Phaedra's Adventure

[digitS']

Iris are so very special – an absolute favorite.

Snapdragons, we start very early, with the peppers. The seedlings grow so slowly. They and the grown-ups can take some cool temperatures. Every now and then, we have one that overwinters. They have to be in a very protected location but it makes me wonder if they could survive under a mulch.

We took a walk this week in our old, distant garden. I collected some anise hyssop that survived and some catnip out along the periphery that i knew about . We had some sunflowers there in '23 as usual. I carried the stalks out before tilling in the fall but a couple had reached maturity and were dropping seeds. Then, I tilled — there were small sunflowers scattered halfway across that garden! Sunflowers and dill .

Steve

 

[Dahlia]

Those bearded Irises are really charming! When I bought the tubers, I felt, wow, it cost a small fortune; however, when I saw now their blooms, oh my, it's 100% worthwhile - no need to say, they are perennials.
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The first wave of honeysuckle is fading, but the climbing roses are ready to take the stage.
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Overwintered snapdragons - they will look sad during the winter months, however, once they touch the ground again in late spring, they grow quickly and will offer flowers much earlier than the young plants just sow in Feb/Mar.
Before I transplanted them again to the soil, I pruned them and put the stems in the water. After those stems root, more plants joined the cutting flower patch. So far, all of them are doing great. This is a lovely lesson. I will do the same this year - keeping the strong plants with colors I like in the greenhouse. Hopefully, I don't need to sow any new snapdragon next season.
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Celery regrew from the store-bought celery - one of them is flowering - wow, it's pretty, too. The are several levels of flowers, I like them.

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Look at those Night-scented stock!! I guess they are at least 1.2M high and offer massive flowers. They are biennials, but wow, so impressive. I have several plants in different corners, and they act like purple-pink firework.
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This flower bed that I created last August is going t show a lot of colors (and goodies) soon.
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Something funny, most of my flower beds are highly mixed with flowering perennials, berries, and annuals. I just couldn't help to laugh out loud when I saw some funny combinations like below - rose, lavender, currant, blueberries, strawberries, bachelor's buttons, and....POTATOES! The holy potatoes that you won't get rid of once you grow them somewhere. That 'somewhere' will always have some undug small potatoes that will wake up in the late spring.

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That is so funny about the volunteer potatoes! It is so true that once they are grown somewhere, some pop up every year thereafter!

I had an entire garden get overgrown by potatoes one year in a spot where they had been grown previously! Almost everything else got choked out!

 

[Phaedra]

Harvested several huge comfrey plants, chopped and dropped them in the compost to add nutritients. They are growing like crazy, especially near the chicken coop areas - the soil must be very fertile. They are becoming so huge - blocked light and air for neighboring plants, and the lower, decayed leaves became shelters for slugs. So, it's time to cut them back.

With massive green materials, the temperature of three major heaps increase very quickly and remain 55~60C. That's absolutely a good sign.

In front of the chicken coops, I directly sowed some mixed seeds - a lot of Crimson clovers, lamp lettuces, fava beans, wheat, nasturtium, rye, and etc. As we have a cooler and wet May, the overall germination is satisfying. These small areas are not only good for the pollinators or wildlife, I can also easily cut some and feed the hens.

Pretty foxgloves

Like our cats and dogs - the hens enjoy, most of the time, a very diversified diet. The base is still the commercial feed for laying hens, but there are always something extra for them - vegetable/fruit peels, leftover, or their favorite - shrimp shells.

The Japanese pieris in the main garden is pretty again, althought the first new leaves were killed by the frost. The dormant buds are waking soon.

When I work in the cafe, I also work on the front yard from time to time. The smaller tree here suffered more from the frost and recovered much slower. However, I noticed that the new leaves are also coming. So happy to see the new growth~

 

[Phaedra]

The first hybrid tea rose this year

And the first climbing rose this year - they will take the stage from the fading orange honeysuckle.

The pink-ivory tone honeysuckle from the other side also starts blooming. So, this rose arch is orange and green in May, and will turn into pink and green in the coming summer weeks.

Chamomiles are blooming, too

This is the first 'community' that starts blooming. They self-seeded like crazy last year, showing the determination to compete with other weeds. I have to pull most of them and send them to the compost. The strongest plants are kept and relocated to specific spots. I can start harvesting very soon.

Oh! I didn't notice that strawberries are ripening. Isn't that wonderful to use my own berries for decorating the cakes? I also planted them in multiple spots this year for a bit of risk diversification.

A very lively pond for water lilies - but I didn't have too much time to work it.

When most of the clean-up and preparation were done in spring, the plants would take good care of themselves. Later today, I will do some mowing and transplant some lettuces.

 

[Phaedra]

My working table this morning, as I have 5 pre-ordered (and pre-paid) salad orders to fulfill.

Offering salad and herbal tea (rose and mint are so far the most welcome two) gives the gardening works I love another level of meaning and purpose. I feel so good!

Different salad greens I grow this year, most of them are with extra crunchy texture (so I can use them in pan-fry dishes)

Herbs and flowers can add multi-layers of fragrance, flavor, and visual pleasure.

Herbs: basil, parsley, mint
Edible flowers: Celery, brassica, lamp letteuce (their flowers are super cute), black elderberry (the flowers taste just like the berries), nasturtium (flowers and leaves)
and the young shoots from fava beans

It's also a pleasure to see people bring their own containers - well, it gave me a feeling of sharing food with friends.

The flowers of celery - and they taste 100% just like celery.

I also start offering hot-pressed sandwiches. They are simply delicious with crunchy skin and cheese melt inside.

The temperature is still too cool for many young plants, but there is nothing you can do about it.

The roses are doing great, New Dawn never fails me - so robust, disease-resistent, maintainance-free (but of course you need to prune them. All roses can become monsters without regular pruning), and repeat flowering.

 

[baymule]

Everything looks so lovely. What are the hours of your shop? I sure would order salads from you, they look beautiful and nutritious.

 

[Phaedra]

Everything looks so lovely. What are the hours of your shop? I sure would order salads from you, they look beautiful and nutritious.

Mon to Sat, 1200 till 1800, kind of awkward timing for a shop, but I don't want to make it full time, and also don't want to open it too early/late, haha.

 

[Phaedra]

It's a fruitful week, and we added two small signs to more or less show the direction of the shop.

I don't want to spend a fortune to do advertisement or huge sign. So that's all I did at this moment. So far, locals and tourists are showing up, and they are very happy about having a something new in a small town.

I never met so many people from the year we moved in. DH and I are more or less the similar type - we are easy-going, but not very keen to social. So most of the time, we are hiding in our small shelter. During these three weeks, we have many lovely interactions and, well, it's a feeling like our roots are stretching and exploring.

Some tourists visited and were very surprised - after all, they didn't expect the quality of food and drink that they can have here.

Someone ordered an espresso as she can't drink normal milk (and I don't have alternatives yet). I recommended her an pour-over, and she was fully surprised. Yes, here when you order coffee, it's something from the automatic coffee machine. When you order a herbal tea, you get a cup of hot water and a tea bag.

I don't need tons of customers; instead, I am more willing to serve certain people who understand and appreciate the values behind the food/drink.

Delicious homemade no-churn ice cream - a perfect creation of leftover whipped cream and other ingredients from preparing cakes and salad bowls. Avoiding waste and maximizing the resources are always important goals for me.

Chilled water with fresh mints, sliced lemon, and cucumber - whoever comes in my shop will get some refreshment first.

Pudding made with very simple ingredients - sugar, eggs, milk, and homemade vanilla extract - a delicious treat doesn't need to be complicated.

I enjoy being a pastry chef, a barista, and a head gardener in my small town very much.

 

[Phaedra]

A station of my salad greens - I have to say, it's very effective in terms of manage and harvest them, and I will always do so from now on. Some are growing on the ground still, but I think, this is a convincing work-aruond. When it is still too cold for other crops, those salad greens can be transplanted directly on the groun. However, when it gets warmer (or even too warm for them), it's nothing wrong to dig them out, repot and relocate them to shadier spots. This also ensure a better slug control - I didn't do it this year, but next growing season, I will use the cupper tape to make a "you are not welcome, just go home" zone on whatever I put those re-potted salad greens on.

So, those salad greens contribute a lot to both products - salad bowl and sandwiches.

Peas are climbing high~

Harvested the first batch of chamomoiles while watching the mini documentaries about similar community-based coffee/bakery shops in the cafe. I'm pretty happy that more locals visited the shop and felt pleased with the food and drinks I provide. It's something new and joyful not only for them, but also for me.

I have always been a willful person who need drives and purposes.

Today's cinnamon rolls and sausage/cheese rolls

Orange chiffon cupcakes – made with 100% natural ingredients, which are very rare nowadays, since artificial coloring and performance-enhancing agents are cheaper, faster, and so promising.

But I do what I want to do and will continue to do so.

This little shop is like a spaceship, carrying me, my past experiences, my family, and friends, venturing into the unknown universe.

 

[Dahlia]

A station of my salad greens - I have to say, it's very effective in terms of manage and harvest them, and I will always do so from now on. Some are growing on the ground still, but I think, this is a convincing work-aruond. When it is still too cold for other crops, those salad greens can be transplanted directly on the groun. However, when it gets warmer (or even too warm for them), it's nothing wrong to dig them out, repot and relocate them to shadier spots. This also ensure a better slug control - I didn't do it this year, but next growing season, I will use the cupper tape to make a "you are not welcome, just go home" zone on whatever I put those re-potted salad greens on.
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So, those salad greens contribute a lot to both products - salad bowl and sandwiches.
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Peas are climbing high~
View attachment 66644

Harvested the first batch of chamomoiles while watching the mini documentaries about similar community-based coffee/bakery shops in the cafe. I'm pretty happy that more locals visited the shop and felt pleased with the food and drinks I provide. It's something new and joyful not only for them, but also for me.
View attachment 66646

I have always been a willful person who need drives and purposes.

Today's cinnamon rolls and sausage/cheese rolls
View attachment 66647

Orange chiffon cupcakes – made with 100% natural ingredients, which are very rare nowadays, since artificial coloring and performance-enhancing agents are cheaper, faster, and so promising.
View attachment 66648

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But I do what I want to do and will continue to do so.

This little shop is like a spaceship, carrying me, my past experiences, my family, and friends, venturing into the unknown universe.
View attachment 66649

Today i would like one of your orange chiffon cupcakes!