The Perfect Container

Last week, we had a post about the wonderful daylily.  Today I want to show you the perfect container for bringing these beautiful flowers into the house.  Since you can't cut the whole scape without losing some blooms, these daylily vases are made to hold just one flower at a time affording you the option of enjoying some daylilies in the kitchen while the rest are still blooming in the yard.

Each vase holds a tiny bit of water to get your daylily through the day.

I also wanted to mention that I buy most of my daylilies from Joywalk Daylily Garden and Produce right here in Lincoln Parish.  You can find them each Saturday at the Ruston Farmers Market.  

Love ya'll,

Shelli

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

 ~Claude Monet

Sunday Schoolism #9: The Goal

Making a case for grown-up Christianity...

     The goal is to get beyond the childish desire to have things our own way, which comes from the childish idea that we are always right.

                                                                                                                       Brian Russel
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The Perfect Plant for Non-Gardeners

If you appreciate other peoples' yards adorned with pretty flowers, but have no desire to work in your own, this is the blog post for you!!!  There is a flower that requires no attention; just dig a hole in a sunny location and drop it in...seriously, that's it.   And this flower will bloom year after year in a variety of beautiful colors without you lifting a finger.  We are talking about Hemerocallis, the daylily.

Hemerocallis is Greek for "beauty for a day".  Each beautiful bloom of the daylily opens in the morning, but is dead by nightfall.  However each scape (stem) holds many buds to follow for a long bloom period and blooming can be prolonged by cutting the finished scapes off at their base. Some daylilies are early bloomers, while others are mid- or late season bloomers, further enhancing the long bloom season characteristic of this plant.

The daylily has few pests or diseases, can adapt to various soil and water conditions, and is available in color ranges of pinks, purples, yellows, oranges, reds, and near whites.  In your landscape, the daylily has several planting options.  They can be grouped according to bloom time, scape height (ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet), or color. Daylilies require no fertilizer, but enjoy a dose of compost each year. Although they do better with adequate water (especially their first year), they can be drought tolerant if necessary.

They are the perfect perennial!! But for me the proof is in the lovely blooms themselves.  It's hard to believe that Mother Nature gifts me with these beauties every summer when I have done no work for the reward.

So if you are searching for a plant that you can admire from your rocker on the front porch without ever getting your hands dirty, run out and buy as many daylilies as you can get your hands on!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

When you have only two pennies left in the world,

 buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. 

~Chinese Proverb

Farm to Table

The Ruston Farmers Market flag was flying 

at the Ruston Historic Fire Station Saturday night

 in honor of the Farm To Table fundraiser.

.

The Back Forty Band provided great bluegrass music for guests to enjoy as they mingled before the dinner began.

The delicious dinner consisted of produce provided by the Farmers Market vendors that was prepared by every one's favorite chefs from Rosemary's Kitchen. The dishes were seasonal, fresh, and scrumcious!

North Louisiana Farm Fresh is using the proceeds from the dinner to begin conversion of the Old City Warehouse on East Mississippi street into the new, permanent location of the Ruston Farmers Market.  Thanks to ticket sales, a cork pull, and art auction they are well on their way!

North Central Louisiana Master Gardeners Association also supports the Farmers Market.  Master Gardener Patricia Jones donated one of her impressive art works to the cause.  Our President, Kit Hanley, was working hard that night doing a little bit of everything!  I could hardly get her to slow down for a picture.

Jean McWeeney was everywhere at once, and gave a very informative overview of the plans for renovating the warehouse.  Other Master Gardeners were in attendance, showing their support.

Good luck to our friends at the Farmers Market!! We all look forward to shopping in your new "home" in the fall.

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Sunday Schoolism #8: Face-to-Face

Love means seeing others "face-to-face", which means that others can also see us "face-to-face".  We will know others with a love that believes in their best intentions but understands also their sometimes hopeless struggles or perhaps even their seeming failure to struggle. 

 We dare to believe that if others see us at our worst, they will nevertheless accept us.

                                                                                                           Brian Russel
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Garden Friendly Dog Poem

Dog on table

Because she's able :)

Dog in pot

Because he's not :(

                                          Table...

                                          Pot.......

                                          Able.....

                                          Not.......

That is all this poem's got :)

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Tomato Time

All this rain has been great for our garden!  Our soil is sandy and we sit at the top of a hill so all the excess rain runs off.  The tomato plants have used the rain to grow big, juicy tomatoes although it did take longer than usual this year for them to turn red.

With the tomato harvest rolling in, I thought I would reprint our tomato pie recipe.  We had our first one the other night and it was delicious!!

Tomato Pie

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury ready made pie shell (you know...they come two to a long red box)
mustard (brown, French,Di'jon, yellow....whatever you like)
 homegrown tomatoes (I don't know how many you'll need because I don't know how big your tomatoes are! I use 3 if they are large.) *My mom take the skins (peels) off her tomatoes; I only do if we're having company.
Vadalia onion, chopped
bacon, cooked (I'm ashamed to tell you how much I use, so use as much as you feel comfortable with)
basil, chopped (I use about 6 large leaves from the garden, but I'm sure you could use dried)
2 cups yellow and white cheese, grated (some reserved)
1/4 - 1/3 cup mayo  (I don't know how you feel about mayo!)
olive oil or butter
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Slice tomatoes, sprinkle with salt (to draw out some of the liquid) and pepper, then set aside to drain.
2. Caramelize onions in olive oil or butter (or both...this way it will be healthy and taste good too)
2. Spray pie pan with Pam and lay in the pie crust.
3. Spread mustard over bottom of crust. (I can't tell you how much to use because I don't know how much you like mustard...1 Tbsp.?.....2Tbsp.?)
4. Mix mayo, onions, and most of cheese.
5. Now make your first layer. Cover the bottom of the pie shell with cheese mixture. Add some tomatoes, bacon, and basil.
6. Repeat so you have another layer.
7. Top with reserved cheese.

Bake at 400* until done. I don't really know how long this takes, maybe 30 - 45 min.
Let sit before slicing.

I hope this works out well for you!  As you can see, I am not a recipe writer!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

Filling the Void

My mother-in-law passed away last week.  Pat was an amazing person and was so good to me.  

When Pat and my father-in-law, Jim, married, he was serving in the United States Navy.  So Pat raised six children while Jim was away much of the time on submarine duty.  They were stationed in Phoenix, Arizona, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina. When Jim retired from the Navy, they moved back home to Louisiana. 

 Pat was a black belt in karate, a skill that always intrigued me.  I mean, how do you become a black belt when you've got six little kids running around the house?  Or do you become a black belt to fend off the six little kids running around your house?  In any case, she opened a dojo in our little hometown.  Most people had no idea what that was; a "do-what"?!  But soon she had lots of little kids (as if she needed more in her life) running around kicking and chopping.  

She also worked as a reporter for the local newspaper. She covered all the high school football games.  I was in the marching band at the time and can remember Pat down on the sideline with her camera and note pad. She had to interview me for an article the summer of my senior year and I was so nervous because I was hoping her oldest son would ask me out and I really wanted her endorsement. I guess I got it.  

She opened a restaurant called Quay's Place.  All the pizzas and sandwiches were named after family members.  James and I were dating during this time and would work there on the weekends because we were hungry college students and she paid us in food.

Later in life, Pat decided to go to college.  She got her undergraduate and master's degree from Northwestern.  She taught high school English and English literature as an adjunct professor. She was a writer and left us with many poems as well journals filled with her talent.

Pat loved to travel and visited England many times.  She took some of her grand children with her to expose them to history and other cultures.

Pat was a "wide open" person.  She was wide open to every opportunity life sent her way and what an interesting life they afforded her. 

She loved and accepted everyone with wide open arms and a wide open heart.  It was not unusual to go over to their house and find that one of the kid's friends had moved in to live for "a while".  I would look questioningly at Pat and she would just say, "They need a little help right now".  As if feeding six kids wasn't enough of a daily chore, there were always a few extra of their friends in the kitchen. I should know, I was one of them! When James and I married, I became child #7, not in-law #1.  She thought of me as one of her own and always treated me accordingly.  

When someone dies a void is left in the world.  Those of us who remain must fill that void by making sure the deceased's special qualities continue.  At Pat's passing we must pick up the batons of wide open love, wide open acceptance, and a wide open willingness to attempt all of life's opportunities. Then we must run with those batons in her memory. 

Love ya'll,

Shelli

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death.

 ~Leonardo da Vinci

Buckle??

Katherine and I got together a couple of weeks ago for a girl's weekend.  We met in Covington and  stayed at a great little airbnb spot right in the middle of the old downtown area.  I was able to wander around from shop to shop and antique store to antique store while I waited for Katherine to arrive.  Our restaurant was within walking distance as well.  After dinner we sat out on the balcony of our room overlooking the inviting, shady backyard and shared pictures from her honeymoon and our recent family trip.  It's always wonderful to be together.

The following morning we walked down to the Covington Farmer's Market.  It was a fabulous market with fresh vegetables, garden flowers and herbs, delicious baked goods, fresh squeezed juices, as well as fresh mushrooms and kombuchas,  We stocked up on a variety of items.  

Then we headed out for the main event, picking blueberries.  We drove north to Blue Harvest Farms.  We picked 18.5 pounds of blueberries in under an hour!  Now this wasn't our first rodeo; Katherine and I are blueberry pickers from way back!  

Berry picking from back in the day!!

At dinner the night before, our restaurant had blueberry buckle on the dessert menu.  I have had blueberry cobbler, blueberry pie (Katherine makes a delicious one), blueberry crumble, and blueberry scones, but a buckle?? 

I came home and found this recipe at Laura's Sweet Spot (http://laurassweetspot.com/2012/06/14/blueberry-buckle/). 

 We thought it was pretty good.  If you feel like broadening your horizons, here's the recipe for you to try...

Blueberry Buckle

Ingredients

• Streusel:
• ½ cup (2.5 oz) all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup packed (3/5 oz) light brown sugar
• 2 Tb granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4 Tb unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
• Cake:
• 1½ cups (7.5 oz) all purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 10 Tb unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup (4⅔ oz) granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp grated lemon zest
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 20 oz (4 cups) blueberries

Instructions

1. For the Streusel: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt on low speed until well combined and no large brown sugar clumps remain, about 45 seconds. Add butter; beat on low speed until mixture resembles wet sand and no large butter pieces remain, about 2½ minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.
2. For the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan.
3. Whisk flour and baking powder together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, sugar, salt, and zest on med-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs 1 at a time; beat until partially incorporated, scrape down bowl, and continue to beat until fully incorporated (mixture will appear broken). With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until flour is almost fully incorporated, about 20 seconds. Stir batter with rubber spatula, scraping bowl, until no flour pockets remain and batter is homogeneous; batter will be very heavy and thick. Gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed.
4. Transfer batter to pan. Spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Squeeze portion of streusel in hand to form large cohesive clump; break up clump with fingers and sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining streusel.
5. Bake until cake is deep golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Happy Picking and Eating!!!!

Shelli

A mother's treasure is her daughter.  

~Catherine Pulsifer,

Sunday Schoolism #7: What Love Isn't

Love is not jealous.

(Why does she get all of the attention?)

Love doesn't brag.

(The most sophisticated learn to brag with better taste, so you hardly know they are bragging.)

Love isn't arrogant.

(Arrogance is a state of mind, unloving because it invests all its love on itself.)

Love isn't rude.

(Rudeness is generally a result of our being preoccupied with ourselves rather than with the other person.)

What is love?

Love is the test for everything else in the church.


                                                                                     Brian Russel

                                                                                                                       Adult Bible Studies

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They're Everywhere!!

Have you experienced an explosion of miniature pine trees in your yard this spring?

At a recent Master Gardener meeting, one of our members explained that there is a reason for this occurrence; this is a "mast year" for pine trees in our area. 

The term "mast" refers to the fruits or nuts of forest trees. This definition can also include winged seeds from trees such as elm, maple, and pine.  

There are two categories of mast: hard mast such as acorns and walnuts, and soft mast such as crabapples and blueberries.  The seeds of pine trees fall into the hard mast category. Both types of mast are an important food source for animals.

"Masting" or "mast seeding" are terms used to describe times when a higher than usual amount of mast is produced by a species of plants. A year in which this phenomenon occurs is called a "mast year".  

Mast years are used by Mother Nature to assure that enough seeds escape predation to grow to maturity.

So there you have it!  

We literally have been invaded by pine tree seedlings and now you know why!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli

Who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend,

Unnerves his strength, invites his end.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday Schoolism #6: A Child's Prayer

I think of the little girl who lived in a Christian institution who concluded her prayers one evening, "Dear Lord, make all the bad people good, and make all the good people kind." 

Piety sometimes makes people harsh and judgmental.  Love keeps us alert to others so that we are sensitive enough to be kind.

                                                                                                           Brian Russel
                                                                                                                       Adult Bible Studies
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Wedding Memories

This spring has been a whirlwind!! Katherine's wedding in April and our trip in May.  As summer settles in, it's nice to have time to reflect on the wonderful memories we've made.  Here are a few from the wedding...

We all met up at the Terrell House, a bed and breakfast on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

The wedding and reception were held in the Terrell House courtyard.

Katherine asked guests to sign a globe rather than a guest book.  

Katherine gave the girls a range of colors to choose their dresses from, but without any preplanning they all arrived with dresses in the pinky peach range.

The guys were looking dapper!

Hustle and bustle before the ceremony...

Katherine had asked her grandfather to perform the ceremony.  He took an online course in order to become certified.  His personal touch added much to the procedings.

The happiest of happy couples!!

Manatees mate for life.

Proud parents....

Proud grandparents....

Proud Wiggins clan....

Proud married couple!

Friends and family took home a seed packet that contined the seeds of the Love-in-a-Puff vine.  These seeds with their unusual natural markings summed up the emotions of the entire event...

Love ya'll,

Shelli

You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is 

finally better than your dreams. 

~Dr. Seuss

Giverny

In 1883 while riding a train, Claude Monet noticed a quaint piece of property surrounding a pink house in a small commune close to the town of Vernon about 80 km northwest of Paris.  He inquired about the property and found it was for rent.  He soon moved his wife and son (as well as his mistress and her six children) to the home in Giverny.

Monet's house, photo Ariane Cauderlier

Monet's house, photo Ariane Cauderlier

The house was known as the House of the Cider-press and had an rectangular orchard in front that was enclosed by tall stone walls. This area is called the Clos Normand, the Norman field.  After renting for seven years, Monet bought the house and surrounding orchard in 1890.  It was then that he began creating the garden from which he would paint for the rest of his life.

The central alley of the garden was bordered by pine trees which he cut down. Today the central alley is covered with iron arches supporting masses of climbing roses.

It is easy to see that the flowers in the garden are arranged by an artist.  Some beds contain flowers of complimentary colors that would have given Monet a pleasingly harmonious canvas, while other blooms came from opposing sides of the color wheel creating vivid contrast.  Our tour guide said that each morning Monet loaded a wheel barrow with paints, canvases,and easels.  He then had one of his children push the cart to the place Monet chose to paint that day.  Bliss!!!

“What I need most of all is color, always, always.” ~ Monet

Monet was an admirer of Japanese art and had an extensive collection of Japanese woodcuts.  Three years after buying the house, Monet bought the property across the road.  Here a small brook flowed from the Epte,  a tributary of the Seine.  Using this water, Monet dug and filled a pond so that he could grow waterlilies inspired from his Japanese prints. 

“The light constantly changes, 

and that alters the atmosphere and beauty of things every minute.” 

~ Monet

 He had a footbridge built by a local craftsman to go over the pond and he covered it with wisteria.  Here he painted his famous waterlily paintings inspired by the light on the water and the reflections in the pond.

It was an amazing experience to stand at Monet's bedroom window and look out at the view he saw each morning. 

“My garden is a slow work, pursued with love and I do not deny that I am proud of it. Forty years ago, when I established myself here, there was nothing but a farmhouse and a poor orchard…I bought the house and little by little I enlarged and organized it…I dug, planted, weeded, myself; in the evenings the children watered.” ~ Monet (1923)

“I work at my garden all the time and with love. What I need most are flowers, always. My heart is forever in Giverny.” ~ Monet

Love ya'll,

Shelli