Northwest Flower and Garden Show

 Tacoma Urban Garden participated with WSNLA ( Washington State Nursery and Landscapers Association)  in an Award winning Show Garden called  "Night of Hollywood Stars"   Designer - Heidi Skiebaski of Sublime Garden Design with Fred Moore from M&M Irrigation / Tacoma Urban Garden.

 
M&M built the Cabana, seating, ottoman and corner table. We also built the outside wall that holds in all the soil, plants and display perimeter . The wall takes hours and hours but we hope that you don't even notice it.

 These granite looking deck pavers are actually a cement product from California.   If you look at the end you will see that a glass faucet allows the water to flow under the deck and into the fountain below the stainless steel sculpture.

 
 This is a stainless steel custom hot tub (Left). The seating looks like marble, but is actually cement. The flooring appears to be slabs of granite, but is also a cement product
 

 
This polished granite rock between the two chairs was heavy enough to necessitate a crane for placement.

 A better view of both the stainless steel hot tub and the fountain flowing into the pond.

 

The sculpture is by Terra Sculpture and is called Kismet. A limited edition by Jennifer Gilbert —

Hide it away

Just Hide it!!
We all have those corners where "stuff" gets hidden for the summer.  How do you have all that room under a deck without filling it up with little things that will be needed later.    I hid it all away by ordering a big chunk of outdoor fabric from an online auction house.   It was pretty inexpensive, many, many patterns to choose from and this lovely cover is on it's third season.    The fabric is still in great shape and I will be washing it up in October and bringing it out for a couple more summers to come.   My $50 worth of fabric divided by 5 seasons is a pretty cheap "hide it all".

Artichokes - Fanciful Flower after Harvest

If you want to forgo the last few artichokes of the season in order to wait for a bloom, you may find it well worth the wait.    My second year plant offered at least 1/2 dozen fruits.   I found a couple small artichokes that I missed and let them go to flower and seed.   They are large and beautiful flowers.

Junk Yard Chair and Discarded Succulents

When you have husband who specializes in landscapes, you never know what comes home and the possibilities that lie ahead. 

This metal chair was found years ago in a yard sale.   The chair had been sitting outside and so the patina was purchased with the chair for next to nothing.    Fred then made a small flat bottomed wood planter about 2 inches deep that would sit on the chair.      I filled it with dirt and some cast off Hen and Chicks, and other succulents that the neighbors didn't want.   I wish the picture gave this striking chair its full due.

You can see that it is not totally filled in, but the blossoms have added to the texture almost all summer.

The Very Best Carrot Cake Ever !

The carrots in my garden are calling to be picked before the rains make them soggy.  I have to admit that they are not my favorite vegetable.   I enjoy them raw, but I am not fond of them in any cooked fashion. I have given away much of my carrot crop  but a small package of seed seems to produce a lot of beautiful orange spears.

I seem to remember sitting at the kitchen  table as a young child with a lump of cooked carrots on my plate wondering how I was going to get away. (Dad saved me and ate the veggie that I would learn was not his favorite either.) 

My cousin shared this recipe and I fell in love with the flavors of carrot, pineapple, coconut and cream cheese.    Try this recipe and you won't go back to your standard carrot cake.

My Favorite Carrot Cake 
by Marvel Mitterholzer

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C. oil
• 2 C. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 C. flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp soda
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 C. shredded carrots
• 2 C. coconut
• 1 C. chopped walnuts
• 1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple

Mix moist ingredients and sugar with a spoon; mix with dry ingredients.
Bake in a 9X13 greased & fkiyred oanm fir 50 min-1hr at 350 degrees
Frosting:

• 1/2 C. soft butter
• 8 onces softened cream cheese
• 1 pound of powdered sugar ( 4 cups )
• 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat together; frost cooled cake.  Store cake in refrigerator
or freeze.    I generally make two 9X9 pans and freeze one.

Double Tomato Bruchetta

It's September and we finally have RED tomatoes!!!

It has taken many years of disappointment but I have learned patience in waiting for a ripe "red" tomato.   In the NW we don't seem to have those wonderful six weeks of tomato abundance.   We wait all summer long and when we are lucky, we have a short spurt of gleaning little red fruits on the cherry tomato plants.   There are summers that are rainy and we find nothing more than bushes  of gray mildew caked on hard green fruit.  We always finish the autumn with our plants hanging upside down in the garages hoping to pull a few more of those tasty home grown tomatoes.   

 This year I read an article about taking off some of the foliage from the plant to let the sun warm the roots.  This produced larger fruit and it even eventually turned red.   ( I know that some of you are thinking that I chose a plant that needs a long season....... no, I only choose those with the shortest number of days).

 The fruit you are seeing above weighted in this afternoon at 16.2 oz. and I have about 12 of them!!  I love the little tomato clips.   They keep the plant from dropping to the ground and the fruit from becoming too heavy for the vine.      

We traveled to the Almaphi Coast of Italy last September and the tomato flavors are unforgettable.   This Bruchetta recipe brings those flavors to my kitchen.

Double Tomato Buchetta
Ingredients

• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped - I use whatever is ripe.  If they are too moist, I let them drain for awhile.
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil   I dry my own tomatoes.  I chopped them and added to the olive oil below and let sit for about   10 minutes before continuing.

• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed ( The fresh basil makes this fabulous - I may try with dry in winter)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 French baguette
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Purple Cabbage Salad

I always think of cabbage as a fall harvest plant.   I went out out to my garden yesterday and found that one of the heads of my cabbage was beginning to split.   I guess I will pick  them  now or share them with little animals and insects.  I washed and cut the head and decided to share half with the neighbors.   We started a communal harvest bowl of our extra produce when we first put in the garden.   We set it out by the street for the neighborhood walkers.  They are free to take some home and enjoy it while it is fresh and in season. I don't really can or freeze more than a few pints of any of the things I grow.  It is fun to have the neighborhood try the new hybrids  with us and they share what is their favorite.   They stop and tell us how they like it picked and what I should plant again next year.  They also help chase the deer and bring their grandchildren to see how the garden grows.  

I love cole slaw but it has to be very freshly made.   Cabbage can be a strong flavor when it stands very long.   Fred enjoyed this cabbage salad so much that he offered to go out to the street and return the other half of the head I thought I was going to share.  He didn't anticipate finding four of our neighbors looking over the days produce with his cabbage in their hands.

PURPLE CABBAGE SALAD

Printed from COOKS.COM

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1 med. head purple cabbage, shredded
1 med. head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 med. onion, finely chopped
1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peas, thawed, but not cooked
1 lb. bacon, fried crisp & crumbled

DRESSING:

2 c. mayonnaise ( not Miracle Whip)
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Prepare vegetables and toss with dressing. Sprinkle bacon over all.