A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

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margaret roach, head gardener

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dear gayla: a letter to a garden friend

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birds on lampshade‘DEAR GAYLA’: Those two words are how each “letter” in this new occasional series will begin, each time I write here to my friend Gayla Trail of You Grow Girl [dot] com, a sort of “out loud” reality check we thought might be good for both of us (and maybe fun for you, too). We’re very different, but also birds of a feather in many ways (and those “birds” in the photo above are clip-on ornaments she sent me for the holidays, which I clipped onto a light shade in my kitchen). The first installment of our correspondence starts on the jump page:

Dear Gayla,

SINCE YOUR VISIT last fall, I think of you every time I make pasta (brown-rice pasta, of course, because like you I try to keep the gluten to a minimum—well, unless someone bakes fresh bread and I simply cannot resist).

The simple act of salting pasta water got connected to you because of that amazing herbed salt you taught me to make, the unpronounceable “salamoia Bolognese” laced with fresh garlic, sage and rosemary. Divine. I keep a little Mason jar I filled with it right beside the stove (and sometimes confess I sprinkle it, intensely salty and crunchy as it is, on other things, too; it’s amazing for roasting vegetables).  It’s also good for sticking one’s nose in when summer just seems so far away as it has some weeks lately; a pinch of warmer times.

preserving with gayla trailWe keep having little pinches of winter—a few inches of snow, a bout or two of deep cold—and then spring again, or at least mud season. In one warm spell about two weeks ago, the intermediate witch-hazels began to bloom, the first official flowers of my garden’s new year. I have lost count of how many times the on-off seasonal switch has been flipped, though. You must be all up-and-down in Toronto, too (though I am embarrassed to admit I can never quite keep straight your C versus our F and the relative temperatures).

Speaking of cold: The garlic and potatoes and onions I grew last year are staying nicer than ever since I moved them to the upstairs of the barn, where it’s much cooler than the cellar of the house, more like high 30s than high 40s. The room up there has a tiny bit of electric heat (just enough to stay above freezing, but not warm), which is what they all want to last better in storage, as cold as it seems.

I sometimes imagine you with all your marginally hardy things stuffed in oddball places at your house, too, probably tripping over them as I do here in some spots like the mudroom. Each of us could use a proper root cellar and a small greenhouse, but I don’t think either is in the cards here or there, right? Thank goodness that lacking proper infrastructure as we do, we are hardy and improvisational types.

I’ve thought about you, too, these last two weeks, in that “Gayla would understand” way, as I’ve raced from one book-related event to the next, feeling like the proverbial headless chicken but hoping nobody would notice. I know you have been through book launch several times, but at least you are a better traveler than I am. I mean, you even take planes and everything, like to Cuba. Me? I put 1,000 miles on my poor old car the last 10 days.

When I get home from each long haul, my reward is a binge of streaming TV—mostly British stuff, as is my usual—and I wonder if you have seen “White Teeth,” a mini-series about three cross-cultural families in 1970s England (though it released in 2002)? Loved it.

Do you feel as I do at this time of year—just before it all begins again in a giant whoosh!—that this will be the year that you (fill in the blank about some resolution or other that never seems to come true)? I’ve stopped committing to label every plant, which used to be my annual promise to myself but frankly would be a fulltime job.

One thing I hope I actually make happen: extend my food-growing season with some intentional changes—maybe one raised bed will get a proper low tunnel over it, and I really do need to run drip-irrigation tubing in the key beds.

Oh: and I must make a space for more herbs the way you manage to even in a smaller space.  Encourage me! I scored some half whiskey barrel wooden planters on half-price markdown late last fall, so those may be the solution, carted into spots here and there where there is sunshine.

For now, though, I must finish my seed orders—and sow the banana shallots!

Talk soon; love to Davin and Molly. Meow from Jack.

M.

P.S. — Thank you again for the bird ornaments! Serendipity: The grandmother who inspired me to garden decorated her holiday tree with bird ornaments, so I think with that genetics and upbringing, I am prepared to make them right at home here.

And also: I love the collage of seasonal photos you posted this week on your site, the same views seen at four moments. Must do that more deliberately myself, too. Thanks as ever for the idea.

Gayla’s letter to me

GAYLA’S FIRST LETTER to me in this series is here. They crossed in the “mail,” so I hadn’t read it as I typed this. Off I go to see…

 

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17 comments
February 1, 2013

comments

  1. Gayla says

    February 1, 2013 at 10:23 am

    White Teeth: I haven’t seen the series, but I LOVED the book by writer Zadie Smith. Will look for it now that I know.

    Reply
  2. narf7 says

    February 1, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    This is what blogging is all about…finding like minded souls all over the earth and tying ethos to ethos, making the world a smaller but stronger place. I love it! :). A beautifully written letter and I, for one, am going to enjoy being a fly on the wall with this gorgeous corresponence :)

    Reply
  3. Ruth says

    February 2, 2013 at 11:02 am

    I couldn’t help but comment when I read “meow from Jack”. The furry critter at our house is Jack, too, and even though he lacks ears and most of his tail, we still call him a cat.

    The letters were both beautiful, and both inspired me to try to sprout some seedlings this spring in my drafty, small, shaded, south facing windows, instead of just wishing for a greenhouse.

    Reply
    • margaret says

      February 2, 2013 at 11:11 am

      So nice to hear from you, Ruth. Jack is curious what life without ears (which he likes scratched) and his tail (which is VERY long since he is more the size of a dog) would be like. Oh, dear. Do stop and say hello again soon, both of you!

      Reply
  4. Jason says

    February 2, 2013 at 12:19 pm

    Both the series and book ‘White Teeth’ are excellent, in my opinion. I also loved ‘On Beauty’, but have not yet read the new novel,’NW’. ‘Autograph Man’ I thought was so so. Also, I’m going to have to look up Salamoia Bolognese – whatever the heck it is, it sounds delicious.

    Reply
  5. gardenbre says

    February 2, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    Lovely to be invited to read the correspondences – thank you both!

    I have some of Gayla’s salami bolognese salt that I just opened this past week – soOo good – what I’d been missing by not having cracked that jar open earlier. I was very pleased to see the recipe posted – thanks – I will now be able to use it a little less judiciously. Not that I wasn’t. I’d been sprinkling it on vegs, meats and pasta – was getting a little concerned what I was going to do once it was gone! heheh

    Reply
  6. Daisy Marshall says

    February 3, 2013 at 10:20 am

    My favorite “Sunday off”, to open my e mail and find your wondrous blog. As the other reader said, thank you for the invitation, look forward to this exchange of mind and heart. Love the british stuff,so I will definetly check out White Teeth. Currently reading On my own by F Falk, it struck me how your books and this blog have helped me reclaim my abandoned garden spaces and find a path back to where they still stand.. That Frances Hodgson Burnett was on to something, wasn’t she?? And so are you Margaret, so are you…… Thank you!

    Reply
  7. Michele Duncan says

    February 3, 2013 at 11:36 am

    Just wanted to say I love your new podcast

    Reply
  8. Susan says

    February 3, 2013 at 11:48 am

    I’m going right out now and get all the ingredients for the
    herb-infused sea salt……sounds devine!!! I love to cook
    with herbs so this sea salt recipie will be just perfect.
    I am in Florida for the winter and reading the blog all about
    February frustrations makes me so long to dig in the dirt
    in Boston!!!

    Reply
  9. Rosemary says

    February 3, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    I am moving from my one third acre 5 bedroom home to a 2 bedroom courtyard space garden and I’m already going through my numerous garden books for inspiration as to what I’m going to plant where and I love your ideas which I try on a ‘mini’ basis in my garden and its always successful….

    Reply
  10. Eve Mauger says

    February 3, 2013 at 6:06 pm

    I love this new correspondence section of your blog, Margaret! Haven’t even got to Gayla’s letter yet…..saving that for later. Now I must check out the herbed salt recipe. Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Mrs. Curtis says

    February 4, 2013 at 10:24 am

    VEGETARIANS, PLEASE SKIP THE FOLLOWING RECIPE! From a born-again-carnivore swine-aholic…

    A delicious variation on the herb salt is with overcooked, but not quite burnt, bacon: remove as much of the grease as possible (on paper towels or what-have-you,) grind fairly fine/pasty in a food processor or blender, transfer to a bowl with sea salt of your preferred texture and dried herbs of choice… I usually use granulated garlic, powdered ginger, turmeric, black pepper and a wee bit of chipotle for smoke. A jerk flavored bacon salt is suberbly decadent, as well: allspice, thyme, habanero and granulated maple sugar- if you have it, or raw cane sugar or even brown sugar will do.

    Not being one who measures, by contrary nature, I can’t supply accurate amounts used… it should kinda flow freely, but will still clog shakers; just experiment with the flavors and texture until it feels right! So easy and delicious!!! Also, clean up goes a bit smoother when some salt is rubbed around in the belly of the food processor, the greasy bacon residue turns sandy and can be scraped out and added right into the mix.

    Thank you, Margaret and Gayla, for opening your hearts for all to share. I am truly inspired by your efforts!
    LIFE’S A GARDEN, DIG IT! (Joe Dirt’s t-shirt)
    YES! LIVE! LIFE’S A BANQUET, AND MOST POOR SUCKERS ARE STARVIN’ TO DEATH! (Auntie Mame)

    Reply
    • margaret says

      February 4, 2013 at 11:00 am

      Thanks, Mrs. Curtis, and I pretended there’s no swine involved. :) Frankly, after 35 years as a vegetarian, the only thing I still miss is bacon!

      Reply
  12. jen says

    February 4, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    Gayla Trail’s books got me started in Gardening many moons ago & I am tickled pink to read that you two are friends.

    I am starting Sweet Peas here in Okrahoma. Today its beautiful outside, but tommorow? Who knows!

    Thank you both for inspiration! I appreciate you muchly!

    Reply
    • margaret says

      February 5, 2013 at 2:20 pm

      I love this background, Jen. She is special, right?

      Reply
  13. Claudia says

    February 6, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    So love the idea of the correspondence! Now I will get a double dose of inspiration. Thanks for taking the time and sharing with all of us. It is very appreciated.

    Reply
  14. vicki says

    February 9, 2013 at 9:17 am

    enjoy being allowed to share in some of your correspondence.
    Am loving your book Margaret, and must procure Gayla’s.

    Reply

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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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awaytogarden

mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
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Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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