Francesca Filanc

Tag: Garden

  • BIRTHDAY LUNCH FOR A FRIEND

    BIRTHDAY LUNCH FOR A FRIEND

    Birthday girl with flowers and Vegetables

    May I take you out to lunch for your birthday?

    Fran, I’d rather just come over and have a good girl talk visit.

    We talk about deep things — things that matter to us, our children, grandchildren, gardening, and spiritual things, about where we have come from, the sad times and the happy ones. How as we get older, we are each more content in our own skin. That is a gift of growing older. Not worrying so much what others think, but appreciating our own gifts, accepting the struggles and being more present in the present moment. After all, it is all any of us have. There is that saying, The past is gone, the future is yet to be and where I am is in the present.

    Author arranging flowers

    A friend related to me the other day about the book The Artist’s Way. I read the book years ago. This friend reminded me about how an artist should take an outing once a week by herself – An Artist’s Date With Herself. Whatever it is that turns her on. Going to an outdoor market, going antiquing, going browsing down a tree-lined street in the city. In this way we open ourselves up to the beauty in life and how we fit ourselves into it. When we age gracefully in a spiritual sense we are coming more into our own of who we really are and what gifts we give and have given to the world. Some of us are just coming into our own as we mature in years.

    As Leanne and I talked I prepared leek vegetable soup, green salad from my garden and locally caught sea bass from the Del Mar Farmer’s Market bathed in lemon juice and cooked in a skillet.

     

     

    Recipes

     Lemon Lime-water with Sprigs of Mint
    Fill two glasses with ice, add fresh slices of lime and lemon, squeeze juice of one slice of lemon and lime over the ice. Rim the glass with lemon and lime, add water. Garnish with sprigs of mint.

    Vegetable Leek Soup
    Slice four large fresh leeks into one-inch sections. Rinse several times in water to remove sand. Using your fingers peel back all layers of sliced leeks to remove any remaining sand. In a heavy cast-iron skillet saute four chopped cloves of garlic in 1 tablespoon Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Add to this one large chopped onion and leeks. Cook until color is translucent. Transfer to a soup pot. Dissolve 3 tablespoons Rapunzel Vegetable Broth concentrate in hot water. Add about a quart of water or enough to cover vegetables that have just been sautéed along with the vegetable broth.  Dice one to two Roma tomatoes and add to soup. Add pepper and salt to taste along with Garam Masala seasoning, Turmeric, a dash of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. (I also added mint, ¼ cup cilantro, chives, oregano and basil fresh from my garden). Simmer for half an hour to forty-five minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with a little grated Parmesan cheese and toasted sunflower seeds.

     

    Salad

    Salad
    Fresh greens from the garden
    Chopped mint, cilantro and basil
    1-2 sliced Roma tomatoes

    Dressing
    in a jar add two whole cloves garlic,
    1/2 cup best organic olive oil,
    to that add 1/3 cup good quality fruit
    vinegar or vinegar with a little jam mixed in for flavor.
    (I used fig and currant vinegar.)
    Salt and Pepper to taste.
    For people not sensitive to garlic, chop up
    two cloves garlic and add to dressing. Shake well.

    Rim the salad bowl with garlic; pour about 1/4 to 2/3 cup salad dressing in bottom of bowl. To this add your greens, tomatoes, top with toasted sunflower seeds, and feta cheese. Toss just before serving.

    Sea Bass

    Sea Bass

    Sauté in coconut oil 1-2 cloves garlic, add to this the sea bass washed in the juice of two lemons. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté with chives from the garden, leeks, one sliced tomato, and lemons. I cooked the fish with some finely chopped lemon on top. Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the fish. Sauté one side and about half way through turn it over to finish cooking. Serve on plates with Gloria’s Pico de Gallo and tomatillo salsa artfully spooned over the top of the fish and then sprinkle with fresh cilantro and sunflower seeds. (See my March 8th 2012 blog for the recipes)

    We walked in the garden to collect the vegetables for the salad. We picked flowers for her birthday bouquet. It had rained yesterday morning so as we wandered through the garden and the air smelled fresh and the plants and flowers that we picked had little droplets of water caressing each leaf and petal.

    We sipped lemon lime-water with sprigs of mint and feasted at the beautiful table. The food was delicious.

    Here’s to having deep conversations speaking of the art of living a fulfilling life over delicious food in art filled environments.

     

    Bye for now

    Francesca

  • PROTECTING OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS IN THE GARDEN

    PROTECTING OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS IN THE GARDEN

    Cassin's KingbirdThe other morning while having tea with a friend I heard a thud thud thud.

    Oh no I protested! This friend is somewhat of a birder. Would you be so kind as to look with me and tell me if you are familiar with this adorable sort of bird?

    “Oh that is a Cassin’s Kingbird.”

    I then related to the friend what has been happening. Although no need — she could very well see for herself! These birds start at 5:00 a.m. banging into my bedroom and living room windows. My dogs used to go nuts and wake me up. Now, I imagine Byron and Amie are so accustomed to the noise that they ignore the sound. I can actually hear them right now as I write. When I hear them, I run to open windows and have a chat with the birds:

    Please don’t bang into the windows sweet birds, your house is that way! And I point out the correct direction.

    Interestingly enough they are not afraid of me. But what happens when I am not there to redirect them?

    Luckily, no birds have met their demise yet. Today I am going to go to the local bird store in my town to buy decals for the windows. I hope the decals will help!

    Another interesting fact is that Carrot-wood trees’  berries are delectable to many varieties of birds. The unfortunate news is that the trees are right outside my house and the birds get disoriented and fly into the windows thinking my house is the tree. Carrot-wood trees were thought to be great trees for next to a swimming pool years ago. Wrong! We now know that they drip when they become mature trees, so they are not a good choice to place near swimming pools. When this started happening I thought it was the young birds learning to fly and taking a wrong direction right into my house.

    Any suggestions of what you all have done to protect birds from flying into the windows would be appreciated.

    On a lighter note I have Western Bluebirds in my garden that come to nest every year. The Bluebirds like to nest facing north. There are special blue bird boxes one can buy or make to encourage them to nest. Unfortunately their predators are abundant. I have been very sad many years when the babies were eaten by scrub jays and crows.

    To see more Western Bluebirds, please visit Patrick Clark’s website for beautiful photographs of this lovely creature.

    But somehow, some Bluebirds survive and they come back in subsequent springs to our gardens and fields to nest and feed.

    The Blue Bird of Happiness aptly named, often brings smiles and squeals of delight to onlookers.

    As I finish writing this blog on a beautiful May day, the Cassin’s Kingbird has stopped banging himself against the windows. The Western Bluebirds are hunting for earth worms and seed in the field and I hear the many varieties of songbirds in the garden singing their delightful songs spreading music through the air. The Dalai Lama had good things to say about nature. Check out my blog post May 2, 2012 to see the transcript of his speech.

    I often think how lucky we are to live in a world where birds sing.

     

    Bye for now,

    Rippin’ Lips

    Francesca

  • A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

    A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

    Last weekend I was invited to a friend’s 65th wedding anniversary party. It was also the friend’s 90th birthday. This particular friend looks 20 years younger and acts it also! I overheard her say the other day to her 27-year-old granddaughter, I love your tattoos. They are so beautiful. If I were a young woman today I would have many of my own! My grandmother Frances used to say, “Age is a condition, youth is a state of mind.” Frances was also of the young club! All my friends loved being in my grandmother Mimi’s presence.

     

    Honey, there’s nothing new under the sun. Your generation does not shock me. We were doing all these things back in the roaring 20’s.

    After the party I drove my car to the end of the road and lo and behold it was where we all used to go to watch the fire works when we were in high school. A flood of memories rushed into my head. Young love, giddy flirting, bodies close together, dances, trips to the mountains with my friends. Fun memories. I took another road and there I was at Feather Acres Farm and Nursery. My mother use to buy plants from the man and woman who owned it when I was a little girl.

    The lady who has owned it for many years teaches riding and gives pony rides to youngsters on the weekends. What a beautiful piece of land overlooking the Del Mar Racetrack and the ocean beyond — a little piece of heaven, I thought.  I will bring my grand-kids for pony rides and riding lessons.

    I walked into the tidy greenhouse and bought a hydrangea and some lovely cut flowers. I also bought a couple of new ornamental bunnies for the garden.

    It’s been a great day down memory lane. :)

     

    Bye for now,

    Rippin’ Lips

    Francesca

  • CREATE YOUR OWN WALL SUCCULENT HANGING PLANTER

    CREATE YOUR OWN WALL SUCCULENT HANGING PLANTER

    Hanging Planter
    My Wall Succulent Hanging Planter

    Here’s a project that is lots of fun. Making your own wall succulent planters will also save you money :)

    A friend’s husband made the boxes for our garden club, but directions for making a simple frame are available here:  Sunset Magazine Article.

    How to make your own succulent frame:

    1. For a 1-foot-square frame, cut four 12-inch lengths of 2×2 lumber. Nail the corners together for a frame 2 inches deep.

    2. Staple or nail a 1-foot square of plywood onto the open back of the frame. Exterior plywood or 1×12-inch redwood works well. You can also channel out a section of the back in order to hang on a wall three months later.

    3. Screw ½-inch hardware wire mesh to one side of the open frame. If desired, add trim on top of the mesh to hide it. (If you’re a skilled woodworker, you can also cut a channel into the wood and slide the mesh into the channel, hiding the mesh’s cut edges.)

    A friend and I were formatting this project for a group of 30 garden club women.

    Soak sphagnum moss overnight in a bucket. Wring out well and generously line the bottom and sides of your frame. Now fill the planter with a 50/50 mix of potting soil and cactus mix.  Make a sphagnum moss sandwich by covering the top with another generous layer of the moss.  Screw the wire mesh down on remaining two sides.

    Co-Garden Club program chair and I had previously bought succulents for all to use. We also suggested people bring succulents from their own gardens to share.

    The best succulents to use for this project are slow growing ones. Visit your local nursery for plant material if you don’t already have succulents from your own garden from which to take cuttings. Here are a few suggestions: Aeoniums, Echeverias, Crassula perforate, Senicio rowleyanus, Sedum spathulifolum. Use your imagination!

    Check out Debra Lee Baldwin, best selling author, Designing with Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens.

    The day of the event was so much fun and everyone’s box turned out differently. Since the beginning of human time women have loved working and creating together. It takes us back to our roots.

    If you intend to hang your succulent planter on a garden wall, wait three months for
    succulents to root.

    In my case, I have enjoyed my succulent boxes as center pieces on outdoor tables that are mainly in shade. I have one that I made a year and a half ago that is a little leggy but still beautiful. With a little housekeeping or should I say gardenkeeping, cutting succulents back, letting them harden off for a week and then replanting; Voila my year and a half leggy planter will look fresh and new.  :)

    Try to use slow growing succulents or ones that do not get too large. I put in what I felt was beautiful. Succulents are so forgiving that it is easy to change things around. Filling boxes tightly with succulents will give you an immediate show stopper look.  :)

    Have fun!

    Bye for now

    Rippin’ Lips

    Francesca

  • THE WISTERIA

    THE WISTERIA

    I have created a children’s garden on my property. Like anything artistic, when I create a new area in the garden it takes on a life of it’s own. It is fun planning things in one’s mind and then doing the work, or in my view the play.

    Bryon in the children's garden
    Bryon in the children’s garden

    The whole idea started because of a remark my son-in-law, Iban made one time when my daughter, Yvette and their daughter, Anushka were visiting.

    Mama, you should put in a swing set for Anushka.

    When they went home to Spain, I thought about what Iban had said.

                                             What a great idea!

    After researching, I walked around the property to pick out just the right area for the swing set. I looked online and found a very reasonable one with a playhouse, slide, swings and teeter-totter. Wow how great! Meanwhile the area I picked out had a diseased little tree that my gardener, Sergio, cut down for me. I asked him to leave the stump. It will make a perfect base for a little table. I then had 4 stools built around the table, just the right height for small children. The creative ideas continued to flow. Excitedly I mentioned to a friend,

    “An arbor would be great!  It would shade the children from the sun, and I could grow wisteria on it so it would smell good while the children played happily underneath,making their mud pies and other imaginative games.”

    I wanted the Cooke’s Special purple variety. They are Chinese and bloom first, then leaf out after the flowers fall off the vine. The Japanese variety bloom and leaf out at the same time. I ordered them bare root from a local nursery but when they arrived one was Japanese and one was Chinese. My mother is a garden expert and television personality. She has written seven books, her most well known being the “bible” to gardening in southern California: Pat Welsh’s Southern California Gardening: A Month-By-Month Guide.  Click here to visit her website!

    Fran that will never do! You need to have two Wisteria of the same variety or they will look mismatched.

    So I bought two more and put the Japanese ones on the fence and the Chinese Cooke’s Special purple on the arbor for the children’s garden. . . So I thought. When they started blooming last year lo and behold they were miss marked! The Japanese ones are on the arbor in the children’s garden and the Chinese ones are on my property fence. I was disappointed, but my mother, who has an amazing wisteria story in her book All My Eden’s, and has always loved the Chinese variety now loves the Japanese!

    They are very vigorous growers, Pat reports.

    I did have very good luck with them at other homes. One southwest home my husband and I built had Japanese Wisteria in a Spanish front patio. They were breathtaking in Spring. The smell is delicious too.

    Rippin’ Lips

    Bye for now,

    Francesca