Borage

Borage is an heirloom herb with pretty blue flowers. I have heard that you can candy the flowers and that they have been used in cake decor, but I have never really been that ambitious about using them.

I admire their beauty especially towards the evening when their fuzziness seems to make them glow.

An old wives tale is that they help whatever plant they are next to. I think they may also have some beauty benefits, but will have to go read up more about.

Lambs Ears

I noticed this perrenial plant last year at the nursery and decided to grow it from seed. So this year is the first year I am finally getting to enjoy it's unusual beauty.

I was attracted to it's silvery blue foilage, and velvety smooth leaves. I noticed today that it seems to be budding some cute little pink flowers to boot!

Red Cabbage

When I initially purchased these "red express" cabbage plants early spring, it said it took 45 day's to mature. Well here it is mid-July and still no cabbage.

It does appear to be forming a head however and I was told by a knowledgeable gal at the local nursery that it is a fall crop and to leave it be.

I am not sure If I will grow this again as it is huge already, and I really have a small garden plot. Hopefully I will be rewarded by the taste once it is fully mature and harvested this fall.
I will most likely make a kraut with it, as my sweetheart is German and I was given a recipe for red kraut by his lovely sister Delores.

Bell Peppers

I am not sure If I am lucky in regards to growing peppers. This is the second year I have attempted to grow them. I think I had a very small harvest last year.

These plants look pretty small to me, and I do gather that they are heavy feeders. I have tried to feed them, and still they look pretty pathetic to me.

I took a picture of a miniature pepper I found on the ground after a nasty storm we had, the wind must have blown it off the plant. Cute maybe but edible not sure. If any one has any suggestions or idea's about growing bell peppers I would love the feedback!

Nicotinia

I grew Nicotinia last year and decided I would try it again this year. Not only is Nicotinia a sweet smelling flower but I also find the star shaped flowers fun to look at. They come in many different colors and look pretty in arrangements.

Nasturtium Jewels

Another lovely plant that crept it's way into my garden. I planted these last year and again these annuals re-seeded. I didn't have the heart to take them out even though they really clash with my color scheme this year. Nasturtiums are edible and look really pretty as a garnish with a salad.

Snap Dragon's

I planted one Snapdragon plant last summer and low and behold I now have ten or more seedling's and about three that have bloomed. I thought it was an annual when I planted and I still believe it is, the cool thing about some annuals is that they re-seed themselves.

I did not know these seedling's were snap dragon's when I noticed them first this spring but I am glad that I waited, surprises are fun.

Italian Purple Pole Beans

These seedling's are very prolific! I waited until the weather warmed up and planted about a week or so ago. They are said to have beautiful purple flowers, and the plant's themselves are said to grow to about eight feet tall. I hope to show more pictures later as they mature. And I am anxious to find some new recipe's for pole beans, especially purple ones!

Happy Birthday Josie!

My July girl just turned Eight!

I did not have a lot of funds for this birthday to tell you the truth. First you have the fourth of July and all it's expense, and next thing you know it's a birthday.
Yes It is true that I am a bit insane, but what is a birthday without going a little crazy?
So I say forget about all that tackey confetti, that is nothing but a pain to clean up and you seem to be vacuming up for the next 3 months...... wich lead me outside to my garden to pick just about almost every flower or flowering herb I could get my hands on to make Josie's party a Garden Party. I think next year I might take it up a notch with a tea party, wouldn't that be super special for a birthday girl?

Nostalgic Floral Arranging

I'm definately no Martha Stewart, but I do try. I am excited to finally try one of my vintage blue Ball mason jars that I found a while back at a local thrift store. I also never have claimed to be an expert in floral arranging, however I have seen Martha do this stuff on t.v. and have paid enough attention to get some of the basics.
After cutting all of my Sweet Pea's from the garden this afternoon I imediatly made a cool water bath with just a few drops of my multi purpose soap. I would probly have used ivory soap but sense I did not have any on hand I used my Mrs. Meyer's soap.
Mrs. Meyer's soap is a natural plant based cleaning product line. The reason for giving my flowers a bath with a few drops of mild soap is to get all the bugs off. Even if you can not really see any you would be surprised at how they come out or start wiggling around once they touch the soapy water.

Next I get a clean vessell to put my flowers in and add cold water, (Tip: For fresh un bloomed flowers if you want them to bloom faster you use warm water) I chose cold water to keep them from dying too quickly. Then I added my plant food. I always save my flower food packs that you get when you buy fresh flowers from the grocery store.

Lastly I cut them again to measure were they can stand with out falling in the center of the vessell. Try to work from the center being the tallest and working shorter stems to the outer sides of the vase. This part can be difficult because you might have to do some re-arranging.

If any one is interested in the seeds I used for planting these sweet pea's I have posted a picture of the seed pack... I really love Botanical Interests because they do have some unusual varieties of things and I never have had any problems with the seed germinating properly. Here is the link www.botanicalinterests.com.