Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! August 2024.
This month’s question: What are you planting, cutting, eating, enjoying from your garden? And why? If not from your garden, then from someone else’s! Is it the best ever, new to you or to be enchanted by?
Tynan Wyatt shared…
…Four cherry tomato seedlings are providing ample summer fare. The gladiolas and roses continue to keep the living room looking glamorous and smelling sweet. Some pink lemonade blueberries are an occasional treat enjoyed by all. Several other fruits are just around the corner of ripening!
Ida Rigby of 92064 corresponds…
…New this year in the vegetable garden are two plants from the Indigo tomato series, which I read about in the spring: Indigo Cherry Drops and Indigo Rose. They both ripen to a combination of black, red and orange. Only the Indigo Cherry Drops have ripened fully so far and they are tasty and succulent.
As far as what I am enjoying and, which enchants, first and foremost is the thirty-two-year-old Palo Verde Tree that out does itself in blooming every year.
There are the vignettes such as the gateway to the vegetable area with welded sculptures by my artist niece and the Chitalpas, which bloom all summer long.
The water lilies in the pond are enchanting and a cool relief from summer’s heat!
Dave Ericson, with the pseudonym, Secretgardenslm, wrote…
…Secrets that I like to share from Mentors that I have had in my life:
1. “There are as many living organisms in a handful of soil as there are people on the planet.” - Kathy Kellogg
Note - I really like the products that the company called “Texas Earth” has available.
2. “Plant a 50 cent plant in a 5 dollar hole.” - Dave Lannom (He was a professor at Cal Poly Pomona fifty-one years ago. The same year I got married to my childhood sweetheart.)
3. “Look for the good and praise it.”
Karen England of 92084 decided that…
…she’s really enjoying her many roses!
Besides making endless bowls of her “patented” (it’s not really patented but it should be!) Amb-ROSE-ia salad, she is drying rose petals for tea and making her “famous” (it’s not really famous but it should be!) Three Roses Vinegar.
There are so many foods and drinks that she makes with her over sixty, all organic rose bushes that she is contemplating writing her own Rose Cookery Book.
Here’s the Amb-ROSE-ia recipe that is in Karen’s chapter in the International Herb Association’s Rose ~Herb of the Year™ 2012 book.
“Here is my modern take on an old-fashioned fruit salad. I use all organic ingredients in this but, of course, you can make this with the ingredients you have as long as the roses are free of pesticides and fungicides.
Tip: If you insist on clipping off the white central tip of each petal, which is said to be bitter, do so by holding the whole rose blossom in one hand, twist out the stem and cut off all the white all at once with kitchen shears. However, you should know I never bother with this...
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 handful unsweetened dried coconut
1 handful dried tart cherries
2 or more fragrant red or pink edible roses, petals only
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks in 100% juice, separate juice from chunks and reserve
1 banana, peeled and sliced
1 “Honey Mandarin” orange or similar citrus, peeled and sectioned
1 handful organic marshmallows (Anyone growing marshmallow, Althaea officinalis? If so, I hope you are making marshmallows with it! Tangential note: Marshmallows these days are no longer made from the plant of the same name. Ones that are organic and vegan are made without gelatin as commercial marshmallows contain, instead use starches and other vegetative thickeners like carrageenan and agar-agar/kanten.) The Mallow Plant Gave Marshmallow Its Name (southernliving.com)
Directions:
In a medium serving bowl, soak the coconut, cherries and rose petals in the pineapple juice and chill for an hour or more (or less - for as long as you have). After the soaking time put the pineapple chunks, banana, mandarin and marshmallows in with the juice, cherries, roses and coconut.
I like to put the juice in the serving bowl and then add the coconut, cherries and rose petals. Then I top with the pineapple, mandarin and marshmallows but I don't mix the layers. I cover and chill. Later when I'm going to serve I add the banana and stir.
Stir and chill.
Here’s Karen’s method for making Three Roses Vinegar as seen on her Instagram @edgehillherbfarm
“Recently I made Three “Roses” Vinegar. I layered, cleaned and dried, using a salad spinner, rose petals from more than three varieties of roses; double delight, scentimental, garden party, first prize, and a bunch more… with rose scented geranium leaves and a few flowers and rosemary sprigs to the top of a clean jar (those are the three roses!). Next, I poured in red wine vinegar to fill the jar and cover all the herbs. This will steep for a bit before I will strain it into a fresh vinegar bottle for using.” Use it in any recipe calling for red wine or herbal vinegar. #herbalconcoctions #edgehillherbfarm #threerosesvinegar
Cathy Tylka of 92026 shares…
…Trichocereus 'Sun Goddess' is a chunky hybrid cactus with golden spines! This cactus boasts beautiful large white blooms and it flowers profusely for three to four months and is complemented by its striking green body.
Originally from South America, this captivating cactus is sure to bring some exotic flair to your outdoor space. It's hardy enough for zones 9-11. Although it can survive temperatures as low as 25 degrees, this cactus is also a relatively cold-hardy species, so it should, if possible, be protected from anything below 35 degrees.
The Sun Goddess cactus is easy to maintain and only needs a little watering and partial shade (bright, indirect) as it can tolerate low light. These plants favor a well-drained soil mix. In the winter, Sun Goddess Cactus frequently go dormant, and you might notice slower growth in that period. During this period, watering should be reduced.
But that's not all – it's also an extremely drought-tolerant species and requires minimum attention.
Sharing Secrets Question for next month:
Who, what, and/or why is something living in your garden? Is it wanted or unwanted and WHY?
Remember, all who answer the Sharing Secrets questions get their name thrown into a hopper to win a SD Hort logo hat every quarter!
Just like member Jim Booman, the most recent winner!
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