C’mon, sit a spell

Well you said you only got fruit for Christmas (trying to be funny - bombed sorry... thought if you claimed fruit for Christmas then a whole bunch would pursaude you to trade for something big... Kinda like in First grade when I traded my BDay money for a couple tore up baseball cards... why? I thought they were something big... )

I saw that This Old House! Up north somewhere . . . yep that is what gave us our idea. We have mixed the trees up between fruit and not, they are small (cost stopped me from getting to many big things of anything). So we have plums, pears, figs, and peaches mixed into about that same amount of mixed trees. Looks strange at the moment - everything being only about 2 foot tall but give it a few years!

I remember when I was young girl of twelve in Spain, I went to recuperate from an illness at my aunt and uncle's place which was in the mountains. They were managing a farm, and that was my introduction to the world of nature and horticulture. There were olive trees and almond trees and carob, and so many crops that they raised. My aunt would pickle olives and make soap from olive oil drippings, they kept hives and harvested honey. Her name was Antonia, and she was a wonderful gardener, I remember the beautiful scented red carnations and the madonna lillies that she would bring into the house and the perfume was amazing. Also the beautiful mock-orange shrubs with their lovely scented blooms, there were chickens and turkeys goats and horses, it was a kid's paradise. I loved her very much.
Sorry,I rambled on too long. Josephine.

This message was edited Aug 1, 2005 6:05 PM

Not at all, Josephine, a wonderful memory! Thanks for sharing it with us, this is the place to do just that.

I haven't heard of carob in a while. It grows on trees? It's a bean, isn't it? Did your aunt cook with it?

Goodness, I hear thunder! I laid down for a nap, what a nice sound to wake up to,

We had a lot of thunder earlier today, but no rain. When our out-of-town guests were here, we had a big thunderstorm with almost 2 inches of rain. The power was out for 2 hours. The kids wanted to watch TV by candlelight.
They were impressed by the world without power.
trois

We mainly used the carob seed pod as a snack, they are sweet and juicy. They sold most od them to be ground into a type of flour.
I hope you get rain. Josephine.

Great memory - so is that why you grow those wonderful bushes? Great memory Josephine... Mitch

Hi Maggiemoo and all, I can't stay long but just stopped by to splash around in the fountain and enjoy no mosquitoes!! I enjoyed listening to stories but will have to come back later.

Josephine that sounds idylic. I have delightful childhood memories too.
I think the innocence of childhood hides the harsh realities, which is as it should be. It is very comfortable to float back to that world every so often and re-live the moment. Have you noticed how the sun always shone in summer, it only rained when you didn't want to be outside,like at night and winters were always white and snowy? The kitchen always smelt of fresh baked goodies too.
Its a bit like this garden really an almost perfect world. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could recreate it in the present, instead of the bombs and famine and other such things.

Glad you dropped in Paige, there's always a seat for you here!

Goody, we had a solid rain for almost 25 minutes! It feels nice and cool outside.

Josephine, I remember "discovering" carob powder as a supposed alternative to chocolate for baking cakes, etc, in my health food freak (not nut, but freak, lol) days. You would have thought we had all just discovered this, but of course it has been around for quite some time. That's interesting to hear that it is sweet and juicy!

It was a very wonderful time of discovery for me, I will never forget it ,and I will allways be grateful to my aunt for it. She had no children so she thought of me as daughter.
And yes Mitch, that is why I have the Mock-orange shrubs, they bring back a lot of memories.
Glad you got the rain, Mary.

I love to add those memories into our yard... even if for us they are ditch lilies, Rose of Sharron and wisteria. Got to keep them around... and now I have so many new ones full of memories to add from freinds now!

Heyyyy Guys ...can I join you? I have freshly made Apple Mint Mojitos?:)
Sylvia

Sylvia!! Come on in! I don't know what Apple Mint Mojitos are, but they sound wonderful!

Oooh! Look at the lightening bugs!

Nice breeze blowing out of those clouds. Garden's peaceful. Hummingbirds and swallows still feeding. Not a mosquito anywhere. Glad you had a pleasant day out here. I was at a &*%$# computer workshop to complete requirements for a grant my school received. Oh I forgot, no &*%$# out here. Sorry, I'll mind my manners. Patricia

No teacher talk too! I dont want to think about work Mon... another year.

Lol! Hi Patricia! Glad you found this place to unwind. Any fond childhood memories to share?

You're right. Let's just relax and enjoy the evening. Look -- there's a bit of lightning off to the southeast. Maybe there'll be some rain yet.

Hope so just a little so we can stay out and enjoy the garden in the - wait what type of area do we have to hide under?

We have sufficient shelter, whatever is needed.

The porch is covered and deep enough to shelter us unless the wind really gets up from the south. Rain's probably going off to the north of us, but at least it's trying. The breeze is cool, and the swallows are settling on their nests (third hatch coming up). Listen -- there's the "noisy bird" -- the paraque -- and the Inca doves still talking about the rain. Hope they are right.

Ah - what a joy to just sit out here. Stunning weed free beds, light rain, cool drinks and lots of food.... good folks, good food, good fun!

Anyone care for some mint? I have peppermint, spearmint, pineapple, apple, chocolate, and I just found this orange mint the other day.

Nice cool iced tea with mint... sounds like a great end to the day to me!

I hate to leave so early in the eveninb. Very pleasant here, and I look forward to coming back soon. Trying to ease back into this school routine and have two more workshops this week. Sorry, Mitch, teacher talk! My Pyr pup is running circles in the yard and demanding attention and loving, so I'll go out and "wrestle" with her for a while. Hope to visit with all of you again soon.

Patricia

mint and orange juice is really great on salmon.....

G'night Patricia! Come back when you can.

Mint & orange juice on salmon, sounds good. Do you like to grill that or broil it?

The frogs are sure happy. I love hearing them after a rain.

I'm off to bed too, have to work tomorrow. I hope others will continue to stop by. Enjoy the garden, and see you tomorrow!

patrob - got mine all done with early, thank goodness....

did I hear salmon on the menu today? Sounds great...

Guess I am the early bird here today, see ya when ya get here! Mitch

Just got back in from taking a few pics. Breakfast soon.

Is the party still going on?

I can bring a center piece of black eyed susans. I will also bring some cuttings of my large leaf basil. It has a divine fragrance.

Melissa

p.s. Monaville received a sckooch over 1" of rain yesterday. The temp dropped to 74. Joined by my dogs Huberta, Boo, and Woodrow we sat on the porch and just watched. It was such a gift.

I had a surprise this morning when I went to the West side of my A-frame Pergola. There was a watermelon about 10 feet up on the side.

This message was edited Aug 2, 2005 10:52 AM

Hello all...Sorry I am so late to the gathering but just too busy to sit and visit...I just picked a fresh cantalope and will gladly share it with you all...I had a nice little chat with dstartz this weekend ...hoping she gets to visit our area soon but she was very busy with or on a trip...

My garden is in the throes of a heat stroke but I truly learned a lot and expect to do much better next year...Hope you all don't mind me just jumping into the middle of the Garden Party.

Maggie, a Mojito is a drink with rum, lime juice, mint and a little sugar.

Hi everyone,
I need to sit in the cool for a while, and unwind.
I have just driven DS car across to the garage in Richardson - some way from Keller and its hot. The car needed work on the brakes - every warning light in the book was flashing. He wouldn't let DIL drive it over in case there was a problem, from which I gather I'm dispensible!! She did drive over to bring me back, but in the SUV. We have to do it all again in reverse tomorrow to collect it.
He is away from home at the moment so its a good time to get it sorted but .... KIDS!! don't you just love 'em even when they are 35 year old kids.
That mojito sounds lovely, I think I might just enjoy one of those in the cool here this evening.
I notice my standard wisteria is flowering again now, not as heavily as the first time, but enough to look really god. That is three flushes so far this year, is that normal for Texas? Back in the UK once was all we got.
Carol

Hi guys & gals,

Just popping in for a moment during lunch. I'd much rather have lunch here than in the break room!

Trois, what a neat surprise to find that watermelon. Do you grow them every year? And Ruthie, cantalope is such a refreshing snack in the summer, my favorite! What is your secret to knowing when they are ripe?

Melissa, there's always a party here, even if it's a party of one, lol! Wasn't it nice to just sit, watch, feel, and smell the rain? I was really surprised when our temps lowered a little.

Susie, thanks for the info. I like the name, will have to see if I like the drink or not. Apple sure sounds interesting.

I bought a Joan Senior daylily earlier this year, have wanted one since last year. It's supposedly the closest to a white daylily there is, a repeat bloomer, evergreen. It finally at long last bloomed yesterday - a very pretty butter yellow. Maybe it was just marked wrong. It's impossible to tell daylilies apart when they aren't in bloom. I'll try once more, but will wait until I find one in bloom. This yellow is really quite pretty, it just wasn't what I wanted.

Oh well, it's just nice to have something blooming in the garden!

Catch you guys later!

Carol,

Reblooming can happen here in Texas because of the hot hot summers. A & M horticulture explains that the plant goes dormant (No leaf loss, just stops growing). If there is a short cool period, the plant is fooled into thinking it's spring again so it blooms. A bonus for enduring this weather.

Suzi, that drink sound refreshing. I'd like to try one.

Veronica

Thanks Veronica that explains a lot. It felt strange having spring flowers in August! but they are beautiful and welcome whatever the season.
Carol

The fragrant stock I grew over the winter last year still smells great in this garden.....

This is the first year I planted watermelons. There are several melons around now, but the nearest vine is about 20 feet away from the A-frame. Big surprise to see one 10 feet up. I didn't even know they would climb.

You're going to need to tie that sucker to the A frame w/ some pantyhose or something. You will probably get some funny looks if you buy them yourself. Might be best to have Barbera do that for you.

Dont you just love melons? How they grow ... and how many flowers . . . I just set out a few more I know I many not get fruit but they love my yard and fill in (and I know now the Iris beds are great for them!)