GBBD - April 2011

It's springtime and I can't even fathom how many gazillabytes of data are probably passing through May Dreams Gardens on this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. Lots to show you so I'll keep the commentary largely to myself this time!

Above: grape hyacinth. Below: sinocalycalycanthus buds

Above: one of my several hellebores. Gorgeous cut and floating in a bowl of water. Below: daffs, fox's grape in the foreground and strawberries almost in bloom in the background.

Moss phlox on the stone wall.

Trout lily above and checkered lilies below.

Blooms of the fothergilla shrub above and fragrant rose-scented tulip below.

Below: blooms from my daff collection...

Below: Ruth, who stumbled upon my blog searching for Napa cabbage info, e-mailed me these amazing photos she was sent of tulips from Skagit Valley where she is originally from. Crazy, huh?!

BY THE WAY: Don't forget that on 4/30, we will launch this season's Garden to Table Challenge. What will you be harvesting and cooking? Get ready to blog about it - every week!

What Master Gardeners do - happy and fuzzy thoughts

Intrigued by what Master Gardeners do? As a Washington DC Master Gardener (intern), I'm sent e-mails throughout the year about talks, seminars, demonstrations, and most importantly, volunteer projects, both long-term and short-term. Here's one example of a Master Gardener project. As you can see below, the plaza of UDC is about to undergo a major face lift.


You can see below where construction has already begun.

See these guys in white? Not Master Gardeners. Actually, I don't know who the hell they are. Don't they look bizarre in their hooded jumpsuits? They're probably good enough guys. But I did overhear them receiving instructions on how to demo and what new landscaping needs to go in.

See these guys in the dirty jeans? Master Gardeners. Our task for the day: to dig up all the thousands of bulbs hidden in the cement planters before everything is bulldozed away. Day 2 of the job entailed replanting the bulbs in other locations around the campus.

See the bright and shiny faces below? We're happy that we got to save the bulbs from the giant dumpster. We will be directly responsible for the spring beauty that is to come. Having put in a good number of hours with other volunteers this summer, I see the enormous impact that we make. From this project alone, it is heartbreaking to think about how a gazillion dollar project budgets the cost of demo, hauling trash, and new landscaping, but doesn't include some measure to be sustainable and replant. I'm glad to be part of a team that can put in a few hours here and there to save what can and should be saved (contented sigh).

Just about the only thing that has not made me feel thankful, helpful, and basically all fuzzy inside came via mail in the form of this photo of my car and an attached speeding ticket. It's actually really annoying now that I have a chance to reflect on it. I was leaving the Washington Youth Garden where I spent several Saturdays volunteering this summer. The posted speed was 40, I was going 51. As you can see, this is the beginning of a highway. Who drives 40 on the highway? OK...happy and fuzzy thoughts...happy and fuzzy thoughts...

GBBD - April 2010

My Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post involves lots of photos - springtime is not a gradual, gentle transition in the Greenish Thumb garden. Be sure to see May Dreams blog for posts from bloggers around the world (but check out what's going on here first!).


First, in the vegetable garden: carrots, raspberries, beets, Swiss chard, rhubarb, oregano, and thyme are growing, as well as the strawberries and other edibles below...

Lingonberries newly planted and blooming below...

One of 3 new highbush blueberries below...

In the shade garden, hellebores are still going strong, hostas are mostly up, astilbe, ferns, bleeding hearts, geranium, clematis are all greening...

An heirloom daff...

Checkered lily...

Moss phlox that the kids have decorated...

In the sunny perennial garden: fothergilla (beaver creek),

Fox's grape...

a young pillar shrub with unexpected tiny blooms...

Alliums taking their sweet time...

My 5 year old's flower...

Happy gbbd, v-day, and Cny

Did you get them all? Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, Valentine's Day, and Chinese New Year!

Nothing blooming outside - we're still under cover here in Maryland. Lots of winter berries strikingly illuminated with the white backdrop of snow though. Today I stopped by my favorite garden center in search of something to bring to my parents' house for Chinese New Year. Since the holiday coincides with Valentine's Day this year, I had a wide selection to choose from. I was looking specifically for something red - which is generally an auspicious, symbolic color for Chinese New Year. My parents loved the red peace lily I picked up. Phew, since it seems everything is either a symbol of good luck or a symbol of bad luck!

Though I have not had much success with orchids, I have been inspired by friends in tropical climes and their gorgeous photos recently, and could not resist these totally adorable orchids! I decided to buy myself one. To put it in perspective, this is my 5 year old's little hands holding the orchid.

Finally, these lovely bulbs are in bloom today. Notice the container. This antique is over 100 years old and was specifically made for forcing bulbs to coincide with the day or so before Chinese New Year. You may know the red envelope is filled with money and is typically given by elders to their unmarried juniors (for example, uncle to niece, mom to son, grandmother to granddaughter, etc). If you're lucky, your elders won't pay too much attention to the married piece and give you a red envelope anyway (I'm lucky).

I'm a day early for GBBD this month, so starting tomorrow, check out May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in the rest of the world.

Autumn Belle has written several posts about how she has been preparing for and celebrating Chinese New Year. Check out this post - as well as the posts around it to learn more!

Have a romantic Valentine's day (or have fun rebelling against it if this is more your style), and gung hay fot choy if you're celebrating the lunar new year!

I bet you didn't know this about lilies...

The bulbs of lilies can be cooked in a variety of Chinese dishes. Below, you see a sweet soup - more of a broth or what is literally translated as "sugar water". The soup calls for tremella - a loose, flowery, off-white colored type of mushroom - (one of the most potent medicinal mushrooms), and lily bulbs (l. lancifolium, l. brownii, l. pumilum) which contain many health-promoting properties. My mother's recipe below, is a not-too-sweet dessert and alleviates cough, sore throat, and insomnia. I just find it comforting on a cold winter's day.

• Tremella and Lily Bulb "Tong Shui"

Soak 1/2 cup dried lily bulb (shown in photo above) for about 2 hours until completely softened

Soak about two handfuls of dried tremella for about 1 hour until softened

Drain water from lily bulb. Rinse tremella several times until water is clear. Snip off any tough ends. Add tremella and lily bulb to large pot of water (about 10-12 cups) and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. Add 1/2 cup or more of brown rock sugar, depending on desired sweetness. I would say most Chinese people do not prefer this dessert soup to be too sweet. Simmer for an additional 25 minutes.

* tremella, dried lily bulb, and brown rock sugar should be available in Asian grocery stores.