HIGHLIGHTS
Dear Gardening friends,
At this time, perhaps more than any other, our gardens offer us solace, peace, and the opportunity to create and nurture life. Whenever I am worried about anything, the simple act of tending a plant, pulling a weed, taking cuttings, or filling a bird feeder fills me with joy and comfort. I only wish that this comfort and joy could be parceled out to the victims of the September 11th act of terrorism. I send my condolences and hopes that some good will come from this senseless and heartless act. I will be planting a memory tree to honor and remember our lost friends, an act of sustaining and revering life in response to the act of taking life.
Thank you for the many wonderful letters and fond wishes you've sent during the past months. My husband Jeff and I tried to answer your questions as they poured in, but there are never enough hours in any day, so if we missed a few of you, please forgive us.
Jeff tries to maintain an up-to-date website and added many new and interesting links. Please take a few minutes to browse through and let us know of any links to educational sites or gardens that you may know.
Spring
and summer were hectic times for us. The months of March, April,
May, and June were devoted to magazine articles, art work, half
a dozen radio programs (including a Public Radio International
special produced by Wisconsin Public
Radio and featuring Michael Pollan, Jamaica Kincaid, Brenda
Peterson, and yours truly) and four television
segments for the DIY Network (Scripps), which is a wonderful
source for people who love to decorate and entertain. Although
my segments were only a few minutes long, each one took many hours
of preparation: from picking and drying plants to crafting each
special project. I hope that many of you will tune into DIY and
harvest some ideas for your own home (see scheduled airings on
our web-site).
This summer I began work on my new book for Workman Publishing in New York. For those of you who read and responded to my January-February "Heart's Ease" column in Country Living GARDENER, it is because of your enthusiasm that I am again writing and illustrating a new book. This one is filled with helpful hints collected in my journals through the past 20 years. Some of the recipes and hints are quirky and may seem a bit far fetched, but I am exhaustively researching each one to make sure they are backed with scientific findings. If any of you wish to share a short gardening hint, please send it on to me with the information of its origin, your full name, and e-mail address. I will mention your hint in my book with credit given to you. But please, share only those things which have worked for you.
My tiny porch garden was a source of constant wonder and inspiration this summer. The bumblebees and hummingbirds feasted at the sunflowers, cosmos, lilies, nasturtiums, herbs, and asters, and the chipmunks made off with just about every one of my 'Sun Gold' tomatoes. In a last ditch attempt to salvage a few of the tasty tomatoes for salads, I drenched my plants in a foliar spray of fermented salmon (Coast of Maine Organics) and the chipmunks gave up.
Landis Valley Museum Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
As we traveled west from Maine to Cambria this year, we visited the historic Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I was on a search for rare, heirloom seeds for inclusion in a trial garden I am testing for an upcoming book and magazine article. Luckily, I was able to connect with Jenni Black, the knowledgeable and energetic Director of the Heirloom Seed Project.
Jenni led me through the Museum's gardens and antique apple orchard and into the seed house where a corps of loyal volunteers were hard at work. I got to peek into various work areas where this year's seeds were processed and dried. In one room, a wall of shelves held glass bottles labeled with names such as Wren's Egg Pole Bean, Mrs. Neidigh's Six Week Bean (pre 1850), Grandma Stober's Chow Chow Bean (also pre 1850), Amish Paste Tomato, and Red Drumhead Cabbage. Lancaster County gardeners handed down the treasured seeds for these plants, and the seeds are now available in limited quantities. I can't wait to receive my order!
Write to the Museum for their newest catalogue, which will be released in late December, and partake in their whimsical, rare, and valuable offerings of heirloom seeds.
Send $4.00 check to:
Landis Valley Farm Museum 2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster, PA 17601 (717) 569-0401
If old recipes, traditions, holidays, and folklore enchant you, I recommend the Landis Valley Cookbook of Pennsylvania German Foods and Traditions. Contact the Weathervane Museum Store at the above address for information about this keepsake book.
Alloway Creek Gardens near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
On our trip, we also visited some special herbal friends in Littlestown, Pennsylvania (near Gettysburg). We toured the Alloway Creek Gardens of Roger and Barbara Steele. For many years, the Steeles have shared their knowledge, gardens, and an incredible array of plants with visitors. I urge you to visit them when you are in the vicinity of Gettysburg. Hint: If you take a plant to the Steeles that they don't already have in their gardens, they will gift you with one of their rare offerings. I hope to somehow come up with a rarity and trade it for a small start of their heirloom (from an old, local garden) hose-in-hose trumpet vine.
Buffalo Springs Herb Farm Raphine, Virginia
In Raphine, Virginia, we stopped to visit Buffalo Springs Herb Farm and our friends Thomas Hamlin and Donald Haynie. In the past 11 years, Donald and Thomas restored an amazing array of historic buildings including the original stone and brick homestead and some charming log cabins. One of my favorites is the log Gardener's Cottage, which is a museum of garden antiques.
On the day we arrived, Tom and Don hosted one of their famous herbal luncheons and provided guests with a lecture on the traditions of the holidays.
The gardens surrounding the collection of buildings and the huge, old barn-gift shop include a Four Square Heirloom Vegetable Garden, a Celestial Garden, Biblical Garden, walled Medieval Garden (replete with piped in chanting), Fragrance, Medicinal, Kitchen and Perennial Garden. Wow! I was enchanted by the array and the attention to the smallest of details.
Write to Buffalo Springs for their most recent catalogue and a list of their classes.
Buffalo Springs Herb
Farm
P.O. Box 163, Raphine Road
Raphine, Virginia 24472
(540) 348-1083
On December the 1st I will participate in the traditional Christmas program for Susan Pendergast, owner of Heart's Ease Herb Shop in Cambria. Susan's yearly Christmas Class is always memorable, and I think this one will be especially so as it is being held at the home of Bob and Susan Detweiler. The Detweiler's home is a saltbox nestled on a large parcel of land and surrounded by gardens. Their incomparable collection of early American antiques and whimsical folk art, combined with their warmth and hospitality, will make this a memorable class. Contact Susan Pendergast at (800) 266-4372 or hearts-ease@hearts-ease.com for further information and reservations for the Christmas Class.
In December my family will celebrate the marriage of my son Noah to Miss Lea Ling Yu. The wedding will be a joyful blend of two cultures and distinctive sets of traditions. We will all join forces to create floral displays for the 150 year old Santa Rosa Chapel and for the reception party and dinner.
Cranberries-A Native American Fruit
In anticipation of the coming holidays ,I wanted to share some simple recipes of the season. I love cranberry bogs (we have great ones in Maine), and I love the tart taste of fresh cranberries, which I use in decorating and cooking. The berries, with their natural waxy coating, are amazingly long lasting and will retain their shape and color for over a month. If you decide not to cook with cranberries, string them onto your holiday tree, use them in wreaths, or fill a bowl with them,. Line the edges of the bowl with evergreen tips or dark, shiny bay or citrus leaves, and enjoy your creation throughout the holidays.
Wild Rice Salad
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Dressing:
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sugar and salt to taste
Cook 1 cup of wild rice in four cups of water until almost done, about 45 minutes. Drain well. Cool. Add remaining salad ingredients and toss with dressing.
Cranberry Pineapple Relish
1 can (20 0z.) crushed
pineapple
1 large, thin skinned navel orange (unpeeled)
12 ounces of fresh cranberries (washed)
1 cup sugar
Drain syrup from pineapple. Chop orange and cranberries until coarse. Pour into a bowl. Add pineapple and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature overnight, then chill in refrigerator.
Cranberry Pilaf
Serve with pork or poultry
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup uncooked rice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries
Melt butter in a large saucepan and sauté onion until transparent. Add parsley, chicken stock, and rice. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries and simmer, covered, for 1/2 hour, or until liquid is absorbed.
The above recipes are compliments of the Maine Cranberry Growers Association and Maine Department of Agriculture.
Lovejoy's Simple Cranberry Relish
1 pound of cranberries,
washed, chopped and thoroughly dried
2 peeled and chopped oranges
1 3/4 cups of sugar
Mix together and chill for a few hours before serving
I sometimes add small pieces of crystallized ginger to my relish to give it a zing. This is great in combination with turkey or roasted chicken.
Some of my Favorite Books Focusing on Night Themes for Children
All too often our children have an unreasonable fear of darkness. To allay these fears and open the world of starry nights, fireflies ,and night sounds to our children, I want to recommend a few books focused on the wonders to be experienced at night.
A few months ago I was privileged to attend a retreat for published writers and illustrators. The event was sponsored by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and held at a lovely ranch-vineyard in the hills of California near Adelaide. One of the most inspirational speakers at the retreat was Tony Johnston, a former fourth grade teacher who is the author of over 70 children's books.
I want to recommend Tony's outstanding books to anyone who appreciates the fine and demanding art of writing. I just finished reading her book The Barn Owls (Charlesbridge Publishing), which introduces children ( 4 to 8) to the world of the owls and their young in the simplest, yet most poetic language,. It is beautifully illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray, who suffuses her paintings with the golden light of a timeless California landscape. You can't go wrong with Tony's other titles.
Another title I can heartily recommend is Firefly Night by Carole Gerber and illustrated by Marty Husted. The text and a flashing firefly gently and rhythmically lead a Chippewa girl through the creature-filled world of a forest to her sleeping cradle under the stars.
Mollie Katzen, the inspirational writer and illustrator of numerous cookbooks, including the classic Moosewood Cookbook, has devoted years of her life to cooking with children.
I recently spent a day reading and testing some of Mollie's recipes for children. They are simple, creative, and will instruct and inspire kids to cook with, and even better, FOR the grown-ups. In her introduction, Mollie explains that children gain more from cooking than just the ability to rustle up a meal. They'll learn creativity and a sense of aesthetics, confidence, self-esteem, early math skills, small motor skills, science and chemistry, patience, language skills,and the ability to follow directions and more.
If you love cooking and wish to share your passion with a special child in your life look for:
Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up
Honest Pretzels and 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up
When I began this newsletter, I was working in my tiny studio overlooking a wildly churning Atlantic Ocean. As I conclude this, I am in my even tinier studio overlooking our lush, bird-filled gardens. My new pond is healthy and filled with fish, dragonfly naiads, and, believe it or not, tadpoles. Can you imagine tadpoles in November? I celebrate every morning in my garden and straggle back into our house near noon, still in my nightgown, but with a good half day of work accomplished.
I send a fond faretheewell to all my gardening friends.
Best wishes for joyous and peaceable holidays.
Fondly,
Sharon Lovejoy