Captured moments

Captured moments – Travel – Blanco Gardens

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I love visiting Blanco, Texas.  It started out as being a halfway mark for my best friend and I to meet for lunch and spend the day together.  We have an early lunch, then walk over to one of our favorite places, Blanco Gardens.

Blanco Gardens

It is a short walk from the cafe, and we always end up bringing back trays of plants on the walk back. 

Amelia Lintner, the owner, is wonderful.  Friendly, knowledgeable and fun.  Her gardens are colorful and invite you to explore.  She carries trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables.  She also has a wonderful selection of succulents, which I love!   You will also find a nice assortment of planters, garden soils and amendments too, as well as a lovely gift shop inside.  It is a wonderful place to relax and browse.  The zinnias and succulents I bought from her this year have been outstanding.

zinnias

Looking at the store from Highway 29

The porch on her shop is a cool, shady place to relax while contemplating your purchases. 😉

 

Inside the shop

Amelia has a beautiful selection of planters and slag glass in the shop as well as seeds and other gardening supplies.

 

Amelia trying to escape my camera. ❤

 

This is an amazing selection of lavender. To the left is a room with some of the succulents.

One of her succulent arrangements. I love this ice plant.

 

Recycled tires. How cool is that?!

Love this bat!

 

Slag glass in a fun display.

That’s a big boot!

 

A fun area with various decorative items.

 

If you are out and about in the Hill Country of central Texas, stop by and say hello to Amelia, take a stroll through her gardens, relax on the porch and take home a plant or two.  

Blanco Gardens

Address: 500 Main St, Blanco, TX 78606

Hours:

 
Saturday 10AM–4PM
Sunday 10AM–4PM
Monday 9AM–5PM
Tuesday 9AM–5PM
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 9AM–5PM
Friday 9AM–5PM
Phone: (830) 833-2433

 

Captured Moments – Armadillos

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I never know what I may find when leaving the house in the morning.  Last week, we were rushing out the door and my son pointed to an armadillo snuffling around the yard.  Our eldest cat was lying in the drive way watching it and the armadillo seemed oblivious. They have poor eyesight and apparently, it was too busy digging for food to hear us.   I rushed back in the house to grab my camera and was sternly reminded that we were going to be late. I snapped a few photos then dashed to the car.  This was what caught the armadillos attention and it scurried back into the woods.   These unusual creatures can be destructive to lawns, but we really don’t have to worry about that.  I am surprised it can even burrow in our rocky soil.

To find out more about this adorable armored mammal click this link:

Texas Parks and Wildlife Armadillo page

The article on the website is perfect.  I remembering being fascinated by these unusual creatures as a child and still delight in seeing them.

Dragon Thursday – Homemade pepper sauce

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The garden this year has been amazing.  I have had a great time finding ways to use everything.  Since I I love all things dragon, when I saw a pepper named Dragon Cayenne, I had to buy it.  The plant is a heavy producer and the peppers are lovely.

I decided I would attempt making a Tabasco style sauce using the dragon cayenne and a few of the jalapeños from the garden.

I looked at several recipes online and decided to use this one from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen

It calls for 1/4 pound of cayenne peppers, then jalapeños and hot cherry peppers (which I do not have) so I improvised.  I ended up using a little over 1/2 pound of cayenne and jalapeño peppers.  I then doubled the rest of the ingredients in the recipe and followed it as written.

Dragon Cayenne

I began by washing and removing the stems from my peppers.  I then added them to a medium size sauce pan with lid.  I used about a  1/2 pound+ dragon cayenne and jalapeño peppers, six large cloves peeled garlic – chopped, 2 teaspoons salt, four cups white vinegar.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat,  cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  

It was suggested that this be done outside.  The vapors can be very strong and irritating to the eyes and nose.  I did not cook this batch outside, but I did use exhaust fans.  I have cooked peppers before and had the fumes be extremely overwhelming.  You may also want to wear gloves when handling the hot peppers.

After boiling, I  carefully poured the hot mixture into a blender and pureed.

Then I poured it into a food mill which I had placed over the sauce pan that I had used to cook the mixture in.

I strained out the seeds and other solids and returned the pan of liquid to the stove. 

 I brought the liquid back to a boil.  Once it began to boil, I turned the fire off and set aside to cool.  

I had saved some bottles with shaker tops for making hot sauces and vinegars.  Use whatever method you prefer to clean and sterilize your jars.  I used a funnel to add the cooled sauce to my bottles.  Here is the finished product.  The recipe states it should last six months in the refrigerator.  (Keep refrigerated)

Thanks again to Bernadette at Rants From My Crazy Kitchen for posting this recipe.  I didn’t follow it exactly but it was a great place to start. 🙂

Happy Summer Solstice!

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Happy Summer Solstice to all my northern hemisphere friends.  I love sitting on the porch in the morning, drinking coffee, listening to the birds and enjoying this peaceful corner of my life.  I have developed a love for succulents.  Easy to grow and so pretty.  There are also a couple of scented geraniums, one lime and the other is has lemon rose scent.  A perfect way to enjoy this beautiful summer day.

Traveling daylily

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My mother in law gave me some daylilies that were given to her by a friend when she lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was around 1960.   She took some of them with her when they moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, then again when they moved to Texas.  They are now at my house.  Who knows where they may travel next. ❤

 

 

Sunflowers of a different color

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I bought a packet of sunflower seeds this year that showed a mix of red, yellow and brown flowers.  I thought they would look nice against the  trellis that was supposed to be covered in passion vines with purple flowers.  The sunflowers thrived, the passion vine, not so much.  The contrary passion vines did send runners into other parts of the garden where they were NOT supposed to grow. 😉

Autumn colors sunflower

close up

Photo-bombing bee

Bee close up

I also have a dark red one.  The insects got to it before it opened which gave it the raggedy edge.

Dark red sunflower.

Angel Wing Begonia

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I can’t leave a cutting behind.  My sister in law moved her plants to their new house and threw some pieces that broke off away.  When I saw them in the trash, I couldn’t just leave them there.  They could be rooted.  I was sure of it.  It turns out that I was right.  I put the pieces in water and in about a week or so they had small roots.  I let these develop into something a bit more substantial then moved them to a pot with soil.

I have had these about six months and they are doing well.  I do not have much bright indirect light inside for plants, and they need to be sheltered from the wind.  I had them in the garden shed which has good light, but I can’t enjoy them.  I keep them in my potting area outside and try to protect them there.  Some of the leaves in these photos are a bit wind worn.

From Wikipedia:

The Angel Wing Begonia resides within the Cane Group of Begonias, along with the Dragon Wing type which generally lacks variation on its leaves. Both Angel and Dragon are named for the shape of their leaves. Angel Wings generally contain spots or a frosted pattern. The underside is often a deep red.

Angel Wing Begonia in pot with other rooted cuttings. The plant to the left is a Kalanchoe.  It was also rescued from the thrown away pieces.

Close up of flower cluster

Close up of leaves and flowers (the current background on my computer.)

 

Here is a link about growing Angel Wing Begonias at Houseplant411.com

Also a link about growing Kalanchoes at gardenknowhow.com