Planning Your Garden

Winter is a time for dreaming about your garden, but it's also a time for getting down to brass tacks and doing some major planning, too.

The first step in planning is to take inventory of what is already in your garden or yard.  Note each tree that blooms, bulbs already planted, perenniels that will come back up, and anything else that affects the decorative nature of your garden or yard, such as ornamental berries or decorative leaves on trees or shrubs (maples in the fall, holly berries in the winter, etc.).

Print out a calendar of the year.  Mark each blooming plant on the calendar with a bar showing approximately how long it stays in bloom.  Are there gaps where little or nothing is blooming or showing its best in your yard?

So now that you know where the gaps are, start shopping the catalogs for seeds and plants.  Start series of lists:  very low, low, medium, tall, very tall.  Each time you find a plant that you think you would enjoy growing, put it on the appropriate list along with the color, type of soil, ease of growing, and planting dates.  A red flag should go up if you cannot provide the soil or weather needed for a plant.

Now it's time to sketch your garden or yard.  You may decide to sketch for each month, but at least make one sketch for each season.  After you've sketched your garden as it is, add the plants you are thinking of adding.  On each plant or grouping, make sure you note when it blooms and the color. 

You may need to make several changes as you realize that your garden will look great in May and be uninteresting the rest of the year.  Or you may find that your yard has nothing interesting in it in March and April.  Choices may sound great until you realize that the colors don't work well together - or don't differentiate enough.

Now make a list of all of the new plants you've decided on.  Make a master list of when each seed or plant should go into the ground.  If you don't know your safe planting date for tender plants, call your local agricultural extension office to find out.  In my area, I can safely plant most plants on May 2, saving extra tender plants for May 9.  But note that some seeds should be sown in the fall or as soon as the soil is workable in the late winter or spring.  Perenniels that survive all seasons in your area can generally be planted anytime the soil is not frozen.  

Happy planning.  And happy planting, too.



Special Offer:  $20 Off Blenko Vase With Topaz Handles

We haven't had these vases for very long, so I thought it would be nice to debut them with a bang! Regularly priced at $98.00, through March 15, you can order this vase for just $78.00.  This vase is hand-crafted in the USA by Blenko, one of the few remaining glass companies in the USA that still makes glass by hand.  Blenko glass is highly collectible.  Add this piece to your collection today!

Craft:   Make This Gorgeous Necklace

This month, we have a guest crafter, Tammy Collins, of TLC Designs.  Tammy lives in Fancy Gap, Virginia, with her husband Craig and their big dog Buddy.  They have two grown sons.  Tammy has many talents including knitting, crocheting, cooking, and ballroom dancing.  Tammy made this gorgeous unakite necklace and is going to show us how.

Supplies and Tools:

60 - 6 mm unakite round beads
4 - 8 mm unakite round beads
2 unakite nuggets
1 unakite centerpiece (in this case, a triangular piece, but other shapes will also work)
20 studded rondelles, gold tone, 7 mm x 5 mm
2 gold tone crimp beads
1 gold tone eyepin, 2 inches long
1 gold tone headpin, 2 inches long
Toggle clasp - gold tone
Bead stringing wire - satin gold - .38 mm, 7 strands braided, 12 lbs. test strength
Bent-nosed pliers
Round-nosed pliers
Crimp pliers
Bead Palette (optional)

The first step is to create the centerpiece component.  Place a 6 mm bead on the eyepin.  Add the centerpiece and another 6 mm bead.  Using the bent-nosed pliers, bend the eye pin 90 degrees just above the last bead.  Trim all but approximately 1/4 inch of the excess eyepin.  Use the round-nose pliers to roll the excess wire into a round loop.  Use regular pliers to close the loop, if needed.

String a 6 mm bead onto the headpin.  Turn the excess wire 90 degrees with bent-nosed pliers.  Trim all but approximately 1/4 inch of the excess headpin.  Use the round-nosed pliers to roll the excess wire into a round loop.  Attach the loop to the eye of the eyepin.  Use pliers to close the loop.

Place the centerpiece component in the center of your workspace or bead pallet.  On each side of the centerpiece, place the following beads in this order:

• 6 mm round
• rondelle
• nugget
• rondelle
• 8 mm round
• rondelle
• 8 mm round
• rondelle
• 3 - 6 mm rounds
• rondelle
• 3 - y mm rounds

Product Spotlight:  Blenko Cobalt Blue Glass Apple

This highly collectible cobalt blue glass apple is a real beauty.  It would make a fantastic gift for some extra special teacher in your life.  My sister, a math teacher, collects apples, but has nothing to compare to this piece of art.  $59.99


Recipe 1:  Loaded Potato Soup

I made this recipe one December when I had invited a girlfriend over to have lunch with us.  She totally forgot about the lunch date, so we consoled ourselves by eating her soup, too!  It seemed to be a good trade off.

2 lbs. baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour (use 1/2 cup flour for a thinner soup)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarse grind black pepper
7 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
15 slices pre-cooked bacon, warmed according to package directions and diced
1 1/4 cups shredded medium sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup sour cream, divided
1/4 cup minced chives

Scrub the potatoes and bake at 400 degrees until tender (alternately, bake in the microwave oven for time savings).  Once cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.  Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook for approximately 1 minute until the mixture is very bubbly.

Pour in the milk, all at once, and stir with a whisk until smooth and bubbly.  Add the potatoes and cook for five minutes.  Remove from the heat.

Add approximately 1/4 cup of cheese and mix to combine.  Repeat with the cheese until 1 cup of cheese has been incorporated.  Reserve 1/4 cup of shredded cheese for the topping.

Add the cream and 3/4 cup sour cream.  Stir in approximately 2/3 of the bacon pieces.

Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve immediately.  Ladle into soup cups or bowls.  Top with a small amount of shredded cheese, bacon pieces, and sour cream.

Serves 6-8.



Recipe 2:  Thai Pasta Salad

My youngest daughter recently asked for this dish for her birthday lunch.  It's one of my oldest daughter's absolute favorite dishes.  And it fits my middle daughter's vegetarian diet!  The kids often use the peanut sauce over stir-fried broccoli for their lunch.  Add grilled chicken to make the salad a more robust main dish.

9 oz. bow-tie pasta
1 T. wok oil
1 T. minced garlic
1 onion, diced, or 6 scallions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 T. rice vinegar
3 T. smooth natural peanut butter
1 T. grated gingerroot
1 T. low-sodium soy sauce
¾ tsp. Asian sesame oil

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to manufacturer's directions.  Drain and set aside.

Heat the wok oil in a skillet, saute pan, or wok.  Cook the garlic, onions, and peppers until tender.  Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients plus 1 1/2 T water.  Stir with a whisk to combine. 

Pour the peanut sauce over the vegetables.  Toss with the pasta and serve.

Serves 4-5.


 

Recipe 3:  Lemon Bars

This is my husband's signature dessert.  He often slips into the kitchen and whips up a batch when he's in the mood for something sweet.  The family appreciates his sweet tooth a lot when he does. 

crust:

1/2 cup butter
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar

filling:

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 T. lemon juice, fresh or bottled

powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare crust by mixing the crust ingredients (butter, flour, and sugar) in a mixing bowl at low speed until blended - about 1 minute.  Pat into an 8-inch square ungreased baking pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are light brown.  Remove from the oven and set aside.  Do not turn off the oven.

Prepare the filling by mixing the eggs and 3/4 cup sugar.  Add the flour and baking powder, and stir.  Add the lemon juice and stir to combine.

Pour the filling onto the crust.  Return to the oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into 16 pieces.


Happy St. Patrick's Day!