Caution I Brake for Plant Markets!

I have this problem with plant markets. Whenever I see one I’m compelled to stop and check it out – like a fly to honey I just can’t seem to stop myself, which can be a bit disconcerting if you happen to be the in the car with me and I slam on my brakes!

This particular market has become a REAL problem for me.

It’s only open from mid-April to November, but is located right near where I work. I actually have to drive by it on my way home. (Thankfully it’s on the other side of the exit ramps on my way into work or I’d be late every day.)

And, this place is AMAZING! It’s not your average plant market. The variety of perennials, annuals, veggies, hangers, and shrubs are numerous. Everything is well cared for, the people are knowledgeable about what they sell, and they don’t put out plants too early (I won’t name the big box stores that do this, but they shouldn’t be selling tomatoes in April here in New England without a warning sticker that reads, “Please don’t plant me outside right now cause I’ll freeze and die!”)

I stop by this place way too often. The owners know me by name and I’m sure I’m funding their kids college education. But, in these tight economic times I’m trying my best to save where I can and keep my spending down (Ok… maybe not as much as I should, but if Ellie’s dad is reading this that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).

So I’m trying my best to curb my detouring.

But, the plants are so lovely….

Well I guess I could always pull out those old suits from the back of my closet instead of buying new work clothes. Do you think anyone would notice the shoulder pads?

Rain Rain Go Away!

I should be dressed like this guy!

With all the rain we've been having this week, I feel like I should be donning fishing gear and heading for the high seas! I actually met the guy who is the mascot for Gorton's fish. He's an actor but also a real fisherman from Gloucester (that's pronounced "Gloss-Tuh" if you're from this area). I guess I'm a bit obsessed with all things related to fish right now.... but who can blame me -- it hasn't stopped raining in days.

Even Ellie is annoyed that she had to wear a raincoat.

This morning I opened my eyes and let out a HUGE sigh as I saw and heard the rain coming down -- yet again. It's been raining off and on (mostly ON) since last Saturday and we are expecting more of the same through the rest of the week.

See that puddle....

If it gets any larger, I'll need to a small boat to navigate it.

Being someone who loves to garden I usually adore rain. The plants love it, they grow more lush, and I don't have to water as much.

Just look at how our front bed has grown in a mere week. The Montauk daisies are starting to take over already!

But the problem I'm having with the rain right now is that I haven't had a chance to finish up my spring gardening tasks. All this rain means that the pea and snap pea seedlings have no home yet and are sitting on our back porch.

See them flopped over this in pic...

..they aren't dying (at least not yet), but reaching for something to hang on to. They are vining so fast that if I were to sit next to them for any length of time they'd be wrapping around me!

Here's the bed we've prepped for them.

The soil has been tilled and enriched with manure and compost. I'm ready to make little mounds for the pea seedlings to nestle in... but that's all I'm doing right now is waiting. (I know I should have NEVER sowed the peas indoors.... I know ... I know... lesson learned already!).

Here's a picture of the foundation evergreens that I bought but haven't planted either... why? ... same reason... too much rain....

But with all this rain I know that the garden will flourish, the flowers will be blooming soon, and the moss on our cobblestone walkway will grow dense (Yes, this is one place where we like the moss! Moss here means no weeding between the cracks!).

So, this morning I shook off that rainy feeling and snaped a few photos for the blog. It felt good to get outside (even in the rain) until I soon realized I was takinig pictures while dressed in my bathrobe with a towel wrapped around my head (I had just showered for work). And, to make this scene even lovelier I was doing all this while holding an umbrella in my hand as a school bus packed with teenagers drove by. Jeez.... it's a good thing I'm not a teenager any more because clearly I would have been mortified!

In Honor of the Fish!

One of my favorite organic gardening products is fish fertilizer.

Ellie's dad is not so keen on it because of the fishy odor it leaves right after it's applied, but that quickly goes away once it dries. In the veggie garden I apply it once a week with a hose attachment. In the perennial garden I don't use it as often, except for mid-summer when everything seems to need a little bit of boost. I also mix up the concentrated form and use it in the container plants, which seems to help things bloom a little better.

We live on the South Shore of Massachusetts and are close to the ocean, which means that we are lucky enough to have access to the beauty of the seaside as well as all that wonderful fresh fish that is caught not too far from here.

Here's Plymouth Beach not too far from our home.

Even Ellie loves the ocean and we take her for walks on the beach quite often in the warmer weather.

In honor of fish fertilizer I cooked up some fresh haddock that I got a local fish store. It's an easy recipe. I dipped the fish in an egg wash and then coated it in a mixture of plain breadcrumbs, Mrs. Dash seasoning, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I then ligthtly coated the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and placed the fish inside. More olive oil gets lightly sprinkled on top for flavoring as well as the juice of a half lemon. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and fish flakely.

All prepped and ready to go in the oven.

For a side dish, we had warm red potatoe salad. The potatoes are in a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped fresh garlic, fresh parsley, and fresh rosemary. Actually the potatoes are better the next day cold after marinating.

Here's the finished meal staged for the blog (I said staged because we don't really eat like this).

Here's where we usually eat...

...with our bums on the sofa facing the TV... Yup, wish I could say we didn't, but I'm being real here.

This Is Never Good...

I hate having one of those weeks... I'm sure you know what I'm talking about... When lots of cruddy little annoying things happen (nothing earth shattering thank goodness) that make you want to close your eyes and wait for next week.

Well the other day I drove up my street, turned into my driveway and saw this...



Honestly, my first reaction was to turn around and head back for work. I figure that dealing with my ornery client had to be better than whatever Ellie's dad was digging up.


As I looked at our version of The Big Dig (New Englanders will know what I'm talking about)



....I couldn't for the life of me figure out how on earth he could have dug such a large hole by himself in the few short hours since he came home from work. Even Ellie had to get a closer look (and it was actually larger than it appears in the pics -- *sigh*).



Apparently last fall when tilling the garden bed, Ellie's dad hit one of the main sprinkler system lines. When he turned on the system for the first time of the season our version of Ole Faithful was born!




Although I'm happy to report that the sprinkler problem was fixed the next day, it was not the end of our headaches for the week. I won't go into the gory details, but last week also included a trip to the ER for Ellie's dad (thankfully nothing serious, but if your spouse ever walks through the door with a ski cap on his head during the middle of a heat wave saying, "I'm fine, it's only a little scratch," you may want to get the car ready for a drive to the ER.) You see this amazingly smart guy (with a degree in biochemical engineering no less!) was hiding a bandaged up 4-inch gash on his head that he acquired when a cabinet fell on him. The ski cap was his lame attempt at hiding the injury in hopes that I wouldn't notice and drag him to the hospital. Yeah I know... amazing logic!

Since the week ended with lots of rain and little opportunity to garden, I decided to pot up some seedlings. After over an hour of lovingly transplanting each of my babies into their new home, I proceeded to take the tray downstairs to the basement to go back under the grow lights. Then catastrophe happened... as I hit the bottom stair the tray collapsed under it's own weight and all the seedlings fell to the ground. Now this in of itself wouldn't have been too bad, but clumsy me in an attempt to save them slipped, fell, and landed smack on top -- crushing almost all of the seedlings I was carry to smitherins. Looking back it was a tad bit funny and would have made for some great blog pics, but obviously I wasn't in the mood to document the massacre!

The week ended like this....



That annoyed look on Ellie's face is due to the fact that she just had a bath (see the towel in the background) and reflects my sentiments of the past week exactly!


Anyway, I'm glad the week is over and it's time to start anew -- so I leave you on a happy note with one of my favorite little vignettes.



This small plant grouping makes smile every morning when I see it at the bottom of our stairs. 2 of the plants are on little vintage compote dishes that I found in a yard sale.


Ahhhaaaa.... now that's much better....