Category: Gardening

Summer Recipes: Artichokes

6/27/2016

I'm excited to introduce you to Myrthe Noordegraaf, our newest guest blogger!
Born Dutch, living French, Myrthe is living a simple life at the beautiful French countryside.

I hope you enjoy her musings and photography (pictured below ) . . .

For the first time in my own garden !
Artichokes are beautiful, healthy, easy to cook and a pleasure to eat.
No need to say that it's one of my favorite vegetables.

How to cook :

Cook or steam them until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.
Cooking : +/- 45 minutes in a large pot of boiling water
Steaming : +/- 15 minutes

How to eat :

Take one leave at the time, dip it in a vinaigrette (mixture of vinegar, oil, mustard) and eat the little fleshy part.
Keep on doing this until the leaves become thinner. You can eat them or pull them of.
To reach the heart remove the hairy part (inedible).
Put some vinaigrette on the heart and enjoy !

Bon appétit,

Myrthe

"L'Art de vivre is to take time to enjoy small simple things." More than 15 years ago, Myrthe chose France as her home. Today she shares flashes out of her daily life and inspiration with you at www.myrthe.fr

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The Alchemical Garden

11/22/2015

10 Comments

Believer or disbeliever,
No matter who You are,
No matter what Your ambitions
Forget!

Have you heard about the
alchemists?
Forget!
Use Your imagination,
Be attentive.

Alchemy, as presented in the
garden, is the transformation of
the soul
through grace and initiative
science. It is presented not
as the "black magic" of old but
as an essential tool of an era
when
being a great scientist also
meant being a great philosopher,
so
intertwined were the two
pursuits.

~ Sign at the Alchemical Garden at
Mas de la Brune in Provence, France.

I invite you to discover my alchemical, limited edition creation: Visions in the Garden
Featuring Vetiver, Rose, Tomato Leaf, Jasmine, Mimosa Olessance from France, and more.

Spiritual Properties of the Above Essences:

Vetiver ~ A root oil that aids those who feel too sensitive to outside forces. Instills strength and confidence.
Rose ~ A sacred oil that eases grief and sorrow. Enhances your connection to love, creativity, beauty, and the arts. Restores trust and self compassion.
Tomato Leaf ~ A rare essence with a wonderful, verdant aroma. Protects from negative influences. Inspires hope, passion, and belief in oneself.
Jasmine ~ A voluptuously warm aroma that promotes joy, euphoria, and sensuality. Beautifying and enhances intuition.
Mimosa ~ Fresh, sparkling, crystalline scent that aides creativity and joy. Associated with protection, purification, and prophetic dreams.

To bring a touch of grace and transformative magic into your life . . . Visions in the Garden.

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The Garden Begins . . .

6/15/2015

4 Comments

This year I have set out on planting my first garden. Growing a healing, aromatic garden with a variety of plants for medicine-making was my goal. I also wanted to focus on attracting bees, birds, and butterflies.

While there are many practical benefits of having a garden, the intangible effects are equally important. The garden feels like a sanctuary; it connects me to a place of joy and wonder.

Here are my first seedlings! Sunflowers up close and Calendula farther back. Calendula is a flowering herb that I use to make infused oils for soothing skin irritation.

Bee Balm (pictured below) makes a tasty tea that is helpful for colds and indigestion.
It also attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

Lemon balm (below, center left) has a pleasant, citrusy flavor and is another great medicinal herb. It contains caffeic and rosmarinic acids which offer antiviral effects. It is a soothing herb that helps ease stress.

Other herbs pictured below include dill, rosemary, chives, sage, and flat leaf parsley. I have a special fondness for sage, enjoying its soft leaves and mysterious scent. It is a wonderfully healing herb that is antimicrobial and excellent for sore throats.

Medicinal herbs. Lemon balm (Melissa), rosemary, chives, sage, flat leaf parsley.

Fresh flowers are food for the soul. Zinnias are easy to grow, bloom all season long, and attract birds and butterflies. I love how robust they are!

"Learn to be an observer in all seasons. Every single day, your garden has something new and wonderful to show you."

Daisy and decorative, metallic mushrooms

I look forward to sharing the journey with you as the garden progresses!

4 Comments

Gardening & Looking Forward to Spring

1/24/2015

2 Comments

Little indoor garden with plants, stones, and gnomes.

My little indoor garden & some gnomes for good luck.

I am new to gardening. I've always loved the idea of it, and "The Secret Garden" is still one of my favorite movies - I think it made a lasting imprint on my heart.

However, I haven't always had the confidence to start gardening. It always seemed a bit intimidating to me. I never had great luck with houseplants, either.

Earlier in 2014, I decided to just give it one more go. I bought the succulent plant on the right side of the above photo, and miracle of miracles - it lived! It has grown so much. This encouraged me to buy a few more plants, including the ones pictured and a few air plants, too. I also planted some daffodil bulbs in Fall, and I am incredibly excited to see them emerge this Spring. They will be yellow, orange, and white. Some of them will be fragrant, too!

I love taking care of my little plants. I like to wake up in the morning and see if they've changed overnight. I like to dream about what I could plant. I believe gardening opens up a whole world of inspiration and possibilities.

If gardening is something you've been meaning to try, I definitely recommend giving it one more go.

What are you looking forward to seeing in your garden this Spring?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world," he said wisely one day, "but people don't know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen. I am going to try and experiment.”

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

2 Comments

Summer Recipes: Artichokes

The Alchemical Garden

The Garden Begins . . .

Gardening & Looking Forward to Spring

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