Chard Gone Wild

Here I am standing next to our ancient two year old six feet tall chard plant. We dug up all our Rainbow chard plants except this one, which is now more than six feet tall.

I am five feet four and the chard towers above me, so this photo shows it is actually seven feet tall. We took this photo on June 15, 2012. Last night my husband picked a few leaves and cooked them, though they are a bit tough. Rainbow chard is also called Bright Lights chard, and the stems are red, yellow, fuchsia pink, and green.
We have 4 baby chards planted and may keep this old one as a sort of science experiment to answer the burning question, how long can chard live?
See the Buddha in the garden? I have Buddha in the vegetable patch and the Virgin Mary amongst the flowers. She is near a rose bush I call the Mary Rose. You can't see her or the roses in these photos, and I will post some photos of her again.
If you search my blog subjects list you can find photos of Mary and the beautiful pink Mary roses.
Can you see my garden is wild? The songbirds and skunks and possums love it here. Hey, it is all organic.

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful

101006-144626-Mysore-India
Originally uploaded by PnP!

Yes, my husband and I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movie and we think it is best appreciated in the theater, so you can absorb some of the atmosphere of India, the street scenes, the market stalls, the buildings.

I recommend this movie, with the main characters being in the over 60s in age set, and include Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy.

They are living on tights budgets in England and all receive brochures touting the magnificence of a hotel where British retirees will be pampered. The full name of the hotel is cute: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful. Trusting the brochure each character decides to move to India. The hotel is managed by a sweet optimistic young man, played by Dev Patel. He is enthusiastic in his belief that his hotel, woefully run down, will be renewed.

I won't say more, don't want to give away the plot.

Gondola on Wordless Wednesday

Gondola
Originally uploaded by Stoper

I love Venice though I have not been there and last night finished reading A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon, the mystery series set in Venice.
This is the sixth book in the series, and the first is Death in a Strange Country (as I recall).

Snow Peas

Snow Peas
Originally uploaded by amandabhslater
Do you love Snow Peas, which I also call Chinese Sugar Peas? These are the kind of peas where you eat the pods too since they are very tender.
I planted seeds yesterday, from Seeds of Change, which are Snow Pea, Sugar Pod Two.
They are a bush type so don't need a trellis or staking.
It takes 60 to 70 days to maturity from planting. I mostly eat them without cooking, plain or added to salads. If you are cooking stir fry, they are perfect for that dish, and need just a few minutes cooking time so they are still crisp, and not wilted.
We gardeners love to anticipate, don't we?

Violets, A Poem

Violets
Originally uploaded by Emily Barney
I love flowers and poems about flowers, and I hope you enjoy my post today about violets.
Do you have volunteer violets at your house? We have a lot of them, a carpet of violets along the alley where we keep our garbage and recycling bins.
I like it when the violets spread, and they don't need any care from me. Once in a while I water them.

"I love all things the season bring,

All buds that start, all birds that sing,

All leaves from white to jet,

All the sweet words that summer sends,

When she recalls her flowery friends,

But chief -- the violet.

by B.W. Procter, better known as Barry Cornwall, from his poem "The Violet."

Dancing Tree Girl

I like the joy this tree girl exudes.
I took this photo yesterday, and understand the crocheted dancer was a birthday gift from one friend to another, and it took five eight hour days of crocheting to complete this wild woman.
Garden whimsy improves our streets, our walks around town, and our gardens, don't you agree?

Painting of Italian Home

I won this delightful original oil painting of an Italian stone house and flowers, from the gracious Jennifer of J. Beaudet Studios J. Beaudet Studios

The colors are rich!
You could almost open a door and walk in.
This little beauty is 6 inches by 6 inches; Jennifer sells her paintings and prints at her Etsy shop, and the prices are refreshingly reasonable. She also has a real talent for painting flower bouquets, and portraits of women.
Drop by her blog and say hi from Terra.