2018 APRIL – Mattie’s Garden Day

This post - 2018 APRIL - Mattie’s Garden Day - was written by Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt Blog.

A few days before her scheduled garden day, Mattie emailed a photo of her native unscented Mock Orange (Philadelphus inodorus) in full, glorious bloom.

Mattie had a few wishes for her garden day – some mulching, some pruning, and maybe a little destruction.

By the time I got there Mattie, Annie, Karla, Mindy, Buffy and Sophia had arrived and were still visiting in the kitchen. We went out to check out the back yard. It looked pretty good but neighbors had planned alterations on the other side of the fence and that would have an impact on Mattie’s view. The idea was to make her side of the fence better. 

The winter had been cold enough to knock the Barbados cherries down. They weren’t dead and were beginning to resprout so needed the old dead wood cut out.

The Cast Iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) also needed grooming. Divas Annie and Sophia went to work.

Mattie thought the variegated Pittosporum should be tamed and shaped. Mindy and Karla volunteered. I can’t dig or kneel, but I can still prune, so joined them.

Mattie pointed out a pear tree along the back fence that wasn’t growing much. She hoped we could dig it out and move it. That pear hadn’t been planted in that spot very long so it probably was not very established. Once the soil around it was loosened, merely holding the trunk while rocking it back and forth was enough to pop the tree out. The tree roots still showed the shape of the container it had once occupied.

 Here’s the Destruction part of the day: When Mattie bought her house it came with a rather beat-up Rubbermaid shed. After a few years of Central Texas weather it was even more beat-up! Mattie had no use for it and it blocked the area where she wanted small trees and shrubs as screening plants.

Karla, Mattie and Mindy looked that shed over and decided they could dismantle it and disappear it.

First the doors came off.

Next the roof was gone, then the sides – soon there would be a blank spot along the fence.

The final step - the pear and another shrub were planted next to an itty bitty redbud, the beginning of a living green screen.

The back looked pretty good by 1:20pm – time for all the Divas of the Dirt to go to the front of the house for a little weeding, trimming and mulching. The ‘Cinco de Mayo’ rose, ‘Julia Child’ rose and St Joseph lilies were beautiful, but we can make this curbside bed look better!

Buffy picked up the hedge trimmer and showed the big boxwood who was boss.

Around 3pm lunch was announced – Mattie had a fun, nostalgic menu planned, with favorite foods from her childhood: Waffle potato chips, baked-not-grilled cheese sandwiches, dill pickle slices, sweet gherkins, a big shredded salad with broccoli and tomato soup with butter.

We caught up on individual news, from projected vacations to fender-benders, from a newly adopted dog to doctor visits. At one point the conversation turned to the variety of British TV detective series now streaming on various services – there are so many available that many other people must also like them!

For dessert Mattie had baked Ghirardelli Brownies, making them with blood orange oil… that alone made them fabulous while a scoop of vanilla ice cream took them over the top.

Around 4:30pm the Divas of the Dirt left a mulched and weeded garden for Mattie – oh, those spectacular roses, even in the harsh late afternoon light!

Barbie enjoyed our visit but was not sorry to see us go – all she wanted to do now was to lie on the grass, squinting into the sun and enjoying the warmth.

A few days later Mattie emailed some After photos taken in morning light –

Here are the Aspidistra elatior AKA Cast Iron plants all spruced up.

And here is the variegated Pittosporum with stray branches removed for a better shape.

Finally, this lovely view from Mattie’s kitchen window – a pair of wrens had moved into the birdhouse.

This post - 2018 APRIL - Mattie’s Garden Day - was written by Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt Blog.

2017- DECEMBER HOLIDIVA DAY

This post, 2017 – December Holidiva Day -  was written by Diva Glinda/AKA Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

We Divas of the Dirt sneaked that last garden day into the 2017 schedule in the nick of time. Just a few days later the pleasant gardening weather was gone and the arrival of a cold front, some rain, a touch of frost and a dusting of snow let us know that it really was December. We were all in the mood to go to Buffy’s house for the annual Holidiva Day lunch and the gift-stealing game.

When I arrived hostess Buffy was cooking and Sophia was constructing an enormous salad. Annie, Buffy and Mindy went into the dining room to set the table – Mindy showed off her origami skills by making the napkins into Birds-of-Paradise. Fun!

 The early afternoon sun cast shadows over the room, adding a bit of magic.

We love the traditional Poinsettia cocktails – another Mindy speciality. (Yes, I said speciality instead of specialty… have I watched too much Brit TV of late?)

 Along with Poinsettias Buffy had eggnog and wine. Diva Annie and hostess Buffy raised a toast to friendship. They’ve been part of this group for almost 20 years.

The appetizers this year were brought by me, Glinda. I made a cold crab dip and a hot spinach-artichoke dip with assorted crackers.

We had our favorite cocktails, stuff to munch, and good friends to share them with – Karla, Glinda and Annie are happy to be here. [photo by Diva Mattie]

 Mindy shared hugs with visiting pup Barbie. [photo by Diva Mattie]

 Buffy, Mindy, Annie, Karla, Mattie, Sophia, Glinda and Sugar were all present and ready for lunch. What was on the menu for 2017?

 Sophia likes salads that surprise – in addition to expected salad ingredients like small tomatoes, red onions, croutons and lovely greens this huge bowl had olives, hearts of palm and Ciliegine – those perfect little cherry-sized balls of fresh mozzarella.

 Buffy’s elegant choice of entrée was greeted with delight – Prime Rib Roast. I didn’t write it down, but am pretty sure there was horseradish sauce.

Buffy decided the way to add puffy goodness to Prime Rib would be individual Yorkshire Puddings.

Mattie found a long, slow recipe from Ree Drummond of the Pioneer Woman. Look at these Burgundy Mushrooms, with red wine and dill seed. They cooked for more than nine hours.

Mindy loves roasted vegetables – she made Special Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic vinegar. 

Annie also used a recipe from Ree Drummond of the Pioneer Woman – yummy Hasselback potatoes.

Karla turned to a recipe from Juniper Hills Farm in Dripping Springs to make Honey Roasted Carrots with walnuts, raisins and mint. 

After lunch, Buffy’s son snapped this photo of the Divas of the Dirt. Thank you!

Mattie knew that pups like special lunches, too. She shared little bits of the prime rib with her dog Barbie, Buffy’s Fredric and the chihuahua sisters Lynda & Luci.

 Watching the dogs cavort with Mattie was great post-lunch entertainment!

 The gifts under the tree were ready for the stealing game.

But first things first – we’d been looking at that sparkly winter-scene cake for a loooong time! Sugar had put together layers of gingerbread cake and cream cheese frosting, topped it with a small gingerbread house and then arranged trees made of inverted rosemary, all presented on a base that looked like a slice of tree trunk… very special.

Look at those layers of gingerbready goodness.

We drew numbers from a bowl and Mattie had first choice. She unwrapped a heavy cast metal figure of a Painted Bunting brought by Buffy.

Mindy chose a burlap bag brought by Mattie and found another bird-themed gift… a metal hummingbird sculpture. (Sorry it’s so hard to see against the dark tree.)

Sophia unveiled an artistic gift brought by Annie – a metal peacock and plant peg. A third metal bird? Is this a theme?

Mattie liked the bunting statue but she didn’t get to keep it… Glinda’s turn was next and she stole the bird.

Since her original choice had been swiped, Mattie went for a new choice – it turned out to be a Blue Butterfly coir mat brought by Glinda.

See that bag Annie is holding in the photo? She thought the hummingbird sculpture was just her style and on the next turn she swiped the hummingbird from Mindy.

With the hummingbird gone, Mindy got a new turn – she unwrapped a set of extremely decorative but rather bossy letters on sticks from Sugar.

Annie didn’t hold onto the swag-bag for too long. Sugar’s turn was next so she restole the hummingbird and with the rules in her favor, got to keep it.

On her next try Annie unwrapped a beautiful ceramic basket brought by Mindy. It also looks like Annie’s style, doesn’t it?

Karla opened a gift from Sophia – a beautiful glass globe. Don’t you love the way the light in the room makes Karla look like a fortune teller looking into a crystal ball?

Finally our hostess Buffy had her turn. (Whenever Buffy sits down she immediately has a lapful of chihuahuas.) She unwrapped a very cool metal hoop-shaped mobile from Karla.

The year ahead would be challenging but our Holidiva Day was pretty perfect. As our musician friend Bob says – Peace and Love, everyone!

This post, 2017 – December Holidiva Day -  was written by Diva Glinda/AKA Annie in Austin for the Divas of the Dirt blog.

2017 – NOVEMBER MATTIE’S GARDEN DAY

The Divas of the Dirt rewrote the lyrics of an old song to “It’s a long, long time from June to November” – yes, that’s how long it had been since the last time we gardened together. Travel plans, work schedules and health issues had the Divas scrambling to find doable dates.

Sugar could not come and Sophia was coughing and confined to bed so Annie, Karla, Buffy, Mindy and Glinda wielded their tools at Mattie’s house on a fine, warm fall day.

There was no specific project but general pruning, tidying and getting ready for what we in Austin call “Winter”. We spent some time just looking around the garden, seeing what was in bloom and deciding where to start. The front rose bed needed clean-up but that didn’t stop Mattie and Mindy from admiring the roses.

We tried to identify tree saplings planted by birds, wind and squirrels. This tree was growing quite nicely but what kind is it? My guess was some kind of ash - maybe an Arizona ash if they were still being planted when Mattie’s subdivision was built. What do you think?

Mattie had a problem with this variegated pittosporum. It seemed to have grown an awful lot since our last visit. Aha! See those solid green leaves at upper left? The variegated boughs of the pittosporum were relatively well-behaved but some solid-leaved trunks were growing from the rootstock. They’re not well-behaved and were crowding the part Mattie wants.

We Divas own some serious loppers and we know how to use them – once the rogues were cut out, the rest of the shrub looked darned good.

Buffy tackled the big boxwood with hedge clippers but I didn’t catch a photo, darn it.

Lantana is a great, drought tolerant, colorful plant – but it’s also a thug! Divas Annie and Mattie placed this bed next in line for taming.

This rosemary was out-of-bounds, smothering everything else in the bed. Although it looks green in the photo, the green needles were only a shell on the outside. The interior was all brown stems and needles. Unfortunately it was no longer worth keeping.

The adorable Fredric enjoyed visiting canine friends Barbie and Jeffy but he didn’t like being in the house away from the humans. It was very hard to resist that little face but it is safer to keep the pets inside unless we’re working behind the fence.

We’d already done a lot by that point – time to drop the tools and take a break.

Coming into the dining room we admired the absolutely smashing flower arrangement that graced Mattie’s table.

The first course was an elegant Butternut squash and shrimp soup with toppings of coconut, lime and cilantro. Everyone relaxed and we began to talk about every subject under the sun.

The counter was covered with an expansive array of goodies. Take a closer look.

Salsa, chips, guacamole, pretzel rolls and a big green salad.

Chicken salad, olives, herbed cheese, pickles, Gouda-pimento (!!) cheese and crackers.

Then a super-good apple cobbler with ice cream and welcome cups of coffee.

We’d had a few odd encounters with Nature during the day, including what may have been Palmetto bug nymphs jumping out and running around on the Divas who attacked the rosemary. For the Divas working on the pittosporum there were nicely hidden piles of poop donated by the neighbors’ cat. We made it through these minor irritants and decided we’d left Mattie’s house looking good.

The next day Mattie took a photo and sent it to us – yes, looking good! 

This post, 2017 – NOVEMBER  MATTIE’S GARDEN DAY, was written by Annie in Austin/Diva Glinda for the Divas of the Dirt blog.