Inspirational And Whimsical Garden Stakes

My first attempt at making a Whimsical Garden Stake

This past Saturday we had our first Crazy Garden Girls Club get together for the new year and learned how to make whimsical garden stakes. Actually I think everyone else already knew how to make them except for me. That made it all the more fun being surrounded by such talented artists.

 Our Instructor "Ruth Hardy" made the cutest whimsy!

Ruth was such a wonderful teacher. I will admit that whenever our garden club gets together there is bound to be some sort of mischief. Yes, we all act up, hence the name of our club! Ruth was very patient thank goodness. At one point I think I imagined her having to teach us full time. I pictured her having to break the ruler out to crack our knuckles. Of course that could hurt, but probably make us laugh even harder.

My newest Garden Friend, the other Pam!

Now this gave me inspiration! Why didn't I think of a beautiful ceramic ball to add to the top of mine? Now you have the prettiest garden sphere to place in the garden bed. OH these gals are creative! Thank Goodness for Pam Mills! She was so thoughtful to bring an extra tube of the glue we needed just in case someone needed some. Of course that was me! Totally unprepared for class..hmmm...takes me back...

Morning Glory Craft Cottage's very own Donna Hamilton

This piece was absolutely beautiful in the blue and white theme. Look at the bottom plate with the scalloped edges and that awesome blue top that looked like a flower to me. I expected nothing less for Donna. She just has that magical eye for special touches like this lovely garden stake. She had finished hers off with a white vase for the bottom that will simply slide over a stake driven in the ground to place in her herb garden. I can picture butterflies visiting for a sip of cool water from this piece.

This could become a very addictive hobby for me. I guess Now that I've learned what sort of pieces to look for to create such majesty, I will be sure to be on the hunt during one of my garage sale days. I don't recommend cleaning out your china cabinet by all means. I would say to be sure to upcycle items that are not antique. I would hate to see valuable dishes and such being glued together for ever more. But if you are thrifty and keep a sharp eye out I bet you could make one of these lovelies for around 5 bucks plus the glue. The glue stuff is called E6000 and available at your local hobby store for about 4 bucks.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Sustainable Carrots And Friends

I have to say that one of the most enjoyable moments in the garden is when my 4 year old grandson is here to help. He absolutely loves pulling carrots up. 

This year he was old enough to really help. We had so many huge carrots when we finished filling our containers, the buckets were to heavy to carry back up to the house. Luckily for me he had his trusty wagon handy and we were able to make it in two trips.

So as we have had a fairly good harvest of the carrots grown during the winter's months, it is now time for one more round of sowing them before the summer's heat is upon us.

Carrots need a very soft loam several inches deep that has been composted well. If you think about how long a carrot grows then that can give you a good estimate. Keep in mind that some grow up to 8 to 12 inches long. If your top soil is to heavy you will have a poor germination rate. Well composted material is the key for success. This will give the beds good drainage as well as help keep the soil moist longer when trying to germinate. Keep the seeds moist and if you are getting a lot of wind you may need to check on them a few times during the day. We get a lot of southern wind at times so extra caution is always needed.

Carrots like most other plants will only germinate when they have proper temperatures at seeding time. This is another reason a lot of people fail at growing them. They really like it at around 70 to 75 degrees. To cold or to hot, you may have trouble getting sprouts.

My favorite way of seeding them is to simply shake out some seeds in the palm of my hand (make sure it is not a windy day) and take a pinch out and sprinkle directly one top of the soil. Then very lightly I sprinkle very finely sifted compost around on top. If your cover them to heavily they won't grow. As they germinate I thin them out so they are spaced about 3 to 3 1/2 inches apart. Some folks space them up to 8 inches apart, but even with the fattest of carrots my spacing has worked great and I can fit more in the bed..

I always plant a couple flats in the hot box or now in the greenhouse. This way I have back-ups if something needs a space filled in. You never know what one of my cats might scratch up or now, we have this new puppy to train. It could be a rabbit or just patchy places where the seeds didn't germinate.

One thing to remember though is when transplanting seedlings, the roots do not like to be disturbed at all. If they are the carrot will still grow, but you can end up with twisted or stumped carrots. I'm about to experiment this week with doing my back-ups sown in toilet paper tubes. I've had family and friends saving them for me so I will have enough. I think I will be able to just place the whole tube in the ground after they have germinated and the tube will disintegrate. I'll let you know how it works out. 

Keep in mind your companion plants. Rosemary deters the carrot fly and cabbage moth. I will sometimes just take a bunch of cuttings and strip the needles off the Rosemary and sprinkle them in the carrot beds. They also love Tomatoes, so plant your spring crops of carrots at the base of the bed. Just be sure to allow plenty of room for your tomato plants roots. Lettuce is also another plant that carrots get along with. Actually most herbs help keep carrots healthy by repelling pests. I even have cilantro here and there in the beds most of the time..

Then there is always a little carrot harvesting humor when a few pair of pants show up like this one. It is really hard to ignore this...so sorry LOL. It was probably one of my transplants where I disrupted the root system and made the poor thing go cadywompous.

Happy Gardening!!
Pammy

Poor Man Rich Man Canna Lilies Of The South

Sometimes you just never know the hidden treasures that can be found in what is considered a lowly poor man's plant to be found in many southern landscapes.

This is one plant that a person can dig up and toss out and it won't die. I know, because before I discovered its value I did a whole lot of tossing.

When you really get your eyes opened to the simpler aspects of what is considered valuable for growing a healthy organic garden ecosystem, you begin to notice the obvious more often. For some of us it takes a little longer to see it. A perfect example of this is me.

The most important thing every garden needs first and foremost is healthy thriving soil. Every time I dug up the Cannas Rhizomes I noticed what a beautiful texture the soil was where they were growing. 

In the Houston and surrounding areas we are prone to have a whole lot of hard clay soil and more time than not you hit clay very quickly once you dig your shovel in the ground. This is very true on our existing property. It can be very hard to work and takes an enormous amount of organic matter to make a simple garden bed. 

Luckily there are many plants and trees that will tolerate a certain amount of clay soil. The problems are that with clay soil you ultimately have very poor drainage and root systems get bound up with no place to go because the ground it to hard..Basically one is trying to grow in muck when it's wet and stone when it is dry.

What the rhizomes of Cannas contain is very high levels of starch enzymes. What these enzymes do for the soil is create soil aeration that reduces soil compaction. In other words the soil becomes a soft loose loam that is perfect for growing most garden vegetables, herbs and flowers.

What you will find throughout our garden is clumps of Cannas growing here and there. You will see flowers blooming brightly of either yellow or orange. Other common colors for Cannas are red or white as well. 

In each clump beneath the soil are starch filled enzymes amending the soil structure naturally and healthy micro-organisms teaming in the soft loam.

The Canna areas are also harboring my Anole Lizards, Toads, Garden snakes and spiders that create the perfect habitat for them. These beneficial preditors will protect my garden from harmful pests.

 This simply is not the end of the story for the rich man's Cannas. By harvesting their leaves and adding them to your compost pile, the plants extracts are working to help break down your compost heap faster that most other plants will do. 

This is a perfect scenario for the winter compost pile. Because the extracts are causing natural aeration it is aiding in heating the compost up. By keeping your compost nice and hot in the winter months you will be multiplying the healthy micro-organisms that keep the compost alive.

So to sum this story up, not only do I never ever toss them out, I cherish them and nurture them and promote their growth everywhere I possibly can! It is a good time to move them around this month as they are just beginning to sprout. Place them in new areas where future plans are to be made for new garden beds. Your soil will get a head start to health and in the end you will not need to purchase or add quite as much organic matter.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

The Menopausal Granola Split

Honestly, Extreme conditions sometimes call for extreme measures. So we've loaded up the boat to move to Beverly. Actually Mr. Garden is helping me eat this one. It would simply float my boat if I ate the whole thing.

What the heck is it you ask? Well Pammy has been making homemade granola. Only this granola is special and specific for aiding in my own natural hormone replacement therapy.. Yes, it is here! Menopause!! Or is it still pre-menopause? Which ever it is, it is time to begin therapy to say the least. 

It is very true that between foods, herbs and exercise we can handle this stage of the game totally natural and be healthier for it. I cannot see the benefits of HRT that has endangered and caused greater health risks to women all over the country.

I'll talk about the herbs later, but it is the food we are beginning our therapy with because diet is the best place to start.  I had read several articles with recipes for this thing called a menopause cake. Hahaha!!! My first response!! I also read how each ingredient used in the recipe is beneficial to the health and well being of a women going through menopause. Much of the ingredients is included to actually help relieve symptoms and increase phytoestrogens . But as I read the cake recipes and how they were put together all I could say was gross!! It's simply bad enough going through this thing without eating something nasty like that!! Ewwww

So what I set out to do was create something along the same lines only totally yummy! As I love granola, this seemed to be the best choice by far. You must study and read about foods that help with menopause first. So please read this article to begin with here. 

 Yes, I know that it looks a bit like birdseed, but what I've discovered is the main two ingredients that need to be increased in the diet is Soy and Flax seed. I will wait until this summer when I am growing my own non-gmo organic soybeans before I add this part to my diet. But the Flax seed we can do! Also pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, steel cut oats and dried fruits are all very doable right now. All organic and pretty much trustworthy. Some I've saved from my own garden, which is always a comfort.

The sugar substitutes was hard for me because Guava Nectar is suppose to be the best, but I didn't have any on hand. What I did use though was pure organic maple syrup and just a tiny bit of brown sugar. The key is to eliminate as much sugar out of the diet. Sugar is bad for menopause because it messes up the liver's ability to metabolize estrogen and impairs the immune system. So is saturated fats, but I did use organic unsalted butter. I will have to experiment a bit with oils. Perhaps even divide that amount of butter with organic coconut oil which has worked great in other recipes I've done.

Ingredients for Granola

Dry Ingredients

2 cup Steel Cut Oats

1/2 cup Flax seed (I used whole, but you can grind it a bit first)

1 cup Walnuts, whole

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used golden raisins, cranberries and currents)

100% Cacao for topping

Liquid Ingredients and Spices

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2/3 cup organic pure maple syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, except for the cacao.

2. In a medium saucepan heat all the liquid ingredients and spices until everything melts together. Do not bring to a boil.

3. Add the ingredients from the saucepan to the dry mixture and combine really good.

4. Line a 9x11 baking dish with foil or parchment paper and grease it with a little butter or oil.

5. Pour your mixture into the baking dish and top with cacao sprinkles. Press down on mixture with a slightly buttered spatula to make it firm.

6. Bake for 30 minutes at 350

7. Remove from over and let cool for about 30 to 45 minutes.

8. Cover and refrigerate

For the Menopausal Granola Split I first placed the granola in the dish. You will have to break it into pieces after it has been in the refrigerator.  Split one banana and place a slice on each side of the dish. Add a few dollops of fresh organic yogurt. Add fresh or frozen organic berries to top it off. I used Blueberries and Pomegranates.

Happy Gardening And Enjoy Natural Hormone Therapy!

Pammy

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I am so very honored to accept my very first Blogger Award from The Root Cellar's Garden. To Win The Versatile Blogger Award means that one must be capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.: a versatile writer according to definition. 

To me being versatile is virtually the essence of every woman, wife, mom and grandmother out there multi-tasking in everyday life. Many of whom I've had the pleasure of reading through their own blogs.

Even though much has changed for today's modern women, I find so many that still hold fast and dream of yesteryear. Women who still find it a blessing to complete their spouses, raise their own children and want to pass down precious memories to their grandchildren with the hope and promises of a beautiful future.

Many of whom have sacrificed much in their own lives to go the extra mile for things like homeschooling their own children. 

I see women who still find the importance of the family unit in itself to still come together for a blessed family dinner at the same table. 

I see women who still know how to cook with real food, not processed. 

There are women who still know how to use a sewing machine and put them to good use. 

Women who farm and garden and raise their own livestock. 

Women who love God and His creations that will go the extra mile to leave the earth in a better place. 

Yes, there are still women like this!! The women of yesteryear that are working hard to preserve the fine art of womanhood. The essence of a woman that have stood the test of time so that it can be past on and not lost forever. The very versatile women with their grandest blessing of all, simply put...their loved ones. .


So with accepting this award comes the duty of passing it on to five other honorable and versatile bloggers who in return must pass it on to five other deserving writers. So with much thought I pass this award on to the very best versatile bloggers I know.


1. Morning Glory Craft Cottage. A retired homeschool mom of 3 boys who still loves to teach art to young homeschoolers, a wife, artist, entrepreneur, sewer, cook and gardener. A beautiful heart filled with love for the Lord. A very versatile friend and writer who inspires me everyday.


2. Wildenblue Farms. A homeschooler, a grandmother, a simply beautiful woman who is so very artistic as well as farms and gardens, raising livestock, has the most splendid recipes. She not only cooks, but cans and preserves. Her writings take you into her world of beauty and brings inspiration a new meaning well deserving this award. A very lovely Christian woman you must visit.


3. The Essential Beachcomber. This very special versatile blogger goes back to my school days. She was lovely then and even more so now. Her writing and photography warms my heart and takes me to the amazing days of youth when walking in the white sand of a Florida beach. She is creative, artistic and knows how to be frugal. She teaches us about sea life and shells and the history of the state. She is an amazing Christian woman that I adore!

4. Red, White and Grew.  Another homeschooler, wife and caregiver. I'm always impressed as well as enchanted by her love for Victory Gardens. She is a prime example of passing down the rich cultures of yesteryear to future generations. She cooks, sews and gardens. She is a wealth of information and a beautiful writer. 


5. Herbs In The Garden.  A wife, a mom, and teacher of all things herbal. I love this blog with its never ending humor on life. She farms and gardens, she cooks and crafts and all the while keeping you enthralled with her families adventures and her lovely goats and chickens and ponies and I don't know what all is going on over there. I'm constantly reading and trying to catch up. She is a beautiful blogger and so very versatile.

Happy Blogging and Happy Gardening!

Pammy