Fall's Fading Blooms.

Today felt like autumn. A gray dreariness hung low in the sky. I waited for a bit of sun to peek through the clouds before I headed out to the garden with my camera for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by May Dreams Gardens. At 6 p.m., though, I decided that waiting any longer would mean that I'd need a flashlight to photograph the flowers. So out into the grayness I went, hoping to find a few blooms to share.

My bargain tropical hibiscus continue to add a splash of color to the front garden. At the low, low price of $5 for two, lovely huge hibiscus, how could I pass them up? Granted, I have greenhouses to tuck them into for the winter, otherwise they wouldn't be very happy in our zone 7b frosty temperatures. I love a good flowering bargain!

Yes, I'm once again singing the praises of fraise des bois. The plants are still covered in their darling little blooms, and even better--they're producing another nice showing of their incredibly sweet fruit. What's not to love about these little edible beauties? They are darling in a pot, plus they make a lovely, non-creeping boarder in shady beds. Truly, they will always be one of my favorite plants.

The Japanese anemones put on quite a show for the past month. Now, they're slowly winding down, with a few dozen blooms remaining. It's definitely time to thin and transplant these beauties.

If it's fall, then you know it's time for pansies and violas--hooray! Just as I'm beginning to feel blue about the lack of blooms in the garden, the cheerfulness of pansies erases my grumpiness. The violas found their home in the potager this weekend, but the many, many flats of pansies are anxiously awaiting the blister on my palm to heal so that they, too, can get tucked into their new garden home.

One of the best things about photographing the garden is that you never know what you might find, like this katydid hiding in the hardy hibiscus...

...or the praying mantis egg case on the lemon tree. We're anxiously awaiting our new beneficial arrivals to the garden.

Also surprising are the camellias. Years ago, I planted half a dozen camellias along the south side of the house, an area we rarely pass on our way to the forest or the kitchen garden. It's a shame, because the camellias are spectacular right now. We need to add something to the area to make it a destination instead of an after-thought. The blooms shouldn't be missed, but often I do.

 

I'm not typically a mum fan, but somehow it doesn't seem like fall without a few bursts of bright cheerfulness. The tired garden certainly benefits from the mums' overwhelming sunniness.

The microclimate by the pool garden continues to encourage blooms. The tea olives smell divine...

...the Encore azaleas provide a great burst of showy color...

...and the peach Drift roses burst with new blooms. 
 

The containers by the pool continue to send out new blooms. I keep searching for seeds from my favorite heirloom, snail flower. At $1 per seed, I'm hoping to harvest a few seeds for next year. Nothing yet, but I'm crossing my fingers.

The mandevilla seems to enjoy the cooler temperatures, which seems counter-intuitive to its nature. Soon, I'll be keeping a close eye on the weather for freeze warnings to make certain these babies and my other warm-natured plants are safely nestled into the greenhouses before it becomes too chilly.

Ah, the crazy viburnum. How can you not love a plant that blooms...and blooms...and blooms some more? What an incredible workhorse of a plant. We've trimmed and pruned, and still this shrub is heavy with blooms.
 

Talking about workhorses...holy marigolds! What began as a few plants tucked into the kitchen garden beds to repel pests turned into a sea of orange and red as the weather cooled. The butterflies and bees adore the blooms. I've never been a fan of marigolds, but how can you argue with a profusion of blooms like that? I may need to show marigolds more respect!
 

The herbs provide blooms for several pollinators. Tiny wasps and bees enjoy the basil flowers. Our basil struggled this summer. I think the enormous amounts of rain caused it to suffer from a fungus, although it's looking better now that it's cooler. Again, for a heat loving plant, I'm perplexed.

While I've cleared most of the kitchen garden beds for fall crops, I left the scarlet runner beans. The multicolored blooms add a bit of color to the beds, and the vines continue to produce.

For the first time, I found small red morning glory, a native wildflower, in the clearing near the river. 

I also don't recall finding goldenrod in previous years. This year, however, we have several patches of it, which I love.
 

Our heavy rains led to an amazing season for mushrooms. The shiitake logs are producing like mad. We ate delicious risotto ai funghi a few nights ago, and I'm frantically searching my cookbooks for more recipes that can include shiitakes. The mushroom logs are truly one of my greatest garden success stories. Growing mushrooms is so easy that I'm not sure why more people don't do it. Shiitakes and fraise des bois--I'm equally enamored. 

Tomorrow, I must finished planting the potager and work on the large kitchen garden. What are you planting in your fall garden? What's your favorite fall flower or vegetable?

Happy October Bloom Day to you!

XOXO ~

Julie

Fabulous Fraise des Bois.

Today, as I compiled a list of the garden and greenhouse chores to be done—pronto--I realized that it's already time to sow some seeds for next spring. It sounds crazy, I know. But somehow, it's already October. When did that happen? My favorite garden delight needs extra time to germinate and grow into lush plants so that we can enjoy its fruits next year.

My favorite garden delight? 

Fraise des bois.

Honestly, isn't it a delight to say the name? Fraise des bois. Just saying the words makes me feel worldly and culinarily chic, even if I'm schlepping around in my Bradley University sweatshirt.

Allow me my fantasy.

If you've visited here before, you've heard me extoll the virtues of fraise des bois. Peter laughs at my insistence at using the French phrase because, after all, they're just “strawberries of the woods.” In Switzerland, they're commonplace.

In our area, strawberries of the forest—at least, in our yard—are inedible. Trust me. We've tried them more than once, each time hoping for a bit of sweetness.

We always wind up with a mouthful of bitter, hard berries.

Unlike our nasty wild strawberries, fraise des bois are tiny delicacies. Imagine the sweetest strawberry, just picked from the field. Now, multiply that deliciousness by 10, and you'll understand my love affair with fraise des bois.

Not only are the fruits unpretentious bursts of tasty bliss, but the plants are workhorses in our shady garden.

Fraise des bois graces containers, borders perennial beds, lines the new shade garden I'm creating. With evergreen leaves, it provides a lush ground cover filled with tiny gems in red and yellow. 

Fraise des bois are well mannered. While traditional garden strawberries are quick to bully their way through beds, spilling over borders and crowding companion plants, fraise des bois are refined. They politely remain where planted, spreading by seed rather than runners, forming thicker clumps each year without invading the garden.

I like polite plants.

Even more, I like plants that flower continuously and produce delicious fruit from spring until the first hard freeze. And I love plants that tolerate shade and remain evergreen, at least in our zone 7b garden.

Noted as hardy in zones 4-7, fraise des bois is considered challenging to germinate. Although it does require a bit of time to germinate, typically sprouts appear in approximately two weeks. By starting the plants in the fall, I'm assured they will produce at least a small crop of fruit the first year in the garden.

A tradition...kids paint pots the first week of summer vacation. 

Kristen's fraise des bois is still going strong on October 10.

To enjoy fraise des bois, you need to grow your own. Honestly. Please dedicate at least a container to these garden gems, because you won't find them in stores. The fruit is highly perishable and must be used immediately after harvesting.

That is, use immediately if any berries remain after your short walk from garden to kitchen. The smell will tease you, tempting you to eat every last berry yourself.

Sharing is highly overrated, right?

Fraise des bois is a garden delight on its own—there's no recipe that can compete with the simple pleasure of fraise des bois, perhaps with a tad of crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

After all, simple is chic.

N'est-ce pas?

XO ~

Julie

P.S. I think Sammy ate too many fraise des bois...poor, lazy, chubby kitty.

November Roses. And Tasty Treats.

Next year, during the oppressive heat and humidity that epitomizes South Carolina's summer, I need to remember this week.

This is why I love South Carolina.

Gorgeous foliage...

...while pots of fraise des bois still bloom and produce fruit—even after a slight frost.

Is there anything better than the ultra-sweet taste of these tiny, unexpected berries?

Truly, although I'm late planting our fall crops in the potager, I know that the lettuce and greens will provide tasty meals throughout the winter with just a little attention and protection.

And finally, my long neglected roses...

My poor roses that were breathtaking in the spring, succumbed to Japanese beetles, heat, and my apathy during the summer...

...generously producing one last bouquet, their fragrance competing with the autumn spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples baking.

But, I fear, most of the remaining blooms will be gone before the next Garden Blogger Bloom Day.

Ah, but there are always pansies. And paperwhites! And amaryllis! And spring, in just a few months...sigh.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! Thank you to May Dreams Gardens for hosting!

XO ~

Julie

Spring Treats.

It's official. It's spring—tra la! 

The tulips are popping! The cherry trees are bursting! The peas are poking their little first leaves out of the soil!

I'm using too many exclamation marks!

I'm sorry, my northern friends—I know it's still chilly up in your part of the world. But, it's spring, and I know your hands are getting itchy...

...to play in the dirt. Ahhhh....

Now, we all know the rules...

No planting tender annuals until after the last frost date for your zone.

(Repeat after me: I will not plant too early, I will not plant too early.)

As tempting as it is, you'll be wasting your time and money by planting your garden full of gorgeous tomato babies and basil this weekend—if your last frost date is May 15. Here's the ultimate resource for when you can plant tender veggies and flowers in your zone.

It's hard. I know. You want to plant. You need to plant. You look at your forlorn, bare garden, and the tease of spring makes you crave soil under your nails. Soon, soon...just be patient.

OK, I'm also impatient. That's why I'm sharing the perfect project to give you a spring gardening fix.

It's easy.

It's quick.

It's pretty.

It's EDIBLE!

And you can plant it RIGHT NOW!

It's a Berry Ball.

Hmmm. That sounds a bit like a poorly organized southern cotillion.

Strawberries herald spring. They're one of the first fruits to show off their adorable little blooms, quickly followed by deliciousness. Who can resist that sweet, sun-warmed berry, picked fresh from the field?

Wait—who needs a field when you can grow them in a container right outside your front door? (That's where our berry balls currently reside.)

And what's a more perfect snack for the kids than strawberries dangling within reach—while they ride scooters in the driveway or climb trees? What's more refreshing than savoring a strawberry snack as you toil away in the garden? It's a perfect reward for your labor.

Plus, this is a really fun project to do with your kids.

Here's what you'll need:

• 12” round hanging container with removable coconut fiber liner.
• Organic potting soil.
• Scissors.
• 10-12 small strawberry plants, ever-bearing variety. 

First, remove the liner from the hanging basket.

Using scissors, make a total of six small, evenly spaced holes around the lower and mid portion of the liner circumference. (I staggered the height of the holes a bit.) Do not make the holes too large or your plants will fall through and soil will spill.

Next, take a strawberry plant and insert the plant into the hole. 

Carefully pull the flowers and stems through the hole to avoid breakage.  

(Holy cow. Where did all of those wrinkles come from?)

You can use standard strawberry varieties, or you can try something a little special--Fraise des Bois. These are tiny, trés sweet, adorable alpine strawberries that produce fruit all summer until the first hard frost. I grow both Red Wonder and Yellow Wonder varieties--and I think the yellow berries are even sweeter than the red.

Fill in the lower holes first.

Add soil to the liner to help support the roots. The plants will be hanging somewhat upside down.

Now, fill in the next tier of holes with strawberry plants. These plants' roots will be placed horizontally in the basket. Add additional soil to cover the roots, and firm the soil to prevent plants from slipping out of place.

It's time to move to the top--you know, the place where we normally plant flowers in hanging baskets. Place one plant in the top center of the basket and evenly space four additional strawberry plant along the edge of the basket. Add additional soil to cover the roots and firm it into place. These plants will fill in the top of the container and spill over the sides as they grow.

Next, retrieve the metal basket from your son...

...who turned it into the Death Star and declared war on the rebel strawberries.

Carefully, lift the liner with the soil and plants into the basket. Gently insert the plants through the metal design of the basket to ensure they hang freely. 

Untangle the chain from the hanging basket. (This was, in my experience, the hardest part of the entire project, because I somehow managed to twist the chain. Lovely.) Make certain the chain's placement won't break any of the plants.

Hang the basket in a spot that receives six to eight hours of sun. This is, normally, a pretty sunny location...just not at 9 p.m. when I finished both baskets. (Friday nights are very exciting around here.) Water well.

Remember, containers need consistent watering. Check your container daily—and when it's hot, you may need to water twice a day. A good rule of thumb is to insert your finger one inch into the soil. If it's moist, you're all set. If it's dry, water your babies. Strawberries, especially, need adequate water. (Hmmm. I guess that's a “rule of finger” instead of a “rule of thumb,” huh? HA! Sorry.)

Now, don't you feel better? A little garden therapy always helps chase away the winter blues. Soon, your strawberries will begin growing and spreading and filling in the gaps so that your container will be one, big blooming ball...and your pretty little flowers will turn into delicious, tasty treats.

Mmmm...are they ready yet?

Enjoy!

XO ~

Julie