LOTS of Basil!

I know my basil plants haven't looked huge and out of hand in pictures, but trust me, they were......were being the operative word here.

I've used basil in tomato sauce and in a few other dishes, but I needed something that would use a lot of basil all at once. So yesterday evening, I got busy looking up pesto recipes. It was pretty straightforward. Every recipe I looked at was pretty similar: lots of basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, maybe some salt and pepper or other optional ingredients. Research done, I pulled out my food processor and got to work.

Here is a picture of one of the basil plants. The other was fairly similar in size. Obviously, it was starting to bolt.

I got my kitchen scissors to work and soon had a sink full on basil!

This picture was actually taken after I was about half way through the process (and thought to myself "Hey! You really should be taking pictures of this for your blog!!"...Oops...). There was twice this much when I started.

I decided to forgo the pine nuts in my pesto (the idea of eating something that smells like Pine-sol really just doesn't do it for me), but at the end, I really didn't miss them. I used all the basil leaves, olive oil, garlic, parmesan, and a little bit of salt and pepper. As the world's worst recipe writer, I didn't measure anything. Oh well. It's pretty easy to adjust the flavors so you get exactly what you want. I tasted it a couple times through the process to make sure everything was right. This is what I ended up with. Yes, a sink full of basil really does condense itself down to a small-ish tupperware container!

First Tomato of the Year!

Woohoo!! My first tomato of the year is forming! It's still green...definitely not ready to eat yet, but I'm looking forward to many, many more of these.

Also, on the subject of tomatoes....anyone know what those creepy crawly things are that photo-bombed in the picture above? I have no idea what they are, but I'm guessing they're up to no good.

Also, look at the pretty hosta blooms! It's treating us to two bloom stalks this year, with waaaayyyy more flowers than last year.

Blooms Day

Still on a role with cheesy blog post titles....I think the heat is starting to go to my head.

There are lots of blooms in my garden right now.

I've only gotten one bloom from the ranunculus tubers I started in my tiny greenhouse back in February. *sigh* It is lovely, though I was definitely hoping for more of a show!

The nasturtiums are really going to town. As many blooms as there are on this one, there are that many more buds ready to pop open!

The hydrangea is kind of a showoff. It blooms green and then turns pink, looking something like a disco ball in the process.

You can see there are many more blooms coming on this one!

Truthfully, I thought violas were not heat tolerant. It has been in the mid-high 80's though, and if anything, they are blooming even more vigorous than they did when it was still cool outside.

The ivy geranium has been giving wave after wave of these pretty clusters of white and pink blooms

The hosta hasn't bloomed yet, but I am hoping for more lovely purple flowers this year! Any suggestions yet on how to move this lovely?

The iris I dug up from my student's yard have finished their blooming, but this lily (also from my student's yard) is just getting started. There are several more buds on this one that have yet to open. Isn't the orange and yellow happy looking?

What kind of show are you getting in your garden? Any ideas on how to pack up and move my garden??

News, News, News

I hinted a few weeks ago here that I had some pending news to share. Well, it took a little longer than I expected, but here it is....

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE!!!!!

Just in case you couldn't tell, I'm a little bit excited about it. The property is still in Inglewood, so we're not going far, but now I have to figure out how and what to move from the garden. I have purposely put off transplanting my started seeds into the ground, but what about stuff from the flower bed?

I am considering digging up the still tiny boxwoods and putting them into containers to put by the front door.

As for all the bulbs planted in this bed, should I dig them up? Just get new ones? The same neighbors that gave me these offered to let me dig up more from their overcrowded beds.

What about the daffodils that bloomed for the first time this spring? Should I dig those up and take them with me? Is it worth it?

I definitely want to take this hosta with me. I think it needs to be divided, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea while it's in the middle of it's growth cycle. Any thoughts on this?

Have you undertaken a garden move before? Did you take everything with you, or did you decide that some things would be too much trouble to move? HELP!!!

Lovely Lettuce

We had some nasty weather in Nashville yesteryday. The type where the rain goes sideways and you wonder if the hail is going to leave dents on your car. The hubby and I got soaked coming out of the movie theater (we went to see The Avengers....I highly recommend it) and got home to find that it hadn't started raining at our house yet.

I had noticed that the lettuce was in need of some trimming, so before it got hailed on, I ran outside with my kitchen scissors and cut it back. I planted a "cut and come again" variety, so I will have plenty more lettuce soon. Here's what I brought in the house though.

Looks like I'll be having salad for lunch, but are there suggestions on something else I could do with this bounty? Do you do something special with your lettuce or do you just got for the tried and true salad?

I'd Like Some Peas Please

Sorry...yet another corny blog title (I just can't seem to help myself!).

I noticed yesterday that I had some peas ripe and ready for the picking. Here's what they looked like...

 

Just look at all those pretty green peas! Here's a few more shots for you.

 So I grabbed a bowl and started picking. Here's what I ended up with.

I suppose it doesn't look like much, but it was enough for the hubby and I to both have some at dinner (they were very, sweet and tender) and there were a bunch more that I didn't pick so they would get a little bit bigger as well as a bunch more blossoms that promise even more peas to come!

Steals and Deals

Oh the beauty of yard sales!! Our neighbors had one last weekend and I noticed they had a bunch of flower pots out for sale. I asked how much for all of them (there were about 15 of them)....are you ready for this??.... $5!!

I'm thinking they would have been $30 or more had I bought them at the store, so yay! Here's a few of them. Seger is checking them out to make sure they're gonna work alright.