… I have seen some astounding things as I sit with coffee on the porch. Clearly we are easing into autumn. A bit brisk. I’m tempted to toss on a sweater but it’ll be hot before I know it. As I look around … the grouping of basil, swiss chard and sorrel is still lush in their containers, thriving, and I chuckle at myself as I say fiendishly, “I might eat you tonight!” The strawflowers with their orange-gold heads seem harbingers of the approaching season. I will try to save their seeds though saving seeds has never been my issue; it is remembering to plant them in the spring.
A white butterfly flits around me perhaps annoyed that I have come out. I take moments to reminisce but I also make plans for the day. A hawk circles overhead, just one, not a pair. In the neighbor’s yard, sunflowers sway. The neighbor’s garden is usually very ordered but the sunflowers are planted randomly, and only lately as I watched a family gathering did I realize he did it for his young grandchildren.
Well, alright, while I do enjoy the sounds – the wind rustling the tree leaves, the blue jay’s raucous cry, and even the more distant rumbles from the highway – I need to be on that highway making my way into work. Work has been a tether and not in a bad sense. So away with me. Good morning, world. Have a good day. 🙂
Hardneck garlic sown in a 2 x 2 small raised bed last autumn. Scapes harvested in the spring, and then finally the bulbs shoveled free early in the summer. Never learned the art of braiding things like this so the stalky bulbs sit in a big paper bag in the basement where I can easily fetch them. Tonight the garlic was used in a simple dish of sauteed baby zucchini drizzled at the end with a little sesame oil.
Quite tasty I have to say especially the unexpected charring because I, uhm, was in another room while the flame was up a tad high … but it all turned out gorgeously alright. I’m making this one again.
This past weekend I was energized, not to do what I needed to do necessarily, but what I wanted to do. I checked out cookbooks from the public library, ones with great photography and cultural history in addition to the recipes. I weeded the yard (one or two sections), I ordered seeds and such for things to plant this month and next in Zone 6 that will grow this fall and can be harvested after the early winter frost or indeed next year … like a new crop of garlic. We’ll see …
I’m actually having to wear a sweater as I sit on the porch this morning. It rained in the early hours though not enough based on the level of water in the birdbath. A gray day but still bright. A light that makes the white blooms luminous and the reds muted. Classical music wafts from the interior out here to me. As I look around I can see maybe one task for today out here, to properly plant the lemon verbena purchased this weekend.
The sorrel and sage I planted right away. Did a lot of deadheading this weekend and rearranging of chairs and small tables. Basically I reworked the accommodations that had been made for Steve’s wheelchair and long legs needing a significant turn radius to maneuver in and out of the house. So I made the sitting space tighter and more intimate and then clumped flowers, herbs and foliage for density. Then there’s some “white space” between the sitting area and the ramp. Nope haven’t removed the ramp yet. It’s actually convenient and it may prove useful if I need to roll some of the big pots into the house for overwintering.
The plants bordering the ramp are a bit chaotic if bright. Just playing around unprofessionally with color and height. I tend to buy what I can find in a moments notice, especially items on sale, and what I can ferry home by Uber or public transportation. I know that garden centers will deliver big pots/plants but I’m not ready for that investment. Maybe, for landscaping on the ground, in the spring. We’ll see.
So much of what evolved in this little garden space is a balance for my aesthetic desires and Steve’s strong interest in functionality and purpose. For instance he could appreciate the beauty of the strawflower and its biology … but they’re not edible and could a small tomato plant instead fit in that space? 🙂
We sure did have some interesting, ahem, conversations about edible flowers. You see, I bought several books on the subject. One day years ago I walked around the house and picked the petals of edible flowers, maybe a tulip and/or orchid. When Steve walked through the door, home for work, I just handed him the flowers and said, “Eat this.” He did and then raced for a sip of red wine (his go to medicinal when something tasted off) and then asked, “Why are you trying to kill me?” I held up the book. He threw up his arms. “Just because it’s edible doesn’t mean it tastes good!”
On this porch, our last one together, there are many culinary herbs. Of course, the basil, several pots, chives and oreganos, thymes, lavender and now the lemon verbena. I have to admit the chocolate mint is thriving and starting to smell better and better to me. There was a part of me soon after things happened where I considered just letting things go to seed and as things died I would simply clear the porch and not fill in … and then I could hear Steve’s voice. “Dear one, don’t be ridiculous.”
There is joy and well as tears in sitting on the porch whether quietly with a beverage or on the phone with friends as I juggle the phone and trying to put dirt in a pot. So far, so far, I have been able to make myself harvest something from the porch each evening for dinner. It is hard but can be fun to take a few moments to google how to use rosemary and oregano together and so on. When I shared with a friend at work about giving away the pinched basil because Steve was not here to make pesto, he said, “Understandable. And when you’re ready to make your own pesto, bring me some.” I agreed.
The morning began with coffee on the porch and then a bit of sprucing out there. The tomato and pepper plants are done so I pulled them and then some deadheading of the marigolds and picking dead blossoms from the petunias so that they will continue to bloom. I need to figure out what a late summer/autumn porch will look like. Then back inside I went.
With a Mary Berry cooking series playing in the background I’ve been moving around the house continuing the clean up. I used Steve’s pocket knife to break down some boxes for recycling. We had amassed a huge number of pillows. I threw them on the bed planning to sort them and decide which ones to keep, etc. And in doing so I found a stack of lambs wool used to cushion Steve’s increasingly sensitive skin. Holding the wool made me a bit teary. Everything I touch evokes a memory. And what I hear. Mary Berry is in Marrakesh at the moment I think cooking flat bread. It could be hard to capture Steve’s attention but he really enjoyed watching the cooking shows. I think in part because he just loved to learn. An earlier Steve would have taken that flat bread recipe and added his own special twist.
The lambswool could not prevent him from eventually getting bed sores one of which became deep and then infected. Between bouts with cancer and strokes over the years it became increasingly difficult for him to fight infections of any sort. I think when people would look at his paperwork they’d be surprised by how much of a fighter he truly was until the very end. When I sit on the porch in the mornings next to an empty chair, I do miss him … and I am increasingly glad he is no longer suffering. I am thankful that he chose to stay with me for as long as he could and that he was home.
On the porch there is a dipladenia plant growing like mad. In the before times I would have asked Steve to make a trellis and tie it up so that the plant would grow upwards instead of outwards. He liked purposeful activities like that. But now is now and I’m going to make the trellis. I have some branches I collected that I need to trim using Steve’s saw and some twine and … I’ve got bandages galore in case something slips. But before I do any of that I am going to take a moment to purposefully and mindfully make myself a simple breakfast and then make my way to a favorite gardening store before it gets too hot and keep Steve in my heart and thoughts so that I don’t go crazy with the credit card. 🙂
I must say that it is hard to eat these days. No worries. I’m not wasting away. My survival instinct is pretty strong and when I need to eat I most definitely track down some food. What seems to resonate most right now is intensity of flavor. I’ve been disappointed a few times of late when I order something spicy and it is not spicy to me. I’ve been reading how taste buds, as well as appetite, can be affected by grief/loss. Mostly I cope at present by thinking about food creatively. I look out on the porch and see what’s there. The basil I gifted but the jalepenos I’m using. And then there’s the hot and spicy oregano. I’m trying out a marinade of oregano, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and so on on some salmon tonight. We’ll see.
Given events of late I did not fertilize the tomatoes on the porch enough. Lots of foliage that smells wonderful but not much fruit. Just one ripe one so far and I decided today to purposefully slice and drizzle it with olive oil and white wine vinegar and some sea salt and black pepper. You see what I mean? Intense flavor. It was a lovely appetizer. And yes I know it was only one small tomato but the exercise I think helps to reawaken the taste buds.
Didn’t photograph the baked salmon but the portion I had was good. Needed more hot and spicy oregano and maybe some lemon. On the porch the pepper plant still flowers, there are tomatoes that are small and green and I will endeavor to give them a bit more love. Tarragon, rosemary, thyme and the various oreganos. As the summer season progresses I think there will be plenty of opportunities to be creative and stir the tastebuds … and still to gift on occasion. 🙂
… it is probably best to do some good weeding before hitting multiple nurseries in one day. Didn’t pick up much but what I did I love. Let’s see if I can keep the strawflowers alive.
I’m doing my best this morning to channel Steve as I pinch the basil. My first thought when I looked out on the porch this morning was, “What the hell am I going to do with all this basil?” I’m certainly not in the mood or mode to make pesto though he taught me well. Clearly the pots needed pinching, stems growing long and tall toward the sun. Some were beginning to feel firm to the touch, getting barky. No flowers yet so this was a good moment theoretically to dive right in.
The first time I watched Steve pinch basil … removing topmost shoots on the plant so that the plant redirects energy to growing bushier and increasing yield … I was horrified. I told him he was scalping the plant to within an inch of its life. He shook his head and said, matter of factly, “This works. You’ll see.” I did.
So this morning with cup of coffee by my side, I sat on the porch and pinched basil. I’ve decided to split the harvest in two. Soon I’ll make my way into work. I hope my two colleagues will be pleasantly surprised by their culinary gifts. Have a good day!
… there is no rhyme or reason to the gardening on the porch/patio. It is a riot of colors and styles.
Each morning I rise to peek out and see scattered dirt as the squirrels rise earlier then I do and begin their daily quest for food.
I’ve let the backyard go. The only that will be harvested from down on the ground will be garlic planted last fall. When I look down there is the afternoon light I can see many happy baby bunnies nibbling at all the weeds and things that are overgrown. I do appreciate the perennials that have come back and have no bunny-appeal.
While I do feel bad about the yard, I am glad about the porch. There’s an increasing number of patio-specific fruits and vegetables and its been fun learning about those. And, of course, of course, there is still room for plenty of basil for future pesto making.
… how the chocolate mint wound up in my cart or the strawberry mint. I’m beginning to think one should never go to a garden center when one is hungry. The challenge is that I am not a huge mint fan as I’ve grown older. I’m afraid that if the garden center had had ginger, cinnamon, orange and apple mints, as well, I would have come home with them too! Interesting thing about mint is that it is hardy. So what do I do with it? I think it was nostalgia that made me pick up the plants. Growing up in Virginia I remember wild mint growing and making some tea … after I washed the ants off the plants. Apparently these mints are great for flavoring desserts, teas and cocktails. Steve and I don’t do cocktails but friends and coworkers may be receiving some unexpected gifts. We’ll see. 🙂
… survived the initial bunny attack and is somewhat thriving. Maybe bunnies don’t like the taste of cucumbers.
The pansies survived the birds snipping off its flowers to decorate early Spring nests.
The potatoes are thriving in their bucket nestled amidst the weeds.
And the scapes are forming on the garlic. Not sure how much more will be planted on the ground this growing season but feeling good about what’s out there right now.
Words + Images 