking Lettuces for September!

My Favorite, Lemon Verbena

Part of the Herb Garden

 A Peek Over the Wall into the Kitchen Garden

An Edible Flower Screen!

These yuccas were on my walk to the Garden Museum in London.  Thought it was a novel idea to hide the car.  Really love the way Londoners use every available space.  Bet you forgot yuccas are an edible flower.  We have them in our salads when they bloom here in May or June.  Don't forget to take out the stamens and other parts.  Eat just the petals of organically grown flowers!  Hope you are staying warm!  IT IS FREEZING HERE!  Just unburied the car for the umpteenth time!  It is getting really old for The Herbal Husband.  I still enjoy it since we don't have to commute any more!  I'm a four seasons kinds of girl.  Talk to you later.  Forgot the quote yesterday!  So we will use yesterday's for today's from Mrs. Reppert's TwelveMonth Herbal.

An herb is a garden plant which has been cherished for itself and for a use.

-- Henry Beston

Is it 'Rober's or Robert's Lemon Rose' Scented Geranium?

Well, you know how I like controversy especially an herbal one.  The top photo is our 'Rober's Lemon Rose' scented geranium hanging out on the living room windowsill in a southern exposure.  What's unusual about this scented geranium is its leaf shape very similar to tomato leaves.  We will see how the white flies congregate late in the season.  The tag is from my England trip in September to the Chelsea Physic Garden.  They are a very reputable source.

Unfortunately the Chelsea Physic Garden's signage is incorrect.  Just found with the help of a Google book that I have in my collection called The Encyclopedia of Herbs by Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio.  It's all online!  OK, here goes 'Rober's Lemon Rose' is a hybrid of P. graveolens x P. tomentosum that came from Ernest Rober in California in the 1940's.  'Velvet Rose' was isolated from 'Rober's Lemon Rose' tissue culture line by Robert Skirvin at Purdue University in 1975.  So maybe the Chelsea thought that Rober's Lemon Rose was developed by Robert Skirvin instead of Ernest Rober.  I guess I'll just have to let them know the next time I'm there!  You know I will!  The quote for the day comes from Mrs. Reppert's TwelveMonth Herbal:

Many gardens grew within monastery

walls, but most important were the physic

garden near the infirmary and the kitchen

garden near the gardener's cottage.

-- Rosetta E. Clarkson, Magic Gardens

Herbal Memories-California Style!

Lots of years ago, we took a trip out to California and among the places we stopped was Sycamore Farms in Paso Robles.  Sycamore Farms has turned into Fat Cat Farms.  But back to the postcard above, it says at the top:  "Each day brings new delights here at Sycamore Farms as herbs like thyme, sage and oregano emerge from their long winter's rest.  Even the chickens seem more energetic as they search for bugs.  We're sowing seed for everything from basil to dill."  Below it says:  "Come and explore our seed selection, or just sit on a garden bench and watch the birds."

I actually have an herb from that California visit in my garden.  It is this basil mint or Mentha arvensis.  It is grown commercially in Japan, Brazil and other countries for its essential oils, which are used in toothpastes, pharmaceutical products and colognes.  It prefers a drier situation, but mine seems to be very happy in the shade and wet by the birdbath.  There are 'Banana',  'Coconut' and 'Variegata' varieties of Mentha arvensis as well.

You will get a feel for the farm from the link above.  Hopefully this "new" version will stay afloat!  Please if you are in the Paso Robles area, patronize this farm.  Got to find my photos of that trip.  You will enjoy seeing the other places we visited!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you are!  It is FREEZING here in the 'Burgh!  I hear possibly colder next week!  Yikes!   Our little furnace is working overtime!  Talk to you later!

Herb Channeler, Part Six!

It's just gotten silly how far behind I am.  So I promised Carolee of Carolee's Herb Farm a few weeks ago that I would blog about her website.  Haven't been to her farm yet, but some day we will meet, Carolee!  Several weeks ago, I was searching on Google for herbal sweatshirts and found Carolee's website.  Since I love herb books, I decided to treat myself and buy her autobiographical/fictional tales of her life and starting her herb farm.  They are chock (my new favorite word) of herbal information and recipes.  She has been growing herbs for a long time, but got her herb farm started in 1992.  It is somewhere between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne near Hartford City, Indiana.  So you should go visit next year when the herb farm opens April 1.  If you are looking for a last minute herbal holiday gift though, check out all her books and products she sells at the link above.  I have also added her website as a link in my favorites list on the right hand side of this blog.  I'll just keep putting up posts until I get caught up!  Ha!  As you know, I get interrupted by The Herbal Husband's movie cravings and other nonsense!  It is ridiculously cold here already!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be!  Talk to you sooner than you may think!

Afternoon Tea in the Morning in Chester, NJ!

Sally Lunn Restaurant & Tearoom, Chester, NJ

Tea Sandwiches & Strawberry Scone

A Pot of Blue Eyes Tea

I dropped The Herbal Husband at his toy show in Allentown and headed east to New Jersey.  After a wonderful visit to Well Sweep Herb Farm (a post to follow), I drove on to Chester, New Jersey in northern New Jersey to have afternoon tea at Sally Lunn Restaurant & Tearoom.  I was just a little early and ordered it in the morning.  Soo technically, it was afternoon tea in the morning!  It was very good and fed my addiction for afternoon tea!  So if you are in the Chester, NJ vicinity, check out Sally Lunn's.  It is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon with your girlfriends.

Beautiful day in the 'Burgh.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.