cabin

Now, there's a life-goal for ya

From the lips of the three-year-old wild child sitting in the back seat of the van while munching on french fries:

"When I grow up, I'm going to drive and eat at the same time!"

Garden Party Participants

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Garden Party. I found a lot of wonderful new blogs that I plan to add to my regular reading!

Keep those gardens growing!

How does YOUR garden grow? Would you like to show the blogging world the fruits of your labor? Would you like to take us on a virtual tour?

Let's have a Garden Party in the blogosphere! Show me your summer garden--vegetable, herb, flower, container, or weed--and I'll show you mine. Leave a comment when you've posted your photos, link back here on your blog, and I'll list you in this Garden Party Tour post, which I'll keep at the top of Today's Lessons until August 15th.

I'm looking forward to seeing your gardens!

*Feel free to use the banner on your blog.

The Gardens

• Anne over at Backyard Treasures has her garden photos up! Be sure to take time to visit the rest of her blog, not just the garden photos. She has wonderful recipes and homesteading ideas as well as unique garden projects, like Rhubarb Leaf Stepping Stones. Thanks, Anne!
• Anne has added more photos to her garden tour.
• The fine and talented Impromptu-Mom over at Confessions of a Happy Housewife has posted her LOVELY garden photos. ;-)
• One of my favorite bloggers, Randi, at I Have to Say, has posted photos of her and her daughter's gardening projects.
• I am having SUCH a blast getting to know people through this Garden Party! For instance, Farmgirl left a comment on one of my posts that she has an entire site devoted to her gardening adventures. Her site, In My Kitchen Garden, is delightfully written, wonderfully photographed, educational, humorous and inspiring and features little snippets she calls "realizations of the day." Her other blog is titled Farmgirl Fare and is filled to the brim with beautiful farm photos and food fixations.
• Marie from Things We Said Today is such a hoot. She posted photos of her garden, which she says she's posting "In the spirit of making everyone else feel good about themselves." Thanks for posting, Marie!
• Marie's daughter, however, has quite a green little thumb. You go, girl!
• You simply HAVE to see the photos that Joanna over at Floats, Knits and Purls put up. Oh. My. Goodness. The photo of her tomatoes nearly brought tears to my eyes! She captured a beautiful shot of her tomatoes after a rain. Absolutely lovely. Reminds me just how good it is to appreciate the simple things. Thank you, Joanna, for sharing your breathtaking pictures.
• Christian, over at Life. Allergies. Food. Recipes posted a picture of her cherry tomato in a pot in her little "city garden." You don't have to live in the country to grow your own foods! Thanks, Christian.
• Amy from Playing in the Dirt, a reader from Ontario, Canada, has posted pictures on her site and on her flickr account (over 100 photos!) of her lovely garden, which includes PEANUTS! What? I didn't know you could grow PEANUTS in Canada! Educate me!
• Cheryl, another Canadian reader, from Free Range Living, posted her gorgeous photos, too. She has others scattered throughout her blog, so be sure to take some time reading. Her photos are beautiful, and her posts make me want to go eat something healthy. Make sure to leave her some comments. We bloggers love readers, ya know.
• Wow! Carol, from May Dreams Garden, has posted a "before and after" picture of her garden plot--one photo from early Spring and one from now, at the peak. Go take a look. It's amazing! I love the deep beds, and hope to make use of those again myself someday.
• Oh MY! A MAN! Mick has posted his photos of his garden plots. Nice use of bricks for the deep beds.
• And my photos are down below. Scroll, scroll, scroll!

Cheap Eats

I'm posting recipes for Randi, over at I Have to Say. She's looking for inexpensive ingredients recipes. The lentil soup below comes from Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook. The most expensive things are the white wine, the cheese and the herbs, but if you grow your own herbs, you're in luck! Everyone who has tried this soup has loved it. My kids always finish off the entire pot, and I usually make a double batch.

"My Favorite Lentil Soup"

2 T olive oil
2 large / 3 medium onions, chopped
3 carrots, grated
3/4 t marjoram
3/4 t thyme
1 28-oz can tomatoes with juice
7 C broth--chicken or veggie
1.5 C dried lentils
1/2 t salt
1/4-1/2 t pepper
6 oz dry white wine
1/3 C fresh parsley or 2 T dried parsley flakes
4 oz Cheddar, grated

1) Sauté the onions, carrots, marjoram, and thyme, for about 5 minutes.
2) Add tomatoes, broth, and lentils. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer for 1 hr or until lentils tender.
3) Add salt, pepper, wine, and parsley, simmer a few more minutes.
4) Top with cheddar cheese for a complete protein.

More garden party photos

Below, you will find some more dazzlingly amazazing photos of my incredible gardens. I can only say that because you're not here, in my yard, and you can't see all the weeds and other junk that aren't photogenic.

I've learned some things this year for next year's garden.

1. Ignore recommended spacing guidelines. Sometimes they'll leave huge empty spaces, and sometimes your plants will be climbing all over each other. Plant tomatoes further than you think you should and plant violas closer.
2. Plant more fruits. Everyone loves melons and berries. Not everyone loves Swiss Chard. Not every day, anyway.
3. Plant onions deeper, but not too deep. This year, I planted some deep for table onions and didn't use them all, so they're not much bigger than when I planted them. I also planted some shallow for storing, but the dogs and chickens dug them up, so they didn't grow too well, either. And plant MORE onions. One can never have too many onions
4. I really, really want some deep beds.
5. Plant Cilantro later than you think you should, like the first week of July. And then plant another planting two weeks later, and then again.
6. Plant garlic.
7. Make hills for pumpkins and melons in the patch. The grass grew too tall around some of them, and they didn't survive.

The photos below of the greenhouse displays are from the greenhouse where I work. My boss asked me to arrange the fall items in the retail area, and this is my work in progress. It doesn't come across as well in photos as it does in person. I actually like the way they look, and it was a lot of fun making them.

Bo awaits out by the fire, so here I go! Keep those garden photos coming!

Sweetheart and Albino Bunny

This bunny was from our first batch of Mini-Rex babies. Now he's part of the group of generous rabbits who provide fertilizer for my garden. The little girl, my dear daughter Sweetheart, pulls weeds, picks veggies, gives me gardening tips and keeps me company.

front porch

Greenhouse from the register

greenhouse display IV

greenhouse display III

greenhouse display

Queen Anne's Lace

I didn't plant this one; God did. But I love the way it looks. I didn't know there were pink Queen Anne's Lace flowers. Did you?

chickory at the burn can

And a zucchini underneath a pear tree

I decided to make use of the empty space under the fruit trees this year. I'd read in several places that nasturtiums under fruit trees wards off the baddies, so I gave that a shot, but I also grew some zucchini, cantaloupe and watermelon vines under the other trees, and I kinda like it. The only downside is that I shouldn't plant the same type of plants in the same location every year, so I'll have to figure out what else would go well under trees.

Zebrina

I just discovered that this Althea is a hollyhock. I didn't know that! Isn't it lovely? I don't know if they're difficult to grow or not, but this one took right off! It's spreading everywhere already.

Columbine

"Red fox jump into my path
Shining there in the sun
Then he gave me a little laugh
Flipped his tail and run

Blackbird drinking in the watergrass
Twinkle in her eye
Feathers shine all purple-green
Then away she fly

Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove I say
Shady Grove, my little love
I'll be back someday

Looking for the One I love
Could that one be you?
Looking for the One I love
One who loves me true

Shady Grove, Shady Grove
Shady Grove, my darling
Shady Grove, my little love
You're the one I'm calling

Do not touch the Columbine
Leave it there in the sun
It'll fade right in your hand
See what you have done

Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove I say
Shady Grove, my little love
I'll see you someday"

Shady Grove, Pierce Pettis

thumbergia

Fennel

"With its umbels of tiny yellow flowers and dark green or bronze wispy leaves, fennel is a decorative addition to the herbaceous border where it makes a good background plant. Be warned, however, that many other plants dislike fennel and grow poorly when forced to share space with this strong herb. Never plant fennel near coriander or dill.

Use the leaves with pork, veal and fish. They are also good in fish stock, sauces and stuffings, and in mayonnaise, flavored butters and salad dressings. The dried stalks are placed under grilled or barbecued fish. The seeds are used as a spice, particularly in breads. At the two-leafed stage, the seedlings make a pungent salad, reminiscent of mustard.

A tea made with a few fresh sprigs of fennel or a level teaspoon of seeds will relieve indigestion. An infusion of the seeds is an excellent carminative, especially for babies. Use 1 teaspoon (5ml) of infusion for colic and gas.

Fennel is an effective treatment for respiratory congestion and is a common ingredient in cough remedies.

A tea made from fennel helps to stimulate the flow of breast milk. It is sometimes added to baby formula to aid digestion.

An infusion makes a soothing eyewash.

Chew the seeds as a breath freshener."

From Garden Guides

sunflowers

cantaloupe