2012 Asheville Garden Bloggers Fling - Day 1, mid-day

After the creative recycling exuberance of the morning gardens on our tour, we headed over to the mellow kitchen garden at Sunny Point Cafe. With an enviable sizable plot next to the restaurant, Sunny Point Cafe is able to grow much of its produce steps away from the kitchen. Can't get much fresher than that. 

Next up we visited the wonderland of Wamboldtopia. Combine one part smuggler's cave, one part medieval church, one part industrial-revolution factory, and one part elfin enclave and you have Wamboldtopia.

One of the owners of Womboldtopia, Ricki Pierce, aka "The Rock Pirate" - is an obvious virtuoso of rock placement and stone masonry.  

I'm not sure who convinced Helen Yoest and myself to pose on the Rock Pirate truck but I was obviously into it. And we hadn't even had drinks yet. 

For lunch we headed over to Curve Studios, a set of warehouses transformed into wonderful gallery spaces and surrounded by beautiful gardens. 

I love this use of prefabricated steel mesh to create walls to the edible garden that keep critters out but allow lots of light in. 

It was a lovely place for lunch! Next we headed over for a pleasant stroll at the North Carolina Arboretum. I'll save those photos for the next post!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We went for lots of color on the tree this year. I love it. Having a kid has made me want to start collecting ornaments to bring out each year as another way to enjoy the memories of past holidays. Plus we were the happy recipients of his first handmade ornament this year.

The Most Delicious Berries You've Probably Never Tasted

I recently finished harvesting my crop of Ugni molinae, or Chilean Guava berries. I was given my first plant as a gift and wasn't all that impressed with its boxwood-esque look. Little did I know what deliciousness awaited. Once the tiny red berries start to ripen, the heady-sweet-fruity aroma will bowl you over. I planted a foundation hedge of Ugnis and this year my entire front yard smelled so sweet with the ripening berries. The taste is hard to describe. The best I can manage is strawberry/blueberry with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. It's good.

It is said that Queen Victoria's favorite jam was made from Ugni berries. I got a large enough crop for only about one jar of jam but decided to go for it anyway. I couldn't find a recipe anywhere on the web so I had to wing it. The berries are kind of dry so I added water with the sugar. Things were going well and it was beginning to set up when I realized I hadn't sterilized my jars (jar). Rushing to do that I let the sugar crystalize so my jam became candied Ugni berries instead. Oh well! I've been sprinkling them on granola, bowls of ice cream and I'm thinking about making a pumpkin/Ugni bread. So many uses! And next year I'll perfect the jam and we'll see what Queen Victoria was so wild about.