Camomile

Picked Camomile tonight. One. Flower. At. A. Time

Yarrow

Nine years ago, Karen's brother and I built a formal patio with brick pavers. The job was brutal in the August sun and with all the bending and crouching, I could barely walk for a week afterwards. The next summer I got three pallets of irregular flagstone for an informal area. I planted some thyme, iceplant and a few other herbs to fill in the spots between the flagstones. One of those plants that I used was Yarrow.

Yarrow has been used by humans for centuries as both a food and medicine. In fact, Achilles was said to have his army carry it because of its use in stopping bleeding from battle wounds. Too bad Yarrow couldn't stop a spear to the heel, eh Achilles?

Yarrow spreads quickly and as you can see, it has taken over a large part of the flagstone garden. When the Yarrow blooms in June, we get a sea of tiny white flowers. In July, the flowers turn brown and the plant starts to look ratty. So I will cut them down to show off the flowering thyme behind the Yarrow.

Late June blooms

About every two weeks I have posted with pictures of what is in bloom in the garden. As I look back over the posts, I am amazed at the variety of flowering plants we have planted over the years

As I write this in late June, Tiger Lillies are in bloom along with one of my favorites, Lavender. Hollyhocks, Lillies and Delphinium are also in bloom.

Cactus

Years ago, our friend at Fenner Hill Farm kept turtles with their sheep. We would bring some of our lettuce when it went to seed to feed the turtles. They loved the greens and we liked watching them happily gobble them up. Our friend gave us the cactus in the picture above as a thank you for the feeding the turtles.

We planted the cactus outside, not expecting much, and for years, our expectations were met. Then a couple of weeks ago, Karen dug up the cactus along with a nearby Azalea. Karen replanted the Azalea in a bed next to the driveway. She put he cactus in a pot and put it on the patio along with some newly potted Hydrangea and Margarite Daisies. Wouldn't you know it, the cactus immediately took to its new home, sent out dozens of new buds and bloomed with the first flower ever this morning. The lesson we learn over and over again is, if a plant is struggling in one spot, try moving it to another spot. It just might thrive with a change of scenery.

Garlic Scapes

Last year, I posted about how everything came in two to three weeks early. Garlic scapes were cut on June 12th. This year, I'm harvesting them two weeks later. Garlic Scapes are the flower pod for the garlic bulb. If you don't cut off the garlic scape, it will go to seed and flower. When this happens, the plant sends all its energy to reproducing the flower pod and takes it's energy away from the bulb. But, if you cut off the garlic scape, all the energy goes to the bulb. This is how you get a nice, full bulb of garlic come the fall.

An added benefit is using the garlic scape for some great eating. Some folks use the scape in stir fry like a scallion. I've also been told to marinate them in soy sauce. But my all time favorite way to prepare Garlic Scapes is to make pesto. Just take the Garlic Scape, put it in a food processor with some salt (and maybe some cayenne pepper) and drizzle in some nice olive oil. We put the pesto in sterilized jars and freeze. Then, we enjoy the pesto in soup, with pasta, in salad dressing and as a vegetable marinade before we put them on the grill. Harvest your garlic scapes now and tell me what you like to do with them.

Romaine Lettuce

We grow two kinds of Romaine at One Love Farm; green and red. Both taste great and have a wonderful crisp texture. Romaine is best known as a salad green, especially in Cesar Salad. The problem for vegetarians is Cesar Salad dressing usually has anchovies. So, I've added a link for a vegetarian Cesar Salad. Romaine leaves are also large and sturdy so they are great a great substitute for flat bread or tortillas when making wraps.

I like to harvest Romaine when it is very as a cut loose leaf and also in the traditional large heads. Either way, Romaine is delicious in salads. The key to a nice crisp salad is the wash the leaves well and spin them dry. Soggy leaves will dilute the dressing and make an untasty mess. Once dry, cut out any large ribs on the leaves and cut the leaves into small bite size pieces. Way better than any bland lettuce you will get at the grocery store! Let me know your favorite kind of lettuce.

Peas

I have not planted peas in many years. When I got my first house in Warwick, I tried to plant peas a couple of times, but they never germinated. I can't explain why they never sprouted, maybe I planted them too early, maybe too late. Maybe they were over watered or not watered enough. Whatever the reason, I didn't plant peas for ten years figuring it was just not meant for me to have peas in my garden.

This spring I decided to give peas another try. I planted them in early spring in a raised bed with a lot of compost worked in. I built a small trellis for the peas to climb and watered the seed bed every day until they sprouted ten days later! The pea tendrils climbed up the trellis and tons of white flowers covered the vines. The next week I was picking pea pods and steaming them with other veggies for dinner. The great thing about peas is that they keep coming for weeks, so we will have a supply of fresh peas well into July. If you have more peas than you and your neighbors can eat, blanch them and freeze them.