Thanksgiving

What beautiful word, "THANKSGIVING."  We give thanks for all our blessings, and remember  to give to those who need. Wonderful time of year to center ourselves.

A couple of faces of Fall, the last of the color before nature changes it all to shades gray.

Hibiscus adorned a patio restaurant along the Amalfi Coast, in Italy. A cup of coffee , a cookie, and an ocean view, beautiful day.

This was the garden of our Hotel in Sorento, the path to the right goes back to the pool area. The wall to the left, is the remines of a fort. The whole site sits on the bank of a gorge, that  was created by a glacer.
Top photo shows the gorge below.

Veggie stand in a small piazza

Beautiful veggies in morning farmers market, along the streets of Venice. Those are peppers and the white floating things are mushrooms.

This is an Olive tree, on a busy street circle, in Tuscany region of Italy. They grow everywhere, even along the road side; where ever the birds plant them.

These sticks are made of Chestnut trees, they help protect the plants and trees from winds and extreme weather. Nets are sometimes attached as well. This garden was viewed along the roadside.

This is what olives look like as they fall from the trees.

Italian Holiday

On a recent trip to Italy, I took photos of as many types of garden ideas as possible, including tiny, and roof top types.  Space is at a premium, but a beautiful gardens were eked out in some very unusual locations.
 Italy has been experiencing a very dry hot season, but that is good for the sugar in grape vineyards. 2011 will be a good year!

Novice Tomato gardening

The season is ending and the colors are fading in the veggie garden.
This is my third season with tomatoes as the focus in the veggie garden. The first year, I planted Burpee, Big Boy Hybrid, it was a great success. This was a tomato that is quite common and hardy in our western New York area. Great for salads and slicing, can grow to a very large fruit. Nice tangy flavor but not good for tomato sauce, for my taste.
The second season I planted the same as above, Why mess with a good thing?
But the this season, feeling a little adventureous, I decided to mix it up a bit. I planted, Burpee, Gardener's delight, this is a very sweet cherry tomato. It can be eaten whole as a snack, or used in salad. It grows in clusters. This was very successful.
Well then I went to a Burpee Heirloom, called Black Krim, well it didn't go over so well with the family and friends, to say teh least. This is a Russian from the Crimean and Black Sea area. It is a juicy, rich flavor with brownish-purple skin. It mades a great pasta sauce but is very seedy.

Garden was skunked, ever so mildly, but enough to notice. FIT really worked, took all of the added aroma away from my hard work. Now on to the cooking and freezing.

1. This is my first experience with blueberry picking. For those of you who live in areas where you cant and WOULDN'T blueberry pick, this is how it is done. We drove out to some farm in the middle of somewhere, New York. My friend, who is an experienced picker, assured me this was the best place, for the quality and price.  Plus, we'd get home in time for lunch.
I was instructed on  how to prepare for this quest, by donning a two belted construction strung through the handle of a pail, and slung over my shoulder, and across my chest.
They grow on bushes that stand between 3 and 5ft. tall.
I was then told, to massage the clumps of berries. And it works! They fall into your hands.

2. Rinse and remove twigs, spiders, and grass hoppers that land on your refrigerator.

3. Frozen blueberries placed in a two cup freezer bag, for yummy pancakes this winter.

This has been one of the nicest plants I have acquired this summer. It thrives in hot sun and has bloomed all summer. Very pretty show.

Cucumber Frame Project

This is not a ladder. This is what my husband made for my cucumbers to climb on, because I borrowed his ladder last year, and he was not happy about it.



Some New friends

Hello all,
Life has been a bit unsettling, but maybe I am back on track. My garden is a place of peace for me, and I am sure for all of you. One of the many  wonderful things about gardening is, we can always go back or start over.
When we started building this house, almost 3 years ago, we had no idea what was in store for us. Well, I can't say it was an enjoyable adventure, but we have come up on the up side, and it has become our home, but I would never do it again.
I love all your blogs, and  have followed you from time to time while I was away from my own. You are humours, inspiring, educational, and compassionate. Thank you one and all for being here.

MAKING MY WAY BACK