Going straight from vacation at Little House in the Rockies to work in Europe (I’m not complaining!), I was a little worried about the patio-side plants at Glover Gardens.
The Grill-Meister got home late last night from the post-vacation flight as my flight to Europe was about halfway there. My nagging met him before he landed: “Plants OK?”
A dutiful husband, he not only reassured me, but also sent a picture. The message?
Mother Nature watered your plants for me. Look at all that blue….plumbago looking awesome!”
A couple of days ago, I shared a lovely hibiscus haiku written by my cousin’s wife in the wake of my Dad’s death, which accompanied a hibiscus. We named it “Frank-biscus” to honor him.
We have an abundance of hibiscus at Glover Gardens, and I used some of them in the post instead of highlighting Frank-biscus, which hadn’t yet bloomed after being re-potted.
A red Texas Star Hibiscus
Hawaiian Hibiscus (I think)
A white Texas Star Hibiscus
Yesterday, as Hurricane Harvey was sending advance rainstorms to herald his impending arrival, Frank-biscus opened up a beautiful, bright pink blossom!
To me, this was a reminder from God – during all of the fearsome ravaging brought by the hurricane – that nature is also beauty.
Here’s the haiku again, now properly paired with Frank-biscus.
your much-beloved dad
like this hibiscus flower
blossomed love and life
Family gathers ’round when a loved one dies, sharing memories and telling stories, all a reminder both of the value of the life of the lost one and the interconnectedness of those who remain. We experienced this at Glover Gardens recently when my Dad died, rejoicing in the togetherness of family and friends even while we mourned together. In addition to their continual prayers and love, my cousin’s wife brought a gift to our informal celebration of Dad’s life, a live and blooming hibiscus, with a heartfelt haiku.
your much-beloved dad
like this hibiscus flower
blossomed love and life
Lucy, my Aunt-Mom and Dad’s widow, took this beautiful picture
I’ve posted before about how we lovelove loveboth hibiscus and haiku here at Glover Gardens; this gift was as appropriate and welcome as a hug to smooth a hardship – and so life-affirming! A quick little poem, at the second grade level (I couldn’t resist):
I have a wonderful cousin who has a wonderful wife. She wrote a hibiscus haiku to celebrate Dad’s life.
A white Texas Star hibiscus, blooming for the first time on Dad’s death day
I love hibiscus! And hibiscus seem to love Glover Gardens. Here are a few of my favorite Glover Gardens hibiscus pics, a late-summer garden digital postcard.
I love the bright yellow
A white Texas Star Hibiscus
A red Texas Star Hibiscus
Mahogany Splendor Hibiscus; it’s relatively rare and hard to find
Another Mahogany Splendor
Hawaiian Hibiscus (I think)
A beautiful pink double-bloomer
Tall and leggy Lord Baltimores; that’s Godfrey on the left
A Lord Baltimore, close up
Lord Baltimore Hibiscus, blooms as big as dinner plates
I don’t know the name of this beauty
The red bud to the left is the newest hibiscus, with an interesting shaped-bloom (pics to come)
See the bee?Another white Texas Star, which bloomed for the first time on Dad’s death day
A rose peeking through the hibiscus bush
A double bloom, in the midst of opening
Copyright 2017, Glover Gardens Cookbook (feel free to share with attribution and links)
Happy Sunday from Glover Gardens! This brilliant red rose is too pretty not to share, standing out amidst its neighbors of purple heart and plumbago. The name of the rose variety is Don Juan, and I guess it does look a little seductive. I can’t decide whether to cut it and enjoy its beauty and fragrance inside the house, or to leave it where it is as a star in the landscape.
The Grill-Meister and I have spent an enjoyable few days with friends in the Temecula Valley, which sports over 50 wineries. There is much to share from this “Wine for No Reason” outing, but this post is just a few photos emphasizing the special relationship between wine and roses.
Many of the vineyards feature healthy, mature, blossom-covered rose bushes, some scattered across the property, and some smack-dab at the ends of the rows of vines. The “why” behind this, we learned, is that roses and grape vines are susceptible to the same types of fungal diseases. The roses function as an early warning system for the vines when they display signs of illness, sort of like the canary in the coal mine. They also attract beneficial insects that attack bugs that prey on vines.
Finally, they’re just beautiful, providing a riot of color amongst the greenery that is both vine and grape.
Yours truly admiring the riot of color at Hart Winery
In addition to his many BBQ accomplishments, the Grill-Meister makes a marvelous homemade tomato juice. When we started growing tomatoes at Glover Gardens, he found a recipe online and then honed it over several summers, tweaking the spices, amounts and fresh peppers. Here it is, hopefully in time for your summer tomato crop, or, if you don’t have a garden, those deep red beauties you’ll find at your local farmers’ market.
This amped-up tomato juice doesn’t need anything but vodka and a squeeze of lime to make a perfect Bloody Mary. On the other hand, it’s so good, you don’t really need the vodka!
Ingredients
4 lbs fresh tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers
1 serrano, cayenne or fresno pepper
1 medium yellow onion
2-4 cloves of garlic (you guessed it, we use 4)
1 TBSP kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 c water
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
celery stalks (optional)
Cooking Instructions
Blanch tomatoes and remove skin and core (see pictures below for how-to instructions); cut into large chunks. Dice peppers and onion; mince garlic. Combine all ingredients in large pot; simmer for 30 minutes. Allow mixture to cool for 15-20 minutes; puree in blender. Use medium sieve strainer to remove pulp from tomato juice (reserve the pulp to use as base for soup, salsa, guacamole, etc.) Cool in refrigerator for minimum of 3 hours. Serve chilled, garnishing with black pepper and a stalk of celery.
Fresh ingredients make for a fresh, robust-tasting juiceStart with 4 lbs of the juiciest tomatoes you can findRemove each tomato as soon as the peel splitsYou can see how the peels have separated from the fleshThe peels slip right offCore the tomatoes while in the bowl so you don’t lose a drop of that wonderful juiceThe vegetables are roughly chopped for cookingThis is what the cooked mixture looks likeThe Ninja blender purees in about 10 secondsTom’s Spicy Tomato Juice is thick and slightly chunky, almost like gazpacho (yum!)
