So Many Shades of Green

Beets, Turnips, Cabbage, Broccoli, what beautiful green "eye candy." Soon these crops will be part of delicious meals to share with families and friends.
Green energy for the body and soul.

The vine

This beautiful Clematis vine and the Bittersweet vine are rampid with growth this time of year and Ross & I were admiring the architecture of the vines ....When I thought, "My that top vine section is mighty thick." Oh my goodness that's a Black Snake...darn I bet he's gotten those baby wrens in that bird house... darn darn darn...let me look in the bottle bird house.... oooooooooooooh darn...do you see what I see..."

Yea,... A Black Snake in the bird house bottle and a Black Snake on the bird house bottle ... well I guess the mouse population will be in check this season. Note to self: Pay attention when pruning these vines back, getting eggs out of the chicken coop, weeding, cutting the grass, etc. Thank goodness Black Snakes are not poisonous...

The next day I saw my barn cat, "Frederick," carrying a dead Black Snake across the side yard. Nature takes its coarse..."Let it be," and pay attention.

Visit the Goochland Farmer's Market

This is the Hickory Green Farm booth at the Goochland Farmer's Market. This time of the year we are featuring; gourds for making bird houses and crafts, Bearded Iris tubers to plant in your gardens, Garden Gate wreaths made from eleagnus branches with pockets of potted live plants. "Meadow Bouquets" of fresh cut flowers and herbs, Fresh cut Iris blooms to arrange, "Pussy Willow" branches, and unique garden pillows that are beautiful botanical accents for any gardener. To see the weekly features of the Goochland Farmer's Market click on our side bar link. Each week the market vendors keep it fresh and local.

Meadow Bouquets

From the fields of Hickory Green Farm we are harvesting meadow flowers. Apple mint, spearmint, chive blossoms, mustard blooms, arugula blooms, allium blooms, saliva, crimson clover, hosta foliage, and orchard grass are gathered for a mildly spring scented arrangement. "Blooming Joy in a Mason Jar."

Lucky Peppers

Mini environment:
Pepper plants grown in a bed of crimson clover and covered with deer netting.
We are using the crimson clover as a green mulch and soil conditioner for the pepper plants while reducing the opportunity for weeds to grow. The deer netting is a must to reduce damage by grazing deer.
A 4 leaf clover crop is growing in the pepper garden...We are so Lucky.

Seeds, seeds, seeds

This is our kitchen counter....or the seed sorting desk. 8 feet of counter under the cover of seed packets and jars of saved seeds with notes and dates sprawled 24/7 for the last 2 weeks. I try to contain the bounty of seeds in the wooden bowl in the left portion of the picture, but we are always regrouping and organizing and planning. A temporary collage of seeds for our counter...beautiful.

Fresh spring greens. We use to gather these "field greens"or "salad greens" for a inexpensive accompaniment to poached eggs of any sort, duck, turkey, or chicken, when we were first independent young adults trying to stretch our pennies. A great dinner would be steamed "field greens" and wild onions with a poached turkey egg and maybe a piece of bread with wild blackberry jam. Now these tasty nutritious greens are cultivated and sold at farmer's markets and grocery stores. You can discover more about "salad greens" in this month's, "Virginia Living," magazine featuring our favorite farmer of "salad greens" Manakintown Specialty Growers. Field Cress, wild onion, and dandelion greens are pictured here on my Grama's china.
Mmmmm delicious, nutritious,
fresh...and now gourmet.