Add some zest to your garden cooking!

Introducing a healthy new condiment you might want try out on your garden vegetables and salads: NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar.

What's so great about NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar? It's made from whole grain rice. It's all natural, fat free, low calorie, gluten free and contains 50% less sodium than other rice vinegar brands!
Want to see the difference? See the following comparison:
1 Tablespoon of NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar = 20 calories, 0 fat
1 Tablespoon of mayo = 90 calories, 10g of fat

If that doesn't convince you to try it consider all the ways this rice vinegar will come in handy in your kitchen: It can be added to recipes, used on your fresh garden salads, grilled on chicken during those upcoming fall cook-outs, used on your cooked garden vegetables, or splashed over pasta!

NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar is also available in several delicious flavors: Original Seasoned, Roasted Garlic, Basil & Oregano, Red Pepper, Balsamic Blend and Italian Herb.

If you head to the website now you can receive a $1.00 off coupon for NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar online. You can also join the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club! If you join the club you will receive great cooking newsletters with various cooking themes. If you would like to receive the coupon to try some out yourself you can get the coupon HERE.

My Garden in review 2009

As my garden season comes to an end I look back on the success of the season:

What had the best harvest: My Roma Tomato Plants & My Golden Jubilee Tomato Plants.
I enjoyed eating them fresh and trying out making my own salsa.

Close 2nd: My Green Beans.

What didn't do that great: Once again Zucchini just doesn't seem to be too happy with me! Grew a couple and that's about it.

What I bought too much of: Strawberry plants! They are taking over. I do hope to benefit from a large crop next year for some delicious homemade strawberry pies! :)

This years first: Growing Green Peppers. I will do that again.

My hopes for next year: Many more blueberries!

This years Tomato Plants

This year I am growing two varieties of Tomato Plants:
Roma and Golden Jubilee

The photos below are of a Roma Tomato plant.

Why I love my raised garden bed...

This year is the first year for me to use the raised garden bed my husband made me last fall. I love it. I definitely prefer it over my regular fenced in garden.
I find it is much easier to maintain as you don't have to bend down as far. I have found that I can fit a lot of things in this garden bed/box using what I call the shoulder planting method (basically planting all the plants closer together). I like this method as weeds just aren't that prevalent. There isn't much room for them to grow amidst the lush vegetation!

Ethel Gloves - the gardening glove for a lady!

For any gardening ladies out there in need of a beautiful, quality pair of gardening gloves I highly recommend Ethel Gloves. I recently was introduced to them and I was so pleased from the moment I saw the beauty of the website. The same attention to beauty and detail carried through to the impressive presentation of them in the packaging, to how comfortable and well made they were in trying them out. They really are a glove with lady like appeal!

I personally chose the signature style because I knew the darker color would not show dirt as quickly. However, there are various colors and designs to fit all styles.

"Ethel Gloves are defined by fashion, function and protection. Durable and tough, yet refined AND machine washable for easy care."
A worthwhile purchase for yourself or a nice gift for a gardening friend!



DISCOUNT**For my blog readers enter the the code "INDIANA10" when making a purchase from Ethel Gloves and you will receive a discount! ~ Good through Friday, June 26th, 2009.

Radishes first crop of the season.

I always enjoy planting radishes. They take up little space and usually only require 22 days from planting the seeds until harvest! For those of us who are short on patience this is a rewarding plant to grow!

This year I planted Cherry Belle radishes and French Breakfast radishes. Over the weekend I got to pick the first planting of them.
The photo is of my Cherry Belle radishes. They can be planted in stone free soil in early spring to early summer and again in late summer for a fall crop. The Cherry Belle are very bright red and add excellent color to any garden salad.

The return of the Dandelions

Spring is here and so are the Dandelions! They are popping up everywhere in our lawn! I must admit that I greet them with a smile. They remind me of my childhood days. The days of running through the yard with my cousins, collecting as many of them as we could! To us they were not weeds; They were beautiful flowers! However, my husband does not greet the fresh crop of Dandelions with the same cheer I do. He's the one who does the lawn maintenance and he chose to be gracious and allow our daughters and I to enjoy them for a bit. This was a generous gesture on his part as he likes a meticulously cared for lawn. I must admit, as much as I've enjoyed getting to see the Dandelions this year I do understand his dislike of them. For as their cheerful yellow faces disappear and the fun of blowing the seeds is over we're left with the not so attractive stems and leaves all over the yard. Soon they will have to go!

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Flowering Trees in the Landscape

With Spring weather coming a bit early in Northern Indiana it seems all our flowering trees are more showy this year! I find myself looking out the window and walking all about our landscape often to take in the beauty of the season!


A Bradford Pear Tree in our front yard

Our Cherry Tree blooming for the first time!

An Eastern Redbud in our back landscape

A Purple Leaf Plum next to the garden

A close up of the Purple Leaf Plum

Annual Flowers have been planted for the year!

This week I was so happy to get all my annual flowers planted! Three years ago my husband and I started the tradition that my Mother's day gift would be the pleasure of buying and planting annual flowers. I love being outside and I would much rather have money to pick out and plant flowers outdoors (that I can enjoy all summer) than have a vase of flowers that dies in a week!

So, I am already enjoying my Mother's Day gift! :) This week I enjoyed planting Marigolds, Salvia, Celosia, & Begonias in my various flower pots & planters. I especially love the warm & sunny color combination of the orange Marigolds, Red Salvia, & the bright yellow Celosia!


Featured in the photo I took (above) is the Celosia. This flower is new to me. Isn't it beautiful? It has unusually bright shades of yellow, orange, pink, red, or purple. The Celosia requires full sun. Plants range in height from 1 - 3 feet (depending on variety)and make excellent dried flowers.

Happy Mother's Day to me! (Thanks Honey!)

A new item for my landscape! (update)

Awww... Spring is here! I am so enjoying the 60 & 70 degree weather that has finally arrived the last couple days in Northern Indiana! I realize how much I have missed being outdoors enjoying my yard, landscape and gardens!

I've been making all my outdoor garden & landscape plans for the season.
Last summer I was on a hunt for a trellis or planter of some sort to put between some outdoor furniture I have in front of my home. The space was just begging for something! We have a lot of mature landscape in front of our home. However, there was one bush that had outgrown the space and we sadly had to remove it. In it's place I sat two chairs for my husband and I to enjoy sitting out in on nice summer evenings. However, the area looked quite bare without the large shrub that had occupied the area. I am so happy to have found just the right item to place in that empty space that was begging for something! I will soon be receiving the planter pictured below from Teak, Wicker & More. It is 36" tall and 32" wide and will fit the space quite well. I look forward to receiving it and planting some flowers in it!

****************
May 6th - UPDATE
Review of the planter from Teak, Wicker, and More:

I was happy to receive the planter this week! It was so easy to assemble - no tools were required! I had it together in less than 5 minutes. It holds 80 pounds of soil and once the soil was in place I found it to be very sturdy. I was happy to get some Marigolds, Salvia, and Celosia planted in it yesterday. Right now they are a bit short in the planter but over the summer they should fill it out quite well. Next year I may consider planting a Clematis or a miniature Rose bush in it to take better advantage of the trellis! Great product.