Meet the Hosta plantaginea (Lam.) Asch. - August-lily Asparagaceae

More simply known as Hosta, this plant graces many a New England garden in spring!

Photo by MarashGirl©2022

Solomon's Seal Graces Marash Girl's Front Garden!

See below the Polygonatum multiflorum (L.) All. ... better known as Solomon's Seal!

Photo by MarashGirl©2022

Purslane: Nutritious, Delicious, Salvation From Starvation

Photo taken in Newton, Massachusetts by MarashGirl©2021 Above is a contemporary photo of purslane (perper in Armenian, ermerouk in Turkish). According to Marash Girl's interviews with survivors of the Ottomans'attempted genocide of the Armenian people early in the 20th century, purslane was often the only source of nutrition, nutrition that if those Armenians were "lucky", they would gather along the roadside, their only source of nutrition as they were marched out of their homes by the gendarmes of the Ottoman Empire, marched into the desert during the "death march"(see internet explanation below) . . . Today purslane (ermerouk in Turkish) is often used by Marash Girl as a vegetable to be used in salads and soups . . . both the leaves and the stems of the the plant are highly nutritious and delicious. Gardeners will welcome your gathering the purslane from among their plants, as purslane will suddently appear unbidden, particularly among the tomato plants in vegetable gardens throughout the northeast! Just be sure to remove the roots and wash the purslane plants in cool water, rinsing numerous times in order to rid the plants of any soil before chopping the purslane for soups or salads. N.B. Below taken from the internet: "Perhaps the most "classical" example of the death march was the one that occurred as part of the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey (part of the fading Ottoman Empire) in 1915. The events leading up to that death march were paradigmatic of the experience of genocide victims in other places." "The death march of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire took place against the backdrop of the hostilities of World War I. In the spring of 1915 Ottoman rulers ordered that all Armenians be expelled from their homes in areas outside of war zones. The Armenians—men, women, and children—were then lined up and made to walk in convoys of tens of thousands toward the Syrian desert. Although the expulsions resembled deportations, the treatment of the people making the march by Turkish "guards" made it clear that a more sinister agenda was driving the march: a planned elimination of the Armenian population through a process of starvation and exhaustion. The death march was a culmination of decades of Turkish discrimination against Armenians, which had long consisted of the barring of Armenians from serving in the Turkish army, repeated executions of small groups of Armenians, and mass killings by special forces known as Teshkilâti Mahsusa—gangs of violent ex-convicts ordered by the Ottoman/Turkish government to commit murders of Armenians." N.B. Lest we forget . . . From the Internet: "June 1, Wilbraham, Massachusetts Two tornadoes hit Wilbraham on June 1, 2011, Town Administrator Robert A. Weitz says. The first was the F-3 tornado which also devastated Springfield and Monson and cut a swath through Wilbraham from Tinkham Road, south of the center of town, to Monson." And to relate this note to the above blogpost, before the tornado, Marash Girl's garden in Wilbraham was replete with wild purslane growing unbidden among the carefully planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini.

On A Happier Note . . .

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

When is a teapot not a teapot?

When is a teapot not a teapot? When it becomes a flower pot!!! [When you break the cover of the teapot, you have transfigured the teapot into a pot for the flowers in your front yard!]

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Remembering Grandpa Moses burning the paper and cardboard trash . . . Uncle Paul spreading the cooled ashes around the base of the trees in the back yard . . . Daddy Peter lovingly burying the vegetable peelings in his garden among the tomato plants . . . . and Marash Girl, attempting to carry on the family tradition, but with no land large enough to garden, hiding her vegetable peelings under the leaves that have fallen in the dell between her house and her neighbor's.

A Quick and Easy Summer Lunch!!!!

Getting lots of zucchini from your garden?  Eggplant, too?  Use Grandma Jennie's favorite go to recipe for a quick lunch or Sunday supper.  (Not sure, but Marash Girl thinks the meal may have originated in Aintab!)

Simply rinse the eggplant or zucchini (preferably eggplant or zucchini fresh from your garden, not veggies that have been stored in your refrigerator for days) under cool running water.  Slice thinly.  Beat several eggs in a low soup bowl, dip the sliced veggies into the egg mixture, and fry quickly in hot light oil, turning the slices once, and, when browned, placing on a platter which has a covering of several layers of paper towels to absorb the oil from the freshly fried vegetables.  (Be sure the paper covered platter is not close to the flame, but rather on the opposite side of the stove from the flame!!!). Sprinkle the zucchini and/or eggplant with salt (and red pepper, if you're tastebuds  veer towards the Middle East), and serve (while still hot) with fresh, sliced tomatoes . . .  You may serve theses slices in a sandwich, or simply tomato and eggplant (or tomato and zucchini) on a bed of fresh lettuce.   Yum!!!

Grandma Jennie's Go To Recipe

You already know about Grandma Jennie's parsley and egg which Marash Girl has written on in several earlier blogposts.  Here is another of Grandma Jennie's favorites:  eggplant dipped in egg!   No, not the whole darn eggplant, but eggplant with its stem removed and its skin intact, nicely washed and rinsed, and thinly sliced. 

Dip a slice of eggplant in a bowl of well-beaten eggs (two or three should suffice), and carefully place that slice of eggplant into a frying pan which has approximately a 1/2 inch of oil on your stove top.  Turn the heat up under the pan to bring the oil to a sizzle before placing the egg-dipped eggplant into the frypan. Be careful, as the oil is likely to spatter as you place the eggplant into the pan, so try to keep your distance.  You will see that the egg on the sides of the eggplant slices become brown; at that point, flip the slices of eggplant over and fry for another minute or so.  Remove the eggplant slices and place the eggplant on a dish that has been covered with a paper towel, a dish that has been set at a distance from the flame, so that the paper towel will not catch fire.  Lightly sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and pepper, and serve as soon as possible with freshly sliced tomatoes as a garnish.  Delish!!!

Summers, Watermelon and Cheese

Do all Armenians love watermelon?  All in Marash Girl's family certainly did.  The kids ate slices of watermelon, usually off the skin, walking around in the back yard, and spitting the seeds into the grass.  The grownups would have their watermelon removed from the skin, sliced into chunks.   Grandma Jennie often served watermelon with cheese (more often than not, home made cheese), or watermelon with salt for Marash Girl's father who loved his watermelon with salt!

And since most Armenians had known hunger, they  never wasted food.  Marash Girl vaguely remembers that folks used to peel off the green outer skin of the watermelon (leaving the white of the rind) and use the white of the rind to make candy.  Marash Girl's family did not.  Her father would grind the watermelon rind in his compost grinder and use the ground watermelon rinds to fertilize his magnificent vegetable garden.

Composting à la Auntie Rose

A young survivor of the Genocide of the Armenian people (1914-1923), Auntie Rose loved her plants, and each day, carefully saved the peelings and scraps from the fruits and vegetables that she prepared for her breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with Uncle Harry.  After every meal, she would gather the peelings, cores, and leavings of those fruits and vegetables (few as there were), and carefully dig the leavings into the soil next to a plant in her flower garden.  Auntie Rose never wasted, as she knew, from childhood, what it was to go hungry. God rest her soul.

Gooseneck Flowers

                                                        Marash Girl's Loosestrife                    Photo by Marash Girl

Gooseneck Flowers, better known as Loosestrife (ysimachia clethroides), are a blessing for folks who need plants to fill in their gardens, plants that do not need heavy care or watering.  Marash Girl had lots of room in her front garden for such plants.  Marash Girl's friend Helene provided the solution.
She gifted Marash Girl only a few Loosestrife plants, Loosestrife which has now filled all of the empty spots in Marash Girl's front garden (and more) with beautiful white flowers, flowers that she can share with her neighbors as they walk by on a beautiful summer's day.

Gather Ye Cherries While Ye May!

 l. to r. John and Nisha gather the cherries while they may.  
Photo by Marash Girl

An apple tree purchased in Monson, Massachusetts, 

many years ago grew to be a tall, strong cherry tree!

Planting Bulbs???

Planting flower bulbs in your garden?  You'd better sprinkle some hot red pepper in the bottom of every declivity that you dig for your bulb (and cover the red pepper with a light sprinkling of soil), or you'll have no flowers coming up.  Why?  Squirrels and chipmunks, though they love to chew on flower bulbs, don't like hot red pepper!!!

No Roses, Please!!!

Hint for a long-lasting floral bouquet . . .

If and when you are ordering a floral bouquet to be sent to a friend/colleague/loved one, request that there be no roses included in the bouquet.

What?  No roses?

Yes, no roses.  

Why?

Roses are the first flowers to wilt and dry/die in most floral bouquets (unless, of course, the bouquet is made up of nothing but roses, and then death comes quickly to the whole bouquet).

If you are fortunate enough to receive a floral bouquet, don't throw the whole bouquet out because it begins to look faded.  Chances are, the fading is due to the roses that are wilting and coming to an early death!  Just remove the drooping roses (or whatever flowers are fading), and your bouquet will look as fresh as a . . . daisy?  Well, certainly not as fresh as a freshly picked rose.

And another tip . . . Water the bouquet just as you would water your plants.  The cut flowers get just as thirsty as any plant.  

You'll see how much longer your roses will last!!!

Oh, and yet another tip . . .  If you cut flowers to bring inside, recut the tips of them under running water and put the flowers, tips down, of course, immediately into a vase of water, a vase that has had a teaspoon of sugar placed in its bottom before the water has been added. You'll be amazed at the difference it will make in the life of your flowers . . . how much fresher your flowers will stay, albeit cut and placed into a vase.

Water Your Garden With Waste Water!

Summer gardening got your water bill up?  If you can't afford to put in a water waste system that will double as water for your gardens, then do as the old folks did! Keep a pan in the kitchen sink, a catch all for water that comes from the faucet when you wash your hands, rinse a dish, run the water to get cold (or hot) water for food preparation . . . And empty that water . . . frequently, right into your garden!  (Sound gross?  Not if you empty the pan frequently!) And don't worry if the water is soapy.  That soap will wash away the insects that may be resting on the green leaves of your plants!  

You'll be surprised what a difference this simple system of water reuse will make in your water bill, how the environment and your plants will smile at the fact that you are using the water that you once, thinking it was waste water, threw down the drain!

First Signs of Spring: Chives for the Tasting!

Growing wild in Marsh Girl's front yard are wild chives . . . and all the neighborhood children love to come by to take one chive sprig and nibble at it until it is finished.  But they know they can come by tomorrow for another taste treat . . . as long as spring . . . or the chives . . . last!

The Miracle of Perennials

What with the beautiful weather that has finally arrived in New England, Marash Girl's thoughts have turned to the miracle of perennials -- those flowers that return every year, no muss, no fuss -- they just come back to cheer us up!  Every year!  No time to write any more!  Gotta go out and start pulling out the perennial weeds!

Wild Front Garden -- No Grass to Cut!

                                                                                    Photo Credit:  Sarah Salter

Flower On!

As winter threatens New England, 

this courageous chrysanthemum flowers despite the threat,

 as should we!

Still no rain!!!!

It's been a long time here in Eastern Massachusetts since we've had rain . . .  The Cambridge Reservoir is down to about 20% of its typical volume of water!

                               Even Marash Girl's garden statuary is drooping from lack or water!