The Greenhouse,

is about growing matters, focusing on my greenhouse and potager. I grow mainly vegetables, herbs and spices but flowers have their given place too. From seed to table, this is the nursery for my living food, we cook a lot of delicious food and I say a potager is the cook’s best friend. The greenhouse makes it possible to grow essential, colourful, warmth loving fruit and vegetables even in this climate such as tomatoes and chillies. My main blog is Tyras Trädgård/Tyra's Garden. View my profile

Wednesday

Now I'm going to say the F... word!

© This post - 'Now I'm going to say the F word' , was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden http://tyras-greenhouse.blogspot.com/




ABC Wednesday and now the F... word


F...



My 'F' stands for four


Four can stand for so many, many things:



The four elements of alchemy were earth, air, fire and water.
The four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
There are four basic states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
There are four human blood groups (A, B, O, AB).
Four terrestrial (or rocky) planets in the Solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. wikipedia

4, 4 me


The first thing that comes into my mind is the four seasons. I love the changes in the nature, I could not bear to live with eternal sunshine. I remember during my stay in northern Africa which in many ways were very interesting but the weather, so dry and hot. The dryness was the worst part. Everything was so dirty. I was actually longing for heavy rain and so were they of course too.

Here are the 'Four Seasons' in my little plot Tyra’s Garden.



First out is the winter


and then comes the wonderful spring


and the gardener is so busy...full of activity.

The lovely purple Syringa vulgaris blooms in May/June.



after spring comes summertime, then the livin' is easy... the Papaver is everywhere



Fall or Autums enters with the colours that gives amazes us and gives us joy.


FFFinally we are back to square one again, the long much to long winter.



Which season are you living for?



Don't be a stranger my friend, do write something./ TYRA




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ABC Wednesday E is for - The Multifaceted Elder

© This post - 'E' is for the Multifaceted Elder , was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden http://tyras-greenhouse.blogspot.com/



ABC wednesday 'E' is for Elder.






Elderberries Sambucus nigra in my beer bucket.






Elderberry and Apple Crumble

350g (12 oz) elderberries (common elder)
450g (1lb) apples
110g (4oz) sugar

225g (8oz) flour
110g (4oz) light brown sugar
110g (4oz) butter

A pinch each of bicarbonate of soda.

*A variant is to add ginger, cardamom or cinnamon to the crumble

Rinse the elderberries and then pull off their stalks. Core, peel (optional) and chop the apples. Mix apples together with the elderberries and sugar and put into an ovenproof dish. Rub the butter into the sieved flour; add the sugar, the bicarbonate of soda and the spice*. Press down lightly over the fruit and cook the crumble in the oven at 380F, 200°C about thirty five to forty minutes.
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Have anyone tried to dry the elderberries?



If yes please tell us how you did it and the result. It would be nice to have them during the winter as well. Elder is used in Phytotherapy - The flowers may be used to make an herbal tea, which is believed as a remedy for colds and fever.
Stem bark, leaves, flowers, and berries, root extracts are used to treat bronchitis, cough, upper respiratory cold infections as well as fever.







The Multifaceted Elder..



Which Elder lives near you? Do you have it in your garden?

Do you use the Elder as a medicinal plant?

As food?

Or perhaps made some delicious wine?

I know Yolanda at Bliss make a delicious Elderberry Champagne.
...
The whereabout of Elder.

It is fascinating to read about the Elders species groups and their whereabouts around the globe this is what wikipedia writes about Elder.


"The common elder complex is variously treated as a single species Sambucus nigra found in the warmer parts of Europe and North America with several regional varieties or subspecies, or else as a group of several similar species. The flowers are in flat corymbs, and the berries are black to glaucous blue; they are larger shrubs, reaching 5–8 m tall, occasionally small trees up to 15 m tall and with a stem diameter of up to 30–60 cm.

Sambucus australis (Southern Elder; temperate eastern South America)
Sambucus canadensis (American Elder; eastern North America; with blue-black berries)
Sambucus cerulea ( S. glauca; Blueberry Elder; western North America; with blue berries)
Sambucus javanica (Chinese Elder; southeastern Asia)
Sambucus mexicana (Mexican Elder; Mexico and Central America; with blue-black berries)
Sambucus nigra (Elder or Black Elder; Europe and western Asia; with black berries)
Sambucus palmensis (Canary Islands Elder; Canary Islands; with black berries)
Sambucus peruviana (Peruvian Elder; northwest South America; with black berries)
Sambucus simpsonii (Florida Elder; southeastern United States; with blue-black berries)
Sambucus peruviana (Andean Elder; northern South America; with blue-black berries)
Sambucus velutina (Velvet Elder; southwestern North America; with blue-black berries)

The Blackberry Elder Sambucus melanocarpa of western North America is intermediate between the preceding and next groups. The flowers are in rounded panicles, but the berries are black; it is a small shrub, rarely exceeding 3–4 m tall. Some botanists include it in the red-berried elder group.

The red-berried elder complex is variously treated as a single species Sambucus racemosa found throughout the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere with several regional varieties or subspecies, or else as a group of several similar species. The flowers are in rounded panicles, and the berries are bright red; they are smaller shrubs, rarely exceeding 3–4 m tall.

Sambucus callicarpa (Pacific Coast Red Elder; west coast of North America)
Sambucus chinensis (Chinese Red Elder; eastern Asia, in mountains)
Sambucus latipinna (Korean Red Elder; Korea, southeast Siberia)
Sambucus microbotrys (Mountain Red Elder; southwest North America, in mountains)
Sambucus pubens (American Red Elder; northern North America)
Sambucus racemosa (European Red Elder; northern Europe, northwest Asia)
Sambucus sieboldiana (Japanese Red Elder; Japan and Korea)
Sambucus tigranii (Caucasus Red Elder; southwest Asia, in mountains)
Sambucus williamsii (North China Red Elder; northeast Asia)

The Australian elder group comprises two species from Australasia. The flowers are in rounded panicles, and the berries white or yellow; they are shrubs growing to 3 m high.

Sambucus australasica (Yellow Elder; New Guinea, eastern Australia)
Sambucus gaudichaudiana (Australian Elder or White Elder; shady areas of south eastern Australia)

The dwarf elders are, by contrast to the other species, herbaceous plants, producing new stems each year from a perennial root system; they grow to 1.5–2 m tall, each stem terminating in a large flat umbel which matures into a dense cluster of glossy berries.

Sambucus adnata (Asian Dwarf Elder; Himalaya and eastern Asia; berries red)
Sambucus ebulus (European Dwarf Elder; central and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia; berries black)" wikipedia Elderberry







Don't be a stranger my friend, do write something!




TYRA



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Thursday

POTAGER - Heirloom Tomatoes 2009

© This post - 'Potager - Heirloom seeds' , was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden http://tyras-greenhouse.blogspot.com/
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...
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Min Potager 2009 - Kulturarv - Tomater
My Potager 2009 - Heirloom Tomatoes
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..I have my own bank - Tyra's Garden Seed Bank .
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Make all you can
Save all you can
Give all you can
John Wesley

Why heirloom?

When I’m planning my potager and buying my seeds I do try to think heirloom. Why? Well thousands of people all over the world have tried these and kept the seeds for generations so I think that must be good also important that we keep the tradition and why not benefit from their great knowledge and wisdom.
In my greenhouse this year these are the chosen once ‘The Tomaoes of 2009’ although some of them are not heirloom but still very interesting like the NEW Sweet olive for example. Some of them I’ve tried before and here I have a small evaluation of tomatoes from 2008.




On the left hand sidebar you find more information of each tomato.

Look under Tomatoes 2008-2009

Black Russia
Brandywine
Brandywine Yellow
Cherokee
Cour di Bue
Crnkovic Yugoslavian
Czech’s Excellent Yellow
Dansk Export
Federle
Ferris Wheel
Gardener’s Delight
Great White
Green Zebra
Ildi
Long Banana
Malakhitovaya Shkatulka
Money Maker
Nyagous
Plum Lemon
Principe Borgese
Promyk
Reisentraube
Sungold
Super Sweet 100
Sweet Olive
Tiny Tim
Tumling Tom


Hello...it is time to wake up!

TYRA

Don't be a stranger my friend - do write something.

Kära trädgårdsvän - Skriv en rad vet jag.

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Wednesday

ABC Wednesday 'D' is for DARWIN She was...

© This post - ABC Wednesday 'D' , was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden http://tyras-greenhouse.blogspot.com/
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ABC Wednesday 'D' is for DARWIN....She was...
and of course a flower DAHLIA




The Bicentenary Charles Darwin 200 years. About Charles Darwins Britain.

My 'D' i for the woman Emma Darwin married to Charles and a mother of 10 children.

This is what wikipedia says about my 'D'

Emma Wedgwood was born in 1808 at the family estate of Maer Hall, Maer, Staffordshire, the youngest of seven children of Josiah Wedgwood II and his wife Bessy (Elizabeth). She grew up in a wealthy manufacturing family; her grandfather Josiah Wedgwood had made his fortune in pottery, and like many others who were not part of the aristocracy they were nonconformist, belonging to the Unitarian church. Charles Darwin was her first cousin; their shared grandparents were Josiah Wedgwood and his wife Sarah; and as the Wedgwood and Darwin families were closely allied, she had been acquainted with him since childhood.

'D' is also for one of my favourit flowers in my potager DAHLIA

Two Dahlias in full bloom in my potager, they are so very different and the light on the flowers is very different too. I think it is very pretty when the light is almost shining through in the Dahlia in latter picture.


I wish you all a DDDDelightful ABC Wednesday!

TYRA

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ABC Wednesday 'C' is for COFFEE

© This post - ABC Wednesday 'C' , was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog The greenhouse in Tyra's Garden http://tyras-greenhouse.blogspot.com/
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ABC Wednesday 'C' is for Ah....Coffee. This wonderful drug I just cannot be without.


Coffea. When grown in the tropics, coffee is a vigorous bush or small tree easily grown to a height of 3–3.5 m (10–12 feet). It is capable of withstanding severe pruning. It cannot be grown where there is a winter frost. Bushes grow best at high elevations. To produce a maximum yield of coffee berries. Wikipedia

A Coffee Break in the Greenhouse.
At eleven o'clock I love to have a nice coffee breake and what could possibly be better than a cup of coffee in the greenhouse.

Here on this picture we have such a moment, a nice cup of coffee served with a piece of bread, my flavoursome homemade ‘Orange Tiger Marmalade’ and some Gruyere cheese. The coffee is just the way I like it hot and strong. You will get the recipe for this extraordinary orange marmalade later...




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Don't be a stranger - do write something/ TYRA


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