I caught an episode of “The Secret Life of Fiery Foods” on the Food Network last night and watched it long enough to be intrigued by a piece on the Brick Lane Curry House who serves the purportedly crazy hot curry dish called Phaal. I’m highly motivated to go find a local Indian restaurant that can prepare this dangerous dish.
Gardening accomplished this weekend
I was able to persuade DH to extract 3 volunteer nandinas from the front flower bed (F2) for transplant in the back beds. I discovered that most of these offshoots seem to have sprouted from buried trunks and stems from the parent, since we required shears and clippers to sever them. Luckily these volunteers had small but developing root stock, so I am hoping they will thrive in their current locations (B1 and B5). I also have to mention that I removed the 1 surviving nandina in S1 for transplant into B5, where I hope it will enjoy more sun.
In its place, I finally planted the new Azalea Gumpo White. I hope that its position next to the patio will give it sufficient protection against summer; I usually dump water into this part of the bed, especially when the dogs’ feeding bowls are set outdoors. I also had to get the purple salvia I purchased last week into the ground, after I discovered its mauled remains scattered in the backyard. Sadly, it met a deadly fate when Dash tore through the S1 bed a couple of days ago. I’m hoping it may have enough root stock left to make a comeback.
Speaking of mauled plants, I also had to set one of the ajugas into S1 after I discovered the half-torn pot lying strewn in the bed. I suspect that strong winds or a rambunctious pup may have knocked it off its brick wall perch. It seems to be blooming quietly and happily next to the replanted ring of tulips.
B5 also required a little fixing; I discovered a crushed dianthus and uprooted lilies and muscari, which I had to reset into the ground. B5 is in serious need of ground raising and leveling; I hope to get some gardening soil into it next week.
The soil will also be useful when I start broadcasting seed into the back beds. I have packets of cosmos, bachelor buttons, nigella, and a wildflower mix that are begging to be sown right now!
Simpleviewer galleries for Garden pages
I’ve begun using WP-Simpleviewer plugin to construct galleries for the garden pages. My intentions are for these galleries to capture the changing face of the flower beds from year to year.
White Tulip
Here’s an old tulip making a comeback this year. It came as a pleasant surprise to see several tulip patches coming up this year, and this one seems to be perfectly situated in my blue-and-white garden. Photo was taken mid-morning before a follow-up furry tornado whipped through the S1 bed and trampled some of the hapless daffodils. Sometimes being a dog owner and gardener makes for a disastrous combination.
Beef…for dinner
With an anniversary pending, I’m looking forward to a nice swanky dinner with the hubby. At first, I checked out the Guidelive articles on BLT Steak and Ounce Prime Steakhouse as possible candidates. But an intriguing menu item led me to investigate Akaushi beef–and the only known source located outside of Japan resides here in Texas. So I’m perusing HeartBrand Beef’s online store, to see if I can craft a special dine-at-home menu that won’t shock the pocketbook. One item I particularly want to try (aside from my favorite ribeye cut): their flat iron steak.