The project is to be two tromp l’oeil niches behind the statues of Mary and St. Luke, with accompanying windows and rosettes. The goal is to make the archstones and the pillars, as well as the other ornaments, appear as three dimensional as possible, and for the niche to appear to recede into the wall.

     I have the first niche about 50% completed, and will continue to post as more of it gets done.

I am seeing the signs, as I am sure we all are, but eagerly awaiting the real thing and hoping it doesn’t zip on by and into summer too soon!!

There have been a number of beautiful displays the last few weeks, and here are some of my favorites:

A group of Daylilies, blooming despite the tempuratures, or because of them!

The amiable daylily, looking like it was carved out of Inca Gold….

The Pink Plume Flower, Justicia Carnea, is a summer stunner, looking its best as the heat comes on. These are cuttings from last year, from plants I have propagated since 1994.

   Mulch is also such a help at this time, since it helps retain the water we put down, and keeps the soil cooler and  slows evaporation .

    Doing a visual inspection of the Garden in the morning is essential to knowing whether or not your watering is effective and sufficient. Look for plants that are not recovered from yesterday’s wilt – these will tell you that they have not been given enough to recouperate, and will need watching. By morning everything should be back up to snuff, no curled, papery looking leaves, no wilted stems.

    Leaving the hose to run at the base of plants, trees, shrubs is the best way to assure that they receive a deep watering.  It requires us to get out earlier than we may like, but it will be worth it once the heat passes, and you will have gotten your Garden through it and come out the other side with all your tomatoes intact! Tomatoes and other fruiting veggies will often abort fruit when stressed. Keeping them happy, i.e watered, will head off their survival tactic of dropping.

 Watch, too, for the fungus and wilts that inevitably begin harrowing us this time of year. Squash, cucumbers, and others, start to look yellowish and pallid. The affected leaves should be removed IMMEDIATELY, and a Garden-safe Fungicide should be sprayed on the leaves and soil under the plants. Spraying all has to be done before around eight o’clock in the morning to avoid damaging the leaves with sunlight.

     Flea-beetles are probably lacing the leaves of your Eggplants. Again, remove the most severely affected leaves, and spray with any food-safe killer – Safer soap, Volck oil solution, Sevin. You will need to watch and anticipate re-spraying in a couple of weeks to kill the adorable hatchlings!

   Garden culture suggests we spend a little time removing the bottom leaves off our Tomatoes and Peppers, and all other plants that trail to the ground. Those trailing leaves are a ladder by which fungus and bugs get up into the  now elongating plants and do their damage. Removing all the leaves up to the one-foot point also allows better air-flow, which also helps reduce fungal and insect issues.

    Let us do a proper Rain Dance, and hope that this stretch of high temperatures ends soon. Till then, Water, my friends, Water without ceasing!

     After the heat breaks, remember to fertilize again. The plants in containers will have nearly exhausted their last feeding unless it was done in the last two weeks, and even then, I would give them a weak solution just for the heck of it.

     If your Mediterranean Herbs are in full bloom, let them finish before you harvest. The best time to harvest Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, etc, is just as the flower heads begin to open. That is when they are most packed with the essential oils that give them their Virtue. After they bloom, cut them back fairly severely, dry or otherwise prepare them for use. The aforementioned herbs, along with Basil, and Parseley, can be stored in the freezer for a year or more in a Ziploc bag with enough Olive oil to cover them. When they are removed for use in soups, sauces and stews, they are nearly as fresh as the day they were picked.

      Drying is the next best way to preserve herbal abundance. Laying down paper towel, out of the sun, rinse and shake out the herbs,  held in bunches. Separating the stems and making sure there is airspace between all, leave them to dry. The time required can vary depending on how dry your home is, but it usually takes a week,  maybe more. When they are crispy-dry, I strip the leaves and small stems from the larger stems and branches over a cookie sheet, and tip the remains over to the end to place in clean, re-used herb containers or jelly jars. Don’t forget to mark them: type of herb and year.

     As the Basil harvest begins to overwhelm you, get out the food processor and my favorite Pesto recipe and get blending! It is a tad time-consuming, but it is one of the most thoughtful, healthful, and eagerly received gifts at the Holidays. And when you don’t feel like working too hard for a meal, getting out the little tubs of Goodness is an easy, delicious addendum to any meal, or to add to a Lasana, or spoon a dollop on the last tomatoes of the season, with some Mozzerella cheese and a little salt ground on top for a taste of Caprese.

    If you would like to share recipes for preserving or for making, please feel free to add them here. Sharing is caring, and yummy!

Living Romantically is easy with a few quick tips: the old calssic of taking flowers in and secnting the room with them. For Gardenias, try to take them in the morning, just those that are beginning to open, and float them in a shallow bowl. One bowl in each room, if you have such abundance. Three to five blooms in each receptacle puts out alot of FlowerPower! Aromatherapy 101!

'Tis the season for indulging our senses in the rich, deep fragrance of the Gardenia. Photographing them in the late afternoon, they appear to glow from within.

The Williams' Garden is a parade of color, and this is the daylily 'Russian Rhapsody".

For Antony Williams, a wide variety of Irises were planted. This is a Japanese iris, about 30" tall, and the blooms are six inches wide. They bloom later than many of the German varieties, and much later than the Natives or the Dutch Iris, adding time to the Iris season.

 

A variety of cascading roses fall gracefully over the wall in back, called 'Coral Carpet'.

   Strawberries are coming into their peak, and we should be diligent about harvesting every day, so as not to waste the abundance of Nature, and as a way to prevent adding to the slug and snail population! They often find our little red joys before we do, or they get to them while they are green. Little, mucous-y pigs! It helps to get to the fruit before they do, and if they have already feasted, remove the chewed berry and toss it into the compost! Removal keeps the scent from wafting around to the others in the area and drawing them to the beds. It is also helpful to put out your finished citrus halves, left upside down. The slimy little creepers head under them as a hut from the sun and in the morning you can go get the rinds and…recycle them. Stomp, scrape, whatever, but dispose of them any way that seems therapeutic to you! You can also try ringing the berry plants with clean, crunched-up eggshells as a protective deterrent. It doesn’t stop them all, but it helps.

Keep pinching Tomato suckers. Pick off worms and caterpillars from the Dill, the Tomatoes, the Parseley, et al. If you notice little white flying things coming from your Basil or other larger -leafed plants, get yourself a spray bottle of Insecticidal Soap and spritz the undersides of the leaves. In 14 days, hit them again and you will kill the hatchlings and gain a modicum of control over them for the time being.

Remember, it is a great idea to find open spots in the Garden to seed a few Radishes, Arugula and other quick crops. Radishes are ready in about 21 days, plenty of time to get them up and out before the larger veggies take over. Radishes can be seeded all through the season, every week or two. Just do not get too exhuberant! Only put out what you think you will eat in a week or two!

Vining Vegetables  and Fruit can be managed by pinching. I know it is a hard concept, and a harder thing to make yourself do, but it has a truly practical outcome: larger, more consistent fruit. Fewer but better is the idea here. So, once a cucumber has set three to four small fruits, pinch the vine off after the last one, about an inch past the fruit. Likewise, this is the method for Winter Squash, Grapes and Melons. Not so for Peas or String Beans! They need their vines to continue producing.

Planning, Prevention and Perseverance are the Virtues we need to be good Stewards of the Garden, and bring a slice of Heaven to Earth.

Contact me directly if you think I might be of service to you in your Heaven!

    Water your Garden deeply, my friends. Eat well of that which you grow, and sleep peacefully knowing that you are bringing a small piece of Heaven to earth!