Toxic

I like gardening. I like eating vegetables. So this year I put two and two together and decided to try my hand at growing vegetables. I've been successful with strawberries and herbs, so why not, right? Enter the dreaded flea beetle. My eggplant leaves are now riddled with holes and dotted with these little black buggers.

Thanks to Kenny and his readers over at Veggie Gardening Tips, I decided to try my own concoction recommended by one reader: a toxic mix of garlic, red pepper, and oregano. I added a teaspoonful of minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano to a cup of tap water; mixed and strained it through a mesh sieve; and poured it into a generic garden sprayer bottle. After dousing the leaves and undersides generously with the spray I said a little gardening prayer and now leave it to the gardening gods. Fingers crossed that this mixture will keep them away and allow my eggplant to grow big and strong.

I love these tried and true (and sometimes very weird) methods of dealing with pests, weeds, etc. using items from your pantry. Last year I battled poison ivy along my back fence line with boiling water. Dandelions I attacked with white vinegar. Mild soap and water spray is always a good remedy for houseplant flies and spider mites. And the next time ants come crawling into my kitchen, I have some good remedies lined up to try - bay leaves and pepper are all ready to go.

Saturday list

~Plant poppy seeds, cosmos seeds, lily of the valley, and spider plants in front beds. Record in garden notebook. Water. Check.
~Mow lawn (while old man neighbor watches). Um, half check.
~Make 'ouch' noises as the open wound in my back from having mole removed starts to smart. Check.
~Sit on a chair in the backyard and enjoy a little shade and pet the neighborhood cat that has wandered by. Check.
~Try to capture on film scavenging bumblebee in search of pretty purple flower joy. Check.

In review

Well, the week is almost over and I can't even remember what has happened over the past few days. Having worked on Saturday, I have today off as a comp day and am sitting here at the kitchen table with a big cup of coffee as one of my cats nudges me annoyingly to play fetch. I've thrown her toy at least a dozen times now but she's still going strong. I need more coffee.

Monday was a very productive and enjoyable day - most of it spent at IKEA buying bookshelves and throw rugs for my house along with friends who needed to outfit brand new houses or just needed some fun new bedding. I got a great hot pink bumpy throw rug for my office - I'll be putting together the bookshelves for in there this weekend and will let you know how it turns out. I definitely need to reorganize in there.

Played a little tennis (and I say played in a very loose way) with a coworker on Tuesday evening after work. Yesterday had a dermatologist appointment in Richmond for my annual mole check (only had to have one removed - yea!) followed by shopping. Very dangerous - discovered an Anthropologie down there. Oh how glorious. Bought a few things off their sale racks (this in purple; this in a fun green). How I love the girly clothes (and love the fact that they have great sales!).

Will try to get a little gardening in this morning and over the weekend. That is, if it doesn't rain the whole time. Not that I'm complaining - raining means I don't have to water and my plants grow big and strong. Need to call the local dump to see if they have mulch in stock. Nothing like free mulch from the dump. Classy.

Kitchen window

I have some real projects I meant to tackle this weekend. All the tasks center around two big ideas: my house needs its (now a little late) spring cleaning and my garden still needs some plantings. I know these two things - cleaning and gardening - are never quite "done" and I feel I am perpetually falling behind. This weekend was supposed to be relatively quiet (besides having to work yesterday), but has turned into quite an active one. Not that I'm complaining that I have friends and we do fun stuff together!

This morning I'm bugged by my kitchen window (let alone the dishes sitting in the sink beneath it). The plants on the windowsill all need some tender loving care. The geranium is still in its plastic container and needs a proper home; the coleus needs to be planted in my shade beds in the front of my house (have been rooting those in water since last summer); the philodendron needs to be added to a planter I have in the kitchen; and that poor nutmeg geranium needs some trimming/replanting as it has gotten a little leggy. And that's just inside.

But, that will wait until this evening. Off in a little bit to battle the roads to visit Grandma. Maybe we'll do a trip to Target as an errand and I can check some other things off my to-do list.

Borage and berries

At my local farmers' market this early spring I bought a borage plant. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but for $2.50 I figured I'd give it a go - the owner of the herb farm said that it went well in salads (it has a taste reminiscent of cucumber). Well, the wonders of the internet revealed to me another use for the unusual herb: Pimm's cups. I had served these wonderful beverages at my friend M's 30th birthday in March and had a little Pimm's left in the fridge. Last night M came over (to take home one of my renegade strawberry plants that was growing outside of my garden plot) and we enjoyed a Pimm's cup with borage as an ode to the coming of summer.

The borage plant is incidentally planted within my strawberry patch. The literature said they were a good pairing (something about bees I think). Now that the netting is on my patch I scouted the patch early this morning for some berrys without beak marks. Four were ready for picking and I enjoyed them alongside my morning coffee. There are some promising berries I hope will be ready for harvest tomorrow. I always have high hopes that I'll collect enough berries and make something like jam or a pie or something. I always eat them before they can make it to a formal recipe. I just can't help myself.

Thursday

This week has really seemed to fly by. I can't believe it is Thursday already. Next thing I know you'll be telling me it's the weekend (and a holiday one at that). Funny how that works.

I'm very excited about the start of my favorite summer television show: So You Think You Can Dance. I've never been one for American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, but this show is definitely my cup of tea. Don't even try to get a hold of me tonight between 8 and 10 (Mom).

That's it really; all my exciting news. Oh, other than the fact that my car window is fixed. And the netting is now on my strawberry patch (ha-ha you stealth birds, let's see you get through that!).

Green space

For the twelve years prior to my moving to Fredericksburg I lived in a variety of dorms, apartments, and condos around the D.C. area. While they were "quaint" in some instances, they lacked green space other than my handful of houseplants and an outside courtyard or nearby park. In moving to the small town of Fredericksburg, I made it a priority to find something in the historic district but green space wasn't really on my 'must have' list; I think I kind of forgot it was an option!

So lo and behold finding a cute little rental house with a yard to call my own. Now don't get me wrong, having a yard comes with headaches related to weeds, and mowing grass, and shoveling snow. But the benefits definitely outweigh the negatives. Today, for instance, I made a bouquet from the bounty of my backyard. Purple salvia from my cutting garden, rosemary from my herb garden, and honeysuckle vine from that eyesore of a chainlink fence bordering my neighbor's yard. The smell. Oh, the smell!

The Chinese lantern plant that I purchased from a nice lady at the farmer's market last spring has decided to create some offspring and my one plant is now five! I see the buds and flowers forming and can't wait for the funky orange lanterns to appear.

And those two gorgeous poppies that popped just a week or so ago are now in their ugly seed pod forms - you can cut and dry these, but I'm going to let them stay so they can self-seed and make some little poppy offspring of their own.

A piece of gravel and asparagus tips

Yesterday was quite a day. First, I had one of my car windows broken by a piece of gravel kicked up by a weed-wacker. I'm now driving around with a garbage bag taped to my car door until it is fixed. Then, working with some museum objects I accidentally dug shards of broken glass into my finger. A band-aid fixed that. Arriving home I was hesitant to head into the kitchen - there are knives and other sharp objects there and my luck hadn't been the best. But I had tons of asparagus in the fridge and needed to do something about that.

Luckily, no further calamities occurred and my night ended with a bright springtime pasta: Pasta with Asparagus & Lemon from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics.

1 1/2 pounds asparagus (without a scale in the the kitchen, I just used two big bunches)
1 pound penne pasta (my box of whole grain pasta was only 13.25 oz)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.

Meanwhile, rinse the asparagus, snap off the tough lower stems, and discard them (hello, composter!). Cut off 1 1/2 inches of the asparagus tips and reserve. Chop the rest of the stems (doesn't matter what size as you'll puree them later). Cook the asparagus tips in boiling water to cover for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Remove to a colander and set aside. In the same pot blanch the chopped asparagus stems for 6-7 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse in cold water, and reserve separately.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. While the pasta cooks, puree the asparagus stems, lemon juice, and olive oil in a blender or food processor until smooth. If necessary, add a little of the hot pasta water. Add salt and pepper to taste (I found this needed quite a bit of salt).

Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. Stir in the asparagus puree, the asparagus tips, and the grated cheese. If the pasta has cooled, stir it in a pot over high heat until hot. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

Ready to pop

At last year's Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden plant sale I purchased a poppy plant. It was a bit of a whim, I admit, but I've always loved the bold shocking color and graphic nature of red Oriental poppies as well as their delicate, paper-thin petals. Plus, I have garden beds with full sun throughout the day - a perfect place for poppies to thrive.

And just this last week my poppy plant transitioned from looking like a maniacal weed to this fun, funky plant - with two buds just ready to pop.

When I grow up

I haven't really been obsessed about anything for a little while now. Call it the cold, rainy doldrums. Call it pure laziness. Whatever. But I have recently felt that tickling again. And it's for a woman. A woman named Ina.

Working from home yesterday solidified my obsession. During my lunch break I happened to catch an episode of Barefoot Contessa. It was one I hadn't seen (crazy!) and I realized that I really, truly love Ina. No, I more than love Ina; I want to be Ina when I grow up. From her Le Creuset enamelware cast iron dutch oven, to her beautiful yet imperfect presentations, to the supporting cast of characters that seem to flow in and out of her life with ease. Sigh...

Gray & green

Well, most of the weekend was gray and drizzling here in the Fredericksburg area, but that didn't stop me and my quest for a little fun outing to Richmond with some friends. The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was already hopping when we got there - the plant sale booths were teeming with unusual and common varieties alike to tempt us. Total green overload everywhere you looked.

I am currently waiting for our rain to stop so I can plant my new 'Miss Kim' lilac (so excited - love the smell of lilacs; this variety stays smaller and bush-like); strawberry begonias (they have trailers like strawberry plants that grow new little plants - beware if you have a birthday or other occasion, live nearby, and I need a ready-made gift!); basil for my herb garden; a woodland poppy for my mother who lives in the woods; and an eggplant (white) and zucchini plant for my new vegetable patch. Whew!

Place

Well, for those of you that aren't in the preservation field, you may not realize that May is Preservation Month. Since I work at a historic site, the topic of place is very important to us and the theme of 'This Place Matters' fits our mission perfectly. Our site is featured in a great Flickr pool of historic sites (that I found includes one of my favorite structures outside of my hometown too). I encourage you all to find a place that matters to you this month, take your own picture, and submit it for inclusion.

Speaking of place, my own personal version is definitely looking a little unsightly - my lawn has sprouted its requisite garden of dandelions that definitely need to be mowed down this weekend. Especially since my neighbor decided to abandon his running year-long conviction that his lawn didn't need to be mowed. Ever. Now I'm the eyesore on our section of the block. Once this rain stops, you'd better believe I'll be out there with my rotary mower working up a sweat.