Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 2015

Spring has sprung in my Zone 8b Central Texas garden.  The weather broke from cold and rainy days in the 30s-40s (our version of winter) to sunny days in the 70s and I'm lovin' it.

Relatively few plants are in bloom right now.  Most are still shaking off the winter chill, but here are some of the plants that are blooming in my garden right now:

The hyacinths are in full effect right now.  I planted a border of them in January after chilling the bulbs in the refrigerator for several weeks.  I'm not sure the chilling was necessary, since I've planted hyacinth bulbs other years, left them in the ground, and they still came back, but it apparently didn't hurt.

I'm not sure of the varieties, other than the mixed bag they came in said they were "shades of purple." Most look to be pink to me, with a few lavenders scattered in.  But, no matter.  They are beautiful and smell lovely.

The Erlicheer narcissus are also blooming away right now.  They were also new bulb additions to my garden last fall.  I'm definitely enjoying their first bloom season and looking forward to many more to come.

My Meyer lemon tree is still sitting indoors, as I haven't had a chance to move it outside after the freezing temperatures.  It has started blooming (five blooms at the moment), and since it is indoors and without pollinators, I've had to step in and do some hand pollination.  It is really quite easy - just use a cotton swab and get some of the pollen on the stamen.  It seems to be working, as I can see little lemon fruits start to appear.  I think these blooms have my favorite fragrance - nothing beats its floral citrus smell.

Back outdoors, the arugula is still blooming like crazy.  The bees are loving it, and since the ground has been too wet to plant any new spring veggies, I'm keeping the arugula in place and letting the insects enjoy the blooms for now.

I've shown the pansies before, but they have been going strong all winter, adding a burst of color to the otherwise blank courtyard.  And since they will most likely be nearing their seasonal end soon, I thought I'd showcase them one last time.

And finally, while not quite making it in time for this month's GBBD, I see the potential of other blooms around the garden, including other narcissus and daffodils, and even my first Blue Bonnets are well on their way to blooming!

Thanks to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this garden meme each month!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - February 2015

With the warm, 70 degree days we have been having in Central Texas (zone 8b), there are early signs of spring with the blooms in the garden.

Most notably is the Florida Prince peach tree.  I love the pink and white blooms on this tree, but I'm heartbroken because we have some freezing temperatures in the forecast this next week, and I'm doubtful that my blossoms will survive, which means no peaches for me.

That's the trouble with selecting a peach tree that was not right for my location.  I recently learned at a home fruit seminar, held by the local master gardeners, that we require fruit tree varieties that need around 700 chill hours.  The Florida Prince only needs 150, which is why it blooms so early and is exposed to the danger of freezing its blooms.  Looks like I'll be taking this peach down and replanting a new one this year.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy its blooms while I can.

The veggie garden is also putting on a show of flowers.  Many of the fall and winter veggies have bolted and the bees are loving the blooms, especially on the broccoli.

This is the first time I've seen the arugula flowers - so dainty.

The peas are starting to shoot out blooms - I'm looking forward to some nice pea pods for stir-fry recipes in a few weeks.

The rosemary is a-bloomin' with its delicate violet flowers, which is buzzing with bees.

Finally, with the decent amount of rain and warm temps, the yard has sprouted up with blooming weeds that I appreciated for a moment before my hubby mowed them down.

Thanks to Carol for hosting Garden Blogger's Bloom Day on the 15th of every month.  Be sure to stop by May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in other gardens around the world.

Wintertime Greens

My winter greens are finally ready to start harvesting.  There is a ridiculous amount of arugula, so I skimmed the internet for several recipes that sounded appealing and called for a decent amount of my rocket.  I have some spinach and lettuce also ready for harvesting, so I found a delectable salad that called for such ingredients.

I picked a full colander full of arugula, baby spinach, romaine lettuce and sylvestra lettuce and decided to make myself a delightful salad to get the new year started off right.

I found a recipe on Love & Lemons that I found appealing and made a few modifications for what I had on hand.

Arugula, Apricot & Goat Cheese Salad

Ingredients (1 large salad or 2 side salads):

• large handful of arugula (I added in my available spinach and lettuce varieties as well)
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 5 dried apricots, diced
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped

Dressing (2 servings):

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 medium lemon, juiced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt & pepper (I used my rosemary, parley and lemon herb salt)

Instructions:

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
2. Toss the arugula and other greens, avocado, apricots and goat cheese together.  Drizzle with the dressing and top with chopped almonds.
3. For additional heartiness, toss salad with 1 cup of cooked quinoa.

The salad was absolutely delicious.  I've never had a more flavorful salad in all my life.  What a treat to have my own greens grown right in my backyard garden!  I didn't have any quinoa on hand today to toss the greens with, but I'll definitely be trying this option in the future!

I also had a craving for a pizza that I recently enjoyed in New York City and wanted to recreate...an arugula, mushroom and truffle oil no-sauce pizza (or cheesy bread, as my husband would say).

Arugula, Mushroom and Truffle Oil Pizza
Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pizza dough (I used Pillsbury dough)
• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (I used half portobello, half shiitake)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1-2 handfuls coarsely chopped arugula
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• salt & pepper to taste (I used my herb salt)

Instructions:

1. Put a large heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven, preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Stretch out dough on a lightly floured surface, pulling on corners to form a roughly 16 x 13 inch rectangle.  Transfer to a tray lined with parchment paper.  Lightly prick dough all over with a fork.
3. Slide dough (still on parchment) onto hot baking sheet.  Bake until top is puffed and pale golden in patches, about 6 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; prick any large bubbles with a fork and flatten.  Scatter mushrooms over crust, then season with salt and pepper and lay cheese on top.  Top with roughly chopped arugula.
5. Bake pizza until edge of crust is deep golden and cheese is bubbling and golden in patches, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drizzle with truffle oil.  Serve immediately.

This was extremely delicious, but very rich, so I couldn't eat more than 3-4 small square pieces at a time (my waistline thanks me).  I may try a version with a white cream sauce next time to see how it would compare, but will definitely keep this recipe in my box.

Do you have any favorite arugula recipes that I should try out?