The garden is making a statement today; everything is blooming fiery reds, oranges and yellows. This is a Joseph’s coat rose that’s growing up through an old wooden plant stand.
Milkweed
Red Salvia
Monthly Archives: January 2011
My Garden is on Fire
Posted by Lesley on January 30, 2011
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Farmers Market Fiesta
Posted by Lesley on January 29, 2011
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My two best girlfriends are on their way over, one from Miami and one with a bottle of tequila! The weather is gorgeous; it’s time for a fiesta. John, Luke, and I made it downtown before nine this morning, so the Downtown Farmers Market wasn’t packed yet – only bustling. My iTouch must have snapped this picture when I was standing in line at Worden’s stand, distracted by Luke…
…or standing with my eyes shut smelling the basil.
Either way, the ingredients captured went into my fiesta menu of Chicken Tostadas, mostly the salsa cruda.
The tostadas are zingy, crispy and fresh. Follow the link above for the full recipe. MIx the following ingredients for the salsa cruda:
- 2 ripe tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1/4 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Here are a few of the other things that caught my eye this morning…rosemary in a recycled can of Irish oatmeal…
???…
mermaids…
a paint bucket planter…
and the most enormous dog in all of Sarasota…
It may appear in the picture that this bigger-than-Clifford dog just ate Lukey, but don’t worry; it was no more than the standard dog handshake, the butt-sniff. It’s a good day for all of us!
Remembering the Challenger
Posted by Lesley on January 28, 2011
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The first headline I saw this morning was Challenger: 25 years later, a still painful wound. My memories are are still so vivid from that day that I wanted to share. Normally, my memory is terrible. But this day, 25 years ago, I could play back on my iTouch. Of course, I’d have to download the Hipstamatic app first to properly recreate 1986.
I was 10 years-old at the time, sitting in my elementary school classroom. My music teacher went to school with Christa McAuliffe. Maybe every school in America was as excited as we were, but it didn’t feel that way. We had a connection; our teacher knew her - the first schoolteacher in space. It was a special day. Banners and posters of enthusiasm and encouragement plastered the hallways. Televisions weren’t a classroom staple then, so three or four classes piled into each room. The chairs stretched out from the TV in the shape of a baseball diamond, all eyes focused on the screen. When the Challenger blew, there were no cries and no screams, just silence. No one could immediately comprehend what had happened. The teacher in front stammered something and that’s where my memory ends.
There aren’t hundreds of these days that become etched in our brains, maybe only a handful. What do you remember of that day? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
What is digging up my lawn???
Posted by Lesley on January 27, 2011
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OMG! Something went to town on our front lawn last night!
And I have no idea what or why. I’m never surprised when the compost square has been Swiss cheesed, but why the front yard? Raccoons and skunks will dig for grubs, but the ibis normally take care of them for the whole neighborhood. If they were animated by Pixar, the white ibis would be a menacing flock of birds running the streets, going lawn to lawn chomping on cute, comical grubs.
Regardless of the prey, I’m blaming the whole incident on the opossum we spotted last week.
Terrible picture, I know, but it was almost midnight. Opossums are nocturnal; he had the advantage. And he may feel like he’s playing on home court. There was another incident back in 2009 involving a pineapple and some scat. An opossum was spotted soon after.
Coincidence or clumsy possums? My guess is the latter; he just looks sneaky. And even if he isn’t, I’ve decided to blame everything on him anyway, “Hey John, can you believe that opossum forgot to water the plumbago last week?”
Organic Grocery Groupon
Posted by Lesley on January 26, 2011
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I recently downloaded the Groupon app to the sparkly new iPod Touch John bought me for Christmas…loving both – Groupon and the iTouch! If I had my camera with me right now, I would pull up the latest picture of bromeliads on my iTouch to take a picture of how beautiful it is. Gadgets make me digress…there’s a good groupon going today for organic groceries. For $15, you get $30 worth of organic groceries at Earth Origins Market. Never heard of Earth Origins Market? Me neither, but I have heard of The Granary. There are locations on Stickney Point and Beneva, and your Groupons will be accepted. Apparently, there are 12 organic stores that were always working together but will now all be operating under the same name, Earth Origins. If you live in Tampa, your Groupon would work at either Palm Harbor Natural Foods or Nature’s Finest Foods. You’ve got eight hours left to get in on the deal: Earth Origins Groupon
What I Have in Common with Miley Cyrus: Salvia
Posted by Lesley on January 24, 2011
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Salvia is back in the news today, and it made me realize that I have more in common with Disney princess Miley Cyrus than my own occasional Disney delusion. We both have a penchant for Salvia, albeit different species and for different reasons. Salvia divinorum makes Miley feel kind of funny and comes in a little baggie. Salvia coccinea and Salvia farinacea are planted firmly in my garden, and unless you’re a butterfly or a hummingbird, won’t get you high.
Salvia coccinea is a Florida native wildflower. It’s commonly known as red, scarlet, or tropical sage. Since it is a wildflower, this particular Salvia self-sows and spreads easily if left alone. Deadhead to avoid the spread and soon be rewarded with more blooms, which will inevitably attract more butterflies and hummingbirds.
Let the blooms go to seed, and you’ll have more plants, butterflies and hummingbirds the following year. You can let nature take its course or spread the seeds yourself. The plants will grow in sun or shade.
Salvia farinacea doesn’t self-sow the way Salvia coccanea does, but it is hardy. Annuals don’t always last, but this particular plant was started from seed three years ago and has remained stunning through every freeze since. When it gets a little leggy, prop it up with a small support to keep the blooms in prominent view. The flowers are as long-lasting as the petals are vibrant. Commonly known as Victoria Blue, this Salvia species blooms all winter.
My Cold, Organic Dilemma
Posted by Lesley on January 23, 2011
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The temperature has been in the fifties this weekend, which may seem like a crisp fall day to my former New Yorker self but to my new Floridian self; it’s f@#$ing cold! I couldn’t finish my spaghetti dinner the other night because my lips were too chapped. My fingers are slowly drying into lizard tails, and now I have no farm fresh vegetables until Wednesday. It was way too cold to leave my fuzzy pink bathrobe yesterday morning for the Downtown Farmers Market, and the wind was blowing too hard in the afternoon to make it over to Jessica’s Organic Farm. I counted on catching Jessica’s stand at the Siesta Key Farmers Market this morning but no stand, gasp! There was another produce stand with some tangelos from Orlando but nothing closer. The bromeliads were the highlight for me.
I ended up doing my grocery shopping at Publix, limiting the amount of produce I bought and bringing me to my next and final gripe of the day…why does one measley super market organic zucchini costs three times the price of a conventionally grown super market zucchini or an organic farmers market zucchini?
The label is peeling, but it reads $2.99; I’ve never paid more than $1.00 from a local farm and saw a 4-pack of conventionals for $1.79. Of course, there are packaging costs in a supermarket and higher production costs for a farm operating organically, yet other organic products aren’t triple the price. The organic blueberries were only $0.50 more than their conventional counterparts, and they’re about to change my whole point-of-view for the day…
Blueberries and homemade whipped cream…I’m happy again!
Cold Weather Manatee Viewing Center
Posted by Lesley on January 21, 2011
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Today was a gloomy, gloomy day. It had me thinking about the last real rainy day, which wasn’t too long ago – just this past Monday. My mom was still visiting, and we were determined to make the best of it. But as we drove North on I-75 and I wished for a higher speed on my windshield wipers, the skepticism set in…and this was the initial view from the parking lot.
My mother was draped in one of those cheap plastic ponchos that amusement parks sell for $10 when it rains; it wasn’t looking good. Then there was the canal but not one manatee as I craned my neck over the railing…uh oh. But we were soon directed down the path and through the mangroves. When we emerged, there they were. It was rainy, cold and absolutely spectacular. As we walked the observation deck, there were large black spots running along the right side toward the power plant. There were so many spots they darkened the water as a whole. Every spot was a manatee. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports, “More than 200 manatees make their winter home in the canal.” The canal is a discharge canal for the Tampa Electric Company; the manatees visit when the water in Tampa Bay dips under 68 degrees. We also spotted a school of stingrays and a few pelicans. As eye-catching as the sea life was, it was hard not to also stare at the towering power plant directly across the canal.
And even harder to get that old Simpson’s episode out of my head…
But as far as I could tell, there were no extra eyes on the manatees. And they seemed quite active and unbothered by the rain. There were backs, fins, and snouts surfacing as quickly as the rain drops were falling.
If you want to visit the Manatee Viewing Center, and I highly recommend that you do, hurry before the water warms. View Larger MapAnd by the way, it’s free! Although the hurricane simulator will cost you two dollars.
On a nice day, bring a picnic. There are plenty of tables. There’s also a visitor’s center with educational games and displays. For more information, call (813) 228-4289.
Orange-barred Sulphur Butterfly
Posted by Lesley on January 20, 2011
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I’ve seen several sulphurs in the garden since planting the Cassia tree; capturing a photo has been a completely different story. They’re frantic little things, never stopping long enough to capture them on film. Most of my photos look like this…
And for the most part, I’ve seen the more common yellow sulphurs, aka Cloudless sulphurs. But the universe gave me one this week and sent this spectacular Orange-barred sulphur to my butterfly garden.
Although it took about a dozen tries, this particular butterfly was kind enough to pose for at least three seconds so I could get the shot. Sulphurs are nothing like Monarchs. Monarch butterflies are complete hams!
Before you go to the Phillippi Farmhouse Market…
Posted by Lesley on January 18, 2011
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Check out their blog! It’s great for planning your grocery list ahead of time; I’ll be buying lettuce and snap peas from Geraldson Community Farm tomorrow. The blog has vendor information, entertainment line-ups, and menus. It’s also a place for vendors to announce any specials they’re running. Tomorrow’s special is 50 cents off per pound at Maggie’s Seafood, but get there early – it’s only available to the first fifteen customers.
And this mid-week market just keeps getting better! In addition to the blog, they have partnered with the Sarasota County Extension to offer free gardening classes from 12 – 1, January through April. Tomorrow’s class is Container Gardening. And what’s even better than taking a free class is taking said free class in a historic mansion overlooking a rose garden and Phillippi Creek. Built in 1916, the Edison Keith mansion is an Italian Renaissance-style beauty surrounded by a 60-acre park complete with a nature trail and playground.
