Nasturtium Leaf Pesto

February 20, 2013

...ith nasturtium and I’ve never made good use of the leaves. I have used the flowers for a pesto, but it’s kinda labor intensive. Nancy made a pesto with the leaves and I had to try my own version: Nasturtium leaf pesto 2 fistfuls of nasturtium leaves 1 fistful of nuts–pistachios preferred but any will do a half fistful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano olive oil salt pepper Roast nuts in a pan. Let them cool and add to a food processor with the nasturt...

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Picture Sundays: Harvard’s Glass Flower Collection

Mr. Homegrown

February 10, 2013

Picture Sundays

4 Comments

...pped me off to the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s collection of glass flowers. According to the museum’s website: This unique collection of over 3,000 models was created by glass artisans Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph. The commission began in 1886, continued for five decades, and the collection represents more than 830 plant species. Reminds me of the 3D flower x-rays on display at the Museum of Jurassic Technology. They have to be se...

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The Strange World of Artificial Plants

Mr. Homegrown

February 8, 2013

Gardening, Thoughtstylings

11 Comments

...sses in Hollywood that do nothing other than provide fake plants. Not just flowers, but everything from corn to . . . hemp. Having a bad year with your tomatoes? Green Set Inc. will set you up with some fake ones: They even have a very large (and suspiciously shiny) fake zucchini: But I think my favorite fake plants come from a company called New Image Plants, providers of “The World’s Best Artificial Marijuana.” Customers? Marijuana dispensaries,...

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That ain’t a bowl full of larvae, it’s crosne!

Mr. Homegrown

January 21, 2010

Gardening, Self Watering Containers, Vegetable Gardening

22 Comments

..., just like any other mint. It grew to about 1 1/2 feet and never produced flowers. I’m sure in wetter places it would be invasive. I spoke to Alex at the market again in December and he told me to pull the tubers out around Christmas. Alex was right, I didn’t get a very big crop–LA is probably not the best climate for this plant. No crosne banquet this winter. But I did get enough to make a jar of pickles with. I feared that it would be as hard t...

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Pomegranate Factoids

Mr. Homegrown

October 26, 2012

Fruit Trees, Gardening

36 Comments

...urself a pomegranate tree. They’ll grow in more humid climates but may not produce much fruit. Ours took five years, from planting as a bare root tree, to get the modest crop you see in the picture. It’s one of my favorite trees–delicious fruit, a red flowers in the spring and a gorgeous display of yellow leaves in the fall–what more could you ask for? If you’ve been successful growing pomegranates outside of California (and worldwide) leave a com...

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