Archive for the ‘gardening’ Category

Cooking with Basil – Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Sweet basil is used to flavor non-alcoholic beverages, ice cream, candy, baked goods, puddings, condiments and meats. Especially used to flavor Italian dishes.

One of the most popular recipes that use basil as the main ingredient is for Tomato Basil Soup. It’s a great, tasty way to use some of your basil that’s ready to harvest in your garden.

Here’s the recipe to get you on your way.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

Ingredients

# 2 teaspoons olive oil
# 2 garlic cloves, minced
# 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
# 2 cups fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
# Basil leaves (optional for garnish)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in the broth, salt, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Stir in basil. Place half of the soup in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a bowl, and repeat procedure with remaining soup. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

Still have more basil to harvest? Try some Basil Beer Bread or Thai Basil Chicken.

Learn how easy it is to grow your own sweet basil.  It’s fun!

Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs, Herbs, Uncategorized, gardening, organic gardening | No Comments »

CMA Awards and Music City Gardens

Friday, June 11th, 2010

If you’re a country music fan and are in town for the CMA Awards, be sure and go by and see the rose collection named for many famous music stars and their songs at the Music City Gardens in downtown Nashville, Tn. Names like Ring of Fire, Rocky Top,  Tennessee Waltz, Pam Tillis, Barbara Mandrell, Amy Grant and many more are included in the list of roses named in the garden.  Our own Nashville Rose Society is to thank for this fun garden.

The Music City Garden is located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Demonbreun in the Hall of Fame Park -just in front of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Get driving directions here.

Want to see more gardens while your here?  Visit our web site at www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com and learn more about Carnton Plantation, and Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum complete with pictures and videos.

Learn more about growing roses from our web site here

Upload a picture and tell us your experience here. It will become a page on our website…so come on and get published!

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Posted in Botanical Gardens, Full-sun perennials, Herbs, Perennials, Public Gardens, gardening | No Comments »

Chihuly in Nashville – Learn More About the Artist

Friday, June 11th, 2010

There’s lots of buzz in the air about the Chihuly Exhibit in Nashville, Tn. The work of this exciting, world renowned artists can be seen at the Frist Center and at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. Get a combo ticket here and save money

More than 10,000 people have visited Cheekwood’s outdoor exhibits in the past two weeks and there’s a good reason for that.

As you can see from the picture to the right, compliments from the Chihuly website , you can see how dazzling these sculptures are.

Through the idea of team work in glass blowing, Chihuly and his team of master glass blowers have explored such themes as Baskets, Cylinders, Seaforms, Fire and many more. Read more about how this incredible team uses their passion and gifts to create some of the most magnificent works in the world in the book from our Amazon affiliate entitled Team Chihuly

Chihuly’s works are becoming more and more autobiographical. For instance, the Basket series reminds him of woven Northwest Coast Indian baskets he saw in 1977. And his designs of abstract flower forms comes from his memories of his mothers garden in Tocoma and his other series’ Niijima Floats, Seaforms, and even the Chandaliers remind him of his childhood.

As a gardener, I’m especially interested in the beautiful book Chihuly Gardens & Glass.  As one editorial reviewer notes…’The brilliance of color and form of the glass, and the plants it is set among, creates a new reality within the conservatory.”  This book makes a wonderful tabletop book and gift for any art or flower lover.

The more you know about this great abstract glass blower, the more you will appreciate the gorgeous displays at Cheekwood Museum and Botanical Garden and at the Frist Center. I found a whole page at Amazon dedicated to Chihuly and his works. Below is the link from Amazon where you may purchase these books and DVD’s before you go.

Visit the Dale Chihuly Page at Amazon.com

If you go, let us know how you like it and of course let us know how you like the books!

Learn more about the gardens at Cheekwood on our website and see videos from a recent visit. The video’s aren’t of Chihuly (apparently you have to pay big bucks to do that!) but I think you will enjoy them just the same!

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Posted in Botanical Gardens, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum, Chihuly Exhibit, Garden Art, Garden Design, Public Gardens, gardening, statues | No Comments »

Growing Costmary Herb

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Costmary is also known as “Bible leaf” and “sweet Mary” and it has become one of my favorite herbs. This hardy, large, and decorative plant with light green leaves nearly a foot long. The flowers are small and yellow and the leaves taste minty. Use them to season meat, cake and in teas.

A good background plant, growing as high as 5 feet, costmary requires thinning. It does best if partially shaded. Although you can start costmary from seed, root division is the best method of propagation.

Not always an easy herb to find, it’s worth the extra effort. Its charming appearance and sweet fragrance along with its history is filled with fascinating tales from all over the globe. Especially interesting is its special place in Christianity.

In colonial times, the costmary leaf served as a bookmark in the bibles and prayerbooks of many devout churchgoers. When the sermon became long and boring and drowsiness set in, the sleepy listener treated themselves to the minty flavor of the costmary leaves in an effort to stay awake. Thus the name “Bible leaf” grew popular.

For more gardening advice and information on growing costmary herb and other herbs, visit our website and download our free e-book entitled Herbs for your Health: How to Grow and Use Them when you sign up for our gardening newsletter

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Posted in Cooking With Herbs, Harvesting Herbs, Herbs, Perennials, gardening, perennial herbs | No Comments »

What to Plant in Your Raised Bed

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

If you are new to square foot gardening you may be wondering what you should plant.

Gardener’s Supply Company has done an excellent job of teaching us about how to garden in our square foot garden. They have a great article on what types of plants are best for your raised bed called What to Plant in Your Square Foot Garden

There number one tip is to grow what you like to eat. This may sound obvious to many of you, but I do recall that last year I planted a whole bunch of radishes just because they are easy to grow. Guess what. I didn’t eat any of them because I don’t like radishes! A bit strong for my taste!

This year we are only planting what we like to eat. Such crops as spinach, lettuce, beets, potatoes, and carrots are all already growing in our square foot garden.

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Comment below and let me know what you think. I would love to hear what you are planning on growing in your square foot garden.

Posted in Square Foot Gardening, gardening, organic vegetable gardening | No Comments »

Online Catalogs Make Ordering Seeds Easy

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

The easiest and quickest way to find the seeds you want to plant this year is through online catalogs. Seed companies like Select Seeds, Gurneys, Henry Fields and more make it fun and easy to select the best varieties for your area. They even group them together so that if you want to find seeds for a fragrance garden, cottage garden, edible garden, perennials, foliage or container plants, you’ll find great pictures and growing information.

One caution though. Be sure not to get too carried away with your choices especially when ordering vegetable packets. Only grow what you and your family can reasonably eat.

Learn more about ordering from online catalogs at our website at www.MidSouthGardeningAdvice.com

Shop at Gurneys.com for your vegetable and flower seeds!

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Posted in Annuals, Herbs, Perennials, Shrubs, Uncategorized, gardening, organic gardening | No Comments »

Garden Kneelers make great gifts

Friday, December 11th, 2009

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If you know someone who loves to garden but has a hard time getting up and down, the garden kneeler from Gardner’s Supply is a perfect gift.

These sturdy metal framed benches make gardening easier because you can use your arm strength to lower yourself up and down when planting and weeding.

Once you’re ready to sit for awhile, simply flip it over and it becomes a nice bench with a cushioned seat. You can even by a pouch separately that hangs on the side to store your tools, gloves, and seeds.

I love the fact that this garden bench is made of steel rather than plastic. Less likely to break that way and much more handsome, I think. Being metal does make it a little heavier to tote, but the extra sturdiness this gives the product makes this a good trade-off. You can fold it up for easier handling. I suggest not leaving it outside in bad weather in order to keep it in tip-top shape.

I’ve certainly got this at the top of my wish. Be sure and check out the garden kneeler for yourself or a loved one. They even have a deep-seat edition with a seat that’s 30% deeper front to back for added comfort and more support.

Happy gardening!

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Posted in Tools, gardening | No Comments »