Yes, it was a lovely and productive afternoon.
PS – If you like my blog, please pass on my website to friends and family, gardeners, homeschoolers, and the nutrition-conscious. Thanks!
Well, I just couldn't resist! I should have been inside taking care of important paperwork, but it was just too beautiful. I didn't get out until after 3pm, when I was done teaching my children, cleaned up from lunch, and had figured out dinner. That left me only about 2 hours. So I changed into my jeans (I only wear pants when gardening), grabbed a semi-willing helper, and out I went! First, I practiced my golf-swing! It was time to hack down the sickly-looking peonies, so I set Christina to doing that, but first I had to show her how. I don't really like golf (sorry, Mom), but whenever I get that manual weedwacker in my hand, I just can't resist. Christina tried it a few times, but said she preferred just taking baseball swings (although, that would mean practicing going for the low-balls, which you're not supposed to swing at! Whatever works.) While Christina did that, I weeded around the back walkway one more time for the year, finding some last purslane, sorrel, and lady's thumb "weeds" to add to the salad. I also determined it was time to move my pulsatilla out from under an encroaching bush, and to dig up my rosemary and pot it to have inside for fresh rosemary through the winter. I think I'll try to turn it into a topiary! Here's my happy pulsatilla. Pulsatilla is a wonderful plant, which I will give a description of in upcoming months as you dream about your future gardens in the dead of winter. Peonies, too. In fact, I may start with that one, giving the pros and cons, and what work goes into them. I think it will be a very helpful feature, and I hope you like it! After all this work, we turned to collecting flowers. And boy, did we collect a lot! The beginning of October, and still they are going strong. In this bouquet, set out on our chair-shaped stump to take advantage of the waning sunlight, I focused on wild offerings and filled in with late summer garden blooms. From the wild I collected goldenrod, red amaranth, lady's thumb, lamb's quarters turning pink with seed, and various attractive grasses, then added such everlastings as statice, globe amaranth, hydrangea, and hyacinth bean. Zinnia, aster, ageratum and cosmos fill out the arrangement. I ascribe to the philosophy that every arrangement should have something a little surprising and unexpected in it, and for this one it's the huge orange rosehips right in the middle! In this bouquet I focused mostly on everlastings, primarily in quiet tones, creating a globe-like form. For this one, the surprising element is two hints of orange next to deep purple hyacinth beans. In this bouquet, the fuschia themselves are the surprising element! Aren't they fabulous! They don’t last long in a bouquet, but for a special evening, they’re terrific. More pinks, several soft pink roses, and purple to bring out the purple in the fuschia finish it off. A close-up of this unique flower. And, finally, a bouquet of late-blooming edible flowers to adorn the weeds, veggies, and lettuces in the salad. I will also be providing lists of edible flowers through the gloomy months, so that you can incorporate some into next year's gardens. Yes, it was a lovely and productive afternoon. PS – If you like my blog, please pass on my website to friends and family, gardeners, homeschoolers, and the nutrition-conscious. Thanks!
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Hello! Thank the Lord for a wonderful week of rain! We have survived a scorched and sweltering summer, and entered into a cool and comfortable autumn. It should clear up for the weekend, when I expect to get outside, do some needed yardwork, collect some vitamin D, and breathe in the refreshing autumn air! (I may have to conscript some forced labor to be out there with me! Ah, one of the perks of having a large family! But somehow, the offspring with the big muscles conveniently always has to "go to work" on Saturday. Do four slim girls add up to one brawny boy?) Well, it's time for another poem, and since I am currently enamored with amaranth, I'll share with you a poet who was also enamored, and used amaranth to express his love. This poet, writing during the Renaissance and under the influence of that era's fascination with ancient Rome and Greece, wrote a poem in which he and his love bring amaranth to the goddess Venus, asking that their love last forever, like the flowers of the amaranth. Ah! Romance! A Vow to Heavenly Venus We that with like hearts love, we lovers twain, New wedded in the village by thy fane, Lady of all chaste love, to thee it is We bring these amaranths, these white lilies, A sign, and sacrifice; may Love, we pray, Like amaranthine flowers, feel no decay; Like these cool lilies may our loves remain, Perfect and pure, and know not any stain; And be our hearts, from this thy holy hour, Bound each to each, like flower to wedded flower. Joachim du Bellay source: Poemhunter.com Well, if you read Part I, you will know that amaranth has a long and important history, not only in Western Civilization, but among the ancient civilizations of the Inca, Mayans, and Aztecs. Now I would like to examine the outstanding nutritional properties of this 'grain.' I’ve done hours and hours of research, and unfortunately it has been very difficult to summarize. Some sources provide nutritional information for uncooked amaranth seed, others for cooked, some in grams and some in cups. Still others offer the % USDA only. None of them show all the same nutrients as the others. But all agree that amaranth is significantly superior to virtually all other grains. Of the grains or pseudo-grains that I have reviewed (amaranth, buckwheat, wheat, white rice, brown rice, oats, teff, spelt, barley, quinoa, millet), amaranth and quinoa shine like stars in a dark, dark sky. The superiority of amaranth over any other grain except quinoa is stunning. The most complete information is on uncooked grains, so here I compare one cup of uncooked amaranth to one cup uncooked hard red winter wheat and white long grain rice. The values would change if cooked, of course, but the ratios would remain similar. Amaranth has: 307mg calcium (31% USDA), 5.5 times more than both wheat and rice. 14.7mg iron (82% USDA), 2.5 times more than wheat, 10 times more than rice. 8mg of vitamin C (14% USDA), while wheat and rice have none. 2.3mg of vitamin E (11% USDA), comparable to wheat, but 11 times more than rice. 479mg magnesium (120% USDA), 2 times more than wheat and 10 times more than rice. 1075mg phosphorus (108% USDA), 2 times more than wheat and 5 times more than rice. 980mg potassium (28% USDA), 1.5 times more than wheat and 4.5 times more than rice. 6.4mg manganese (322% USDA) similar to wheat but 3 times more than rice. And in addition to being high in many nutrients, amaranth is a rare plant source of complete protein, and in an easily digestible form. No other grains (besides quinoa) have complete protein, and few are in a form that the body can easily absorb. Amaranth contains 26g of protein (26% USDA), about the same as wheat but twice that of rice. The amino acid score on the Nutritiondata website (see below) rates the completeness of protein, with 100 being complete. Amaranth got an impressive 108, wheat got a measly 52, and rice got 71 (wheat and rice being entirely lacking in lysine and several other essential amino acids.) Amaranth is truly an amazing food source. Isn't it such a shame that so valuable a food has been replaced with grains that have so little to offer? Stay tuned for nutritional data on amaranth leaves, and recipes for both! Sources: http://nutritiondata.self.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth, http://dietandfitnesstoday.com/, http://ajol.info/index.php/wsa/article/viewFile/49119/35464%20 |
AuthorWelcome to Growing Goodness! This website is dedicated to growing good things, both plants and children. It's a gardening blog with maternal overtones, as I discuss the goodness and value of plants, both wild and domestic. In the process I hope to help you pass a love of nature on to your children. Happy Gardening! Archives
August 2011
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