Making Basil Pesto With Almonds

 

I had a good crop of basil this year.

Despite quite a major draught.

I know freezing temps are around the corner,

so I decided to harvest most of the plants.

Most of it I am going to air dry.

When I looked at this recipe,

I thought "No problem, I have all of those ingredients".

I was picturing making a mountain of pesto.

Then I got my parmesan container out of the fridge.

Ouch.  Well, enough for two rounds of the recipe.

I have a tiny food processor, so it only held a single recipe.

Later I found a recipe that included lemon juice,

and I would probably add that the next time.

I searched for a cute jar,

then found out it only keeps 5-6 days in the fridge.

So I will probably freeze it on a sheet pan,

cut it up, and put it in a plastic ziploc in the freezer.

Butterflies on Butterfly Bushes

We have two large butterfly bushes on the south side of the garden shed.

Like most plants on the property, it is only a couple years old.

This is the first year it has flowered profusely and as promised --the butterflies are loving it.

 This is the violet variety,

and it has the most flowers -- and butterflies.

 This is the dark purple variety,

and it has some fans.

 While I was taking pics,

I caught this guy mid-lunch.

My oregano is also a popular butterfly stomping ground.

What Flowers To Plant For HOT DRY Summers

Mostly this is to remind myself what to plant next spring, and what NOT to plant.

Summers in the Ozarks can be brutally hot and dry -- like this summer.

Two weeks ago we had 1/4" of rain, and it had been four weeks before that.

I am not a devotee of watering, so I have to choose plants carefully, especially in containers.

(And I try not to do many containers.)

This is one of a pair of containers that bookend our driveway.

I would like for them to be plush and welcoming,

 but it is tough since they bake in the hot sun all day.

The spikey purple flower was great and I would definitely do it again.

The purple potato vine struggled....

and the groundcover was an epic fail.

I had moved it from a shady planter to here, and it is not a sun worshipper.

Try to remember this next spring!

Here is a success -- mandevilla (but not the vining variety).

It is in the shade of a little tree for a few hours a day and that helps.

I planted lobelia underneath that and in several other places because I love the color --

it does NOT thrive with heat and neglect.  Avoid buying next spring.

I don't know what this pitiful twig of a plant was called.

It was something  different and interesting, with a pink stem and pink balls on the tips.

I did ask the nursery person how it did in heat and drought --

obviously she lied.

Avoid making impulse buys next spring.

What you see here is our old stone birdbath turned planter.

What you don't see -- the celosia that I planted in the center that died many weeks ago.

Say NO to celosia.  

The coleus held up very well for as much sun as it gets.

Black eyed susans that I planted two years ago.  Look great, take no watering.

This pic is to remind me to thin them out and maybe plant something else in the middle next spring.

The day lilies had a great season, even though they look a bit bedraggled now.

Next spring I would maybe take out the center one, and plant something different there.

This is just the first year for these orange coneflowers,

they have received no love.

But they still manage to hang on, a little shade from the basil might have helped.

I don't think I have any standard pink coneflowers here,

so that is something to consider next spring.

And you know what I can always count on?

Lanatana.

Loves the sun.

Loves neglect.

Loves the dry weather.

Colorful Coneflowers

 I've always like coneflowers -- 

the "cone" shaped flowers with long droopy 

pinky purple petals.

 A few years ago I picked up three varieties of white

coneflowers.  Planted together they were lovely,

and survived summer heat so well.  But I had to leave

those at my last house.

 Last summer I planted these gold ones,

which look so great next to the lavender.

And this spring I planted these red ones.

I am not a "red flower person" but these

have knocked my socks off.

Chooks Have Moved Into The Herb Garden

Back Door Herb Garden

This week I have been working on my back door herb garden.

When we moved in to this house two years ago the stony bones of this area already existed.

Left to right on middle level: The butterflies went crazy for the oregano last year -- and the plant survived the winter and is flourishing.  Actually I thinned about half of the plant.

In the center -- I don't remember what is in the little enamel pot.  It barely survived the winter -- maybe lemon verbena?

Far right is the mature sage plant, which was one of the few plantings that were around the house when we moved in. That sage is what made me decide to plant 2 of 3 levels with kitchen herbs. 

Left to right on the upper level:  I just planted rosemary & thyme in the yellow enamel pot (they are friends anyway right?)  In front of the pot I planted some flat leaf parsley seed, which I soaked for a couple days first.

Center is lavender, which smells heavenly as you are going inside (second year for it, and it seems to like it's location).

Far right is gold echinacea (coneflower) and to the right of that I just planted some basil seed. (In a couple weeks I will add annuals to the yellow enamel pot and the raised rectangular box -- which my son made for me last year.)

Succulent Acres

 I was a little sad last year when we moved,

to leave behind my "succulent nursery".

The area where I carefully cultivated my succulents

that I used in my vintage pots that I sold.

Surely it would take years to establish such a

prolific succulent nursery again....

 This is my stone birdbath (doesn't hold water) that

I didn't even plant last year.  This year I just put one puny

impatient in the center surrounded by a variety of succulents.

They have all taken off, and if they survive the winter --

I will transplant them to an area all their own.

Hang on sweet little babies!

This is the area outside our mudroom door that I worked on last spring,

(while I was supposed to be working on the inside of the house.)

The bright green succulents on the bottom I had purchased

on clearance the fall BEFORE that and sat in their little pots

over the winter (somehow survived) and were one of the first things

I planted last spring (that is, a little over a year ago).

 

 

Here is the same area April 2018.

(Better camera now!)

They have spread and flourished.

 By next spring I will definitely be able to

steal bits of them for my vintage pots.

And this is my new baby nursery.

On the south wall of my shop.

Where they can bathe in full sun all day.

They have done so well, that by next year it will

probably just be a hen & chicks nursery and I will

find a larger plot for the rest of the succulents.

After all, I have five acres now.....

I could just keep going and going.....

Working On Little House In The Ozarks Day 32

 The day started with my sister-in-law and I going to

a Spring Open House at a local antique store.  

She picked up something to put a few plants in,

and I purchased this great 

(and extremely heavy)

vintage birdbath.

 Then a quick visit to our local Lowe's,

to pick up some snacks for nocturnal visitors.

I also did some impulse buying while there.

These were only $1 per pot,

because they had been nipped by frost.

I hope to nurse them back to health.

Working On The Little House In The Ozarks Day 19

I had a guest today, visiting a guest.

My son was doing a visitation with his cat

between trips.

So I put him to good use. (Hard labor)

Hauling heavy rocks.

With his help, the 3-tier

stone garden is almost ready for planting.

I have decided to turn it into a back door herb garden.

The large plant in the center is sage,

so I already have a good start.

Working On Little House In The Ozarks Day 16

 So, this week I am working on the sunroom.

I should just keep recycling this photo,

because today I patched, sanded and primed.

And it looked like this.

Tomorrow I will repaint the white trim.

And it will look like this.

Wednesday I will roll the walls.

 And it will look like this.

I like the white walls, they just needed a refresher coat.

 And I played outside a little.

I am working on two rock gardens.

(Who am I kidding? Every garden

around here is a rock garden).

The one pictured above has three tiers,

and today I just worked on the bottom tier.

 This doesn't look like much, but it will.

I am creating a stone "berm" using rocks that

were around the trees and light poles.

Eventually I will add soil and succulents.

Here you can see the location of the "berm" to the house.

The area on the right of the berm (with concrete) has an 

electrical outlet.  So I might be able to incorporate a fountain

or water feature.