Another Favorite Spring Edible Flower Shrub!

I grew up with a lilac bush under my window. It was wonderful this time of year. This is Syringa vulgaris or the common lilac. This one above is called 'Sensation'. It has a violet center with a white edge. It is not too fragrant, but it has that wow factor. I use it on dessert plates when entertaining. The Sensation needs to be pruned because it is reaching for the skies. You should prune it right after it blooms and take out about 1/3 of the older stems and let the young stems take over. This one below is my neighbor's. Don't know the variety. It seems to me that it is more white than purple. It has the old fashioned fragrance that reminds me of home and my grandmother. Lilacs have a variety of tastes, some good and some taste like metal. Hope you find one that is enjoyable to you even if you just use it as decoration on your dessert plates!

My Favorite Edible Flower Tree!

This is by far and away my favorite tree in the spring. The eastern redbud (Cercis canadenis) is a beautiful small tree in the landscape and it has a bonus, edible flowers. The tree is a member of the pea family, but the flowers taste like beans. The tree grows up to 25 feet in size. Very nice in a city landscape. Use it as an understory tree! This one is suffering from the full sun. Only half of this tree is blooming. It just keeps trying to thrive. The bottom picture is of a variety of redbud called 'Forest Pansy'. It has beautiful purple heart shaped leaves and magenta flowers in the spring. This one is thriving outside of The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances Tearoom in Mechanicsburg. Best scones and herbal bus trips ever! I first saw redbuds on a trip south to South Carolina. They are found growing out of limestone outcroppings in their native areas. Find a place for this special tree in your landscape!

Cheesy Chive Scrambled Eggs and Chocolate!

The chive blossoms have started to bloom and I thought about my cheesy chive scrambled eggs! YUMMY! So I got some fresh chives out of the garden and made my concoction. Eggs, a hand full of chopped chives, a sprinkle or two of herb mix whatever you like, a couple glugs of milk and a couple handfuls of shredded cheese. Again, what you like. It seems like the chives are going to go to one person, but they seem to find an equalization in the end. Well, I thought I had a hit on my hands until the Herbal Husband said, "These are really good, but you know those little sausages would make them even better!" YIKES! List to self, remember those sausages next time! Tastes do change over the years. The Herbal Husband's love of eggs in general has declined. We have a couple of eggs a week spread out over the week. Today we had a lot on our plates at once. He said, "I'm going to have some chocolate to take the taste of egg away!" So again if you are inclined to have some chocolate after your eggs, go for it! Life is too short not to enjoy it! What is your favorite way to make scrambled eggs?

Local Plant Sales

May is the greatest month in the spring! Why you may ask? Because of the all the local plant sales. We don't get to every one! We do always get to the local garden club's annual sale in the neighborhood. It is always the first weekend in May. The Herbal Husband was ready to roll. I'm not a great morning person so I was a little grumpy. When I saw all of the new mostly herbal babies, I was happy! My master gardening friend always laughs because I buy herbs mostly from her yard! She has good taste! We got a rosemary, Robers lemon rose scented geranium, a silver mint, a couple of Helen Von Stein lambs ears (They are the homes for ladybugs in the winter! I knew those girls are smart bugs!) and a wild geranium (in keeping with our out of control garden)! So you know what I'm going to say next. Go to your local plant sales so that it benefits you and your community!

What's That Blocking My View?

The Cuban oregano that was once just a stick has gone out of control! It truly is blocking my view out our kitchen window! The one good view that we have of the garden is from this window! All in the name of plants! We are in the home stretch of indoor plant season and I don't think we had such a good year. As I have said in previous postings, I know we brought too many plants in. We had too many in the basement that needed to be in the garage. A partial list we lost are rosemary, old fashioned rose scented geranium and lavenders. Remember those beautiful plants. We are down to two lavenders. This one below is the 'Goodwin Creek' lavender. It does very well. Although the Herbal Husband said to me the other day. I forgot to water the lemon verbena and lavender in the living room windows! YIKES, we almost lost them too! The Herbal Husband salvaged a cutting of the peppermint scented geranium and it is thriving next to the Cuban oregano. Hurry up warm weather! These herbal babies need to be outside!

It's Travel Thursday--Off to Spain!

This is our friends' home outside Malaga on the Costa del Sol. The Herbal Husband's classmate from 50 years ago lives with his wife and their three dogs and enjoys life! It is a beautiful place with almond and olive trees, and we really understand why they came here to live. The views are breathtaking! You will see the one behind this curtain later today! Waking up to the view below was a fabulous bonus! The Herbal Husband and I are very lucky people and we enjoyed that view each and every day were we with our friends! I hope you look forward to my next travel post.

What is This Herb? Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

Here is the link to my latest posting for The Herb Companion magazine. Please take a guess what the herb is in the photo before you go to the link. The picture is from the herb garden at Villandry in France. You won't believe it!

Believe it or Not!

We are trying to grow grass! I know it's hard to believe! Our street was repaved late last year. Our front yard was not level with the street. It was the only really "nice" (I use that term loosely) grass we have left. The paving crew dumped topsoil and threw grass seed, but it didn't take. Frankly, I was too tired to try and get it started then! Fall though is the best time to plant grass seed! I know this answering people's questions about grass when I take calls on Gardenline. I guess it hasn't sunk in yet after ten years! I'm interested in more varied plantings! Good excuse. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Send positive energy this way, PLEASE!

In Record Time!

A lot of years these are still in the garage at the end of the season! Here they are all put together ready to go in the garden before May even gets started! I think a little pressure is a good thing for us! Happy Birthday Miss C!