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Hyacinth Bean Vine, (Lablab Purpureus)

March 9, 2014, 9:10 pm
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I'm still here!-- not frozen in place or blown away with the snow, just being a little hermit-like while spending time poking seeds into little containers of potting mix, my futile attempt at hurrying spring.

Dark green leaves with purple veins, & lavender, white & pink flowers on Hyacinth Bean vine, growing last summer at my local Botanical Garden.

Last year I wrote about growing Hyacinth Bean vine (Lablab purpureus, formerly Dolichos lablab). So desperate I must've been to grow something green, I started the seeds indoors in late January, many weeks before I should've. I spent the rest of winter nursing them along indoors until, finally, I was able to plant them out the first of May. Their growing days were severely numbered though. An unusually late snow fell on May 3, damaging or killing all but one of my little vines.

Showing the underside of one of the purple-veined leaves, top left, variation in bloom color & deep purple stems that hold the sweet-pea-like flowers of Hyacinth Bean vine.  

Fortunately, the gardeners at the botanical garden in my city were much luckier than I (or simply planned better). Their specimens of Hyacinth Bean were thriving in full sun on a scorching day when I  took these photos late last summer.

Flowers of Hyacinth Bean point upward as late summer bean pods drape downward.

A tropical vine grown as a tender annual, Hyacinth Bean rapidly grows to around 12 feet tall, appearing full & established within mere weeks. Purple flowers resembling sweet peas bloom in mid-summer followed by deep purple seed pods hanging from thick purple tendrils. The leaves have deep purple veins, most easily seen from the underside.

Clusters of purple beans & a view of the pretty purple veining on the underside of a leaf.

At the end of the season, the purple seed pods dry & turn brown. They pods can then be collected & the seeds saved for planting the following year.

Hyacinth Bean twines through a trellis covering a sunny wall.

Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost. Once all threat of frost is gone, plant the vines outdoors in full sun providing them with a climbing support. Keep the soil consistently moist until the young vines are established. Fertilize throughout the season, at least once a month.

Bamboo poles form a tepee covered in Hyacinth Bean vine making a shady playhouse for children at the Fullerton Arboretum in Fullerton, CA. Instructions are available HERE. photo: Sunset.com

Hyacinth Bean has become very popular with modern gardeners but is hardly ubiquitous... yet. You'll still have friends & neighbors asking what it is & where to find seeds. 

It's a wonderful old-fashioned addition to the garden. Beside being easy-to-grow & a hardworking shade provider, it comes with a bit of interesting history. It was first introduced in Europe in the 1700s & was in American nurseries by the early 1800s. In 1812, Thomas Jefferson recorded planting "Arbor beans, white, scarlet, crimson, purple..." at his home, Monticello, and though he doesn't specify this species, gardeners at Monticello say that by 1804 Hyacinth Bean was available through Jefferson's favorite nurseryman, Bernard McMahon, & they believe that the "purple" bean Jefferson refers to may have been the Hyacinth Bean vine (var. Dolichos Lablab, now renamed Lablab Purpureus). Today, Hyacinth Bean vine is grown in the Monticello kitchen garden. The beans are said to be edible when young, but poisonous as they age. I choose to avoid potential trouble in that department & grow them strictly as ornamentals.

Hyacinth Bean vine seedlings growing in my kitchen. 

Confident that my luck will be better than last year, little Hyacinth Bean vines are once again growing near my sunny kitchen windows, just waiting patiently for spring.

Online, Hyacinth Bean seeds can be found here(Amazon), and herefrom The Shop at Monticello. Seeds are also found at many garden local centers.

Keri

All photos by me, except otherwise noted.

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All Change

March 21, 2014, 4:15 pm
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Photo: Mark Turner, This Old House

Some weeks are full of change. This has been one of them for me. Not big, exciting, dramatic changes-- just small ones-- changes of schedule, changes in plans, slow & halting progress on my ambitious to-do list. I've felt like a Ferrari engine tearing around on the wheels & frame of a little red wagon. So it must have been Providential that, also this week, I read the Psalm that says, Your gentleness has made me great. I made it my motto. Live gently. And can you believe that while I focused on keeping cool, enjoying each minute, & letting go of what I couldn't control-- spring still arrived, rain still fell, and buds still sprang from the trees? All the work I wanted to get done-- it's still here to! 

 One of the incomplete items on that To-Do list  was a post on the horticultural art of espalier (es-pal-YAY). It sits unfinished in my blog drafts, so here's a little prequel. In the photo above is an espaliered pear tree from This Old House. Espalier is the art of training trees and shrubs to grow flat along a framework, usually a wall or fence. Not only is espalier a space-saving technique, in the case of fruit trees, the tree bears fruit much more heavily than it otherwise would. 

I've wanted to grow espaliered fruit trees for years. Last weekend my husband unexpectedly came across a small selection of already trained espaliered apple trees at a local nursery, and I now have two of them planted along a south facing wall in my backyard. Although common in Europe, finding fruit trees already trained into espalier form is difficult in the United States, and in my small town, previously non-existent.

So standby. In the coming days I will photograph my wall of espaliers and pass along the helpful instructions, links & books that first peaked my interest in the art & have helped get me started with the growing & training process. You may also like to take a look at this collectionof beautiful espaliered forms that I've saved on Pinterest.

Until then,
Live Gently. 

Keri
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Espalier, I

April 8, 2014, 10:23 pm
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Free-standing espaliered fruit trees in the kitchen garden of landscape designer, Bunny Guinness.
Photo by Robin Baker for Contemporary Designers' Own Gardens

Whimsy and personality in the landscape are as important to me as having more than one color & style in my closet. But since my garden-in-progress is small, everything that goes into it has to fill the tall order of being hard working, practical & beautiful all at once. Espaliered trees, particularly espaliered apple & pear, not only provide more than their fair share of beauty, they are well-suited to the size & growing requirements of the modern garden, & they provide fruit to eat. It's hard to get more practical than that.
When space allows, some espaliers can take very elaborate forms, such as this espaliered apple tunnel at Highgrove. via Cote de Texas

An ancient horticultural practice, espalier, pronounced in the U.S., əˈspælyər or əˈspælˌyeɪ, is the practice of shaping & pruning a tree or shrub into an unnatural shape, free-standing or planted along a wall or fence. It is similar to pleaching, in that the tree or shrub is trained into a two-dimensional form & the branches shaped & pruned throughout its life to maintain the shape.

Espaliered apple trees along a wall. The branches are low, & the fruit is easily harvested. 
photo courtesy, Steve James

Developed by the ancient Romans, the art of espalier was perfected by the French who gave it its name based on the French word épaule, meaning shoulder. 

In the United States, espaliered apple trees were grown at Robert E. Lee's Virginia birthplace, Stratford Hall and by George Washington in his Mt. Vernon kitchen garden.

A 'Red McIntosh' espalier from Winchester Gardens.

I won't try to convince you that training espaliered trees isn't a bit labor intensive. I confess; a couple of my attempts at espalier have ended in disappointment on the trash heap. So what are the benefits?

An espaliered crabapple in fall. Garden designer, Arne Maynard uses hazel branches cut from his property to form the supports for his free-standing espaliered crabapples.

Size & Variety
Their shape and size allow espaliered trees to be planted where, grown naturally, the same plant might be completely impractical or impossible, such as along the wall of a house, within the limited confines of a typical suburban backyard, or in urban settings. As their French name suggests, many forms are grown no higher than the shoulder, & are easily reached for harvesting fruit by everyone, including those who are wheelchair-bound, and children. The compact size of the espaliered fruit tree also allows a gardener to grow a wider variety of trees within the available space.

Health & Productivity
Once its form is established, an espaliered fruit tree is pruned & trained to focus its energy on the production of fruiting wood, so an espaliered fruit tree bears earlier & more heavily than non-espaliered trees. 

Because of the frequency of the contact the gardener must have with the tree to maintain its shape, potential problems are spotted & can be treated earlier. 

Good Looks
My favorite part-- they just look good. Espaliered trees are interesting in all seasons. In the summer, developing fruit sits neatly in clusters along the length of branches surrounded by green leaves, looking like something out of a fairy tale. In winter, the twists & turns of the branches are an interesting break in the dreary landscape and hold snow in interesting patterns. In spring, the branches' shapes are accented by flowers, and in fall, ripened fruit hangs within easy view & reach.

Although widely-available in Europe I'm told, espaliered trees are not hugely common in the United States, perhaps particularly so in the Midwest where finding ready-espaliered trees is difficult, so they represent something rather unusual in a lot of American gardens. 

Pears espaliered into the form known as "Belgian Fence" on the front terrace of the home of  the talented Nashville, TN designer, Jeannette Whitson form an attractive barrier. See more of Ms. Whitson's beautiful work HERE, and the article about her home in House Beautiful HERE. Photos by Simon Watson

Another view of Jeannette Whitson's espaliered pear "Belgian Fence".  
Privacy & Boundaries
Lastly, espaliered trees are a beautiful way to solve common privacy & landscaping problems. Privacy concerns are often greatest where space is limited. Similar to pleached hedges, espaliered trees make excellent privacy screens and boundaries while taking up very little space, & unlike some fences, do so without sacrificing looks.

 My espaliered apple trees, planted along a south-facing wall. The tree on the left is 'Red McIntosh' and on the right, 'Yellow Delicious'.

In my backyard, the wall along which my two espaliered apple trees are planted was something of a bore to see. It was big, beige, & bare. The wall is visible from most of the windows at the back of my house, so growing something there with the looks of a tomato plant just wasn't an option. I was lucky to find these espaliered apple trees-- a Yellow Delicious & a Red Macintosh-- already espaliered at a local nursery. I'm typing with crossed fingers that they grow up to be as gorgeous as Jeannette Whitson's!

In my next espalier post, I'll show you a variety of espalier shapes, direct you to resources for choosing your trees, & information about training & pruning.

Thank you for reading!
Keri



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Espalier, Part 2

May 12, 2014, 8:51 pm
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An illustration of espalier from a late 17th c. Dutch gardening manual, New York Public Library. 
photo courtesy, Streets of Salem

I often think the more I learn about gardening, the less I know. As my circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of ignorance around it. Apologies to Einstein for the misquote.

I feel this keenly now as I write, having just discovered that at least one of my espaliered apple trees appears to be afflicted with fire blight, a bacterial disease that is often fatal, & most likely came from the nursery, as I have just acquired the trees.


The espaliered apple trees of which I speak are part of the finishing touches I've been putting to the patio project that I began writing about last spring. Talented garden designer, Debra Phillips of the blog 5th & State, has been so kind to guide me through this long process with her expert design advice, her tremendous knowledge of plants, by ever-patiently answering questions, & by advising me around the scrapes into which my impetuous choices have occasionally landed me. It was she who quickly diagnosed the dreaded fire blight for me this afternoon. If you're not a regular reader of her blog, do yourself a favor & pop over there.

Now, enough about my espalier woes. I promised to provide resources to help get you started espaliering.

In Espalier, Part 1, we took a brief look at the what this beautiful horticultural art is . If you're not familiar with espaliered trees & haven't read Part 1, you may want to read that first. It's here.

While the aesthetic side of espalier is obvious, understanding the science which causes an espaliered tree to produce fruit so abundantly & earlier in the tree's development is beyond the scope of this article, but if, like me, you won't be satisfied until you know the why as well as the how, I have provided links at the bottom of this article to references that will satisfy your every horticultural-geeky need.

When I first starting learning about espaliered fruit trees, I was looking for space-saving ways to grow a productive garden in a tiny backyard. Looking so unique & very European I considered a bonus. I approached the subject with all the enthusiasm of an amateur gardener and with all the naivete of one, too! My first attempts at espalier ended in disappointment on the trash heap and showed me quite clearly that this was no hobby for the impatient or impetuous.
A free-standing espaliered crab apple. Arne Maynard
Establishing an espaliered tree begins from the ground up and can take from several to many years. An understanding of how the tree grows & where to make pruning cuts is crucial. There is, fortunately, a wealth of information available on this subject, and one who is interested in learning the art can, with time & plenty of patience, establish an espaliered tree. In the rest of this article, I will highlight the necessary steps and direct you to resources for further reading into each one.

If you haven't been recently bequeathed an estate complete with an espaliered orchard & you'd rather not wait & labor through the process of espaliering, some nurseries sell ready-espaliered trees. You may even find several varieties grafted onto one tree-- a technique that handles pollination & variety in an extra space-saving way. In my own small backyard, I've purchased and planted four espaliered apple trees from a local nursery that form two of the outside "walls" of my patio area.

To grow an espaliered tree from the ground up, here's where to start:

Rootstock 
The establishment of an espaliered tree begins with choosing a tree that is grown on dwarfing rootstock. For now, I will focus primarily on apples although I reference alternatives for warm climate gardeners, below. There's a numbering scheme (that does not follow an expected, sequential order) for apple tree rootstocks.  Here & Here are succinct guides to understanding apple tree rootstock codes with descriptions of their various advantages & disadvantages, and Here for pears.

Taking a cue from my cautionary tale, above, choose a variety that also has good disease resistance.

Spur Bearing vs. Tip Bearing
Apples & pears bear fruit either near the main branches on fruiting spurs or at the ends (tips) of the branches. For espalier, it's important to choose a tree that is spur-bearing. In some cases the same type of apple tree is available in both tip & spur bearing varieties. A short article, HERE, explains that further. Some spur bearing varieties recommended for espaliering by vegetablegardener.com are 'Red Rome', 'Stayman', 'Red Delicious', & 'Golden Delicious'. If you're unsure whether your favorite variety is spur or tip bearing, the grower should be able to tell you. In some cases, the name of the apple variety will give you a clue to its growth habit. For example, Stark Bros. labels their spur-bearing varieties with the brand name "Stark-spur".

Chill Hours
Chill hours are the cumulative number of hours that the temperature is between 32-45 degrees Fahrenheit in fall & winter. Many fruiting & flowering trees, including apples & pears, require a certain number of "chill hours" to reach dormancy & set flowers & fruit the following growing season. The required number of chill hours varies widely by variety. 'Red Delicious', for example, requires 800 chilling hours whereas 'Fuji' only requires 100-400 chilling hours. HERE, is a chill map of the U.S. developed by the University of Maryland to help you determine the number of chill hours for your area. If you buy your trees from a local nursery, they have most likely done the work of determining which trees will grow best in your area, but being over-prepared is never a bad idea.

Low Chill Options
For areas with few chill hours, apple varieties with low-chill requirements are available. Because I've been asked specifically about Florida, HERE is a map showing greater detail of chill hours for that state.

Tangerine tree espaliered into an informal shape surrounded by hen and chicks at its base. Design by Scott Shrader. Photo: Mark Adams

If you live in an area that doesn't receive enough chill hours to grow apples or pears, you might consider growing espaliered citrus-- orange, kumquat, lemon or lime-- or a fig tree. Some of these you may be able to find already espaliered at a local nursery, and certainly you can find young trees, not espaliered, available for sale.

Pollination
Some apple trees are sold as "self-pollinating", but I'm told for effective pollination & consistent fruiting, a second variety is necessary. Here is a handy checker for pollination compatibility-- select your tree from the list, and a list of effective pollinators pops up.

Choose the Site
Apple & pear trees grow best in full sun. Walls & fences make nice backdrops for espaliered trees, and the warmth from a wall can help protect the tree from late spring frosts, but free-standing espaliered trees are also very attractive. Be sure there's enough room for the tree to spread out on each side, about 5 feet in each direction.
Training posts & wires on espaliers 

For training wires for one set of our espaliered trees, my husband & I sank 4x4 posts in concrete on either side of the tree & used 14 gauge wire attached with eye-bolts between the posts. Turnbuckles attached to one end ensure that we can tighten the wire as it gives over time.

Choosing the Espaliered Form & Planting 
If you can imagine the espaliered form, you can probably train your tree into it. Formal shapes are most traditional, but informal shapes are also attractive and may not take as long to achieve.

In fall or early spring, plant a whip close enough to the framework to attach the lateral growth to the wires. A whip is a young vertical tree with no branches or side shoots. If possible, you'll want a pair of opposing buds at about the level of the first wire. Just above these two opposing buds, cut the whip at a 45-degree angle. Attach the whip to the bottom training wire with a soft tie, like this one.

An informal espaliered tree, This Old House

For an informal espalier, the branches of a young whippy tree may be trained flat against a trellis or training wires, unwanted outward growth can be removed.

Training progression of espalier
photo courtesy Cottage in the Oaks
Training
About 4-6 weeks after the first new growth appears, tie the side growth to the training wires. (Doing this too soon before the new growth has established slightly will cause it to break off.) The central vertical growth will become the new leader. Once the new leader reaches the 2nd wire, continue the process for the second tier.

Well, what do you think? Care to give it a try?! Be sure to tell me if you do.

Below, are some excellent articles on espalier from which you can find a wealth of helpful information, as questions are sure to arise as you work through the process.
Best of luck!
Keri
Vegetable Gardener - How to Grow Espalier Apple Trees
French Gardening - The Fine Art of Espalier





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The Summer Plan

July 2, 2014, 6:40 pm
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Summer! 
Though some of us might've thought it wasn't actually going to happen this year,
(kind of like an update to this blog, ahem)
it's officially here! 
And like the inevitability of Midwestern thunderstorms, 
I'm right back to the computer, finally blogging again. I've missed you, by the way.

"Summer in Paris" by Lana Moes. See her shop here.

The best plan for the long, warm days of summer, according to moi, is just that: Have a plan. For me, summer is precious & too short-lived, so soaking up every last minute is absolutely mandatory.

The plan might go something like this...

How To Pack the Most Sun & Fun into Summer:


1. Road Trip


There's nothing like packing a few light things and leaving life-as-usual behind for somewhere less familiar. The Wall Street Journal's Off Duty edition recently featured 50 reasons to love the road trip. Numbers 1 & 2 on their list: no planes. Translated into plain English, that means "no TSA". Which means the freedom to pack with cute luggage and find it recognizable when we've reached our destinations...


2. You Might Have Baggage, but at least it's Cute
Bric's Bellagio Luggage from Horchow. psst.. on sale over the 4th of July weekend here.

3. Shop, Stroll, Take Pictures
Snarkiness back under wraps, a road trip is the perfect excuse to adhere to the schedule of your whims, buy a new sun hat (ladies, try this one), stroll along sidewalks and poke your camera  lens through the gates of someone else's garden. Which is just what I was doing a couple weekends ago in one of my favorite day-trip destinations: Historic St. Charles, Missouri...
This garden adjoins The Conservatory Wedding Chapel, Main St., Historic St. Charles.

The English Shop, Main St., Historic St. Charles, is full of British food & eccentricities. From my Instagram.

Historic St. Charles (part of the greater St. Louis metro) is a laid-back destination situated on the Missouri River. The final embarkation point of The Lewis & Clark Expedition, it's full of late 18th & early 19th century homes, buildings and history. History aside, it's a fun weekend getaway-- the kind with bike rentals, old-fashioned soda & ice cream shops along old red-brick streets, & small-time entertainment. St. Charles deserves a post all its own, so more about it later this summer.

4. Sun without the Burn
       photo: J. Crew
July is UV safety month.
As with a lot of other things, having little people in my life gave my cavalier attitude toward sun protection a come-to-Jesus moment.
My youngest daughter's early sensitivity to most sunblock lotion was a problem that sun-blocking rash guards uncomplicated for me. Mini Boden's rash guard top & bottoms, below, is my 4-year-old's favorite swimsuit.

There's a great rash guard for everybody. For Women & Kids: Here& Here, Men: Here


5. ART

After spending weeks on facial feature studies drawn in graphite, I'm taking on what is for me a challenging, but I hope rewarding, summer drawing project-- a triple portrait of my two daughters and me based on a photo taken by my husband two weeks after our second daughter was born. My biggest trouble: getting all prickly-eyed looking at how fast they've grown. Wish me luck. 

6. Gardening, of course!
A favorite in my baby garden, my Pierre de Ronsard ('Eden') climbing rose - from my Instagram page.

Summer wouldn't be summer without a little gardening thrown in
because..
poster from Magnolia Box, here

Catch me between posts on Instagram


Happy Summer!

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Chincoteague and Assateague Islands

September 17, 2014, 8:02 pm
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I have a white-knuckled grip on summer. Blame it on Atlantic Ocean salt breezes and island music. I've just returned from the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague off the coasts of Virginia and Maryland, voted #1 on Coastal Living's list of happiest seaside towns.

From my hotel room balcony overlooking the bay and neighboring restaurant, Jackspot.

I'm pretty sure this beautiful place still has me in "slow" gear as I'm having a little trouble resuming life as usual. But that's the best kind of vacation isn't it? -- the kind you can give 5 stars because regular life got left behind somewhere.

Oversized Adirondack chairs by the bay.

Speaking of 5 stars, Chincoteauge and Assateauge Islands are destinations that consistently get more 5 star reviews than anything else on TripAdvisor. 

A monument honoring 'Misty' of Chincoteague.

The popularity of the islands is a credit to the power of the well-written word. Once small, unknown fishing villages, author Marguerite Henry put them on the tourism map with her children's novel, Misty of Chincoteague. Written in 1947, the tale is fictional but is centered around real people, places, events, and wild horses. 

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

The islands are known for the herds of wild ponies that roam Assateague. For hundreds of years, they've survived on marsh and dune grasses and fresh water from ponds. Read more about the islands and ponies, HERE. Locals have passed down the story for generations that the ponies are descendants of surviving horses from a Spanish galleon shipwreck. 

Wild ponies grazing on Assateauge Island. 

The wild ponies get a lot of press as the islands' main attraction, and they were certainly a hit with my children, but it was the easy non-fussy, laid-back vibe, friendly people and beautifully clean beaches that won me over. Watching dolphins play in the bay from my hotel balcony didn't hurt anything either! 

Lunch on the patio at Jackspot, Chincoteague Island, VA

Soon my grip on summer will be useless.  A sure sign are the ripening apples on my backyard espaliered apple trees... :)

I'll be back soon! 

Keri


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Tulips Understand

November 24, 2014, 12:14 pm
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This may be the most wonderful time of the year, but for me it has its difficult side. These beautiful late fall days are a reminder of the stark winter that's just around the corner, and like spending Sunday afternoon dreading Monday morning, it's easy to waste these beautiful days on melancholy.

Darwin hybrid 'Pink Impression' tulip bulbs.  (photo: IvyClad.com)

That's why I like to plant tulips. Tulip bulbs are my friends. They know that when late September and early October rolled around, I was still walking around barefoot with iced tea in hand pretending summer was going to last forever. They know that when I saw the first light frost of the season, I shrugged my shoulders and smiled to myself that it would warm up later in the day, leaving the morning to wear a new sweater. And when a light snow fell awaking me from my never-ending-summer fantasy, they were still there, patiently waiting to be planted without being worse for the wait.
This auger does most of the dig work. Similar here $32.

The tulip bulbs know that when I finally take to the task of planting them, I'll remember that this is where the best of spring gardening begins, and that after the grays of winter, I'll be rewarded with huge colorful blooms, and waiting for their arrival somehow makes winter not quite so long.

From a few years ago, around 100 'Pink Impression' tulips in front of my house.

This year, I've massed around 100 of the Darwin hybrid 'Pink Impression' tulip bulbs in street-facing flower beds around my house. I've planted a few dozen other varieties, too, including the late spring blooming and nearly black, 'Queen of the Night', planted in pots that will sit in a corner of the garage until spring, and will be used to fill in late spring garden gaps.

 'Pink Impression' tulips are apricoty-pink on the outside and deep pink inside.

I like to plant tulip bulbs after the first hard morning frost, and because they are so "understanding", they can be planted as long as the ground is still workable. I've dug up freezing soil in December when I could barely feel my fingertips, plopped them in and still had a remarkable show in spring. (If you wait past fall to plant them, the bulbs do appreciate being kept in a cool, but not freezing, spot.)

Voila! Bulbs in spring. They usually bloom for me (zone 6a) around April 15... perfect to lift the gloom of tax day.

All winter you can congratulate yourself for how forward-thinking you've been about the garden, and in spring when the tulips are blooming in all their glory and your neighborhood friends are thanking you for the beauty you've added to the world, you can graciously accept their praise while enjoying their visits. The tulips won't mutter a single "ahem".

This is why I plant tulips. Tulips understand.

Learn more about how to plant tulips, here.
I hope all you American pals have a wonderful Thanksgiving! gobble-gobble
Catch me on Instagram between posts.

-Keri






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New Year, Memories, & Pancakes

January 12, 2015, 4:30 pm
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Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. -Dr. Seuss 
photo cred: free people
Memory is a blessing, sometimes a very painful one. Just as 2014 closed and I thought of all that had transpired during the year, I received the dreadful news that a childhood friend, one who played in my house every week when we were girls, was gone. Her life- over too soon. I was devastated. We are young. We're just beginning. There's so much life left to live. All this raced through my head as I grappled with the terrible reality.

Throughout the next week, I was overwhelmed with recollections of the past. I grappled with a constant torrent of emotions as I remembered our childhood-- the days my mother let us pose for photos in her wedding gown, slow bike rides around the lake by her house, entertaining ourselves with silly giggles and gossip about boys. Things long forgotten were suddenly fresh and played over in my head like a film.

On Sunday morning, I wanted little more than the relief of sleep, but my five-year-old, oblivious to all that was on my mind, was persistent. Mommy, make pancakes with me!  I envisioned the mess that would follow: bits of eggshell to retrieve from the bowl, dribbles of milk and drips of batter on the counters, and lips sticky with maple syrup planting kisses on my cheek. Memories, I thought. Make the memories.

These are the pancakes we made, from chef Jamie Oliver's super-easy two cup recipe. This is the recipe I use every time my daughter wants to make pancakes because its speed and ease are geared to her attention span. It's so easy, I hate to even call it a recipe.

photo credit; JamieOliver.com

Fluffy American-Style Pancakes

  • Fill a coffee mug with self-rising flour, level the top, and pour into your mixing bowl.
  • Fill the same mug to the top with milk. Add to the bowl.
  • Add a pinch of salt, 1 egg, and whisk all ingredients together. Add 1 pear, grated, to the bowl, and stir.
  • Heat a dollop of butter in a pan. When the butter is melted, add the batter a spoonful at a time. Turn when the bottom of the pancake is golden and cook for a few minutes on the other side.
  • Serve right away with a dollop of full-fat plain yogurt and honey, maple syrup, or creme fraiche. (Creme fraiche, by the way, makes everything amazing.)

Here's a cute video of Jamie with two of his own little girls, making pancakes with this recipe.



This year, hug those you love often, and take the time to make memories of the happy, sticky, heart-warming kind.

Wishing you all the very best memory-making in 2015,
Keri


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Roses by Mail

August 21, 2015, 5:20 pm
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Pierre de Ronsard (Eden) climbing rose in its third growing season with Clematis 'Jackmanii'

The long warm summer has been eventful and happy and nearing the end of it is bittersweet. Noisy children, my own with their cousins and friends, have lazed, and played, and passed the long days the way children do- in flip flops with beach towels a constant necessity, at endless birthday parties, on kayak trips down the river, and with hours of giggles and secrets whispered between each other. I doubt they could've been happier if it were Christmas.

My daughter and a friend. 

And in my own little happy place, in its third growing season, for the first time 'Pierre de Ronsard' ('Eden') climbing rose has put on a really nice show.





Several years ago after futile searches locally for specific plant varieties, 'Pierre de Ronsard'climbing rose being one, I realized I'd have to get comfortable ordering plants online. Although I prefer shopping locally, I'm happy to tell you that buying roses through the mail has been a successful little venture. These were purchased from Brushwood Nursery as four-inch bands in spring 2013. They came well-packaged and healthy, and when I had questions, Brushwood was helpful and quick to respond. 

Very gradually working on covering the wall with 'Pierre de Ronsard' and Clematis 'Jackmanii'. And meet Chester, our 45-lb Airedale
Own-Root Roses: a must
I'd love to credit my own green thumb for their growing success, but really, besides testing and amending the soil before planting, giving these babies water and epsom salt for fertilizer, I've done very little. The credit belongs mainly to starting with healthy plants grown on their own roots. 

Instead of being grafted onto rootstock as most roses are, these began life as cuttings from  healthy "mother" plants and then developed their own roots. There are several advantages to growing "own-root" roses. The bud union is the most vulnerable spot to cold on a grafted rose and can be damaged easily during a harsh winter. Because own-root roses have their own root system instead, and send up shoots from the ground, they can freeze all the way to the ground in winter and still come back as the plant you purchased while also developing into a shaplier rose bush. Heirloom Roses, also exclusively a grower of  own-root roses that I've been very happy with has a great article about the advantages of growing own-root, here. 

And in other yard-related news: A family of robins made their home in one of the espaliered apple trees...

And a store-bought ice cream cake was relieved of its garnish and decorated with edible violas, cherries and raspberries for a small garden party...

And lastly, 'Pierre de Ronsard'makes a nice cut flower (this photo, I'm afraid, does them no justice) in my dining room next to new chairs from Wisteria. Thank you, Wisteria!

I'll leave you with these lines from the poet, Pierre de Ronsard, for whom this rose is named...

I'm sending you some flowers, that my hand
Picked just now from all this blossoming,
That, if they'd not been gathered this evening
Tomorrow would be scattered on the ground.

... and a couple links to the blog of my friend, Stephanie, who lives in Tours, France near Pierre Ronsard's abbey. This rose grows prolifically there and his poetry, Stephanie wrote to me once, inspired her to research sixteenth and seventeenth century gardens for her thesis. Her posts, hereand here, are a tiny peek into their world.

Keri

(No compensation was received for this post by the companies mentioned.)





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September 13, 2016, 7:46 pm
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In a spin on the ubiquitous serenity poem, some clever soul has quipped,

God grant me a vacation to make bearable what I can't change, 
A friend to make it funny, and the wisdom to never get my knickers in a knot because it solves nothing and makes me walk funny.

The past year has been spent adjusting to change and making choices. I've taken long road trips- secretly hoping to outrun myself- an exercise in futility if there ever was one. In complete candor, the bends in the road have left me feeling lost and far away from home, vacillating between a need to find my way back and an urge to move forward. Humor and tenacity have become my best friends-- and with practice, maybe someday I'll be as tranquil as these lily ponds I photographed at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago. ;)


In the meantime, one of my favorite bloggers, Gigi Thibodeau of The Magpie's Fancy, wrote some great advice for creative types trying to find the way back to creative center. "... write (or paint, or sculpt, or dance) your way back," she said. And so, taking her advice, I have created a completely new blog format to debut next month from which to write about my flurry of creative activity with new gardening articles, easy-to-print recipes and a few travel posts mixed in.


See you around the corner!

Keri
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