It’s been months since I’ve written in Seasonal Wisdom! My apologies and I’m about to remedy this situation. But one main reason is that I’ve been working on a full-time contract with the University of California’s Office of President to write about food and agriculture for its blog UCFoodObserver.com.

Why in the world should you care? Well, I’ve learned quite a bit that I wanted to share, including edible gardening tips.  If you like food – and who doesn’t, really? – check out these delicious stories. Photo: Martijn de Valk.

But, first, a bit about UC Food Observer

The UC Food Observer is your daily serving of must-read news from the world of food. It includes interviews and analysis of influential agricultural and food people and trends. And it supports the University of California Global Food Initiative, which addresses one of the critical issues of our time: how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a world population expected to reach eight billion by 2025.

I’m the assistant editor and work closely with Rose Hayden-Smith, who is renowned for her knowledge of sustainable agriculture and food history. You may remember these stories about her wartime garden research here and here. Rose is wonderfully talented, inspiring and knowledgeable. It’s been a delight, and I’ve learned a lot from her.

Seven Yummy Stories

Here are seven stories you might enjoy in no particular order:

Photo: Seed Savers Exchange

1) Genetic Diversity is Key … And You Can Help

Learn how important open-pollinated heirloom seeds are towards saving heritage foods. See how many once-beloved foods are disappearing, and why gardeners can play an important role in protecting and increasing this genetic diversity.

“Participatory conservation is very important to our work. It’s not enough for us to have a seed bank and keep these seeds in a Fort Knox-like setting. We want these seeds to grow and be maintained in different gardens around the country and world.” John Torgrimson, Executive Director, Seed Savers Exchange

Read the story.

Photo: Kathy Keatley Garvey

2) Pollinators are Beautiful

On most days, you’ll find Kathy Keatley Garvey outside finding, photographing and documenting insects, especially pollinators. This Communications Specialist for UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology has received international recognition for her photos.

“I see the world through a viewfinder. The work that I do is about the diversity of pollinators, their importance in our food supply and ecosystem, the beauty and the awe, and how we can protect them. Bees are responsible for pollinating one-third of the food we eat. They are crucial to our ecosystem.” Kathy Keatley Garvey

Read the story.

Photo: Wormfarm Institute

3) Agri + Culture = A Good Idea

Nestled among the rolling hills of the unglaciated region of south central Wisconsin you’ll find the Wormfarm Institute, a 40-acre organic vegetable farm and creative hub that is winning applause for reconnecting the link between “agri-culture.”

“For thousands of years, farmers in cultures around the world interwove dance, music and art through rituals of planting and the harvest in celebration of the land and those who care for it.” Donna Neuwirth, co-founder of Wormfarm Institute

Read the story.

4) Cattle Ranching has Ecological Benefits

Did you know livestock is California’s number-one land use? I certainly didn’t, and I’m not alone.

This complex connection of California ranching to food production is a mystery for many, according to Sheila Barry, Livestock Advisor and Director of Santa Clara County for University of California Cooperative Extension. She tells me:

“Working ranches occupy roughly 40 million acres in California. Whether these working ranches are public land or privately owned, many ranchers represent the fourth or fifth generations stewarding the land and their livestock.”

Read the story.

Photo: DotPolka

5) Mexican Food Deserves Another Look

Who told you Mexican food was unhealthy? It simply isn’t true, according to two professors in the San Francisco Bay Area, who co-authored “Decolonize Your Diet.”

Their research shows traditional, indigenous food from Mexico (available before the Spanish colonists arrived) is misunderstood and is actually among the world’s healthiest foods. Luz Calvo, Professor of Ethnic Studies at Cal State East Bay told me:

“The Latino/a Immigrant Paradox led us to look carefully at the health knowledge and practices that immigrants bring with them – especially knowledge about food, recipes, remedios (home remedies), and so forth.

The Latino/a Immigrant Paradox is powerful, because it shows that one does not need to be rich to have good health. But one does need to be connected to ancestral knowledge and culture.”

Read the story. and don’t miss the recipe!

6) Food Sovereignty with Native Americans

In Northwestern Washington, between Seattle and Tacoma, lives the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. This Indian tribe is composed of descendants of the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people who inhabited Central Puget Sound for thousands of years before non-Indian settlement.

To learn more about the Muckleshoot people and food sovereignty with Native Americans, I spoke with Valerie Segrest. She is a Native nutrition educator who specializes in local and traditional foods. She serves her community as coordinator of the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project and also works as Traditional Foods and Medicines Program Manager. She also is a storyteller and told me:

“Stories not only provide the knowledge we need to thrive in the world, but also solutions to the complex and major challenges we face in this modern world. There is cultural storytelling, and also just people stories; the stories people carry around on food traditions and how food has improved and changed their lives in positive or negative ways.”

Read the story.

Photo: The Millet Project

7) You Should Try Sorghum and Millets

Sorghum and millets are two ancient grains that have a bright future. For instance, sorghum is gluten free grain with high fiber and healthy nutrients. Millets also deserve a moment of your time.

Millets are a diverse family of grains. They are gluten-free and often contain lower carbohydrate content than rice, corn or wheat, as well as higher levels of protein, fiber and minerals, such calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and iron.

In these articles, you’ll find information on both types of grains, as well as recipe ideas and nutritional information.

Take a second for sorghum.

Millets are worth a minute.

Stay tuned for more gardening stories in upcoming weeks! Just in time for another gardening season. What are you looking forward to growing this year?

Whether it’s the edible unopened buds or the purple choke flowers, there’s a lot to love about growing artichokes at home. The plants also give an interesting vertical structure to your vegetable garden. In this post, Seasonal Wisdom celebrates artichokes! Learn more about planting this pretty perennial in your garden this season.

Native to the Mediterranean, artichokes were among the earliest cultivated vegetables.

In the early days of the United States, artichokes were a popular food among the gentleman farmers. According to Mount Vernon, artichokes were one of George Washington’s favorite vegetables. Here, artichokes can be seen growing at the former president’s kitchen garden at Mount Vernon a few summers ago, along with kale and lettuces. Thomas Jefferson also grew artichokes at Monticello, a few hours south.

Perennial or Annual?

Coastal California is a rather idyllic place to grow artichokes, where they grow as perennials. Artichokes thrive in this region’s mild winters and cool, foggy summers. In my Southern California garden, my one-year-old artichoke plant (shown above) is very happy growing next to borage flowers with red romaine lettuces underneath.

Experts warn that artichoke plants typically won’t produce much the first year, but my plant has grown more than 10 chokes in its inaugural growing season. So, it must be happy here.

In USDA Zones 7 to 9, you may be able to overwinter artichokes by pruning and mulching them well after blooming. In colder climates, you’ll probably need to grow artichokes as an annual.

Growing Conditions

Artichokes like full sun to partial shade. They grow best in moist, fertile and well-drained soil.  Over time, artichokes can grow 3 to 4 feet tall, and up to 4 feet wide in ideal growing conditions. So, make sure you like the location where you planted them. During their active growing season, feed artichokes with a well-balanced fertilizer once a month.

Try to avoid letting the plants suffer from either summer drought, or wet, soggy soil in winter. Adding compost to the soil will improve its texture, encourage good drainage yet also help retain water in the soil.

Harvest artichokes when they are still tightly closed. Otherwise, the artichoke will eventually bloom into a pretty purple thistle flower, which can be enjoyed in flower arrangements fresh or dried. I’m still waiting for mine to bloom, but isn’t this one from my neighbor’s garden gorgeous?

After artichokes stop producing, prune the plants back by a third to hopefully generate another growth flush in the early-fall.

Eating Artichokes

“Life is like eating artichokes; you have got to go through so much to get so little.”
Thomas Aloysius (Tad) Dorgan, Cartoonist

It’s true that artichokes require some preparation, whether you steam, boil or microwave them. But the vegetable definitely has its fans who cherish each and every bite.

As this farmers market sign reminds, you can use artichokes in pasta dishes, soups, salads and appetizers. Try stuffing them with bread, ground meat, feta cheese and nuts. I like to dip the cooked artichoke leaves in melted butter with lemon juice and a sprinkle of white wine with marjoram, tarragon and thyme leaves. Others swear by mayonnaise and other dips.

The California Artichoke Advisory Board offers step-by-step instructions and recipes for eating artichokes.

“In the centre of a spacious table rose a pastry as large as a church, flanked on the north by a quarter of cold veal, on the south by an enormous ham, on the east by a monumental pile of butter, and on the west by an enormous dish of artichokes, with a hot sauce.”
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, (1755-1826) ‘The Physiology of Taste’

Have you ever grown artichokes before? What’s your favorite way to serve them?

Imagine an intimate dinner with friends and family members enjoying seasonal, sustainable and American Grown Flowers on the table and even in your meal. Here’s your chance to participate in a “Field to Vase” dinner coming to a city near you. There’s even a special discount for Seasonal Wisdom readers!

Origin Matters with Flowers

If you read Seasonal Wisdom frequently, you may have seen this story a while back about the popularity of Slow Flowers with Debra Prinzing. As she explained, 80 percent of flowers sold in the United States are exported.  So, when you buy American Grown Flowers, you’re directly supporting local flower farmers in this country.

Just as many people now want to eat locally grown foods, they also want to enjoy the beauty of locally grown flowers too.

Recently, I was invited to attend an American Grown Flowers “Field to Vase” Dinner at P. Allen Smith’s Garden2Blog event. From the gorgeous local flowers to the delicious artisanal wine from Stargazer Barn, it was an unforgettable evening that warmed the hearts of everyone who attended.

A special highlight of our dinner was the hand-crafted flower wreaths that awaited each of the guests upon arrival.

We couldn’t wait to try them out! Shown here (left to right) are Kylee Baumle, Jenny Peterson and me sporting our flower wreaths and feeling a bit like spring nymphs.

American Grown flowers were featured prominently throughout the special event, from the amazing table arrangements to the food itself.

In fact, edible flowers from P. Allen Smith’s garden were picked just hours before our meal to be included in this fresh salad. It tasted as good as it looked.

Upcoming Field to Vase Events

Here’s your chance to have dinner at a flower farm too. There are a number of “Field to Vase” dinners planned over the next few months, including:

Monterey Bay, California              June 19, 2015

Boulder, Colorado                           July 18, 2015

Brooklyn, NY                                      August 20, 2015

Washington, D.C.                             September 3, 2015

Seattle, Washington                       September 12, 2015

Portland, Oregon                             October 3, 2015

Fallbrook, California                        October 10, 2015

Detroit, Michigan                             October 16, 2015

Save Money

You can save $25 off the ticket price at these remaining dinners.  Simply go here to get your promotion code and use it when you register for your dinner.

Your Field to Table dinner includes:

• An artisan-style, locally sourced meal, craft beer and wine
• Certified American Grown flowers to take home
• A flower lover’s gift bag.

But that’s not all. This dinner also includes the opportunity to spend quality time with local flower farmers and others who care deeply about preserving America’s floriculture. And that’s priceless.

Learn More

American Grown

Stargazer Barn

Slow Flowers

Garden2Blog2015

Farm-to-Table Dinners

 Locavore Dinner Groups

Disclosure: I was an invited guest at this Field to Vase dinner, and my meal was provided at no charge. However, I was not paid to write this review, and my opinions are strictly my own.

Even in winter you can eat delicious garden-fresh foods, such as this Bacon, Kale and Butternut Pasta that is just about to go in the oven. It’s from the Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook, and this seasonal recipe is as delicious as it looks. Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix.

In this post, the author Mary Beth Shaddix shares the recipe for this ultimate “comfort food” with Seasonal Wisdom. She also explains what it’s like to run the kitchen garden that supplies Cooking Light, the nation’s largest epicurean magazine, with fresh herbs, vegetables and fruits for its recipe testing. Plus, you may even win a copy of her cookbook! But hurry—this giveaway ends at midnight on Dec. 20, 2013.  Congratulations to Wendy K. for winning the random drawing.

Photo copyright Cedric Angeles/Cooking Light

I should start this post by saying that Mary Beth is a friend of mine, who I met through the garden writing/blogging world. She’s not only a genuinely nice woman, but a talented one. Her life has recently turned on to a new, exciting path.

“After 10 years working in the marketing and research department at Cooking Light, I ditched the suit and desk to try my hand at something more hands-on,” explains Mary Beth.

Trading in her business suits for rubber boots, she began learning the breadth of gardening at a local retail nursery and became certified as a Master Gardener. Little did she know, the manager who curiously eyed her resumé at the nursery would soon be her husband.

They now grow together at their wholesale nursery and farm, Maple Valley Nursery, near Birmingham, Alabama. “Today, instead of drafting 5-year strategic plans, I knock on the back door of the test kitchens at Cooking Light magazine, delivering crates of tomatoes, bundles of plump radishes, and a watermelon so heavy that it broke the photography light table!”

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

Mary Beth works with the Cooking Light staff to plot and plan what vegetables, fruits, and herbs to grow in the trial garden. Above, a lizard is protecting her cool-season kale and chard from pests.

“I spotlight our successes, paired with the Test Kitchen’s recipes of how to use these gorgeous harvests, in the magazine each month,” says Mary Beth. “Many of the adventures make it onto the blog, revealing if the purple sprouting broccoli was worth the six-month wait, or sharing the melon-snatching coyotes caught on camera.”

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

Mary Beth’s Tips for Bacon, Kale and Butternut Pasta

Here’s how Mary Beth prepares this hearty winter greens dish from the Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook, in her own words:

If you’d like a hearty recipe to share with family during the holidays to showcase ingredients from your cool-season garden, this one pulls out all of the stops. I used our kale, chard, butternut squashes, garlic, onions, dried red pepper flakes and homemade crème fraiche.

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

Lacinato kale, also known as Dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale to many, is a cool-weather must. I find its texture is the best for both cooking and eating fresh, and the flavor sweetens after a few frosts.

Paired with butternut squash stored from our summer garden, this recipe brings “homemade with love” to a whole new level. And bacon – everything is better with bacon! Your guests won’t know that a meal like this is light, while you relish the fact that the garden provided the groceries.

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

The versatility of this recipe works well for what you may have in the garden now. Switch kale for colorful Swiss chard. Or, add mustard greens for a tangy bite to balance the sweet butternut. I used 3 cups of chopped kale and 1 cup of chard in the version here.

You can also save time by prepping a few ingredients ahead.

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

The day before, tackle cubing the butternut and make your own crème fraîche.

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

Our local grocer doesn’t carry crème fraîche, so I made a batch with ingredients I have on hand: buttermilk and heavy cream. It’s important to this recipe because it lends a tangy creaminess to the dish, but the sauce will not break down when heated.

Mix 2 tablespoons buttermilk for each cup of heavy cream. I doubled this amount so I’d have extra to serve atop roasted figs and pears for dessert. Mix in a jar, cover with cheesecloth, and leave in a warm, 70-degree countertop spot for at least 12 hours.

You’ll find ways to use this tangy, rich crème on everything, from tacos to fresh fruit to Swiss Chard with Crème Fraîche, another recipe in the Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook.

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

Using fresh kale and chard can be a snap in any pasta recipe with two tips. Easily de-stem the leaves by pinching the end of the stem between your thumb and finger, hold the end with your other hand, and pull quickly towards the tip. It zips off quickly, leaving you with stems for composting or vegetable broth.

Secondly, since kale can be slightly more rigid than other greens, dunk it in the boiling water for the last two minutes of cooking the pasta. Voilà—great results and one less pan to clean.

Photo copyright Johnny Autry/Cooking Light

RECIPE: Bacon, Kale, and Butternut Pasta – The Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook

Hands-on time: 38 min. Total time: 1 hr. 15 min.

Bacon, pasta, cheese, and sweet winter squash are nothing you’d think to see on the light menu, but indulge. The Test Kitchen tried multiple variations of greens. Kale, with its earthy heartiness, helps to balance the sweetness from the squash. Also try Swiss chard, or for a more peppery bite, try substituting mustard greens.

INGREDIENTS

5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking spray

12 ounces uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta), campanile, or other short pasta

4 cups chopped kale

2 bacon slices

2 cups vertically sliced onion

1 teaspoon salt, divided

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 cup crème fraîche

11/2 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 1/3 cup)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine squash and oil in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange squash mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Add kale to pan during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta mixture.

4. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

5. Bring 1 3/4 cups broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to broth. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in crème fraîche.

6. Combine squash, pasta mixture, bacon, onion mixture, and sauce in a large bowl; toss gently. Place pasta mixture in a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned. Serves 8 (serving size: about 11/2 cups).

CALORIES: 348; FAT: 19.8g (sat 5.6g, mono 11.1g, poly 2g); PROTEIN: 14.5g; CARB 29.4g; FIBER 2.9g; CHOL 73mg; IRON 3.3mg; SODIUM 589mg; CALC 220mg

Photo copyright Mary Beth Shaddix

As the pasta dish bakes, pull out those seed catalogs that have been arriving in the mail. Dishes like this inspire me to begin “grocery lists” for what seeds to sow next spring. We’re always dreaming of new ingredients to add to the Cooking Light Garden.

Follow what I’m growing for the test kitchens – and the fresh recipes created especially for our garden goods – each issue and on our garden site.

Photo copyright Jim Bathie/Oxmoor House

About the Author

Mary Beth Shaddix leads the Cooking Light garden, bringing harvests of fruits, vegetables and herbs to the pages of Cooking Light magazine and Pick Fresh Cookbook.  She and her husband grow together at their wholesale nursery and farm, Maple Valley Nursery, near Birmingham, Alabama. She is also the founder/owner of A New Leaf Consulting, helping national consumer brands and media companies tell their stories. www.marybethshaddix.com

Win this Book!

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

Here’s your opportunity to win an autographed copy of the Cooking Light Pick Fresh Cookbook.  This attractive cookbook is packed with lots of great, easy-to-understand information about buying, growing and cooking with 50 garden favorites. Including:

• 150 garden-to-table recipes, from appetizers to desserts
• Tips about how to grow your own produce anywhere, whether it’s a big backyard or small containers
• Seasonal garden plans and good solid gardening basics
• Lots of gorgeous, color photos on nearly every page

Personally, I’m eager to try the Melon and Fig Salad with Prosciutto and Balsamic Drizzle, as well as that Fresh Pea and Garlic Gazpacho. Perhaps that Roast Pork Tenderloin with Thyme-Scented Plums. Or, maybe that Fresh Mint Ice Cream …

Yum! Talk about a perfect last-minute holiday gift for your favorite gardener or cook!

Enter to win below … it’s easy and there are several ways to participate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone! PLEASE don’t forget to check your spam folder to see if you won. This random drawing ends at midnight on December 20, 2013.  Congratulations to Wendy K. for winning! Thanks to all who entered.

Disclosure: This prize was provided at no charge. But my opinions are my own, and I was not reimbursed for writing or planning this giveaway.

The days are growing chilly, and the nights are lasting longer now.  Colorful leaves are dancing on the autumn winds and falling gently upon the ground.  But before you say goodbye to your garden, here’s a fall garden guide to prepare you for the colder months that lie ahead.

In this post, Seasonal Wisdom shares regional fall garden tips, autumn recipes and folklore in celebration of this popular time of year.

Rose G. Kingsley wrote in The Autumn Garden (1905) that “autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.  And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November.”

It’s not just a pretty time in the fall garden it’s also a busy one.  From selecting cool-season plants for the front steps (like we did here) to applying organic matter to your garden beds, there are several important garden chores now.

Fall Gardening Resources

Fall and early-winter can be a beautiful time in the garden. Here’s a late-fall/early-winter photo I took over at Edward’s Nursery in Boise, Idaho a few years ago. This little garden spot shows how you can create winter interest with conifers and grasses when everything else is dying back (or dead) in the garden.

You’ll want to feed your soil with organic matter around now. In our garden, we add several inches of well-aged manure and worm castings over a fall weekend, while mulching all the beds well.

You can also grow cover crops to boost organic matter and add healthy beneficial organisms to your soil, reminds Cornell University Department of Horticulture.

Regional Fall Garden Chores

• Northeast, Cornell University Cooperative Extension
  
• Southeast, North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension
  
• Midwest, University of Illinois Extension
  
• Intermountain West, University of Idaho Extension
  
• Southwest, Tish Resnik, owner of the Great Outdoors Nursery
  
• West, University of California, Placer County Master Gardeners
  
• Northwest, Oregon State University Extension
  

Spring bulbs, including favorites like daffodils, tulips and hyacinths, are planted around now for spring beauty. Here are 20 tips for planting bulbs from the Telegraph.

Garlic is also planted now for summer harvests. The organic growing peeps at Peaceful Valley/Groworganic.com offer garlic planting advice in a video.

Don’t Toss Out Fall Leaves:  Too many gardeners rake up their fall leaves and throw them away. Yet, these leaves have many valuable uses in the garden.

Here are some of Seasonal Wisdom’s favorite ways to use fall leaves around the garden, instead of adding one more thing to the landfills. Believe me, your garden will thank you.

By the way, it’s great exercise to rake leaves, as I’ve experienced on many fall weekends in my life. This Oregon State University study reports raking leaves may be as good as a trip to the gym.

Around here, we use fall leaves in our compost pile, shredded finely on our lawn and raised beds, and more. Fall leaves decompose into terrific organic matter for your gardens.  If there isn’t too thick a layer of leaves already on the ground, we just chop them up with the lawn mower and leave them right on the grass.

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on,

and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

When I think of fall, I crave pumpkins and winter squash. Here are Seasonal Wisdom tips on how to grow and enjoy pumpkins, the pride of many a holiday table.

As for winter squash, Chef Brenda shares her delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Nasturtiums recipe. You may also like my Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe.

Prefer apples? Try my Hungarian Apple Soup or Fall Fruit Cobbler .  This French Onion Soup is rocking too, if I do say so myself. During cold and flu season, I eat plenty of different types of onions and garlic.  “Both are antimicrobial and might help ward off bacteria and viruses, as well as combating congestion,” writes the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Over a delicious fall meal, be sure to have a chuckle about these Halloween Superstitions and Halloween Folklore, with luscious vintage greeting cards courtesy of RiptheSkull on Flickr.

“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time

to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”

Elizabeth Lawrence

Nature Rocks! Save a few moments from all that fall cooking and gardening to appreciate Mother Nature’s artistry in autumn.  Take a walk. Sit in a park. Collect colorful leaves. This seasonal beauty comes and goes so quickly each year. It really does deserve a round of applause, as you can see in this picture of my old neighborhood.

Learn why some trees turn colors each fall.

Autumn color abounds in the foothills of Boise, Idaho, as you can see above. Take an armchair tour of the beautiful City of Trees, and see for yourself how this Northwest state capital really shines each fall.

Old Man Winter

Yes, winter is right around the corner, but it’s also a great time to start making changes to your garden for the next growing season.

Here are some of Seasonal Wisdom’s favorite tips for an attractive winter garden.

Miss summer already? Five talented and entertaining garden writers tell Seasonal Wisdom how to survive winter in cold climates.

Want some help organizing your garden shed? STAY TUNED for some creative ideas coming soon.

Disclosure: As a member of Fiskars’ national garden writer team, I was provided with that nifty rake and collapsible garden bag (shown above) for no charge to review. However, I was not paid to write this article, and my opinions are strictly my own.

Enjoy your garden this fall, folks! What’s your favorite garden “chore” in autumn?

Harvest time is going strong as I write this Seasonal Wisdom post.  August and September have long been celebrated as an abundant time of year when delicious fruits and vegetables are plentiful. Now is the time to acknowledge Mother Nature’s gifts, while preparing for the upcoming cold season.

This Seasonal Wisdom harvest time post is illustrated by historic wartime garden and food preservation posters, and provides helpful resources, tips and recipes for enjoying local foods now … and in the winter. Happy Harvesting!

As another harvest time approaches, I wanted to share these old wartime propaganda posters, which encouraged U.S. and U.K. citizens to grow their own foods, and to preserve what they could. It also was a time to help people relearn old skills like gardening and canning.

Learn about these government propaganda programs from well-known historian Rose Hayden-Smith, and see why it was so important to make Victory Gardens and food preservation patriotic during World War I and World War II.

Even today, the wise words on this particular World War II poster make plenty of sense during this harvest time of year.

Especially number six. Nothing beats the taste, freshness and nutritional value of garden-fresh foods grown seasonally in healthy, organic soil. And if you’re a gardener, you already know how priceless a sun-kissed tomato tastes when picked minutes before, especially with a little salt.

“Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.”
Douglas Jerrold, 1803-1857

But what if you don’t have an edible garden? You still can benefit from this harvest time by visiting local farmers’ markets or farm stands now.  Often the prices are quite reasonable for many fresh, local vegetables and fruit right around now. Especially at the end of the market day, growers are eager to sell the rest of their crops and will often throw in a little extra.

“What His Royal Highness most particularly prides himself upon, is the excellent harvest.”
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751-1816

Buy extra produce during this harvest time. Then freeze or preserve what you can for the colder months. You’ll save money, eat well and recall the summer at a time when everything else looks wintery outside.

Remember, when you support local farmers at harvest time, you support your own communities and food sources. Here’s how to show family farmers some love.

• Buy direct from farmers = they earn up to 90 cents on the dollar, reports the Eat Local Challenge.
• Buy from traditional markets = farmers earn about 20 cents on the dollar, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Share the Bounty: Have more than enough food growing in your own garden? Share some of that harvest surplus with those who are hungry. Here’s information about Ample Harvest and sharing your garden harvests with those in need.

A Few Recipes for Harvest Time

Carrot Salad with Exotic Spices

Three ways to enjoy peppers – grilled, sautéed and stuffed

Pimientos de Padron with Basil Mojitos

Tomato Tart

Classic Heirloom Tomato Sauce

Fall Fruit Cobbler

Hungarian Apple Soup

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Butternut Squash Soup with Nasturtiums

Pumpkin Serving Ideas

There are many different ways to preserve foods for the winter, as this World War I poster from 1914 to 1918 explains. These days, it’s easier than ever to ensure you’ll have some of that harvest food in the winter. Here are DIY ways to…

Preserve Garden Fresh Foods

Harvest and Preserve Herbs

Freeze Fresh Produce

Make Herb and Flower-Infused Honey

Whip up Flavored Butters

Preserve Fruit-Infused Liquors

Canning your own food was considered patriotic during World War II, because it preserved valuable food supplies and allowed the U.S. government to send more food to the overseas troops.

These days, you can find canning recipes and safety tips from:

The National Center for Food Preservation

The national PBS-TV show, Growing a Greener World, where my friend Theresa Loe, the co-executive producer just launched an exciting, new food preserving section.

Mother Earth News on How to Preserve Foods Without Refrigeration using canning, drying and root cellars

On Twitter, follow @canvolution and the hashtag #canvolution to see tweets about canning, recipes and inspiring photos from a national ad hoc group of chefs, gardeners and food lovers committed to the lost art of “putting by” food.

Hope this Seasonal Wisdom post has inspired you to think differently about your garden harvests, and consider the importance of growing and preserving your own foods.  Learn more …

A Historian Looks Back at Victory Gardens

Chicago’s Peterson Garden Project Inspired by 1940s Victory Gardens

Eating Local Year Round, Even in a Northern Climate like Wisconsin

Growing Food All Year Long, Even in Nova Scotia, Canada

Fall Foods to Eat Now

The old-fashioned posters get a new look at the retro-inspired designs from The Victory Garden of Tomorrow by Joe Wirtheim in Portland, Oregon. Definitely go check out his cool work!

Amy Stewart has done it again. The award-winning author of six critically acclaimed books about the natural world has turned her eye toward botany and booze in her newest book called The Drunken Botanist – and it’s a winner.

Learn more about this New York Times-bestselling book on “the plants that create the world’s great drinks,” and get Amy’s recipe for a delicious Lavender-Elderflower Champagne Cocktail. 

It’s pretty easy to love The Drunken Botanist, whether you’re a gardener, history lover or just someone who enjoys a spirited drink on occasion.  First off, there are more than 50 drink recipes for making everything from simple syrups to spiked punches to sophisticated cocktails.

But this book is more than just a simple how-to drink guide.

Instead, consider this resource a “spirited toast” to the history, science, entymology and mixology of a wide range of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits and fungi.  Here’s your chance to learn how common and rare plants contributed richly to our drinking traditions over the years.

Amy Stewart doing research for The Drunken Botanist.

Photo copyright Delightful Eye Photography

Inside the pages of The Drunken Botanist, you’ll learn such intoxicating facts as:

• Spruce beer, concocted from tree tips, was popular with Benjamin Franklin and Captain James Cook – as well as the English novelist Jane Austen, who mentioned it in her book Emma.
• The perennial Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is featured in a wide variety of drinks from absinthe and anisette to ouzo and sambuca.
• Roses aren’t just the queens of the garden. They also have long been used in cocktails. Rose water, rose petals and rose hips add flavor to a wide variety of brandies, schnapps, liquors and more.

Photo copyright Amy Stewart

You’ll find plenty of gardening tips for growing these ingredients, in case you want to make garden-to-table cocktails.  Amy gives ideas for planting success, but also advises whether a plant – such as gentian – is challenging to cultivate. She even describes poisonous look-alike plants, so you can avoid getting into trouble.

Above is Amy ‘s cocktail garden, designed by San Francisco-area landscape designer Susan Morrison, co-author of Garden Up. (Read more about Susan’s vertical gardening advice.)

In the above garden photo, you can see peppers, celery, strawberries, calendula, cucumber and lemongrass – all mentioned as ingredients in Amy’s book.

Photo copyright Amy Stewart

In the small-spaced garden, she even managed to squeeze in a little bar area, along with pretty plants such as elder, jasmine and herbs. Talk about garden-fresh ingredients!

It’s no secret that Seasonal Wisdom is passionate about edible flowers and all the fun ways you can eat and drink them. Elders are some of my favorite ingredients for syrups and fritters. So, my mouth started to water when I saw Amy’s recipe featuring lavender flowers and an elderflower-flavored liquor.

This champagne cocktail became the perfect excuse to host an impromptu cocktail party with friends one summer evening. It’s just one example of the many spirited drinks you’ll find in The Drunken Botanist.

Amy Stewart’s Lavender-Elderflower Champagne Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

1 ounce lavender simple syrup (see below)

1 ounce St-Germain liquor flavored with elderflowers

Champagne or sparkling wine (we prefer Prosecco and used that instead)

1 sprig fresh lavender

Directions:

Pour the lavender syrup and St-Germain in a champagne glass and top with champagne or sparkling wine. Serve with a sprig of fresh lavender.

Lavender Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

½ cup of lavender flowers and leaves

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let the syrup cool, and then pour through a fine mesh strainer. Keep refrigerated. The syrup will last for 2 to 3 weeks; and lasts longer in freezer.

Notes:  Instead of lavender, you can substitute botanical ingredients including herbs, lemon peels, spices and flowers. An ounce of vodka added to the finished syrup will serve as a preservative.  Personally I’m not crazy about white sugar, so I’ll experiment with local, raw honey the next time I make this syrup.

Even if you don’t drink alcohol, a spoonful of this simple syrup taste delicious in sparkling water.

Photo copyright Amy Stewart

The Drunken Botanist is the type of book you’ll refer to again and again as you explore the different drink flavors of common and unusual plants in your garden and in the wild.

Whether you’re enjoying an Apple Brandy or a Blood Orange Sidecar, you may never look at your garden plants the same way again. Cheers!

Learn more at www.amystewart.com.

Disclosure: A copy of The Drunken Botanist was provided to me at no cost. However, there was no obligation to write about this book, and my opinions are my own.

Baby, it’s hot outside.  Cool off with this Watermelon Gazpacho Recipe from Seasonal Wisdom. Packed with sweet and hot peppers, limes and red onions, this watermelon gazpacho makes a delicious chilled soup or a refreshing vodka-based cocktail we like to call “Watery Mary.”

This gazpacho is inspired by the flavors of late-summer, the traditional harvest time of year, when the watermelons, cucumbers and peppers are ripe and ready for picking in the garden, or from local farmers.

So, what’s this watermelon gazpacho recipe have to do with P. Allen Smith and some pans from Le Creuset? I’m glad you asked…

If you read Seasonal Wisdom, you may know this blogger was honored to attend two Garden2Blog events in 2011 and 2013 with national lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith and talented bloggers from around the nation.  See who was there, and take a tour here, here and here.

P. Allen Smith invited the bloggers to submit a recipe for a contest using a Le Creuset pot. But it was too hot to cook. Besides, a Le Creuset Dutch Oven also does a superb job of cooling and storing foods, because the pot does not react with the ingredients.

So, I concocted this vitamin-rich watermelon gazpacho recipe with a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.  All you need is a blender, and you don’t even have to cook.

Did you know that watermelons are absolutely loaded with lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant?

What You Can Do:  Go over and visit Seasonal Wisdom’s watermelon gazpacho recipe at the P. Allen Smith Facebook page.

If you like the recipe, then please do LIKE it on that page. It’s totally a long shot. But the winner gets a set of Le Creuset pans, which would be pretty amazing – and would make all the other pots and pans in my kitchen very jealous.

Plus, you’ll also see other great recipes from the participating bloggers too, which you don’t want to miss. Thanks so much for checking it out!

Disclosure: This Le Creuset Dutch oven was provided to Seasonal Wisdom for review. However, I was not paid to create this recipe for this P. Allen Smith promotion. As always, my opinions are my own.

Here at Seasonal Wisdom, we are big fans of edible flowers. In fact, here are eight of our favorite edible flowers to grow in the garden. To help you get started, Seasonal Wisdom shares some more fun ways to use edible flowers in your drinks and meals, including these squash flowers photographed by Weaselmcfee/Flickr.

Once you start experimenting with these ingredients, you’ll never look at these edible flowers the same way again. 

First off, it’s important that you read the safety information in this post. You should never eat anything you aren’t 100 percent sure is edible, and you should never eat edible flowers that have been sprayed.  It’s best to grow these edible flowers yourself so you can be certain they are safe to eat.

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

Here are German chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita) that have self-seeded themselves in my garden. Standing next to these edible flowers is our gorgeous Slovakian Hound dog named Maggie, who is the pride of our family.

Chamomile is typically enjoyed as a refreshing and relaxing tea. To make chamomile tea, add one teaspoon of edible flowers to one cup of just boiled water and steep. This tea is often enjoyed in the evenings, after meals or when you’re feeling a bit under the weather.

Photo copyright Teresa O’Connor

Calendula officinalis is another annual that often self-seeds in the garden, under the right growing conditions. I like to enjoy these pretty edible flowers with tomatoes, ‘Amethyst’ basil and dark brown bread. Delicious!

Be sure to try Seasonal Wisdom’s recipe for Calendula Orange Biscuit recipe.

Calendula tastes great on salads, dips, scrambled eggs and soups. In fact, in the Middle Ages, calendula was often called “Pot Marigold,” because it was so popular in pottages or stews. (Don’t confuse calendula with ordinary marigolds.)

Photo Kightp/Flickr

Borage or Borago officinalis has a delightful cucumber flavor that can be frozen in ice cube trays for summer drinks, or added to dips or soups like this crab bisque.

Here’s a recipe for crab bisque from Simply Recipes. Be sure to add borage flowers at the very end, right before serving.

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

Elder flowers come for a brief time in summer on Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis plants. I don’t eat very many fried foods, but I’ll make an exception with elder fritters. They have a delightful floral taste that screams “summer” to me.

You can find my recipe for elder fritters here.

Elder berries are very high in antioxidants, and are featured in many cold remedies in Europe. Always cook the berries before you eat them. During the winter, this elderberry syrup with honey is particularly healthy and delicious when added to hot drinks and sparkling water.

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

Lavender has delightful edible flowers for the kitchen, as long as you don’t add too much to a dish. My favorite lavenders to eat are Lavendula angustifolia and Lavendula x intermedia ‘Provence.’

I enjoyed this refreshing lavender drink above at a farm-to-table meal, which was delicious. It consisted of a lavender syrup and sparkling water. To make the lavender syrup with honey, consider this recipe from Set the Table. Extra bonus: she provides a recipe for a Lavender-Honey Sidecar.

Photo by Amerigo/Flickr.

You can also make lavender sugar for baking cupcakes, breads and cakes. Layer a tablespoon of fresh, clean and dry lavender flowers in a canister with a couple cups of sugar. Allow the sugar to infuse the flowers for at least a week. Strain out the flowers, or grind them up in the sugar for a lovely floral taste.

Photo by Distopiandreamgirl/flickr

Pansies, Violets and Johnny Jump Ups are delicious when they are candied and used on cupcakes, candies and cakes. This delightful carrot cake features strips of carrots with candied pansies on top. It’s almost too pretty to eat!

Learn how to candy the flowers from Spectacularly Delicious. This is a great way to use roses, as well.

Photo copyright Kevin O’Connor

Speaking of roses, this flower has been enjoyed in the kitchen since the earliest days. Here is one of the old famous varieties, Rosa gallica ‘Apothecary Rose’, in my garden. This rose was renowned for its medicinal qualities and flavor.

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

There are many ways to enjoy rose petals – from decorating cakes to bringing a nice floral taste to your vodka drinks. A nice rose syrup added to vodka and other ingredients is a wonderful thing, as you can see above.

Roses are particularly delicious infused in honey. See my recipe for making rose honey.

Photo copyright Seasonal Wisdom

You can even drink the rose hips, which are very high in vitamin C. Plus, the rose hips are beautiful in the fall, as this rose bush shows. To make rose hip tea, check out this rose hip tea recipe from Mother Earth Living.

Photo copyright Isabel Gomes

Oregano is just one of the many herbs that have edible flowers. Other popular ones are the flowers of basil, thyme, rosemary and mint.  I like to add these flowers to pastas and soups right before serving. But they are particularly good in flavored butters.

You can find my tips on how to make flavored butters in this post. Use edible flowers or chopped herb leaves.

Photo by Clayirving/Flickr

Squash flowers are particularly delicious and a delicacy in Italy. They should be eaten the day they are picked and kept carefully in the refrigerator in moist paper towels. Here’s how to make Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese from Epicurious.

Photo by Rose-hips/Flickr

Salads are an easy way to enjoy edible flowers such as nasturtiums, calendula and borage. Sometimes they come pre-packaged, but you can also add them straight from your own garden.

Photo by AlexiUeltzen/Flickr

Many gourmet grocery stories and farmers markets now sell prepackaged jams, chutneys, vinegars, salad dressings and other food products with edible flowers. It’s an easy way to try these flowers without investing a lot of time.

However, you decide to try edible flowers, always know exactly what you’re eating and make sure it’s edible. Your best bet is to grow these flowers yourself. Enjoy!

More Information and Recipes:

Eight Easy-to-Grow Edible Flowers

May Wine with Sweet Woodruff

Roasted Butternut Squash with Nasturtiums

Strawberry Semifreddo with Pansies

Calendula-Orange Biscuits

Peaceful Valley’s Edible Flower Video with Tips from Seasonal Wisdom

With the gardening season fresh upon us, these helpful resources may come in handy now. Here are free gardening tips for growing foods — from arugula to winter squash — as well as ornamental plants. You’ll find recipes for using edible flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables in your kitchen.  There is advice for the best burning woods for fires, and an invigorating bath oil infused with aromatic pine needles, plus more…

These resources will get your garden, food and seasonal lifestyle off to a good start.

Recently, I realized that many Seasonal Wisdom readers weren’t aware of the gardening and food articles I’ve been writing as one of eight members of the Fiskars National Garden Authors Team.

These articles address the same types of organic gardening tips, healthy lifestyle projects and food recipes that we do at Seasonal Wisdom.  Below are stories organized by various topics to make them easier to find.

I hope you enjoy these gardening tips, healthy recipes and seasonal lifestyle resources. And – as always – let us know what you think! Happy gardening…

Growing Plants from Seeds

Six Questions to Ask Before Buying Seeds

Easy Plants to Grow from Seeds Sown Outdoors

Growing Poppies from Seeds

Growing Edible and Ornamental Plants 

Arugula

Begonias Indoors

Bromeliads

Chive, Rose and Viola Flowers to Eat

Fabulous Plants with Fall Flowers

Fall Foliage Plants for Containers

Heirloom Vegetables (4)

Ivy Indoors

Peace Lilies

Salad Greens

Six Xeric Plants (herbs and flowers)

Winter Squash

Seasonal Recipes and Food Advice 

Arugula Pistachio Pesto with Asiago Cheese

Delicious Flavored Butters

Fall Fruit Cobbler

Freeze it! Quick Tips for Freezing Foods

Fun Ways to Freeze Flowers and Herbs

Fruit Liquors

Garden-Fresh Recipes for Kids

Healthy Sauteed Greens

Herbal Infused Honeys

Hungarian Apple Soup

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Three Ways to Serve Peppers

General Gardening Tips

Compost This, Not That

Gardener’s Winter Survival Guide

Getting in Shape for Gardening

Help a Hungry Neighbor, Share Your Harvest

How to Read a Fertilizer Label

New Year’s Resolutions for Gardeners

Seven Ways to Save Water in Garden

Ten Holiday Gifts for Gardeners

The Language of Flowers

Thomas Jefferson and Why Garden Journals Matter

Unusual and Fun Container Garden Ideas

Miscellaneous Resources

Best Burning Woods for Fires

Christmas Tree-Infused Bath Oil (beauty recipe)

Making Place Cards for Thanksgiving