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Apr. 1st, 2003 02:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urocyonFor a late supper, I threw together polenta with a touch of garlic and parmesan, served with a pretty good, fresh-tasting chunky tomato and lean pork sauce with lots of mushrooms. It turned out particularly tasty for a last-minute, "what's in the kitchen?" meal, I thought. Good thing spring is on the way--we've almost used up the dried rosemary, and even the better store-bought stuff just isn't the same. :)
Last winter wasn't even particularly harsh, but it somehow managed to kill off all my rosemary (I thought I'd found good microclimates in the yard, too). So, last spring I hope I got a little smarter and replaced all but one with the Arp cultivar I ordered from Richters, which should be reliably hardy through Zone 6; we're on the edge of 6 and 7, and colder winters tend to be a crapshoot for most rosemary varieties, even with good placement. (I have somehow managed to resist spending too much money on Richters' plants this year, thus far--amazing! *g*) As of last week, they were looking healthy after this winter, and I didn't get them planted until June. So the rosemary harvest was very light last year; I look forward to more this year. Particularly as the 'Arp' turned out to be delicious. :)
Here's one of the Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp' plants, from last September, I believe. A bit sprangly, but not too bad for less than a season's growth on a plant from a 4" pot. The plant (almost concealed by grass) to its immediate right, with large leaves, is a hardy geranium which I think is supposed to have pink flowers. That particular one hasn't had a chance to bloom in the three or four years it's been here; I moved it to that spot last spring so that, just maybe, it would be safer from the lawnmower. (Not really--it's so small in the photo because it was recovering from yet another mowing.)
The photo also shows one of my lazier gardening habits--if I dig up rocks and don't feel like hauling them off right then, I'll just try to arrange them semi-artistically. I think I failed in that case. *g* They can make pretty good edging (and lawnmower barrier), though. In the front of the house (where I kept breaking through into an actual cave with the mattock, trying to plant rosebushes, which sort of concerned me--the joys of karstland!), I wound up with a nice little rockgarden sort of thing without planning it. BTW, I did quickly give up on planting roses right there. :)
I hope the rest of the snow melts off soon and the ground dries out a little; there should be just enough time to plant the garlic I never got around to putting in last fall, before it warms up.
You certainly can tell it's spring--thoughts of supper, or anything else, can swiftly and without warning turn into rather dull musings on gardening! *g*
Last winter wasn't even particularly harsh, but it somehow managed to kill off all my rosemary (I thought I'd found good microclimates in the yard, too). So, last spring I hope I got a little smarter and replaced all but one with the Arp cultivar I ordered from Richters, which should be reliably hardy through Zone 6; we're on the edge of 6 and 7, and colder winters tend to be a crapshoot for most rosemary varieties, even with good placement. (I have somehow managed to resist spending too much money on Richters' plants this year, thus far--amazing! *g*) As of last week, they were looking healthy after this winter, and I didn't get them planted until June. So the rosemary harvest was very light last year; I look forward to more this year. Particularly as the 'Arp' turned out to be delicious. :)
Here's one of the Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp' plants, from last September, I believe. A bit sprangly, but not too bad for less than a season's growth on a plant from a 4" pot. The plant (almost concealed by grass) to its immediate right, with large leaves, is a hardy geranium which I think is supposed to have pink flowers. That particular one hasn't had a chance to bloom in the three or four years it's been here; I moved it to that spot last spring so that, just maybe, it would be safer from the lawnmower. (Not really--it's so small in the photo because it was recovering from yet another mowing.)
The photo also shows one of my lazier gardening habits--if I dig up rocks and don't feel like hauling them off right then, I'll just try to arrange them semi-artistically. I think I failed in that case. *g* They can make pretty good edging (and lawnmower barrier), though. In the front of the house (where I kept breaking through into an actual cave with the mattock, trying to plant rosebushes, which sort of concerned me--the joys of karstland!), I wound up with a nice little rockgarden sort of thing without planning it. BTW, I did quickly give up on planting roses right there. :)
I hope the rest of the snow melts off soon and the ground dries out a little; there should be just enough time to plant the garlic I never got around to putting in last fall, before it warms up.
You certainly can tell it's spring--thoughts of supper, or anything else, can swiftly and without warning turn into rather dull musings on gardening! *g*