A few years ago I pulled up my deep California roots and headed for Asheville, North Carolina in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Proof positive I was there is the photo above of a lovely row of Bradford pears, one of my favorites taken during the two years I was there. I have kept my association with Asheville alive through tendrils that reach through social media, email and telephone. So I was quite delighted to discover recently that the Biltmore Estate was about to feature its annual Flower Carpet event, and made the decision to invite you on a virtual tour, even though it’s been several years I myself was at the Biltmore, having made the journey in the company of my father when he came to visit.

the Biltmore House at nightfall

I am imagining many of you know the history of the Biltmore Estate, and surely many of you have visited the grounds. The Biltmore was the vision of George W. Vanderbilt, who opened the house to his family and friends on Christmas Eve in 1895. Imagine! The Biltmore is essentially a 250 room French Renaissance chateau, and the estate includes over 8,000 acres including, yes, the gardens, originally designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. [Clickity click recommended!]

And now that I have thoroughly whetted your appetites, dear gardnerers, let me just put you over the top with this amazingly beautiful image of last year’s Flower Carpet at the Biltmore!

Biltmore Estate continues this marvelous annual event, based on a very old Indian tradition, beginning August 14! This year’s Flower Carpet design is a fleur de lis pattern based on a stone pillar found on the outside of Biltmore House. The plants being used in this year’s flower carpet include salvia, begonias, marigolds, zinnias, and dusty miller. [I promise to post a pic at the end of this post once they are available!] This wonderful display, featuring more than 100,000 plants on nearly one quarter of an acre is available to public through August 30th. More details here.

And if journeying to Asheville is just a bit of a stretch for you, here’s a treat: a vid that will give you an idea of how much work went into the Flower Carpet! Aren’t you glad they got to assemble it in the haze of an overcast sky? How amazing to have participated! Enjoy!

Love and gardening venture blessings!
Kathryn xoxo

As promised!

Flower Carpet at the Biltmore ’09

Posted on August 11th, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: Field Trips | 16 Comments »

Dearest readers, many many months ago I detailed how I make scones, which I now make weekly. The above photo will show you how they have evolved as I am now experimenting with using fresh fruit, particularly berries. This morning’s lot I filled with blackberries which I am slowly harvesting from the front yard. This was a wild thing which in the past I’d clipped back, as it’s growing among the nandina, but in light of a shift towards more homegrown foods I thought I’d take advantage of its living amongst us and let it spread, which I’m glad I did.

I’ve plucked at least $15 worth of berries from its thorny stalks in the last ten days, and I know they are organic, lovingly cared for and tenderly picked. So they are included in today’s scone fare and it turns out they are a good choice and lovely besides. Happy result.

The scones are part of an ever growing trend in my home to have certain prepared foods on hand, ready for our busy lives: an Always There list. There are always scones. There is always green tea. There are a few others I’m slowly establishing. This week the one I’m most excited about is iced chai, for hot summer days, of which there have been abundance lately!

Prior, for years, I always have made chai on holidays. Recently it occurred to me to ask why? Why not make it frequently? We love it. It’s right up there with “saving” your favorite dress or shoes or bag (or china) for special occasions. And there’s a place for that, surely. But why relegate chai to only a few times a year when we adore it and it’s so good for us? Added to this expansive line of thinking I decided to try iced chai, which was such a hit I made the leap to add it to the Always There list. This involves a slight inner commitment of time and resources. I have done that and today was my first day. I’m going to share with you how I do that and perhaps you will decide to do same. Over the years I’ve become rather applauded for this recipe so and I’m pleased and honored to share with you today.

This is so easy. First you cut up a big piece of ginger root. You probably are aware that ginger root aids in digestion, stimulates circulation and is a powerful anti-inflammatory. How wonderful I’m increasing this marvelous food used for centuries in this capacity into my diet.

Place the ginger in a stainless steel pan with seven cups of water, two or three sticks of cinnamon, and a small handful of cardamom seeds. (I counted this morning; I used 18.) Cardamom is also good for facilitating digestion. There are also some interesting studies in Scandinavia regarding the combining of cinnamon with honey for arthritis pain. Check that out. Bottom line: chai is good for you and beyond delicious.

Bring to a slow boil, then cover with the lid ajar and let this mixture boil for about a half an hour. The only thing you need to do is to take a wooden spoon and push the cardamom seeds up against side of pan so they open, releasing their goodness and fragrance into the mixture. It will now look like this.

OK, you’ve removed from heat. Now to this mixture you want to add eight to ten English Breakfast tea bags. If they have strings, cut them off without puncturing the bags. They just create a tangle later. Cover this and allow to steep for at least ten minutes. Then remove lid and add two cups of high quality milk. [Note I swear by Strauss Family Dairy whole milk, which I can get in N. CA. I don’t know their distribution range.] Now add honey to taste. And allow to thoroughly cool.

I now remove all the tea bags, but leave the other ingredients for their great goodness only enhances with time. I put into a nice sturdy red Le Creuset pitcher I happen to own and love. This will invariably become The Chai pitcher for the rest of summer, reliably in the front of the frig. Happy us.

And here is how I chose to serve ours today. We prefer iced chai sans ice, ironically. Chilled is enough for us. But traditionally, I am certain, iced chai would be chock full of, well, ice! 🙂

I do hope you will try the chai. Please let me know how you liked it. And may this nurture your bodies, your homes and your spirits.

Love and kitchen blessings!
Kathryn xoxo
Yummy postscript: Began wondering this hot summer afternoon how vanilla ice cream would fare in iced chai. Let me highly recommend chai floats!!

Posted on July 21st, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Work | 22 Comments »