Some Plants You and I Almost Missed!

The Herb Garden-Late May

A Lean Basil Year

Lady's Mantle in Bloom

German Chamomile is Just CRAZY!

You're Getting Sleepy!  The Valerian in Bloom!

The First Strawberry!

Almost Missed The White Rugosa Rose!

The Unknown Rose in the Herb Garden

The Rue in Full Bloom

While I was visiting England, the weather in the 'Burgh was several wild swings up and down for ten days.  The poor Herbal Husband was planting plants and repotting them literally.  The poor man planted his tomatoes one day and the next day dug them up and brought them inside when a freeze was predicted.  He had his hands full.  Really with his love and attention, the gardens survived.  You have proof in the photos above that we had successes.  It is supposed to be a beautiful day here and then the rain is going to come.   We need it though.  I'm going to clip some chamomile flowers before the rains come.  Also cutting chive blossoms that are spent.  Always something to do in the herb garden.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

My Day in Derby with Debs, Simon and One Very Entertaining Cat!

Hardwick Hall

The Layout of the Hardwick Hall Herb Garden

The Design of the Hardwick Hall Herb Garden

Debs and Me in the Herb Garden

A Beautiful House Surrounded by a Lovely Garden

Tea Sandwiches

My favorite, Lemon Verbena Cake

When I planned my trip to England way back in the summer of last year, one of the events I wanted to have happen was to meet some English blogging friends.  Debs Cook just happens to live in Derby where The Herbal Husband and I visited in March of 2009.  I was just starting to blog and had not met any bloggers from England at the time.  When I made plans, she was very excited to meet.  I asked if Hardwick Hall could be part of the agenda.  She said absolutely!

I had a lovely train ride from St. Pancras, London to Derby and had a delightful conversation with a very tired young (Anyone is young once you reach 60!) man who had just arrived from Hong Kong.  I said to him you must be exhausted, but he said he wasn't and we chatted until I left the train in Derby.  Hope to meet up with you again, Dave.  Thanks for the pleasant journey to Derby.

Debs was waiting for me at the station and off we went to Hardwick Hall.  It was a very crisp (freezing) day, but NO RAIN which was the bit we all liked.  After lunch we toured the house.  Simon took the inside photos.  I'll share some with you soon.  Bess was very resourceful.  She married four times and ended as the Countess of Shrewsbury.  What I loved about her was her love of textiles.  The collection she amassed was exceptional.  The house is massive and very historic.  What I didn't realize is that she built Chatsworth House as well.  Sounds like the next trip to Derby! 

Then we went to the herb garden and while not lush like it would be later in summer, the design of the garden shone through.  Again, I don't think you have to have as massive a garden as Hardwick Hall to be successful when you are designing your herb garden.  You can make a great herb garden with several containers.  Don't forget to add vertical elements to the mix as well.  I also want to mention that many herbs go by many different common names and so learning the botanical names of plants is crucial.

Then we headed off to The Cooks residence to have afternoon tea, sandwiches, salad and cake.  I also met (from a distance) their very entertaining cat, Poppy.  In the next post, I'll share Deb's passion for herbs in her garden and collection of books (Yes, Leslie Postin I made it to the inner sanctum!)  and maybe even a photo of Poppy.  Still getting back on the correct time.  Getting close to being back.  Much cooler here in the 'Burgh, but it is going to be in the 40's again tonight!  Ugh!  It looks like we are going to have a Seattle kind of summer this year.  Going to mow my field (the lawn) today.  The Herbal Husband couldn't get everything done while I was gone!  Talk to you later.

St. Paul's and Bea's of Bloomsbury

St. Paul's Cathedral

Thanks to Debs Cook!  It's John Wesley!

A Furry Friend Putting On A Show

Tea and Coffee Menu at Bea's of Bloomsbury

The Afternoon Tea Tray at Bea's

Had to Have Lemon Verbena Tea!

Well, here is the beginning of my trip.  My English Herbal Companion wasn't going to arrive until Sunday so I had to come up with some extras to do.  Easy, peasy!  I decided that I hadn't visited St. Paul's Cathedral since I was first there in 1966!  Very, very inspiring space.  I sat in the domed area for a couple of hours.  It's easy to do.  I even lit three votive candles, one for The Herbal Husband's family, one for my family and one for our friends.  I mention this because my best friend had a diabetic episode after I left and could have died.  So that candle may have helped get her through.

Always interested in afternoon tea in England.  This is a more contemporary take, by a woman from Maryland.  Yes, I came to London to have tea done by an American.  She is known for her cupcakes and they didn't disappoint.  Bea's of Bloomsbury has two locations at the moment and is working on opening a larger place soon.  Very savory sandwiches on mini baguettes and sweet treats, including a delicious cupcake.  Mine because I can't have chocolate was passion fruit with a vanilla cake.  It was delish!  Had a very spirited conversation with a young couple from New Jersey and I told them I wouldn't hold it against them!  They are expecting their first child shortly and I wish them every happiness.  They were on their way to Paris.  One of my favorite places.  He quizzed me on Presidents (because he is a teacher) and I think I did pretty well!  At least he was impressed.  So there you have it.  My first full day in London.  As I'm still getting used to being home, I'll be back with a garden post in the coming days.  Hot and muggy!  Summertime weather in the spring!  Talk to you later.

I Haven't Been Around and Here's Why!

Some of you have come to read my blog almost every day.  Recently I have not been posting as much as I probably should.  I did sneak out the back door and went to England for ten days without The Herbal Husband.  That's the good news for me.  I don't think I will get that luxury again soon.  Our up and down weather has really been a burden for The Herbal Husband in the garden that I really didn't expect.

So I will be blogging about my trip to the 100th Chelsea Flower Show and meeting some of my dear English blogging friends who felt like long time friends even before I met them.  I will be posting just not every day and will give you a mixture of posts both about the garden because a lot has happened since I left and traveling adventures.  So get your iced, hot tea or favorite herbal beverage ready and hopefully, I'll post about some places you haven't seen and can enjoy from your armchair.  Weather is going to get warmer like summer hot the next few days.  Talk to you later.

Herbal Trees Are Out and Back Inside and Beautiful Weather but cool!

The Bay Laurel-20 Plus Years Old!

A Bay Rum and Allspice Tree

Every year these three herbal trees go inside the basement and survive the winter.  This year the bay rum and allspice were a bit ragged coming back outside.  They are so tightly packed that sometimes they don't get as much water as they need. 

Well, an update on the first part of the story.  We were doing quite well until yesterday and we hit a speed bump in the weather and all the plants that were outside had to go into the garage last night.  We came close to freezing last night.  Fortunately it looks like all survived most importantly the grapes.  Trust me I have grape jelly from last season to spare, but he loves to eat the grapes as much as me making grape jelly.  Here are some photos to catch you up on the garden and what has been going on.

Never Remember I Planted These!

Birds Brought This Native White Dogwood!

Chives Starting to Bloom!

A Closeup of a Kerria Bush

Our Lettuces et al. Are Doing Great!

Lemon Verbena That Has Been Inside!

A LEMON VERBENA COMING BACK IN THE HERB GARDEN!

As you can see, we are busy and busy in the garden and I will leave you with one more photo.

The Lady's Mantle Coming Back to Life

It's is supposed to freeze again tonight.  So please say above freezing prayers for the grapes.  Got to go get the covers off.  Talk to you later.

Lemon Verbena Lady's Book Review for Timber Press--Gardening for a Lifetime by Sydney Eddison

I have been struggling with planning what was going to happen in the garden this season.  The cold weather particularly did not give me a spark to do much.  I have always loved Sydney Eddison's writing and remembered that she had written a book about gardening at an older age called Gardening for a Lifetime from Timber Press.  Yes, I'm probably too young to be worried about this, but at the same time it is never too early to start.

Basically even before reading the book, I had started the process Mrs. Eddison went through by starting to clean out the house.  We still have a long way to go.  It is all a process.  Mrs. Eddison had begun to be overwhelmed by the garden and decided to start clearing the rooms of her home.  It helped her to focus better on what needed to be done in her garden.

Mrs. Eddison takes the reader into her life and journey of coming to grips with changes in her life (her beloved husband's death) and a beautiful garden that had become too much work.  You learn the history of her garden and how it was developed.  She also talks about two friends who go through changes in their lives and gardens and how they coped.  She gives tips for making choices about maintenance and suggestions of plants to make the garden easier to enjoy.

What I liked about this book is the Gleanings at the end of most chapters.  It lets you see the main points of each chapter and so you can refer to them when you need to in later times without reading the entire book.  This book has a lot of common sense help at a time when you may be overwhelmed by garden and life.  It is comforting to know that you aren't alone. With Mother's Day coming, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with the day to day issues in the garden.  Take the journey with Mrs. Eddison.  I think you will enjoy it and it may help you to refocus your energy in your garden.

Doctors of Herbal Transplantation!

BEFORE-Borage Plants Coming up EVERYWHERE!

AFTER-Vegetable Plants Say Thank You!

Well, we had a terrific day to work in the garden yesterday.  Remember the borage hedge we had last year in this bed.  I have labeled them as an annual herb, a perennial herb and they could be called a rampant self-sowing herb as well.  We definitely have the self-sowing kind.  They went bonkers this year!  So the Doctors Heraud did a transplantation, herbally speaking.  At least, they are out of that bed and we will sprinkle them around in other beds.  As you may be able to see in the link above, they do take a bit of space up and you need to use them judicially. We put them in the frig.  Hope they don't freeze.  Maybe using them in a salad if they did!  We had a blustery rainy and decidedly cooler day today.  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Couldn't Help Myself, Herbally Speaking!

My Herbal Companion, Bonnie and I spent Saturday morning at the Garden Marketplace at the Annual Symposium sponsored by the Penn State Cooperative Extension, Phipps Conservatory and Shadyside Academy.   There were lots of plant people there.  It was so tempting that I just had to put an order into one of my favorite herb farms, Mulberry Creek Herb Farm was going to be there selling.  I got a whole tray plus one plant.  BTW, you have to either go to Mulberry Creek or find out where they sell their plants.  They don't do mail order any more.  Now I just have to pray to the weather gods that the weather will warm up quickly.  The Herbal Husband is already asking when he can plant them.  Because I bought several scented geraniums, we have to hold off until the temperature at night is consistently into the 50's.  It is still up and down.

As you can see by the banner page, it has been a beautiful sunny albeit cool day because of the wind.  If the wind would just calm down, it would be perfect.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit warmer and then we take a downward turn and then back up again for the weekend.  Typical spring weather here in the 'Burgh!  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Daffs in the 'Burgh!

Really the photos don't show off how beautiful the daffodils are this year.  It is freezing again!  From the 80's to the 70's and we are around 40 today!  This is spring in the 'Burgh!  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.