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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Foodie Sunday: “The Return of the Birds... My constant love affair with Food, Cimbalom and a fabulous giveaway!

By Beth

The first time that I smelled Cimbalom , that glorious Jasmine soaked perfume created by the incomparably darling Roxana Villa, I was still in my beloved California, surrounded by packing boxes, filled with bittersweet confusion because our son was moving home and although I was very happy at the thought of having him in Cleveland again, I’d loved the space we’d shared as family while he was going to school out west. It was a time when we had him to ourselves, when we could be a family together in a gorgeous tranquil space and I’d come to depend on it for my own bit of zen.

I had exquisite small gardens there, containers filled with beautiful herbs that I cooked with, plentiful pots of fresh basil, strawberries and sage that always greeted me upon my arrival and a jasmine plant that was so fragrant that I can still smell it now as I type this. I loved to cook in my little kitchen there and because the farmers markets are so plentiful all year round our table was always filled with the freshest vegetables prepared as simply as possible. The cheeses were the stuff that dreams are made of ; fresh burrata drizzled with the local olive oil, nestled on a soft bed of my homegrown Genovese basil and garnished with heirloom tomatoes that were as fork tender as butter.

I made so many good friends out west, Roxana and her darling husband Greg among them and I was feeling sad because I didn’t know when I would return. It was October and I knew just by the way that my horses coats were filling out at home that it was going to be a long cold winter. If you’ve ever spent anytime in a Cleveland winter you know that while we have culture and plenty of it, we do lack sunshine. We have root vegetables galore, but the tomatoes taste like cardboard until summer and there is no spring corn! It’s only towards the end of March when you can begin to find shoots of wild things…..a bit of watercress here , a shoot of a wild leek or two poking it’s head through the leftover crusty bits of icy snow and dirt.

So sadly, Cimbalom became quickly intertwined with the leaving of that home because Cimbalom IS the scent of Southern California and it’s rampantly wild abundance of orange blossoms, patchouli, gingery spice and sun. The sultry sweetness it contains was for months a reminder that my address in the West is presently a storage unit where all of our belongings are living and patiently awaiting our return. Sadly I put the little vial and pot in my perfume cupboard because I couldn’t bear the feelings that it provoked every time I smelled it. Buttery burrata and slices of juicy, gorgeously perfumed Cavaillon melon wrapped with locally made prosciutto became just a cherished memory! I still dream at least once a week that Jim and I are sitting at the top of the La Jolla Cove eating meals of fresh mussels and California spiny lobsters roasted in butter, eaten with crusty French bread and washed down with a chilled and lemony local Viognier.

But reality has a way of settling in when you want it least and for many of us here in the Northeast the winter of 2011 has been the stuff of legends, with snow piling up by the foot, no sun and bitter temperatures that were icy to the marrow. One day when I couldn’t stand it anymore I grabbed the little pot of Cimbalom solid perfume that Roxana had given me and opened it. If you’ve never worn her solid perfumes they are all buttery sweetness, filled with beeswax and the botanicals that she lovingly crafts herself. Dipping my fingers into that little pot of perfume I remembered the first time that I met the beautiful Greenwitch of the California canyons who coaxes the honey from the bees and the nectar from all the flowers and herbs that grow in her lovely gardens.

Although we’d become fast friends through email and many wonderful phone conversations we’d never met face to face. One day about a year and a half ago Jim and I made the gorgeous drive up the coast to Los Angeles. We wound round the beautiful canyon roads until we finally came to a most magical little place, a bright and peaceful home filled with gardens and surrounded by the coastal oak trees that Roxana loves.

We got out of the car and in that instant my experience of what perfume could be changed forever. The meal that I ate that day began with the sharing of beautiful goblets filled with branch water and perfumed with a true jasmine hydrosol that she offered with the gift of a wish for a beautiful day. I had never smelled nor drunk anything as delightful as this before. It was the true, clear essence of the enchanting jasmine flower and it was at once instantly relaxing, transformative and refreshing. She and her delightful husband Greg then served us homemade cumin scented, buttery chicken empanadas and delicious almond macarons that had been lovingly crafted by Roxana’s daughter Eve. I spent the afternoon in the best company, enjoying a home that IS the essence of what the art of perfume has the potential to be. It is that very energy that infuses Roxana’s Illuminated Perfumes with a spirit and energy that is alchemy in its truest and most personal form.

So Cimbalom and I have begun a torrid springtime love affair and my silly sadness is gone, replaced by the knowledge that my Ohio gardens will soon be planted and my California eagerly awaits our return. I am grateful to have the best of both worlds and as I type, there are stacks of seed catalogs piled up by my side. When I look outside I can finally see my vegetable garden where the leftover leeks have survived the winter and the vibrant shoots of my fraise de Bois are shaking themselves out happily and threatening to take over the whole garden bed! The anise hyssop that I planted last year to seduce the honeybees and provide me with pots of deliciously relaxing tea is beginning stir and so is the asparagus!

The very essence of this scent lies in it’s sweet breath of fresh air, of the sun warmed earth as it begins to slowly break free of the cold, sending up green shoots that bear in their souls the promise of a fruitful harvest. I have sprinkled each corner of my garden with a few precious drops, my own spell, a wish for an abundant spring and for the safe return of the bees. It is the breath of California that lives on in my heart and is teaching me to create a bit of heaven on earth wherever I am. Dinner tonight? Garlicky Mussels and Viognier. I may be stubborn but I can be taught!

I have a little springtime present for one of you…a precious vial of Cimbalom liquid and a delightful little pot of the golden solid. If you want it, all you have to do is tell me what you are planting in your gardens this spring and I’ll enter you in the drawing!


You can purchase Cimbalom at Illuminated Perfume

Photograph of Cimbalom by Roxana Villa. The picture with the Jasmine is my California garden and the one with the bee skep is my Cleveland garden.

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72 Comments:

Blogger Maggie O'Boyle said...

What am I planting? Geraniums, iris, heritage roses, butter lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, mint and sweet woodruff. My bulbs are already in the ground with snowdrops expected first.

12:32 AM EDT  
Anonymous elaine said...

I will be planting roses,daisies and lilies,herbs and tomato plants.
I am so ready for spring and am waiting for my daffodils to poke through the soil!

Elaine R
emrosser@shaw.ca

12:46 AM EDT  
Blogger a.k.a. Warum said...

We're still figuring out what grows well in our cool coastal climate. So, from the good experience of last year we'll be planting radishes, and the greens grow pretty well, especially chard, but we're kind of tired growing it. We already have thyme, mint, and lemon balm and might add sage, rosemary and tarragon.

Thanks for the draw!

1:05 AM EDT  
Anonymous Lavanya said...

your posts are always so evocative, Beth!

I really need to try Roxana perfumes.
I am not really planting anything- didn't reserve a spot in the garden in time- but if I could I would plant tuberoses and mint..
Farmers market is one of my favorite 'things' about living in California- fresh produce all year through!

1:15 AM EDT  
Blogger elizabeth said...

What a beautiful article! I will plant cherry tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and maybe sugar snap peas. And basil, of course! I should get on that soon, I guess...thanks for this fantastic chance to win. I have been wanting to try Roxana's scents for a while, so maybe this will be my chance!

1:57 AM EDT  
Blogger Elizabeth Zaffarano said...

Oh my goodness! I am moving, but I know I'll bring my little olive tree along. Once settled, I'd love to add some mint, and maybe a rose-scented geranium or lemon verbena.

2:25 AM EDT  
Blogger Tama said...

Beautiful post!

I have already planted a tuberose I bought at the Farmer's Market - of course there was a cold snap and it may not have made it.

We just cleared a couple of trees that blocked all my light - I will hopefully be putting in some lettuces and flowers. Too late for a rose, perhaps, but I will look. It's a new beginning.

3:04 AM EDT  
Blogger Kay Tyler said...

Hi Beth, it's Autumn (fall) here in Australia and sadly, I'm not a green thumb. I am totally in awe of people who are but it just seems like there is so much to learn I wouldn't know where to begin! Just a comment on Cimbalom - last year I sampled a collection of liquid and solid perfumes from Roxana and I was absolutely delighted. I used up all of my cimbalom pretty quick smart, which at the time was only available in the solid. It's a very beautiful scent. I think she is amazing and your story of visiting her home was magical. Thanks for all of your awesome posts!

3:37 AM EDT  
Blogger marsha said...

Beth: Your posts are an absolute delight, with the perfect ability to take the reader to where ever Beth is talking about. I won't be planting a garden, but if I was, I would be planting acidy tomatoes, sweet basil, orange mint, thyme, roses that smell, garlic, lemon verbena, chives, dahlias, and a butterfly bush

Love you - Marsha

7:10 AM EDT  
Blogger waftbyCarol said...

Hello Beth...you have conjured the vision of what Californians do th their visitors...seduce them with the bounty that is Californian Hospitality !
I have tomato plants set out already a foot high , my basil seedlings are coming along in the greenhouse , the pepper plants are small , but I planted them the other day . Here in Florida , Spring comes early !
I met Roxana at Sniffa a few years ago , and posess a sample set of some of her fragrances . Vespertina and Chaparral are gorgeous , but I have never sniffed Cimbalom - would love To !
Thanks for the lovely draw .

7:14 AM EDT  
Anonymous Nancy H. said...

Dill, thyme, basil, parsley, and petunias are the sure things. Can anyone suggest some great-smelling flowers that grow well in containers? I live in zone 6.

8:15 AM EDT  
Blogger rosarita said...

We'll be planting spinach & snowpeas, followed by eggplant, at least 4 varieties of peppers, yellow tomatoes, zucchini & kale. And morning glories & moonflowers, and I'll try catnip again.....thanks for the opportunity.

8:22 AM EDT  
Blogger ~elise said...

Can't wait for spring here in Cleve as well! We are planting cukes and yellow pear cherry tomatoes! And if I can ever get some good poke cherry seeds, that too!

8:29 AM EDT  
Blogger Phyllis said...

It's container gardening for me on the patio. Pots of basil, thyme, mint and chives. My indoor fig, jasmine and oleander will summer outdoor as well.
Great post...thanks.

8:29 AM EDT  
Anonymous Marie said...

I don't have a garden per se, but if I did I would plant tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and lots of different herbs for lots of delicious summer salads!

8:51 AM EDT  
Anonymous Poppy said...

Beautiful post! Tomato plants in containers on my balcony, and hopefully white ginger lilies if I am fortunate enough to locate some seeds or rhizomes! With my two potted gardenias and potted jasmine, I sadly won't have very much room left for anything else on my apartment balcony.

9:01 AM EDT  
Blogger Stacey said...

What a great post, Beth! I can almost relate living here in Columbus, Ohio, though we don't get the winter nearly as much as you do up North. No garden for me, as we rent the house we're living in so can't go too crazy. But we do have a lilac bush that should be starting to show soon if it ever stays warm!

And after your description of Cimbalom, I really can't wait to try it!

9:36 AM EDT  
Blogger Tiara said...

We're in a very shady neighborhood on a very shady lot so all we plant are partial sun annuals like impatiens and dragonwing begonias. We have a wide variety of hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, and oakleaf hydrangeas that thrive in the shade of old beech, maple, oak and sycamore trees. We wish we had enough sun for tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and the like!

9:42 AM EDT  
Blogger Carol said...

hello fellow NE Ohioan! Gorgeous post!

I'm hoping to grow okra, pickling cukes and asian eggplants (and of course tomatoes and peppers) - not many flowers or herbs this year.

10:24 AM EDT  
Anonymous Kirsten said...

Inspiring post!

It's our second summer in the desert west of El Paso. I learned some things last summer, and hope to have a more successful gardening year. Tomatoes, eggplant and peppers (because they do so well), lavendar and sage and rosemary, and probably some new fruit trees now that we have moved our back wall and have an extra 15 feet of space to fill.

10:39 AM EDT  
Anonymous *jen said...

I am too ill to plant too much, but we'll put out the usual annuals to bolster the perennials. :)

10:40 AM EDT  
Anonymous Amy H. said...

Beth, what a love letter to California, sunshine, long growing seasons, and the idea of terroir. Your description of your visit and meal with Roxana sounds perfect. I love both Cimbalom (spring/summer - life, heat, desire) and Q (fall/winter - fallowness, woods, potential, embers), and truly believe Roxana is inspired to create these incredibly beautiful scents by where she lives and who she is, and that the scents embody all of these things. I feel that every time I wear them.

I won't be planting my garden this spring because of an upcoming move, but in the past I have planted basil, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. The anise hyssop comes back on it's own every year.

10:53 AM EDT  
Blogger Janet said...

Dahlias and poppies in the front and veggies in the back.Lots of herbs everywhere.

My Daffodils are almost gone now!

11:37 AM EDT  
Blogger snowpavement said...

I long to return to California where I grew up, mainly La Jolla and Del Mar. I have been in Vancouver, BC for 40 years! Arghh! In my shade garden this year I am concentrating on begonias, because they remind me of California! Rich, deep colors that are very south-of-the -border as they give off light here, in the grey, cold climes. I love the way you rave about the purity of it all!

11:39 AM EDT  
Blogger BEadECLECTIC said...

I'm planting so much! Tomatoes, green peppers, basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary (my potted orsemary just died :( ), kale, lettuce, beans, an abundance of flowers, a tree and lots more. :)

bead.eclectic at gmail.com
Valerie

11:47 AM EDT  
Blogger Tara said...

This spring I am going to try and revive my roses. Each year they start out great and then get a fungus and wither away. So I am going to try to stay on top of the feeding and spraying and hopefully it will be a good rose year.

I would love to plant daffodils as well...I have a little hill they would look magical on.

Thanks for entering me in the draw

12:01 PM EDT  
Anonymous BARBARA O said...

A ROSE! A VERY DARK RED ONE!

12:58 PM EDT  
Blogger Illuminated Perfume said...

Beth, how very fortunate we are to hear your fabulous adventures! I'm deeply grateful to be included in your flavor filled fragrant tale.

We are preparing the top slope for raised beds. In the meantime, I'm planting African Blue Basil in pots for the my honey bees.

1:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Beth! I'd love to win the Cimbalom - I've been eyeing it for awhile. I learn something new every year gardening here (near Boulder, CO). It's high and dry here. My rhubarb is coming up, and I'll be planting spinach and salad greens very soon. After that, everything (tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, peppers, onions, herbs, etc). Thanks -
Debby

1:31 PM EDT  
Anonymous Isayah said...

I live up north (in Quebec , Canada), and our gardening season is still far away, BUT today, I planted three tuberose bulbs in a large pot; by mid june I will tranfer them to a sunny spot in my garden and hopefully they will bloom by the end of July.
What a thrill!
It is the first time I try this!
I just cant wait!

1:49 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

Springtime! I'm planting nasturtium seeds, alyssum and some new ferns and grasses for my part sun, mostly shady little dirt patch:)

1:52 PM EDT  
Blogger ARO said...

now that's a good question, because i am fortunate enought to have two.. Our Sacramento garden has already been started (it never really stopped.) and provided cilantro to brighten the celery soup (also from the garden) that greeted me last night, fresh off the red-eye from Boston. We bought a new grapefruit tree, and of course, some tomatoes. Still worried about whether the rains of last month will ruin the crops, but hoping..

While in Boston, the lillies are beginning to send up leaves. As for annuals, still in planning stages. Of course kitchen herbs in the planters on the porch, how else can one get marjoram? But then what? We shall see

1:55 PM EDT  
Anonymous Lessa said...

Begonias! My little back deck garden is very shaded, but the begonias never fail to bloom in profusion anyway. :) Probably also forget-me-nots and some mint, the only herb I can get to grow without lots of sunshine.

2:05 PM EDT  
Blogger Laurie Brown said...

Oh, I'm planting so many things. All sorts of vegetables and herbs, of course- heirloom tomatoes, many, many types of peppers hot and sweet, salad greens of many colors and tastes. But also flowers- petunias for a season of bloom they being such great workhorses, Queen Anne's Lace for the beneficial insects and bouquet filler, older sweet peas for their fragrance, morning glories, sunflowers.

Most of my flower garden is perennials and shrubs, so I just have to wait for the roses (although I'm planting many more of them this year, where I don't know!) and iris and daylilies and peonies...but I always find more plants I have to add.

I grew up in Los Angeles and both of my bedroom windows had a night blooming jasmine bush under them. I miss that scent so very badly- I tried growing them indoors up here but they did badly. I went back down to CA to help a friend move and when I discovered that the Star Jasmine was in bloom everywhere, I was quite an embarrassment with my nose constantly in the shrubs.

2:11 PM EDT  
Anonymous rosiegreen62 said...

I will be planting onions,shallots,english peas, potatoes
basil, jalapenos, heirloom tomatoes and whatever calls my name at the nursery. We are trying to be more self sufficient, so most of my gardening will be for fresh foods. Though I have to plant more dill, chives and some pansies.I love their faces.

4:01 PM EDT  
Anonymous Maureen said...

it is a beautiful spring here in Devon,England following a rough winter (by our standards!) which pales into insignificance compared to Ohio. What it has meant is a sad inventory of the tender plants which can usually live here but didn't make it this year. So I will be replacing my beloved Melianthus major which I think I have lost. So some California sunshine smells would be great!

4:02 PM EDT  
Blogger Susan said...

I don't have a garden... I'll probably get a hanging pot of petunias for my balcony!

4:14 PM EDT  
Blogger Margaret said...

More antique roses, iris, english dogwood. Would you like to take a peek?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSfuZSsZyM

Thanks for the very lovely giveaway!

Margaret
margaretbergen17@gmail.com

4:31 PM EDT  
Blogger fey said...

My husband is going to build a little garden plot on our roof...the only place that gets more then 4 hours of sun and I will be planting kale, salad greens and tomatoes! I'm so excited about this.
In our part sun - part shade garden I plan to plant more Japanese anemones. They do beautifully in our Oregon Coastal gardens.
Thank you for your wonderful post today.

5:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Stacy said...

This year tomatoes and basil in pots on the balcony. I used to live in southern California though and ever since I've want to have olive trees. Thank you for the great giveaway.

5:11 PM EDT  
Anonymous Geordan said...

I bought a house last year and I'm trying to determine what to plant. I'm not a green thumb by any sense of the word, but I would like to get lilacs on the property, so at this point, that's what I'm planting.

5:23 PM EDT  
Blogger Balutakat said...

I've just moved to a small place in Seattle, Washington. Everything's going into pots - crocuses, irises,lilies, herbs, heirloom tomatoes. I've had to move frequently the last few years and I'm going to "put down roots" and take them with me, if necessary, this time.

5:47 PM EDT  
Anonymous Denise Miller said...

Hi Beth. Your California sounds like a fun filled, sun dappled, feast for the senses. I love that you've decided to make a happy place in Ohio for now.As for my garden here in Georgia there will be rhubarb, corn, zucchini, peppers, lettuce. On the porch will be tomatoes and strawberries and under the porch is a blueberry bush. I recently read a perfume blog about GreenWitch by Roxanna and went to her site to learn more. I'm very interested in trying the Cimbalom. Thanks for offering this sample!

7:18 PM EDT  
Blogger Nancy said...

Basil, oregano, Italian parsley, Curly parsley, African daisies, lemon yellow petunias, oxalis (2 varieties),Lavender, purple sage, Copper Canyon daisies, Blackfoot daisies, Alyssum, Caladiums, for starters. Also waiting for the wildflowers to pop.
Please enter me.

7:41 PM EDT  
Anonymous Cynthia said...

This weekend I planted mint, basil and cilantro.

9:48 PM EDT  
Blogger womo531 said...

Lol does what my mom is planting count? She's been coming home with various flowering shrubs while I've been enjoying the orange blossoms that's been blooming =)

10:21 PM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

Marina: What on earth is branch water? I must try this, could you let me know how I could get some?

I'm not planting in my garden this year -- October is the planting month and I missed my window. My garden, in which I used to spend endless hours, has become a source of great sadness since my neighbors pulled out a vine-like bush that spanned many yards atop my railroad ties retaining walls and bloomed pale blue flowers leaving me a view of all the junk they keep under their deck (not to mention orange sand bags).

12:49 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

Opps - I thought the bi-line said "Marina" sorry, Beth!

12:53 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Strawberries, tulips, narcissus, roses, taht's all. Thanks for entering me! Alica - alica@cleis.net

1:43 AM EDT  
Anonymous Jiyin said...

I have a new house and a new yard, so I've been very busy planting! Mostly I'm putting in drought resistant succulents, but also a lot of rosemary and lavender. I'm also putting up some tomatoes, because I love tomatoes, and they're worth all the water.

1:43 AM EDT  
Blogger Isa said...

I planted some days ago a geranium cutting and not it has beautiful pink flowers.

I have planted a Garden Balsam too. It's growing so fast. I'm impressed.

And my jasmin is full of flowers now. They smell great :)

I would love to have a chance to try Cimbalom. Thank you!

6:14 AM EDT  
Blogger Proximity said...

Unfortunately my husband and I are not lucky enough to have a garden or any land of our own, but we do keep indoor plants, as well as two flower planters in our window. We are planting herbs this Spring! a large collection of herbs, and I'm crossing my fingers that they will take off this year - but for some reason the ones I'm most excited about at the moment is the dill and the coriander.

7:54 AM EDT  
Blogger lovethescents said...

I have never tried any Roxana fragrances yet. I really hope I can be fortunate enough to win this :-)!! Fingers crossed....

We'll be planting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, possibly squash, definitely several herb varieties. I wish I could do zucchini but last year, the young ones kept rotting on the vine. I'm not sure why? It was heartbreaking.

Thank you for this opportunity!

8:35 AM EDT  
Blogger kathleen said...

A lilac bush! I would love a little vegetable garden, but so would the deer and rabbits.

9:09 AM EDT  
Blogger lyrical said...

Ah... this year I'll see if the lemon thyme from last year can be encouraged to "carpet" with a few more plugs, and putting in a border of either lavender or santolina. I'm also going to try to grow shiitake mushrooms.

11:48 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Planting, you must be kidding. The official planting time here is Memorial Day weekend. That's a full two months away. When that time comes, I will be planting herbs in pots for the steps to the upper level of my deck. I usually do rosemary, tarragon, oregano, curry plant, parsley, chives, garlic chives, chervil, and whatever else I can find. I also do a bunch of pots on the steps leading to our front door. For them, I do pelargoniums with a variety of trailing flowers for fun. Hanging baskets go on either side of the garage. Fun. Alas, no basil for me. It just doesn't grow in our climate. As for tomatoes. We only get to harvest in especially warm years. But hope springs eternal. Please enter me for the liquid Cimbalom drawing. Thanks much.
Nan
horowitz@acsalaska.net

12:25 PM EDT  
Anonymous grizzlesnort said...

I just planted 2 purple daphnes by the front gate, 2 miniature rhodies inside the fence, 2 corydalis-the blue one that is supposed to smell like gardenia, a flowering plum that tops out at 5 feet in the bed by the garage. Please enter me in your drawing.

12:35 PM EDT  
Anonymous maggiecat said...

With my husband's happy consent, i am appropriating part of the front lawn near the porch for rose bushes. I'm planning an herb garden in the back, but will have to wait to recover from upcoming carpal tunnel surgery to really get started (though the basil I ursed through the winter is starting to look better already!) Thanks for the lovely post!

1:06 PM EDT  
Blogger Janet said...

I will be planting cherry tomatoes, basil, rosemary, jalapeno and sage. I wish I could grow night blooming jasmine here in MA, but alas, no go.

2:59 PM EDT  
Blogger Alice said...

I'm planting new azaleas this spring. Also, some monkey grass. We may get some patio tomatoes as well.

7:52 PM EDT  
Anonymous Lisa said...

We just started some arugula yesterday... can't get any fresher than that!
the_outsider01AThotmailDOTcom

9:52 PM EDT  
Blogger KathyT said...

I am planting catmint, parsley, iris, hosta, and gaura this year. If I can find the ones I want, I will plant some more azaleas too.

Thanks for the drawing.

10:47 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am trying to set up my first container garden, and it'll have rosemary, lavender, basil, mint, and lemon thyme, if I can get it all going. And I'm commenting because SoCal in the spring is indeed a lovely place to be!

Riley (wrylee001 at gmail dot com)

12:30 PM EDT  
Blogger ccdouglass said...

Sadly, I'm in an apartment and don't have a place to plant, but if I did I would plant tomatoes, pansies, and various herbs. Thanks for the draw!

5:04 PM EDT  
Blogger Vanessa said...

What a droolworthy post!

I kill plants so probably don't qualify for the draw. That said, two of the "ears" fell off my prickly pear cactus during the winter frost, and I shoved them in some soil in a little pot on the kitchen windowsill, and miraculously one of the pads has now sprouted its own mini-ear!

7:12 PM EDT  
Anonymous zeram1 said...

I'm planting a bunch of herbs this year, for my cooking need: basil, parsley, Tuscan mint, garlic chives, and thyme

8:53 PM EDT  
Blogger Laurinha said...

I don't have much of a garden, I'm afraid, but I'm planting rocket in a pot out on the patio; it's great to have those yummy salad leaves always at the ready!

5:15 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I finally got my fava beans into the ground--probably too late! But this year, I am planning to grow zukes, crookneck and pattypan squash, at least three tomatoes, some green, yellow and purple beans and snow peas. For flowers--I am hankering for zaluzenskaya, and looking for a good spot for a brugmansia. The rhodies are about to bloom-- spring is finally here. I love Roxxana's perfumes--thank you for the inspiring post!! Mary

11:47 AM EDT  
Anonymous hotlanta linda said...

300 pachysandra plants - and yes, there is help!! :-)

11:48 AM EDT  
Blogger Olive and Oud said...

This month I'm planting a spicy mesclun mix, pac choi's, arugula, lettuces, sugar snap peas, radishes, parsley. Later I'll add several varieties of basil, nasturtiums, tomatoes, pole beans. I have a very small gardening space in a community garden, but I plant densely and get a lot from it.

Roxana's perfumes are composed with such care. Thank you for the giveaway.

--Laura

9:01 AM EDT  
Blogger HJ said...

We're heading into Autumn where I live, although with the constant high temperatures, you'd think it was still summer, not the second month of fall! I'm really looking forward to the cooler months. :-)

The only things I'll be planting are herbs in pots as we'll start renovating our home shortly. And perhaps tame the mint threatening to take over my front raised garden bed.... not that I mind really lol.

Beth, what a beautiful post. Cimbalom is my absolute favourite of Roxana's perfumes that I've tried. I enjoyed wearing it through the winter months also, as it touches my heart in a way that gives me hope and reminds me of the spring to come.

2:08 AM EDT  
Blogger Beth Schreibman Gehring said...

My word....I've never seen so many fabulous postings! I told Roxana that reading them was like weaving a fabulous spell for spring. I wish all of you wonderful luck with your gardens this year! As always, thank you so much for reading and letting me know that you enjoy my musings. I enjoy reading your comments as well and simply knowing that you're out there in internet land makes me very happy.

All my love and brightest blessings for a very bountiful spring!
Best

2:33 PM EDT  

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