Harvest Monday and Other Stuff

I actually had a harvest on Sunday evening: spinach from last Fall's sowing.  There were just enough leaves to add to a stir fry at the very end so they just started to wilt.  What rich flavor they had.  I wish there had been more.

You can see other harvests at our host: Daphne's Dandelions.

In other stuff here's a look at how the seedlings are doing.  I've now only had no shows in two pots of Delicious tomatoes.  I may try to put some more seeds in there or just try some marigolds which I know will germinate.  I planted three or four seeds in each pot and now face the daunting task of deciding which one plant to keep in each pot.  You can see below that of the three, no four New Ace peppers there is not much difference so how to choose?

 I'll have to decide fairly soon which of these Amish paste is the one as they get their second set of leaves.   Decisions, decisions!

 And finally also under the category of other stuff, here are the daffodils outside the bedroom wing windows ...

 ... and the hanging pot of pansies using the cinchers I got at the Flower Show ...

 ... and an interesting pattern on the window of my study in the morning light.  The drips are left over from when I had the humidifier in here when I had a cold but the other mark is left by can you guess?

Yes, a bird making contact with the window.  A hazard unintended by having large clear windows in a woodland setting despite my attempts at putting decals up to warn them.  No dead bird was found on the ground so I think this one survived to hit again another day.

Philadelphia Flower Show - Part 2

Part 2 - Purchases
 So one major reason to go to the Flower Show is to see all the new products for the garden and beyond among all the vendors.  Last year I was more circumspect in my purchases.  Maybe it was the economy.  This year I was not so inclined.  Maybe it was the economy, too!

I purchased these two succulents since two were a better price than a single and I didn't want to carry a prickly cactus home.  I plan to try to plant them in some old glassware per the inspiration of the vendor mentioned in Part 1.  I love their stripes.

This broom was demonstrated by the vendor and I was sold.  Another selling point was that profits go back to Sri Lanka where it's made.  It will be great to get the leaves out of the rocky paths I made last year.

 I saw stone and iron birds last year but didn't buy any.  This heron spoke to me and I got it this year to put near the pond.  These are made in Minnesota by Francis Metal Works, LLC from stones that appear in farmland fields.  My friends and I all purchased something from this vendor before lunch and she tagged them for us to pick up at the end of our day.

 Another demonstration sold me on these pot hangers.  They work for all sizes of pots and can be reused year after year.  I plan to use them for the pansies I just hung up on Thursday.  It will give a sleeker look than the plastic hangers on the pots.

 A tropical plant purchase was this plumeria stalk.  Three were cheaper than one so I split it with a friend.  Supposedly easy to grow and then winter it over in a dark spot to grow again another year.  It came with instructions which in reading here at home differed from what the saleswoman described.  Hmm ... wonder which I should follow and if it matters.

 My last purchase will be shipped to me in mid-April because the vendor had sold out of his supply.  He did give me this which I think I'll use on the pruners I currently have.  The pruners and loppers I got have ratchets which makes cutting easier as I learned from trying them on all sizes of sticks he had in his display. 

Philadelphia Flower Show - Part 1

Part 1 - Lack of Much Inspiration
The Philadelphia Flower Show was as marvelous as it could be for being the biggest in the world (I think someone claimed) and judging by the crowds on Friday lots of folks thought so.  The theme was Hawaii so living in a non-tropical climate meant the inspiration pieces were not as numerous for me.  Don't get me wrong, they were stunning and make me reconsider whether or not to visit Hawaii some day.  I did not go away empty-handed or inspiration deprived because there were some lovely ideas for what to do with succulents and cacti.  I just didn't take as many photos of the tropical scenes but here are the few I did snap.

 

 Now here are some combinations that are inspiring.  The chartreuse of the ferns against the reddish purple of the plant whose name I didn't find.

 I thought the plant at the top was a coleus but it was labeled something very unfamiliar but again the color scheme was beautiful.

 Couldn't you picture yourself sitting on that open air deck?

 The window box competition featured cacti and succulents and were stunning.

 So here's a camera question:  I had the setting on foliage for the photo above but then took the same shot with the auto setting.  I think the one below looks more natural.  I loved the combination they had there.

 Another lovely window box below.

 A vendor shared this idea for a price which I figured I could do myself.  Plant a cactus or succulent in an old piece of glassware.  No need for drainage holes on the bottom with the layer of charcoal and small stones.  Besides watering of these plants is minimal anyway.

These are man made rock gardens but an idea in itself.

 Recognized my heuchera in the photo below.  There's hope it will be that size one day.

 This was a take off on a Hawaiian thing that one university did in their display.  Can you identify the layers?

 Another idea from that display on how to fasten poles horizontally.  I have so many downed limbs through my woods that I've often wondered how I could use them.  Rather than nailing them together to make a trellis or arbor I could use twine to bind them if I followed this example.

 There were vegetable garden displays.

 

But I don't think I'll be making a lettuce wall anytime soon.

 

 Independence Hall on a miniature scale with succulent plantings to absorb runoff.

Wonder what 2011 was like?  Revisit my blog post on it.

Chili

I'm coming up to the end of some of my stored produce from last season.  I think there's one more bag of tomatoes in the freezer.  On Wednesday I made chili.  Here are the  things that came from my stores:

bag of frozen tomatoes

 last head of garlic

 habenero pepper (grown in 2009)

 a mixture of frozen vegetables that I had labeled for soup

 I used 96% fat free ground beef, onions, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.  Here the vegetables are added.

 Then the tomatoes.  I supplemented with a can of diced tomatoes.

 I used canned Northern beans, dark kidney beans and not pictured black beans.  Also added molasses, chili powder, habenero pepper, and worchestershire sauce.

 The finished chili served with grated cheddar cheese.  It was spicy and good with corn bread muffins.

See what other cooks have made from their stores at Robin's Garden of Eden