Tag Archives: Gardening

Lemonade Syrup

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.🍋🍋

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I got a bunch of lemons from Elaine whom I met through my other friend Rose. Elaine had buckets and buckets of lemons – literally buckets of lemons to give away. I met Elaine recently to pick up over 200 lemons – did I count them?  Yes! In fact I counted 275 lemons to be exact. Continue reading Lemonade Syrup

Daffodil Daydreams 2017 at Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California

Want to see a sea of sunny daffodils blooming in profusion? Daffodils, daffodils, and more daffodils, as far as the eye can see? A trip to Filoli Gardens Daffodil Dreams in Woodside, California is something truly magical and the perfect early springtime nature excursion.

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Continue reading Daffodil Daydreams 2017 at Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California

Wednesday Wisdom. Bringing the Joy of Nature Indoors

I love nature. Gardening, going for drives to check out beautiful scenery, visiting farmers markets, going for walks, these are all things that I love to do. I drag my family with me to all these activities, and despite their initial grumbling, they come along and end up having a great time.

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Bouquets to Art 2017 at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, California

Last April, I went to de Young Museum’s Bouquets to Art exhibition in San Francisco, California, and what a spectacular show it was! It truly was like nothing I had ever seen before. Floral arrangements that mimic artwork at the de Yong Museum’s permanent collection?  What a novel idea and positively amazing!

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Wednesday Wisdom. How to Get a Natural High

When I am restless or a little down I just step outside to get some fresh air, I walk in my garden, prune a few bushes, water a few pots, or cut a few blooms; this has always calmed me down and brought me out of my funk. I come back in with a dose of Natural High that makes me feel more positive. Studies are showing here is something very therapeutic about being out in nature.

Continue reading Wednesday Wisdom. How to Get a Natural High

Planting the Seed for Sweet Peas

It’s fall and now is the perfect time to sow sweet pea seeds in our gardens. I know it’s hard to think of planting seeds for flowers that won’t bloom for another 6 months, but spring flowering bulbs and seeds like to be planted in fall so they can develop strong roots and get established before spring arrives when they produce their buxom blooms. In this case it’s sweet pea seeds, which give the lushest blooms when planted in the fall timeframe.

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Fried Green Tomatoes. Last Harvest of the Season

Well, I waited as long as I could to take out all the summer vegetable plants, especially the tomato plants that were looking pretty sad but still had plenty of fruit. I thought the tomatoes would get ripe since we have been getting some 90-degree temperatures lately, but nothing is happening on those bushes, nada. The tomatoes are just sitting happily on the vines, doing absolutely nothing. They are just green, and it looks like time stood still. I couldn’t stand it anymore, and finally this past weekend I harvested all the green tomatoes and chopped down the tomato plants. I noticed with a batch of green tomatoes that we harvested a couple of weeks ago, that when they sit in a bowl indoors they do slowly start ripening. I’ll do the same with this last tomato harvest of the season.

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Last harvest of the season

Looking at these green tomatoes I recalled a movie I watched years ago back in 1991 called Fried Green Tomatoes. I remembered liking the movie a lot as it had a great storyline set in Alabama about an unlikely friendship between a young waitress at a local diner and an elderly lady she volunteers to give company to at a Senior Citizen’s Home. I also remembered that it was the first time I had heard of fried green tomatoes. Continue reading Fried Green Tomatoes. Last Harvest of the Season