Poppies in the Garden

A perfect day for a walk in the garden! The day was a bit cloudy and just the right temperature.

A while back I posted about seeds that I put out in the garden and some of them were for poppies. Yesterday I got my first bloom!

Later in the day I was walking around and found it was being visited by a little fly.

Here are some other pictures of my garden:

daisy

yarrow

dianthus and a monarch butterfly.

Have a wonderful day!

Radishes

Radishes.

Up until a year ago or so I never really thought about them. At all. It's a vegetable, you see. I didn't eat them in salads. I certainly didn't eat them whole.

But then the Vege Garden Fairy (my Huny) visited me. (He might not like me calling him a Garden Fairy, but he is.) And my life changed.

Now radishes are everywhere in my garden.

I eat them in my salads now. I've tried them whole with salt- Huny's direct route to Nirvana - but this is not my thing.

There is a curious thing that happens when you start to garden with vegetables. You have to eat them.

And I love it! I love going out and picking my lettuce and green onions for the salad every night. I love to pick some chives for the breakfast eggs. I can hardly wait to harvest the onions. The cherry tomatoes are coming on, the serrano peppers are going strong, the pumpkins are leafing out so beautifully! Cucumbers are starting to reach for the sky. Beans are being shy still, but I'm patient with them. Tomatoes are flowering and jalapenos and bell's are starting to wake as well.

This Spring has been a wonderful revelation to me. It's like a butterfly opening her wings and learning to fly.

The Garden, a Film

Today I visited the website for a new publication to our area called Edible Dallas & Fort Worth. When I joined their Facebook group I came across a reference to a film called 'The Garden'. I looked it up and was amazed at what these people did with the land. They came together and took a patch of land and showed what we can all do with a bit of dirt - no matter if it is a fourteen-acre garden or an abandoned lot in our own backyard. This garden community grew enough food to feed their families, friends and most importantly, they grew a community of people that cared about doing something positive with what they had.

Just to have someone come in and say they are taking it away.

What is unfortunate is that this is not a new story. Across the nation people band together and take an abandoned piece of land that no one wants and give it love and attention, and they take pride in what they have accomplished. They have brought back a piece of land from nothing to a piece of land bringing sustenance to their lives and to the lives of their loved ones.

And then, someone sees what they have done and they say they are taking it away.

The love, attention and pride that they give to this abandoned bit of land most often carries over to their own homes in one way or another. And then someone takes notice that the neighborhood might have some value after all.

Just to have someone come in and say they are taking it away.

This film is about a fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles. It is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:

Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public?

And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.”

If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?

Happy Easter!

Well, yesterday will have to make up for today because today it is rainy. Yesterday was such a wonderfully, marvelous day!

The day started out at a cool 45 degrees, but the sun was shining in a beautiful blue sky! On the drive to the Coppell Farmers’ Market I had to cross the Lewisville Lake and it was a perfect day for fishing as well – there were quite a few anglers out dipping a hook!

The Coppell Farmers' Market is a small one but it was very pleasant. There was free hot coffee that was perfect for the cool morning! Offered at the market were fresh cut flowers, organic meats, seafood, natural pet foods, baked goods, potted herbs and plants, handmade soaps and candles, homemade pastas and all kinds of canned goods (jams, jalapenos, beets, garlic) and there was some honey. I recognized most of these vendors as being local and the prices were reasonable.

I came away with baked goods from Healthy Me Marketplace, some treats for my granddogs from Biscuit Head Baking Co., Pickled Beets and handmade pasta (Basil Garlic Linguine) from Lucido’s Produce and Herbs (214-352-2978). Lucido's can be found at the Frisco and Lewsiville Farmers' Markets as well.

The Coppell Farmers’ Market was small, but it was worth the drive from my home (about 25 minutes). I highly recommend this as a place to do some Saturday morning shopping!

After that lovely start to the day, I came back to Denton to meet a guy from Craigslist that was giving me some canna bulbs. His truck was full and I ended up with three bags! I will keep a few but most of them are going to my DIL in Venus for her home.

Then it was time to head over to the Denton Redbud Festival. This is a free event and is fun for everyone! There are things for the kids and lots, and lots of neat stuff for us big kids. And there is food! The nachos are great. The event takes place at the Denton Civic Center and the grounds are beautifully landscaped for a walk after the nachos and all the shopping.

Keep Denton Beautiful gives out free, bareroot Redbud trees so I got a couple of those, and from Lucido’s I bought some Thai Basil, Italian Sweet Basil, Flat-Leaf Parsley, Epazote, German Thyme, and Valentino Basil. From the Native Plant Society of Texas I got an American Beauty-Berry. This is an under story tree that puts outs purple berries in the fall and the birds love it.

As soon as I got home I planted it all because we were expecting rain and sure enough we have it! Thank goodness. We have been really dry around here so this is nice even though it is on Easter Sunday. Hopefully it will clear up a little for the kids to get a chance to hunt for those elusive Easter eggs.

Have a wonderful day!