Harborside Gardens

Human beings find less rest in idleness than in a change of occupation…just try it. Instead of collapsing in an easy chair, try tackling your hobby. Or write that neglected letter, or help Johnny build a radio receiving set. Activity – especially creative activity – is better recreation than loafing.
~Gardner Hunting

Lately our summer weather has been glorious!

So we took the opportunity to get the kayaks out of their dusty moorage from under the front porch and put them afloat. There must be some rule somewhere that says kayaks should never be idle long enough to accumulate dust!

It was a beautiful day, low 80’s F (27 C) a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Wanting to stay somewhat close to home we put them in at a local harbor not 30 minutes away. I took the opportunity to test out my new, way-too-expensive paddle which proved to be worth every penny. As we paddled around a harbor seal actually followed me around for awhile (but proved camera shy)…how cool is that?

Mostly though, as I dodged mindless, dingy (no pun intended) boaters who didn’t seem to see anything without a motor, I perused the local harbor-side homes for their gardens. I must say I was disappointed. You’d think homes facing a peaceful waterside paradise would have oodles of plants and landscaping in which to engage in peaceful tranquility. As far as I’m concerned peaceful tranquility requires gardens. Oh, there was landscaping yes, but mostly of the green shrubby sort. Lots of Nandina (heavenly bamboo), barberry and box, grasses and a hillside of heather that must be beautiful when in bloom, but not much in the way of color or artfulness. And nearly every deck that had flowers had pots of red annual geraniums. What gives? With the plethora of flowering plants available why not focus your perennial landscaping so that it will provide color, fragrance and seasonal changes? But alas out of dozens of waterside garden potential oasis’ there were only a few I felt were photo worthy.

After this disappointing lack of garden creativity I consoled myself as we docked for lunch. I can’t tell you how fun it is to ‘dock for lunch’. That’s the point of my kayak in the lower portion of the photo.

After a delicious rest we paddled again around the rest of the harbor to view gardens on the other side. Many had lounge chairs on their dock…ahhh, nice.

This one had a chiminea on the patio.

All in all a great day, and throw in participation of a group water rescue (I rescued their paddle and a water jug) of some poor tourists who somehow managed to flip over their rented canoe and I’d say the day was “very satisfactory” (as Nero Wolf would say).

In bloom in my garden today: Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Nandina, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), Lavender, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini

Author’s photos

Corn on the Cob on the Grill

Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty

Have you ever grilled your corn on the cob? I’ve read about it several times but never tried it. Mainly because I’d read you have to soak them beforehand for a few hours and I never managed to be that organized to get it done. But I love grilling in the summer and today’s the day, the corn in the garden is ready.

Every year I grow my own corn from seed. When I decided to try growing it in my own garden I asked a local, long time gardener what variety she recommended. Without hesitation she said “Bodacious, that’s the only corn I’ll grow”. Local, first hand advice just can’t be beat so I figured why inquire further? Off to the store I went to find a seed packet of Bodacious. I’ve been growing it ever since. The corn is sweet, juicy and the skins are not tough.

I start the seeds indoors in April and am sure to plant them outdoors by June 1. Since there’s only two of us to cook for I grow between 6-8 stalks. Each stalk will generally produce 2 ears. Sometimes you’ll only get one ear, sometimes 3 but usually 2 is the standard.

My normal corn on the cob cooking method is no doubt atrocious to the gourmet cook so I decided this year to read up on it in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. They recommend boiling the shucked ear 2-3 minutes only or grilling in the husk. For grilling they say you don’t necessarily have to soak it and you’ll get a different flavor if you don’t. Nor do you have to shuck them or mess with the silks if you grill it. Wow, how easy can that be…just pick it off the stalk and lay it on the grill.

So that’s what I did…picked two off the stalks and after tearing off just the dried silks at the top (I thought they might burn and smoke) I grilled them for 3-4 min on the med setting, turning it on 4 sides. That equates to 12-16 minutes total. I have to say, I think closer to 10-12 minutes rather than 16 minutes would be perfectly done. I have several more ears to experiment timing with so next time I’ll try it on the low setting. Ours isn’t a sophisticated grill, just the small, portable gas type that’s great for camping and tailgate parties. It only has low, medium, and high heat settings so I don’t know any actual temperatures.

This is a brilliant way to cook fresh corn from the garden. Quick with no dishes to clean and no waiting for a big pot of water to boil! Just snap it off the stalk and lay it on the grill for 12 minutes, turning every 3. Yay!

In bloom in my garden today: Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Nandina, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), LavenderLobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini


Author’s photo