About Mominthegarden

I'm an American enjoying life in Ireland. I live in the country with my family. It is so beautiful here! I've been creating our garden from "scratch" and having fun doing it! I blog about my gardening adventures, and a bit about Ireland, too.

Winter Blooms in my Irish Garden (An anemone steals the show!)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Mr. Fokker Anemone

When I think of winter certain things come to mind: snow, cold temperatures, skiing, sledding, ice skating, hot chocolate! Living in Ireland has changed that idea a bit for me. Our winters are usually fairly mild, with only a quick cold snap. Snow is unusual. Cold is cold, but not like what I’d be used to while living in Central New York. And the winter is short. Really short if I look back to my days of having snow around until March! I do miss the snowy side of winter. But the tradeoff is having flowers in my garden even in January.

A frozen anemone

We had a deep freeze the other day: -5 degrees Celsius. I took some pictures in the morning, and by the afternoon the rain had come and everything thawed out!

First morning light over the frosty field

This close-up of the crystals is my favorite

Today was yet another mild day, 8 degrees Celsius, and sunny. I am not complaining, I just hope it has been cold enough to keep the slugs at bay! My garden has a few flowers which are blooming. The anemone have multiplied over the past few years. They don’t seem to mind that it is January. Also giving some color in the garden are a few daisies and a black-eyed Susan plant! I think they are simply confused. The primrose are a lovely bright color. There is also a lot of green in my ditch wall garden from poppies. Lots and lots of poppies!

The day after the frost

This is flowering in January.

A sunny winter day

January in the garden

Dogwood plant has lovely red branches

Our area has really been very fortunate with the weather. Even just seeing the sun for a bit of the day is refreshing to the soul.

Evening view from the front yard

The very last rose.

Do you have any flowers growing in your winter garden?
Happy winter!
Dana

Sharing some of the bounty … and a pumpkin bread recipe

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Pumpkin bread

Every year there is a different fruit or vegetable that just outshines all of the rest. One year it was pickling cukes while another year it was potatoes. This year the hands-down winner has to be our pumpkins. The growing conditions this summer were quite good for all of the garden, but the pumpkins seemed to like the warmth the best! You can see some of my pumpkin pictures from earlier in the summer here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/the-vegetable-gardens-summertime-review/ We had a bumper crop of high quality organic baking pumpkins. I am now down to my last two.

The large pumpkin in front was used for this post. And then there were two...

The large pumpkin in front in the top left picture was used for this post. I have saved the seeds from quite a few of the pumpkins, so these are going in the compost. And then there were two…

I made soup a few times, but the rest of the pumpkins were used to make pumpkin bread. A batch makes two loaves. This is perfect as it means one to keep and one to give away. There is always someone to say “thank you” to, or “thinking of you”, or “I really thought you’d enjoy this”! I love sharing food, and I love connecting with people.

Pumpkin bread and a cup of tea

Having a bumper crop of pumpkins suits me perfectly! The bread has been really well received. I think it helps that pumpkin bread (which really and truthfully should be called cake) is American and a new and unusual taste to the Irish. My family love it. 🙂

The recipe itself comes to me from a very dear friend. She also shares a love of gardening and cooking and has turned that love into a business: Curly Locks Gourmet Food. She started with pepper jelly with peppers from her garden. The business has grown to include a complete line of jellies and sauces. Even their jars are pretty! You can check them out here: http://curlylocksjelly.com/index.html

Curly Locks Pepper Jelly

Now back to the pumpkin bread recipe. I’ve adjusted the recipe for using fresh pumpkin.

Baking pumpkin bread on a sunny day

Kathleen Komar’s Pumpkin Bread recipe

4 eggs
1 cup oil or apple sauce
3 cups sugar (I use Demerara)
2 cups fresh pureed pumpkin
½ cup nutmeats

3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp each: ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon
½ tsp ground clove
¾ tsp salt

Combine eggs, oil and sugar. Sift dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Grease and flour 2 bread tins (9 x 5 inch). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C. Place pans in oven (to keep heat circulating, avoid placing side by side and above each other). Bake for 60 minutes, turning pans around half way through. Bread is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Per Kathleen’s recipe, if using canned pumpkin, you will have to add 2 to 3 cups water and bake for nearly another hour.

Finished baking

Is there someone special in your life that would enjoy something baked by you? It is a great excuse to visit someone you haven’t seen in a while. You will be glad you did, and so will they!

Happy baking and sharing in 2014!
Dana

Pruning Roses in my new Bradley’s Gloves

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Summertime blooms

My roses had a spectacular year in 2013. They had beautiful blooms all throughout the summer and into the fall. I confess that I didn’t prune them last year. While I’m confessing, I’d might as well add that I had no idea how to prune them. So this year I decided to figure it out. Really, Google makes learning new things so much easier.

Roses throughout the summer

A garden full of roses

It is funny how some things just fall into place. I was at a craft fair in December where I picked up a fabulous pair of pruning gloves, at an even more fabulous price. I love a bargain! That was the final push to prune the roses.

Leather Bradley’s pruning gloves

The leather for the hands is so soft. I love them! You can buy a pair here: http://www.bradleysthetannery.co.uk/gardening/gloves/leather-pruning-gloves

Bradley’s pruning gloves

Here’s a look at the roses before I started:

Rose bush before pruning

They looked really bad. They should be pruned every year, during their dormant time; late fall through February for me. Here’s the hard part, I had to cut… a lot. I found it quite daunting! From what I learned on-line (via Steve McShane’s Nursery), I first cut-off any dead branches. Then I cut the branches at a 45 degree angle about 6 to 8 inches from the base of the plant. There should only be between 3 and 5 canes when finished pruning (that is the hard part!).

Rose plants before being pruned

There was a great deal of cutting to do! I just had to think positive that it is good for the plants. 🙂 What a difference in how they looked after I had finished.

Three pruned rose plants

Pruned to 6-8 inches above the base

After pruning them, I finished clearing away all of the leaf litter. The plants had black spot this year, so it is really important that I clear everything away. I still need to add an organic fertilizer to finish this up. But for now, I’m happy with how the plants look.

Pruned rose plants

Pruned rose garden

There will be another post on organically treating of rose plants in early spring, before any signs of black spot appear. This will be a new adventure for me, which I am looking forward to since I really don’t like the use of harmful chemicals! But that is another blog post…

I hope you enjoyed seeing my roses again. Going through all of my photos from summer just reminds me of how quickly the seasons change. Before we know it, it will be spring again!

Happy New Year!
Dana

Roses to look forward to…

Organic Rubine Red Brussels Sprouts

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Sprouts (and turnip) picked in the Sun and a look at the plant on a frosty morning

We have patiently waited for our Brussels Sprouts (Organic Rubine Red) to be ready to harvest. Just in time to fulfill the Irish tradition of serving sprouts for Christmas, our Rubine Red sprouts were ready to be picked this week! I was thankful that my husband had gone out into the garden while it was still sunny. We had our first hard frost this week, which gives everything a lovely crystal look, but is cold to be harvesting vegetables!

Preparing our purple sprouts

My husband enjoys cooking, even more so when he doesn’t use a recipe. So I can tell you that they tasted delicious, but I can’t give you an exact recipe! He boiled them for a few minutes with some rashers (similar to Canadian bacon), and then baked them in the oven while the turkey was cooking. They looked pretty too, being rather purple in color. I know that earlier in the season I had mentioned that I really didn’t want to plant them again due to the issue we had with caterpillars. But given how good they tasted, I think we will try growing them again. This time we will cover the young plants with fleece to prevent the moths from laying their eggs. Hopefully that will keep the caterpillar population down!

A touch of frost on the Rubine Red Organic Brussels Sprouts plant

The day was just so peaceful and frosty and sunny!

A look at the frozen garden

A freezing day on the 25th of December 2013

I took some pictures at the beginning of December that I must share with you in my next post. I had daisies blooming! I might make that a “wordless” post this week.

The view from our front yard

I really like the views of fields around our house; add a little sunlight and my camera and I are happy!

We really did have a lovely, peaceful Christmas. I hope yours was lovely, too.
Merry Christmas!

Dana

Later on that same frosty day… Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Making a snowman cake topper on Christmas eve

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Nativity in the snow

It is Christmas eve and there is an excitement in the air! Our kids were especially delighted that it actually snowed today, a rather uncommon occurrence where we live in Ireland. It was so pretty to see.

A church in Corduff, Carrickmacross being dusted with snow

My three kids and I were out and about in the snow

They were completely giddy today! There was such a relaxed feeling among them which was so nice to see. We just had a few things to get done, and then my husband and I could join them in their giddiness! First on the list was icing my Christmas cake.

Marzipan covered fruit cake

My daughter and husband made the marzipan icing and covered the fruit cake with it the other day. Now all that was left was the white icing. Last year I used a smooth fondant style. But this year I felt like making (an easier) snow icing. It is made of egg whites, icing sugar, and glycerine. Mix it all up, and throw it on the cake!

Snow icing covered fruit cake

That is so much more my personality than a neat smooth fondant icing! I really like the look. I made a snowman to go on top of the cake, except my snowman is too big to fit in the cake container, and to be honest he is probably a bit big for the cake too!

Snowman cake topper and a wee Christmas tree

I absolutely do not have the patience to make perfect little cute faces with icing. So when I finished this snowman I let out a whoop of relief! (can I say that?) I was very happy with his face, while completely annoyed with the candycane. But enough was enough, and I surrendered to a less than perfect candycane in order to keep my sanity, and make room in the kitchen for my husband to cook us dinner.

Snowman (unfinished)

Snowman with some cookies

My daughter made some cookies today, too. She set up one of the trees with Mr. Snowman. 🙂

A bit of visiting, a bit of baking, a bit of shopping, all done in preparation for tomorrow! It can be so easy for us to forget the meaning behind Christmas. Hopefully, though, the kids will know in their hearts what Christmas is really all about.

The reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to all of my family and friends, including (and especially!) my blogging friends and followers!

In peace,
Dana

Making a simple Christmas wreath

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Christmas wreath 2013

We finally hung our Christmas wreath outside! The weather has continued to be rather mild in temperature, although there has been quite a lot of rain. Thankfully, the sun has also come to visit us even if for short visits.

Christmas wreath 2013

I had one more straw wreath frame, and greens left over from my large outdoor wreath, so I decided to make another wreath to give away. I really enjoy making them, especially when working with eucalyptus, pittosporum (Tom Thumb) and lovely evergreens.

Straw wreath form

It does take some time to cut the greens into a small(ish) size, and then pin them into the wreath form. But it isn’t difficult to do, especially when using floral pins.

Floral pins and garden sheers

Piece by piece you pin the greens on!

Filling in the greens to cover the straw.

The evergreens are just my base. I wanted the color and different textures from the Tom Thumb Pittosporum and eucalyptus to be the main focus of the wreath.

Adding Tom Thumb Pittosporum for texture and color

Filling in with pittosporum

The family were watching A Christmas Carol while I was finishing up the wreath. I could watch too, from where I was working. It was an animated version, but still quite scary! We are finally on a break from all of our activities and able to relax together as a family. I’m so glad we have taken the time to watch those Christmas movies (even if for the 100th time!).

Eucalyptus added with the pittosporum

Now I had to decide how to embellish it! I decided to go with a very simple look.

A few gold balls

A gold French horn

A gold bow

Watching that video on how to make a bow on Youtube has come in handy this season!

A simple Christmas wreath

I was really happy with the finished wreath. Yeah, I was having second thoughts about giving it away! 🙂 But it was for some special people (my in-laws!) so I stuck to my original plan and gave it to them.

Photo with no flash

Christmas is almost here. I have enjoyed getting ready by visiting with neighbors, friends and family and sharing our baked goods. Mostly, I’ve enjoyed our time together as a family. I hope you are able to enjoy time with your friends and family, too.

Merry Christmas!
Dana

My friend Susan made this star for me! Isn’t it fabulous?

Two more sleeps!

Orange & Clove Pomander Wreath

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Mominthegarden

How it all begins…

Last week I went to a fabulous craft fair. There were hundreds of very talented crafts people there. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I can’t wait to go again next year! So many wonderful ideas. One item that I loved was a wreath made from dried limes, oranges and cinnamon sticks. I tried drying fruit once before, unsuccessfully I might add. So I wasn’t interested in doing that, but I was interested in working with cinnamon. Cinnamon, cloves, oranges; I was on a mission. It has been years since I last made a pomander (something aromatic that used to be for scenting linens/clothes). They are quite easy to make. A simple cooking thermometer can be used to poke small holes into an orange. This is where you can be creative with different designs! I did a fancy “S” on two sides, and then rows of three on the other sides.

Cooking thermometer used to make holes in an orange.

The cloves go in easily when using a cooking thermometer to make holes in an orange.

Rows of three on two sides, and a fancy “S” on the other sides.

I used a ribbon just to break up the space, and I pinned it on the top and bottom to keep it in place. Easy enough! Now, what to do with the pomander? I decided on making a table wreath arrangement. I used a straw framed circle wreath, floral pins (or “u” pins), greens and my garden shears.

Straw frame circle wreath

Garden shears, eucalyptus, holly, and evergreens

I really enjoy working with my hands and getting a little creative time. To me, this is the fun part of getting ready for Christmas! Being given eucalyptus from my neighbor the other day really made me smile. I’ve added eucalyptus to my “need to buy for the garden” list! How awesome to have such different textures and colors right there in the back/front yard! It smells lovely, too!

table wreath in process. (You can see the plastic plate in the center)

clove & orange pomander with cinnamon sticks

I used a small rubber band to keep three cinnamon sticks in place, and then tied them with a ribbon. I used three oranges, and paired them with three cinnamon sticks. I had a large pretty white candle that fit in the center of the wreath nicely. I was delighted that it all just came together. The arrangement is sitting on a clear plastic plate.

aerial view – groups of threes!

We didn’t have any red berries last year, yet this year there are so many! I just had to use them. 🙂

Clove & Orange Pomander Wreath

You can see the lights to our Christmas tree in the background.

Finished candle table arrangement made of clove & orange pomander with cinnamon.

I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and that you are able to enjoy the process! Slowing down is the hardest part for me. I just need to speed things up for a couple more days and THEN, hopefully, I can slow the pace down!

Merry Christmas!
Dana

The Cake is baked and a Traditional Christmas Wreath is made.

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Handmade (not by me) Santa

It is December 16th and I am feeling a wee bit behind with my Christmas preparations. The kids have been doing really well with their swimming and Irish dancing, which has kept me busy. Yes, indeed, I am trying to make excuses/figure out why I am so behind this year! I had been hoping for an extra week to somehow work its way into my schedule, but alas that has not happened. So it is time to really get going! Maybe it isn’t as bad as I think it is. Sure, I have the Christmas cake baked!

baked Christmas cake (traditional fruit cake)

The batter tasted delicious!

Beer soaked fruit

Wrap that baking pan! 2 layers parchment on the bottom and insides, along with w layers of brown paper on the bottom and outside!

Wrap that baking pan! 2 layers parchment on the bottom and insides, along with 2 layers of brown paper on the bottom and outside!

I actually tried to get out of making the Christmas cake this year. I asked the family if we could just skip it. All but the littlest one said “no way!”. I do like it when they enjoy what I make, so it was a nice affirmation that my time is not wasted. But given that it takes 4 & 1/2 hours to bake, you kinda need time!

Today I finished making our outdoor wreath. Never mind the fact that I usually have it hanging up the first or second week of December. Between my friends Margaret & Fred, I was given the most fabulous greens to use: eucalyptus, holly with loads of berries, and different evergreens. I love making our wreath, especially when it smells so fresh! Our kitty Hobbes had great fun attacking the greens which were obviously quite dangerous sitting in the black bag…

Hobbes helping with the greens.

the greens sitting atop the iron wreath frame

loads of berries!

This eucalyptus smells lovely!

I must get the name of this pretty plant.

These lovely dark leaves are from a Pittosporum called “Tom Thumb”.

Our finished wreath (waiting to be hung outside…)

I didn’t take pictures along the way. I really just wanted to get it finished. I first placed everything on my cast iron wreath frame (which was graciously made for us by Fred!). This way I was able to make sure everything was evenly distributed. Then I used floral wire to tie on the bunches of greens. I went with a simple red bow for garland. My sister-in-law gave me some fabulous outdoor ribbon and it really worked well on the wreath. (Thank you Gail!)

Making my Christmas wreath 2013

I did a quick search on the internet for a video on making bows. I thought the result wasn’t too bad! I think it is best to have wire rimmed ribbon for making bows.

Lots of different textures in this wreath.

I love working with different greens!

Finished Christmas wreath

What do you think of this new item I bought? It is a large red and white Christmas ball. I like it (that is why I bought it!), but the family isn’t so sure about it.

New addition this year. (Huge) Red Christmas ball.

Large Christmas ball.

But there is still so much more to do! I have to run! I hope all of your preparations are going well!

Merry Christmas 🙂
Dana

A Thanksgiving look at the garden

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Mominthegarden

A fine fall afternoon.

Wouldn’t it be nice to sit back, relax, and just enjoy the nice fall weather we’ve been having? I have to confess that I don’t do that nearly enough! But today is our American Thanksgiving. So today, especially, is a day to take note of all of our blessings, each and every one of them. For this blog post I’m just going to focus on my garden (my family and friends, of course, would come ahead of the garden!).

The last slice of zucchini (courgette) bread.

The last two slices of zucchini (courgette) bread.

Time for a relaxing cup of tea with some zucchini bread. These two slices were taken from the last loaf from our freezer. Good thing I now have pumpkins to make some pumpkin bread. My kids enjoy the breads for their after school snack. You can find the recipe for zucchini bread here: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/time-for-a-cuppa-zucchini-bread-with-crumb-topping-is-perfect-for-your-break/

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know how thankful I am for my garden. I find my time in the garden to be peaceful and sanity saving. Even if I sneak in just a little bit of time here and there, it rejuvenates me. I love it. Honestly, it isn’t a spectacular garden. But I’m creating it, nurturing it, and continually growing and changing it; all as organically as I can.

The last of my potatoes.

My potato bed had just a few spuds left in it. Since I wanted to plant some rye in the bed, to protect the soil and benefit the soil as well, I dug them up. I think the potatoes were my favorite veggie in the garden. They really were very good potatoes. Even so, next year I am going to try a different variety. It’s nice to try something new!

The last of the spuds (Sarpo Mira).

Let me show you how well the rye is growing. I know, it is crazy, but stuff like this just makes me all happy!

Rye from just a few weeks ago.

Remember my post on rye at the beginning of November? https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/fall-plantings-of-green-manure-its-just-rye-organic-vallelado-garlic/ It is already taking off and doing great!

The front bed on left (with the chicken wire) and middle bed on the right have rye growing already.

In the two beds above, I planted the rye in rows. Yeah, I think it doesn’t matter, but for the potato bed, and my newest bed (can’t be seen in this picture) I scattered it. Really, I don’t think it matters… Says she to herself, to convince no one in particular…

Blueberry bush in November

What does the rest of my garden look like on Thanksgiving? My blueberry bushes are a vibrant red! What is not to love about that color?

November look at the garden

Organic Brussels Sprouts Rubine Red

My Brussels sprouts are still growing. I like the purple look to the plants.

Organic Brussels Sprouts Rubine Red

I’m being a bit impatient as it really feels like they are taking forever to grow!

Organic Brussels Sprouts Rubine Red

The top of a Brussels Sprout plant

My littlest one is hoping they never get picked from the garden. But the rest of us really like Brussels sprouts. I can’t wait to try them!

Fall harvest with quite a few pumpkins

Here is a peek at some of the pumpkins from our garden. Look! They are all orange! Remember when they were green?

Green pumpkins sitting on the wall in October

They all turned orange after I brought them inside. Our front hall is rather chilly, but it was warm enough to turn them orange, and cool enough so they aren’t going rotten (thankfully). My geraniums are quite happy in the hall, too.

Geraniums looking happier inside than they did outside!

Most of my fall decorations are in my front hall. They just seem to fit nicely there. Lots of fall colors, scarecrows, and pumpkins! I’ll be sad to take them down this weekend. But I’m looking forward to decorating for Christmas! But really, one holiday at a time please.

My scare-crow was given to me by a special friend.

Shine on Harvest Moon!

A lovely sunset in November.

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh now isn’t that turkey just what you’d expect to find in my garden? I hang it for the kids. And for me. 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving, to my friends, family, and blogging friends!

In peace,
Dana

Preparing the Asparagus bed for winter

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Mominthegarden

Asparagus peeking through this past spring.

Sometimes, picking what to plant in the garden is easy. We love to eat asparagus. Asparagus is not common here in Ireland. It is therefore on the pricey side in the market, and I haven’t even seen any local organic asparagus. So there you go, decision made: let’s try our hand at growing asparagus!

Asparagus in June.

I posted about our asparagus plants earlier this year: https://mominthegarden.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/end-of-june-roses-poppies-but-wait-asparagus-brussels-sprouts-too/ We planted some crowns last year, but only a few took. So this past spring we really primed the bed well, adding our own compost, as well as good quality mushroom compost. The results were amazing! Every crown took. Asparagus like well drained soil, and in our case of having heavy soil it is essential to have a well prepared bed. It is also important to keep the bed well weeded. Careful with a hoe, though, as the roots are very close to the surface.

Asparagus plants’ first year of growth. November 2013.

A close-up of over grown first year asparagus plants grown from crowns.

Planting crowns allows you to harvest the asparagus after one season. When planting from seed, it is recommended to wait until the second season to begin harvesting. I think it is worth paying a bit more for the crowns to save that year of waiting! After planting the crowns, then watching them grow, we had to wait until November to finally cut down all of the stems and feathery fronds. Those fronds are important for nourishing the roots, so it is good to wait until they start to turn yellow before cutting them off. I added all of these cuttings to my compost pile.

Asparagus greens atop the freshly added leaves in the compost.

If I take the advice from Monty don in The Complete Gardener, I will only take two cuttings next spring. The following year I will stop cuttings on June 1st. After that, we don’t have to keep track anymore!

The freshly cut asparagus bed.

A lovely bouquet of asparagus fronds!

To harvest, it is best to cut the stem just below the surface of the soil, about an inch down. The stems grow quite quickly during their spring season. But that is jumping ahead a bit. Let’s get through this fall and winter, before talking about our spring harvest!

November 16, 2013.

Such beautiful weather we’ve had! I am simply pulled outside to work in the garden…

Capturing the changing colors.

My blueberry bushes turn a lovely red in the fall, while my beech hedges turn from green, to yellow, to brown for the winter.

Look how the sunlight completely changes this picture!

The sunlight completely changes the picture to me.

Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed reading about growing asparagus!

Happy Fall!
Dana

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Author Archives: Mominthegarden

About Mominthegarden

Winter Blooms in my Irish Garden (An anemone steals the show!)

Sharing some of the bounty … and a pumpkin bread recipe

Pruning Roses in my new Bradley’s Gloves

Organic Rubine Red Brussels Sprouts

Making a snowman cake topper on Christmas eve

Making a simple Christmas wreath

Orange & Clove Pomander Wreath

The Cake is baked and a Traditional Christmas Wreath is made.

A Thanksgiving look at the garden

Preparing the Asparagus bed for winter