Waiting while the buds slowly develop on my four year old Galtonia Candicans is like being a child anticipating the prize from a Cracker Jack. Galtonia Candicans or Summer Hyacinth is not hardy in zone 6a, our garden's hardiness zone. Hardy in zones 7 thru 10 I am able to dig the bulbs up in tact in their soil and transfer to a pot and put in a warmer sheltered place in my garage near a window in the winter months. I water it when the soil looks dry and it basically looks like a pot of dirt all winter long. I label it well to remind myself of the prize inside that pot when during June and July it develops into the gradual bell shaped white flower cascade - perfect for hummingbirds. Ornithogalum candicans or Galtonia candicans is native to moist grassland in South Africa and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Merit. Much taller than a typical hyacinth it shows beautifully in your garden and is well worth the act of storing it away in winter months. It would make a worth while cut flower for a really unique display. The older the bulbs are, the more apt you will be able to divide and multiply them.

Tidying up my plants that I keep indoors over the winter is one of my favorite things to do especially when it's cold outside. This scented geranium, pelargonium, has basically turned into a tiny tree over the years - it was climbing up one of our braided hibiscus plants and basically needed to be cut back. Geraniums are very easy to start rooting in a sunny window in your home. Here I have about eight separate cuttings, all of which will wait for roots to develop in water. Pot them up in some good soil and eight small scented geraniums become new plants to share or keep. This particular geranium is verbena scented. There are mint, chocolate mint, apple, rose, lemon, orange, coconut scented geraniums out there to add to your collection of plants. They are easy to grow indoors and out. I recommend bringing them outdoors in the summer time. They produce tiny flowers and can be trained as a topiary. Scented geraniums are heat and drought tolerant plants. 

Hibiscus moscheutos is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is a cold hardy perennial wetland plant. It is a welcome addition to your garden in August when other perennials are often spent from the long summer. There exists numerous varieties. This particular variety color is often referred to as "cherry brandy". Hardy in zones 4 - 9. I love tropical hibiscus but perennial hibiscus moscheutos has blooms that are open and flat, they blow beautifully in the breeze. Hibiscus moscheutos needs plenty of water, especially the first couple of years. It enjoys full sun. The entire plant dies back in winter with a few twigs remaining, I keep them throughout the winter as a marker to pay attention to it in late spring when it starts to emerge. Late summer, August in my 6a zone, these beauties begin to flower with its twisted buds. The blooms are rather fleeting but more develop as they continue to bloom into September. As a cut flower, hibiscus do not last long but are well worth having in your garden.

Watercolor by Suzanne Luby Ahrens ©2020 all rights reserved

Peace.

©2020 Suzanne Luby Ahrens, all rights reserved

There aren't many things more satisfying than having garden fragrances available in your home. Growing an herb garden is an excellent investment and in many cases, I'm in zone 6a, your herbs will return year after year, like a perennial. Your patch of herbs will spread and grow larger as it becomes more established over time. Here are a few staples that I just rescued from my garden before frost. I brought these indoors to dry easily in bunches hanging in my home. I cover the tops with a bit of tissue paper to prevent dust as they dry. Shown from my garden are lavender, thyme (variegated and regular), marjoram, chocolate mint, oregano, and sage. Use the sage for Thanksgiving!

Please shop Verde Cosi at Sowa Holiday Festival - December 6, 7, and 8th, 2019

Shop Verde Cosi's "Joyeux Noel" collection for the Holidays!

It's tomato season here in New England and there is nothing like a fresh picked tomato for lunch or dinner. Our plants have grown to about 8 feet and it is all about soil quality. We tested our soil in early spring and added organic calcium, fertilizer, and nitrogen/manure to our compost from our compost pile. The soil testing made all the difference this year as well as a generous amount of rain. I still watered nearly daily from our rain barrels. 

Tomato Salad Recipe

by Suzanne Luby Ahrens

3 fresh garden tomatoes, heirloom, chopped

1/4 cup cannellini beans, room temperature

1/4 cup finely chopped vidalia onion

tiny clove of minced garlic

1/2 avocado chopped

1/2 cup arugula

1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped

1 tablespoon basil chopped 

1 tablespoon avocado oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Verde Cosi will be at Sowa Open Market Sunday September 15, 2019.

We will be selling our garden, home, fashion textiles and fine art.

https://www.sowaboston.com

http://www.verdecosi.com

Just a hint of sun these days. Captured from my garden. Ephemeral.

Each year our family is taken aback at how green our neighbors' lawns are and how quickly they become green. Recently we received a call to action from our town not to direct gutters toward the street - the debris flowing into the street and eventually into our streams, lakes, ponds, and rivers is polluting the water and putting wild life at risk. The chemicals in the substances being used to "weed", chemicals used to "feed" lawns and gardens are polluting our environment. It is detrimental for humans too!

As we celebrate Earth Day today I want to share with you some steps our family and our small business, Verde Cosi, has taken over the years to aid in helping our environment and increase the bio diversity in our own back yard.

1) Decrease the use of plastics.

- We wrap lunches in biodegradable parchment. Also we hope to try the reusable wax coated fabric pouches available.

- We use reusable bags at the grocery store.

2)We do not use gutters on our house.

-Instead we use the small rocks collected while gardening to eliminate back splashing of water against our house.

-We collect rain water with simple storage containers and rain barrels. This reduces the amount of water used to water our gardens. It also reduces our water bill!

3)We collect kitchen scraps in a bucket and combine in our compost pile with leaves and grass clippings. Over time all of this turns into the best soil for our gardens. This saves money on purchasing soil! This has dramatically reduced what we throw out each week in the garbage! We use a small tight lidded metal bucket by the compost pile year round to put organic kitchen scraps in. When it is full we dig a hole in the compost and cover with soil.

This method reduces raccoons, foxes, etc. Actually we haven't seen any in our yard in the past year by using this method. 

4)We buy organic whenever possible. My primary motivation is knowing that the farmers that produce organic crops will benefit from your purchase. More people buying organic will increase the number of organic farms and improve our environment. This is healthier for people too!

5)We try to buy local. Local farms and businesses who are making efforts toward improving our environment will grow from your purchases.

What does Verde Cosi do to help the environment?

-We purchase our supplies locally.

- Our fabrics are printed here in the U.S.A. using environmentally responsible processes. This also means considerably less fuel spent shipping our products. Imagine the products that are made overseas - large tanker ships are used, polluting our oceans.

-Verde Cosi uses local talent to assist in sewing our products. This helps our local community. 

-Verde Cosi saves fabric scraps and repurposes them for smaller products. Our studio on average throws out only one garbage bag per month!

Verde Cosi is constantly examining how we do business to better our environment.

Connecting with nature by teaching our children, families, and friends the importance of trying to become more aware of our environment is a priceless step in the right direction for our earth and future generations of people and wild life.

I want to thank you for your support of Verde Cosi. I hope this post inspires you to take action. Small steps make a big difference. There are many rewards to not having greener grass until it is ready to turn green. People in our neighborhood observe the gardens we have and enjoy with enthusiasm the beauty of our yard. Over the years our family has observed over thirty varieties of bird species! We do not even feed them with bird feeders. Our children pull weeds on their own properties instead of using chemicals. Remember good soil from your compost pile means less weeds.

Honestly, seeing our children be aware of what we do is the best reward, ever!

For more information about what we can do to help the earth, people, and wildlife - visit https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-tips/

and thank you for supporting Verde Cosi!

We will be selling our Garden, home, fashion textiles and fine art at SoWa Open Market. Sunday June 23, 2019! Visit http://www.verdecosi.com for our schedule and details of upcoming shows and markets! We will also be selling Suzanne's fine art at Beacon Hill Art Walk June 2, 2019. 

Oxalis Regnellii or more commonly known as black shamrock has some of the most fascinating foliage. Dark purple/red it will captivate you with it's triple triangular leaves. The leaves also sleep when in low light - so it's a moody plant! It has tiny little bell shaped flowers - light pinky/purple that dangle. This arrangement felt appropriate for today since it is raining and the dark purple leaves remind me of an umbrella. Oxalis Regnellii is an annual in zone 6a but is a perennial in growing zones 8 to 10. It thrives in partial shade.

I bring my cluster of oxalis indoors for the winter - I've had mine for years. It is a rhizomatous bulb, native to South Africa. Oxalis likes well drained soil and is easy to care for. Oxalis is poisonous for cats and dogs. I have my Oxalis planted at the base of my large ficus tree. It is well worth the investment.

After much trial and error my husband and I have figured out how to propagate lavender organically without growth hormone. This is very important to gardeners committed to organic gardening. 

Cut about a 3 to 4 inch softwood cut from new growing stems on your existing lavender plant. Remove the outer "skin" on the stem at the base of the cutting, as well as leaves at base (see photo). Place in a clear glass jar with less than a half inch of clean water at the base. Place in a sunny window sill and keep that amount of water at the base of the jar. It is very important to keep just a small amount of water at the base - this is key to the success of establishing roots. It should take 2 to 4 weeks to establish roots ready for transplanting into a small terra-cotta pot. Lavender thrives in a sandy well drained soil. I always put small stones or gravel, a generous layer, at the base of the pot. Once your small plant has established itself, acclimate it gradually to the outdoors. Eventually have it in sun with heat. Water when the soil looks dry, with a small amount of water. 

The origin of lavender is believed to be from the Mediterranean, Middle East and India. Its history goes back some 2500 years. Lavender produces small flowers and belongs to the mint family, known for its fragrance, lavender has endless culinary, beauty ingredient, medicinal, and decorative uses.

Verde Cosi will be selling our live lavender topiaries and small plants along with our garden, home, fashion textiles and fine art at Sowa Open Market - Sunday May 5, 2019.

If you are always looking for something different for your garden, Gladiolus Murielle, is amazing. Gladiolus Murielae is a beautiful spike leaf bulb, native to the mountain areas of East Africa. It grows an awesome 2 to 3 feet tall with white star-like petals and a dark purple center and throat. The multiple buds graduate up the top of the stem with an almost vanilla like fragrance. Gladiolus Murielae likes consistently moist, well drained soil, and full sun -growing more commonly in zones 7 to 10. However, in zone 5, I will be digging up the corms and storing them in peat moss in my cool back room over the winter. Similar, perhaps, to a dahlia. 

I scraped the dirt and cried for more

thrust my head through the branches

left the world aside for a little time

became my childhood friend

and visited the answer

I reached around the branches

and shook the hibiscus

the bucket growing with discarded leaves

I needed to continue

my hair mixed with the leaves

the lantana grew

.

.

.

.

Love this pillow? 

Inquiries regarding purchasing the Verde Cosi pillow you see here:

suzanne@verdecosi.com

This fall has been especially warm, which has made it easy to get outside and enjoy the yard. There are many interesting plants and bulbs for fall if you seek them out. This year I discovered millet, ornamental peppers, a beautiful dark red/purple sedum, a dusty pink sedum, a gorgeous decorative grass, and aloha lilies. Aloha lilies are a bulb and if you make sure to cover them in some hay over the winter here in New England they should come back next fall. For bulbs, I planted alliums (which I love), scented white tulips, peony tulips in pink, lily flowering tulips, white hyacinths, and species tulips. I am hoping this redo of my corner garden will bring beautiful shows of flowers this spring as well. I dug the whole garden up except for the peonies. Turns out the garden was basically being taken over by the lily of the valley. I have plenty of this, so moving it elsewhere was fine. I worked some organic fertilizer into the existing soil in my wheel barrow and added some Coast of Maine lobster compost to enhance the soil quality. I also used some soil from my compost pile. I worked all of the old roots out of the existing soil - one of my favorite things to do. I hope my efforts outside this fall inspire you to work outside and enjoy this weather. I have many shows coming up starting October 21, 2017. Please see http://www.verdecosi.com for more details. Enjoy! This post and new garden is in loving memory of my Mom.

This time of year brings such a variety of flowers at our fingertips. Just had to walk out my back door to appreciate these beauties. Some I have been selling to my wonderful customers this summer at all of the outdoor juried art and craft shows. These up close photos of the individual flowers really allow you to see the texture and bright colors. The hibiscus is at its later stages, but still interesting and pretty. Many of these are tropical flowers that I bring in during the winter. The lantana smells like a mixture of mango and citrus. The calamondin oranges are almost ready to mix into a nice ice water. Enjoy this beautiful weather! Verde Cosi will be selling our hand made wares and fine art at the 46th annual Chatham Festival of the Arts. Visit us!