You still have time

To get your Sweet Peas started

We live in zone 3.  My seeds will be planted in the middle of March.

In warmer climates, Sweet Peas should be planted in February. 

At least 2 to 3 weeks before planting start germinating seeds in a plastic bag.

  Place moistened paper towel and seeds into plastic bag.  Keep top open and place by window.

Check seeds a few times and rinse them in cold water  (to prevent  mildew) and return to plastic bag.  After  about 2 weeks your seeds will have sprouted and they are ready to be planted.  Sprouts look very tender but they are sturdy and are easily handled. 

Besides collecting my own seeds I will be ordering these "Wiltshire Ripples" from Thompson and Morgan.

 

It is the "odoratus"  and "fragantissima" varieties which have the most heavenly scent.  
Among the most fragrant Sweet Peas are the blue varieties such as "Chatsworth",  

Sweet peas love to be paired with other garden flowers.  

and Fruit

"Molly Rilestone"  maybe my most favorite Sweet Pea.

Have a wonderful weekend my dear Friends.

Gina

Note:  All flowers and fruit from my 2015 garden

http://www.lavendercottagegardening.com/
http://anenglishgirlrambles2016.blogspot.com/

Well, I'll be !

Note to myself; 

Experiment.

When cut and placed in water Hellebore flowers will wilt in only a few hours. UNLESS.

you first dip their stems into  Alum powder.

These Helleborus  flowers have already gone to seed.  

They don't need special treatment. 

Helleborus orientalis, commonly called Lenten Rose,  belong to the Ranunculaceae family. 

It only takes one Hellebore blossom and a few galax leaves to make a fine boutonniere. 

Sweet little snowdrops show off Hellebore to advantage. 

Hellebore keep their green leaves throughout our cold winter months.  

The air dried blossoms make an interesting bouquet and will last for months. 

If you live in this harsh climate,  a flower growing through the snow and in February, deserves a space in every garden.  

They add mystery to every Spring flower bouquet. 

And the best news of all.

I have thousands of little Helleborus orientalis seedlings growing in my garden. 

I will share.  

Have a most wonderful week dear friends.   

Spring is just around the corner

Gina 

Note: All flowers from my 2015 garden

Do you know how to keep waffles crisp?

Whenever my little nieces come for a visit

We have to have waffles for breakfast. 

Waffles because I have a waffle iron which makes individual hearts. 

The little girls told me that they always toast their ready made frozen waffles when they are at home.  

I showed my nieces how to make pancake and waffle batter from scratch.  It only takes a few minutes to mix the simple ingredients. 

Even though my pancakes are crisp when they first come from the waffle iron, they soon lose their texture.  Keeping them seperate doesn't help either. 

So why not make a big batch, freeze them and then TOAST each individual waffle. No additives, no preservatives, and very inexpensive.  

Voila! It worked.  

Crisp, delicious, home made waffles made from scratch and always ready. 

Do you know have a favorite waffle recipe?

Have a great week dear friends, 

Gina 

http://lovemademyhome.blogspot.ca/2016/03/five-on-friday.html
http://mylittlehomeandgarden.blogspot.ca/2016/03/sunlit-sunday-potted-tulips-mya.html

A new kitchen in Washington DC gets a new hearth treatment

I sense a renewed  interest 

in hand painted ceramic tiles.

My tiles are hand painted with Italian powder pigments.

This is how they look before they are fired.  

I begin by painting circles on once fired bisque tiles.

The books are there to steady my arm.

I center the tiles on the Banding Wheel and place the color laden brush on the tile and let the wheel spin.

(keeping fingers crossed that the lines will meet where they began)

There is a shop in Deruta Italy, (Mondo Ceramica) where I purchase my pigments, glazes and brushes. 

There is enough to last a lifetime. 

I recently noticed that I use more yellow than any other pigment. That could be an excuse to head for Deruta on our upcoming trip to Italy in April. 

I might even stop in at the Scuola d' Arte and visit with my favorite teacher.   

Once the images have been completely painted,  2 coats of clear glaze is applied. 

They will now go into my kiln and be fired to 1823 degrees Fahrenheit.  

This is when the pigments fuse with the clear glaze and this is when the magic happens.  

 The firing cycle lasts a little over 24 hours.  

The colors will never fade, they are permanent.  

They are painted in the 600-year-old Italian Maiolica tradition. 

The only difference is that they are painted in Utah, and not in Italy.  

My tiles will last many lifetimes no matter how many times you scrub or clean them. 

 This is my favorite kind of tile to paint.  

They all tell a story. 

Spring is coming to our neck of the woods.  

Hallelujah. 

Gina

Surprise, Surprise

The first flowers growing outside

and Kumquats growing inside, in my greenhouse. 

 I had no idea that Kumquats were forming on my little tree. 
 I couldn't see them when they were green.  

Brought these candied Kumquats from Italy. 
Wish I knew the recipe. 

Have a lovely weekend dear friends, 

Gina 

Grafton

Grafton today

Alive and well.

Where on a starry night and in the middle of Summer you can dance with the descendants from this almost forgotten place of the American West.  

Really not forgotten because of a catchy little tune 

from the Movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".  

The open space in front of the old schoolhouse was the perfect place to film the now famous bicycle ride scene.  

The marker announces "Killed by Indians April 2, 1866".

Gravestones are everywhere.  Mounds of graves, unmarked, are everywhere.  

I had the uneasy feeling that I was walking on their graves.  In fact, I fell over that stone in front of the enclosed gravesite.  

Too young to die.

It's a lovely valley.

 Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormon Church, sent his followers to this valley with the mandate to grow cotton. 

My Friend and every day walking partner Lynn has added this interesting note about this charming little house:

It was actually my great, great Grandfather who built this house.  My Grandfather was born and raised in Grafton.  One of the sweet things about the house is the detail in the brick, especially the foundation.  When they came to Grafton, of course it wasn't full of pastures and orchards as it is now, and I think he wanted something pretty for his wife in what must have seemed a God-forsaken place.  To have taken the extra time to make that brick detail seems a lovely thing to me.  

The house Lynn's great, great Grandfather built.  

There it is on the left. 

Many from the same family.

Repeated floods, Indian raids and famine finally drove out the last resident in 1945. 

And did you know that Zion National Park is just a half hour drive down the road?  

Wishing you a wonderful week. 

Gina