Garden Lessons by the Hitching Post

What a perfect way to wrap up this last day of September with some simple but wise words from Thomas Holcroft. “The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post." The quote seems to fit in nicely with this topic of gardens lessons; those trials and tribulations of making our lives green.

Every year, if we truly love to sink our hands into the earth, our goal is to create something more wonderful than the way it was before we arrived. So, if you dare to share, what were your garden lessons for this year?

To get things rolling, I’ll go first. If you love composting like I do, you may stretch beyond the typical coffee grinds and spoiled fruits or veggies. But what happens with a mixed concoction gone awry?

Annie’s Garden Lesson: Never put the remaining fish carcasses you caught on the weekend outing into your compost bin, cover it up and then decide to turn it over! Nope, it’s not as easy as flipping pancakes. These fish heads just weren’t done cooking. At that point, the damage was done. Fortunately, you can douse it with some charcoal briquettes to smother the odor just in case this ever happens to you. The guidepost of the story: there’s hope that this fish escapade of mine makes for some rich soil when all is said and done.

So what’s your favorite lesson from the garden this year? Think of the hitching post as the old fashion water cooler, where the locals hang out and share their summer tales. Have one? Hope you’ll share so we can use these lessons as guideposts and not get stuck on them down by the hitching post! Happy Friday.  

Image from the Internet

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie

Base Plant

The diva of the vegetable scene, at least in my book is the versatile and lovely eggplant. Its rich, luxurious color and shiny skin makes for a showy piece in the garden. Besides its great looks, the flavor of eggplant, if done right, is what makes it outstanding.

Need an easy base to start with when it comes to cooking eggplant? Roast it. Not only is this process simple, roasted eggplant has a sweetness that adds delicious to any fall meal.  All the bitterness that can be found in this vegetable seems to be lost when roasted with a drizzling of olive oil, plus salt and pepper. Don’t forget to line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil for effortless clean-up.

A few more directions: set the oven at 350 degrees, slice eggplant in quarters, drizzle with the olive oil, flavor with salt and pepper and roast until brown. Depending on size, it can take ½ hour to an hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Put in a container and refrigerate for the week’s menu. You can add this roasted eggplant to any dish. Get creative.

Because the eggplant is already sweetly cooked, all you need to do is warm it, making it a great base plant to grow and eat from your veggie garden. So if you failed to plant the diva vegetable, make sure you plan ahead for next year. You’ll be glad when you are arranging the weekly dinner menu.

William Lyon Phelps’ words sum up this base plant best.  “A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.” Interpretation - when you roast eggplant, you’ll find a whole new flavor expanding! And your dinner menu will resemble a well-ordered life. Now get roasting!

Image by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie

A Few Comfort Words on Wordless Wednesday

An image of an atmospheric sky taken late yesterday afternoon accompanied by a quote from Sarah Van Breathnach’s book, ‘Simple Abundance’ sum up this transitional time of year best. “The seasons of life are not meant to be frenetic, just full.”

Enjoy this season of abundance even if all that surrounds you is a bit of sunshine and a tree. Before you can say “Wordless Wednesday”, these lingering transition days of autumn can turn frosty!

P.S. Keep an eye on the forecast and your late season growing fruits and veggies. Check out last Friday’s blog post in case you missed it; quick tips for the garden produce that can survive varying degrees of frost. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2011/09/first-for-everything.html

And yes, the image was taken on a tilt to give you the essence of the summer-like slide into fall! I’m still using that tiny Blackberry phone for my images but hope you get the picture!

Image by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, remember to post and become a friend on our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Questions, comments or thoughts, contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie