It's that time of year again. Snippety, snippety, snip, snip, SNIP!
The dandelion in the middle of the chives has been mocking me for years.
It is gone, now.
I feel better.
I wouldn't mind a lawnful of dandelions, though. Instant salad and wine. The best thing about a long ago relationship was the lawn of his father's house, in the countryside of France, near Geneva. Full of dandelions, dead nettle, salad burnet and thyme.
The chives have now been divided and live back in the coal scuttle with new potting soil, and in smaller, terra cotta pot. I have not tasted them yet. A couple more weeks.
My chives are coming back from last year! I planted them last year for the first time in a raised bed. I didn't know that they come back every year (I'm in VA). The sage is still there too but looking a bit ratty. Should I trim it back or maybe wait until it looks a little healthier? The rosemary didn't winter well this year. I might have to replace both plants. I think rosemary and thyme are my favorites. I certainly cook with them a lot.
ReplyDeletegive Esterbo a kiss and a cuddle...oh, and the smoothman too ;-)
Marie - Spring is here and it turns out that I've found my own little plot of dirt to turn into a garden. It's in Fort Greene, so I'll be moving from around the corner in June...but you'll be my connection back to what will always be my entry point into Brooklyn and New York City. Given your experience, I thought I'd ask you for recommendations. For the 17 years I lived in California, I relied on my "Sunset Western Gardens" book as the guide for gardening out there. Is there a good equivalent here? I'm terrified I'll buy plants based on my California instincts only to have them all only last the summer. Any advice would be useful. And continue to inspire and delight. Cuz you do.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Russ!
DeleteAnd thank you...
Even though we never met I am sorry to be losing you as a neighbour - I love knowing who is in the hood...
Books - I have no first hand experience of these, but:
The American Horticultural Society's:
http://www.amazon.com/Northeast-SmartGarden-Regional-Guides-Pelczar/dp/0789494957
There's actually another Sunset for you: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/907255.Sunset_Northeastern_Garden_Book
I learned fastest, when I was new here, by studying local nursery catalogues and watching the plants come in, when I worked at a nursery which had a really good plant buyer. I still love Glover Perennials' catalogue - it's my go-to source for plants :-)
What's up with the spacing - wasn't me!
DeleteYou might also point Russ to appropriate "natural" gardens - i am thinking Highline but am sure there are better examples - to see what grows healthily without a lot of work. When i am considering new things here, i check the nearby botanical garden to see if they have it. They dont waste much space on fragile stuff - at least not outside.
DeleteYes...thank you, webb. I think you should take over my blog. You're better at it.
DeleteUhhh. Russ? Check out the Battery Conservatory, the High Line, and...the Central Park Conservatory Garden! :-)
And the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, I assume. Haven't been yet, but happy that I'm moving closer. Thanks for all the great advice. Still consider me a neighbor...just one a little further away.
DeleteHow satisfying. I divided my strawberries a few weeks ago-- uncrowded them from their window boxes and then gave a few away, planted others in other boxes, and then recrowded them via planting nasturtium seeds in between and a few achimenes rhizomes. I also sunk in a heliotrope in a larger space. I know, I am hopeless.
ReplyDeleteNot hopeless.
DeleteHopeful.
I grow garlic chives. Originally in one pot, they flung themselves in a fecund frenzy into several adjacent pots. I am struggling to keep them in bounds by eating as many as I can. Garlic chive smoothies? Marie, I cooked dandelion greens for the first time recently. Organic. Sauteed in butter and olive oil with. . . Garlic chives! Absofrigginlutely wonderful!
ReplyDelete