A Wednesday Treat!

This just arrived in my mailbox!! I had to share it.. a special edition to Gardens East magazine.. I should have known it was coming, as I have an article in it on growing salad greens in containers.. but I wasn't sure when it would arrive. In my article, I detail how you can sow a bowl of tasty salad greens in anything from a recycled gutter to a vintage child's wagon to a regular pot. It's an easy to to enjoy gourmet greens from early spring until late autumn. If you get a chance, check it out! :)

Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville

After the big Garden Writers symposium in Indianapolis last month, we headed down to Kentucky for a few days. Louisville is a great city and a long time ago, we had the honour of spending a few years living there. One of our favourite spots has always been Lynn's Paradise Cafe, so we needed to go back to enjoy a huge Southern-style breakfast - hello cheese grits!! 

This is not a restaurant for the meek.. it's bold, tacky and incredibly fun! Plus, the food is amazing.. Enjoy the visual tour.. 

The bar at Lynn's Paradise Cafe

So much to see! 

I think I need a bedazzled tree in my dining room?

The ugly lamps from the annual 'Ugly Lamp' contest. I think that leg won!

Two pancakes bigger than my head!!

The biscuits.. ohh, the biscuits!!

Bacon-themed merchandise that everyone needs!

An easy way for Americans to pretend to be Canadian! :)

Me and Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Delicious!!

A Halifax Harvest Brunch - October 2nd

Coming up in just over a week (are we that close to October already?!) is a wonderful event - a Harvest Brunch with locally grown food prepared by Chef Craig Flinn of Chives Canadian Bistro.

Check out the info at left for more details, but it will take place on Sunday, October 2nd from 11:30 to 2 pm.

Sounds wonderful..

Another great blog..

I just added another great blog to my 'blog list' on this site.. check out http://www.smallkitchengarden.net/. The blogger behind it, and the author of the new book, 'Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too' will be on The Weekend Gardener today! Join me from 11 to 1 pm Atlantic time on News 95.7 FM.

The Indianapolis Slow Food Garden

It was a gorgeous, sunny day for our trip to the Wishard Slow Food Garden in downtown Indy. I was really looking forward to this tour and was not disappointed. Well, maybe a bit, as we only really had about 20 minutes to poke around and snap photos.. I could have used at least a solid hour. Nevertheless, I did my best and tried to capture some of the variety of veggies that were growing in this space.

We had  a lovely introduction to the garden by the organizer and she explained that one of the goals of the garden is to encourage people to eat local by growing your own, going to farmer's markets, become a member of a local CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture), and so on. They also have a sizable set of compost bins at the garden, as well as a windmill. I loved the fact that this highly productive (and pretty) space was actually set in the middle of a very urban area and I tried to capture that in my photos..

A lush succession planting of arugula.

So much kale in this garden! And here's my favourite - dinosaur kale! 

Some of the urban infrastructure in the background behind the corn.

Heavenly basil - so fragrant and 3-feet tall!

Sweet potato.. not a usual crop for me, so it was nice to see it in this plot.

Duly noted! And I took a LOT of photos!! :)

Just harvested.. ready for a food bank perhaps?

Purple okra.. so cool!! Again, not a typical Maritime veggie.

Broccoli sideshoots.. yum!

Soybeans - this is what my soybeans usually look like - before the deer eat them!

More beautiful kale. Seriously gorgeous.

Just a lovely garden.

A straw bale garden with a new seeding of salad greens. 

Garden Art in Indianapolis

When I attended the GWA Convention in Indianapolis last month, the 499 garden writers/tv/radio hosts and I were bused to various public and private gardens for a handful of tours. Two of my favourite spots were the Slow Food Garden (I'll post about this in the next day or so - fantastic!) and the Indianapolis Art Museum garden. Yet, no matter where we went, I loved snapping photos of the garden art and statuary. Here is a sampling of some of the pieces I encountered.

This handsome fellow was my favourite piece.

From whimsical to regal..

Where did her arm go!! :)

Cherubs

A statue in a private garden tucked among hundreds of hosta.

Another private garden. I loved this piece.

Oh Canada! In a sea of green, a lone maple leaf.

A very interesting garden that does a lot of weddings. Dozens of well-used candelabra scattered amongst the plants. Love it?  The garden writers had various opinions on this.. but it would be lovely in the evening..

A garden angel in the same 'wedding' garden.

Another view of the angel. So weathered.

Have you checked out the latest issue of Gardens East magazine?

I feel so lucky to write for Gardens East magazine.. Ever since they launched in the spring of 2010, I've had the privilege of meeting people from across the Maritimes and writing articles on their gorgeous gardens. This latest issue is no exception and I was inspired by the passion of retired principal, Wayne Trail who has transformed a suburban Moncton, NB property into a series of gardens inspired by his travels to the UK.

Also in the new issue, Canadian gardening great, Brian Minter talks spring flowering bulbs and the wonderful Larry Hodgson of Quebec spotlights wood anemones. (LOVE Larry!) Plus much more!! Also, Gardens East is now on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gardenseast?ref=ts&sk=wall

Back from Vacation!

Sorry for the silence, I was down in the US.. such a difference in weather! Of course, when I got home, it was evening, but I snuck up the garden anyway.. I carefully unlatched the netting at the gate and walked the pathways. It was clear the deer had been in - a lot. Yet, it was getting very dark, so I left and carefully re-secured the netting.

The next morning I went up again - and realized that the gate I so carefully secured was the only part of the deer netting still standing! The rest of the netting had been torn down while I was away - by deer? by Hurricane Irene? who knows.. no wonder the tomatoes are trampled and eaten.. the soybeans nibbled, carrots?? ha ha.. what carrots? Beans - nope, just a few left that were too high for the darn deer.

And the newly planted beds for fall and winter - deer prints crushing everything, the baby lettuces and carrots eaten. Only the spinach survived - and actually is thriving. I should know better then to go away in the midst of fall planting.. ah well.. there's still time for more salad greens for fall/winter, as well as radishes, so I will continue to sow..

There are some tomatoes left - not many, mind you - but a few. Here's some of the seed that the North Carolina Tomato Man, Craig sent me - Mexico Midget. They're just pea-sized, but have big tomato flavour. A great discovery..

Hope your gardens are bountiful! (and deer-free).. the next project - a new type of netting/fencing material for the deer - I think it will be an electric wire fence.. any suggestions??