Lemon, Potpourri or a Combination?

The August, 2013 Herb Garden

Don't get excited!  The snow and cold is not gone, but I did want to remind you in the cold northern states that you should be thinking about this year's herb garden.  I did a post from 2012 called Some Resources to Help with Your Herb Garden Planning.  In 2011 I did a post called Lots of Good Basic Herb Gardening Information.  These posts may be helpful in your planning sessions!

I'm just going to cut to the chase.  We are going to amend our soil because we haven't done so it about 9 years since the garden was redesigned.  I also think that we are going to lime it as well.  Because our soils are so acid and herbs like a sweet soil, lime will help raise the pH levels.  A soil test will help define exactly what we should be doing.  You can find your local extension office through this website, Cooperative Extension System Office.  Just click on your state and it will give you a larger state map with counties.  Just click on your county for the location of your nearest cooperative extension office.  They have lot of services for both farms and residential gardeners.  I volunteered with them for years.  They have sound information from their land-grant university.  In Pennsylvania's case, Penn State University.

So what am I going to do in my herb garden this year?   Well, maybe a lemon herb garden or a potpourri herb garden or a combination of both.  The Herbal Husband and I have gotten to the point that starting a lot of seeds is not efficient.  So I'm going to rely on my favorite herb farms Mulberry Creek Herb Farm (Open March, but call for exact dates and times) and Beech Creek Gardens in Ohio (Greenhouse is open from early April through June 30) and Well-Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey because they still have mail order for my herb plants this year.  If you are in the northern New Jersey, it is a must see destination for the classic herb garden design and unusual herbs.  All three of these locations grow great herb plants.  Each of these three grower has a passion for herbs and have unusual choices.

I have a list of lemon herbs already from this article from what used to be Herb Companion magazine, now Mother Earth Living called How to Create a Lemon Garden from Geri Laufer.  Geri does live in Atlanta that has gotten a dose of our kind of weather here in the northern climes, but that's not normal for the south.  I will probably use some of her list of plants, but not all of them.  That list is included in the main article with a link right at the top of the article.  It is a much bigger garden than I have or need but I'm going to take a chunk out and use it.

I have a list of potpourri plants somewhere and I have some lavenders and a rose in my garden already.  So I'm thinking of doing a combination of both gardens.  Do you have plans for your garden this season?   If you have questions for me, I would be glad to try and answer them for you.

We have another round of snow coming overnight!  This is one of the harsher winters we have had for a long time!  Spring can't be that far away!  Oh, it's going to be 50 over the weekend!  Yippee!  Talk to you later. 

Still Snowing and a Childhood Memory!

It is Still February and Still Snowing!

I just posted this photo on Facebook and it is still February and we still have about a month of winter to go!  It has been relentless this season!  We have had much more snow that usual and almost every day we have had snow!  So yesterday I got into my recipes and found a childhood favorite.  Not because my mom and I baked them together but because of a friend's mom.  I remember them as the best sugar cookies ever!  My friend kindly shared the recipe and I'm going to share it with you.  I'm going to call them Carolyn's Sugar Cookies and variations.  I really don't know what recipe she used so I apologize ahead of time.  It is not a diet recipe.  I'm not trying to make it healthier.  This is the cookie I remember from after school at their house.

Carolyn's Sugar Cookies and Hoping for Spring!

Carolyn's Sugar Cookies
Makes Several Dozen
Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes

1/2 cup melted shortening
3/4 cup sugar (I used lavender sugar.)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cream of tartar

Mix together shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and cream well.  Add vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Chill. (I chilled my dough for about an hour.) (I rolled out my dough between two sheets of plastic wrap.) Cut into desired shapes.  (I got better at rolling out the dough in the later stages and my cookies at the end were thinner and crispier which The Herbal Husband enjoyed.)  I like mine thicker and softer as I remembered Carolyn made hers.

Here are the variations given:

Chocolate--add 2 squares melted unsweetened chocolate after the eggs.

Butterscotch--substitute 2/3 cup brown sugar for the granulated.

Coconut--add 1 cup moist, shredded coconut.

Filled--put together in pairs before baking with 1 t. jam, jelly or raisin filling; press edges together with fork and bake at 375 F. for 12-15 minutes.

Lemon--add 3/4 t. lemon juice and 2-3 t. lemon rind instead of vanilla.

Nut--add 1 cup finely chopped nuts.

Orange--substitute 1-1/2 t. orange juice and 2 T. grated orange rind for vanilla

Spice--add 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. mace and 1/4 t. nutmeg.

As I have said before cookies are a very dangerous food group for me and The Herbal Husband!  Hope you are enjoying your Sunday!  Weekends are going fast around here.  Talk to you later.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Special Poem from The Language of Flowers

The Herbal Husband's Valentine's Gift to Me!

A Language of Flowers Book from 1849!

We started celebrating Valentine's Day a bit early with my post about the Language of Flowers for Mother Earth Living.  I got my Valentine's surprise yesterday when this language of flowers book arrived in the mail.  Hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day.  The Herbal Husband is cooking dinner and I bought a special dessert.  So I'll share photos later!  We are still cold and it is going to snow again tomorrow!  I think we have had snow almost every day since the beginning of the year!  It is wearing a bit thin!  Talk to you later!

Well, I promised photos of dinner and here they are:

Pork chop with Mushroom Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus!

A Chocolate Mousse Cup for The Herbal Husband!

Half of My Strawberry Mousse Cake!

 It was all amazing!  The house smells wonderful!  He really out did himself.   Thanks sweetie!  It was delicious!

Still Busy Making Tea Blends!

Looks Like a Potpourri but It is a Tea Blend called Kittatinny Tea

Sometimes the smallest herb books provide the most information.  It is with a small booklet I found at The Village Herb Shop one year.  It is called Beverages with Herb Scents by the Western Reserve Unit of the Herb Society of America.  Thanks ladies for putting so much great information about herbal teas into 13 pages!

Kittatinny is a mountain in the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.  So it is a perfect blend for me to be doing.  I was running out of my self-sealing teabags.  So I put two teaspoons into these.  So I may get two steepings rather than just one.

Kittatinny Tea
(Makes approximately 23 teabags with 2 teaspoons each)
Steep for 5 minutes

2 cups lemon verbena leaves, crushed
1/2 cup chamomile flowers
1/4 cup rosemary blades
1/2 cup fragrant rose petals

Mix all together.  Bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees.  Store in a dark dry place.

I did not bake the mixture.  I guess baking would enhance the flavor of the mix or kill off any hangers on!  The description says it is a good afternoon tea and is nice with scones, jam, fruit or light cake!

We are still very cold, but a break from the cold is going to happen next week, but not before we get a bit of snow tomorrow into Friday!  Will it ever end!  Well, since I was early celebrating Valentine's Day, we are going to go out for our Valentine's dinner tonight!  We have really been staying at home and not going anywhere.  So a night to celebrate is in order!  Going to T.G.I. Fridays and getting a free dessert!  Can't beat that!  Talk to you later!

Guest Blogging for Mother Earth Living Magazine!

The Herbal Husband's First Tussie-Mussie!

We were a bit early celebrating Valentine's Day in our house!   Here is the tussie-mussie that I made for The Herbal Husband.  He liked it so well he is sharing it with me.  I  guess I love it for both of us.  Here is the link for my post called Crafts for Valentine's Day and the Language of Flowers.

A red rose (“I love you”); carnation (pure and ardent love); daisy (“I will think of it”); baby’s breath (everlasting love); and some herbs from the indoor plants: peppermint scented geranium (cordial feelings), lemon verbena (“You have bewitched me”) and rosemary (for remembrance).  I didn't get a chance to mention the daisy meaning is because we are both getting older!  Really when a gentleman used daisies back in Victorian times the "I will think of it" meaning meant she made a wreath of daisies to wear around her head to remind her that she had a proposal to think about.

I just want to mention and give a shout out to my local florist Z Florist in the North Hills of Pittsburgh.  They have beautiful flowers and at reasonable prices.  I also want to give a very special thank you to my friend, Elizabeth Bergstrom Case who made a very special potpourri for Valentine's Day in time for this post.  You can check her beautiful cards and potpourri blends at Benevolent Botanical Greetings

Hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day and hopefully Elizabeth and I have given you some ideas in this digital age to surprise your valentine!  It is still freezing here in the 'Burgh.  Hope you are warmer wherever you may be in the world.  Talk to you later.

Frozen in Time!

Sorry I haven't been much of a blogger lately.  Could give you the excuses, cold, snowy and icy.  This was the garden the other day before we got more snow!  Yes, Peggy R, I am getting sick of snow!  Want to make more tea bags because I'm going through them like crazy.  So hopefully I will carve out a little time to give you more tea recipes.  We don't get blue sky often in the winter.  So here is the herb garden in the bright sunshine!  Hope you are stay warm and cozy wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Guest Blogging for Mother Earth Living Magazine!

As I eluded to in an earlier post, I have been busy making herbal blends from the containers on my worktable in the basement.  As National Hot Tea month is coming to an end, here are some recipes for herbal tea blends that I found in booklets from some of my favorite herb sources.  The post is entitled Celebrate National Hot Tea Month.  Please if you have questions about tea or herbal teas, I would be happy to answer them.  I'm going to try and put together a list of herbs that would make great herbal teas by themselves.  I wonder what I may suggest?  Maybe my favorite?  I'm going to be working in other tea recipes I have found and tips on steeping teas, etc.  Stay tuned to find out what I'm up to!

We finally had a very sunny day here not typical for the 'Burgh in winter.  It is still very cold, but actually we had a double digit day above 10 degrees.  We are supposed to be in the 20's tomorrow.  Never thought I would say yippee to that number!  So stay warm.  Make a cup of herbal tea and enjoy my latest post.  Talk to you later.

Remembering Claude Monet's House and Gardens, Giverny, France-2007 and 2011!

It is not often that you get to visit a place twice in a lifetime.  I have been privileged to see Giverny, France and the home and gardens of Claude Monet in two different seasons.  First in October of 2007 and then again in July of 2011.  I'll let you decide when you think is the best time to visit.  Giverny is just not about Claude Monet, but the village is quite quaint and the Impressionists Museum and gardens are a treat as well.  Hope you enjoy these visits.

Monet's House in October, 2007

Monet's House in July, 2011

Perennial Borders in October, 2007

Perennial Borders in July, 2011

The Nasturtium Walk in October, 2007

The Nasturtium Walk in July, 2011

Another View of the Perennial Borders in October, 2007

Another View of the Perennial Borders in July, 2011

The Lily Pond in October, 2007

The Lily Pond in July, 2011

Well, we are experiencing our coldest day this year so far and we are only 28 days into 2014!  Yikes!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be!  Talk to you later.

Remembering Summer in Paris, France-July, 2011!

We ended our European vacation in July 2011 visiting Paris!  We have had several trips to Paris, but none in the tourist season.  Here are some recollections of Paris 2011.  I enjoyed every moment I could in the gardens in Paris.  They are beautiful maintained and a joy to see!  Hope you are staying warm wherever you may be.  We are only going to get colder.  Talk to you later.

Last Time We Were at Notre Dame, There Was Scaffolding!

Lavender and Rosemary Near Notre Dame!

A Bright and Colorful Flower Bed at Sacre Coeur

La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre

Looking Down to the City from Sacre Coeur

It's All About Plants in This Garden

Look at the Beautiful Sage and Rosemary!

Looks Like the Dill is in Bloom Here!

Always Have to Have Sunflowers!

Wonderful Combinations of Flowers and Colors!

Love to Walk Down the Long Borders of Color!

Loved the Various Heights and Choices of Flowers and Herbs Used!

Another Color Palette,  Heights and Flowers!

Have to End with a Glorious Rosemary!