Category Archives: Peppers

September 4, 2016 · 7:27 pm

FLUTTERBYS

For weeks now

I’ve been seeing the signs

Orb spiders have arrived

Praying Mantis are hanging around

As are Locust.

Dahlias have made their debut

I can hear the band practice

At the high school football field.

Cockscomb is everywhere

And Flutterbys

Are here.

Somewhere along the way

Butterflies became flutterbys

At our house.

Elliott loved them as a child.

Even bringing them into the house

To live…briefly!

When you think about it

Flutterby is a more accurate description

Of these late summer visitors.

The Monarchs are on their way

To Mexico.

And a few are stopping by

For a snack in my garden.

They brought along their friend

The Tiger Swallowtail

Which has been impossible

To get on camera.

I can’t say enough about this season

Especially in a year

That brought such heat.

In some ways I find it

As much a source of renewal

As spring.

It’s cooler days

Are refreshing

Even though I know

My least favorite season

Is close behind.

For now

I’ll pick peppers

And tomatoes…finally

Transplant roses

And make extravagant flower arrangements.

Because fall is the season of bounty

In my garden

For that I am grateful.

Gail

Surely this is the last Easter egg out there!

3 Comments

Filed under Bugs, Butterflies, cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall, Gardening, Gratitude, late summer garden, Orb Spider, Peppers, Tomato, Uncategorized

November 3, 2014 · 12:55 am

THE BASIL RITUAL

There’s a rhythm about fall that seems to be well, common.

At least among my friends.

With our first freeze predicted for Halloween

I began cutting basil on Thursday

And again on Friday.

Buckets of basil.

I always plant too much

Which means I have basil to spare

For months on end.

I use it during the growing season.

But by October it’s giant and going to seed everywhere.

Yet I feel that none of it can go to waste.

I either have to dry it

Or make pesto

Or find it a home.

Pesto is my first plan of attack.

So on Friday

When the weather men were issuing their threatening forecast.

My sister Ann called and said.

“So I’m guessing you’re making pesto.”

And I was.

She’s in the same place I am.

With way too much basil.

But she has the advantage of being able to feed her extra.

To her bunnies.

I on the other hand

Do not have hungry bunnies living at my house.

So when a friend dropped by with a cape for Coco to wear for Halloween.

She was rewarded with bonus basil.

Others who dropped by were also given the chance

But most declined.

I thought of bagging it up in little bags and giving it out

To the 400+ kids who came trick or treating.

But there might be potential for misunderstanding there!

I’ve now made 3 batches of regular pesto

3 C. packed fresh basil leaves

1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

6 cloves chopped garlic

6 T toasted Pine nuts

4 T olive oil

Put all ingredients into food processor.

Pulse till well chopped but not a puree.

Spray ice-cube tray with non-stick cooking spray.

Freeze. Then store cubes in plastic bag.

It’s about a tablespoon or 2 of pesto.

And a couple of roasted red pepper and sun-dried tomato pesto.

3 medium red bell peppers 0r 1 jar .

12 sun-dried tomatoes – soaked and drained

1 clove garlic chopped

3 T roasted pine nuts.

a handful of fresh basil leaves.

A handful of fresh Italian parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

2 T grated parmesan cheese.

Prepare like basil pesto

I’ve also been roasting and freezing the last of the ripe tomatoes.

All of which is giving our house

A rather Italian aroma.

Now…what to do with all those

Peppers and green tomatoes.

And in the end

It didn’t even freeze!

Gail

The other fall ritual I love

Is sharing plants with friends

Kay and Tori came by on Saturday morning.

To dig the last of the ferns.

New plans for this area

Come spring.

SEPTEMBER’S SONG

I have long loved fall.

You would think as a passionate gardener

That would not be the case

With the season winding down and all.

Certainly I know what is coming

An end will come with its inevitable freeze.

But here in the middle of September

Winter is still a bit out of reach.

And what a September it is.

Endless days of crisp air and sunshine.

This is the time of the year

That the garden slows

And so do I.

My weekend gardening days

Move at a more reasonable pace.

Which gives me time to observe.

Bumble bees in flight.

Baby praying mantis

Blending in with zinnia leaves.

Even a large praying mantis

Outside the kitchen window.

Orb spider spin their amazing webs.

Butterflies bask in the soft fall sun.

And peppers finally have their day.

This is also the time of year

That pots come into their own.

They begin to ooze over the side

With the fullness of the season.

I’m not great with annuals

But September makes me look like I know what I’m doing!

Plants that were cut back in mid summer

Are coming into full bloom again.

Smaller…more contained than their spring version

But just as lovely.

The last few years

I’ve taken a new look at fall

As a time to plant.

As I pull up things that are spent

Cockscomb mostly

I plant seeds in their place.

So mixed leaf lettuce, arugula and carrot seeds

All were planted today.

Not in tidy little rows

Like most vegetable gardens.

But in the empty spaces.

I know I’ve said it many times

But fall seems like the time to repeat

The value of taking time

To observe nature

It’s seasons

It’s changes

It’s lessons.

Enjoy the week,

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Arugula, Bugs, Bumble Bee, Butterflies, Carrots, cockscomb, container gardening, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Gloriosa Daisy, Orb Spider, Peppers, Seeds, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Zinnia

November 17, 2013 · 11:44 pm

WINDING DOWN

You may recall that spring was a bit late this year.

With four freezes continuing through the end of April.

We had a late start to the season.

That’s why I have reveled in this glorious fall.

Endless days of crisp air

And sunshine

And all this color.

I knew it would eventually freeze.

But I am grateful for the “catch up” time

Mother Nature has given us.

Last week it did finally freeze.

Not a light frosting

But what we gardeners call

A “killing freeze”.

I did pick

Green tomatoes.

The last batch of produce for Loaves & Fishes.

The last roses of summer.

And cosmos.

And hydrangea.

But a hard freeze is inevitable.

Necessary really.

We need things to die

So that we can clean up

And put our child to bed.

Mounding it all up to compost

So that we can return it to the earth.

But before I can even begin to think about all of that

I have to finish planting

ALL THESE BULBS!!!

What was I thinking?

So on Saturday

I began.

Digging trenches

One section at a time

Along the path

Leading to the garden house.

Then over planting

With Pansies.

Now I won’t bore you with the details

Since it’s the same process

We walked through

In the front

A few weeks ago.

But I will tell you

I’m glad to have it done.

It’s a big job

That needs a chunk of time.

Pulling up

Cockscomb, cosmos, tomatoes and peppers

Can be done in small snippets of time.

As is the case in most years

I was ready for the freeze.

To rest.

Gail

The last rose of summer.

4 Comments

Filed under cockscomb, Compost, Cosmos, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Flower Arrangements, Gardening, Green Tomatoes, Hydrangea, Peppers, roses, Uncategorized

October 13, 2013 · 11:33 pm

GRATITUDE

This morning our minister, Andrew, spoke about gratitude.

This afternoon I’ve been puttering away in my garden.

A place where it’s almost impossible not to feel grateful.

And I am.

For the glorious weather we have been having.

For the gift of fall roses

That seem a bit different from their spring sisters.

Perhaps they’re a little sturdier knowing that

They are among the last of the season.

For the abundance of tomatoes

Both green

And ripened.

For peppers that take all season to grow.

And come into their own as others fade.

After all, if I were a pepper

I’d wait till all that squash finished showing off

Before I made my appearance.

And you can’t write about gratitude this time of year

Without talking about dahlias.

They are among the most amazing of all the things I grow.

And yes, I’m even grateful for cockscomb.

But…

As glorious as this day has been.

And as giving as my garden continues to be.

It pales in comparison to my friend Suellen.

Last week after 11 years of silence.

The miracle of the Cochlear implant was turned on for her.

And she can hear.

Think of it.

The voices of young grandchildren she had never heard.

Birds singing

Crickets

Music

Even traffic.

There’s likely no one else I know

Who’s more grateful tonight.

There’s a community of those who care about you

Who are grateful to the bone.

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Bouquets, Cochlear Implant, Dahlias, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Flower Arrangements, Gardening, Gratitude, Green Tomatoes, late summer garden, Peppers, roses, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Tagged as Cochlear Implant, Cockscomb, Dahlias, Gratitude, Peppers, Roses, Tomatoes

October 7, 2013 · 12:30 am

IT’S HERE

It arrived over the weekend.

A bit later than the lunar calendar

But you could feel it in the air

Cool

Crisp

Fall

I love this time of year.

Beginning in August

We can hear the high school band

Practicing each morning

Soon after

It’s the sound of the Friday night football crowd.

Shortly after that

The whistle of the train in the park

Is silenced.

It’s the seasonal rhythm

Of the sounds of my backyard.

The change of season

Is also happening

In my garden.

Monarch butterflies

Stop for nectar

On their way home for the winter.

Others flitter about.

The roses give us another burst of bloom.

Praying mantis appear

Along with some of spring’s lady bugs.

Dahlias are glorious in this weather.

And we all know what happens to cockscomb in the fall.

Basil is reaching for the sky

Which means it’s pesto making time.

Peppers finally begin to come on

And speaking of obstinate vegetables

Tomatoes are happy!

So am I.

Hope you have a happy fall week.

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Basil, Bugs, Butterflies, cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Herbs, Lady Bugs, Peppers, roses, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Tagged as Basil, Bugs, Butterflies, Cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall Vegetables, Herbs, Lady Bugs, Peppers, Pesto, Roses, Tomatoes

September 9, 2012 · 1:25 am

THE FIRST CRISP MORNING

It’s here!

That feeling of fall.

Cool

Crisp

Refreshing

Renewing

So….rather than sit inside and write a blog.

I’m going outside

To let fall soak into every cell of my body.

I will follow this with the blog I wrote – almost completely.

Last week.

But never sent.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse

Off what’s blooming

In My Garden

Enjoy the week,

Gail

Category Archives: Peppers

FLUTTERBYS

THE BASIL RITUAL

SEPTEMBER’S SONG

WINDING DOWN

GRATITUDE

IT’S HERE

THE FIRST CRISP MORNING

Archives

Email Subscription