When I was at Jessie's yesterday, telling her and Vergil goodbye, Jessie asked if I wanted this vase of hydrangea blooms to take home. Well, yes I did and now it's on my back porch. I have hydrangea plants but they just don't do well here and I'm sure it's because (and by now you can recite this with me) they don't get enough sun.
Theoretically, they can look like this.
Mine definitely do not when they do bother to bloom, which is seldom.
We got more real rain today. Perhaps almost half an inch which isn't setting any records but it sure beats the .04 inches we've been getting per day. If that. So it was a good day to stay in and instead of canning, which I completely forgot I was going to do, Mr. Moon and I watched a movie and I repaired a dress and then hemmed some more washed cheesecloth to make sweat rags and other absorbent, handy and needed cloths. My dream is to make enough of these things to completely eliminate my need for paper towels although I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. I do love a good paper towel but I try not to use many and I don't.
Anyway, who cares? Making them keeps my hands busy while I'm watching TV and that's the main thing.
It's hard for Mr. Moon and me to choose a movie we think the other one will like. We're both really thoughtful when it comes to that. There are movies he definitely knows I will not enjoy and movies I have no doubt he will not enjoy. So whoever has the remote goes through the Netflix movie selection to see what we think the other one will like that we can tolerate and perhaps even enjoy. Sometimes this process takes half an hour which is ridiculous.
Today we settled on a movie called "The Gentlemen" which was released in 2020 and supposedly got some Oscar nods but which I had never even heard of which is surprising because Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, and Colin Farrell are the leads. Guy Ritchie (he was married to Madonna at one time!), co-wrote and directed the film. Shouldn't I have at least heard mention of it?
I probably did and forgot. (See above about forgetting to can.)
Sigh.
But we settled on that. It didn't have a lot of rom-commy or meet-cute stuff going on and it didn't appear as if there were any deathbed scenes whose intention was to jerk tears and there were no period costumes PLUS, no superheroes, no gratuitous violence, no shitty actors playing cowboys, no car chases, no explosions, and no overt sexism.
A decent compromise.
And it was a decent movie. It had a lot going on and there was some violence but I can handle a few blood splatters. The acting wasn't bad at all and I have to hand it to Hugh Grant that all of those years when he played only bumbling, good-looking, love interest leads were a waste of talent. I mean, I enjoyed those movies for the most part. He played that character well and he is easy to look at but he gave his character in "The Gentlemen" everything and then some. But not in a hammy way. You know.
So that was fun and then it quit raining enough for us to out and give the garden a tour. I swear, the field peas and zipper peas have grown two inches since yesterday and everything looks green and happy. I didn't really pick anything to speak of although I did take my emergency picking basket because there's always something.
I got a picture of a pepper I planted this year which, not unlike "The Gentlemen," I had never heard of.
A clown pepper.
How cute is that? When I saw them at the nursery and read their name and description, I knew I needed one. They are supposedly a mildly spicy and sweet heirloom pepper and the bushes are supposed to get quite tall. They are already the tallest pepper plants in the garden. They are red when mature and I am excited to try them.
I picked two of the Fairy Tale (for that is what they are) eggplants and some cayenne peppers which I am going to make pepper vinegar with. I know I've already mentioned that. Glen tied up a few tomatoes and we checked their progress along with the bell peppers we have growing. I just love being in the garden right now, especially after rain because it's not so hot and everything looks so happy and it just feels good. The zinnias I planted are looking close to blooming and the volunteers are definitely happy, displaying their crayon colors to the world.
Then we moved over to what we are calling the fruit orchard to check on things there. Everyone seems happy and healthy. We picked blueberries and I took a picture of the blossoms on the Meyers lemon.
They smell heavenly.
I had noticed that the fig tree does have some fruit on it although I had thought that every fig had been killed by that late freeze.
The tree itself needs a good pruning after the figs have been harvested. If, indeed, we get to harvest any. The birds and squirrels do love them. The branches are as gnarled and twisted as a one-hundred and ten year old grandma's knuckles.
Or, Keith Richards' knuckles.
Maurice followed us around from garden to blueberry bushes to fig tree.
She was obviously talking to me when I took that shot.
"Did you find some shade, Maurice?"
"Mewt!"
Here's what tonight's tiny harvest looked like.
It's colorful at least.
Looks like it's about to rain again. I'm making a soup with some pork chops Mr. Moon brought home from a meal he had in a restaurant. They were too salty for even him to eat which means very, very salty. I asked him why he didn't send them back and it all boiled down to the fact that he just didn't want to upset the server who appeared to be having a difficult time of it already.
We are not a send-it-back family.
I think that cooking them into a broth to make the soup will take care of the salt problem. There will be a lot of vegetables too. And red lentils. I hope it's good.
Here's a picture Jessie sent to the family this morning.
She and the boys and Sophie had just hit the road after stopping for pastries and coffee. Well, Jessie had coffee. Vergil hadn't left yet as he was still packing the truck. Last I heard, they were three hours away from the mountain. That is a long drive to do in one day. I will be glad to hear from them when they have arrived safely.
Here's another gardenia.
Love...Ms. Moon
Interesting about your hydrangeas. Mine don't do well because they get TOO MUCH SUN!!! When I planned where to put them it was winter and the house shaded that part of the garden. Come summer and I expected a glorious show but got burnt leaves and pathetic flowers as the house no longer hid the sun. Your harvest looks delicious and I can't wait to see that wee pepper when it turns red.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you are all relaxed now knowing the family are safely on the mountain.
Hydrangeas seem to be fairly picky, don't they? I have read that some varieties can tolerate many hours of full sun, and some only need a few hours of morning sun. So I suppose you and I both have the wrong varieties for where they are planted.
DeleteI don't see one dang bloom on mine but that could be because I pruned them too heavily. Who knows? Not me.
Yep. Weatherfords safely in NC.
The emergency picking basket! That cracked me up. One of my friends has emergency knitting with her at all times because you never know.
ReplyDeleteHP and I never watched movies together because there wasn't anything we could both tolerate!
And how many of us have carried emergency books in our cars just in case? Every time I go out to the garden not intending to pick a thing, something shows up. Cargo pants have good, deep pockets but a basket is generally preferable.
DeleteGlen and I can definitely enjoy some movies together. I think I am more picky about the writing and acting than he is. He really does seem to like the western movies and series, even the ones that are about current times. This would be fine but the ones I've seen are NOT up to my very, very picky standards. Well, there are a few I like.
I LOVE lemon blossom scent! And Crayon colours is a perfect description of zinnias. The movie sounds interesting and i will try to find a copy to watch. I don't have Netflix. I will be waiting to hear that everyone has safely reached Black Mountain.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you'd like the movie. It has many, many different routes and story lines. I was confused throughout most of it about who were the good guys and who were not. Basically- no one was the good guy. But some were worse than others.
DeleteYep! Kids are back up on their mountain home.
The hydrangeas are beautiful. Magnolia scent is heaven sent. Your tiny harvest basket looked like a painting. So delicious looking! You're so fortunate to have your garden...it's enviable. I know it's a lot of hard work, but you can then reap the rewards. Sure beats (for the most part) grocery store fruits and veggies. Yes, we do have farmer's markets in the area which I try to support.
ReplyDeleteParanormal John
The thing is- I love the garden so much that the work is worthwhile and honestly, I do love some of the work. I am so lucky to have a spot where we can plant things to eat. What a luxury!
DeleteIt's just so easy to get vegetables and fruits at the grocery store, isn't it? I totally understand that. Of course I do it too.
Je M’appelle Agneta Netflix
ReplyDeleteI looked at the trailer and yes, I very much would like to see that! Thank you!
DeleteI wish I could grow hydrangeas. The main problem is most of my yard in in shade most of the day. I can never remember the next day or two whatever movie we watched. I should keep a piece of paper and a pencil next to me to jot it down. My little fig tree has the most baby figs it's ever had. Now whether they mature is another thing altogether. And I don't think I'm going to get any peaches this year. My tree bloomed, set fruit but they have failed to grow.
ReplyDeleteSame-same with the shade. Taking out those Bradford pears gave us a lot more sun in the backyard for sure and that's where we've planted the fruit trees.
DeleteI have a hard time remembering which books I've listened to from the library audio book app. I listen to probably about 6-8 a month so I go go through them.
I am so sorry about your peaches. What a disappointment!
You had me with the scent of lemon blossoms, and then you had to close with a gardenia. La la, I'm in heaven imagining the air floating around there. Jessie and the boys look happy and I do hope their trip was uneventful. It can definitely be long. I usually have gone even further to Tampa/St. Pete and stop for a night on the way. Once I could do it non-stop, but not these days!
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget the magnolias which are still filling their part of the yard with perfume. Now all I need is for the tea olives to chime in!
DeleteThat is a long trip. I can't imagine doing Tampa to NC. We usually break up our trips there and back into two days. We're old. We can take the time.
It appears everything is thriving in your garden. All your efforts show when you harvest daily. Nice work MM.
ReplyDeleteHappy travels to Jessie and her family. Having snacks for a 3-hour drive is a good idea. I'd likely want to stop a few times just to walk around and recharge with coffee and snacks.
Three hours is just the amount of time they had left on the trip when I wrote that. The whole thing takes at least eight hours and that doesn't include stopping for bathroom breaks or car charging. They need LOTS of snacks and coffee is involved.
DeleteI think hydrangeas actually like shade, though maybe it depends on the variety. We keep ours in relatively shady areas and they bloom. Maybe yours doesn't like the Florida sandy soil? Dave says they're bog plants and like moisture and shade. I have not verified this with any plant authority, though.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of a clown pepper. That's a new one on me.
It's great to see Jessie and the boys on the road and smiling! I used to love car trips when I was a kid so I'm putting myself in their shoes and imagining how much fun they're having.
I looked it up and it seems that most hydrangeas like a good block of morning sun and then shade in the afternoons. The spot where I have mine (which I did not plant!) gets like no sun. Not direct, anyway. Now the oak leaf hydrangeas are more bog-plant like. I used to have some of those and I loved them but they all died! I need to try some more.
DeleteCar trips can be mighty fun, can't they? They can also be excruciating if they go on too long. In my experience, at least.
Oh, the flowers!!! We had a stunning hydrangea in Connecticut in full sun that was covered with blooms every year. Joyful. And we had a Meyer lemon in San Diego. Nothing better than those blossoms. And your harvest! And that clown pepper. I look forward to seeing them when they‘re mature. Another beautiful photo of Jessie and the boys. But then a photo of Jessie and the boys can help but be beautiful. I hope the boys have enough stuff packed in that box to keep them busy!
ReplyDeleteI bet the sun in Connecticut is far more civilized than it is here! Jessie's hydrangea get a lot of sun and they bloom like crazy.
DeleteI hope I get LOTS of clown peppers. I think I mostly just want to be able to say that I am growing clown peppers. It sounds so adorable.
I think August could just read all the way to NC and be happy. The boy has gotten that gene. Which thrills me, of course.
Up here in ZONE 6b we don't even plant hydrangeas in direct sun. Do they even tolerate weather as hot as Florida's? They bloom spectacularly hundreds of miles north in upper New England. Maybe yours just can't feel at home where they are. Maybe nature either gives you hydrangeas or it gives you camelias, but not both.
ReplyDeleteMewt, huh? One of my cats says either "eww" or "brrt"; the other says "muhRAOW". They all understand English, as we know-- but can they understand each other?