Gardening tidbits: some herb faves

...and we've been gardening a little too!



A few plant faves...

I thought I'd share a couple-few pics of the zillion herbs
that we're planting in terracotta pots since the varieties
are some that you green thumbs might find neat:



Cuban Oregano
A succulent oregano that I adore. Cuban Oregano is
quite drought-tolerant. It overwinters indoors
relatively well, and the leaves have a juicy crunch.



Boxwood Basil
I jumped for joy when I found this Boxwood Basil at the
Rona nearby. I saw them at Home Depot as well (in B.C. Canada)
It's less leggy/flimsy-stemmed than its large-leafed brethren
and looks more like an ornamental.



Gold Dust Rosemary
Love the colour on this variegated cultivar Gold Dust Rosemary.
Haven't tasted it yet, but I imagine it tastes like Rosemary ;o).



Sorrel
A perennial leafy plant with spinach texture and
a very zingy lemony taste. Sorrel is best used sparingly
(use it more like the herb it is than like a salad leaf)
since it has oxalic acid. So tasty though!


and last but not least, one non-edible fave:


Stock flowers
This one's not unusual at all. In fact, it's a very traditional flower
but one that I've never grown and that I wish I'd always done.
Did you know that Stock flowers smell indescribably amazing?
If I had to describe it I'd say they have a hint of nutmeg.

Also being planted: fern leaf dill; 2 traditional dill; 3 cilantro; thai basil; lime basil; traditional basil; parsley; english thyme; lemon thyme; ginger mint; peppermint; spearmint; lemon balm; catnip; chives; golden oregano; spicy oregano; traditional oregano; dwarf marjoram; golden-tipped marjoram; barbecue rosemary; traditional rosemary; green onions; and sage

Anywho, I hope you are having a spring that's bursting with green, or a great season in general wherever you are,


P.S. a big thank you to Katrina of Pugly Pixel fame for the photo styling elements: Scallop edges (adapted by adding my own pattern) & Tape Strips. Her premium access for 30 days was the best $5.oo I've ever spent & her tutorial on how to use photo overlays in photoshop is just plain "WOW." Her free section is delectable.

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Damask Basket with matching box & patterned paper

Been trying to stretch out that vacation feeling, lately

but boy have I've missed you guys!

We had some great family time: a lovely visit on Vancouver Island.
We've gotten some household chores done. (With Charles's bum-knee and
my miscellaneous schtuff sometimes just getting the groceries all
stocked up feels like such a grand accomplishment!) :-D

We've also done a little happy hibernating:



(Our cat, Mouse, in a paper bag, heeheehee)

But since it's been eons since I shared a craft project,
I figured it might be time to come out of hibernation already!
So here's a printable template collection for that
curvaceous basket (now it's all doodled up with damask).

You can find the plain version linked in this older post.

You can find the whole damask set
linked here on flickr
( JPGs loaded to flickr
and links there to the PDFs on acrobat.com)

Click the pics and choose save as to save as a jpg
(or if you prefer, you can click the links before each template if you'd like to
save the page to your flickr faves or find the links to PDFs)

The basket box:

side panels for the basket:

damask patterned paper:
(to make a matching card, if you like)


jewelery box:
(2 and 1/4 inch square
1 and 1/4 inch tall)

Thanks for checkin' this out,

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