April 3, 2022- Happy April everyone

 

Happy Spring

There really is no reason to complain. It remains cool so everything is just taking its time.

We did have a dusting of snow one morning this week. 

We also used up the last of our firewood in the fireplace this weekend.

With the contest over it is time for lots of garden work.

I will try to get you something other than pictures for next week. 

I am still raking leaves. It seems like I have been raking leaves for months.

I am moving seedlings into bigger pots. Many go out during the day and hang out in the garage at night. 

It is about time to think about starting some zinnias from seed.

As you can see, several plants are blooming in their pots, including that little iris which I forced. That means I brought it inside about March 1 and it  bloomed.

The Iceland poppies in pots are setting buds which become flowers. I hope they will just get to be bigger plants with more flowers until the heat of July ends their run.

I do understand that you can make them bigger by cutting off the buds. I am not that heartless.

The second planting of lettuce is about ready to eat.

We are still waiting for the City garden plot to be ready.  Next week is all they will say. They then get afraid the rain will make it too wet. But we hardly ever get more than a half an inch.

I would like to sow some lettuce directly in the ground.

This Week

There are so many plants coming up. New sightings include the clump of hardy orchids.

It is difficult to know which I anticipate more.

Lupines are right near the top. There is always the question of how many will survived the winter. Well this past winter was not really cold. It looks like a good year for lupines.

I do not find lupines to be long lived.

Some clumps make it to a third year. I have maybe 20 seedlings that are getting ready for the garden.

My heart sings when there is a volunteer. There are usually quite a few.

I must have 7-8 established clumps. When I find them I weed out their competition and give them a little fertilizer. I also mark them with a colored plastic straw. This helps me avoid stepping on them.

The late crocuses are putting on a display, appearing at random places in the garden.

This striped on was Christopher's favorite a year ago.

The aconite in the front yard are later than the back yard by about two weeks. Microclimates allow you to enjoy the aconite for almost a month. If you remember I planted 900 of them in the front yard in the fall of 2020.

Here is a short video of the backyard at the moment.

I think the thickest carpet of aconite is in the raised bed by the back driveway.

That carpet develops over the years as the aconite self seed. In this picture you can see the generations.

This is corydalis. It blooms at the same time as the silla or squill. It is on the more list.

Julia's recipe: Yet another cole slaw

This cole slaw is a mash-up of regular cole slaw and Thai peanut noodles: definitely cabbage-y but also tasting of peanut butter and Asian flavors. It is a good side dish for a dinner with milder flavors. Like all slaws, it holds up well in the refrigerator if you make it ahead or as leftovers. 

The ingredients:

6 cups shredded cabbage, red or green or both;

1 large carrots, shredded (about 1/2 cup);

4 big radishes, cut in half and then sliced;

1/4 cup sliced scallion bits;

some jalapeno (maybe 1 tablespoon);

1-1/2 teaspoon garlic pieces;

2 tablespoons peanut butter;

2 tablespoons regular oil;

2 tablespoons rice vinegar;

1 tablespoon soy sauce;

1 teaspoon hone

1 teaspoon salt;

1-1/2 tablespoons grated ginger.

                        

I shredded the cabbage and the carrot first and put them in a colander set over a bowl. I mixed in the teaspoon of salt and weighted the cabbage-carrot-salt down. I used a lid from a big container of yogurt, topped with a canister of sugar. 

While the cabbage and carrot were wilting a bit under the influence of salt and pressure, I made the dressing in the food processor. 

You could make the dressing in a blender or even by hand. We had used the food processor to shred the cabbage and carrots so it was sensible to use it for the dressing. 

I put the peanut butter, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and jalapeno into the food processor bowl and zizzed it up. 

I believe this is an action shot of the food processor. 

I was in a hurry, so I let the cabbage and carrot wilt for maybe 30 minutes. The wilting stage can go longer - 1 hour or more. But, as I say, I was in a hurry. 

I rinsed the cabbage and carrots to get rid of excess salt and then dumped them out onto a paper towel. 

I pressed the paper towel firmly but gently, if that makes sense, to dry the veggies somewhat. 

Somewhat dried veggies. 

I poured the veggies into a bowl and added the radish and scallion bits. Then I poured the dressing over all and mixed it in. 

And here it is. We served it with baked chicken and baked potatoes. And some berries with yogurt. The tanginess of the slaw contrasted nicely with the chicken and potato. 

Philip ate the leftover slaw for lunch the next day. 

Cole slaw is sort of a sign of spring. We can look forward to hamburger and hot dogs and potato salad. And cole slaw. Happy spring. 

Odds and Ends

I tried growing coleus from seed this year. Decent germination. They are almost ready to go into bigger pots. 

I potted up my first plants yesterday. 

I potted some cypress spurge. It forms a wonderful canopy in the spring. 

Here you see them all around one of the tree peonies.

I am really excited to see how the tree peony seedings came through to their second year. There must have been about 6-8 of them. 

Keep praying for peace. We should never get to a point where war of any kind is just an afterthought.

Then of course there is trying to clean up after the shelling stops. I am not sure we will be willing to pay to rebuild with the same enthusiasm as we paid for weapons.

Philip