emmie9999, try corn if you want to and have some extra room (particularly if you expand your beds). I live in the country in PA, with lots of corn around. There's a farmstand a half-mile up the road that always has great corn, but I still grow some of my own, just becauase it feels good to look out and see a little patch of corn in my garden. (But I've got a pretty big garden, so I'm not so worried about the space.) This year I'm increasing the fun factor by experimenting with a couple of open-pollinated heirloom varieties along with a regular supersweet hybrid type. You can plant a small patch of corn, but then it helps to hand-pollinate it to get good ears. When the silks show up, cut off some bits of the tassles from the top and dust it over the silks. CAVEAT: I haven't tried that yet, but I read somewhere here that it works well. I'm going to try it this year. Last year I had one very small patch of late summer corn that didn't pollinate well -- I didn't know about hand-pollinating then. A lot of my gardening is just aimed at getting fresh veggies, but a lot of it is also just for fun. I grow some dried beans, for instance. From the perspective of food, it doesn't make any sense, since you can buy a pound of dried beans in the market for about 80 cents. But I grow old heirloom varieties, like Steuben and Amish Knuttle, which you can't get in the market. I don't have room to plant enough to get more than about 1-2 pounds of dried beans per variety, but the beans are pretty and it's just fun. With green beans, you might consider pole beans. You get a much larger harvest from a small amount of garden space. You also can harvest a lot of it standing up. And the teepees look lovely -- I make mine out of 7- or 8-foot lengths of bamboo. One of the downsides is that you can't use row covers (at least not easily), if you're planning on using covers. You also have to make sure the teepees don't shade something else in the garden. One last downside to teepees is that occasionally a good wind will make them start leaning, especially in the early summer before the beans are strong enough to anchor them. Have fun and good luck with your garden.

In Emma, by Jane Austen, there's a big strawberry picking party, and pigeon pie and cold lamb are served at a picnic. And in Mansfield Park, there's mention of gooseberry pie. Dickens has lots of food, but I think most of it might be too heavy for a summer party. In A Christmas Carol, he mentions roast goose, applesauce, mashed potatoes and gravy and the plum pudding. Also, "turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch." Virginia Woolf centers a meal in To the Lighthouse around Boeuf en Daube. In A Room of One's Own, she describes a luncheon of soles in white sauce, partridges, with sauces and salads, potatoes, brussels sprouts and pudding, either rice or tapioca. In Mrs. Dalloway, there's a big party with chicken in aspic, salmon, ice-cream, soup, and pudding. There's a lunch scene with turbot and a casseroled chicken, and another with lots of cream cakes. The Wind in the Willows has this picnic menu: âÂÂcoldtonguecoldhamícold beefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscress sandwichespottedmeatgingerbeer lemonadesodawater." From The Hobbit: pork pie, apple tart, buttered scones, raspberry jam, seed cakes, cold chicken, bread, mince pie, cheese, biscuits, salad, pickles, ham, eggs, beer, ale, tea, coffee. And that was just one meal. From Brideshead Revisited, which has a ton of food descriptions: soup of oseille, a sole quite simply cooked in a white-wine sauce, a caneton àla presse, a lemon soufflé, caviar aux blinis. There's also plover eggs, lobster Newburg, pickled walnuts and cheese. Pumpkin juice from Harry Potter? Green eggs and ham?

I made these last year and although it sounds like an unusual combination of ingredients, after people tried them, they didn't last long. SAVORY DATE RUGELACH  makes 4 dozen 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups walnuts, divided 4 oz. blue cheese, cut into cubes 48 pitted dates (about 12 oz.) 1 large egg white 1 tsp. water Dough: In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy. Stir in flour and salt just until blended (or use mixer on low speed). Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten each into a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Filling: In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse ½ cup walnuts until finely chopped; reserve in small bowl. In same food processor, pulse blue cheese and remaining 1 cup of walnuts 7 to 8 times or until a coarse mixture forms. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large cookie sheets with foil; grease foil. (I used parchment paper.) On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll 1 disk of dough into a 10-inch round. Cut into 12 equal wedges. Beginning 1 inch from outside edge, sprinkle 1/2 cup blue cheese mixture in 2 Âinch wide ring on dough, leaving dough exposed in center. Place one whole date crosswise on wide end of each wedge. Starting at wide end, roll up each wedge, jelly-roll fashion. Place rugelach, 1 inch apart, on cookie sheets, point side down. Repeat with remaining four dough disks. In small bowl, beat egg white and water. Brush rolls with egg white and sprinkle with reserved walnuts. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden, rotating sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking. Let stand for a minute or two and then transfer to wire racks to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature up to 3 days. To make ahead: Arrange unbaked rugelach in single layer in jelly roll pan; cover and freeze until firm. Remove from pan and place in freezer containers with waxed paper in between each layer. Seal and freeze up to 3 months. About 45 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large cookie sheets with foil; grease foil. Arrange frozen rugelach on prepared cookie sheets and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden.

I took some pics today since some new things had opened. Queen of Sweden - A really terrific rose; healthy, beautiful flowers and blue/green foliage, floriferous, vigorous, nice fruity myrrh fragrance, etc. These only came from Chamblee's last spring! Pearl d'Or Charles de Mills Belle Isis more Marianne Susan Williams-Ellis - great rose, deserves more attention And Marie Pavie - Also received only last year from Chamblee's. They sell great plants! -Chris