Oh, What the Rain Brings!

I've been sick about losing my American Elm and a big part of that was thinking that  my tiny pet lawn...it's St. Augustine, would die because it's a shade grass.  Well, since the tree's been gone the other trees have stretched up and the past week of rain has left my lawn looking like a shag carpet from the 70's!  You can't even see the rock edging!  

 What is quite disturbing is this bird bath.  Before the rain it had a bunch of gunk on the bottom...now I'm worrying about the quality of the rain.  What on earth could scrub a concrete fixture clean...other than say...acid?  I'm not sure what to make of this.

 On the other hand, the plants seem to be thriving...this is my second flush of chili petin!

 And...I've never seen blooms on the asparagus fern before!

 And, it's grown right out of the top of the chiminea planter!

They say we got between 5-8 inches last week over several days...which was just so amazingly lovely and cool.  All of the plants in the garden said ahhhhh.  Today, I had to get out there and cover the greens garden back up...2 days without rain and full sun...everything was wilty.

Once again I missed the Garden Blogger's Bloom Day so I'll just put the list here...this is what's blooming right now in my yarden:

thyrallis

prairie verbena

blue mealy sage

purple trailing lantana

eggs n' butter

coral vine

butterfly bush

butterfly weed

red yucca

Patrick's abutilon

ice plant

David's cuphea

Autumn sage

Pride of Barbados

Greg's mistflower

shrimp plant

Mexican honeysuckle

asparagus fern

passionflower vine

datura (moonflower)

Turk's cap

purple cone flower

pigeon berry

tomato

sunflower

bulbine

silver cassia

plumbago

quince tree

crape myrtle
eggplant
orange esperanza
firecracker fern
rudbeckia
almond verbena
black and blue sage
chili petin
hymenoxis
rosemary

Post rain tally 39... a lot of this stuff wouldn't usually be blooming now.  The rain has been a blessing!

Happy Gardening!

Spice from the Earth

Last year I got out there and snatched up all the chili petin I could before the birds got them...they got some, and the next batch, but I got a nice little Bonne Maman jar full.  Well, I still have a little bit of that jar left, and here comes then next round.  That's the kind of figuring out that I like to do...just how much spice do we require here?

So, I got out and picked them again...because they were great and I figured out just how many little orbs would add just the right amount of flavor to a crock-pot of something or other, or an omelet or a casserole.  That number is the same as adding cloves of garlic...by the way.

 We've also grown Kung-Pao chillies which will become Kung-Pao chicken...or for me...tofu.

 This is a salad I made for an appetizer to take to friends the other day.  The purple hull beans were grown by my friend Lesley, here in the hood...and the onions, thyme, Swiss chard, basil, tomatoes and peppers were grown by me...Balsamic Vinaigrette,  EVOO, salt and pepper...came from the store.

 The precious cilantro is all gone...but not the tasty bright seed... coriander.

 It took a long time to separate and I don't even care about the little twigs...they all taste the same...this will last a year or so, the rest will get thrown into the yard and hopefully bring some lovely green next year, or the next.

 This weeks bounty.  Peaches that became cobbler, and lots of flavors that will last long into the winter.

Kung Pao!

It isn't all about pretty flowers and meaty tomatoes...we all need a little spice to get us through!

Happy Gardening!

Petin and Persimmons

Howdy! It's been awhile, and I had fully intended to write a "November Update" but a world of sickness this Autumn has sort of kicked me in the lungs and left me wheezing on the sofa watching the colors change from inside. Super spouse has been keeping the winter greens alive and mother nature has been doing her part...so, what am I good for?

Gathering peppers, chili petin.
I added 5 of these babies to some soup the other day and nearly burned my tongue out of my mouth! Jeebus. They are destined to become infused oils for "Festivus" gifts.

Looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree doesn't it? It's our sweet fuyu persimmon just before I relieved her of fruit.

First year's December bounty! We have 4 chili petin and one persimmon tree. My Mom made persimmon pudding for Thanksgiving from the local ones in Kansas, which are tiny by comparison, but very tasty. Mine are destined to be cut into Marinara sauce for spicy Northern Italian pasta dishes this winter. They are currently softening up in the kitchen.

Both of these plants are an excellent addition to your central Texas Garden. How ever you want to call your "bird pepper" petin or pequin...there is a difference you know, one being round vs. pear shaped, and orange vs. red...both come from the Family-Solanaceae, Genus-capiscum
both grow wild and often along fence lines, which is why they are commonly known as "bird-pepper," believing that they had to pass through a bird to germinate...which isn't true. But, if you have it in your garden and watch closely, you'll see that the birds fight over them! They are colorful and draught tolerant and mighty tasty! I've found some interesting suggestions: mash up a few and stir them into scrambled eggs, add 3-5 in your crock-pot with beans, torture foul mouthed children...while at the same time teaching them a valuable lesson,

don't eat red berries!

They rate 30,000 Scoville Units of heat and WILL bring tears to the eyes, so be sure to wear gloves when handling.

I also can't sing the praises of the fuyu enough! They are, as far as I know...fairly disease free and uber low maintenance! Some folks say they are the best fresh persimmon, but I prefer the cooked flavor with garlic and oregano...it's very complex and unique. Try it!

I guess, that's what I'm good for...bossing the family around and doing something with the stuff we grow!

Happy Gardening!