Above, Calocasia (Elephant Ears, aptly named) “Mojito”.

An elegant assemblage of tropicals in what used to serve as a fountain trough.  Each is planted into its own pot and brought indoors for winter.

Caladium “Garden White” with a companion Boston Fern, wonderful texture.

A full tilt tropical garden at the Fareway in Chestnut Hill.  Blue-flowering plant is the herb African Blue Basil.

Canna tubers can be dug and stored in the basement til spring.

Bananas in a classic perennial/annual border.  Banana trees can be left in the ground, cut back, stump covered with a plastic pot and a pile of leaves over all.  They’ll return in spring with lots of offshoots, even in harsh winters (as we discovered last spring).

Baby bananas!

I like words. Words are places, rooms, distant airs, thin and tropical. They make us feel and imagine we are more than our bodies.  Rickie Lee Jones

Well, today is your lucky day.

Here is a slick infographic that supplies all the information on seasonal availability of “vegetables” (a term used a bit beyond its definition, as it does include some fruits.. but who’s counting?).

Enjoy and make sure you get your 6-8 servings in today!

“Cabbage:  a vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head”   Ambrose Bierce

IMAGES OF SPRING

from the archives: galkaoutdoor.blogspot.com

Nick is digging me out. The view out my window is of splendid white icing on the earth. But it’s cold! It helps to think of the colors  of spring, which will be here soon (wishfully thought).

Tulip at right is Sun Spot…a mid-season double with long-lasting bloom that we discovered last year. It’s a variable tulip…no two alike.

This is my first blog entry, and it’s a learning process. I’ll get it figured out and add to it regularly, to remind friends and client-friends of the beauty of nature and it’s possibilities for us! 

We’ll have many images and things horticultural to share, and hope you’ll share yours, too.

“So what do you need besides a miracle?  Tulips, lots of Tulips.”   Anonymous

The weeds of spring are delicate and delicious…just call them wild greens…and good for you, too! A rich source of Vitamins A and C. A blog entry from The Grist with recipes for what you might otherwise curse.

We had a call yesterday, asking for fiddlehead ferns. Fiddleheads are not a variety of fern…they are the tender, young, unfurled fronds of the fern…and an epicurean delicacy.

Not all varieties are particularly edible and some are toxic; so in our area harvest only Royal, Cinnamon and Ostrich Fern fiddleheads (the most aggressive of ferns, easily identified)….the tighter the better. Be sure not to cut the fronds to the ground, or to harvest more than half of a plant’s fronds or there will be no new growth. One and a half to two inches of stem beneath the coil is about right. Remove the papery chaff by rolling in your hands under a running faucet. Wash several times with cold water and pat dry gently. Use soon after harvest, or keep refrigerated for a day or so.

There are many creative recipes out there, but to my taste the simpler is usually the better. Fiddleheads have their own distinct flavor, somewhat like asparagus. Saute or steam lightly to retain their crisp texture and shape and so they don’t dry out. Sprinkle with salt, lemon, or vinaigrette. Or eat them uncooked in salads or all by themselves. They are a concentrated source of Vitamins A and C, niacin, iron, potassium and other minerals.

The window is short…you’ll find fiddleheads from mid April to early May.