Garden to Table

 from the garden to your table

 a nice little salad

 baby arugula

 spring onion blossoms

 valencia Orange slices

 Haas Avocado

 raw baby beet slices

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

 no matter where you live...

the gifts from the garden

are always within reach

A Snake Bite

It's that time again....peak orange season

 This year the orange orchard is incredible....

the fruit is literally pulling the branches to the ground 

and every tree is in full blossom....what an incredible smell

crazy wonderful

so what to do with all of that orange juice?

I'm not much of a mixologist 

but I love tea and especially tea with lemonade

not long ago I ordered an "Arnold Palmer"

from a little cafe and the server said:

"do ya see any golf courses around here?...it's called a snake bite up this a way"

oops

really

?

So here is my version of a 

Snake Bite

using 

OJ

Mix together:

a nice large pitcher of your favorite ice tea 

(make about 4 quarts)

Add:

4 or 5 tea bags of 

Coconut Chai Tea

(I use Zhena's Gypsy Tea which you can find at Trader Joe's

or use a tea that has a lot of spices like Constant Comment)

let this sit overnight in the fridge

When ready to serve/drink:

add 4 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice 

to your pitcher of ice tea

 fill some nice large glasses 

about half full with ice

now you can drink this

"as is"

but to add some 

BITE

to your drink

I like to top it off with a shot of 

Captain Morgans Spiced Rum

I stick a big slice of lime on a wood fork

(you can find these bamboo disposable forks at Target and most grocery stores)

float the shot of rum on the top of the tea

and swizzle with the lime slice

ENJOY

Early Autumn Gardening

 It really does not feel like fall considering it has been over 90 degrees every day, since the middle of July...but this morning it really cooled off and it finally felt like Autumn

 I have started some cool season veggies
like carrots, broccoli, cabbage, beets and tons of new mesclun and lettuce

 I thought I might try a late season tomato and see what happens ...I planted two, about a month ago 

but as luck would have it.... last night the raccoons were out 

and made short work of the squash plants

what you think your garden should look like 

 and what it actually is
at the end of the summer

can be very different things

I did not get even a single zucchini this year....all munched

 there really is no way to stop the critters
especially when you have good looking zucchini!

the weird thing is that they ate the stalks too...they even ate some of the hot peppers and eggplant!

and the squirrels have been even worse...but it's all part of gardening...you take the good with the bad

 ouch!
those raccoons are so destructive...
we don't have deer in the Arbolada, because there is no water source this time of year, but I have heard that they are a huge problem for those that live near the creeks.

 I planted chives between my tomato plants and have really enjoyed them all summer...

I was about to pull them
  up, but then saw these blossoms forming

 nice to have some chive blossom's in a salad !

 I have planted chives in a variety of ways either self sowing in a large area
or dividing up little six packs form the nursery...both methods work pretty well

 Lately I have tried a new method for sowing seeds directly in long rows
as opposed to larger 24 x 24 inch plots in the raise beds

The new seedlings need to be really well irrigated or they die and some seeds need direct sunlight to germinate so be sure to read the back of the seed packet 

 The grapes were a success...but these are three years old now, so we knew most of them would produce this year

again, the critters had a hey day...but we enjoyed some grapes too

 I really love how the vines trellis along the fence
enclosing the four apple trees

 this variety is a champagne style grape
which is really small and purple when it ripens...and really delicious

Our family citrus orchard is finally in great shape...
after hours and hours of TLC, spraying, mulching, pruning and watering

I think these trees are probably about 30 plus years old,
so it takes time to have large beautiful citrus trees,
but boy do they produce the fruit

the goal is to get the  branches to fall almost to the ground
with an enclosed sheltered canopy

 this is a better picture and you can see how the branches are just above the soil
 and loaded with green oranges that will begin to ripen this winter

this is such a beautiful time of year for gardening...and next month, October,

 is the busiest gardening month of the entire year...so rest up!

bye for now

kelley

Orange Blossom Special

 This is year two 

for the California Poppy

 wildflower garden planted 

along the arroyo

 This has been such a happy surprise and a fun project 

with not very much work

 The poppies re-seed and self sow every year 

becoming more prolific

 more wild flowers will go in this year to make this bed 

even more interesting

 Poppies make wonderful additions to arrangements 

and look really pretty in small vases

 Add another type of orange blossom to the mix 

and the poppies really shine

 Orange in the garden 

is a favorite of mine...I love this color

 An orange blossom special  

for any day of the week 

wishing you a great start 

to a great week

lets make it special!

K