2018 MAY – DivaAnnie’s Garden Day

This post, 2018 MAY – DivaAnnie’s Garden Day, was written by Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt Blog. 

The rotating schedule told us that DivaAnnie’s turn to be hostess would happen in May, the month of her birthday. Annie really wanted to host the meeting but she was having serious health issues. We knew that Annie was having trouble with gardening maintenance and we wanted to do it for her. She was having trouble with other things too, and many of her friends and neighbors helped with what they could. They took her to stores, helped her get supplies for the garden, drove her to buy groceries, took Annie to doctor appointments and her pets to the veterinarian and helped with mowing. 

A few days before the meeting I took a Before Photo of the fence corner in front – hoping there would be a good After Photo. On the day before the meeting some rain fell on the garden, softening the ground and plumping up the plants.

Annie, Buffy, Karla, Mindy, Mattie and Sophia were already there when I arrived, enjoying coffee with muffins and fruit salad. And ooh, what’s this? A beautiful orchid decorated the table of the birthday girl.

After a while we all went outside and got out the tools. In that front Before corner a seven foot tall Barbados cherry had not done well over the winter – the whole top had died off, but new growth was appearing at the bottom. The Salvia guaranitica was running rampant, covering other plants that Annie liked. In the square bed the top of her magnificent Duranta was all dead sticks. We could fix all of that.

We could weed and clip back all the beds and borders, rescue plants that were being smothered and dig out the oh-so-many tree seedlings that had popped up everywhere. We were going to need a lot of yard bags!

The ‘Marilyn’ abutilon was so beautiful one could almost ignore the weeds in the bed.

You’ve seen Annie’s Abutilon ‘Patrick’ in previous posts…let’s take a closer look at her ‘Marilyn’

The day was quite warm, the ants were out and there was a lot to do. Everyone worked together, trying to make a difference in each part of the front yard while trying to keep an eye on Annie, who was working too hard in the hot sun.

Sweet mascot Barbie stayed in the dappled shade and kept us company.

Eventually the shady end of the front sidewalk looked respectable again

The square garden on the far side of the driveway was no longer a tangle of overgrown plants and saplings.

We couldn’t make the St. Augustine lawn look better, but we could get rid of the weeds in the center bed and clip things back so the Phlomis/Jerusalem Sage, columbines, salvias and other plants had some space. Maybe some mulch could discourage new weeds.

Annie called us in to lunch – really good broccoli salad, a fruit salad of strawberries and pineapple chunks, rotisserie chicken salad on croissants with leaves of romaine to add crunch. We had so much to talk about as we ate – well, we always have so much to talk about!

Annie had requested a lemon cake for her birthday. There were no candles on top, but she liked this old-fashioned 1-2-3-4 lemon cake with cream cheese frosting, made even better with a little ice cream plopped on top.

We puttered around a little more outside and added plants to her porch containers. We wanted to stay and keep working in the garden but Annie said what she wanted was for us to go home, and then she wanted to go to bed.

Before we left I snapped a photo of the now-pretty Barbados cherry-Salvia guaranitica bed so there’d be an After picture to go with the Before picture.

                                                                    

****************INTERVAL***************

I’m writing about this day a whole year after that meeting, and it’s been an odd and difficult post to write. Back then we were worried about Annie’s health and hoped that modern medicine could make her better, but we couldn’t know the future.

We didn’t know that this would be the last time she had a garden day, the last time we would all be together at her house, that this was her last birthday cake in this the last spring of her life.

All that I can do now is tell you about that day and tell you how we liked being together and tell you how much we loved and miss our dear friend.

2015 DECEMBER - Holidiva Day

This post, 2015 December Holidiva Day, was written by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog

Can you believe it’s been 10 years since Diva Annie had a turn at hosting the annual Holidiva party? She decided to go all out! There would be a traditional roasted turkey with bread and sausage stuffing as the entrée. Soon we were all emailing back and forth as we decided on appetizers, sides and dessert.


The day of the party Sophia and I arrived first – we were bringing appetizers so did not want to be late. The Central Texas weather had been warm, muggy and drizzly – no Yule logs were wanted today – this December we were grateful for air-conditioning! 

I forgot my camera back when Annie was hostess in 2005, so that post had no pictures. (Just thinking about this still makes me sad.) This year there would be photos! Lots of photos!

Annie’s Shrimp plants were in full corally-pink bloom

and everyone’s favorite ‘Patrick’ Abutilon was covered in beautiful bells.

Every inch of Annie’s house was decorated and it looked so pretty! From the fireplace mantle

 To the sideboard

to the plume trees covered in vintage ornaments

to the dainty miniature holiday village all was perfect!

Annie had her part of the dinner under control but was glad to have Sophia for company in the kitchen

We snapped a few photos of each other while we were waiting for the rest of the Divas.
Glinda and Annie stand near the beautiful sideboard

No garden hats! No garden gloves! No work clothes! Will anyone recognize Glinda and Sophia?

The table décor was imaginative and fun – Annie used poinsettia-themed vintage china and glassware from her mother’s collection, displayed to advantage against the soft green of the tablecloths, then filled planters with ornaments. Don’t you just love the shapes of the poinsettia bowls?

The table and chairs were ready for eight Divas of the Dirt.

The appetizer table looked great! Sophia brought two warm cheeses, one Camembert & Walnuts and the other Brie with Cranberries. She also brought French bread and assorted crackers to serve them on. Anne contributed tortilla chips and Glinda made the guacamole. Soon after this photo was taken, Sugar arrived with a delicious creamy hot artichoke dip to add to this bounty.

Annie had prosecco and cranberry juice ready for the first guests. In a little while Mindy came to the party with another bottle of prosecco and more juice. And a little while after that, Buffy arrived bearing a third bottle – has prosecco become our Signature Beverage?

Longtime friends Mattie and Karla always find something to laugh about

Sophia and Mindy are glad to be here

Longtime friends Sugar and Buffy look pretty amused, too!

What a feast! Perfectly roasted turkey with bread & sausage stuffing made by Annie; Karla’s dish of Special Asparagus made eating your vegetables a treat. Mattie’s Crunchy Mixed Kale salad was a hit and the Butternut, Baby Green, Pistachio & Blueberry Salad from Mindy turned everyone into salad fans.

I don’t know if Sugar’s Fancy Mashed Potatoes had secret ingredients but they were addictive!
Buffy’s Cranberry Sauce went way beyond the ordinary and the Rolls were perfection.

Sophia and Mattie were glad to escape from their demanding jobs and spend the day relaxing together

Karla, Mindy and Buffy know how to enjoy every minute they spend together

We did not rush, appreciating the work put into making every dish delicious. After we finished our lunch, we decided dessert could wait a while. We folded one of the tables, began the cleanup process and got ready to play the traditional swap & steal game with the gifts.

As the late afternoon winter light turned the room golden, we began to play. After many rounds and some hysterical laughter we all had a gift to take home. (Blame some of the unfocused photos on how much everyone was laughing.)
Diva Annie won this cool birdhouse made in Africa of sustainable materials -  brought by Mattie.

Glinda brought bronze metal mushrooms on springy stems – Mattie and Karla each held onto them for one turn but those fungi went home with Sophia.

Annie found cool copper poppies on long stems – Glinda got these (and they look fabulous in my garden!)

Buffy brought a black garden trug and really good gloves from the Natural Gardener – taken home by Karla

Diva gifts tend to come in odd shapes and the wrapping can be very creative – what could be inside this big plastic sack?

Aha! Mindy had hidden a decorative spade with attached birdhouse inside the sack … Sophia opened it but Mattie quickly stole it!

Sugar brought cool garden signs (one from Maine) and Mindy won them

Karla brought a Metal Centerpiece with Mason Jars for candles or flowers – Sugar took it home.

Sophia brought a big metal rooster disguised in a storage bin – oh, my – Buffy was quite pleased to win this prize!

Dessert was an experiment. I (Glinda) wanted to make something with the Almond, egg, raisin and Amaretto flavors of our traditional Amaretto Bread Pudding, but without the gluten – a problem for some of us.
When an episode of the Great British Bake Off on PBS/KLRU introduced me to the Joconde-sponge-based Opera Cake, it seemed like a fun idea to try. Layers of eggy, no-flour sponge were alternated with an almond, amaretto, golden raisin and fig filling and a chocolate-amaretto buttercream frosting, decorated with holly sprinkles to look festive

We missed the creamy soupyness of the bread pudding but the flavours (oops, been watching those Brit shows too much - that should be flavors) were spot on.

We drove home through drizzly fog, glad for another happy Holidiva day.

This post, 2015 December Holidiva Day, was written by Diva Glinda/Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog

2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe

This post, "2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe", was posted by AnnieinAustin/Diva Glinda to the divasofthedirt at blogspot dot com blog. If you are reading it elsewhere this copyrighted material has been used without permission. 

Our January meeting is a planning meeting - we leave the work clothes and garden gloves at home and head off to a local restaurant for conversation and brunch while we set up the calendars.
This year Sophia suggested a trip to East Side Cafe - one of those iconic places that make Austin into Austin.
Buffy immediately approved - she's such a fan that she bought their cookbook on her last visit. Some of us had been there before but it would be a first visit for others.


For brunch on a Saturday we'd need reservations - it's a very popular place. Mindy took care of the reservations and the usual flurry of emails followed, setting up carpools and sharing directions. 

The Divas of the Dirt had a great time at East Side Cafe - a pleasant room, well-made, inventive dishes with quality ingredients and as always, we had lots to talk about. The midday January sun streamed strongly through the windows, washing out the photos but sun is so welcome in mid-winter.

Mindy, Sophia, Sugar, Mattie and Karla are glad to be together.


Since Annie and Glinda were sitting on the shady side of the table they were the only Divas in focus that day!


Would that sun shine on our project days in 2015? Would we bake in heat or would we be rained out? Since this is Central Texas, the odds were that our workdays would swing wildly between hot, cool, wet, dry, overcast and sunny, muddy and dusty.

February was set as the first meeting of 2015 with Buffy taking her turn as hostess... you'll have to come back to find out!

This post, "2015 - January Planning Brunch at East Side Cafe", was posted by AnnieinAustin/Diva Glinda to the divasofthedirt at blogspot dot com blog. If you are reading it elsewhere this copyrighted material has been used without permission. 

2014 - May 3 Inside Austin Garden Tour

This post, "2014 - May 3 Inside Austin Garden Tour" was written by Glinda/Annieinaustin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

Something special happens in Austin, about every 18 months... it's the Inside Austin Gardens Tour, presented by Travis County Master Gardeners Association and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In 2015 the tour will take place in October, but in 2014 the tour was in May. Three of the Divas of the Dirt were there and we'd like to share a few photos.

DivaAnnie and Oz were impressed by this huge agave at Lori's garden.

One of the gardens belonged to a member of the Howard family - a while back, Howard's Nursery on Koenig was a go-to place for many gardeners. This garden featured beautiful vignettes tucked into the borders.

And the assembled glass garden art reminded us of our own dish art project in September.

Another of the gardens featured an almost full-sized Longhorn steer.
Mindy says Hook 'em!

And a whimsical tree with a face called for a group photo. Mindy, DivaAnnie and Glinda hope you also get to have fun with your friends on a garden tour!

This post, "2014 - May 3 Inside Austin Garden Tour" was written by Glinda/Annieinaustin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.