A Seed Sale!!

This is the time of year to get bargains for summer sale items, especially clothing. I usually try to stock up on things that go on sale in August, but this year I'm stocking up on a something different.

SEEDS!

I just LOVE seeds, and I have found that if you buy at the end of the season, the seeds still sprout and grow really well the next spring. After that, they probably won't sprout quite as well. That is why buying this year's seeds at the end of summer is such a bargain. I have used packs of two year old seeds that worked too, but I wouldn't recommend banking on the germination rate of seeds that have been kept that long.

You can get bargains almost anyplace that sells seeds, but I bought my bargain seeds from a reputable business, Arnall's Grocery in downtown Newnan, Ga. I have always used their seeds with good results and I think I am way ahead of the game this spring. I will already have enough seeds to give me a good head start 4 to 6 weeks before spring planting time.

Some of the seeds I will use right away. The lettuce, radishes, carrots, and cabbage I will use for my fall planting. I also purchased some spinach and beet seeds, but I didn't get a deal on those because the good folks there know they can be grown in the fall.

And, if you were in Arnall's yesterday, I was the crazy lady down on her knees digging through the basket and bucket of sale seeds. It was worth it, because rather than spending more than forty dollars, I only spent eight dollars.

As I dusted off my knees and paid for my seeds I was certainly happy because I now have the knowledge that I have most of my fall seeds (at a bargain) and also many of my spring seeds (again, a bargain). For now, I am prepared--a nice change from my usual practice of waiting till the last minute.

My long-longed-for plant

I have wanted a tea plant for more than five years and I am delighted that I now have one planted in my front yard. I have checked on it every day I was here, expect for the days I have been on vacation. Every time I examine it (for signs of bugs, or disease, or anything) I am so happy that I finally have the plant I have wanted for so long.

It's about waist high and I am excited that it is doing so well. I have struggled to have a plant like this, buying seeds online and even trying to propagate one, TWICE, from springs I received from my friend Angela McRae who owned one already but now has two since she purchased one at at the same time.

It took a new business in town, Southern Roots on Hwy 29 in Newnan and a visit to our Crossroads Garden Club by the owner, Bob Lott, to finally find what I had been looking for so long. Lott and his wife Sherry opened the business last year after retiring, and he specializes in southern plants and plants that do well in our area of the south.

As Lott was speaking about his plants, he mentioned that as far as he knew, he was the only person in the area that had a "tea plant." I haven't seen one for sale locally and had only seen the tea plant or Camellia sinensis at Hills and Dales estate in Lagrange. I had even asked if they could propagate one for me but even though they were gracious enough to take my name, they never contacted me. I guess they had too much work on that large estate, to worry about selling one plant, and I understand that.

The Camellia sinensis originated from China and is grown and exported from many Asian countries. Some tea plantations have their own varieties though all tea comes from the same Camellia sinensis plant. I would imagine that soils might make a difference in the flavor variations, but that is not a scientific supposition, just an opinion of mine because of what I have read. I do know that my favorite black tea comes from the Assam region of India.

The largest tea grower in the United States is located in Charleston, South Carolina, though there are smaller growers in the states of Washington, Alabama, and Hawaii. I don't know if my "tea plant" originated from one of these places but I would guess Alabama or South Carolina. I wish in this case that plants could come with papers to let us know their origin, but they usually don't.

An interesting fact about tea is that black, green, and white tea all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, but are processed differently.

Do I plan on making my own tea from my tea leaves? Of course I do. Apparently, springs from a Camellia sinensis should only be harvested when the plant is three years old. I don't know exactly how old my plant is, but it already has seeds should make it old enough for harvesting.

I know that even though I love tea, I have no experience as a taster and might not be able to tell the difference between old leaves and new but I am sure that I will soon be able to harvest. I certainly don't want my tea plant to grow too tall. I have read they get up to 16 feet if not trimmed (or plucked).

I do know that the Camellia sinensis is an acid loving plant and needs plenty of rainfall to produce leaves for tea production so I need to monitor rainfall to make sure my plant is happy enough to produce.

I may even try to grow some plants from seed--I have at least four green ones on the plant. I would love to have my own tea hedge and harvest enough tea for my family.

Beach Morning Glory

For a number of years now, I have seen these lovely pink flowers along the coast. My husband correctly identified them as morning glories but I really didn't think so because of the foliage. 

When I did decide to look it up I found they were indeed beach morning glories.

According to Ralph Mitchell is, Extension Director/Horticulture Agent for Charlotte County UF/IFAS Extension Service it is a beach or railroad morning glory that is used to help prevent beach erosion.

I think it also adds enjoyment to my walks along the beach. I am glad to know what these flowers are and my husband is happy to know he was right.

A Happy GF Beach Birthday

We always have a birthday party at the beach since my husband birthday falls smack in the middle of July.

It creates a unique problem because there are no gluten-free bakeries where we vacation. Also, I don't think a homemade cake could withstand the trip.

Last year we decided to bake the cake and frost it after getting here.

This year we made our own mix. We put all the dry ingredients in a baggie and on the day of the birthday, just mixed them together and put the cake in the oven. (Purchasing a mix would work, too.)

There were no serving platters at this condo so the cake was baked in a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. It turned out perfectly, needed less frosting, and was just all-around easier.

It would be better to premix the frosting, if possible. We used a white frosting we made here, and brought pre-made chocolate frosting to decorate.

Writing the birthday greeting and adding a border and candles were the only things we had to do. The cake was pretty and delicious, and it was nice to have only one cake for our whole crowd!

A couple of tips. Hand-mixing works but bringing a hand mixer is better. And, throwing in a decorater bag and tips also helps. It will make the cake look better and these items take up almost no room.

What happens when babies hate sand?

We have been stumped by a baby who LOVED the beach last year but can't stand even one grain of sand on hands or feet. He loves water, screams when sand is near.

Our solution is to put him in a little boat float filled with a couple if buckets of water and give him beach toys. We looked for a little pool but this float could be used as a pool and a float.

Happy toddler, happy parents, happy me. This happiness only cost me $4.27!

A healing herb

What is this lovely flower? It traditionally has been used as a healing herb. The flower petals are used in wound healing and treating skin ailments.

I started my calendulas from seed this spring and they are just now beginning to bloom. Finally!  Here is some info.

Calendula officinalis (Pot Marigold or English Garden Marigold) a member if the daisy family. A half-hardy annual or tender perennial. Good for early- and late-season color but performs badly in hot weather. Flower petals are sometimes used in medicine. 

Calendula shouldn't be confused with the marigold, Tagetes erecta (African Marigold). T. patula (French Marigold). This is a different plant altogether.

Though it is considered a tender perennial I am hopeful that I can transplant to my new herb bed this fall. I know the flower petals are edible and I think it is prettier than I expected.

Turning $5 into summer relaxation

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a nearby neighbor's yard sale and bought a couple of wicker chairs and a wicker table for just $5.

But I will be the first to admit that I didn't really know if it was a great purchase, or not. The seats were sagging, some of the wicker was barely hanging on, and they were a sorry shade of gray. They were dirty and mildewed, but as I reached in my purse to get the $5, I found myself giving a pep talk--to me. I was telling myself that if I had to take these chairs to the dump, I would only be out $5. I had wasted $5 before and this could really fill a need we had.

The back story is that during an ice storm this past winter, a large pine had fallen on our deck, destroying our entire patio set. Thankfully our deck receive only minor damage but we had nothing to sit out on in the evenings when our deck was shady. Also, we had to replace three sets of doors that open onto the deck, so our budget wouldn't stretch for a new patio set. Not this year.

That all worked together to make the very sad-looking wicker set look more attractive to me. When I got them home, my husband was skeptical that I could repair and restore the set for use at all, though $5 wasn't so much to waste. He said I was on my own in this one.

I knew I didn't want to spend too mush on restoration and I didn't even take a before photo because the set just looked too bad.

To fix it up, I bought some high tack wood glue and made some repairs with glue. I then reinforced the seat bottoms with wire. I knew that paint would most likely cover the wire and I was right. I bought some spray paint and sprayed the chairs and then added a coat of leftover white enamel exterior paint, leftover from the painting the doors. This I added with a brush.

When I was finished, I was pleased, but my husband was elated. He just couldn't believe they looked so much better.

We purchased cushions for about $10 each and we are very happy with the results. If this furniture will last until next year when we will probably be able to replace it with a new set, we will feel that the $5, plus supplies and cushions will have been worth the price and the effort.

The only chore we have left now is to paint the deck and we can have our morning coffee in our new chairs and we can also sit out while watching the grill with a glass of mint tea. It doesn't get much better or much cheaper!