Gardening and cooking

Rainbow carrots from my garden

I was struck by a comment CEN made in response to a recent post: Growing Vegetables.

Among other interesting points, she wrote:
'It's hard to work up much of an interest in vegetable gardening if people don't cook or enjoy a variety of foods or have a curiosity about them-- economic reasons or no. If all people know is to microwave packaged stuff, what's the point of growing vegetables?'

Hmm, of course, she's right. But how could you resist these rainbow carrots?

Why spend any time growing vegetables unless you enjoy eating them, first and foremost?

Sharing and preserving the harvest, as well as the pleasure in gardening itself -- those things are nice, but vegetables and fruits almost nudge you towards harvesting them, no matter how much you might be enjoying their appearance.

Thomas Jefferson reportedly took great pleasure in his vegetable garden from an eater's perspective, focusing on vegetables as the primary part of his diet and waiting for the early peas, growing sesame for oil for his salads, planting fruit trees, etc. (My Esopus Spitzenburg apple sapling from Monticello's Center for Historic Plants is now planted in a sunny spot in the NC mountains, BTW).

A basic vegetable gardening 'rule' is: grow what you and your family like to eat.

I was a cook before I was a gardener, although I have fond childhood memories of picking wild blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and salmon berries. As a grad student in California, the abundance and diversity of produce available in local produce markets (eg. the Monterey Market) was eye-opening -- fresh mushrooms were a revelation to me at the time (late 70's, early 80's). Another revelation were the wonderful Hunan and Szechuan dishes produced by local restaurants.

My parents were neither cooks or gardeners, although they certainly were interested in fitness and health.

But I remember buying a book in those graduate school years about 'Growing Vegetables the Chinese Way' which showed beautiful raised beds of attractive well-maintained vegetables, similar to the one we saw many years later near Hoi An, Vietnam. This gardener was pleased to show us the results of his effort.


And I also bought a book by Rosalind Creasey, called 'Cooking from the Garden' -- a fabulous book describing different sorts of food gardens and the kind of vegetables that were grown in each. I still have both books. Creasey's books were instrumental in launching an edible gardening trend (micro as it may have been). And there are many more since then.

I read a recent piece in Eating Well by Ellen Ecker Ogden about how she founded Cook's Garden Seeds some years ago (which she sold recently to Ball Seed Company), and how she started providing recipes to encourage customers to try something new.

And a comment by a keen vegetable gardener who isn't the primary cook in his family has got me thinking about this, too. He said he'd like to learn to be a better cook so he could use more of what he grew.

There's a total connection between what I cook for dinner and what's in the garden in the primary growing season. Fresh brussel sprouts were the vegetable for today (thanks to Kathy and the walled veggie garden next to the visitor center). Fabulous.

Red Deer Stag Spotted.

It's been another grey day today. When I got home from town the house felt as cold as the outside. I felt really tired and chilly but I had to pour one more drum of oil into the tank and get some wood down from the shed. Not surprisingly the activity and the bright light levels (despite the grey skies), cheered me right up and I got on with some gardening. Pete went over to our neighbours to return their oil container and he came home with the news that there were some Red Deer stags further down the valley. Off I went clutching my camera to take some photos. One stag stood there quite calmly, despite the comings and goings at the stables. I was able to take lots of photos but the distance made most of them quite blurry. Apparently there were another 3 stags there somewhere out in the gorse on the hillside.

After being revitalised by my outdoor activities I had the energy to get on with my 500 sit ups which I manage to do 6 days a week. Instead of increasing the number of sit ups I've been increasing the difficulty and even include some crunches at the end so I still have goals to aim for.

We've still got plenty of logs in the shed so I've got a nice fire roaring away and warming the place up.

A last evening song

It's almost dark, and a mockingbird is still singing. Their song cycle is lovely, and now a familiar voice almost year-round.

It's an expectant time, songs and calls encouraged by longer days marking territories and prompting notice by potential mates. I saw a bluebird pair at the Garden yesterday morning investigating one of our nest boxes. It's not one of the most desirable, so I don't think they'll set up residence. But, it was fun to watch them ducking into the box in turn, seemingly trying to decide if THIS box might be suitable.

Fed Up Friday.

It's Friday and I'm so tired. I always look forward to Fridays as that's when I have a planned observation time to watch the children and take notes but that usually gets wiped out by something that needs finishing off or as today the teaching assistants going on a course and no cover provided. The afternoon is my PPA time and my expectations are always too high as to the amount of work I'll get done. Though I do have to say I appreciate being able to spend time with Chris the other reception teacher and being able to share ideas as well as plan. I've got Parents' Evenings on Monday and Tuesday and as all of my parents want to come along I'll have to run a third evening to fit them all in. It's only 10 mins per child but it soon adds up. I was the last one at school and I knew it was time to go home when I photocopied a blank piece of paper. Then I had almost got out of Barnstaple when I realised I'd left my camera in school. Quick 3 point turn and a race back to school to get there before the caretaker left as there is no way I could manage a weekend without my camera by my side. Finally got home through the low clouds to find the house all cold. Our oil company had let us down badly, despite being on a top up scheme where they drop in when they are in the area and top up the tank, and promising on Monday to be with us in a few days the nearest they could offer a delivery was the 6th of March. Not only does this mean no central heating but no rayburn in the kitchen which provides us with cooking, hot water and a warm kitchen, burns oil 24/7 and has awful air lock problems if the oil runs out. Peter told our regular oil company to take a running jump for providing such poor service, hadn't they noticed it had been rather cold recently? and we are getting a delivery from another firm on Monday. In the meantime out neighbour is letting us buy some of his oil but with Peter's bad hand that meant me climbing up a ladder and pouring buckets of oil into the tank, and I'll have to do another lot tomorrow. So now the rayburn is just ticking over, the house is cold and I stink of oil. Chocolate and bed I think.

An elegant wash basin

Wash basin is a good place to start when you’re trying to turn your bathroom into something elegant. Most bathrooms come with a sink/cabinet unit in which the sink and countertop are on a lower cabinet. For added elegance, however, you need to do away with this design. Instead, replace with either a double sink system with a long countertop and quality wooden cabinets, or alternatively, you can opt to forget the sink/cabinet combo system and opt for a free standing sink which simply has the basin on a stand. This look can run the gamut from ultra modern to French country, depending on design of the sink and the stand.

The National Trust

I've been fortunate to have had many excellent (if not downright wonderful) visits to National Trust properties in Southern England (U.K.) during two recent trips. I visited many other places, too, mostly gardens and nurseries, but especially enjoyed the Trust properties.

Preserving gardens, historic houses, natural areas, scenic coastlines, and other special places, The National Trust is a rough equivalent to the U.S. National Park Service, albeit with a different feel.

Harting Down

Receiving a member's magazine (as a Royal Oak member in the U.S.) a couple of days ago, I was reminded of what a very well-done publication it is, and the diversity of places that the Trust preserves.

As a Royal Oak passholder on recent trips, I visited many smaller places that I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise, from Harting Down, Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters (wonderful) to Bateman's (Rudyard Kipling's home), and Petworth House (in beautiful countryside).

Seven Sisters

I enjoyed poring over their maps and guides, too, reading the descriptions of all the places I could visit, if I'd had more time. I tried especially to visit natural areas, balancing my somewhat determined garden visiting.


I've been reminded of these places by working on an upcoming talk and revisiting some of these places through the images I took.

Babies, Babies, Babies.

The children were all very excited today as they knew Claire was bringing in Henry to see them. Claire gave an excellent 'Baby' talk to both of the Reception classes in the hall. Henry was a little under the weather so she didn't bathe him but after giving him a bottle (expressed) of milk she changed his nappy and dressed him in jeans and a t-shirt. Just recently another mum had brought in her baby for a 'baby' assembly. That baby had been a 2.5 lb prem baby and her first nappies had been just a few inches square. Our Headteacher had talked to the children about where the milk comes from and the consensus of opinion was from 'the lumpy bits' aka boobies or breasts.It was double baby day in our class as one of our mums had her baby, a third girl, yesterday morning. We were surprised to see her come to collect her daughter this afternoon with the new baby in a pram. Needless to say we all had to go and give our congratulations and have a little look.

I don't think the cleaner in my classroom was too happy with me today as our 'messy table' lived up to its name today. Following on from the pancakes I decided to mix some cornflour and water in the tuf spot, (a giant plastic tray), add some coloured glass blobs, plastic plates and glue spatulas and let the kids get on and have a good time. Which they did, making cakes and pancakes and lots of mess. Cornflour makes such a weird gloop. And we'll do the same tomorrow!

Tips for bathroom storage

Does your bathroom clean and tidy? Do you have doohickey for arrange your bathroom? If not, Let me you some advices and suggestions to you. There are so many itmes in the bathroom, towels, shampoo, soap, conditioner, shaving cream and so on. How to arrange them and make the bathroom looks clear?

First, you can try to fix a closet organizers.This is the common and effective way.Most bathrooms, regardless of their overall size, usually have a small closet for towels and others items built into them. Unfortunately, many of these closets are not designed in a manner in which there is a lot of organizational space.However, now, there are many different bathroom storage options available in the way of closet organizers.

Second,toilet shelving is a relatively popular method of creating space in small bathrooms. Just stand back and take a look at all that space that resides behind your toilet.

Third,you can purchase units that hang from the actual shower head, those that sit conveniently in the corner of the shower, or even hang them on the inner wall of the shower!

Beside, I have write an article "Do you make the best use of bathroom door? " ,that is another way to arrange the small bathroom.

Unique bathroom sink design

Do you have seen a bathroom sink like a artistic work ? The bathroom sink we saw usually a circular, square, rectangular,elliptic which are made of porcelain, marble or glass. But with the time of individuation comes, people like to purchase the unique decoration. like this lemon bathroom sink. It is made of commom material, but it's shape and color is a creative combination. It looks so cute and charming, I think most of female will like it.

Groundhog habitat

My gardening companion reported that he saw woodchuck holes galore along the railroad tracks behind our eye doctor's office this afternoon. The kudzu is leafless, so the burrows are visible. He said it reminded him of Matera (and the cave dwellings) in southern Italy.

Hmm, I'm sure that they're not that prominent, but I'll have to go look! He thinks they like the young kudzu shoots as they leaf out later in the spring. We'll see.

Is a glass sink suitable for you?

Glass sink looks more beautiful than porcelain maded.It is morden and with various of pattern and style that make your bathroom distinctive.Glass sinks are made of tempered glass. This is glass that has been heated to just below the melting point and then cooled at a very rapid pace to make it much stronger and more durable than regular glass. The small pebble size pieces are not sharp so there is no danger that you or a child will suffer a deep wound if the sink shatters, which highly unlikely anyway.

Glass sinks are most popular for bathroom sinks, but they can not be used for any sink in the house, including the kitchen and wet bar.Wet bar glass sinks are a particularly good option for homeowners who may be nervous about putting a trendy item in a traditional kitchen or bathroom. glass vessel sinks are continuing to rise in popularity and probably aren't going out of fashion any time soon. Interestingly, most sink trends start in upscale restaurants.

Though glass sink looks beautiful, you have to treat a glass sink with care.Quite often the reason that homeowners have had broken sinks or shower doors that were made of glass is that they were not installed properly.

You need to be careful when filling the sink with water, however. If the glass is really cold, then you should not run hot water into it until the glass has warmed up a bit. You can easily do this by gradually increasing the temperature of the water.

Cleaning a glass sink is actually a lot easier than cleaning one made of acrylic or stainless steel. You can use glass cleaner for cleaning the sink, just as you do for cleaning your windows. If you do have stubborn stains that will not come off easily, vinegar works well in taking these off.

Think about all above, you can make a decision whether to choose a glss sink for your bathroom.

Bathroom mirror is necessary

Mirror is not noly applied, but also decorational.Bathroom mirrors are an essential part of your home. No one can ever go outside a home without looking at their mirrorsThere are some advantage to fixing a mirror.First,It is convenient to dress up oneself after bathing.Second, a bathroom mirror can make a bathroom koos more large.The end, bathroom mirror is a good decoration for bathroom.

Like any other home furnishing, bathroom mirrors come in many forms, styles, and sizes.

Bathroom mirrors come in different forms and shapes. Rectangular mirrors for bathrooms with long and stretching vanities. The circular or round mirrors are also available for single-type bathrooms. Square, spherical, and many other shapes may also be forms of your mirrors.

Variety Of Bathroom Mirrors Mirrors also come in various designs. There are adjustable tilt mirrors and there framed or non-framed mirrors. Let us learn more about these types by reading the items found below.

Adjustable bathroom mirrors are very functional. You can face them at any direction you want. You can tilt them up, down, and on the sides. You can also let them face at different angles. Choosing these mirrors are important especially if you regularly wear make up. They are the most functional types of mirrors these days.

Today, there are many choices for traditional mirrors. You purely have to browse the internet for the assorted choices unfilled.

Mud On Road.

An uneventful day at school today. No tears or dramas, and the children were fine as well.

Signs have been placed on either side of the very muddy stretch of road that was causing the problems yesterday. The one on the other side is even more basic, just - MUD ON ROAD.

The skies were depressing grey all day today so even this tiny glimmer of pink and blue that appeared for 5 mins this evening was a welcome sight.

What fruits should we grow?

Amid the enjoyment of robins singing, and the general increase in morning bird activity, I've got vegetables and fruits on my mind. We had an excellent presentation last Saturday by our state peach expert, essentially telling us to grow the easy, no-spray fruits at home (many of which are native like blueberries, blackberries, paw-paws and persimmons), and leave the peaches, etc. that basically need life support (my words, not his) to the experts.

Not bad advice, at all, actually, although I continue to be hopeful that my Esopus Spitzenburg bare root transplant that's on its way (for our bit of mountain space) won't turn out to be a donation to Monticello. Esopus Spitzenburg was supposedly Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple, and surely he wasn't spraying on a weekly basis? But maybe he was using copper sulfate, and some of the organic materials recommended today for those of us unwise enough to attempt apples in the Eastern U.S.

We'll see!

Pancake Day.

We had a great time with all our Pancake Day activities in my class today. I even managed to find a simple activity on the Internet where they had to flip pancakes and then move the frying pan to catch the pancakes. I had wondered how well my class would behave with just one bowl being passed round the circle of 30 while they sieved , whisked and stirred but they were fairly well behaved. After a PE lesson where we substituted racquets and bean bags for frying pans and pancakes they were able to watch some of our own pancakes being skillfully flipped before eating the results with sugar and lemon. One little lad who is scarcely higher than my knee looked at the larger piece of pancake I had been given and told me that the smallest (ie himself) should have had the biggest piece ......... so that he could grow more!

I left school fairly early as I have a bit more to do on my e-profiles and was astounded to come across a traffic jam at Okewill where normally the roads is almost empty. There were 7 cars, a van, a tractor pulling a large trailer and a laden cattle lorry. Apart from the narrowness of the lane there was one steeper bit that was very slippery with mud , that the larger vehicles had difficulty going up and everything had to reverse back so the cattle lorry could get a good run up.

Growing vegetables

I had an interesting conversation today with a very experienced vegetable gardener. She grew up in a rural community in NC where seeds were saved and shared, vegetable gardening was a regular activity, and putting up vegetables was part of summer life. Her journeys have taken her to European cities (where she saw lots of vegetable gardening first-hand), to Detroit, where she helped organize a community garden, and now to Clemson as part of the Sustainable Ag Initiative and the Student Organic Farm. We share a love of vegetable gardening, clearly.

She was surprised to hear that SC Master Gardeners are now becoming enthusiastic about the idea of growing vegetables (when I started at the Garden 15 years ago, there were maybe 5 MG's in our local group of 60+ that I knew who grew vegetables). She thought that that was the point of the MG program (I wish!)

I've done several programs over the last year to different MG organizations in SC with a 'Creative Vegetable Gardening' theme. It's been definitely a 'new' interest. But I'm thinking this is only the beginning. I sent off a revised piece about vegetable gardening today for the SC Nursery and Landscape Association's publication -- the editor replied it was a 'hot topic'-- hooray!

I'm planning to be more focused on producing and storing vegetables for later use (I'm totally inspired by fellow gardening bloggers like Rob and Kathy), rather than just current consumption. It's sounding like fun at the moment, as well as tasty and nutritious.

Organizing the programmatic part of our Garden Fest in April this year, for the first time, I'm feeling a strong sense of community and interest in vegetable gardening, which is most welcome.

I didn't grow up in a family of gardeners, by any means, being a city kid, but my maternal grandmother was an excellent and keen gardener (by early necessity), and I was entranced by her berry patches, stores of home-canned beans and tomatoes, and preserves. And one set of my paternal grandparents were farmers, too, and a visit to their farm was a wonderful experience when I was maybe 8 years old.

Smoke Signals.

It's only the first day back and already it feels as if we've been in school forever. Only 5 weeks and 4 days to the Easter holiday. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job but we always seem to be working at such a pace and trying to keep track of so many things. All my children, except for 1 who is ill, have returned full of energy, too much in some cases and I've had to rein a few of the boys in. Tomorrow being Shrove Tuesday we just have to make pancakes. We're going to do this as a whole class, looking at the ingredients and everyone mixing them in turn. I couldn't face the logistics of 31 children safely watching the pancakes being fried so we will do PE while my teaching assistant cooks the pancakes and then we'll all taste the results. At least I'm not planning to do what a colleague once did, (though I was tempted), her children mixed the batter, then unknown to the children she microwaved some pancakes she had made at home. The children do do proper hands-on cooking but that's in small groups of 4 with 2 parents helping.

It's been bright and sunny today and the lengthening days mean no more driving to and from work in the dark. It looked as though there was going to be a spectacular sunset but just at the crucial moment a big grey cloud bank rolled in.

When I got home Romas was outside creating smoke signals with a bonfire he had built to burn the last of the brambles he'd been pulling up for me. He's a useful garden helper , being young and strong he can get so much of the heavy or back breaking work done for me. I don't mind paying for jobs done properly and willingly.

My bonfire/ bramble dump area is actually on my neighbour's land so I like to get stuff disposed of quickly rather than let it become an eyesore and give cause for complaint.

Last Day Of The Holiday.

The bright sunshine this morning was so inviting but after opening all the doors and windows in the house to let the fresh air blow through I had a good sort out of some cupboards.

Sadly the sunshine didn't last and the rest of the day was chilly and grey. Romas did stirling plumbing work up in the loft. He followed Peter's instructions to change a ball valve in another tank and sorted out out most immediate plumbing problem ie no water to our ensuite. It was messing with the plumbing that started Pete's hand off so he certainly can't do any hands on plumbing.

It's been lovely to have the week off. I'll have to remember to go to work tomorrow morning! I've enjoyed having some peace and have been able to get on with 'housewifely' jobs, the washing has all been done and now that the hens are laying I've even been baking my easy chocolate chunk cake.

Easy Chocolate Chunk Cake.

Ingredients.

4oz butter,

4oz sugar, (granulated is fine)

8oz self raising flour,

100gm chocolate, (I use supermarket value plain or milk chocolate)

4 eggs, (free range)

Method.

Soften butter, (a quick blast in the microwave).

Add sugar and eggs. (Warning, eggs from battery hens will cause your cake to spontaneously combust, and they're horrible and pale.)

Beat vigorously, (I use an electric hand mixer).

Throw in the flour and stir in, (no I don't bother to sift).

Chop up the chocolate ,add and mix in.

Grease a baking tin, (silicone cake tins are fantastic), and put mixture in tin.

Bake on a medium heat for 20-30 mins until done. Sorry but the Rayburn is very variable and I go with whatever heat it is giving me.

I did do a whole series of 'How to' photos but this is a really simple recipe that always works. It can be made with more chocolate or some of the flour replaced with cocoa powder to make double chocolate chunk cake. All variations go down well with my boys and their friends.

I did go up into the loft to have an initial scout around, there is so much stuff up there and I'm going to have to make a proper inventory. There is so much of my mother's art work as well as many boxes of china and glass and interesting items that she collected over the years. Nothing especially valuable but it will be hard to know what to do with it all. Oh well , step 1 get up there and start listing. I might even fing my lost folder of paperwork.

Hepatica americana

Hepatica americana

We saw the first Hepatica in flower this morning. It was expected; it's one of the first of our native woodland wildflowers to flower. We'd actually made a detour on our walk to see if flowers were open in a spot we knew and we weren't disappointed.

I checked for a post about seeing Hepatica last year (it was on February 29) -- I couldn't remember if I'd made one, but of course, I had. This is an image that my gardening companion took last year.

Hepatica flowers open in late morning and close at night. I love retelling the story about the entire lab group in Germany (where I studied after graduate school) making the trek to see the first Hepatica nobilis flowering in the snow.

A beloved symbol of spring in Northern Europe, I'm also reminded of the graceful Hepatica logo for an International Botanical Congress in Berlin years ago.

A Varied Day.

The window on the stairs is perfect for bird watching in comfort. Just about every time I go past there is something to note. This morning a pair of chaffinches were investigating the bird feeder. The female is not so brightly marked as the male but has her own subtle charm.

Romas and I went into town this morning to get various things done including getting a student travel pass so that I can buy cheaper train tickets for his travels in the coming year. Next month he has an interview at Lancaster University which is over 300 miles away so I'm sending him up by train. There's no direct train so he's going to Leicester first to stay with Vytas and then to Lancaster the next day. The train fares will still be nearly £100 ! but it is for his future. Barnstaple station is now the end of the line but before the Beeching cuts the trains went to Bideford, Braunton and Lynton.

Here's the tacky Tarka Line train. There have been a lot of complaints about this train which is an old city shuttle on a rickety chassis that rocks and sways and is not really suitable for the 45 mins journey to Exeter.

I was thinking that the station car park was looking a lot bigger since the new road system had been installed when I realised that a whole road and railway bridge that went from the blue car on the right up to the new road behind the brown wall had completely GONE.

Tonight the tv was showing a celebrity cookery-type show which was mildly amusing when Pete started reminiscing about Linda Lusardi who was on the show. He recalls, from his days in the advertising industry how genuinely nice she was and how they had a long conversation about how women's' stomachs should be rounded and not flat as the media now tries to make us now believe. This lead to another anecdote from the time when he worked in the evenings as a stage hand for Raymond's Follies (this was more for fun than the money). Pete was rushing round a corner, bumped into a set and knocked himself senseless. He came to with a bevy of 8 stark naked (apart from glitter), ladies bending over him asking if he was alright. "Oh yes !" he replied despite the lump on his head.

A Day At Home.

Woke up to a misty morning.

The sun came out later and it was quite mild. After spending the morning searching fruitlessly for 1 file which contains the last set of certificates I need I gave myself some time off to walk up the hill to collect the recycling box. It was so lovely to be out with the sun and a breeze on my arms that I continued down the road for a walk. There are still 3 piles of snow left and yes I took photos but I shan't be inflicting them on my blog readers.

Already the spring flowers are pushing their way up through the earth. This will be a stately clump of foxgloves growing under the hedge.

The wild garlic, or Ramsons, will soon be covering large stretches along the roads. It spreads quickly with its white flowers and garlic smell .

This is a wild arum, Lords-and-Ladies.

I walked as far as Ashelford Farm. When we moved here 15 years ago this was a derelict farm that had been empty for 20 years. It has since been renovated and extended and is not a working farm but a country home with fields. That is the way of many older properties here.



Speaking of old things- I was sorting through a chest of my mother's records and found this 1898 sixpenny edition of Alice Through The Looking Glass. It's in poor condition and I'd checked some years ago and found that it isn't especially valuable but I like the adverts that are printed in the front and back.

The day finished with a flaming red sky and now I have to drive into Barnstaple to collect Romas from the bus station.

Winter hardy cyclamens

I've always enjoyed cyclamens, especially as a Valentine's Day flower, but haven't seen any in their natural habitats. We'll have to visit Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, North Africa, etc. some day!

Florist cyclamens have always struck me as gorgeous, but difficult plants to keep indoors in the winter (they don't seem to like heat, drafts, or excessive water). But I knew about hardy cyclamens (we have patches of them in the Garden) -- they're C. hederifolium, although a relatively unassuming variety.

Lecce window boxes

So seeing beautiful window boxes full of cyclamens in Southern Italy this December was surprising. They were one of the most abundant winter 'bedding plants' -- and definitely striking and in colors ranging from red to white.

A question in a program yesterday (about winter interest in the garden) got me thinking about the hardiness of cyclamens, and what species the ones we saw in Italy were, and why we aren't using them here in the Southern U.S. (it was certainly cold in Southern Italy, although I'm not sure about how common frosts are, etc.) My program participant had seen them used extensively in Houston, Texas, which must have a few freezing days each year.

In poking around the vast library that the web represents, I learned that there are ~ 20 species of Cyclamen, which vary a good deal in their hardiness. And I just now noticed that C. hederifolium is found in native habitats in Apulia (the region where Lecce is located). C. hederifolium is apparently quite easy to grow, and is certainly a winter-hardy species here.

An addendum-- there are LOTS of C. hederifolium varieties, which are commonly grown throughout Europe, as this book excerpt suggests.

Paperwork.

Today the sun was shinning but I gamely spent the morning at my lap top organising paperwork for the first stages of registering as a teacher with the NZ authorities. I have to detail the hours worked in every teaching job I've ever had, and get official conformation as well as supplying other details from the dim and distant past such as the course content of my degree. Luckily I've kept most of that information, hopefully it's enough.

By the afternoon I managed to get out into the garden for some more leaf clearing. It sounds a bit sad to be spending so much effort clearing leaves but the scree garden loses its beauty if the stones are covered by dry or rotting leaves and they would only encourage the growth of weeds which otherwise are almost nonexistent. The sun and warmth are really encouraging the birds to sing from every tree and bush. There was one particular bird behind me that had an amazing repertoire, whistling, warbling, chirping and twittering. I spotted it up in a tree but it was too far away to identify by sight and I'm not that good with bird song, just the basics.

It sang heartily all the time I as out there. I could see it was too big to be a 'little brown bird' so not a warbler. I took plenty of photos and one of my blurry close ups confirmed that it was a song thrush. I had thought it might be a starling as they're very good mimics, but it wasn't.

I spent some time creeping up on the toads again and despite not being that sharp I quite like this picture with all its reflections.

Toads being toads.

No toads but reflections and the movement of the water make an interesting picture.

Peter's been at home today. he saw the doctor yesterday as his hand is still swollen and very painful. He was told not to drive, rest his hand and given stronger painkillers, a type which don't upset the digestion. Apparently these are standard on the continent but here (because of the cost ) the NHS restricts their use. He's already noticing some improvement and has been getting on with his OU work.

Kinds of bathroom sinks

Wash basin or bathroom sink is an essential part in the bathroom. Bathroom sinks are a crucial consideration; check them out in shapes and styles from unique to traditional in great finishes to complete your bathroom’s design. There are several kinds of wash basin, which is suitable for your bathroom and which do you like best? Now, let's learn about the detail.

Wall hung sinks can be found in most house in years past.The sinks fit onto the bathroom wall, and leave the space under the sink open and free.

Pedestal sinks: This sink can be found in home and some public place, such as restaurant and hotel. The most advantage of this pedestal sink is saving the space. So if the bathroom is not big enough that you can try to fit the pedestal sinks.In a larger bathroom, like a master bath or large hall bath, place two matching pedestal sinks next to each other for a designer look.

Undermount and self-rimming sinks:This sink is the mainstream in modern home. The undermount sink is mounted under the counter. This style makes wiping the counter top easier. Self-rimming sinks offer a more stylish look.

The vessel sink is a fairly new arrival on the bathroom scene. It is popular with the younth.Vessel sinks require a non standard faucet and waste drain system and are used in new construction or major bathroom renovation. The faucets for these sinks are either deck mounted on a pedestal or are wall mounted.

Next time, I will choose some beautiful photos for these kind of basin and sinks.

Choose a fashion shower curtain for your batroom

There are so many ways and choice for decorating bathroom, but the shower curtain is the necessary one.A fashion and special bathroom shower curtain is probably the quickest, design effective and most economical bathroom decoration goods.

The theme of the shower cutain
Modern or cute, classic or personalization? It is depend on your self.Are you going for a plain strong color, a lighter shade or a white bathroom shower curtain.

If your other bathroom accessories are plain maybe you want to be more flamboyant and choose a highly decorated curtain in the right shades of color.

Your shower curtain could be the main way that you introduce a strong vibrant color into your light and airy bathroom design.

Shower Curtain Materials
Polyester - cotton mixed material shower curtain that is washable, these really do make life so much easier.

Hacteria resistant shower curtain which is permanently treated with an antimicrobial agent to resist mildew, mold, odour and germs.

Keep in mind that:Whether you are going for fun or chic or maybe both so that you can have a change of ambiente.

Seed swaps

Seed swapping wasn't something I thought about until some months ago; giving away extra seeds, well yes, but swapping saved seeds in an organized fashion is definitely (major) fun, as well as being an important part of perpetuating vegetable varieties.

I came across this website about a seed-saving event in Toronto; hmm, if snowy climate places encourage seed swaps, why not us warmer climate folks?

There was a nice seed sharing booth at the Carolina Farm Stewardship's annual meeting last fall. We were invited to take samples of seeds (in small manila envelopes) to try -- what a great thing to offer up. I haven't saved seeds myself yet -- but it's an excellent thing to save open-pollinated varieties, many of which are 'pass-a-long' or heirloom varieties.


It's traditional (and vital) in most of the world to do so.

The Quiet Countryside ?

The daffodils on the stream bank have survived their snowy ordeal and add a splash of colour to the view from the window by the piano.
Meanwhile by the front door the luscious golden crocus (crocii?) , have started to appear. I have been completely on my own today as Romas left with Peter to catch the bus to Bude. It has been wonderfully peaceful and I feel that I have got a lot done - the morning on the laptop organising my planning for the next half-term, some tidying and cleaning and an hour or two out in the garden. It has been quite warm and the pond has been reverberating to the croaking of toads. If you creep up on them carefully you can see lots of splashing about but if one spots you they dive down to hide in the mud.

I was stealthily approaching the pond when Elwen decided to see what I was up to and scared the toads away. I just managed to take a photo of this one diving under the frogspawn. Later in the spring the toads start walking down to the lake and you have to clear them off the drive before you drive along it or there will be squished toads. The jackdaws must be starting to built their nests in the chimney as there were lots of squawks coming down the chimney as they argued over who gets the chimney and who has to make do with the loft. Early mornings the Barn Owls have started hooting up and down the valley. Who said the countryside was quiet ?

Seed potatoes

Hooray, my potatoes arrived today! It's way too early to plant them (I was definitely optimistic when I sowed the first round of greens last weekend).

But gardening is about expectation and hope and looking forward to potential harvests. And each season is different in what the weather brings.

These potatoes have arrived in time to be 'chitted' (that is, sprouted), before planting in early March.

I could have searched out seed potatoes at a local seed and feed place (not that I've ever seen any available), but it's much more exciting to get these from a family farm in Maine -- Wood Prairie Farm. I've grown potatoes for the last several years with seed potatoes from them and have been happy with their choices and enjoyed the harvest. I haven't grown enough to store in a root cellar (I need to create one), but have harvested enough for us to savor the diversity.