Sunday, September 2, 2012
Tips on savoring every last bit of summer’s nectar
- PATCH'S HOUSE & HOME
- Toni Senory
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Sunday, September 2, 2012
Hold on, eager gardener! Sure, days are shrinking, football season is under way, and the kids are all back in school, but let me remind you: Summer isn’t over just yet. I understand. I, too, have collards, fall foliage and sweaters on the brain. However, once Summer is gone, and with her, tomatoes, sunflowers, basil and straw hats, we’ll miss her. We always do. So, this Labor Day throw yourself and Summer, the dynamic gardening duo, a farewell party to remember. After all, from the looks of your rose-thorn-scarred arms, poison-ivy rash and grubby fingernails, you deserve it! Your tomato patch was stellar this year! It seems like only yesterday you were plastering the walls of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest with images of your first …
Sunday, August 19, 2012
The wisdom of Julia Child translates beyond the kitchen.
- PATCH'S HOUSE & HOME
- Toni Senory
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Sunday, August 19, 2012
Unless your head has been buried in the compost pile (I wouldn’t blame you; amazing things happen there), you know that this week marked the 100th anniversary of Julia Child’s birth. Why should we celebrate her here, in a gardening column? Well, delve into the details of her life, the wisdom she exuded, and you’ll find a bona fide gardening guru wielding a rolling pin rather than a trowel. In fact, it seems her memoir, “My Life in France,” thick with personal perspective on self-acceptance, openness to new experiences and recipes for amusement, might be the only “gardening” book a gardener truly needs. Perhaps the most impressive part of Julia’s journey to become a beloved, cooking legend lies in the fact that until she was well into …
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Adorn your garden with this noble herb
Maybe her invite was lost in the mail. Or, perhaps, out of exhaustion, she’s entered semi-retirement. After all, being the premier symbol for all things remarkable, honorable and victorious must be taxing. And sitting atop thousands of sweaty athletes’ heads century after century is, surely, off-putting. Whatever the reason, the bay laurel has been sorely missed in this summer’s Olympic Games. Laurus nobilis, from the Celtic word, laur, meaning “green,” and the Latin word, nobilis, meaning, “notable,” is also known as sweet bay, Grecian laurel, Roman laurel, noble laurel or Apollo’s bay leaf. Wonderfully aromatic and evergreen, even her name connotes greatness. Bay Laurel’s rise to become the international darling of prestige is rooted …
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Smell your way to a better mood
At forty years of age, I’ve amassed relatively few skills. Nothing to write home about, I can dig a hole like nobody’s business, grow a salad or walk you through the foreign nature of a fancy-pants restaurant menu. And why my stellar organizational skills have not won some sort of prestigious award is beyond me. However, the skill I rely on most, thank my lucky stars for and can’t imagine life without, is my ability to cope. No matter what curves life throws my way, be it fear, uncertainty, despair or boredom, I can comfortably cope. All I need is a little time to assess, reconsider perspectives, regroup, and I’m usually good to go. Usually. Last week, I voluntarily observed the four-day, local trial of The State of Georgia vs. Richard…
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Grow sunflowers in your garden for snacks and solace
Sunflowers are the life of summer’s garden party. Watermelons and tomatoes can no-show, but if sunflowers fail to attend, the party might as well be cancelled. Look at her! There’s not a crass cell in her body. Just being in her presence makes me want to be a better person. And she’s so undeniably cheerful, she sometimes makes the cynic in me skeptical. I mean, what’s she hiding under her ever-present gleeful expression and classic good-looks, anyway? Turns out, she’s not hiding anything. In fact, she’s been prancing around the world for centuries, freely offering to the masses her cure for snack attacks and summer doldrums. With so much exposure, it’s easy for the sunflower to fall into the realm of cliche’ flowers. I’ll admit, the …
Sunday, June 24, 2012
The perfect plant for your edible oasis
Alright, so you’ve graced your garden with a Meyer lemon tree and a fig tree. What’s next in your home orchard? Blueberries! (Jinx! You owe me a coke.) Clear some space, dear gardener, ‘cause you’re going to want more than two of these. And not only for its juicy jewels. This is an all star plant we’re talking about, here. To glaze over its other fine features would be a crime. Its punishment? A blueberry-less summer. *Gasp* I mean, forget the berries for a minute. A difficult task considering its evidence is all over your fingers, lips and tongue. This plant’s spring foliage emerges the cleanest of greens, then matures to a sophisticated blueish-green. Come fall, vibrant reds and oranges are revealed, rivaling even the biggest of big …
Sunday, June 10, 2012
The story behind your favorite backyard fruit tree
What if I told you I knew of an incredible story containing equal parts ancient history, coevolution, botany, devotion, exotic travel, mystery, symbiotic relationships, manipulation, love and death? You’d put it at the top of your summer reading list, right? Well, I do. But you don’t need to rush off to your local library to grab a copy; just spend a bit of time under the shade of a fig tree. You’ll find the story, there, hanging from its branches. Have you ever smelled the alluring scent of a fig tree in bloom? Well, no. You haven’t. That’s because they’re located--hundreds of them--within the green “fruit”, (technically a synconium). But the fig wasp can, and that’s all that matters. You see, the female fig wasp is the fig’s sole …
Sunday, May 27, 2012
An international symbol of remembrance initiated by one of Athens’ very own.
Nature is utterly defiant. We can burn it, ravage it and rip its insides out until, seemingly, no inkling of life remains. But once the abuse stops, it always returns, bringing hope and promise along with it. And not only for the Earth, but for our own trampled inner landscapes as well. It makes perfect sense, then, that the presence of life during dark times is often more meaningful than during others. If a butterfly lands on your shoulder after hearing of the passing of a loved one, meaning is attached--rebirth, freedom, remembrance--and the butterfly is no longer just an insect. It becomes a symbol larger than life, bringing peace and reason where there was none. The story of Memorial Day’s red poppy is much the same. In early May of…
Monday, May 14, 2012
A gardener's Mother's Day tribute
Taking a stroll through my mother’s garden is like taking a stroll through her very soul: a colorful patchwork of love, shaped by dedication and good will. In fact, it seems a day hardly passes without smudges of dirt accompanying the smile on her face. A nurturer by nature, she suits the garden well. And more often than not, she can be found there, tirelessly weaving her masterpiece with sweat on her brow and optimism in her heart. My mother is a superb gardener, forever catering to her garden’s needs while simultaneously fulfilling her own. She supplies nutrient-rich soil and life-giving water for strong root development. She provides sturdy arbors for vines to grow upon, and skillfully prunes misdirected branches into graceful shapes…
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Take a wondrous peek inside a seed and the process of germination
Very few things in the world of botany are as remarkably mind-blowing to me as seeds. In fact, if I thought I could get away with it, I’d change the name of this column to, “Seed Head,” and write about them for evermore. There’d be themed bumper stickers, of course, that read, “Heed the Seed,” and t-shirts that asked, “What would a seed do?” On pure aesthetics alone, they’re fascinating! Occurring in a huge array of shapes, sizes and textures, and in as many hues as a box of crayons, seeds deserve an art genera all their own. But it’s the majesty that lies within that keeps me in a perpetual state of awe. No matter how many times I observe its unfolding, the intrigue never fades. What is a seed, anyway? Well, let’s peek inside. Seemingly…
Toni Senory
9:06 pm on Monday, September 3, 2012
Exactly! more ›