Fern poop?

BY SKEETER

 We have found humidity once again in my Georgia Gardens. My sinus tells me a front is coming and soon the humidity will be gone again. Hopefully, for the remainder of the year. But I am not holding my breath on that one. I am however, going to enjoy the rain this front brings with it.

 

Above you can see the Butterfly Bush Island still giving us color. The Butterfly Bushes are the best early summer to late fall bloomer in the yard for me. You also see Volunteer Perwinkle and Susan's giving me color. If this photo went higher up, you could see Angel Trumpets in bloom. So we do have some blooms hanging around for the Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies to enjoy.

 I walk out onto the front porch and find a strange thing happening under the Ferns. Can you see the mess on the railing and the floor of the porch?

Zooming into the railing, you see the tiny round balls of dirt/mud or something else. I just don't know what is causing this mess. I have not really taken the time to try and squash them or investigate as I see the mess at the wrong time and just grab the broom and sweep it off the porch.  

This mess is occurring under each of the 4 hanging Ferns. I had a posting titled "Vinca Poop" back in 2008. (Click HERE to see) That posting had me on my hands and knees looking for a critter as I knew I had found its poop. The end of that Story had me discovering little tiny black seeds rather then animal poop. Since I have not had time to really get to the bottom of this matter, I am just going to ask you bloggers if you have ever seen this before and what it could be. How ironic, I don't have time to investigate the mess on my porch but have time to write about it. Oh, gee, I think I may need to rethink my priorities. Ha, So What say you? Do I have FERN POOP, In the Garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Too Tired to Talk

By SKEETER Check out the hairy man in my Georgia Garden.
We have been busy the past 3 days and I am just TOO TIRED TO TALK, In the Garden.

Have a great day!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Camera Play

Here a 4 year old Skeeter gets her first camera in the style of Fisher Price for her birthday! Not a real camera but you tell that to this happy little gal in the picture! It was as real a camera as any on earth to me. That was 42 years ago this week and I still have a camera and also a bunny but not the kind I snuggle with but rather the kind I enjoy in the yard except for when they are eating my plants.
I am not a photographer but do enjoy snapping pictures and have as long as I can remember. Hum, wonder why I never took a photography class? Probably my shy bones would not allow me to sign up for a class.

I was snapping a picture of a fern sitting on top of a stump in my Georgia backyard last fall. I added the little water faucet to the stump. In pretend world, it keeps the ivy below it watered since my buddy Pedro the elf only naps against the stump instead of work as he promised me when I brought him home.

I started to look at the fern.

With each snap of the button, the fern was a bit closer.

And Closer. The Fern got smaller and smaller with each push of the button.

I was down to nothing but one sprig of fern with this shot.

Then the fern turned to a blur.

And I found myself looking beyond the fern and at the fall colors of the crepe myrtle tree in the background. I guess you could say I had a bit of CAMERA PLAY, In the Garden...

Happy 50th Anniversary to my (Skeeter) wonderful mother and father today! You are a great inspiration and we love you dearly. Raising glasses (cheers) to many more years to come...

Fiddlehead Flavor

My sister has been patient with my post this month, I emailed her a few weeks ago letting her know my next post will be an update to my first fiddlehead post, Fiddle heads: New England's Okra. Well, between the holidays, snow, and kids with school I've only just gotten to preparing my post yesterday.


Really, I've put off tasting my canned fiddleheads! See, when I wrote my first post on this delicacy, I had not tasted them. I've always wanted to....*wink*..I think.

I've looked at my jar several times within the past month; it was a gift from one of our patrons. (People are so nice!) Having done research on these young ferns and knowing they are safe.....Do I dare try them? I had so much fun doing the first post on fiddle heads, I thought I'd keep true to my comment and taste them.

My husband, Jack of All Trades, was supposed to try them with me, bbbbut....he did not. I'm not sure of what that means, but it sounded good that he'd have to share in this experience. He's hunted for the little curled ostrich feathers before but has never tasted the pickled ones, as the "P" on the lid indicates.

Do ya think! I want you to read my first posting? Yep, it makes a nice reference to our grandmother who was a avid gardener.

Okay, I've ruled out tasting the stems, not too crazy about that with beans, I'm even less tempted with my fiddleheads.

Amazingly enough, I did not hold my breath. These are actually good, they have a sweet/tart taste that is so strong it reminds me of strawberry Kool-aid power hydrated with a small amount of lemon juice, surely it will make ya smile way back behind your jawline! But once the robust pickled flavor (I'm sure is the recipe) was experienced, these little fellas have a flavor of a peanut buttery hint. They would be delish with bread and butter. Not too bad......

Not everyday though! In the Garden

Fiddleheads: New England's Okra

Whenever I see footage of Barbara Stanwyck I am reminded of my grandmother. In her early days the similarity between Barbara and my grandmother is uncanny. Unfortunately, I don't have a young photograph of my grandmother, but I 've seen 35 millimeter film in which my grandmother is being tricked by her girl scouts. The pack placed a whoopie cushion on her chair, and there is my grandmother....in her capris and button up sweater, falling for the joke.

One of the things my grandmother loved to do was fiddlehead hunt. I myself have never done such thing but I know it is a New England delicacy and more than likely served in every gourmet restaurant during the month of May. See, there is a two week span of time when the fiddlehead harvest happens, no time is set as it depends on the amount of rain and adequate temperature for the fiddles to make their appearance. Then a flurry of North American foragers descend on all of our woods.

I understand there is only one fern that qualifies as a fiddlehead and that is the Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), it is aptly named because the fronds resemble an ostrich tail. They are fairly easy to identify as young sprouts....having grooves in the stem similar to celery, smooth not furry, and surrounded by a brown papery material that shouldn't stick to the stem. This is referred to as chaff.

When one harvests ANYTHING from NATURE, the rule of thumb is to not take more than what can be replenished. In this case, every other frond is acceptable. Timing is critical as the fiddlehead should not have more than a two inch stem when cut. Fiddleheads are named such because of the uncurling fern resembling a scroll head top of a fiddle.

I have put together a idea of how to cook these greens. Best thing to do is to start by soaking them in salted water for a few hours, this will rid them of bugs and insects. The next step is to parboil them, changing water twice, this removes the bitterness the fiddleheads tend to have. Do not overcook, soggy fiddleheads are not what you are looking for, desirable flavor comes with the veggie being crunchy. The final cooking is to saute them in butter with garlic, cook in stirfry, or simply marinate in vinegar oil. Either way the fiddles are commonly served with a vegetable and taste like a cross between asparagus and broccoli, or to some, okra and peas. Fiddles are a good source of vitamin A and C.

This picture is of a recent walk that prompted me to think about my grandmother, if you look close, Tartarus's nose is pointing to some fiddles on a island. This picture is of our brook that borders our back property line, there are more ferns in a little spot lower in the water. Tatarus did make it to the island on this day although no one knows how. Tatarus is such a gentle dog and can't go far from where I'm located.

I want to include a picture of the recent bloom in my yard.....painted trillium. I look forward to this every year because it means our spring might have a little Jack Frost left, spring being the key word.

This post is for my grandmother who I can picture sitting down at the table with a plate of fiddleheads atop of a pile of corn. Enjoying eating in her Barbarba Stanwyck, stoical, independent way, and for my grandfather who I know sat at the table with..... steak and potatoes.

with love and respect......in the garden....

A Stable Fern

As I drove down the woodsy driveway and approached the Rocking Chair front porch, I knew this was going to be our house! This Southern gal was finally going to have a porch with rocking chairs, a swing and hanging Ferns! Ah, the relaxed feeling of a Fern while sitting on the porch.

I found out quickly that four hanging Ferns on the front porch were not relaxing but instead trouble. I was sweeping up the fallen mess each and every day that entire first season in the house. With 2.5 acres of land to tend, I did not have time for such nonsense!

The second year, I went with a different approach. Spider Plants which grew so long they touched the porch floor by the end of the season. To this day I still get baby Spider Plants in the planter below from the dropped sprigs!

I enjoyed the neatness of the Spider Plants but truly missed my Ferns. So as always, I must make a compromise. I call these moments Plan B and they do seem to happen more often then not!

We had a bad storm which left us with two damaged trees. We realized they had to come down. So the Saint and I got out the chainsaw and went to work. The Saint wanted to cut them to the top of the soil but I had a better idea. I had him leave them tall enough to become a stand for Ferns. I always say everything happens for a reason and I think Mother Nature was giving me back my Ferns!


The Ferns led to other ideas such as a fire pit.

I enjoyed the Ferns for a while but then the squirrels started knocking them off and the hurricanes and tropical storms started hitting the southern coastal areas. We live far enough away from major damage but do experience the high winds and heavy rainfalls. The wind was constantly blowing the Ferns off the stumps and onto the ground. At times damaging my beautiful Ferns.

My mom gave me the perfect solution. She said to cut the wire hanger at the top only removing the hook portion. Then to hammer nails into the stumps, then pull the three wires down to the sides of the pots and wrap around the nails on the stumps thus securing the ferns in place! How simple is that? Duh, cannot believe I had not thought of that one myself! I think those were her words to me!

That is a simple solution except for one little problem, I have not found Ferns with wire in some time as they seem to have plastic hangers! Ah, another solution but takes a bit more work. Remove the entire plastic hanger and replace with floral wire! I went a step better this year and found spools of twist tie wire. I found two spools for $1.00 at Dollar Tree! What a bargain...


Once I secure the Fern to the stump, the foliage covers up the wire and cannot be seen to the eye!

I also put the Ferns into plastic plates to hold the water therefore, I don't have to water them as often. I spray mist them occasionally but don't really do much to them and they flourish on the stumps in the shade.











Everyone always compliments my beautiful Ferns and look at how large last years Fern became! I am a complete Southern gal again with my Ferns!

Now if I can only figure out how to keep the squirrels from chewing on the plastic trays. Always a squirrel issue in this yard but a Stable Fern they nor the wind can knock over!


NOTE:
Remember the Ressurection Fern I showed you during the Masters Series? Well here is an example of it during the dormant state! This is the sprig in our backyard. It is attached to the tree and we have not had a good rainfall in a while so it appears to be dead. It will ressurect back to life with a little rainfall or if I water it.



I have two sprigs of the fern beside one another.

One piece is attached to the tree while the other has rooted into the ground. The ground still has moisture in it thus, that sprig is fully lush and looks alive! The other sprig only looks dead but I assure you, it too is fully alive!

A Strange but interesting Fern...