February 9, 2025- Week #11

Another week is over. The week started with such promise.

Last Sunday, on a day when the University retired Caitlin Clark's number, I raked leaves for the first time this year. It was in the lower 50's with some sun. Sure enough the snowdrops are coming up.

The energy from last weekend has faded. The warm weather (relatively speaking) is over.  I doubt there will be yardwork this weekend. 

I should note that the snowdrops are still there. They just will wait for the right time.

I did order my caladium this past week. I ordered a bunch including  Sea Foam Pink. What a great name. They will be shipped in April and started inside.

I planted some poppies. They are already up, after 5 days. Of course I planted too many in each little cell. Poppy seeds are rather small.

Last week, which was Week #10, the winner was

Really good color is hard to beat.

Here was the final vote

This week- Week #11

#1 Spring crocus 

February 21, 2024

Last February was unlike any February...since 2012. Not only were the snowdrops and aconite up and blooming, but the crocuses  appeared. As I have mentioned many times, I love early spring pictures... for the backgrounds. So many shapes. So little color. 

#2 English Bluebell 

April 29, 2024

Virginia bluebells are a spring constant. These in the picture are also called bluebells. They are a late blooming spring bulb called hyacinthoides in the catalogs. With a name like that it is no surprise that they are also called English or Spanish bluebells. 

Hyacinthoides is the genus. They are in the asparagras family.

What we think of as Virginia Bluebells have the formal name Mertensia Virginica. They are in the Borage family.

Hyacinthoides are thought to be somewhat invasive. I do not find them so. But they will spread.

They come in a variety of colors, including these white ones, and of course blue. And pink.

They are related to the hyacinths.

#3 Red Shirley Poppy

 May 19, 2024

This Shirley poppy needs no introduction. Such a wonderful contrast between the red petals and the yellow center. Just looking at it encourages me to start more from seed.

#4 Blackberry Lily 

August 5, 2024

This is a pardancanda. It is also known as a blackberry lily. Sometimes it is called a candy lily.

So what are pardancandas?
Are they Blackberry lilies or Candy lilies? Are they even a lily?

Here is Dave's Garden.
https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2866

More information, with pictures is found here:
http://amycampion.com/candy-lilies-why-i-love-em-how-to-grow-em/

So the genus for pardancandas is  "X Pardancanda".
The species is norrisii.
I think the X before the name of the genus means that the genus is a cross.
The person who did the crossing was Mr. Norriss.
The genus is a cross between Belamcanda chinensis and Pardanthopsis dichotoma.
Imagine that. Remember that? I certainty cannot.
Well the first one of those is the blackberry lily.

So the term pardancanda lily is ofter shortened to candy lily.
To add to the confusion they are called lilies but are really iris.
I learned that the spring after I had grown them  for the first time.  I found all these little plants coming up that looked like tiny iris. I had not planted them there. Well it was the blackberry lily seedlings coming up.
The seeds really are rather fertile.

I like these flowers in part because they bloom later in the summer, after the riot of color has ended in July.
They also will surprise you as to just what color will be where.

Whatever they are, they are  called blackberry lilies after their seeds. They form a seed head that resembles...a blackberry.

#5 Oncidium Twinkles

 December 21, 2024

What I want in an orchid is simple. I want it to live and rebloom. I have had this oncidium, prbably named twinkles for ten years. I reliably reblooms around Christmas, starting its spikes in late summer. It goes outside in the warm part of the year. It grew so much I divided it and now have two. 

Bonus pictures

I have been hoping that my new computer will be able to post videos. Maybe will this work?

A clump of English bluebells.

More blackberry lilies

These next two pictures are of hybrids that Jan and Marty of Joe Pye Weed gardens have been developing. I have found them rather fragile.

Right now

The phalanopsis have started. I have 4 in bloom at the moment.

The Clivia that has started to bloom in the basement has been allowed to come upstairs. I even watered it.

The lettuce is growing faster than I can put it into bigger pots. There are also space considerations. 

Here are little poppy seedlings. I put way too many seeds in a segment.

This nice dendrobium continues to flower.

Maisie came home with a red ribbon this year. The little flowers will open over the next month.

Julia's recipe

Cod with  Almond and Anchovy Sauce

Let me start by saying I am not an anchovy enthusiast. Anchovies were not part of my culinary world as a kid. Being told by people on cooking shows that I should not be afraid of anchovies had the opposite effect. But once in a while, I find an interesting recipe that includes anchovies, such as this one from the Sitka Salmon people. So I have a tube of anchovy paste in the refrigerator. And I used it on this occasion. Not scary. A fast and savory fish main course.

The ingredients:

1 lb. (or so) cod;

2 tablespoons coconut oil;

1/3 cup toasted almonds;

1 teaspoon anchovy paste;

about 1 teaspoon smushed garlic;

3 tablespoons olive oil;

1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar;

1/3 cup or so parsley;

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes;

1/2 teaspoon (or so) each, salt and pepper. 

The fish came to us frozen so I had thawed it in the refrigerator overnight. I started by patting it dry to the extent possible. 

Next I cut the fish into cubes roughly 1" square. 

I let the fish it a minute and started on the sauce, which was prepared in a food processor. So no need to mince anything. 

I chopped some parsley and peeled and sliced the garlic (on a non-fishy cutting board). I dumped those things into the food processor work bowl. 

I put the almonds in a pie plate and put the pie plate in a 350 degree oven for maybe 10 minutes. I kept a close eye on the almonds so they would not burn.

Just when I could smell them, they were done. 

I put the anchovy paste, olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes and about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper into a little bowl.  

Next, I heated the coconut oil in a skillet and when it got shimmery (over medium-ish heat), I added the cubes of fish. 

I am not sure why the recipe called for coconut oil, but I had it so I used it. I think regular oil would be fine.

I was mindful of the fact that fish sticks if you try to turn it too soon. So I was patient for a couple of minutes before turning the fish. Mostly it did not stick. I turned the fish at least one more time, cooking it for about 8 or 10 minutes. 

No real browning. The fish bits should be opaque.

I took the skillet off the heat and turned my attention to the food processor. Everything (parsley, garlic, olive oil, anchovy paste, slightly cooled almonds, vinegar, red pepper, black pepper and salt) went in and I zizzed the ingredients up until they were pretty smooth. Still a bit of texture from the almonds.  

Looking at it now, I think I picked the wrong serving plate. Too large. 

Anyway, I put the fish cubes on the plate and poured the sauce over all. 

We also had rice and green beans which cooked while I was dealing with the fish.

On the plate. This just served the two of us. If you have four people, just double everything. The sauce was very flavorful. Initially, it was just rice with fish and sauce on top. Then we each added some green beans to our plates and the sauce worked with the green beans too. 

I used cod because the Sitka Salmon people send me cod. Halibut would work nicely. Maybe haddock. The fish should be thicker than sole or flounder or tilapia. A mild white fish to show off the savoriness of the sauce. 

Odds and Ends

This picture was from yesterday. It looks like the picture from a week ago. This past week was not really growing weather.

But the plant survives. Perhaps that gives us a clue of what to do in this dark time. 

Pray for peace.

Pray for the children. Governments certainly do not particularly care about them.

Pray for government workers. 

Support your friends and families.

Find a way to do the little things.

Philip