Target’s Latest Collaborations: It is Feeling like Fall!

August 22, 2012 — Leave a comment

Patch NYC: A new line from Target

It is no secret that I love Target. I shop there quite often, but one of my favorite things is their collaborations with different designers. I have lots of items from their Orla Kiely 2009 line decorating my house, a couple of things from the Liberty of London 2010 line and almost nothing from the Missoni line earlier last year. After the craziness of the Missoni launch, I am a little more dubious about getting too excited about anything, since I might have to fight some crazy lady for it. This fall they are going to be offering products from Patch NYC and The Curiosity Shoppe. As always these are limited while supplies last, with a debut date of September 9th.

The Curiosity Shoppe: A new line from Target

There is some nice looking stuff, with a definite fall feel to it. It is interesting because I am really liking the woodsy feeling items. Normally I am all about the color, but not this time. I thought I would show you what I have my eyes on. I am having sudden urges to buy a cabin in the woods.

My Picks from the new Target Lines: 1. Deer Canister, $29.99  2.Packaging, $5-10 3. Owl Pillow,$24.99 & Bunny Duvet, $99.99, 4. Woodpecker lamp, 49.99 5. Wood bowl,  $30 & Server Set, $15 6. Wood grain pillow, $24.99.

My favorite is the deer canister. Anything striking your fancy?

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In -Design, -Lighting, -Shopping, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS
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The Piano Area is Almost Done

August 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Piano w/ newly painted red lamps and kids artwork

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I have been feeling more motivated the last few days. I’m not sure if it is the cooler weather, the deadline for getting images together of the house or the hint that fall will be here in a couple of weeks, but I am going to try and keep it going for a while longer.

The piano area in our house is a prime candidate for clutter and until now didn’t have anything in particular on top except for one small lamp (which has been relocated to the kids play area upstairs). This landing zone is where we come in and out of the house most days and the area often becomes cluttered with stuff, particularly the top of the piano and the floor space around it. In my quest to make the piano area more polished looking, I bought 2 new lamps for over the piano last week to add some height. Over the weekend I managed to paint them and add ribbon to the lamp shades.

Martha Stewart Craft paint in Tartan Red with a Satin Finish, $2.99

I headed over to JoAnns to see what they had in paint. I was originally thinking that I would use spray paint, but I didn’t want a gloss and the choices in satin and matte were not so good. So I decided to take a look at the craft paint. I liked the look of the Martha Stewart craft paint (in Tartan Red) and decided that for the price it was worth a try. I also thought it might work better anyway because the lamps already had a slight brushed texture to them. Fortunately, the paint went on well in one coat. It was really easy because I just squeezed the paint right onto the brush, so clean up was super easy and I only used about 2/3 of the small container.

Gluing Grosgrain Ribbon onto the Lamp Shade

I also picked up some aqua grosgrain ribbon for the lamp shades for $3.99. I decided to try gluing it directly to the shade with craft glue (Alene’s Original Tacky Glue). I started at the back and used some scotch tape to hold it in place. Then in about 9″ increments I added glue to the ribbon and pulled it tight. Keeping it tight is key because the lamp shade is slightly smaller on the top then the bottom and it will pucker on the top if you aren’t careful.

Fixing a couple of spots on the ribbon

I had a couple of spots at the top where I needed to add more glue. I took a small piece of cardboard and carefully put a little bit of glue in the gap and pushed down with my finger. Then I waited over night and put them back on the piano the next morning.

Piano with new lamps and accessories

So now that the lamps were done it was time to add some more accessories. I started with a table runner by simrin that I bought a couple of years ago. I really like the color and pattern, but find that I don’t use it very often with the kids.

The kids birdhouses and a few of Sam’s treasures from Artcamp

I had already decided that I wanted to feature some of the kids artwork on top. I found an old brass (?) plate that we had and added one of my favorite books (Pattern by Orla Kiely).

Copper bowl filled with the kids nature display (cicada shell in foreground)

Next I  added a copper bowl filled with the kids “nature display”. We let the kids collect pine cones, leaves, pebbles and cicada shells and had been putting them on a small tray that was getting too full. This new bowl works well.

I have also added a new basket (from Homegoods) that sits on the adjacent shoe rack, to hold miscellaneous stuff.

Next on the list is new valances to match the ones in the Dining Room. I sewed them over the weekend, but I still need to pick up the wood and brackets to finish them up.

So far I am really liking the red lamps and new bit of color to this corner of the house. What do you think?

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In -Dining Room, DIY, OUR HOME
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Life & Trying to Make the House Look Pretty

August 16, 2012 — 2 Comments

My little helper

I know it has been a while! Life has been busy, fun, frustrating, tiring and everything in between the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to stop and enjoy some time with the kids before school starts. With my little man getting ready for kindergarten, there is going to be some adjusting. As part of the getting ready for fall, I have been trying to get the house in better order. It has been a painfully slow process. I did manage to get some of the shelves up in the Playroom. I am planning on adding a second set on top and some additional wall shelves. That will probably take a while, but at least we have some cubbies to start to put the kids stuff in.

Playroom Shelves, up but not organized!

Meanwhile, I saw that Jen from Rambling Renovators is going to be writing a book called Blogger Style. She is taking entries for interiors designed by bloggers (due by September 15th). It is a pretty exciting opportunity, even if my own chances of making the cut are small. I have also been meaning to put together a house tour for my blog for ages, so I am trying to use this as a catalyst for taking some pretty pictures of the house. I tend to get bogged down in the actual construction of things, and it feels like I never get around to the final pictures and staging. So for the next couple of weeks I am going to focus on the pretty aspect of my house and try to ignore all of the other unfinished big and small projects and put some makeup on her. After all I think she deserves it! I have certainly been pinning up enough pictures on pinterest for inspiration.

Kitchen Counter in progress

As part of this process I actually need to do a little shopping (mostly from around the house but it is also time to pick up a few things to make the house feel fresh). I am working on taking some photos now, so I can take a look and tweak things before I shoot better photos. It is amazing the things that are obvious only after you take a photograph (eek, those window sills need to be cleaned and I really need to oil the counters).

Kitchen Counter in progress

For example, the area on top of the piano had become a dumping ground. I am hoping by paying some attention to it, I can make it more of a focal point.

Piano w/ new lamps and kids artwork

I bought these new lamps yesterday at Homegoods. They were are really good deal ($29 a piece) and I really liked the height and shape.  I don’t care for the color. I am now trying to decide what color to paint them. I am currently thinking about red or blue.

Red Lamp Option

Blue Lamp Option

What do you think?

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In -Kitchen, -Playroom, FAMILY, OUR HOME
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Why Yes I Did Just Buy a Large Blue Metal Goat!

July 30, 2012 — 2 Comments

Our New Pet Goat

Mr. S. has always wanted a pet goat. Fortunately we have come to an agreement, and it involves a life size blue metal goat. We first spotted her in Lambertsville, NJ a couple of weeks ago and have been thinking about him ever since. We were back up that way yesterday and decided to bring her home. I’m in love! She does not have a name yet, we are waiting for the kids to decide on one. We picked her up at the People’s Store (which is mostly an Antique Store). She is from Mexico and the only downside is that she is quite pointy, and we will have to make a concerted effort to make sure that no children try to ride her. I am also going to look into getting some stakes for her feet (to keep her from falling over and to also keep her a little bit off the ground).

Goat munching on my Hellebores

I was originally thinking that she would go in the side garden but I think her current spot is nice, so we can see her from the kitchen window.

Goat and the Garage

What do you think? Are we crazy?

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In GARDENING & PLANTS
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Blooming This Week & A Little Break

July 24, 2012 — Leave a comment

Sam with Silphium perfoliatum (Cup Plant) &   Helianthus angustifolius (swamp sunflower) behind. Both are giant native flowers that bloom in mid-late summer. Both self-seed but are impressive this time of year.

Yesterday morning I managed to get myself outside to take a few pictures of the garden with my helper. It has been so hot until this weekend, that I have just been running back and forth between the driveway and the house and spending as little time as possible outside. I hope you enjoy seeing some perennials that thrive in the heat! As you would expect it is a lot of the native flowers that are doing especially well, including the black-eyed susans, joe pye weed and hardy hibiscus.

On a personal note, I will be taking a break from the blog for a little bit. Life is been crazy (in both good and bad ways) so I have decided that I need to take a couple of things off of my plate for the time being, including writing in every day. So for the next couple of weeks you will be seeing less from me. Please still feel free to email me or send a comment. I love to hear from everyone! I hope to come back inspired and full of new ideas.

Black-Eyed Susans

Joe Pye Weed

Hardy Hibiscus

Sam’s Hand with the Giant Hardy Hibiscus (Disco Ball)

Standard Garden Phlox

Crocosmia

Cherry Tomatoes

One surprise in the last week is that the crocosmia that I planted last year as bulbs have popped up in a couple of places. I have tried bulbs twice now and live plants once. I had finally given up thinking it wasn’t the right plant for my garden. It is not native but it is suppose to be an easy to grow bulb and thrives in hot sun and dry soil (the bulb can rot in wet soil). I planted this over a year ago (you typically plant them in the spring and they should bloom in the summer). I think I planted about 12 bulbs and have three blooming. It is nice to have this little garden present especially in this heat.

Shade Garden still looking pretty good without watering (and my new clock that I got for my birthday)!

My shade garden is also doing quite well given the weather. I think it helps that most of the plants are pretty established and it doesn’t get the crazy hot afternoon sun. Although all of the flowers on my hostas burned out in a couple of days.

What is blooming in your garden?

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In -Blooming This Week, FAMILY, GARDENING & PLANTS
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Beadboard Options & Ceiling with Removable Sections

July 20, 2012 — 15 Comments

Basement Beadboard Ceiling Details

The most popular question I get on my blog, is about the beadboard ceiling in the basement. I have promised to write a more detailed post. So here it goes…

I am become sort of a beadboard expert over the years. I didn’t start out this way, but our house is old and already had a good bit of beadboard, and I have had to patch some over the years as well as installing new. Beadboard and wood planking comes in all sorts of sizes and dimensions and range in price from totally affordable to kind of expensive. I’ve used a bunch of different varieties for different uses. In the basement we have used 3 different types.

Beadboard Detail at the Window

1. Walls: We used a classic full size tongue and groove beadboard for the walls. This is 3/4″ thick and approximately 6″ wide. One one side there is a “bead” in the middle and on one end, giving you about a 3″ repeat. On the back it is smooth with a simple v-groove at the joint. The basement already had some of this board on the walls, so we actually salvaged what we could for re-installation. The nice thing about this is that you don’t need any backup. This is strong enough to act as the wall surface. It is simply nailed to the studs. This is also what is installed on our porch roof (which is what this type of board was originally meant to be used for). Fortunately Home Depot sells it in 8′, 10′ and 12′ lengths.

Thin Plank Ceiling in Bathroom. This is permanently attached.

Our Dining Room Ceiling: Beadboard & Beams attached to a plywood substraight

2. Ceiling Option 1: For our Dining Room Ceiling and the Ceiling in the new basement Bathroom we used a thinner beadboard product. It is still tongue and groove but it is only about 3/8″ thick. This will tend to warp, so it usually requires a back up material (in our case 1/2″ plywood). This nice thing is that it is really light weight and easy to cut. These come in shorter length and are packaged in sets. They are available in pine unfinished and white, as both a beadboard and a plank product. For our Dining Room we used the beadboard and for our bathroom ceiling we used the plank. In both cases we went with the less expensive pine and primed and painted it ourselves. However this isn’t a good option for a removable ceiling since the piece are flimsy and have a tendency to warp if not attached to a substraight.

Basement Beadboard Ceiling Details

3. Ceiling Option 2: For our removable ceiling we want with a sheet product. This is about 1/8″ thick and is available in a 4’x8′ sheet and primed white. This is easy to work with and inexpensive. However because it is so thin it will tend to sag, so we had to be careful about not making the spacing too large. This also meant creating a “grid” out of wood for the panels to sit in. The nice thing about the thin panels is that it helped us maximize the ceiling height. We even bent one panel about 1/2″ to allow for an extra low pipe.

Ceiling w/ T-Shaped Pieces Installed

Step 1:We started by creating an upside down T shape out of 2 1×4 pieces and attaching them perpedicular to the floor joists above. This gave us enough space for the miscellaneous plumbing to fit.

Step 2: Rough in lights as required. We centered our in each “bay” of the ceiling. This took a lot of effort to come up with a pattern. Our ceiling was full of pipes and other obstructions (we are below the kitchen). I stood there for about a half hour with my contractor and a piece of paper trying to come up with an acceptable pattern.

Testing Panel Locations before Installing the Cross Piece

Step 3: Figure out the spacing on the panels and test fit.

Step 4: Install the cross pieces. We used 1×2 with a groove cut for the panel and notches out on either side for them to sit on the 1x4s running the other way.

Ceiling Before Painting

Step 5: Install all of the panels. Because everything is pretty snug it definitely takes a little adjusting to get them into place. We installed the ones with lights first,since the trim piece goes over the panel.  I have to say that it is kind of pain to move them, but I don’t plan on doing it very often (maybe once a year to tops). The one advantage I do see is that if I get a leak above (i.e. the dishwasher) it would most likely only require taking 1 panel out.

Finished Ceiling

Step 6: Paint. Okay so I should have painted the frame before putting the panels in, but I didn’t. Oh well. I really like how it came out.

Cost: I have also gotten several questions about cost. The materials themselves were not very expensive for this ceiling. Most of the cost is in the labor, for installing the upside down T-pieces (while dodging pipes), cutting the panels to fit and making the cross-pieces. It is also pretty slow going! If you are up for doing it yourself and you have the time, I think it is worth it. Paying for a contractor to do it, is definitely not cheap though.

More Questions? Just add a comment and I will do my best to answer them.

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In -Basement, -Cottage Style, DIY, OUR HOME
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Toy Storage and The Expedit Conundrum

July 18, 2012 — 5 Comments

Expedit Shelving Unit from Ikea, $69.99

I would love to say that I have some new excited thing to show you. I don’t at the moment (although I have a few swirling around in my head). Instead I am feeling overwhelmed by the toys in our little house. We have officially entered toy storage hell. Okay, maybe that is an overstatement, but the toys are taking over, particularly the Legos and little characters. My old storage systems are no longer working now that the kids have gotten older (and the toys more plentiful). It is now time to rethink and readjust! The kids playroom (the old nursery) has become the holder of a lot of the toys, but it is chaos in there! There is dress up clothes all over and little characters and vehicles lining the floor. We have also entered small Lego world, which means stepping on them at least once a day. We don’t have a lot of shelves for toys right now. Before we relied on low bins and tables to house everything. I now need to think more vertically. I am also looking for some more storage for the kids clothes (particularly out of season and clothes that they haven’t grown into yet), plus artwork storage.

I’ve been perusing shelving and bin options and I pretty much always end up back at the Ikea Expedit. I don’t love it, but it is so functional and affordable. I feel like they are overused, but the other shelves with similar cubbies are 3 and 4 times the price. I have vowed not to buy cheaply made furniture anymore, but it may provide useful storage for the foreseeable future for the kids. I also need to decide on something and move forward.

Land of Nod Container Options

Land of Nod Felt Containers

One thing I am not a big fan of are the box and bin choices for the unit. Fortunately I received a new Land of Nod catalog the other day, and there looking at me (in lots of pretty colors) were some really nice bins, baskets and tubs. They are designed to fit their system (which appears to be about 12×12 verses 13×13 for the Expedit). I am willing to give up that inch to get better looking containers.

Land of Nod Plastic Containers

Of course now comes my second conundrum. I love the softer felt containers, but I’ve heard that clear plastic ones work better with kids so that they can see what is inside easily. I think I may need to compromise and use some of each. I am thinking of also mixing in some boxes from the Container Store. Now if I can just get Maisie to stop “packing for trips” and hoarding toys in strange places, we might be able to get our house back under control.

Does anyone have any advice for toy storage for kids in the 3-5 age group or older?

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In -Furniture, FAMILY, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS
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New Chair

July 16, 2012 — 1 Comment

New Chair from One Kings Lane

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We had a pretty relaxing weekend, although I don’t think I am quite ready for the week. I realized that I haven’t shown you my latest chair and its new home.

So I bought this chair a little while back thinking that it would go in our Master Bedroom. Well, we are still a long way from working on that space, so it was in the Living Room, until we did some rearranging and I moved it to the Dining Room last month. I like it in here so much that I think it will stay here for  a while and  I might need to look for a new chair for the bedroom.In its new location it is a good resting spot for putting on shoes or sitting and talking to someone while they are on the computer (which happens more than I would like).

Chair in Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower

The chair was from One Kings Lane is no longer available, but the fabric is “Waverly Santa Maria Desert Flower” and is $19.99 a yard. They also have a coordinating zigzag and flower fabric, and it comes in a couple of colorways. I really do love the fabric. It is so fun, but it is definitely a statement piece.

P.S. I have some new exciting projects in the works, which I hope to share soon. I hope everyone has a good week and stays cool!

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In -Dining Room, -Fabric, -Furniture, INTERIOR PRODUCTS, FURNITURE & FABRICS
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DIY Sandbox with Lid & Benches

July 13, 2012 — 25 Comments

Completed DIY Sandbox w/ benches and Lid (and beach umbrella)

Today is my long overdue instructions on building our new sandbox! It seems like as soon as we had it finished the weather was too hot to use it. And now the mosquitoes are in rare form making it uncomfortable to be outside. Fortunately, I convinced Maisie that a little time out there this morning would be nice.

I wrote about the first part of the installation a while ago. I thought I would show Part 1 again so that everything was in one place.

Inspiration

Sandbox Design from Ana White’s website

We decided to go with the plans from Ana White’s website based on this design. Of course I had to tweak it a bit (when have I ever gone the easy way). The design is for a 4′x4′ model. We decided to go with a 5′x4′ design so that the kids would have a little bit more space for playing and to fill out the space. We also decided to use 2x10s for the sides. The design calls for 1x8s but since we wanted it deeper and we were widening it, I decided to increase the depth (plus a 1×10 and 2×10 are pretty much the same price). The nice thing about the plans is that they are designed to use standard length lumber, so all I needed to do was adjust a few pieces from 8′ lengths to 10′ lengths to make it work. I also added an extra piece to the back of the bench on each side to accommodate the extra foot (so there are 3 boards instead of two).

Site Leveled & Ready for Installation


Step 1: Locate the Sandbox and Prepare the Site

First on the list was moving the big piece of slate over to accommodate the sandbox. For this I used a spade and all of my arm strength to push it over the 5′. It was a pain and took me an embarrassing amount of time, but I managed to do it myself. Of course it wasn’t level! So it took last weekend with the help of Mr. S. holding it up to actually level it out. Then we leveled out the ground under the sandbox, moved/cut back a few plants and we were set. We also added the landscape/weed blocker fabric to the bottom, to help keep the sand separated from the dirt.

Wood Cut & Landscape Fabric Added

Step 2: Pick Up the Wood & Cut to Length

I went over to Home Depot and picked up the pine boards (I didn’t want to use pressure treated in an area with kids). I had the guy at HD cut the 2×10 boards for me, since my saw only cuts up to a 2×8 in one pass. Of course I hadn’t double checked my measurements so I still ended up having to cut the shorter pieces again at home. All told I spent about $96 for the wood, screws, glue and hinges. I spent about an hour measuring and cutting all of the wood.

 Step 3: Finish the Wood

This is by far the longest step. We are staining our wood green to match our garage and shed. We had some already, which was nice. The downside is that it is oil and takes a while to dry. Since almost all the wood will be visible depending on whether it is open or closed we need to finish all of the sides. I am using a small roller with the stain. I am still NOT finished with this. It needs 2 coats and so far only the bottom has 2 full coats. Everything else only has one coat right now. Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating with us. I am hoping to have all of the staining done by the weekend so I can get this finished!

The kids taking a break from the water table to test out the sandbox

Step 4: Installing the Base/Sides:

Mr. S. stained the base 2x10s first, so those were ready to go in (we are leaving the side that will be exposed to the sand unfinished because I am concerned with it wearing off with the sand against it). We used nice long 3″ screws (3 per corner). I use almost exclusively screws with star bits. Home Depot now sells them (I use to have to hunt them down) in the deck screw area. I LOVE these! No slipping or stripped screws. Plus they are meant for exterior use, so they will hold up well. The Home Depot ones are tanish yellow in color and blend in pretty well with the wood.

The kids using the sandbox for the first time

Step 5: Putting in the Sand

I bought six 50 lbs bags of play sand to get started (I think we will need another 6 or so to fill the 18 sf). I looked for play sand that had been “prewashed” to minimize any contaminants.

Half Finished Top/Bench

Step 6: Making the Lid

This is the most intimidating part of the project, but really isn’t that hard. We used 14 boards all together for this (+4 armrests & 4 back supports)

-2 1x4s on each side as the base for the seat (see left side of picture above). These are permanently screwed to the frame

-2 1x4s on each side for the seat (this part flips over and has the armrests on the inside)

-3 on each side for the back of the bench (2 1x4s and 1 1×6). On Ana White’s instructions they only use 2 1x4s but since we are a 1′ wider I need to add a 1×6 to each back.

A. The first thing you want to do is layout all of the boards to double check the spacing. We were in between 1/4″ and 1/2″ in between the boards. If you have a piece of scrap wood or cardboard and the right thickness this will help keep the joints even. I ended up using a piece of scrap Styrofoam that i had on hand from some packaging.

B. Screw in the permanently attached pieces on each side.

C. Screw the arm rests on to the seats (making sure that the spacing matches the pieces that you installed previously

D. Screw the back supports on to the back pieces.

E. Test fit the pieces to make sure everything is going to fit properly.

Back and seat being attached together with hinges

F. I found it was easiest to attach the back and seat together first. This allows you to install these in a flat position instead of at an angle (since these hinges are on the inside when the sandbox is closed). I used 3″ strap hinges that are galvanized.

Sandbox in closed position

G. Attach the seat and back to the box with hinges while everything is flat.

H. Attach handles if you are using them (we chose not to since it is pretty easy to lift the way it is).

Maisie in the sandbox

Step 7: Test out the new sandbox!

Maisie busy with some new sand toys

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We have a summer cold going through the house and are hoping a quiet weekend will give everyone the rest that they need.

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In DIY, FAMILY, GARDENING & PLANTS, Kids Outdoor Play Spaces
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PawPaw Tree Love & Why You Should Consider Growing One Too

July 11, 2012 — 6 Comments

PawPaw Fruit in July

One of the questions I get most often when people visit my garden is about my pawpaw tree. What is it? What are those weird potato looking fruits? What does pawpaw taste like?

PawPaw Flowers in Spring

I first came across the PawPaw tree (Asimina triloba) in my tropical garden phase about 7 years ago. Here was a plant that is totally native (to most of the eastern US), but had tropical qualities including a fruit I had never heard of! Fortunately at the Scott Arboretum plant sale (held every other year) they usually have small trees for sale. I patiently planted one almost 7 years ago and waited and waited. Meanwhile I had never actually tasted this custardy fruit (I went purely on the what I could find online).  About 4 years ago I finally got to taste one (from the Farmer’s Market in Reading Terminal). I bought it home and cut it open. It wasn’t as good as I was expecting. It was soft,  mushy and messy and it had giant seeds inside which made it even harder to eat. I thought that maybe I had made a mistake and I was going to end up with fruit that I didn’t actually like but took solace in the fact that it was a pretty tree. It wasn’t until another year when we got a lone pawpaw off of our tree (the squirrels ate a lot of the flowers in the spring). Again I thought the taste was okay, but not everything I hoped for. Finally last year, when we had 5 or 6 ripe fruits, I actually tasted one to my liking. I am pretty sure now that  I didn’t let it ripen enough. I had been waiting for them to be soft to the touch like a peach, but I think pawpaws are actually better once they are all brown and look like they are going bad. I cut one of my brown fruits up (thinking that I would probably be throwing it out)and tried it, and discovered that it was in fact quite tasty! It had a tropical flavor of a mix between a banana and a papaya I thought. Of course this was the last of my fruit for the year, so I have be anxiously awaiting this years fruit to see how it tastes! Fortunately this year it looks like we have about 20 or so fruits ripening.

PawPaw Tree in my yard

So why plant it? First of all because it is a lovely medium size native flowering tree (in fact the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly only lays eggs on this type of tree). Secondly because it provide a fruit that you can’t buy at the store (or not normally at the Farmer’s Market either). I had one of the Amish farmers from our Farmer’s Market tell me last year that they keep the pawpaws to themselves and make pawpaw butter. Third it is really interesting tree and fruit and a good topic of conversation (interesting fact: it is the largest edible ingenious fruit in the US). Another benefit is that it is a really good source of vitamins.

In my research I discovered that it was an important source of food for the Native Americans and early settlers and that is was a popular tree on farms though out the US (Lewis and Clark wrote that they were quite fond of them as was Jefferson). It lost popularity in the last 75 years as produce began to be shipped. These potato looking fruits bruise easily and are not the most attractive looking specimen. Apparently there area lots of old farm cookbooks that have recipes.  The good news is that there is a small cult following of pawpaws. There is even an annual festival in Ohio every year. I found this interesting article which includes a recipe for PawPaw Ice Cream. I think I will be making some later this summer!

I have about 10 seeds saved in the fridge from last year. I am thinking of trying to grow them to see how many I can get to germinate. So please let me know if anyone is interested in giving one a try and I will send you a seed to grow yourself!

Here are a few more interesting PawPaw Links:

Kentucky State University PawPaw Program

PawPaw Lassi Recipe

NPR’s Food Blog: The Salt’s Story on the PawPaw

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In -Plant of the Week, GARDENING & PLANTS
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