Does this

cancel out this?

You see, I, um, kinda thought I had put better drainage holes into that thing last year.  I didn’t know it would do this until all our snow melted off.   But by golly, I’ve got the Mosquito Magnet Liberty Mosquito Trap MM3000. Yes sir!  And it has drastically cut down on our mosquitoes during the summer.  I love it!  Mine is even one that covers an acre {you’re welcome all my fine friendly neighbors!} but do you think it will be as effective if I’ve got my very own mosquito breeding ground?    Hmmm.  I’m thinking that barrel needs some better drainage, what do you think?

Ok, so I’ve been thinking a little more about this edible flower thing.  And come to think of it, I have eaten an edible flower before.  I’ve eaten Lavender!

Lavender is such a lovely fragrant plant with so many uses!   It is a featured ingredient in Herbes de Provence {which I’ve always purchased in the past but am determined to grow my own this year!}.  Here is how you make it:

Herbes de Provence

5 tablespoons dried thyme
3 tablespoons dried savory
2 tablespoons dried marjoram (or 1 tablespoon oregano)
5 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

I love my herbes de provence on pork and especially roasted  on those delicate baby red potatoes with a little olive oil and salt.  Yummy!  Of course I have also used it in homemade chicken noodle soup ~~I’ve even used it to flavor my homemade noodles for the soup with fabulous results!  I guess you could say I just adore this little herb combination!

Lavender is also lovely when used in sugar.  It adds such a intriguing taste to sugar cookies and it is super easy to do!

Lavender Sugar

Place dried lavender flowers into your sugar storage container.
Sift lavender out before using sugar.

Think of it as your secret ingredient.  It reminds me of this Hallmark holiday movie I watched once where the wife would give out her award winning recipe to people but always leave out her secret ingredient and no one could make the dish quite like hers.  Apparently the wife feels bad about it after she dies and has to come back to make things right with some of those people.   It was a cute movie and I think that was just a little side note in the movie, not the main theme of it, but thats what I think of when I think of Lavender Sugar Cookies.

So I think you should all go out and order some Lavender today!  Not only does it smell delicious and look pretty, but it is fun to use as well!

I have a knack for having a million projects going on at one time.  I’m still trying to help my brother out with a plan for his house, and my little sister in Georgia wants to somehow have a garden too even though she is in an apartment so stay tuned because I will be posting a bunch of ideas for her type of situation pretty soon.

AND I’m currently working on drawing up a proposal for my Homeowners Association for a community garden using about 18 acres that our HOA owns behind our community.  Currently it is just pasture that we have leased out to a local farmer for his cows.   The city has expressed interest in purchasing it for a soccer park or other type of park but a lot of our homeowners who back up to it aren’t too happy with the idea.

Here is where I need your help.  I would love to hear from anyone with actual experience with a community garden~whether that is just participating in one or actually running one.  What I want to do is present a complete proposal to the association with estimated costs to get it started, proposed design layouts, policies and procedures, solutions and ideas for water issues and proposed membership fees etc.  Please let me know what has worked for you, or things you think would work better that I should consider.

I think if I put together a nice looking community garden presentation they might like it.  I think visuals will be key so that people can visualize how it will look, so if you have pictures or can point to me to some lovely examples of  community gardens I would love that too.

I’m also open to suggestions on books or other resources I should check into. It’s an exciting project and the more prepared I go in, the better chance I’ve got to get it going.

Mimosas Lawn Ornament

Check these out!  They are so fun and stylish!  They could make a beautiful statement in any yard.  Grow some edible climbers up these and flank a gate, porch or steps for a dramatic statement or I can see these centered in a large square planter with other vegetables surrounding them.

Don’t they remind you of something fun and fanciful that you might see in the Queen of Hearts garden from Alice in Wonderland?  I gotta figure out where to put some of these.  Someone please use them!  They are just too fun!

Now comes the hard part for me.  I’ve never eaten a flower before and the truth is ~ to me, it feels really weird {and dare I say it, wrong?} to eat a flower!

Then there is the mother part of me that doesn’t want my kids to think that you can eat ALL flowers because some of them are poisonous, like daffodils or clematis {among many others}.  I can just picture it now ~ my little boy being rushed to the hospital because he was eating flowers out of the neighbors yards!  Eeek!

Then there is the issue of spraying/fertilizing with insecticides.  You have to be careful not to eat ones that have been treated.  And I hear that even the insecticides that are ok to use on fruits and vegetables may not be suitable to use on edible flowers because since there has never been any testing on edible flowers, we don’t know for sure whether or not it would be safe to eat.  So basically, if you are going to eat any flowers make sure they are your own flowers.  They are the only ones you will know for sure whether or not they have been treated.

And finally, you want to be careful especially if you have allergies.  I’m not sure it would be wise for me to ingest dandelions when if I just hold one in my hands my eyes get all itchy and swollen.  Yeah, I’m thinking eating one wouldn’t be a very good idea.  Since most people’s allergies are due to pollen sensitivities, if you are prone to allergies, hay fever or asthma you will want to be especially careful.  And irregardless of allergies or not, it is probably best to only introduce flowers one at a time and in small quantities into your diet.

So if you really are interested in learning more about these, I would definitely  check out a few books on edible flowers like, Edible Flowers: From garden to kitchen or Edible Flowers: Desserts & Drinks to learn how to use them.

Just because I’m advocating so much food production in as many places as you can find doesn’t mean you can’t have flowers too.  And I mean more flowers than just the buds on your veggies {though I think zucchini flowers are kinda pretty in their own special way} but I realize that isn’t going to satisfy most people who long for flowery  yards.

The truth is you can plant flowers.  Score!  And if you plant an edible flower ~ BONUS!  So here are a list of the edible flowers you can plant:

Now if this is something you are interested in, I would check out a few books on edible flowers like,Edible Flowers: From garden to kitchen or  Edible Flowers: Desserts & Drinks to learn how to use them.   Without books like these, I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea what to even do with an edible flower if I actually wanted to eat it.

So you see?  You really can have the best of both worlds!

Image via Wikipedia

Ahh, espaliers!   My favorite!  I think they  make your garden sing!  And they’re always great conversation starters.  Espaliers form living sculptures yet are slightly different than topiary sculptures because they form flat shapes rather than full 3d type shapes and objects.  Because they grow flat, they are great for growing fruits in small areas up walls and fences but can also be used as decorative freestanding fences, hedges or screens that help partition off spaces.

Espaliers are created using special pruning techniques  which I plan to cover more in depth later on.  Here are the espaliers I planted in my own yard last year along my fence.  I purchased large already started espaliers because I didn’t want to wait as long, but you can start your own from a small single cordon.

I love how they break up the monotony of my fence.  And the fence acts as a great backdrop making the espaliers a real stunning focal point!

I chose a variety of apple trees, but there are others you can choose from to espalier as well, like any of these:

You can also create the same sort of espalier effects with vines.  {Refresh your memory on edible climbers here}.

One of my local nurseries sells pre-started espaliers so check around and see what you can find.  Your local nurseries can also help you get single cordons to help you start your own if you are interested.  There are also places online that sell pre-started espaliers that I’m trying to gather up for you so you have as many resources as possible to choose from.

Making living sculptures out of plants is a lot of fun.  And espaliers are a stunning way to do it!

There’s nothing more lovely than an arbor covered in vines.  Even better when it is something edible that you can harvest.  It is the height of beauty and useful {edible} function!  Perhaps you have a fence that needs to be covered or have an arbor or trellis you would love to grow something on.  Then a climber that needs a little support from a structure would be an excellent choice.  You can use items such as:

Climbers can be lots of fun to play with.  And going vertical is a nice space saver.  Plus it will add lots of visual interest to your yard.  So check out  places like Gurney’s Seed and Nursery and Henry Fields Seed and Nursery for any of these listed above.  And don’t forget to check out fun things to grow them on.  In fact, maybe that’s a great idea for another post!

If you need a plant that covers a large area, or that can be tucked in among a rocky landscape, a low growing ground cover is what you want.  They are great used on slopes or underneath trees and bushes, you might even be able to replace part of a lawn with them if you wanted.

However, be sure you place them in areas where they won’t be walked on.  Chamomile is the only one from this list that can take a light amount of foot traffic.  So if you do place them in an area that you might need to walk through, place a few pavers or rocks that you can walk on amongst the ground cover.

Here are a list of edibles you can use as ground covers:

Luckily these are mostly pretty easy to find too at  places like Gurney’s Seed and Nursery and Henry Fields Seed and Nursery or your own local nurseries too.  And the more difficult ones to find I’m still working on finding for you.   Now go forth and pick and choose to suit your location {or tastebuds}!