Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Monday, May 9, 2016

My Garden is a Three-Dimensional Canvas

.....Rather than paints, I use plants. But unlike a painting that you paint it and it’s done, a garden is like a kid. It requires constant maintenance and housekeeping ....

Yesterday, I reshaped the curves and fluffed up the mulch.

.....But the results give me a great sense of achievement and pleasure.

Spring 2011

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

I personally garden for two reasons - to be creative and to bring color in my life.

Color is personal. I am very conservative when I choose my clothes but very bold when it comes to my garden. I believe the colors of my garden are a reflection of who I am.

I am happy sitting on one of many benches in the midst of a mass of colorful blooming companions. I use plants like paints to create a work of art.

Here is how I do it.

I only use color as a focal point by perfectly placing a striking plant in the middle of muted greens .

I love bold colors to create excitement and vitality to the garden.

I love warm yellows and oranges mixed with blue and purple.

Use the color of foliage to enhance the garden and give color when plants are not blooming.

Different colors of hostas

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Many people I know do not like marigolds because of their colors—gold, yellow, and orange which many people think are autumn colors. Some people don’t care for the scent. Others say that marigolds seem out of place in summer. I think otherwise.

Petunias, impatiens, roses and hydrangeas are not the only flowers to decorate our yards in the summer.

I love marigolds. The colors are spectacular and when mixed with purple petunias or foliage and red geraniums, they make for a great show of color.

I also find marigolds to bloom reliably, are very low maintenance and some of us like that smell.

In the fall I pick the dried flower heads and save to plant the next spring.

I think marigolds are beautiful flowers. I like them. How about you?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

HOT PEPPERS - Grow a Few and Heat Things up in the Kitchen

I cannot imagine my kitchen
without hot peppers.

My turkey burgers would be bland

without the zing of hot peppers.

Would my pasta and peas dish have the peppery taste without the red liquid gold?

What would a Pancetta be

without hot pepper flakes?

Or my antipasto without peperoncini

in vinegar (sotto ceto)?

Today you can find a rainbow of peppers in a variety of shapes and sizes at any farmers’ market. Supermarkets carry such standards as Jalapeno an Serrano peppers all-year round.

Our source of peppers is our home garden and March is the perfect month to sow seeds indoors for summer harvest.

Seeds from Italy

Growing chiles whether you like the burn of bird peppers or a slight sizzle of the poblanos, hot peppers make delicious additions to gardens. We grow our own plants from seeds, beginning indoors, eight weeks before the last frost. Seeds should germinate in seven to fifteen days. Transplant into garden when nighttime temperatures are consistently above fifty-five degrees and in full sun.

Our garden

Avoid over- watering by spreading mulch over roots.

A low nitrogen fertilizer should be applied every three weeks.

Start planting and this summer enjoy some food with firepower.

LA CASA E IL GIARDINO