Mother's Day gift idea: Birth month flowers

As you may know by now, Mother's Day is tomorrow. If you are still stuck on what to get dear old mum, consider giving her mums!
Personally, I prefer to give gifts that last, such as potted flowers or books. They strike me as more personal, more meaningful, and they serve as a constant reminder of important events.


Calendula is the birth flower for October. 



After planting some calendula for Heather, I learned that the flower has some medicinal benefits. The flower can be used for pain relief from bee stings, and is also beneficial as an astringent. In addition, calendula has has anti-inflammatory effects, which can help the skin, and useful as a gargle for sore throats. All of this just added to the flower's special meaning as Heather's birth flower.

Here is a list of birth month flowers you could get for the moms in your life (don't forget grandmothers and the mother of your children). Make a lasting impression, and give a gift that will keep on giving, and growing.

January - Carnation

February - Violet

March - Daffodil

April - Sweet pea or Daisy

May - Lily of the Valley

June - Rose

July - Larkspur

August - Gladiolus or Poppy

September - Aster

October - Calendula

November - Chrysanthemum

December - Narcissus

I hope this helps make your last minute Mother's Day shopping a little bit easier.

Thank you moms for the gift of life! Cheers!

My herb garden

I just wanted to share some pictures of the various herbs I'm growing right now.  Hope you enjoy.

First up are my chives.  I planted these last September, and they are hitting their stride now.  I got worried for a couple of months in winter, and I thought they were going to just die, but I kept watering them as needed, and now they are thriving.  I love chopping them up and adding them to my salads, soups, and mashed potatoes. 

Here is one of my several mint patches.  I started this patch by transplanting some mint that I thought would die when we added several feet of soil to level our backyard.  Now this transplanted patch AND the original are growing nice and tall, with leaves as long as my fingers.  I'm eating some leaves chopped up in my ramen noodles as I write.   

Next is my oregano.  This guy is a fighter. He got too hot and all but died at the end of last summer.  Here he is now, bouncing back nicely.  I picked off a couple of leaves so Heather and I could sample the powerful flavor of the fresh leaves.  I don't recommend this.  It burns and numbs the tongue and lips a little.  Oregano is great in sauces, and also has antifungal and antimicrobial effects.  

Below is a mother/daughter picture of my thyme.  The plant on the right was transplanted using shoots from the plant on the left. I placed it among my lavender because they have similar watering requirements (not terribly often).  The transplanted thyme is only German thyme, but the pot on the left contains a mixture of Lemon and German thyme.    

Herbs are fun to grow, and most aide in digestion and have lots of antioxidants.  They require full sun for 6-8 hours a day, and some (not all) lose the flavor in their leaves once they begin to flower, so choose accordingly.    Happy harvesting!  Cheers!

Pa pa pa pa, who loves the sun?

Not everyone, but sunflowers sure do! Sunflowers flare their bright petals out like the Sun's rays, they thrive when it's warm, and they will turn their huge heads to face the Sun as the day goes by (actually, I think all flowers do, but it's very noticeable with these giants).  
Two of the several sunflowers Lily and I planted have bloomed, and I just had to post this picture I took today. The sunflowers we're growing now are third-generation descendants from a bag of seeds I bought the summer after Lily was born.  I highly encourage growing sunflowers if you have kids.  Watching them grow, and then harvesting, roasting, and planting the seeds is a very satisfying gardening experience.  Kids need plants that either grow fast or grow big, and sunflowers do both. 

In addition to their beauty, sunflowers have a lot of nutritious value.  They are high in iron, and if you're trying to cut down on your meat intake, sunflower seeds are a good source of protein and fat.  In addition, an ounce of sunflower seeds contains half of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin E, which serves as an antioxidant, helps skin to look younger, and also aides brain function. 

If you successfully grow one sunflower you'll never have to buy seeds again.  One sunflower can yield, at the very minimum, hundreds of seeds.  This is plenty for roasting and planting, as long as you protect them from the birds.  I do this by hanging a paper grocery bag over the flower head when they start to droop from the weight of the seeds.  When the back of the sunflower head is yellowish, I lop it off and  let it dry out before harvesting the seeds by rubbing the heck out of the flower head with some sturdy work gloves.   

To roast sunflower seeds, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Test them out occasionally by trying out a seed, and also look for small cracks down the side of the shell.  When they are ready, let them cool, and then start snacking.  Sidenote:  you cannot plant roasted seeds.  If you want to save some for planting, do this ahead of time. 

My favorite way to eat sunflower seeds is to sprinkle them on a salad (like a nutritious beet greens salad).  They add flavor, texture, protein, and fat to my high fruit and vegetable diet. 

Dandelions: Getting to the root of the problem

Kids love dandelions because of how easily those fluffy seeds float away with the slightest puff of wind. Gardeners despise them for the very same reason.

Dandelions have a very effective seed dispersal system, which means you will always have the chore of pulling these god-forsaken weeds out of your holy garden. Before you toss these weeds in the green waste, however, think about what this unwanted guest may have to offer.

Dandelion leaves serve as a diuretic, and can be a healthy addition to your salad. This is any easy way to help rid your body of excess sodium, which can lead to high blood pressure. It's easy to take in excess amounts of sodium because of its use as a preservative in a lot of processed and fast foods. Consider adding dandelion leaves to a salad to help counter this trend and improve your cardiovascular health.

The dandelion root is also beneficial as a detoxifier. It cleanses the liver and aides in kidney function to remove wastes and toxins from the body. It does this by helping the body get rid of liquids by way of urination and defecation, so stay relatively near a bathroom if you drink dandelion root tea.

You could very well by dandelion tea at the store, but since you will have an ongoing struggle with this plant in your garden anyway, save your money and treat this weed more as friend than foe.

I found this four foot behemoth hiding in my star jasmine bush yesterday. Of course I removed it, but I'll be mixing the leaves with some recently harvested beet greens. I'm going to make a tea out of the root and throw in some peppermint and spearmint for flavor.

When it comes to dandelions, try to see the silver lining. Perhaps it will make weeding your garden a little more gratifying.

Happy harvesting! Cheers!

Random acts of gardening: Garlic

As I was taking a friend's advice and preparing to sautée some beet greens with garlic and butter, I found this nice little surprise in the vegetable basket.

My heart leapt with joy as my mind immediately planned for which pot and location to plant this welcome surprise. I've never grown garlic before, so I'm glad for the opportunity. I am also very much anticipating a future harvest and propagation of garlic in my garden.

Garlic is good for the heart and helps maintain healthy blood circulation. Perhaps less known is garlic also enhances the immune system. When garlic cells are disturbed by cutting or bruising the clove, allicin is produced, which serves as an antibiotic and inhibits germ growth and reproduction.

It also tastes great! Garlic is like the bacon of vegetables. You can add it to any meal and your food will taste better, but unlike bacon, garlic helps the heart work better.

As part of the allium family, garlic will benefit from a high nitrogen diet, so this little guy will be getting plenty of coffee grounds to aide its growth.

If you want garlic of your own, the next time you buy garlic at the store, save a clove for your garden and experiment with growing it yourself.  

Happy harvesting! Cheers!

Why Keep the Roses??

I'll admit that when I look at the four big pots I'm currently using for my rose bushes, most of the time I think about tossing the roses so I can grow some food in those pots. They are just "extra" and provide no tangible return of any kind. Right?

Then I see such a perfect looking rose that all I can think about is how much Heather or Lily might like to have such a pretty flower next to their bedside. It is then that my compulsion to grow all the fruits and vegetables my family eats takes a back seat to my desire to strengthen the connection to my girls with the simple, elegant gift of a perfect rose.

This particular rose reminded me that I can't just grow plants that I want to eat. There are plants that just need to be appreciated for their beauty, not for what they can provide us. Life isn't all about mathematics, that is, doing things only for a good return on investment. Sometimes the extras are essential. I may be missing an opportunity to grow some more food, but I'll reap dividends in the relationship to my girls. The roses will stay.

Happy gardening! Cheers!

Time to prune the lavender

It's human nature to not want to harm anything that is beautiful and natural, especially a delicate flower.  Sometimes, however, a little pain does have a lot of gain.  You may not want to do it, but it's about the right time of year to prune your lavender. 

I almost killed my lavender plants a couple of years ago because I had assumed that they should get pruned just like my roses.  I took my loppers and cut just about every bit of green off of the plant.  Then I read that I almost certainly killed them because of this violent mistake.  My wife reassured me that "living things want to live", and I kept my lavender stubs hoping that she was right.

As is usually the case, my wife was right.  I soon started to see little green nubs growing out from the truncated branches. Those nubs soon grew into fully-grown leaves, and before I knew it, my lavender plants were on the mend and growing just fine.  Once I was sure they could handle it, I moved them from the pots they were in to a bed in front of my house where they would get plenty of sun and grow into a nice hedge.

Out of guilt from my past abuses, I was reluctant to bring the shears even close to my lavender, and now I have an overgrown mangy beast.  I hate to say that about such a beautiful and fragrant flower, but it's true, and it's time to do the unthinkable... I need to prune it again.

BUT... now I know better.

To get the most out of my lavender, I need to trim it with garden shears a couple of times a year, up to about half of the plant.  This sounds harsh, but it has a few benefits:

1.  It keeps the lavender from looking ugly and brown.  This flower doesn't need a lot of maintenance to look its best, but it does need a haircut now and then.  The flowers turn brown if left on their own, and this defeats the purpose of having the lavender in the first place.



This is my lavender not quite looking its best. 



2.  Pruning also promotes new growth.  The new buds that appear after pruning are so vibrant, and they aren't competing with the mealy old flowers that are way past their prime.

3.  The trimmings can also be used for several purposes, so don't toss them in your green waste.  They can be simmered to add a relaxing aromatic ambiance to your home, they can be marinated in vodka or vinegar (for those of you who don't drink alcohol) to make a relaxing tincture, and lavender flowers can also add a floral sweetness to salads and cookies.

My wife loves coming home to a house smelling like lavender.  I highly recommend simmering your cuttings to create a spa-like atmosphere at home.  This might be a nice touch for Mother's Day, which is coming up fast.  Also, if you're in hot water with your significant other, this might help ease the tension a little, although I can't make any guarantees.

When it comes to pruning your lavender (or most plants), you will learn to get a feel for when it needs to be trimmed back.  By pruning it now, in early Spring, I'm expecting an early Summer bloom, and then I'll revisit it again later this year.  Pay attention to your plants, and they will tell you what they need.  Now I'm off to give my lavender a haircut, and give my wife a fragrant treat. 

Cheers!