The Great & Mysterious Peanut Harvest of 2011

In the spring we bought some little peanut plants at the farmer's market around the corner from our house. We didn't really think you could grow peanuts in Colorado and I had the utmost skepticism for the woman's assurances that we could. 'In containers?' 'Of course!'

After 4 months of carefully tending these plants, discovering that they grow mysterious roots from the top of the plant down into the ground and have the prettiest little yellow flowers, we finally have peanuts! Granted, we don't have a LOT of peanuts (2nd photo is our entire harvest!), but we have perfect peanuts nonetheless. We roasted them and ate them in one day.

Peanuts will definitely be making a reappearance in our container gardens from here on out.

Real Jardín Botánico of Madrid

One of the places I didn't get to during my June trip to Spain was the Madrid botanic gardens, which had been at the top of my list of places to go. I was determined not to miss it on this return trip. 


I arrived late in the morning on a cloudy day expecting to stay for an hour or two but it was such a lovely place, I couldn't tear myself away. I wandered the shady lanes taking photos for more than 6 hours. A blissful, restful day that could not have been more perfect. The temperature was perfectly cool, the skies were gray but not threatening and the dahlias were in full and perfect bloom. Even the squirrels were excited, running here & there, chattering loudly while dropping acorn tops on my head...

Basil Harvest

I harvested a basil today from a plant that was out of control and the size of a shrub.  This is one of my favorite plants because it's not only pretty but it's yummy.  And it self seeds all over my little garden so there are always a lot of little basil surprises in the spring.

Hops Harvest

We grew our first hops plants this year and today we harvested them. It's a pretty plant, fast growing and great for shade.  Not to mention that if you brew your own beer you get the added bonus of having your own hops...

Peanut Growing Update!

Exciting things are happening with our peanut plants!  I'm glad I didn't read up on growing peanuts earlier or I wouldn't have been so pleasantly surprised at what's happening with our peanut plants right now.  Apparently, once the plant flowers, it sends a little part of the flower down into the soil to make a peanut.  You can see the little purple stems growing downward from the spent flower.  Eventually they'll reach the soil and grown down into it an inch or two and make a peanut.  

I'm a little concerned that our growing season might be a little too short as they require 4-5 months of heat but it's a fun garden experiment in any case.  And strangely, we planted 3 plants.  One in a container and two in the ground.  Our container plant is doing the best- it's thriving and beautiful.  

Stay tuned for further updates in the fall....

Home

Home from Spain and already reliving our many days filled with wandering the cobblestone streets of old towns with positively ancient structures and history, imbibing in good coffee, wine and tapas at every turn.

It was a great trip and I'm still quite jet-lagged as well as dealing with the minor medical issue that sent me home earlier than I had planned but I thought I would post a quick update.

Spain was everything I thought it might be and so much more!  These are some photos from one of my favorite buildings that we came across in the Moorish quarter of Granada last week.  With its picturesque white-washed brick walls and red-tiled roof it embodies what I thought all the buildings would look like prior to going to Spain.  As a bonus, it had a huge variety of plants growing on it.  There are few places I like to see plants making a little life for themselves more than on the tops of buildings.  This particular building was sprouting an enormous amount of vegetation and I wish I could have taken a stroll across the rooftop to get a closer look.

More photos to come later...

Cheers,
Andrea

Hey, You in the Brown- What Are You Doing There?

Ok, perhaps I've been a little overzealous in watering my indoor seedlings. All kinds of things are starting to crop up, and they weren't necessarily intended. Like these little miniature mushrooms...

Spring Flowers

Just a few of my favorite flowers from the garden on this sunny morning.