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!

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!

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!

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

The only maintenance required for this plant is to deadhead to keep the blooms coming all summer long. At the end of the growing season, simply cut it back to about 6 inches. Next spring your plant will start all over again!

Read the full article here

Coreopsis "Moonbeam"

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.

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.

Some plants can provide special nutrients needed by neighboring plants, or even the root system of a certain plant helps to loosen the soil.

Some plants like, marigolds, are bug repellents while other plants, like parsley and yarrow, attract beneficial insects.

Being knowledgeable about of this natural interaction gives gardeners a head start in combating pests in the garden naturally.

Here’s a rundown on some of the plants that do and don’t grow together well.

Roses like garlic, but dislike boxwood: tomatoes like basil; dislikes rue; cucumbers dislike sage; carrots dislike dill; most plants dislike fennel.

Alliums are good with most any plant because it deters insects, but peas and beans are inhibited by them. Naturstiums are good bug repellents and are benefical to radishes and apple trees.

Yarrow attracts lady bugs and is beneficial to surrounding plants, but wormwood inhibits plant neighbors with toxic root system.

This info and more is in my favorite herbal gardening book

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

If you can’t wait to have fresh herbs for your cooking pleasure, be sure and start some indoors with your own culinary herb garden kit. These kits make it easy to grow culinary herbs.
Assortment of 12 Culinary Herb Seeds Each packet of seed contains much more seed than is needed for the kit. Experiment inside with Parsley, Thyme, Cilantro/Coriander, Basil, Dill, Oregano, Sweet Marjoram, Chives, Savory, Garlic Chives, Mustard, Sage.

The convenient, no-mess way to start seeds. Just add water – pellets expand to form pot and soil in one. Canadian sphagnum peat moss provides a rich, high quality growing environment. Transplant directly into the ground or larger containers-minimizes transplant shock and root damage.

What better way to add zest to your foods without salt!

This is a wonderful ministry to get involved with if you live anywhere near Franklin, Tn