it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Thursday, July 30, 2009

harvesting the view

i have always love surrounding myself with beautiful things.
plants are beautiful things.
seeing their green leaves shining in the sun after freshly fallen rain.

it makes me happy...then to see a new bud about to bloom...well
it can give me the shivers...so exciting.
having a piece of my sisters garden in mine has been extra special.
the miss muffet caladiums in yet another container are faring well.
these great little ornamental peppers are just as pretty as any bloom.
one thing that has just captured my heart this year is adding
so many eatables to the gardens.
our blueberry plant hasn't yielded much but they say
sometimes you don't even get fruit the first year...i am okay with that.
as you know we have inter cropped flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

bacopa still hanging in there.
you've got to have lots of water to keep the birds around to
eat your bugs...this lovely handmade low~leafed bowl was
bought at our local farmers market in franklin. it sits amongst the
watermelon leaves, tomato plants, zinnias, and the shallots.

native asters

tomatoes ripening on the vine provide lots of colour.
the cantaloupe adds the much needed texture even though
it works like camouflage under their leaves.

gazanias are a wonderful little flower that opens and closes with the sun.

butterfly bush looks great spent or freshly blooming.

our organic tomato are imperfectly beautiful.
zinnias are placed in and around the tomato plants.

they make the best cut flowers...

last year cosmos at this time were taking center stage...not so much this year.
i am thinking they might come around in august, usually our hottest, driest month.

the morning glory uncurling in the early morning sunlight.

smart weed

asiatic dayflower...found it's way to bloom on the borders of our farm.
i love being able to go out to the gardens and harvest
for tonight's dinner...marigolds for the salad...basil for the sauce.
purple basil, lemon balm, cherry zinnias surround the bee skep.

a few weeks ago we harvested our first carrot of any size...but

since then we have been pulling them out regularly...renny gets
a few fresh carrots almost everyday.
abbey doesn't mind at all and has a keen interest in the garden.
she also loves to photograph the harvest...her capture of a
recent trip out to the okra.
dinners have been the main place we are using the herbs...
on this night we were making spaghetti sauce...
lemon basil went into the salad.
purple basil, italian parsley, oregano into the sauce.
stevia into the freshly brewed tea.
i call dh my sous chef because he's great at chopping all my fresh
ingredients.
( The sous chef has an eye on the chef's job, but never lets on. That sous chef, he's good at being all things to all people...It's a hard position. The sous chef has to do anything and everything the chef wants him to do.)
having the fresh flowers and veggies makes for a great impromptu
dinner with our daughter rachel and her girls.
my center pieces these days are less likely flowers and more likely
colanders of beans, bowls of okra, platters of tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
we love dining al fresco(in the fresh air; outdoors) anytime the weather permits.
this night's dinner was whole barbecue chicken on the grille,
fresh from the garden carrots, grilled organic corn~on~the~cob
topped with sour cream and asiago cheese, whipped potatoes and iced tea.
having fresh from the garden flowers is the best.
my life is filled with beauty... harvested straight from the view.

17 comments:

Susie said...

Sounds like a wonderful dinner to me. Love that new birdbath bowl. Everything looks good Marmee!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow Marmee----For you and for Meems, Life IS good isn't it???? You both have gorgeous flowers and veggies.. Your 'home-grown' meal sounded wonderful...

Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Betsy

Q said...

Dinners from the garden are the best...your veggies look delicious. You and your family have worked hard and now you are enjoying the fruits.
I love herb bouquets in my kitchen.
I picked mint for infused oils and for teas. I did up a bouquet for the table, the smell was heavenly.
Your table is inviting....
Happy Harvest...August 1st is Lammas...Festival of the First Harvest.
Sherry

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi Marmee, wonderful bowl you found to use as a bird bath, love it.

It's a great feeling to put the food you've grown on the table and know it is safe, healthy and delicious...oh, and attractive. I recently found that kids that hate vegetables will eat them when they have flowers mixed in them. Who knew;)
Marnie

marmee said...

yes both the spaghetti and the chicken dinners were great. i love buying locally from the artist in the area...so i am loving my low slung bowl. thank you.

marmee said...

betsy,

life is good...for you too. thanks, meems and i are so enjoying our lives with fresh veggies and flowers and caladiums. eating straight from the garden is something that i never want to be without.

marmee said...

sherry,

i need to learn more uses for my herbs...and perserving them is something i want to do. i have so many things to learn still. how do you do infused oils? i have lots of mints this year an would love to know how to use them better.
i was meant for this type of gardening...it is the most rewarding type of life. some of the veggie and herb plants are just as stunning as any that have blooms.
happy last day of july.

marmee said...

not sure whether to call you jennifer or margaret?

so glad you decided to join us here at "things i love" you are welcomed anytime and thanks for leaving your first comment.

happy summer days to you.

marmee said...

marnie,

that's funny about the flowers being mixed in with the veggies. most of my kids have some things they eat and other things they are opposed to. i just put it all out there and they have to have a no~thank~you bite. abbey is my picky~ist eater yet. it's funny her being the last child...but i have more tolerance now and just try to get her to at least try things once and then again in a bit if she thinks she doesn't like it.
we are so enjoying eating right out of the garden...nothing like it. i will always have some homegrown goodies around.

Meems said...

Oh, Marmee,
I've already eaten but that beautiful tablescape and food description makes me hungry. Sounds so yummy and delish... it also makes me miss my veggie garden. Just started breaking it down today. I'll plant again in a month or so for fall... so something to look forward to.

Beautiful blooms and so much freshness going on in your garden this summer. So good to see your 'miss muffets' cooperating in that pretty container.

That asiatic flower almost looks like a spider wort. YOur bee skep fits right into the scenery. So many great harvests and blooms to see today... lovely.
hugs, Meems

Lola said...

Your table & meal look great. Makes me hungry just looking at it. I too have had veggies out of my little garden. Green beans, fresh taters {just dug}, cukes, banana peppers just a few. Need to start my Fall garden. If only it would stop raining.

Rose said...

Marmee, You always remind me that beauty is all around us if we just take the time to look. I have to admit even the weeds are looking pretty right now as they bloom:) Your dinner looks delicious!

marmee said...

meems, things are in full tilt around here. we are getting ready to harvest...cantaloupe, watermelons, lima beans, corn, okra...that's all i can think of at the moment besides what we have already been getting. i am so happy i got those huge containers...they look so nice and the dogs can't track all over them.
i have a tn wildflower book and that is how i id the flower. i will have to see what the spider wort looks like.
i really love the bee skep in the garden now...it stuck out like a sore thumb for a while.
happy august to you with love.

marmee said...

lola,
we are all wet here too. it looks as if it might rain again. i can't complain after our drought last summer though. it just makes things a little challenging knowing how to care for things that don't like to be this wet.
what will you plant for fall? we are thinking about it but not sure we are going to.

marmee said...

rose,

i have to remind myself at times to look for the beauty, after all i have several teens. lol.
looking for beauty is a nice hobby/distraction.
my weeds are a garden unto themselves. they have conquered some areas and i have let them win. sometimes i just stare/glare at them with distaste. ahhh such is the life of a gardener/mother.
happy august to you.

Cheryl said...

Wow Marmee.....you are making your mark on the land and what a beautiful mark it is...

I am amazed just how much you have achieved in such a short space of time...

To eat fresh from the gardens is just perfect.....and what a wonderful sous chef you have....I noticed how beautiful chopped the herbs were.... I could use him in my kitchen if he has a free week!!!!!

Lovely post......but then they always are....enjoy your weekend.....

Lola said...

Hi Marmee, Not sure just what I'll plant but thinking of carrots, bush beans, swiss chard, onions, garlic & anything that needs the cooler air.
The gourds I planted to run on the chain link fence is about to bloom. It's really taking off--covering a lot of the fence.
But with all this rain they may not do well. Had another thunder storm this afternoon. I need that pontoon again. lol