ONE TIME CHARLIE
I think I know why this plant was named ‘One Time Charlie’.
It produces many large clusters of tomatoes… ONCE and after a few ripen….the rest of the plant dies.
So what to do with all those green tomatoes??
Amish Green Tomato Relish!
time……
Where is the summer going? ………………… it’s almost August.
How did we get from here….
to here??
so fast!???? To say the Potager/ Kitchen Garden is keeping me busy…………..
would be an understatement!! Look what’s coming in……………
Spending all my time in the kitchen!!
THIS ‘N’ THAT
Two great ‘finds’ I want to share.
First, a great book on Hydrangeas.
Not a textbook of different cultivars and breeding crosses but one that addresses the basic questions about pruning, drying, cutting, planting , fertilizing etc. THE COLORFUL WORLD OF HYDRANGEAS by Joan Harrison deserves a space in every garden library.
Second, I just discovered the very best container for gathering fresh stems.
Three compartments…
and a comfortable carrying handle. Just one of the items available from http://www.arrangingsupplies.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AFY&Product_Code=321&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1
I found several useful items here, maybe you will too. Did you notice the lilies? ….These are Lilium rubrum.
A GRACIOUS GARDEN
Last week I mentioned my client the gracious Ms. C and her luxurious flower arrangements. Now lets take a look at her garden.
Like so many homes here in the piedmont, the house was set into a slope which began immediately past the brick patio.
High on one side… ( note patio in left corner)
drop off on the other.
While several talented designers had created plans for the landscape, it was not till Ms. C bought an antique fountain in England that serious consideration was given to getting the landscape ‘done’. Enter me.
Entertaining & a cutting garden were high on the list of priorities .
So, here is what we did.
We cut into the slope to bring it to grade with the patio, and we built decorative retaining walls ( stucco, same as the house). This would create a larger space for entertaining.
The soil that we excavated was then reused to create another garden room where the grade dropped off.
We then terraced the slope on the opposite side … 
to create an herb & cutting garden on the uppermost level.
Here there is just enough room to indulge her passion for gardening ,without it becoming overwhelming.
Below, a few more views…
I appreciate it when my clients maintain their gardens, this one was meticulous!
A gracious garden for a gracious lady. Thank you Ms. C.
THE BOTHY
For years I have wanted a greenhouse /potting shed /garden house/ conservatory… any structure in the garden to serve the above purposes would do. Not to be confused with a tool shed, we have one of those.
Over the years , what I had heard from clients who built any one of the above, is that they were expensive… One client calls hers “The Taj” another “The Potting Chateau” … you get the idea…
Then, I saw the structure Susanne Hudson built in her garden. Soon as I saw Susanne’s Folly, I knew mine was within reach.
Susanne is one of those Designers who can make something out of nothing!! She built this conservatory with found windows.
Same idea as what Bunny Williams did with windows & pilasters she rescued from a Hudson River estate. Below.
I had to work with what I had, the abandoned chicken coop (terrible story …. dogs chewing through wire… feathers everywhere…..heartbreaking!).
‘Thrown together’ by my husband and untrained labor when I was out of town (I’m apparently too ‘demanding’!) It was the focal point in the Potager! I don’t even have a photo and believe me…that’s a good thing!
Last week Susanne Hudson surprised me with a visit . As fate would have it, she had WINDOWS in her van and she left them for me!
Today I am 8 windows closer to completing my garden structure …. the BOTHY.
Edith Hope suggested the name when I posted a potting shed. She commented that it needed a tattered but comfortable armchair and tea making facilities. Then she would call it A BOTHY.
(A one room hut or cottage where unmarried male servants lodged… Also an unlocked shelter where the wayfarer could seek shelter.)
I’m almost there!
MORE LILIES!
Starring in the Cutting Garden now are lilies!!
Above, Lilium ‘Montreal’ and Lily
I love them with hydrangeas.
a few feathery branches of Kerria japonica and we are done. (not done yet!)
Several years ago, on a first consultation, I watched my perspective client pull together an arrangement on a grand scale in no time at all while we talked about her needs in regard to her ‘outdoor space’. I always try to emulate her. The arrangement was loose, natural & ‘happy’, the antithesis of Beverly Nichols’ ‘Our Rose’, famous for torturing stems into fantastical & outlandish shapes. I recently visited with the gracious Ms C. I will post her garden in the next few days.
Meanwhile…..harvest from the Potager…..
How fortuitous to have a coordinating bowl for Delicata squash!
© all photos 2011
HYDRANGEA, LILY, LILY……
Recently, Little Augury posted about Lilies. The Regale lilies in her garden, John Singer Sargent’s Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose, and Beverly Nichols’ love of Lilies. All favorites of mine.
Below, an interpretation with what I have in my garden now. Alas, no rose, no carnation, no children playing …. but Hydrangeas & Lilies in profusion.
Lilium ‘Touching’ above, supported by Oak leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). Below, solo, three stems in Tulip shaped vase . 
This Lily is best in the vase. The flower head is so heavy it breaks the stem.
A wonderful addition to the Cutting Garden.
MEANWHILE, in the Potager, Blueberries are coming in and Figs promise a bumper crop soon. The figs are ‘Brown Turkey’ & ‘Celeste’. Tune into LINDARAXA where my friend Julieta, will devise some recipes for all that comes in from the Potager.
© All photos 2011
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN / POTAGER
The Vegetable Garden, my POTAGER…is a dream come true. I wanted to go into the garden and bring in fresh organic vegetables, the best varieties of course, and turn them into delightful & healthy meals.
Although I am a fairly accomplished cook, I get overwhelmed when the harvest starts coming in. Time and again I turn to Julieta Cadenas’ blog LINDARAXA to find recipes to inspire me.
I am excited and honored to be teaming up with her. As the harvest comes in we will link to each others blog and, she will create recipes for all of us to enjoy.
Julieta is one knowledgeable lady, a former investment banker, lifelong food aficionado, great cook and a delightful & generous friend. Check out her blog, she writes about more than cooking.
So, as soon as I saw these in the garden…
I immediately went to LINDARAXA for inspiration. Soon my kitchen will be overrun with squash. and I want to be prepared.
Last year, for winter use, I roasted and froze some squash. This year I’ll do the same. They were wonderful ! I used them with scrambled eggs, I added them to a saute of onion garlic, red pepper, and some artichokes & served with pasta. But I need to ‘do’ something NEW, and as usual Julieta has some inspiring dishes. Here is Julieta’s Squash casserole .
Enjoy, my husband can’t wait for the squash to come in! Once again Julieta, thank you. You STAR in my kitchen!
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SHOCKING 2
I LOVE the Schiaparelli Bench!!
In context, with plants of like colour.
This garden space, which separates the “Pleasure Garden” or Viburnum Court from the Potager, has long given me grief. Originally it was conceived as a Rosemary Walk; a brick lined, grass path, planted on both sides with rosemary. Meant to make contact as one passes and release its glorious fragrance.
Alas, that failed miserably.. The soil here is heavy with clay, and although it has been well amended, it is still not light enough for a mediterranean herb. BUT it is perfect for Roses with Clematis as companions. I also allow some Cleome to seed itself….. Still under construction. …. A garden in Homage to Elsa Schiaparelli “that Italian artist who makes clothes!”- Coco Chanel
SHOCKING!
Think pink!
Shocking Pink!
Schiaparelli* Pink!
Same colour as the pink ‘Knockout Roses’ below…
BUT the main purpose was to detract from the mess weeds in that garden space. Distraction as a design tool? It works!
(Paint Behr 680B-5 Strawberry Freeze)
*Elsa Schiaperelli, provocative fashion designer, rival of Coco Chanel.
FATHER’S DAY GIFT
While trying to decide what to get my husband for Fathers day, someone brought this site to my attention. http://www.interflora.co.uk/category/fathers-day-gifts/
What a great idea! Instead of another wheelbarrow I could send my husband some fabulous gift that he could share with me!! I am thinking …
This great picnic hamper… we could share the wine, while we decide where to plant the David Austin Roses that are also available .
This is a gardeners dream! Also I am not too late to order!
I used to give my parents perfume for their anniversary… for my mom to wear & dad to enjoy the fragrance!!
BLACK POOLS
Black pools reflect the sky, clouds & trees.
There are NO reflections with turquoise…..
Which do you prefer?
© All photos 2011
FUN & GAMES
Chess anyone?
Come out to play!
Or perhaps you prefer to walk on water.
A garden is more than the sum of it’s plants. Have some fun!
© All photos 2011
HYDRANGEAS, HYDRANGEAS, EVERYWHERE!
In the summer, Hydrangeas form the backbone of the shade garden, they will carry the garden through the summer and keep my vases filled as well..
In The Circle of Friends, the camellias are now backdrop, and these beauties are showing their stuff.
Most Hydrangeas are rounded in form. From a distance they are indistinguishable… 
On closer inspection however……
many are quite distinctive, above Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Jogasaki’
The lacecap Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Lanarth White’ above.
Hydrangea quercifolia & Hydrangea macrophylla above. Although I do enjoy the delicate lacecap flowers, the big blue or white balls are certainly eye-catching in the landscape.
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