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April 27, 2006

New garden blogs

New additions to the Garden Blogs list:

Frog Garden: Roy Bilbie of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is heading into autumn just as we're emerging from winter.

His photos -- including those of frogs caught by flashlight -- are worth browsing for inspiration. That's a tillandsia pictured at right.

May Dreams Gardens: Carol Michel gardens in Indianapolis, where she's been battling "Pestilence Plants."

Daniel Mount's Garden Journal: Daniel describes himself as " a professional and enthusiastic gardener in the Seattle area," and his photos are sharp. Tulips -- he's into tulips now.
Sticky Fingers: JadeGarden writes,

Initially, I never thought of my blog as a gardening blog but just a blog about my plants. I grow cacti and succulents mainly but there are a few others thrown in that manage to thrive on neglect and what nature provides. But, I do grow everything outdoors, and as my collection expands it really is getting to be a garden activity.

I started (my blog) to record and post information about different plants in my collection as they grow and develop.

My garden is in Kingston, Jamaica but I've been an absentee gardener for the last seven months or so - I will get back to normal in July when I return home.

Dirt Divas Gardening: Brooke Heppinstall and Sally Koppenberg of Palmer, Alaska write,

Sally and I have been writing a regular garden column called Dirt Divas for our local paper and are finally getting around to sharing our articles with the rest of the world. The web site is next on our list. But, we both have perennial nurseries and it's time to get down and dirty, so, we're lucky just to have time to blog and write our column!

Gardening in Alaska has to be a challenge, but the weeds seem to thrive. These folks eat their weeds. Just in time for all of us, here's what to do with dandelions, if you pull them. (I love the swath of yellow flowers in the lawn, so I don't.)

Warm Dandelion Greens
Fry 2 0z. Diced lean or Canadian bacon in a large skillet for 2-3 minutes, until edges curl. Drain on paper towels. Pour off fat and add 2 tsp. olive oil. Add 1 clove garlic, minced, and saute until light brown. Add 12 cups young dandelion greens, rinsed well and briefly shaken dry, stir to coat with the oil, cover pan and steam about 3 minutes, or just until limp. Add 2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar, the bacon, toss lightly and serve at once with dandelion flowers and leaves for garnish. Serves 6.

They also stir-fry young fireweed and cucumber berry stalks, fiddleheads, stinging nettles, plantains and dandelions. Chocolate and Zucchini, the cooking blog that puts us all to shame, has a timely recipe for nettle soup (Soupe auz Orties)

The Garden is by Tim Petty of Caswell County, N.C. Computer problems have him issuing short "telegrams" as blog posts, but by the time you read this he may have recovered. Cute baby chicks!

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 6:52 PM | Permalink