Hey everyone!
For the past several weeks, I have been experiencing some "technical difficulties" here on my blog. I finally had to call in the big guns (aka - a programmer) and well...They are still working on it. Once we get it all sorted out, I have a slew of posts backed up that will roll out as soon as possible. So stay tuned and thanks for your patience!
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I love a good homemade marmalade – not the overly sweet, artificially flavored junk you find in the grocery store. No. I’m talking about an honest-to-goodness homemade marmalade where the citrus flavor pops the minute it hits your tongue.
Yeah…THAT.
Just as the flavor of a homegrown tomato cannot compare to the grocery store version, so too is it with homemade marmalade.
Many people think that making marmalade is too hard or even scary. But it really is not difficult – especially if you understand a few of the tricks. Here’s the scoop on how to make great marmalade and I’ve included a simple, yet delicious recipe to get you started.
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It started with a simple idea.
LaManda Joy was standing in her local, Chicago neighborhood butcher shop a few years ago, when she noticed a vintage photo on the wall. It was a Victory Garden from WWII that had once stood right in her neighborhood. It was the standard nostalgic photo with straight rows of vegetables and had been taken during the gardens peak production in 1943.
Peterson Ave. WWII Victory Garden 1943
A few days later, as LaManda was driving down that same street, her eyes drifted over to a large abandoned, unused lot and…it clicked! THAT was part of the same lot as the photo on the butcher shop wall!
It was an Aha-Moment for LaManda as she pondered,
“What if, we revitalize that vacant lot into a modern, neighborhood Victory Garden – a community garden where people can reconnect with their food source?”
You might be thinking…Who has thoughts like that?
Well, luckily for us – LaManda does!
I’ll go ahead and tell you the happy ending. She set to work and within just a few short months (and a lot of passionate work) that vacant lot became…
100′s and 100′s of people volunteer and grow food in the 157 plots each year.
The story of how that happened is a great one. But, the story of what happened after that is even better!
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“Each bouquet tells a story about one moment in time, about Grandmother’s cherished flower vase or the fleeting memory that returns with a whiff of lavender or lilac. That’s one of the intangible gifts of bringing flowers into our lives.”-Debra Prinzing, Slow Flowers
From Debra Prinzing's new book, Slow Flowers
First there was slow food.
Now, thanks to Debra Prinzing, we are discussing Slow Flowers!
Debra Prinzing by Mary Grace Long Photography
Debra Prinzing is a dear writer friend of mine with incredible talent. Based in Seattle, WA, she writes for numerous magazines and newspapers (including the Los Angeles Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Gardens and many, many others). It is always a thrill to pick up a magazine and see her byline because you just know it’s going to be good.
She is also the author of many books including one of my favorites: The 50 Mile Bouquet with photographer extraordinaire, David Perry. And it was with that book that her current journey started.
The 50 Mile Bouquet showcased the local, sustainable flower-growing movement and the farmers and florists making a difference. All of us at Growing A Greener World TV enjoyed that book so much, we filmed an entire episode on it and I had the pleasure of writing it.
Now in her newest book Slow Flowers, Debra brings that message home and shows us the DIY info on how to enjoy local, in season flowers ALL YEAR LONG. (Yes, even in winter.) What started as a challenge to herself to create a fresh, local bouquets all 52 weeks of the year, quickly turned into an entire book.
According to Debra, it doesn’t matter if you are growing the plant material yourself, foraging it from the wild or buying it from your local organic farmer. You really CAN find local/sustainable plant material and the fun is in being creative with it! In her book, she gives arrangement ideas, earth-friendly floral techniques and even a few “secrets” for long-lasting blooms. It is a beautiful book filled with valuable information.
The giveaway at the end of this post is closed, but there is still some great info about the book and slow flowers below!
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As I am closing in on the final posts of my 31 days of living homegrown, I wanted to mention something important.
I recently had a discussion with a group of writers about perfection in our writing. When we write magazine articles, blogs or even TV shows, we usually only showcase the best (most perfect) parts. As writers, we write about many of the things we have been doing for many years. But we didn’t become good at it overnight. And usually when we showcase it, we are sharing our secrets or tips on how we figured it out.
Apple Crop #Fail
I think sometimes when we are sharing our information with perfect photos, it can look like we never have failures. But we do! Lots of them. It can take a lot of trial and error to get to the point of sharing. [click to continue…]
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Theresa Loe is the award- winning Co-Executive Producer & Canning Expert on Growing A Greener World TV. She blogs here about Living Homegrown®, local and fresh-from-the-garden. MORE >>
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