Garden Glimpses : Late September

Fall is my favourite time of year. What wonderful colours to enjoy in the garden. The contrast of warm sun during the day and crisp autumn nights, and fresh dew in the morning. Fresh crunchy apples and sweet pears to enjoy. Brilliant reds, falling leaves. What a wonderful time of the year!

Mystery Apple

My mystery apple tree bore one fruit this year, which just dropped and so I had the chance to sample it tonight. I suspect it is a Macintosh or Spartan. It has a bit of tartness, and a beautiful red skin with some small amount of stripe/spot patterning in the skin. I had hoped for a Gala, but I think I will be happy with this. I'm looking forward to more apples next year!

Recipe : Mint Butter Cookies

A week ago, I posted one of my favourite recipes, for Tarragon Butter Cookies. Tonight I just finished baking the mint version, and I now have a new favourite!

I replaced the tarragon with mint, as suggested by Madelin Wajda, but since I didn't have mint extract, I just left out the extract altogether, and used 4 Tbsp of mint instead of 3 Tbsp. I used my Chocolate Mint, which is a lovely version of peppermint which offers a hint of After Eight mint wafers. It is a beautiful dark mint (photo right), with purple flowers, and I don't mind that it's taken over a large part of my "tea" garden, other than feeling guilty to not use it in the kitchen more often. I have some easy recipes for mint syrup, mint jelly, mint ice cream, and of course, mint tea...

Tonight I lightly greased the pans with butter, and the cookies slid out with ease. My 3 pan method worked smoothly (every 4 min: top pan out, bottom pan to top, new pan to bottom), and I found that 8 minutes was perfect for my oven (convection gas). I finished cutting, sugaring and baking (and sampling!) all 12 dozen cookies in under an hour.

Garden Painting Day 15 : Outline of Cat and Hosta

Last night I had the pleasure of putting a few more hours into my painting after the kids were in bed. I have painted in the outline of a cat...

...and a group of Patriot Hosta...

...and filled in the white outline of the Patriot Hosta.
Another night, I will fill in the green centers (not as satisfying, since the background is already green, so it looks almost done already). I think I will also mix a touch of the green into white, and soften the white borders. They are currently too white.

Recipe : Tarragon Butter Cookies

This is a lovely recipe I found here last year (by Madelin Wajda of Willow Pond Farm), when the tarragon seedlings my friend Lily gave me, flourished in my small herb garden, and I turned to the internet for a tarragon recipe.

The tarragon gives the cookies small flecks of green, and a mild and pleasant herbal flavour. To my delight, the kids were crazy about them, too. With the sugar crystals on top, and the bite size portions, it makes a nice little cookie for entertaining, and a good conversation piece. I've not yet found anyone who could identify the herb in the cookie.

I would love to try making a mint version of this cookie, but I have again a good supply of tarragon in my garden, and feel obliged to use it first.

Tarragon Butter Cookies

• 1 C butter or margarine
• 1 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 ½ C flour
• 1 t vanilla
• 3 T finely chopped fresh (or 1 T dried) tarragon leaves*

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix well. Mix in flour and baking soda, then tarragon and vanilla. Roll into two long rolls about 1 1/2 inch in diameter and refrigerate overnight. Slice into 1/8 inch slices, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at 350 degree for 10-12 minutes.

*Other herbs such as rose geranium, lemon verbena, and mint may also be used. If you do use these herbs, replace the vanilla with 1 t. of rose water, lemon extract, or mint extract, respectively.

(Makes about 5 dozen)

I've found it easier to roll the dough into 3 rolls (mine are about 16" long) or even 4 rolls (12" long), since the shorter rolls are easier to handle, and to find a tray for, when putting them in the fridge overnight. Also, instead of "sprinkling" with sugar, I cut the whole roll into disks, and then press each one top-down onto a plate of white sugar before setting it onto the cookie sheet.

I prepared my dough today, so if all goes well, I'll bake the cookies tomorrow, and then add some photos of the process, and the result.

9 Sept 2006 - I baked the cookies two nights ago, and they turned out great, as always. I end up with 12 dozen bite-sized cookies, not 5 dozen. I freeze the extras in plastic containers. This time I used ungreased non-stick pans, but they may have benefited from being slightly greased. Also, mine baked in only 8 - 10 minutes. I bake two pans at a time, but stagger the start times, so one pan is being replaced every 4-5 minutes, with the 3rd pan being prepared in between.

Tip: While cutting & preparing the dough, it helps to keep the uncut rolls of dough in the fridge, since it gets harder to handle when soft.

For some reason, I have not, after repeated tries, been able to upload photos to this post. Wierd!

She Knows How to Grow Them

I just had to show off my little beauties in the garden... I love that mischievous smile on my boy... The espalier apple tree in the background has been such a surprise and joy to me this year. I actually needed to thin the apples on the top row (Liberty apple, according to the tag), and I think I still left too many. But they seem to be ripening fine.

The second row was a different variety (Gravenstein, according to the tag), and it bore 3 apples for us this year. Not bad for the second summer. They were crisp and sweet. Two of them were damaged by what appeared to be an insect bite, but still went on to ripen nicely. I look forward to more next year.

The bottom row (Akane apple, according to the tag), didn't bear any fruit this year. I suppose this is the drawback of the horizontal cordon form of espalier - the energy for fruit production (and branch growth) is disproportionately directed at the top branches. Although the fruit production in my three levels and varieties of espalier asian pear were not so disproportionate, with each level bearing fruit.

Garden Painting Day 14 : Coneflower Petals and Globe Thistle Blooms

I had a chance to paint last week, and I just realized tonight I hadn't posted my progress yet. So here it is (photo left), with the petals on my purple coneflower, and the tiny blooms (look like little stars) on the globe thistle.

I love the globe thistle, when it bloomed, it was a favourite of honey bees (photo right).

My friend Andrea suggested that I add a cat to my painting, since they are fascinated by bird baths. I am not a cat person, but I have been intrigued by the idea, and think I will try. Here is a "paper prototype" (although I will paint the cat to a larger scale, and perhaps different colours).

Peculiar Person Picks Purple Peacock Pole Beans by Pale Moonlight

Okay, okay, I admit I am a bit peculiar, and it wasn't actually the light of the moon, it was the artificial moonlight cast by our 300 W halogen spotlight (which does a pretty fantastic job of lighting up our 140' back yard), but I did pick Purple Peacock Pole beans tonight, long after the sun had set. What a rush! There is something very wholesomely sensual and satisfying about rustling around in the leaves, seeing only the dark - very dark - silhouettes of the long dark purple beans, and feeling the cool, smooth beans among the rough tangle of leaves and vines.

I don't know what overcame me, on my way back from turning off the sprinkler, but it had been a couple days since I've picked my Purple Peacock Pole beans, and I suddenly found myself picking beans in the light of our halogen moon. I would recommend the experience (and the beans - see my posts on buying the beans, and picking my first crop) to anyone.

New Favourites : "Purple Peacock" Pole Bean

Last time I checked on my beans, which was maybe a week ago, there were a few tiny strings forming among the flowers. This morning I was overjoyed to pick about 2 pounds of spectacular deep purple beans. Wow! This is the first year I am growing the "Purple Peacock" pole bean, from Westcoast Seeds. As I had dreamed (see my posting about the Purple Peacock beans when I purchased the seeds), these are a real treat to the eye, as I hope some of the photos here will convey.

The leaves of the Purple Peacock are green, the flowers are light purple, and the stems and beans are a deep purple. The flowers are quite unnoticeable, not like the showy Scarlet Runner beans, whose red flowers (see photo) are worthy of growing for ornamental value. Although my beans had a very slow start this year (the slugs kept eating them back as they emerged from the soil), they show vigorous growth now, and look like they will be VERY productive. Unlike the Scarlet Runner (one shown on top of the Purple Peacock beans), whose beans are hairy and can get tough if allowed to mature, the Purple Peacock are long, slender, smooth and tender.

Garden Painting Day 13 : Coneflower Stems

This is a really good time of year to work on my garden painting. Most of the flowers which I have chosen for subjects are in bloom now, so it is great to be able to cut a few, and bring them inside for closer observation. I cut a purple coneflower (echinacea purpurea) a couple of weeks ago, as my model, and painted in the stems & flower centers. I intended to return to paint the petals, which is the fun part, but haven't gotten to it yet. So here is the coneflower, without petals, between the globe thistle, which is only in bud (I intend to make it bloom), and the red monarda.

The next morning after I brought the coneflower inside, I noticed that a tiny spider had made its web in the leaves, as you may be able to see in the photo on the right. I don't know if it has caught much, being inside the house for almost two weeks now, but it is still in its web, still on that flower. When I finally throw the flower away (it has lasted a LONG time!), I'll drop the spider in the garden.

I may not have put much paint to canvas lately, but I did take advantage of the long stretch of dry weather for a different kind of painting. One night, my husband & I went out after dinner, and stained the shed, working into the darkness to finish the job. Another night I started trimming the window, door, and railings. I'm about half way through, with a few more corner trims and the fascia boards (which will require a ladder or stool) remaining. (For some reason I am not able to post the photo!) Actually, only one quarter, since I was only applying the white primer. I should return to apply one coat of white paint... I think that will be a difficult one to find the motivation, since it already looks so smart with just the primer.

Okay, I'm really tired, I'm rambling a bit. I should try for an early evening tonight, if I can.

Garden Glimpses : Early August

Here are some more recent photos from my garden (click any photo for slightly larger version). Sorry, can't seem to arrange them nice and square, the photo interface of Blogger is frustrating to use!

Garden Glimpses : mid-July

Here are a few more pics of the garden, now mid-July.

Garden Painting Day 12 : Monarda

Monarda didyma (bee balm) is a great flower for the garden, and one of my favourites. Its relaxed, shaggy appearance is a wonderful contrast to the more cultured flowers, and it is often visited by hummingbirds. It spreads rapidly into a nice patch (in its second year), so buying a monarda is good value, and there is good chance of acquiring one from fellow gardeners, too.

So here is my painting, after 12 nights, with a single monarda stem in front of it. It was fun to paint the flowers, and I like the brightness the red adds to the overall image.

I've also included a photo (right) of my monarda in full bloom alongside a purple butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). I have discovered that the butterfly bush is irresistible to hummingbirds, too, so that area of the garden is often humming.

My next flowers to paint, I think, will be a purple coneflower (or white one, perhaps). Then a daylily also. My five-year-old son has requested that I add a Lily (my namesake) to my painting, so I will happily oblige. If I was up to the challenge, I'd paint in a stargazer lily, but I may save that for my next painting, perhaps a closeup.

Arborsculpture - The Extreme Trees of Richard Reames

I discovered a most delightful site, of the imaginative tree creations by Richard Reames, a type of artist living in Oregon. He practises the art of what he calls Arborsculpture - the shaping, pruning and grafting of trees into living works of art and functional furniture, too!

His site provides a sample of arborsculpturists around the world, and links to their websites.
I've lifted a few photos, below, from the Pooktre creations of Peter and Becky in Australia - a tree man, and a coffee table and mirror apparently grown from plum trees.
The ficus house on Okinawa island in Japan is also worth seeing.


In Richard's book, Arborsculpture - Solutions for a Small Planet, he describes these creators and their creations in more detail. I haven't read the book myself, but I imagine it would make a great coffee table book.

Garden Glimpses : Early July

Here are a few more photos from my garden, and some of the fruits we are enjoying (click on any photo for a slightly larger view)...