“I farm the soil which yields my food, I share creation. Kings can do no more.” Chinese Proverb Last week I hosted “Nonie Camp” for my granddaughter. We spent four days and nights of uninterrupted, farm-inspired outdoor time together, chez moi. First thing every morning she happily began her chores: feeding the animals, watering the patio plants, and filling the fountains. After multiple…

View On WordPress: Kids love being in nature and they especially enjoy picking fruit and vegetables from the garden to eat. Grow your dinner. https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/p/growing-dinner?

“I farm the soil which yields my food, I share creation. Kings can do no more.” Chinese Proverb

Last week I hosted “Nonie Camp” for my granddaughter. We spent four days and nights of uninterrupted, farm-inspired outdoor time together, chez moi. First thing every morning she happily began her chores: feeding the animals, watering the patio plants, and filling the fountains. After multiple activities including climbing trees, building forts, shooting hoops, skipping rope, swinging, swimming, and playing, our stomachs growled with hunger. Into the potager, we trekked. As we tended the garden and picked fruits and vegetables, she exclaimed. “This is amazing, Nonie. We are growing dinner!”

As an advocate for sustainability and cultivating our food, I was thrilled that she recognized the wonder of being able to step just beyond our doorstep into nature to harvest a healthy meal. With the hot weather and lengthened daylight, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, corn, and a multitude of other crops are ripe and ready for consumption. I wait all year to eat fresh tomatoes, make tomato sandwiches, and toss up salads of tomato, cucumber, onions, and basil.

Our warm and sunny summer also offers numerous delicious herbs to be clipped for our cookouts.

Basil: Harvest the leaves of basil regularly to encourage new growth. Mixed with olive oil and garlic, basil makes a scrumptious pesto.

Cilantro: Cilantro can also be made into a pesto sauce, and is an essential ingredient in Mexican, Indian, and many Asian dishes. It bolts when it gets hot. Use the seeds, known as coriander, as a spice.

Dill: The leaves, flowers, and seeds add flavor to pickles, salads, seafood, dips, and sauces.

Basil, cilantro, and dill are summer-season herbs in Northern California.

Perennial herbs that can be snipped year-round include:

Society Garlic: Many people aren’t aware that the deer-resistant flowers and leaves of society garlic are edible. I use them as garnish on baked potatoes as well as in sandwiches.

Chives: To keep the plant producing, snip this onion-flavored herb regularly.

Mint: Mint adds an energizing flavor to iced beverages, and of course, is delectable with lamb and many desserts. Grow mint in a container as it is an aggressive spreader.

Thyme: For the best flavor, harvest thyme before flowering and use the fresh leaves in soups, stews, roasts, and marinades. Thyme is a key component in bouquet garni and herbes de Provence.

Rosemary: Rosemary is a favorite of mine to add flavor to BBQ. Use the woody stems as a skewer for grilling. One plant of rosemary is all you need.

Oregano and Sage: Both are essential in Mediterranean cuisines and as garnishes for savory dishes. Use the leaves as needed and avoid cutting back more than a third of the plant at a time.

At the end of June every year, I harvest my cherry plums. This year a strange thing transpired with one of my trees. My twenty-year-old plum tree no longer bore purple plums, but large orange plums that ripened in August. We picked a basket, which had a sweet apricot taste. Since I grow so many roses and continue to deadhead the spent blooms every few days, I have spectacular roses constantly in bloom. For a special summer salad, try scattering a few rose petals on a platter of peaches, plums, and melon dressed with a homemade lemon and herb vinaigrette. Cool, refreshing, and delectable.

The benefits of growing our dinners are immense. Fresh, organic produce is nutritious. When we are cognizant of the composition of our soil, growing our food is the healthier option. We save money on buying groceries, with homegrown being more economical. We can be more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint by minimizing packaging. One of my favorite reasons is the satisfaction of connecting to the earth and watching the growing process.

Every day of “Nonie Camp” my granddaughter collected the chicken eggs and then went into the garden to pull a few weeds and gather our dinner. She reaped the rewards of organic homegrown and delighted me with her words, “Hmmm, this is so yummy!” Hopefully, she will pass on her love of nature to a future generation and host her version of “Nonie Camp”.

Kings and Queens can do no more!

Read Lamorinda Weekly https://lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1813/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Growing-Dinner.html

For more gardening advice for all seasons, check out Growing with the Goddess Gardenerat https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/books. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 which was just honored as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the Moraga Chamber of Commerce. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, Books in the Barnyard: Oh Deer!, from the series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available for discounted pre-sales at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store. Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. [email protected]  

Thanks for reading StarStyle® Empowerment! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Growing Dinner: https://lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1813/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Growing-Dinner.html

Substack: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/p/growing-dinner?

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck It is still hot, yet a cool breeze wafts through the patio where I am writing under an awning. I can’t bear being inside an office when I can do my work outside on my trusty Mac laptop with a full view of nature, the soothing sounds of a gurgling fountain, and the perfumed air from my roses and…

View On WordPress

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck

It is still hot, yet a cool breeze wafts through the patio where I am writing under an awning. I can’t bear being inside an office when I can do my work outside on my trusty Mac laptop with a full view of nature, the soothing sounds of a gurgling fountain, and the perfumed air from my roses and viburnum. In winter I long for days like these, warm, sunny, and sweet.

Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are darting about, oblivious to my presence. The fiery orange crocosmia, also known as coppertips or firecracker plant, is on display and attracting pollinators. I adore this exotic perennial because the corms are easily transplantable, it blooms when so many other plants are dormant. It is showy in floral arrangements. Although it is a sun lover, I’ve also planted it in sheltered shade for longer-lasting blooms.

Bees are gathered on my bronze fennel. I cut a few fronds of seeds to sprinkle on my vegetables for tonight’s meal without bothering the buzzers. Walking my property, I noticed that my many hollyhocks were being eaten by the painted lady butterfly caterpillars. Painted lady butterflies are found throughout the world and because they are such beneficial and beautiful pollinators, I am happy that they dine on my hollyhocks.

My fragrant four o’clock plants didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to bloom in the late afternoon or early evening. My flowers bloom like clockwork every morning from nine to eleven. Many years ago, my mom gave me seeds from her species growing on our ranch. They have perennially sprouted and supported a multitude of pollinators, including the nocturnal moths. As a kid, I remember that her four o’clocks bloomed on time in the late afternoon.

Other sweet summer blooms include daisies, echinacea, birds of paradise, plumbago, and gladiolus. The sky-blue color of plumbago is mesmerizing. Buds on my crape myrtle trees are about to burst open and I’ve observed crape myrtle trees blooming in numerous yards.

A few not-so-sweet summer trespassers:

ü  You may notice powdery mildew invading your rhododendrons, crape myrtles, viburnum, roses, and other plants when the temperatures are hot during the day and cooler or humid at night. This fungal disease looks like a dusting of flour on your leaves, and although it doesn’t kill the plant, with mild cases recovering on their own with improved airflow, normal treatment is necessary. One of the best and least expensive preventative measures is to spray sulfur in advance of symptoms. In the early stages of infection, an effective organic treatment is to use a 50/50 combination of milk and water sprayed on the entire plant (leaves and stems) twice weekly until results are achieved.  An unpleasant sour smell may develop in the hot sun, but your plants will no longer be sickly!

ü  Rust is another fungal disease that targets roses, especially in summer.  It manifests with orange and/or black spots on the leaves and stems. Sulfur or copper can be used as a preventative measure. A few of my roses showed signs of rust. I quickly removed and destroyed the leaves to prevent further spread. I also improved the air circulation by removing surrounding plants and weeds, making sure that the roses were being watered at the roots and not by overhead sprinklers. Always disinfect and sanitize your pruning shears with alcohol so as not to spread disease.

ü  Do you have bindweed in your garden? This little cousin of the morning glory is an invasive climbing plant that strangles other plants and can easily take over a landscape. The flowers are dainty and pretty, but don’t be fooled. It is going to take patience and persistence to rid your garden of this noxious weed. The root system can spread to twenty feet wide and deep. The seeds, which can last for twenty to fifty years in the soil, disperse through the movement of birds, wildlife, and irrigation. Two types of bindweed have taken up residence in my orchard. I hope to one day eradicate it through perseverant pulling of new sprouts which will eventually cause the rhizomes to lose their strength. If you see bindweed in your garden, do not ignore it. Dig out the roots as soon as you see it. Be forewarned. Once bindweed has established itself in your garden, without chemical intervention (which I don’t use or recommend), you will be battling this intruder for years.

Back to the summer sweetness:

ü  Add to your summer sweet garden with a rock cairn. Throughout history, stones have been piled high as memorials or markers. I suggest a rock cairn as a fun family nature project. Make a game of it.

ü  For a punch of splashy color, unleash a border mixing different heights and flower shapes with sweet alyssum, marigold, petunia, rudbeckia, and gaillardia.

ü  Sit under a shade tree with a glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade to read a book. If you have children or grandchildren, they will enjoy the true tales of animals in my series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures, available in bookstores, Amazon, or my StarStyle® Store, https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store

Give working outside on your patio or deck a try. The chill of winter is only six months away.  Savor the warmth and sweetness of summer.

Savor the warmth and sweetness of summer.

Happy Gardening. Happy Growing. Photos at Lamorinda Weekly: https://lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1812/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Summer-Sweetness.htm Substack: https://cynthiabrian.substack.com/p/the-sweetness-of-summer? l

For more gardening advice for all seasons, check out Growing with the Goddess Gardenerat https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/books. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 which was just honored as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the Moraga Chamber of Commerce. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, Books in the Barnyard: Oh Deer!, from the series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store. Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. [email protected]  

StarStyle® Empowerment is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Subscribe

“Just living isn’t enough,” said the butterfly. “One must also have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”  Hans Christian Andersen When we think of July, Independence Day looms large. Parades, barbecues, family gatherings, music, pool parties, fireworks, and flying the red, white, and blue are all part of the fun. This year is particularly important because of the forthcoming elections where…