Spicing up the House

So today is dedicated to putting the final natural touches on the decorations into house. The Office is coming over next Friday and the family comes in after that.  We have not had all of us together at our house on Christmas for a while, so I have put up two trees and pull out all the decorations. (Which is a large strange collection of love)

I was about ready to light a candle, but because I had some wonderful fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries in the house ...I decided to make a crumble.

So I filled the house with fish cinnamon and simmering berries....  So now on to the fresh magnolia/evergreen swag for the hall stairway.

Here is the recipe from a great website I visit often:https://www.tasteaholics.com/recipes/desserts/skillet-berry-crumble/

Skillet Berry Crumble MACROS PER SERVING: • 275 Calories • 24.8 g of Fat • 6.4 g of Protein • 5.5 g of Net Carbs CourseDessert Serves 6 servings Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings:

Ingredients

Berry Base

• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or ghee)
• 2 cups mixed berries (we used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
• 5-10 drops liquid stevia (optional)

Crumble

• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 tbsp butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 5-10 drops liquid stevia (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. To make the berry base, heat a medium-size skillet greased with butter or ghee over medium-high heat. Add the berries and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add sweetener if necessary. 
3. Place almonds and pecans into a food processor. Add the butter, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sea salt and stevia (if using). Pulse for a few seconds until the mixture is chopped as roughly or as finely as you like. 
4. Sprinkle the nut mixture on top of the berries and broil for about 7-10 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp on top.
5. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of whole milk yogurt on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

My finished dish...I will add some fresh whipped cream, with cinnamon...

Here are the berries cooking..loved using my cast iron skillet collection.










Now on to the next project for the day. 

Fall-Blooming Anemones

I have been particularly fascinated by my Anemones(Anemone app. and cvs.,)  this fall.  Not only have they lasted and lasted, in fact it is the 1st of December and they are just finally gone, this year for the first time they provided with a bonus....more on that later.

This group of plants highlight the late fall garden, much to the delight of my pollinators and well as late garden visitors. The blooms were full of my honey bees and various other pollinators looking for that last drink of nectar.

Their willowy stems yield tight little buds that pop open in hues of white and pink often near the end of the day. These beauties lightly illuminate the garden as the sun is fading. After the petals drop off the seed pod remains and is quite attractive.

My Anemones are planted along the edge of the cottage garden and are in a very light shade. They seem to love this area and have formed a nice row to form a border.  For some they can be invasive but for me this has been a perfect match.  They filled a needed niche and have tried their hardest to control the horsetail, I foolish planted with them many years ago.

I have don't very little to these beauties, never deadheaded or transplanted, just dug horsetail out of them and loved having such a delightful beauty in the fall garden.

Well here is the bonus. Due to the warm fall, I delayed cutting back anything still in bloom until the very end. These guys are on the path to the compost, so on one trip, I noticed puffs of cotton ball looking objects. Lo and behold it was my Japanese Anemones. They had developed seed pods that looked so similar to cotton polls.

I have not ever seen these before. So my procrastination yielded me some great seed pods and fun knowledge.

I know there are several different varieties of anemones so I have it on my list to try some more, particularly the double varitey. I am not sure of my variety since it was a pass along. Some research is in order, but I will add some more as I think the cottage garden is a great place for them.

Still Gleaning From the Garden

I used lots of greens available still in the garden over Thanksgiving. (Since I cooked two whole meals, it was great to have the freshness of garden)  Sage, parsley, thyme, and rosemary were of course used in almost every recipe. Love my fresh herbs!!!!

 After all the guests had moved on, I was still amazed that I had kale and collards out in the garden begging to be used before that final killing frost hits and puts an end to the goodness.

So I gathered them up and made a great Braised Greens Recipe. Since I still had the legs and wings of my yummy smoked turkey (Thank you Big Green Egg)

I found the bones of this recipe in the November Country Living, but I made it my own by adding left over turkey. It was fantastic..

Here is the recipe:
 6 slices bacon, I chopped them into cubes and then put them in dutch pot over medium heat, stirring them until they had started to brown (8 to 10 minutes). Then with a slotted spoon I removed it and put it on a scot towel lined plate.

In the same pan, I added onion(1 sweet onion chopped); 3  clove garlic chopped, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and cooked until the onions and garlic were soft.

I added the greens one handful at a time,  it was a combination of Kale, Collards and Spinach. Then added back in the bacon, 8 cups chicken broth as well as the turkey wings and legs from the smoked turkey and brought it all to a simmer.

The goodness cooked covered for about 40 minutes until very tender and all the flavors had blended.  It was outstanding...I did make sure I got out any bones from the turkey.

YUMMY!!   I will miss these fresh greens, but they can be replanted early! So I will replant my greens ASAP!

Fall Blooms

Ok..I had planned on posting on the wonderful sages blooming now, but I went outside and could not believe all the blooms.. so here is just a collection of photos of fall blooms....ENJOY!

So much to enjoy...this year...

Another Great Fall Invasive: Aster Tatarian

Aster Tatarian (Aster tataricus)  in my humble opinion is the best aster ever!!  Twenty three years ago, when we moved here I noticed this plant appearing in mass around my various gardens. We moved here in May and I immediately made the commitment not to dig anything up until I had lived at my new abode for a full four season cycle. That was a very wise decision, although difficult, because my gardens had been loved by several generations of plant lovers and held so many hidden treasures. 

This aster starts appearing as clumps of leaves early on in the late spring, then continues to grow taller and taller until it finally blooms in late August. 

" Tatarian aster is a very impressive, stately perennial with a flowering height of 3 to 6 feet. It can look you in the eye yet require no staking. More important, this aster flowers longer than any other garden aster, beginning in late September and early October and continuing into November. The 1-inch-wide, light lavender flowers are a magnet for local and migrating monarch butterflies. This plant tolerates many soil types, can form large colonies in a few years, and is easily divided." (Fine Gardening )

I can not describe effectively enough how many pollinators love this late bloomer, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, lightening bugs they swarm all over it. But it is not only the pollinators, every human pollinator that visits my gardens this time of year, immediately asks me about this show stopper. 

I have transplanted and moved this sweetheart all over the garden. It seems to do well wherever  I plant it. In fact, I have quit buying New England Asters, just too floppy, way too much work and not nearly as beautiful. P.S. It out blooms any mum on the block as well.

This Aster was first introduced to to west in 1818. It's fame was spread by Thomas Jefferson as he used it intensively in his Monticello gardens. The Chinese have used properties of this perennial for centuries, many excellent medicinal uses. 

Take my advice and add this beauty to your gardens. It can spread but I control it by thrilling my garden visitors with pass along clumps. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by ...so happy to share.

 Monarchs seem to love this plant...I can always find several on the various groupings. Just yesterday I saw 6.

Overview

Height

6 ft. to 10 ft.

Spread

1 ft. to 3 ft.

Growth Habit

Spreads

Light

Full Sun to Part Shade

Moisture

Medium Moisture

Maintenance

Low

Characteristics

Attracts Butterflies, Showy Flowers

Bloom Time

Early Fall, Fall

Flower Color

Island Paradise, Niagara, Primrose Yellow

Uses

Beds and Borders

Style

Cottage Garden, Meadow Garden

Seasonal Interest

Summer Interest

Tolerance

Frost Tolerant

Type

Perennials

Thank you Fine Gardening Magazine  for all the great information.  And thank you to the past gardeners that worked my land many years ago and planted this gem just for me to love and passalong. 

Part 2....Fall Invasives...Garlic Chives...

Garlic Chives are another one of my Fall Invasive's that I love. Garlic Chives get such a bum rap but not by this gardener or nor by all the many varieties of pollinators that flock to them this time of year.

These chives look similar to the regular chives except that their leaves are flat blades rather than the thin hollow roundish leaves of regular chive.  Another difference is that the regular chive blooms in the spring as a delightful pink puff. These blooms make an exceptional vinegar that turns a beautiful pink hue. But back to my Fall Chives....

Allium tuberous  are one of the oldest herbs recorded. In fact over 4,000 to 5,000 years ago.  They grow in clumps and have very fibrous small onion like roots, which are not edible. However, the flower head and leaves are great additions to vinegars, salads,soups, compound butters, soft cheeses, just about any where you want a mild garlic accent. 

I love them along the borders of my gardens, I keep them from getting to lanky by frequent haircuts during the growing season. Then when I notice the stem coming up I back off the haircuts. They have  minimal requirements and reliably return each year. 

When they are done blooming the heads transform into a really decorative seed pod. But beware this is when they become dangerous.   So it is off with their heads time or else you will have garlic chives absolutely everywhere. Please heed this warning unless you want a 100% chive garden. 

But I love the amount of pollinators that swarm over them from bees, to butterflies to lightning bugs.... this time of year my garden is a Chive Blossom Party. 

Not to be forgotten are all the wonderful companion planting properties of these plants.  They love and aid roses, grapes, tomatoes, and even help with scab on apples. I often use them as a green mulch around the bases of my apple trees. 

All these reasons are why when grown with caution these guys are a win/win. 

BASIL BECKY..... Gardening from the Heart: Love My Fall Invasives Part 1 - Fall Blooming Clem...

BASIL BECKY..... Gardening from the Heart: Love My Fall Invasives Part 1 - Fall Blooming Clem...:           Fall..I love it, but when I need blooms I sing the praises of some old fashion favorites that get a bad rap. I know what yo...