My Garden Today

My garden today is a place of pretty spring blossoms and hopes for a bountiful summer harvest. The garden has been a busy place. Now that the summer garden has been planted, I am hoping to find the time to get back into blogging. To my friend Kitty, thank you for the email push I needed to write a post! It means the world to me to know you missed my little blog. For now, here is an update on the garden.

This is the view from our deck and our den. To the left is the vegetable garden and straight ahead through the black arbor is my new little resting garden. I call it a resting garden because my vision for it includes an overgrown tangle of plants creating a private sitting area where I can escape in the shade. 

The little garden is coming along nicely. This area was cleared, and I started planting in October 2015. 

Oct. 2015, when the fences were placed. Those potted papaya plants in the photo are where the bird bath currently sits.

It has been an ongoing project since that time.You can read about the process of rejuvenating the area here.

Stepping stones lead to an iron bench which is tucked under the duranta and pink rose.  Finally I have place to sit and rest in the shade while working in the garden! I just love the birdbath that my son gave to me. The birds love it too, and if I sit still they will bathe with me sitting a few feet away. 

The fragrance from this pink rose is divine; classic old rose at it's best. Unfortunately I don't know the name. The duranta has a rich chocolate aroma which I also love, so sitting there tucked under the two plants is delightful.

Choosing a rose for the black arbor was not easy but I finally chose this bright beauty called Joseph's Coat. As the name implies, this is a rose of many colors. Red buds open to bright orange roses with yellow centers. 

Did I say they were bright? Let me show you.

Here is a more yellow rose from the same plant. 

The Romanesco zucchini is planted in this part of the garden because it has room here to spread.

Our little guava tree is growing well. I noticed small blossoms starting to form on it. See it growing to the left of the arbor?

Along the front fence, the purple alstroemeria and pansies look so pretty with the yellow flowers.

Toward the back are the fruit trees. They were planted as bare root trees in Feb. 2015. The dwarf nectarine reminds me of Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. Under all those leaves are three nectarines. Woo Hoo! I will cherish those little guys and hope for more as the tree matures.

The semi-dwarf Santa Rosa plum put on lots of growth last summer and was loaded with fruit until a bad wind storm knocked them to the ground. It looks like we will still have a few. 

I spy Bessie May, my sidekick.

One exciting idea I have for the space will have to wait until I have some strong manpower around to help. We have a claw foot tub in storage that the previous owners painted pink. As crazy as that sounds, the color will be perfect! It has a special place waiting for it in the garden where it will be a fountain and soaking tub.

Disgusting picture, I realize....but it will clean up nicely.

This post is getting long, so an update of the vegetable garden will have to wait. I can't leave you with that ugly picture in your head, so here are some pretty photos I took of the resting garden.

The view from my bench. Breathe in....breathe out....repeat.

My Favorite Varieties - 2015 Summer Garden

Romanesco zucchini

Variety is the spice of life, right? With that in mind, I thought I would share with you my favorite varieties from our summer garden. I tried several new varieties this year and many of them were hits! Maybe you will find something new to try next year.

I think the most shocking winner for me was the Romaneso zucchini. I am not a lover of zucchini, but this type has won me over with its delicately crisp texture and sweet flavor. Everyone who tried it said the same thing, "This is the best zucchini I've ever tasted." With raised longitudinal ridges, it creates beautiful gear-shaped slices. I love it lightly sauteed in butter and sprinkled with tarragon.

The tomatoes always steal the show in the summer garden. I grew 12 varieties and my favorite was Black Krim. This is a hearty, robust, flavorful tomato.

Black Krim tomato

One look at the deep color and you can just imagine the rich complex flavor. It tastes how it looks.

Black Krim tomato

Pineapple Hawaiian tomato is light and fruity. This was my most prolific grower. The fruit is incredibly sweet, and when the sun hits it the bright orange color glows. It has a pink blush at the bottom too, making it even prettier.

Pineapple Hawaiian tomato

Pineapple Hawaiian tomato

What a treat it was to share my Black Krim and Pineapple Hawaiian with my dear friend, Jane, on our little get away to Ventura Beach. This is why we put up with the traffic to live in L.A. One hour in the car and we are at the beach, at the ski resort in the mountains, in the desert, or in farm country.

The tomatoes were fabulous with pita chips and red pepper hummus, topped with fresh tarragon and basil.

When I bit into my first Red Pear Abruzzese tomato, it finally made sense why tomatoes are considered a fruit. By far the sweetest tomato I have ever eaten, this one is like candy.

Red Pear Abruzzese tomato

Red Pear Abruzzese tomato

Out of the 12 pepper varieties I planted, my favorite are these Italian heirlooms. Quadrato Rosso D' Asti is a red sweet pepper which is deliciously flavorful with a slightly spicy finish.

Quadrato Rosso D' Asti bell pepper

Its yellow cousin is Quadrato Giallo D' Asti. Isn't it beautiful? It's also crisp, sweet and tasty.

Quadrato Giallo D' Asti bell pepper

This little melon is not much to look at, but it is fantastic. Sakata's Asian Melon is a small crisp melon that is intensely sweet with a hint of cucumber flavor. I will grow this one every year.

Prosperosa eggplant is stunning with its embre effect. The plant was a prolific producer and its upright growth habit takes less room than my spreading Kamo eggplant. 

I purchased all of my seeds from Annie's Heirloom Seeds. (I am not compensated by them in any way, I am just a customer.) One thing I like about them is they have collections of seeds which makes trying new varieties easy. This bush bean collection was just fabulous. They call it "Annie's Rainbow Beans" and it contains Contender, Golden Wax, Royal Burgundy, and Dragon's Tongue. 

And finally there are the Cosse Violetta pole beans. With flowers this pretty, and pods that are striped then mature to a deep violet, these are a stunning (and delicious) addition to the summer garden.

I hope you are inspired to try a new variety next year. Now I am off to start looking through seed catalogues for unusual additions to try in my winter garden. 

Oh, the possibilities!

Romanesco Zucchini

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This year I took a gamble on a new variety of zucchini and this one's a winner. Tender and thin-skinned with raised longitudinal ridges, Romanesco is one beautiful and tasty zucchini. When cut in cross sections, this zucchini produces interesting gear-shaped slices.

No need to peel it: the skin is so thin and tender, it is unnoticed when you take a bite. 

The texture is light and crisp, making it delicious raw, but it's even better lightly cooked. For lunch, I quickly sauteed some of the zucchini with Golden Wax beans in butter with garlic, then sprinkled fresh chopped tarragon over it. Delicious.  

The plants are huge, so it is a big commitment you are making when you plant a zucchini.

Because my garden is small, we only grow one zucchini plant per year, so trying a new variety was a bit of a gamble. I have to say, this is my favorite variety I've ever tried. Just be sure to harvest them when they are small because if you leave them on the plant, this will happen.

My husband loves to cook, and even this big zucchini does not phase him. He told me he intends to slice it, bread it and fry it. That's the only hint I have about his plans...cannot wait!

This one weighs just over 11 pounds.

Our single plant has been producing a nice foot-long zucchini every 3-4 days or so.

I count 6 young zucchini.

The flowers are outrageous. No wonder bees love them. That yellow is intense and they are huge.

Maybe we will fry some of the blossoms too. They'll make a delicious treat. 

Romanesco, you have won me over!