La Belle's Hobby Farm: When at First Your Seeds Fail, Transplant, Transplant, Transplant

It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark

so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you

in a reverie of suspended thought. 

~ James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane

E

ven the best laid plans of mice. . .or in this case, gardeners.

So far it looks like my seed starting days are numbered.  The tomatoes and broccoli that did come up are too spindly to transplant.  I think it’s time I started looking at greenhouse plans. (Cue the grumbling ~ now I know why Southern Living has a column by the Grumpy Gardener!)

But the seeds I direct sowed last week are coming up already!  When I got home from work, there was still just enough light to see my wee babes. Good thing I was alone ~ anyone stopping by right then would have thought I was a complete loon, praising my plants for their growing prowess and cooing over them as I watered and weeded. The pictures are a little dark, but I love the half light effect:



Cilantro



Basil - Sacred

And my other direct sow babies are also doing Momma proud:
 

Sugar Daddy Snap Peas - still no pea pods, but the greens are huge!


 

Lettuce - time to pick and eat!


 

Lavender - this one's a transplant from a farm in Leesburg, VA

One Picky Farm Babe

As for the starter seeds, I know when to admit defeat.  But Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and I need transplants if I’m going to have any tomatoes in June or early July.  What’s grumpy farm girl to do?!

Most gardeners would simply head out to their local nursery and pick up a few flats of plants and think no more about it.  But here at La Belle, we don’t just buy random plants.  I’m a firm believer in sustainable and organic farming, land conservation, heirloom seed preservation, and keeping our food supply GMO free.  The two most important items on that list are organic and GMO-free.  Which means I won’t just buy random plants ~ even if they’re labeled organic.  Buying GMO-free is my way of sticking it to commercial conglomerates like Monsanto.  Seriously, splicing pig DNA with corn?!

Ewwww.

Now back to my transplant dilemma.  There aren’t any organic, non-GMO nurseries near me.  (If you know of any, please let me know!)  So I Googled “organic, non-GMO plants for sale” and found a company that I had not come across when I bought my seeds: Sweet Corn Organic Nursery.  Not only do they fit the criteria, but they have a BOGO free deal going on and the most important thing: the plants would ship before May 27 (there were a couple other places that also ship organic, non-GMO plants, but they wouldn’t ship until after Memorial Day.)  I even called them to check on my order and when I said I wanted them by Friday, they called the shipping department to make sure my order goes out today.  Now that is customer service!  Thank you, Bryan!!

Let’s just say, I went a little crazy.  But in my defense, shipping was free and I didn’t buy plants for just my garden.  I bought plants to give away.  Otherwise, I’m going to be able to start a canning business with all the tomatoes I ordered. 

Now about those greenhouse plans. . . .

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Where do you buy your organic, non-GMO plants?

Top Five Friday: Herbals - To Tea or Not to Tea?

Ecstasy is a glass full of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth.
~ Alexander Puskin

C

ontinuing our celebration of National Iced Tea Month, today I offer up my five favorite herbal teas.

There is nothing more comforting than a cup of tea.  Add some homemade shortbread, a good book, and your favorite lounge-at-home outfit, and you’re set to soothe those commute/misbehaved kids/unfeeling partner/insert your downer here-shattered nerves!

Herbal teas are made from herbs (imagine that!) versus leaves of the Camellia sinensis.  So technically it isn’t tea, it’s a tisane, which Merriam-Webster defines as an infusion used as a beverage or for medicinal effects and which comes from the Latin ptisana ~ to crush barley.  And that is what is done here: the herbs are crushed to make “tea.”



Photo courtesy Desislava Vasileva



Just a reminder: if you are taking prescription meds, some herbs may interact or counteract them.  So read up on your herbs carefully before making a cuppa!  The Herb Companion is a great resource, as well as my mother of all go-to books ~ Nutritional Healing. 

Stomach Ease – Yogi Tea

Love this stuff!  It really does help ease a tummy ache ~ although if one has overindulged, a detox fast is your better bet!

Organic Chamomile with Lavender – Traditional Medicinals

It goes without saying that when putting something in your body, it is best to put in something that hasn’t had toxins sprayed all over it.  TM has great organic teas and this one is my favorite versions of chamomile.  Love the lavender scent! 

Allergy alert! If ragweed gives you the sniffles and makes your eyes weepy-red, give chamomile a pass.

Fairytale Tea

I cannot sing the praises of Mountain Rose Herbs enough.  I buy oils from them and have tried a few of their teas.  Haven’t been disappointed yet.  This tea is scrumptious!  My goal is to try all of them. 

Honeybush Vanilla Herb Tea

Note: I don’t know if this version is organic, but I believe Tazo does make an organic one.  Great flavor, pairs well with cream ~ or in my dairy-free world ~ coconut milk.  A calming tea to drink right before bedtime.

Lemongrass

Grate some fresh ginger in a pot of this and your sinuses will clear and your tummy will settle!

And now to put the kettle on!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What herbal teas do you enjoy? 

Top Five Friday: Flowering Shrubs

God made rainy days so gardeners could get housework done.

~ Author Unknown

Unless of course, the gardener is also a writer.  Rainy days are for writing and reading ~ ahem, I mean research.

Today marks the beginning of a new feature here at La Belle: Top Five Fridays.  Every Friday, I will showcase top five lists in the following arts categories: Food, Gardening, Writing, Music and the Visual Arts.

This week’s top five comes from my love of flowering shrubs.  I love these five show stoppers mostly for their vibrant colours and/or their spicy scents.  Flowering shrubs are a Godsend to the gardener: they not only provide colour, but structure as well.  And they bloom every year and need minimal care. 

All links will lead you to Nature Hills Garden Catalog.  I chose to link to them because they are an organic seed and plant catalog, but I have not actually purchased any plants from them as all the flowering shrubs I have were passed down to me.

Top Five Flowering Shrubs

Lilac

Photo Credit: M. D'Eigh

Ever since I was a little girl, the lilac has been my favorite flower.  If someone brings me a bouquet of lilacs, I know they really know me!  Their very scent heralds the onset of Spring.  Best advice I’ve received about lilacs: wait until they finish blooming and then prune them.  Pruning helps them produce more blooms the following year.



Photo Credit: Adam Hickmott



Hydrangea

These luscious, voluptuous blooms are the divas of the garden.  We currently have three mountainous shrubs on the northeast side of the house and they range from lavender to a rich violet-tinged blue.  They make a grand tabletop statement bunched in a large bowl or in a short vase.  Just make sure you get them in water pronto.  I waited too long once and only 3 of the 6 blooms perked back up when I finally placed them in water.  [Don’t ask.]



Peony

After the bold hydrangeas, I love peonies for their bright pink colour and mesmerizing scent.  Maybe mine are just quirky, but their heavy little heads are forever bowing and scrapping to some unseen garden royalty.  I come out in the morning, and there they are, dragging the ground in shame, bit of dirt between their petals.  I’ve tried peony brackets, but they simply love to bend to the ground.  If any gardeners out there have any advice, I’d be most grateful!  Bowing and scrapping notwithstanding, peonies make a wonderful addition to the garden.  And you can divide them and share with a fellow gardener.

Photo Credit: M. D'Eigh

Rhododendron

“Rhodies” are the back up singers in this band of diva-ish shrubs ~ but they give you a lot bang for you buck.  Ours live between the Hydrangeas and are also currently in the front of the house, facing southeast.  The shrubs which fast true east fare a little better than the one that faces more south.  Not sure why this is.  But we plan on re-planting them somewhere else and putting in boxwood.  As you can see from this picture, the blossoms are strong in colour, but delicate in shape.  Sadly, one big thunderstorm with heavy sheets of rain washed away all the rhodie blooms. 



Photo credit: Simon Howden

 Lavender

Silly me.  I always thought lavender was an herb, not a shrub.  But these little ladies can get pretty big!  And they bloom year after year.  Bees and butterflies love it ~ and so do I. Especially stuffed in little lacy pillows or in a container of homemade bath salts.  The lavender flower also makes a nice “bow” on a boxed gift. 

What are your top five flowering shrubs and why?

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela