There is a period of time each year when we practically live on tomatoes and it’s here. For three weeks now we have collected most of our semi ripe tomatoes so as to maximize on ripening as many as possible for current and future enjoyment. Every possible inch we can spare in our home is devoted to “tomato ripening space.”

These are just a few of our favorite indulgences that take full advantage of the intense tomato flavor and sweetness of our home grown.

Roma Plum Tomatoes

Plum tomatoes are hollowed out and placed in baking dishes with olive oil, our own dried oregano, pinches of course salt and then slow roasted on a low oven temp.

Roasted Tomatoes

After they cool, they are dressed with chopped parsley and minced garlic from our garden.  We most enjoy these atop crusty bread with fresh goat cheese and a couple of drops of aged balsamic vinegar.

We grow two varieties of cherry tomatoes(Sun Sugar and Grape) and  I make numerous types of fresh salsas and tomato dishes throughout the summer.  

Beautifully Ripened Cherries

We savor this dish that brings out the true essence of these sweet cherry tomatoes and I make variations of it, but this remains a favorite.  It’s simplicity is divine and we love it on top of pasta with grated cheese.

Red And Yellow Cherry Tomato Salad

• 2 lbs yellow and red cherry tomatoes quartered
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp course salt
• 1 cup green “ripe” olives sliced 
• 12 basil leaves thinly sliced

It also makes for a tasty pizza topping.

Cherry Tomato And Parsley Pesto Pizza

We Savor Each Bite

In addition, huge pots of sauce are prepared and then stored (canned or frozen) for later enjoyment on pizza, in rich meat ragus, etc. I make enough to sustain us through our long Maine winter and most of the upcoming year.

From Gardens To Table

Keeping Up Appearances

The perennial gardens keep us on our toes all season long however when the summer fades away our maintenance increases to keep the gardens attractive, neat, and interesting for the Autumn season. Aside from the current flowering plants perennials have been either sheared, pruned, or simply left alone with seed heads intact.

Photos Taken October 1, 2009

Helenium and Boltonia

We Have Many Ornamental Grass Varieties

Colorful Zinnias

Dahlia Patch Going Strong

We concentrated in our Dahlia garden today deadheading Dahlias and removing tired sunflower plants.

Keeping Plants Tidy

The spent 6 Ft + sunflowers were growing in patches in the garden, we clipped them down and left a 2″ stem for location purposes of later removal. 

West Side Of Dahlia Patch

Outside Camden Harbor, Maine Lies

Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn’s

Oceanfront Accommodations

Written by Chiles T.A. Larson author, photojournalist, and travel writer from Williamsburgh, Va. about our bed and breakfast/inn, in Sept/Oct 2009 Home And Away Magazine AAA Ohio.

“The spectacularly landscaped grounds of Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn are matched by the inn’s views overlooking Penobscot Bay.”

“A stone’s throw from the deck of my comfortable cottage just outside Camden, Maine, was a string of colorful lobster buoys bobbing gently with the incoming and outgoing tides. Each morning at sun-up I could hear the muffled sound of a lobster boat’s engine as it moved bee-like from pot to pot checking the day’s offerings.”

We spent the following three nights just outside of Camden at Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn, where we heard lobstermen in Penobscot Bay at work early each morning. A virtual Garden of Eden sits on the property, with several acres of stunning flowers in clusters with individually shaped boarders. Most impressive, the buildings and gardens were constructed pioneer-like,  by Cedarholm Garden Bay Inn owners George and Kristin Palmer and her parents a dozen years ago.”

AAA Home And Away Sept/Oct 2009

AAA Home & Away Sept/Oct 2009

Our Inn is overflowing with vases and Mason jars of these georgeous blooms and we continually create colorful bouquets in all of our accommodations as an additional amenity for our guests.

Our Dahlia Patch

Our dahlia garden is filled with vivid colors and bountiful blooms from these show-stopping non-stop performers. We grow over 1oo plants and hope to expand our collection for the 2010 season.

We begin potting our tubers in early April and come July, they have loads of buds and promise.

Healthy Buds

Buds Soon Transform Into Blossoms

As the season progresses the blossoms create a sea of color which is particularly striking on a foggy morning.

Beautiful Colors

We cut flowers daily to keep the plants fresh looking and continually update our vases of floral arrangements. These incredible plants continue to bloom until the first frost.

Sorting For Arrangements

Our serious interest for dahlia’s started 4 years ago after visiting Phil and Karen Clark who own and operate Endless Summer Flower Farm in Camden, Maine.  From there a kinship ensued each swapping stories on plant performances.

Posted are images of some 2009 season favorites.

Mingus Tracy Lynn

Tartan

Karma-Sangria

Show And Tell

Pop Talk

Each year at this time we ask each other with pure excitement the same question, “Is it ready yet?” There is nothing difficult to growing or harvesting garlic and sometimes the more information you read can only make the process seem involved when it is not. However, you do want to harvest your garlic at the proper time to ensure increased storage life. 

We currently grow a variety of 300 garlic plants that will last us for a glorious 9 months, originally we started with a few dozen. There are preferences to harvesting, curing and storing garlic (we’ve tried many) but here on the coast in Mid Coast Maine we have found the following techniques to prove successful for us each year. First in order; pick a dry day.

Our garlic patch

We wait for the bottom 2 or 3 fronds to die off before we harvest as shown above. Don’t wait any longer unless your garlic is for immediate use otherwise the cloves will expand, open up and force the protective skin to separate and expose the clove inside the bulb. This will result in a shorter shelf life.

Digging up garlic

“Treat them like tomatoes not potatoes” is what should come to mind at this point. We use a shovel and carefully dig under the roots to loosen the soil before removing the bulb. Be attentive and do not to bruise or nick the bulbs.

Occasionally we get twins

We harvest the garlic 10 at a time, carefully twist the roots to remove the bulk of the soil and then immediately bring them to a shaded area to be very quickly rinsed (bulb only DO NOT saturate). There is much debate over whether to rinse the garlic before curing. Our soil is rarely dry and as shown above the bulb comes up with too much earth. Even after we carefully remove the bulk, there is far too much left for curing and creates a ridiculous mess for storing and use. Grit in my cooking is not an option and we have yet to have an adverse affect to rinsing.

Drying rack

Here in the shade the garlic is left to dry. Normally we would leave them out overnight however the forecast was for possible evening showers so we transfered the drying racks into our shed.

Tying up garlic

The following day we tie up the garlic 10 to a bunch and prepare to hang them.

Curing the garlic

Here the garlic will cure for 3 to 4 weeks after which we will cut the stalks and leave a 1/2″ stem. The garlic will get transferred to onion bags and remain in our basement for use.

There is nothing like the taste and health benefits of your own fresh garlic and we encourage you to start a patch of your own. Our original garlic purchase was made from Johnny Seeds here in Maine, however there are countless resources available. We usually plant our garlic the last week in Oct. or the first week in Nov. and will be posting our methods then.

Whether thoughtfully placed, dappled about, or planted en masse, daylilies can bring a fireworks display of color to a garden. We love daylilies for their beauty and endurance.

Guest Registration Entrance

One simple pleasure for us is to visit daylily farms in July; they are at peak and an opportune time to view these beautiful masses of color. Some farms are larger than others offering hundreds to even thousands of cultivars, and with 10’s of thousands available and I am told over 1500+ new ones annually, one is sure to find something special.

For the first time visitor one will suddenly become aware of the challenge that awaits.  Selecting is not an easy task even for the seasoned buyer. Just picture yourself among 600+ cultivars like we were at Ellie’s Daylilies in Unity,  Maine. Crimson reds, bold oranges, bright yellows, deep pinks, strong lavenders, soft peaches, near whites, ruffled edges, single or double bloom, time of bloom and lets not forget size of the bloom! And there’s more.

My husband and I have an agreement, each of us choose one (near impossible) to come home with us. We walk the small farm together, unawarely drift apart, each intensely studying and making a mental note of contenders. After what seems like minutes turns into over an hour. At this point we press ourselves into making a decision and were able to select 2 that would be a unique fit in our garden.

Tuscawilla Tigress

Margaret McWhorter

A favorite and entertaining experience for us was open farm day years ago at hybridizer Nick Barth’s farm in Alna, ME. We knew we were in for some excitement when we had trouble finding a place to park on this quiet and narrow densely wooded back road. We could not help but notice all of the out of state tags and wondered, “what’s going on”. There were people scattered throughout the field, standing around sentry like, guarding lily clumps and giving the evil eye to anyone who even came close to there find. The “fools rush in” expression comes to mind.

We had never witnessed anything like this; it was a civilized madhouse with an eclectic crowd. There were ladies wearing fine clothing with dainty open toed shoes and gold jewelry among dirt and dust at a lily farm on a hot summers day among us. I couldn’t help but ask one of these ladies why she was so protective of her clump.  “You see”, she said in her proper southern accent “ I’ve come all the way here from Texas for this day because I simply must have this cultivar in my garden.” We thought wow, and quickly realized that Barth’s Daylilies are unique and highly sought after.

Even with all the darting and dashing about in addition to directing the “digging staff” to satisfy anxious customers, hybridizer Nick Barth was friendly and engaging. He was kind enough to take a moment to answer our questions and even demonstrated hybridizing techniques. He spoke of his farther the late Dr. Joseph Barth a hybridizer and pioneer from whom he took the farm over with his wife Sandy. It was quite an experience for us, and one I’ll never forget. The farm was sold to Fieldview Farms in 2004 and they relocated over 4000 Barth clumps to Dresden Me, an incredible undertaking.

On that day we came home with the 2-lily allotment, and to this day they remain our favorite daylilies choices with intriguing names and distinctive beauty.

Bittersweet Holiday

"Not Forgotten" J. Barth - N. Barth