Savory Surprises in the Winter Garden

When I think of the garden in winter, I think of dried seed pods and grasses, rose hips, and bare twigs. The thought of herbs rarely crosses my mind. Any green to be had in the winter garden is usually in the form of pine boughs.

After a season total of  more than nine feet of snow last year, this winter has been eerily mild.  Total snowfall barely topped a foot in aggregate and the temperatures were more like the kitchen refrigerator than a typical New England winter!

The garden under six inches of fluffy snow, March 4, 2012  

Except when they were covered with snow and I was too lazy to dig out my boots, I was able to pick fresh rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, and mint throughout much of the winter.

Even when they spent a few days under snow, they all rebounded quickly and I've made tabouleh all winter from the bounty. 

Flat Italian Parsley:  I covered it with an overturned bucket or  laundry basket when snow was expected.

On the deck, this shrub was the easiest to protect with a box or bucket when the weather was harsh.

The sage lasted through the New Year.  The thyme remained green all winter.

Spearmint grew with abandon all winter long.  The new growth is tender and flavorful.

Fresh oregano - a treat in pasta sauces, soups, and roasted meat.

With winter temperatures milder than normal and snowfall and ice storms infrequent, it was easy to protect tender herbs with an overturned laundry basket, box, or bucket.  I didn't expect the sage to last past the first hard frost and was pleasantly surprised to be able to pick it into the New Year. With fresh herbs a few steps from my kitchen door, fresh tabouleh salad was a treat all winter. Serve it with homemade pita chips or with hummus on English muffins.

Fresh Tabouleh Salad

   

1 cup (dry) whole grain light bulghur (approximately 2-1/2 to 3 cups prepared)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup flat Italian parsley, finely chopped  

1 large seedless cucumber, finely diced  

1 cup fresh mint, finely chopped 

1 bunch green onions, finely diced (1/2 to 1 cup)

½ bulb garlic, minced

½ sweet orange pepper, finely diced (add more if desired)

½ sweet yellow pepper, finely diced (add more if desired)

2-3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced  

½ cup finely chopped broccoli florets (use the florets only, no stems)

3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

2 lemons, squeezed and zested

2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (add more as needed, depending on volume of bulghur)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Bring two cups of water to a boil and add bulghur and salt.  Simmer for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat and let the bulghur soak in the pan until soft.  Test the texture of the bulghur and add more water and reheat as necessary until the bulghur is fluffy, soft and only slightly toothsome. Set aside in a large bowl to cool.

Finely chop the vegetables and herbs and add to the prepared bulghur. Add lemon zest and juice, pepper, oil, and vinegar.  Toss with a large fork to mix.  Add additional mint, lemon, salt, and pepper to taste. 

Pita Chips

Pita pockets (large)
Olive oil
Oregano and Basil (dried)
Garlic Salt

Cut each pita pocket into 8 wedges and separate each wedge into two chips.
With a pastry brush, lightly brush the inside surface with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt, basil and oregano.  I either crush the basil and oregano with a mortar and pestle or grind it with an herb grinder to get a very powdery consistency.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes (until the inside surfaces begin to turn golden brown).

August in the Garden ~ GBBD for August 15, 2011

Well, here we are, a day late but definitely not short of blooms for the August edition of the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. The summer has flown by, but even at the height of the dog days of summer, every bed is awash with late summer color, and unexpected "re-bloomers" continue to delight us.

Our rose gardens have been a source of rich color all summer long - except for this past weekend when the New England Rose Society met here for the summer meeting. But a day after we hoped for a wonderful showing, buds opened in every bed in a kaleidoscope of color.

Top Row L-R: Memorial Day, Sir John Betjeman, Rosa rugosa “Rubra”, Cupcake; Middle Row L-R: New Dawn, New Dawn, Passionate Kisses, Double Pink Knock Out; Bottom Row L-R: Blushing Knock Out, Sea Foam, Pretty Lady

Top Row L-R: Teasing Georgia, Julia Child, What a Peach;  Middle Row L-R: Rio Samba, Tropicana, Rio Samba (showing color evolution); Bottom Row L-R: Unknown, Bella Roma, What a Peach, Hotel California

Clockwise from top left: John F. Kennedy, Drop Dead Red, Munstead Wood, Unidentified blush, Double Red Knock Out

The marginal plants and lilies in the water garden have also provided sporadic bursts of color, although we've had to spend a fair amount of time reining in the water mint.

Last summer we acquired the cattail reeds from a local river while we were canoeing, and we were delighted that they survived the winter and developed into graceful plants this summer. The marsh marigolds are still blooming as is the houttuynia. The lavender mint blossoms and pink obedient blooms make a lovely combination along the edge of the pond.

Although they started blooming six weeks ago, the daylilies (hemerocallis) are still a dramatic presence.

And along with the daylilies, the clematis have also been solid performers throughout the summer. I love the contrast between the deep purple and the light green of the lemon balm. "Betty Corning" has outdone herself this summer, however. The bell shaped blossoms have covered the vine since early June.

 

The butterfly garden seemed to sprout overnight  After heavy pruning in spring, the shrubs seemed to languish and then almost overnight, they burst forth with six foot canes topped with lavender, magenta, deep purple, and white flower spikes. Hummingbird clear-wing moths and monarch butterflies have been visiting daily.

The butterfly garden is next to hte gazebo, behind the rose beds. The purple spikes of "Dark Knight" make a striking statement.

We have a rainbow of butterfly shrubs circling behind the dark purple shrubs.

 In the perennial beds, coneflowers, tall phlox,  rudbeckia, Japanese anemones, and sage are taking center stage. The cransebill are still blooming, but starting to wind down.

Balloon flowers and the last of the Montauk daisies

The tall phlox are gorgeous this year

 

The second round of foxglove spikes timed themselves perfectly with the coneflowers.

The coneflowers have provided cut flowers for the house for weeks. In the back is ligularia, which shouldn't thrive in this sunny bed, but it does. Barely visible in the back are daylilies.

 

In the herb garden, the tarragon, oregano and hyssop make a bold border. We've been harvesting mint, oregano, parsley, thyme, and sage for weeks. Cooking with fresh herbs has become our new favorite thing to do..

 

 

In New England, the stars of the August garden are the mallows and hibiscus. Malva sylvestris “Zebrinba” and the more common pale pink mallows self sow freely and can become a bit of a nuisance, but in the spring, I transplant dozens into the perennial beds alongside the lupines and peonies for some color later in the summer.

Rose of  Sharon shrubs Hibiscus syriacus are one of our favorite flowering shrubs.  We have both single and double varieties,  

 

The hardy hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos, bring the feel of the tropics to our New England gardens just as paradoxically, the days are becoming shorter and the nights are becoming cooler.

 

The shade gardens have really come into their own over the summer, with brilliant foliage and unexpected pops of color.

In the tree grove a carpet of wood violets contrasts with hostas. This has been a favorite place to spend time during the recent heat wave. Stepping under the canopy of the trees, there was a dramatic difference in temperature.

The hosta blooms are fading but the striking foliage lends its own textural interest to the shade beds.

Hyssop in the background does well in this shady area and contrasts nicely with ajuga (left foreground) and the bright chartreuse hosta.

 

 We plant few annuals, but torenia and impatiens are two that we routinely plant in the shadiest areas. They contrast beautifully with hostas and add color where none is extpected.

A few additional late summer blooms have added color here and there. Hydrangeas and windflowers, obedient plants, chrysanthemums, and some annuals that we've tucked into pots will carry the beds into September:

The windlowers just started blooming within the past week and will bloom for another month or more. The delicate pink petals open a medium pink and then fade to a pale pink blush. The white counterpart to this prolific bloomer blooms in the spring.

The blooms of the hydrangea tree in the deck open with a pink tint that fades to white, opposite that of the pee gee (shown below), which opens white and develops a lovely pinkish hue over time.

 

Reading Nancy Ondra's books has taught me to appreciate and embrace seed pods. These, of my favorite columbine, are ready to be harvested for seeds. In the background are ruby colored chrysanthemum, a staple of the late summer and fall garden.

This summer we have enjoyed a much more enthusiastic blooming season, in part because the weather gave us extremely hot weather alternating with adequate rain. Although the humidity has caused powdery mildew to flourish, the garden as a whole continues to thrive

Thanks so much for joining us again for this month's stroll through the garden beds.  Be sure to check out the other amazing gardens that participate in May Dreams' Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!