The Fireworks Have Started!

 

Just because we have started the cooler temperatures in the daytime, doesn't mean that you can't have flowers in your garden.  One of my favorites this time of year is the good old goldenrod.  Don't sneeze please!  A lot of people think that goldenrod causes allergies and in fact it is ragweed that it the problem plant not goldenrod!  This one has a twist though or an explosion!  It's called 'Fireworks' goldenrod or Solidago rugosa. I started out with one clump and it has seeded gently throughout my front garden.  It is very easy to remove where you don't want it, but it is a good filler as well!  We are going to have a beautiful week in the 'Burgh.  Hope you are enjoying the weather wherever you may be!

An Explosion of Sunflowers!

This is an explosion of sunflowers that happens just about this time each year.  I used to have the giant sunflowers in the back of our vegetable garden like wallpaper in a room.  I loved it!  I haven't been quite able to recreate it since.  The ones that you can see on the fence in various angles are stragglers from leftover seed packets.  We all have them.  One or two have made it through and not been disturbed by the wildlife.  The sunflowers in my herb garden this year have been much loved by the finches.  We are consistently coming down the driveway and chasing them away from the sunflowers there.  The sunflowers with the many petals are 'Teddy Bears' and the very tall clump of small sunflower type flowers are a native sunflower.  They are good if you need alot of flowers in a large area.  They swallow up spaces and other plants you may want to keep!  So be careful with those!  I don't know the botanical name, but they are one of 38 varieties of perennial sunflowers.  Hope you are enjoying sunflowers in your garden wherever you may be!

I Had a Special Day Yesterday!

Yes, yesterday was the day of my birth, 50 plus years ago!  The Herbal Husband always has a way of making my day a special one.  Here is the treat he made us at lunchtime.  It is called causa.  It is a bed of mashed potatoes made with olive oil and lemon and then tuna fish salad with mayo, onions, sliced black olives and herbs on top!  A home grown tomato, an egg, fresh parsley and a nasturtium to garnish.  His cooking is always made with love and care.  Especially when he is cooking for me!  I think I must have been Irish or Peruvian in another life, because potatoes are my favorite in any way, shape or form!

We then went to the movies to see "Taking Woodstock"  The movie was good, but what would have made it even better if the music from the concert had been in the background.  Unfortunately, it wasn't!  Then it was off to a late lunch, early dinner at P. F. Chang's China Bistro.  One of our favorite Chinese restaurants!  Just let me say that we finished our meal with the Great Wall of Chocolate!  The Herbal Husband couldn't believe that we actually finished it!  It was enough chocolate to last until next year!  They also have a fantastic dessert called "Banana Spring Rolls."  Actually that is my very favorite, but I thought the Herbal Husband would enjoy the chocolate dessert better.  I'll get my spring rolls next time!  All in all it was a wonderful birthday!  We also ran into a friend who is a very creative designer and artist.  He is also the designer of the Herbal Husband's citizenship sampler.  You can check out that post here.  John, it is getting close to be finished!  He has his designs on etsy.com and I have added his link in my favorite herbal links and other good things.  So please check it out!  It is the first link called "Embellishments 4 Life."

It's Travel Thursday--Pittsburgh Zoo!

We are lucky in Pittsburgh to have a great zoo.  One of the highlights of any zoo is the babies.  Here in Pittsburgh we are lucky to have two baby girl elephants.  This is a picture from last year and they are getting bigger and bigger each day.  The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is having a celebration for the elephants on Sunday, September 20, 2009 from 11 AM  to 3 PM.  So if you are in the Pittsburgh area, plan to join the elephants and celebrate with the biggest babies!

Too Many Tomatoes! Soup to the Rescue!

Sometimes in the afternoon I get a chance to sit down and watch one of my favorite chefs on The Food Network, Tyler Florence!  He is easy on the eyes and cooks very well as well!  A great combination!  I think I have the Latin version of Tyler!  Well, a close second!  The Herbal Husband was in a panic the other day about the numbers of tomatoes and I said , "Let's make Tyler's Roasted Tomato Soup recipe.  It looked simple and delicious.  It has HEAVY CREAM in it!"  The magic words for The Herbal Husband!  "Sounds great!" said The Herbal Husband.  The recipe calls for a mix of tomatoes,  bay leaves, butter,  onions, garlic, chicken stock and heavy cream even better for The Herbal Husband.  It turned out very well.  Roasted tomato soup even on a hot day is a great way to use your bounty of tomatoes!

"It's Just Amazing!"

 

Those are the words of The Herbal Husband the other evening when he saw this flowering tobacco plant Nicotiana sylvestris.  It is a cousin of the tobacco plant.  This particular plant is planted purposefully in between our arborvitae bushes to add a surprise.  It is an annual for us, but it can self sow very rampantly where you don't want it!  This plant is as tall as we are, 5'8"!  It is glorious and very smelly in the evening.  Someone asked if you could have one fragrant plant in the garden for season long fragrance, what would it be?  I told them no one plant has fragrance all season long.  It would have to be a series of plants for me, roses, jasmine, sweet peas and definitely, one would be the flowering tobacco plant!  What's your favorite fragrant plant?

Even He Didn't Help on Saturday!

Found this caterpillar trying to find a home in our home over the weekend. Because it is "wearing" black and gold, we thought it looked like a Steeler fan! It is actually a yellow based tussock moth caterpillar. They like milkweed among other plants. Here is a link to a site that has some wonderful pictures of all sorts of things including the tussock moth caterpillar. I'll let you explore the site because he has taken such amazing photos! Off to make tomato soup!

A Sunday Surprise or Two!

We woke up to rain this morning. Supposed to mow the lawn. It's going to be like a field soon and the Township won't like that! As Scarlet always said, Tomorrow is another day for mowing your lawn! On a brighter note, I found our hardy hibiscus blooming as I was walking out in the front of our garden a couple of days ago. Hibiscus moscheutos or hardy hibiscus is also called swamp mallow. This cultivar is 'Lord Baltimore'. There also is 'Lady Baltimore'. It is the very last plant to come up in the spring so don't despair if you don't see it right away. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is the edible flower and is only hardy for people in Miami and Hawaii. We would have to take those inside for the winter and we have enough to take care of in the winter. Thank you very much! Here is a link that I found with various varieties of hardy hibiscuses. Hope you enjoy it!

We Can Grow Plants Anywhere! Part 2!

This is getting ridiculous! This seedling is trying to grow in the stationary tub! I am sure that The Herbal Husband transplanted it to a pot to see what it might be! He thinks it's either a tomato or pepper. I'll let you know when we find out!