Sunday, October 13, 2013

Hydrangea, Peas and Garlic


Hydrangea
Originally uploaded by tony4carr

Many gardeners are preparing their gardens for future freezes and letting their gardens sleep in the cold months to come. Not my friends in the Southern Hemisphere of course.

And not me since I live in climate zone 8, where it rarely freezes.

So a few days ago I separated a huge garlic clove in to individual cloves, and planted the cloves pointed side up, in a 3 feet long by 6 inch wide container. The container provides good drainage and prevents our gourmet gophers from eating the tasty garlic.

We especially like the taste of the green leaves which look like chives, and have a light garlic taste. They are delicious in a salad or on a baked potato.

The other planting thing I did was plant Shelling Pea seeds for a hoped for late season crop of peas.

We gardeners live in hope, don't we?

We have room for a small hydrangea and I found a Bombshell Hydrangea in a local nursery. It is smaller than the typical hydrangeas which grow four to five feet tall, and the Bombshell is said to grow two feet tall, or no more than 3 feet tall. I planted it in a chicken wire gopher cage to keep the previously mentioned gophers from chewing up all the roots.

The bush I bought is dormant and because of that doesn't look appealing, and the gal who rang up the sale said "only a real gardener would buy a dormant plant like this one."

I smiled and told her "we gardeners are hopeful people, and I am a Christian, and we are also people of hope."

22 comments:

Mari said...

Lucky you to be planting right now. We are in zone 5, so all is going dormant.
I never heard of eating the leaves of garlic, but it sounds really tasty.
I really like your comparison of gardeners and Christians. Very true!

Wanda said...

Yes, we are hopeful, and people of hope... I love your answer to the clerk. A seed planted....

I cut my hydrangea back to the core a month ago because it looked really bad. Well when we got back from our trip...it's full of green leaves..yeah. This is the third time it's come back from nothing! I was hopefull....(smile)

Librarian said...

Hopefully, the gophers really won't get to the roots of the hydrangea. I am sure it will look beautiful when it'll be its time for blooming!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

"We gardeners are hopeful people". That is so true! We are also happier because we always have something to look forward to.

Anonymous said...

Amen! Gardeners appreciate grace, hope and new beginnings!

Unknown said...

Sounds great. I am a huge fan of the fresh taste of garlic. I use it in all of my dishes.

Art and Sand said...

As a very poor gardener, I always hope, but with my little puppy loving to dig, I am not planting anything new for awhile. Hopefully by spring she will have outgrown her bad habits.

Gail Dixon said...

I didn't know you could plant garlic like that! So nice to know. Hope your garden flourishes!

Emma Joy said...

I am so glad to hear you enjoy gardening AND that you are a Christian!

I am a Christian girl who blogs at:
http://www.babypinkroses.blogspot.com/

And would love for you to check out my blog and share it with others!

There are articles on a variety of topics like, "The Importance of Family", "Purity", "Marriage", "God's word", "Is Jesus the Only Way?", "Prayer", "Pretty Scenery", and "Women".

Thank you so much!

Buttercup said...

I'm not a gardener, but I'm hoping for your garlic, peas and hydrangea. Not much of a green thumb, but lots of hope.

Lynda said...

Good for you on planting. This is the first place we have lived where it is difficult to get things to grow - - - -lots of trees and bad soil - - even when top soil is added. Then deer, etc will come and eat anything good. It takes lots more time than I have right now - - - so the Farmers' Market is my good friend.

hensintheorchard.blogspot.com said...

How nice garlic and jacket potato.Thank you for sharing.Sarah

Angelsdoor * Penny said...

Hi Terra,
There is nothing than calms the soul as working in the earth.
I adore Hydrangeas, just can't grow them here. It is just too hot.
Thank you for visiting and your kind words.
fondly,
Penny

Friko said...

The essence of gardening is preparing for what comes in the future.

Although I am preparing for winter, even that is preparing for the new spring.

LV said...

Being raised on a farm, nothing better than fresh produce. It is a lot of hard work, but worth it.

Introverted Art said...

I can never plant anything. I kill plants... even a cactus once... I wish I had your talent.

Cranberry Morning said...

Zone EIGHT???! I'm in Zone 3-4. :-)

And yes, as Christ followers, we are people of HOPE and people with a FUTURE.

Thanks for stopping in at Cranberry Morning. So glad you enjoyed the fall photos of my neighborhood. :-)

Gattina said...

I have to admit that I rather prefer to sit in a nice garden then working in it. Garden work is not my thing at all !

Anonymous said...

our garden is waning but there is still lots to enjoy, especially all the mums. I need to pick up some onion sets to plant in a planter near the back door. It's so much fun to run out to the back deck for a salad onion. thank you for visiting and have a great weekend.

Linda said...

I am not talented when it comes to gardens, but I so enjoy them and appreciate other's gardens. I have never had a garden of my own. It is getting cold now in Montreal...will commence tomorrow.

a joyful noise said...

Like your plant that was dormant, God often must look at us and say, I see something beautiful in this little one.

Bonnie said...

Hi Terra,
'
I am having a great time going through your old post. Loving your garden blog. Thanks for visiting over at Country Home/City Home.