Garden Gifts

Spent most of my Sunday getting garden bounty brought in for future use. 

 Sometimes it pays off to not get the weeding done; I wouldn't have had all the sweet annie I do this year if I'd weeded the paths of the cutting garden like I should have! Here, I've cut the tree-like stems and loaded my EZ Go to haul it to the barn for bundling. 

Wouldn't these look great hanging over a mirror, cabinet, door frame or a favorite framed painting?

 The aroma of the fresh herbs permeate the workshop in the barn!

 The heads of the 'Limelight' hydrangea were HUGE this year- unfortunately, I waited too long to harvest  them for drying as most were already beginning to brown. :(

Here, the 'Pinky Winky' hydrangea boasts her darker color petals next to 'Limelight.'

 I "dry" my parsley in the microwave between sheets of paper towels. About 6 minutes at 1/2 power is all it takes. Then I let it cool to room temp and store it in a big glass jar in my pantry. Leave the leaves as whole as possible, then crumble just before using to retain flavor. 

 Hubby said frost was predicted, so thought I'd better pull the last of the Thai basil and make another batch of vinegar. I'd found white wine vinegar for $2.00 a bottle at Big Lots, so stocked up on that to use as the base. Making this vinegar is so simple- stuff the basil leaves and some of the beautifully colored flowers into a clean jar then pour the purchased vinegar over the top, making sure all the leaves are submerged. Top the jar with a lid (non-metallic) and place on a sunny windowsill for 2 weeks or so, then filter out the herbs and pour into smaller jars for storage or gift giving. You may add a fresh stem of the herb in the finished jar if desired, but I usually don't bother.  I use this vinegar in my homemade salad dressings and in cooking whenever it calls for wine or vinegar. The blossoms and red stems turn this vinegar a gorgeous deep- rosy color that smells as wonderful as it looks!

Remember the purple beautyberry photos I posted last week or so? Well, here's the white- berried species! Looks like it's covered in popcorn! I need to go cut some stems to see how long they last. These would look wonderful in winter arrangements with greenery and holly berries!

And lastly, a close up of the white beautyberries.

Sinus infection and seasonal allergies have kept my energy level in the lower range this past week and I need to be in high gear to prep for the next shop opening on October 6 & 7. Wish me luck with that!!! :)