Another beautiful start to the day here in the Carondelet Garden. The flowers are looking quite lovely after a long day of weeding and dead-heading plants yesterday. The work continues and the joy is unceasing.
The garden is a never-ending journey, but the joy also never ends. Gardens are truly a gift. I am thankful for the time and opportunity to pursue this passion project. As I've gotten older, I'm slowly realizing (because I can be a bit of a slow learner) that the only way to show gratitude is to actually notice the gift before us: a flower, that perfect tomato, a young child, an older friend, a mild and sunny day or, perhaps, the perfect sunset. We live and move in our environment and oftentimes we fail to see the good and beautiful things that surround us. The very things that give us joy and grace. There are so many gifts to be discovered and memories simply waiting to be made. Joy and Grace surround us if we only take a moment to notice the gifts. It's a gorgeous day outside. I'm heading out soon to finish a few more chores. I'm also going to take a few moments to take in the beauty and notice the gifts of the garden on this mid-August day. Enjoy the journey today. You will be surprised how many things you've never really "seen" before. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.
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It is simply gorgeous out in the Carondelet Garden on this Ordinary Wednesday in August. Low 60s and low humidity combine for the perfect sunny walkabout. You would be hard-pressed to have a better weather day.
Yesterday we had the chance to visit our very own @mobotgarden to hear Jen Schamber from @greenscapegardens_stl talk about "Grow Your World: The Extended Season Gardener." A fun and informative talk with great demonstrations. She reminded us that GARDENING is verb. Planting is just the beginning. This is a journey and a process. She is right on as the journey is continuous here in the Carondelet Garden. I think my favorite takeaway was when she was talking about failure, she said "You never really know a plant until you kill it twice!" I laughed because it's so true! What a joy to have a treasure like @mobotgarden in our City. We have this amazing resource in our own backyard. Saint Louis is a great place with our own set of problems. We need to celebrate the good as we work to fix the bad. It's a beautiful day. A stunning, sunny morning to get out and work in the garden. I'm already planning my Extended Season Garden. What are your plans for this Fall? I'd love to hear your ideas. It's a good day for a good day. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It is a mostly cloudy morning here in the Carondelet Garden. It is quite lovely outside with much cooler temperatures this Tuesday. This is our Artemesia. A newer addition to our parterre garden. Looking quite lovely after the rains of this past weekend.
We finished canning about 60 pounds of tomatoes yesterday. We are finished and so are the tomatoes. We've already cleaned up the beds and will be putting some of the finishing touches and planting some green manure later this week. Today we are heading to @mobotgarden for a workshop on Fall planting. Always exciting to learn new things. It's a busy day for the old gardener. Here's to a good day filled with kindness for all. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It's a humid, sticky, overcast morning here in the Carondelet Garden on this mid-August Monday. Kind of yucky out there right now but the rain was welcome. We may get a bit more heavenly moisture this morning, but it doesn't look very likely right now.
It's going to be a busy day here in the cozy cottage in Carondelet. We finished harvesting the San Marzano tomatoes. The total appears to be about 125 pounds of tomatoes this year. Pretty good haul considering how many the critters took! No complaints, this is plenty. Today we are back on kitchen duty as we prepare to can more tomato sauce. Lots of work but well worth it in the end. Here's to starting the week off with a bang! Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you journey about. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. You can already tell it is going to be a hot and humid Friday here in the Carondelet Garden. It's already a bit sticky out there. The Coneflowers don't seem to mind. They are still hanging in there in the middle of August.
It's a busy day for the #supercoololdpeople in Carondelet. We are finished with the diaper drive and are heading out to deliver the booty. The back of our SUV is filled to the brim and we are happy to help. The day is starting and there is work to be done. I hope you have an amazing Friday. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It is a lovely morning here in the Carondelet Garden. The sun is shining, and the temperatures are pleasant for this Thursday in August. It is nice to see the sunshine this morning.
We have been cleaning the raised beds where the onions and garlic were growing. With the harvest in it is time to feed the soil. We have planted our 'green manure' this year and have gone with 'Red Clover.' It is incredibly fast to germinate and does a wonderful job of adding nutrients back into the soil. Such a wonderful way to replenish the soils over the rest of summer and into the Fall. Today I am visiting an old friend for lunch. Then we head out to pick up diapers for a diaper drive Dr. B is heading up. It's a good day to give back a little. Did you know that baby diapers and feminine hygiene products are taxed as luxury items in the State of Missouri? How incredibly cruel is that? We've written our state rep and senator to let them know how we feel. I can't believe it almost the middle of August already! I still have so much I want to accomplish this summer. My Dad was right, time does move faster the older you get. Time to get things going on this Thursday in Ordinary Time. Be good and be kind today. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It's a cloudy, overcast morning here in the Carondelet Garden. As I ventured out this morning to check on the slaughter of my heirloom tomatoes by the critters of the night, I discovered this little beautiful 'Big Rainbow' that was perfect. I actually harvested this tomato from this plant and I'm over the moon. It is a lovely thing to behold! The heirlooms took a beating from the critters, but it did give them a distraction from the 'San Marzano' tomatoes which are our sauce tomatoes and we've been gifted a bumper crop this year!
I don't know about you but the one of summer's greatest pleasures is a BLT with your own home-grown tomatoes and a beautiful basil Mayonnaise. As a southerner there really is no substitute for @dukes_mayonnaise. There is something special about the taste and with a bit of fresh basil as an extra kick of flavor. My mouth is already watering! Bring on lunch. The skies are cloudy, thunderstorms may be moving in this afternoon, the tomato is harvested, and lunch is already planned. Life is good here in South Saint Louis. I hope you get to enjoy the simple pleasures a bit today. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It's a bright, blue sky, sunshine filled morning here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis. The flowers in the parterre are looking great after the recent rains. The wonderful moisture from heaven filled with minerals and nitrogen perked everything up. Grace in moisture form.
The Habanero peppers are in, and yesterday's cooler temperatures gave us the opportunity to create our yearly batch of hot pepper sauce. It's a labor of love in the @carondeletkitchen and so worth it! We fool around with the recipe every year, but this year's really seemed to hit the spot. This is a fun time of year to be an urban gardener. A lot of things are happening. So many plants in full flower. The Mallos and Hibiscus seem to put out a new flower every day right now. Grace does seem to be the only fitting word! I hope you have day filled with a bit of unexpected grace today. It's beautiful outside. The temperatures are amazing for August in Saint Louis. Give yourself a little break and take a walk in a park or garden. Meditate a little. Pray a little. My guess is you'll feel better for it. It's exactly what I'm doing. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. It's a mostly cloudy morning here in the Carondelet Garden. The humidity is down, and the temperatures are in the low 70s. It's a nice reprieve from the earlier heat and the recent humidity. A lovely beginning to the day. I've even opened the windows for a bit of fresh air.
The 'Naked Ladies' or 'Surprise Lilies' have arrived here in the garden. I remember the first time I noticed these lovelies in the garden. I had never seen one before we moved here low those many years ago. Our wonderful neighbor, Marie, told me they were 'naked ladies.' I always loved how she said it with a twinkle in here eye and a bit of a hushed whisper. Marie was the matriarch of our little neighborhood. Her dad built our house and her house and many others around us. She lived in that house off and on for 100 years. She passed a few years ago at 107. Her memory lives on and on and on. It's good to remember sometimes. The people who have touched our lives and our hearts. Those who made a difference without ever really knowing how much they changed us. The people who start out as neighbors, become friends and ultimately chosen family. We are indeed lucky to have those memories and the current reality. It's a good day to remember. A good day to think about those special folks who are no longer with us. A good day to appreciate the 'Surprise Lilies' in our lives. It's a good day for a good day. The beginning of a good week. Take care of yourself and be kind. That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. As we like to say in South Saint Louis, walking outside is like getting slapped in the face by a hot washcloth! It is warm and muggy and humid and down-right yucky outside right now. The plants are loving this weather. The rains and the temperatures are really giving everything here in the garden a much-needed reprieve after the incredible heat wave of last week. Maybe more rain this weekend?
The San Marzano Tomatoes have come in hot and heavy these past few weeks and both freezers are full, and we can't freeze any more so today we "do the jars!" Dr. B has her canning stations setup and ready for the all-day tomato sauce festival that happens in the @carondeletkitchen every year. My job is to peel the tomatoes. It's hot work but I am, strangely, good at it. We have developed a delicate dance in our cozy cottage kitchen. Dr. B is a master cook and has this recipe down. She creates a "master" sauce that can then be combined with other ingredients at the time of preparation. It works beautifully and we love the touch of summer in January! What are you doing with your tomatoes? The harvest is huge this year here in the Carondelet Garden. The squirrels and other critters don't seem to like the San Marzanos. Thank goodness for that! It's a good day for a good day. Be good and kind to yourself and others as you travel about. It's time to "do the jars!" That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden. |
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