A Herbal Affair ~ The Top 3 Tips For Herb Gardening Success

A Herbal Affair - The Top 3 Tips For Herb Gardening Success

 

 A Herbal Affair ~ The Top 3 Tips For Herb Gardening Success

Over the years of gardening I have gain some garden wisdom, most of it from trial and error, and reading many, many books on gardening. To make your gardening life easier to start here are my top 3 tips for herb gardening success to make your plants grow and prosper beautifully!

I love Gardening, I hope I give you some inspiration to grow beautiful plants that will nourish you body and soul!  And of course a Herbal Affair 😉 A  little bit about me and my gardening inspirations!

I have been gardening for years….My best fond memories of a garden was going into my father’s garden as a kid and stealing the raw pea pods to eat ! OMG….they were like heaven to me! They never made it to the dinner table! Then there was my grandfather’s garden…..he had a gigantic garden, at least it looked that way to me as a kid….It was always so perfect and it always looked so pretty to me….little did I know all the work that went into that garden!……He had this grape vine….thick skinned Concord grapes that would melt in your mouth!  Yes….It was the first thing I did when going to visit him was to run to that grape vine to eat those yummy grapes! Someday I will try to learn to grow those in Florida!

So that is where my gardening journey began…..My chores consisted of weeding the garden before I was allowed to go and play with my friends!  I look back and I have a big smile on my face just thinking about these memories! I have gardened from Maine to Florida , each place had its challenges for sure! I have learned through much trial and error, have always tried to organically garden with companion plants and natural fertilizers. 

A Herbal Affair - The Top 3 Tips For Herb Gardening Success

# 1 ~ Your first step in growing is to pick the healthiest plants you can find. Try to find a nursery near you that grow their own plants! Look for healthy plant, bright color, with plenty of foliage. Look closely at the plants to make sure there aren’t any white aphids on them!

# 2 ~ Planting your herbs in the correct spot is vital along with growing plants together that like each other! Herbs have friends too! As I go through the month I will give you that info for each herb! One very important and fun step to having healthy plants is harvesting the herbs for recipes , teas or ointments!! If you don’t do this on a regular basis your herb plants will get leggy and die. By pruning you encourage new growth which will keep your plants healthy and producing for a long time. I try to do this on a weekly basis and will be giving you tips on that as well! Some herbs you will use the seeds which is the end of the life cycle for that plant.  The best way to do that is to get seeds of that plant to start new plants once a month!

# 3 ~ The best way to water your herbs is the morning hours. You should water the soil and not the leaves if possible to prevent mildew and disease. Here in Florida it is tough to keep plants in containers from drying out. With morning watering and some tips I will share for larger containers your herbs should be happy and thrive! I have learned the hard way container growing herbs in pots and will share some great tips to make sure they get the moisture they need to be healthy!

Do you have any great memories of gardening when you were a kid? What do you love about gardening? Any questions let me know, I love sharing gardening tips! Please share them!

xoxo  Jan

A Herbal Affair ~ The Top 3 Tips For Herb Gardening Success

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Cocktails – Pink Dusk ~ With Whipped Cream Vodka and Cranberry

Cocktail recipe with whipped cream vodka and cranberry

Cocktail recipe with whipped cream vodka and cranberry

Ever feel like having a cocktail that is light, easy and delicious but also easy to whip together?

This great go to cocktail is so easy with only 2 ingredients ~ with Whipped Cream Vodka and Cranberry juice. Fabulous cocktails don’t have to be complicated to be delicious. If your like me your tired of the same thing but end up grabbing that glass of wine. Trying to keep your girlish figure you also want to watch what you drink, but you want to find something to quench your thirst so you can chill out a bit!

Oh and did I mention it is also weight watchers friendly!  Only 2 points if you use Diet cranberry juice! Heck with all the different flavors of cranberry juice out there  you can even switch it up by using pineapple, mango, or wave berry  Pink Dusk!

Lets get to it! I used Ocean spray cranberry juice cocktail to keep the weight watchers points down. Just a splash of it gives it the sweetness you need to make it taste like heaven! For the vodka I used Smirnoff whipped cream. They work perfectly together and always have both on hand.

Drink recipe with whipped cream vodka and cranberry

Are you a Tervis user?  During beach and boating season you will always find me with a Tervis in my hand!

To make this drink using your large 24 oz Tervis, completely fill it with ice and add the whipped cream vodka to the indentation, fill with water leaving a little room for your cranberry juice and you are good to go enjoy your drink while it stays nice and cold for you and looks pretty 🙂

 I can’t wait to hear all the variety’s of Pink Dusk that you come up with!

 You must let me know what you think of this delightful concoction . You can also click on the recipe card below to print 🙂

Lets drift away and enjoy our pink dusk cocktail.

Cocktail Recipe - Pink Dusk ~ Whipped Cream Vodka and Crandberry

Cocktail Pink Dusk Whipped Cream Vodka and Cranberry

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Fabulous St Patricks day cocktail

In this new series  you will be seeing the Best… Fun… Delicious… Cocktails ……..to serve up for your guests!

I will be searching the Web, Online, Offline, Foreign country’s, Jungles,  ….(well you get the point) So you don’t have to 🙂

Make this your go to guide for all the yummy drinks you MUST try!

When The Sky Turns Pink It’s Time For a Drink!

St Patrick's Day Mint Schnapps Shake

 

 

 

 

St Patricks Day Mint Schnapps Shakes

Of course being a Boston  Girl it is so fitting to start this of with a drink for my Irish friends!

So I searched the web for you and back to that sweet lady Sandra Lee.

You gotta love anything the is easy, delish, and Oh So Pretty!  PS… The better the Ice Cream you use the more DELISH it is!!

St Patricks Day Mint Schnapps Shakes

Ingredients1 pint vanilla ice cream (2 cups)
1/4 cup peppermint schnapps
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 to 4 drops green liquid food coloring
2 mint sprigsDirectionsBlend the ice cream, peppermint schnapps, vanilla and food coloring in a blender until smooth. Pour into two serving glasses and garnish each with a mint sprig.Copyright 2013 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reservedRead more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/st-patricks-day-mint-schnapps-shakes.html?oc=linkback

 

With Love and Gratitude

Jan

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