all different plants

Coming from Oregon to a Southern California Coastal town is taking my head and flipping it upside down.  For 10 years I gardened, planted and nurtured green produce and plants out of Oregon.  I am here now, at what should have been my peak canning and harvesting season.... tooooo.... well, lets just say.... a lot of plants I have no idea what they are, not to mention no garden and no canning. ( I am beginning to hear the trio of violins play their ode to tif~ It kinda sounds like "Cry Me A River").

The weekend we moved here the hubs, who is a big fan of salsa, ran out and got a few tomato plants and a jalapeno plant.  It had been 5 weeks and we already have had two jalapenos and the toms are looking pretty good... its like a Speedy Gonzales growing thing.  The warmth and sunshine here has everything just booming.  

Alongside the crazy harvesting and veggies....
I have flowering plants.
Many I have no idea what they are.  Like NO CLUE!

My mom is a great gardener and so one day she took me out to a nursery place in Fallbrook.  This place is less than 12 miles from me.  It's out in the middle of nowhere.  A place that had me wishing I could stay for days and just lay by their ponds and let the sounds of wind chimes and water fountains lull me to sleep.  This place was a piece of heaven.  Honestly, the butterflies were swarming by the dozens everywhere you went. It is called MYRTLE CREEK BOTANICAL GARDENS.

Its plants, flowers, statues, art, music,  an old barn, farmhouse and a cafe.  The cafe was adorable.  My mom and I had lunch there and they put a little basket together, with my Arnold Palmer in a mason jar and a blanket to throw out and sit for a while, anywhere on the grounds.  I didnt want to leave.... but schools typically frown on parents not picking up their kids.



all this to say.... I still dont know what kind of plants I have.... but, I know of a great plant place to go and let your worries and stresses fade away.  Care to come with me next time?

summer color

we are in the midst of trips here, and trips there.
I feel like my large canning pot is always full of hot water~
my canning closet is full of sweet jars of peaches, pickles, plum sauce and apple butter.
The freezer is full of zucchini bread, green beans and peas...
and tomatoes are coming up quick.
I may be in and out of the house~
but I love grabbing a pair of scissors and a jar
walking out back
and making a bouquet of color.

Its just a cheerful reminder of what some water, a little seed and a lot of sun can bring us.
Exhale.
for school begins soon,
and things will once again be changing.

my favorite spot to look out

you will find me upstairs staring out my windows.

not the front windows watching cars drive by,

but my back windows....

look out at the ending season.

the sunflowers are all blooming with big bold faces.
the zinnias are standing tall.
tomatoes are starting to blush.
plants are beginning to say they are done for the season.
It is a little early to call it quits and wait for autumn,
but these plants have been going full speed since early spring.
We are still green.
We are still going.
but I can start to see...
that they are getting tired.

the view from the guest room

the view from my bedroom

honestly

This smells like Italy.

the garlic is so strong- it has filled the house with its aroma.  The onions are so petite and purple~ I don't even want to cut them up to eat.  The carrots are eaten at all times, alongside the tomatoes... the sweetest little pops in your mouth.  The cabbage is waiting to be roasted....

and there is much much more.... all week long.

Something so simple

Makes me smile.

a mason jar.

homegrown zinnias.

washi tape.

simple. 

happy.

smile.

a little sign

our garden this year is growing like crazy!!!
The unusually warm spring allowed us to get our starts out sooner than usual.
We have enjoyed lettuce for almost a month now,
strawberries for a few weeks,
peas, raspberries and some broccoli for the last couple of days.

The new raised bed space is awesome~ but, it needed a little.... I dont know...

a creative touch.

so I started to add a bit more color.  I took a piece of an old 1x4 from the play structure that use to be in our garden space and decided to make up a little sign.  tracing some letters, some blue paint, and a black sharpie~ did the trick.... HERBS it is.

 keepin the creative juices going!  

ahhh.... let's all look at that pretty little sign.

Saturday nights

are spent pea shucking.

mmmm....

shucked. blanched. and frozen.

these babies are go-oood!

Bottle this

honestly,
someone should bottle this scent.
I know many people who would love to smell this all year round... me being one!
I get the joys of having one right outside my front door....
as each bloom bursts- the fragrance of sweetness fills the air.

oh daphne~ you are the first signs of spring for me.

spending the days

getting ready for Spring.

Now that we have "sprung forward"... and the time makes our day longer....

photo by my friend~  Jenny Tan

with the sunshine out...
it seems that things get moving...

seeds get started.
tree houses get rock wall stones.
parks get a workout.
bikes get exercise.
new trails get explored.
dogs get tired.

lets just say.... with warm sunshine  comes a lot of activity.

Hart Park with O

rock wall trunk complete!

he keeps himself busy

so, as I have shared with you all many times...
Whenever I go away, somethings happens here...
and it always rocks my socks!

things get built....
and not small things...
but huge en-devours happen, and I come home to a whole new something or other.
(like a tree house in the back yard!)
well, this past trip... was no exception.
The boys decided to build my raised beds.

look at this space....

its almost finished....

but when I left, it was just a flat ground level where our play structure use to be....

and now its a beautiful extension to our already amazing garden space.

OH MY HEAD... is BUZZING with all the great produce I can grow this year!!!

the view from my kitchen window

::and the answer to the already popular question::
is NO!  My hubby is not for lease, sale or borrow!
well, maybe for borrow~ chocolate and macarons speak volumes.
just sayin'

a tisket a tasket

I asked for a basket.

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I asked for one of those big garden baskets.... you know...like these ones that you can get at Lee Valley

these baskets are great because you can pick your veggies, and then hose the dirt off while they are resting still in the basket.  Its great~ no more bringing in dirt to the kitchen sink while you rinse your veggies.

there is only one problem- these babies are $50.

NEVER FEAR~ PINTEREST IS HERE!
I found that I had PINned a DIY on making one a few months ago.  The DIY was through runnerduck.com  and I showed it to the hubby to see if he could work his magic.
 Of course...you know he can... especially if he made my closet shelves and the kids' tree house...
The DIY is for a small basket,but the great things is~ you can make it your own.
The hubby said he made it for less than $10 and it took him less than 2 hours to put it all together.

and its huge!
and gorgeous!
I must say I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.... my husband says I'm pretty easy to please.  its a Win~Win for both of us.

Our own apples

A few years back we planted two column apple trees.
The first year we got fruit... and it was really sweet.
the next two years we got nothing... but moths.
But this year,
the fruit is beautiful, sweet, and big.
and this girl was very very happy!

So~
I made THESE Apple Dumplings for a group of friends coming over.
of course, I didn't take pictures...
after I told myself many many times... "DON'T FORGET to take pictures"
but, usually, those are the moments that my memory fades... and fades fast!
Trust me....
the Pioneer Woman knows what she's talking about...
these babies are TO DIE FOR!

you have got to make them...
go now,
get some apples off that darn tree in your backyard,
buy a can of Mountain Dew ( I know, gross right!)
and LOTS of butter!

canning

over the next few weekends.... I plan to get some jars filled with some great goodness!
Starting this past weekend...
I canned pickles, relish, jalapenos, and peaches (all from our garden... except the peaches).

This was my first year making the relish and the peaches....
and we will see.... come winter, how this all fairs out.
 ::side note::
as you can see from the photo... my peaches could have been in there a little tighter.... lesson learned.

Next up is tomatoes, lemon curd, maybe more pickles, and then my tasty spicy fruit relish (that is amazing in meatloaf!)
Someone once gave us a jar of pickled green beans..... maybe I could try that too..... cant you tell, I am loving the canning options!
This year I added a new book to my canning rotation, and I like it.... it was particularly helpful when it came time to can the peaches.

Ashley English's Canning and Preserving Book

Onions

we have onions.
lots of onions.
I have pulled them,
braided them,
and they are now drying from a nail in the kitchen....

Braiding your onions allows them to be bunched together and still have air around them to dry. The braids are great because you can hang them ~ keeping them off the counter, and easily accessible for cooking.
A great DIY that I use to braid onions and garlic is found here at this link.

 oh sweet onions... you will not last long!!!!

my garden

look at all that open space to fill next year....

The spring project has been completed.... as the playgym and swings were removed...

they were cut down in sections, and everyone pitched in.

The plan (next spring) is to build raise beds in the area and extend the size of our garden space.... almost three times larger!

Our chickens were given a space to roam, but our chicken wire was to low for two birds... who "flew the coop" many times throughout the days... not to mention the dog that could leap over it to share in the game of "Run Chicken Run" or a snack of cracked corn and clippings.  Bryan had to double the size of the chicken wire~ and so now it is not as much a chicken pen... but more like a state pen(itentiary).

visiting hours are from sun up to sun down

The sun has been shining, and the rains have been falling~ which have been great fuel for the garden.  It has flourished over the past few weeks....
We have had quite a few salads full of our garden greens.... and the peas get snacked on before they reach the back door.  O has been known to sit near the vines and just pick and eat (the little turkey!).

things are green and looking great!

ahhhh.... I love my garden.

gardening boy

tis the time of year...
where the winter fades and the spring gardening gets started.
This year we have another little helper alongside the hubby and I....
B has decided he wants to "help" plant beans.

This weekend we built two shade trellises for cucumbers to grow up and for lettuce to grow from under.  We used PVC pipe so that we could dismantle it and reuse it each year.... and once the starts come forth we will use garden wire to train the vines to trellis.  Much like this one....

see what we did!
the cucs will grow up the PVC, and
the lettuce will grow from underneath

The chickens have been given their little space around the coop in the back of the garden... but one little devious one- keeps finding her way out (even with her wings clipped!)... she continues to keep us on our toes.

the sneaky one!

So we have gotten our starts out from the greenhouse and have given them space to grow.  Carrots, onions, spinach, tomatoes, beans, peas, lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, squash..... and herbs.  Oh goodness!!!! It is Spring!

peas~ yummers!

devious garden destroyer #2

a greenhouse and its seeds

well... although the temperature dropped to 28 degrees this morning.....
we planted our seed starts this weekend.
Our greenhouse light is getting its use.....

 and our little seeds are still warm.

 now we must wait for the real spring weather.
its coming.....
these early blooms tell me so!

lets all cheer- go Daphne, go!

when she blooms- she smells amazing.

FRESH. the movie

This is a great movie.... about the good food movement~ gardening in small spaces, making a difference in the community, and going back to the grassroots of eating~ transforming the way we look at food! Its encouragement, support and about life. 

It is worth an hour of your time to watch this.... and just in time~ there is a free online screening offered for just this week (Jan.26-Feb1).

CLICK the link here~ grab some popcorn, a knitting project... and enjoy!

stripped.....

Today we said goodbye to our veggies, and began to prep the soil for a winter's rest......

one perk is that we have very very happy chickens!

They are loving the worms and bugs that are being tilled to the tops of the soil.

sunflowers

remember my post about bees....

well, I shared that I was gonna wait for a sunny day to post some photos of my sunflowers.

the sun showed up,

and I had a camera in hand.

so here are the photos I promised....

PS~ if you don't like the color yellow....

please look away!