March 2, 2016 · 9:37 AM

Some links for gardening and thoughts…

 

Most gardeners and laypersons like everything tidy and neat. I am not one of those! I like to leave dead perennials in the garden through out the winter for interest and as a narrative to the passage of time. I have a pile of dead limbs in the far rear of my half-acre as a “wildlife” habitat. Some seasons birds will nest there. Other seasons snakes make it their home. I don’t mind the snakes as they eat the voles who do so much damage to my favorite plants. I only have to remember to make noise and move slow enough to allow them time to move away from me.

I come across so many links on the internet on gardening and nature ideas which I share on my Facebook or Instagram pages but thought I would write a post about them. Here are a few.

Building hotels for native bees and pollinators.

http://www.realfarmacy.com/build-bee-hotels-to-help-save-native-bees/

Check with you state park office for classes for nature and gardening:

http://www.ncparks.gov/

Your local Cooperative Extension is also a good source for education on gardening and nature:

https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/

Turn off the TV and get out and walk around downtown or have lunch in a public garden:

A few of my favorite in the Piedmont of North Carolina:

The Sarah P Duke Gardens at Duke University

http://gardens.duke.edu/

J C Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University

https://jcra.ncsu.edu/

The North Carolina Botanical Gardens at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Home

Most cities have a website for their downtown areas:

http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/districts

Attend an art event. They are usually free.

http://artsplosure.org/

North Carolina has a great web list of state-wide cultural events:

http://festivalsandevents.com/festival.php?state=NC

Take a cooking class:

http://www.surlatable.com/category/cat510419/Class+Locations

Check out my facebook or Instagram for more information and ideas:

https://www.facebook.com/Arthur-in-the-Garden-305353468606/

https://www.instagram.com/arthurinthegarden/

P.S. Write a journal.

🙂

 

 

 

 

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February 29, 2016 · 11:03 AM

Winterblooming Iris and Spring!

We are experiencing a few warm days up into the upper 60s which is encouraging Spring blooms early!

Daffodils



Crocus



Flowering quince


Winter flowering iris



And, of course, hellebores!

It was also the Winter open house at Plant Delights Nursery. They are a well known vendor of rare plants.  I purchased a few new ones for my collection!

http://www.plantdelights.com/

Our last killing frost is about mid-March so I am in planning stage for a spring vegetable garden!!!

Let’s Look at those winter flowering Iris’s again!

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February 15, 2016 · 10:40 AM

Winter garden clean-up and cooking something new.

It has been a few weeks since the snow storm. To us here in The Piedmont of North Carolina, a snow storm is almost two or three inches.

I cut down the Vivex bamboos which had broken and split. They average about 30 feet tall and 5 inches in diameter. I am sure I will find a use for them in the garden somewhere.



I haven’t shared a recipe for some time. I have wanted to make red curry with vegetables as it is my favorite. Here is my first attempt.

Asian vegetables in red curry and coconut milk

  • 2 bags frozen Asian/stir fry vegetables
  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • Red curry sauce
  • Can of water chestnuts
  • Fresh ginger and two cloves of garlic
  • A few mushrooms
  • A lime


1) heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat

2) cut a piece of the ginger about an half-an-inch thick, cut off the skin, and mince it and the garlic (and mushrooms, if using) Add them to the Dutch oven and stir around with a wooden spoon to coat with the oil and until they are heated and release their flavor and fragrance – about a minute.

3) add the two cans of coconut milk after shaking them vigorously in the can before opening to mix the coconut fat which has separated. Adjust the heat to high.

4) once the coconut milk reaches a rolling boil add the red curry sauce. You may add as much as you like. I added the entire bottle.

5) add the two bags of Asian vegetables and can of water chestnuts. Once it boils again the vegetables should have thawed and be heated thoroughly. Reduce the heat to simmer.

6) squeeze half the lime into the pot, cut the other half to garnish. Serve wth rice.


I also added a bag of frozen broccoli because I wanted more vegetables and I always have frozen broccoli in the freezer. The amount of red curry paste will affect the yellow color and hotness of the final sauce.

atb

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Filed under cooking, Food