Friday, August 21, 2020
About Raintree Annie On Review This Reviews
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day – Holiday Review
While this definition of Unique does not totally agree with the following, I thought it would be fun to celebrate the 'individual', if not totally unique, talents of my fellow Contributors here on Review This Reviews. And while some of us have similar talents, our special styles make us each 'unique' in our field.
November 24th is known as “Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day”. Therefore, we are going to point out some of the 'unique' and special talents of the RTR Contributors to show what they are best at. Some of the fine writers here have more than one special talent, as you shall see.
Yarn Talents
Several of those in our group are good at yarn crafts.
- Dawn Rae's specialty is crochet. She features handmade hats and neck warmers and warm slippers in her Etsy Shop DawnRaeCrochet.
Her shop also carries a line of what she calls “Jenny Hats” which came to be after making a custom hat for a friend (Jenny). These soft, slightly slouchy, chemo hats are made from a cotton blend yarn.
- Wednesday Elf also crochets. Her Etsy shop – Coastal Crochet Crafts – specializes in plush animals for children, plus a few assorted other items.
Baking/Cooking Talent
- For very unique cakes and cupcakes in particular, you will find some fascinating recipes and how-to instructions from Sylvestermouse on Cooking for the Holidays. She also includes other recipes from appetizers to main dishes to desserts, but I LOVE her special cupcakes and cake creations.
Other RTR writers also have culinary creations to share. In particular, we have Sam Monaco who shares many favorite family recipes on his blog Sam's Place.
Check out ReviewThisReview:Recipes for everything from the proverbial soup.... to nuts, for your cooking enjoyment.
Gardening
We have several gardeners in our group, our most prolific being Olivia Morris and Raintree Annie.
Come see the many helpful gardening tips offered on Review this Reviews:Gardening
Writing Talent
- In addition to writing for Review This Reviews, Beverly Owens is establishing herself as a writer of Cozy Mysteries. She currently has 7 published books in 2 series (4 in the Roni Ranier series and 3 in the Cabin 9 series, with more to come. Read about how she began as a published author and her upcoming literary achievements at Beverly Owens, Author.
Find her current books on Amazon, both on Kindle and in paperback.
Photography Talent
- One of our favorite photography experts here, Mary Beth Granger (MbgPhoto), has studied photography for years and often shares expert advice on cameras and photo angles to help us all get the best photographs we can. Mary Beth's favorite thing to photograph is lighthouses and she is constantly searching out new ones to feature.
Check out her Lighthouse Enthusiast Zazzle Shop to see some of her beautiful images.
For lovely photos on her love of photography, traveling, and nature , see Mary Beth's Beauty in Nature Zazzle Shop.
Sylvestermouse Cynthia is also a fine photographer who loves to photograph zoo animals in particular and many other fun activities. You can see her lovely images at Photography by Sylvestermouse.
Diana Wenzel is also a wonderful photographer on our staff, as is BarbRad.
DIY Talent
- Diana Wenzel (Renaissance Woman here on Review This Reviews) is our 'Go-To' expert on do-it-yourself projects.
Check out her many DIY articles here on everything from turning a simple rural mailbox into a bird house (Mailboxology) to creating a beautiful Fall Pumpkin Succulent Centerpiece.
Diana also has become an expert on rescue animals, most particularly one darling disabled dog who has won her heart. She chronicles his life & times in Mr. Muffins Journey, and relates his adventures and accomplishments in many articles on Review This Reviews (including becoming a therapy dog).
- Tracey A. Breen (The Savvy Age) is very creative in coming up with inexpensive projects using supplies from dollar stores. These holiday-related and home décor and just-for-fun projects are perfect for parents, teachers and scout leaders.
Tracey is also very 'savvy' about recipes, holiday ideas and Lifestyle tips & hacks to manage an active home and life at all ages. Read all about it on her website The Savvy Age.
More Unique Talents
Barbara Tremblay Cipak (Brite Ideas here) is our country music expert. She explains the meanings and stories behind many well known country songs and singers on her website (Drageda) The Heart of Country Music.
Barbara is also a professional in the field of home décor and has many unique and unusual Decor ideas to offer both here on Review This Reviews and on her own website Funky Home Decor.
- Another Barbara (Barbara Radisavljevic known to us as BarbRad) has many talents. She is a writer, a photographer specializing in her native California landscape, and our book expert.
Check out her uniqueness below at:
- Brenda Little (Treasures By Brenda) is a collector, particularly of coffee cups/mugs and movie merchandise, especially vintage pieces.
Brenda frequently shares her collections through her eBay store Treasures by Brenda for fellow collectors.
In addition, Brenda gives us fascinating facts behind her collections in her two websites:
- Heather Burns is an artist and colorist. She creates fantastic coloring pages and illustrations for you to color.
Check out her Etsy Store at HeatherBurnsArt
Heather is also a talented graphic designer and features her designs on many products in her Etsy Store HBStudioDesigns.
- Louanne Cox (Lou16) has a wide variety of interests and talents. My favorites are her artistic designs she features on a wide variety of items in her Zazzle stores.
I also enjoy the stories behind her designs found on her website Lou's Designs.
- Margaret Schindel is another multi-talented lady. When not writing professionally, she is a jewelry designer.
Summary
As you can see, many of the multiple talents of the Contributors to ReviewThisReviews overlap. Many of us are into some form of arts & crafts, there are several wonderful photographers and quite a few good cooks. And I would say that all of us love to read and enjoy movies and music.
We are a varied bunch. While perhaps not individually unique, we all have our special talents.
So…. Find your unique talent, and share it with the world on Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day November 24.
(c) Wednesday Elf (11/23/2019)
*All images compliments of Pixabay and collages made with Canva.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Growing The Beautiful And Useful Evergreen Rosemary Shrub Reviewed
One of the most useful and lovely plants in our garden is the Rosemary. All year it delicately perfumes the garden with its gorgeous aromatic scent as you brush against it. Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant with fine needle-like but very soft leaves that emit a beautiful aromatic scent when handled or brushed against.
In summer it is glorious with its pretty flowers, delicate leaves and lovely aroma and even in the depths of winter I can stroke the leaves and smell the delicate scent on my hands.
Being evergreen it provides structure and something lovely to look at when nothing is flowering and many shrubs have lost their leaves.
Beautiful Aromatic Rosemary In Flower. Photo By Raintree Annie |
Ways To Grow Rosemary
- We grow it as a decorative shrub on its own as a single plant where we enjoy its beautiful scent and its pretty tiny bluish flowers.
- It is also grown as a low hedge with several plants spaced about a foot apart growing into each other to provide a loose hedge that can be clipped to the desired height and width.
- We keep young plants in pots near the house for clipping new shoots for cooking and baking.
- It is always a lovely idea to grow Rosemary where you will be walking close by. So by a path or a seating area where you get the benefit of the aromatic scent every time you or your visitors pass.
- It is evergreen and takes very little looking after. It is easy to propagate and simple to grow. We grow it in the garden in the ground and we also have it in pots.
- Rosemary has its individual needs and likes just as any plant but I feel it is a very straightforward herb that most people can grow in their gardens, patios, or even when young, on a window sill.
- Whether you have a large garden or a small garden, whether you incorporated it into your garden with other shrubs and flowers, or grow it in a herb garden as in the photo below, it is a very versatile and lovely plant.
Herb Garden Barnsdale Garden Geoff Hamilton. Photo By Raintree Annie |
Care Of Rosemary
- We should plant rosemary in the Spring or Autumn/Fall. I always do it in Spring in my clay soil garden so they get a chance to establish themselves before the winter hardships start. If you have more suitable soil you could do it in either season.
- Add some bark compost or leafmould or simply fine gravel or grit to the planting hole in order to break up the soil structure and improve the drainage if you need to.
- Each year we should give Rosemary a gentle prune once she has finished flowering to prevent her from becoming woody or spindly. Watch for any damaged or dying branches as well and prune those out.
- Pruning Rosemary is one of my favourite jobs in the garden as it is so fragrant and easy to do. Apart from those few jobs, there is nothing much else to do regarding regular maintenance.
- The only pest that bothers Rosemary is the Rosemary beetle. The small metallic-green and purple-striped beetles can be found on the underside of the leaves. I am lucky that we have never been troubled by it, but it is becoming more common. The beetle itself was once thought to be a severe problem to Rosemary, but it has since been found that it usually doesn't cause too much damage.
Rosemary Flowers Photo By Raintree Annie |
Soil And Water Conditions For Rosemary
- Being from the Meditterean, Rosemary loves to bask in the sunshine, so a sunny spot is a must for this plant. It likes free draining soil and a sheltered place in the garden.
- Having said that I currently have three very healthy Rosemary plants growing in full sun and a sheltered position, but in heavy clay soil, which is far from ideal. I do worry about them each year in winter when the soil becomes a claggy, heavy, cold and wet place to be, but so far they have coped admirably with this. They have managed because I grew them in pots for a couple of years before I planted them in the garden. So they were bigger stronger plants when they had to cope with the less than ideal circumstances.
- I do however take cuttings every year and have some Rosemary growing in pots of well-drained soil in case I lose the bigger plants.
- If you have anything but well-drained soil I would recommend you take cuttings every year. I do not think Rosemary will live as long in heavy clay as it would in ideal well drained soil but they are healthy. If I was starting the garden again I would grow Rosemary in a raised bed so that I could give it ideal conditions.
- In terms of watering, I never water the shrubs in the ground. Even in last summers heatwave Rosemary was perfectly happy. I do water the rosemary in pots and the cuttings when they become dry.
Last Years Rosemary Cuttings Photo by Raintree Annie |
Propagation Of Rosemary Cuttings
I take cuttings every year from the Rosemary bushes I have and so always have an abundance to keep or give away.
Taking cuttings is very easy. I have never grown Rosemary from seeds and understand that can take a very long time. So it is best to buy your first Rosemary, then take cuttings to make more.
Before you prune the rosemary for cuttings have everything you need handy. Cuttings can dry out very quickly and if they do they will not grow, so act quickly,
- You require gritty compost, pots preferably terracotta but plastic will do, hormone rooting powder if you can get it, a pencil, a watering can full of water, a sharp knife and secateurs.
- Cut stems of about 4 to 6 inches long using your secateurs and gently remove the lower leaves. Lay the cutting down on a hard surface and using a sharp knife cut just below a leaf node (the point where the leaf has been growing.)
- If you have hormone rooting power dip the ends of the cutting into it. I often do not have it so skip this step.
- Place the stems into pots already filled with free draining gritty compost. You may need to make a small hole with a pencil first depending on how dense the compost is.
- It is best to place the cuttings around the edge of the pot so they are not touching each other.
- Then simply water well and place it where it is sheltered and shaded, not in direct sunlight, until they have rooted.
- After about 4 weeks check to see how they are rooting. If they are rooting well you can at this point pot them on into their individual pots using a loam based compost.
- If not give them another few weeks. Keep watering well so that the soil is moist but not waterlogged. Once they are in their own individual pots we start them on a feed of liquid fertiliser.
Rosemary Spring Photo By Raintree Annie |
I like to incorporate Rosemary into cooking and baking wherever possible and as I grow it we have an unlimited and fresh, organic, pesticide-free supply year round.
It can be used for so many dishes including potatoes, meat and baking. Also in soups and stews, bread, stuffing and roasted vegetables. We love the extra flavour and aromatic scent.
I always prefer to strip the leaves off the main more woody stem and wash in clear, cold water before using.
For ideas on how to use Rosemary in cooking/baking please take a look at the links below.
Reviewing Baking Irish Soda Bread With A Twist by Raintree Annie
Grilled Rosemary Ranch Chicken by Sam Monaco
If you are interested in cooking with herbs you may like this book The Herbal Kitchen from Amazon.
Rosemary Benefits To Wildlife.
Bees love Rosemary! This plant has tiny blue flowers that appear irresistible to bees. All summer they are so busy flying from flower to flower and so intent on their work that it is completely fascinating to watch. It is mesmerising watching bees and I would, if I had the time, watch them for hours, but even a few minutes is such a relaxing pastime.
Personally, I find the scent of Rosemary very soothing and relaxing. I love those little bags of Rosemary leaves to put under my pillow and in my clothes draws to give them a lovely scent.
We give Rosemary in terracotta pots as gifts dressed up with a bow or other trimmings. It makes a simple and quite lovely little gift that the person can keep for a long time.
We cut stems of rosemary and bring them into the house to put in vases like we would fresh flowers. I also buy Rosemary oil to scent our home in diffusers.
I enjoy growing Rosemary and would not want to be without it in my garden. For such a lovely, easygoing, low-maintenance plant it has great beauty and benefits.
More Gardening Articles
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
A Review Of Geoff Hamiltons Cottage Gardens Book
Here is my review of Geoff Hamilton's book "Cottage Gardens". Geoff Hamilton was my inspiration and education where gardening was concerned and I have learned an incredible amount from his books, TV series and his gardens.
In this book at approximately 250 pages of text and photographs, he specifically concentrates on Cottage gardens. This happens to be my most loved style of gardening so I was always going to buy and treasure this book.
In fact, I am rapidly buying up every Geoff Hamilton book I can as I am concerned his books will start to get more difficult to find. He sadly died 4th August 1996 at the age of 59 and of course now there are many other good gardeners on the scene and many other books.
However, for me, Geoff's enthusiasm, knowledge and style of gardening will never go out of fashion. I feel in tune with his methods. His writing seems to speak directly to me as if he were teaching me and I need his ongoing guidance to improve my own gardening.
I have written about my admiration and joy when visiting Geoff Hamiltons Barnsdale Gardens near Oakham in UK in A Personal Review Of The Inspirational Gardener Geoff Hamilton
If you are looking for a down to earth, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and practical gardening guide to "Cottage Gardens" please take a look at this book.
The photos included here are all of my own photographs taken either at Barnsdale Gardens or in my own garden at home.
Section One History Of The Cottage Garden
Section one covers a fascinating history of the cottage garden and the people who tended them.
Cottage gardens have been in existence in some form since the Middle Ages in UK and the premise for all cottage gardens is that they are there to be used. These gardens were used primarily for food, herbs and some medicinal purposes, plus some flowers to lift the spirits.
Geoff takes us through the Cottage garden in the UK and how it its use changes and evolves through the Middle Ages ( 500- 1400) to the enlightened era of the Elizabethan age (1533- 1603) onto the Victorians and beyond and into the twentieth century.
It includes discussions of gardens and the role of people who were the labouring classes, the craftspeople and the wealthier people.
It discusses the role of medieval medicine and primitive gardening techniques and how over time improvement in living conditions meant more vegetables and fruits were consumed and how gardening developed.
He highlights certain influential gardeners over time such as Capability Brown, Humprey Repton and William Robinson.
The role of topiary and model villages is discussed along with the effect of social divisions, revolts, reforms and philanthropic movements. He covers the role of Allotments and the evolution of the Cottage Garden into the more modern age.
Section Two Creating A Cottage Garden
Section two instructs us on how to create a Cottage Garden and covers two different styles.
The first is very much a working garden to feed us and be as productive as possible.
This is the affordable Artisans garden, which is built specifically with low cost and reclaimed or second hand materials in mind. More is handmade and plants grown and raised from young.
This style of garden is much more like the original cottage gardens built and tended by working people, would have looked.
Entrance to Artisan Cottage Garden Barnsdale. Photo by Raintree Annie |
The second garden is more stylized, an idea rather than the reality of the rustic garden, with far more comforts and romance.
Vegetables would be grown, but were not essential to the gardener for food for the family.
This is the more expensive Gentleman's garden, where cost is not really an issue. It is altogether more elaborate and uses more costly materials.
Gentlemans Cottage Garden Barnsdale UK. Photo by Raintree Annie |
I had the pleasure of seeing both these gardens in Barnsdale gardens designed and built by Geoff Hamilton, they have stood the test of time and look fantastic.
Interesting Geoff said that he enjoyed making the more affordable Artisan garden more than the more expensive Gentleman's garden. When you understand more of the man and gardener he was this is not surprising.
He believed there is creative pleasure in making items, raising plants, developing a personal garden and saving money.
He understood that people can and do buy some ready-made items and grown plants for the garden, but his hope was that gardeners would take ideas from both types of gardens and using our creativity, make them our own.
So we learn about building these two gardens from principles to the layout. Which important aspects to include, how to consider designing it, what sort of boundaries to consider and what materials to use.
He includes information on arbours and benches, herb tables and love seats, paving, compost bins, containers and cold frames. He details what to consider, how to build and design and gives a very comprehensive overview of both gardens. The photographs and pictures are lovely and bring it all to life.
Artisan Cottage Garden Barnsdale. Photo By Raintree Annie |
Plants In The Cottage Garden
Then the book goes into more detail about the plants to use at the back, middle and front of the border to provide those layers of use and interest in the garden.
This section includes propagation techniques so we can make more plants for free! This is always a very useful and easy skill to learn for anyone who has a large garden to a window box.
Geoff's love of plants and trees comes through and he details how to choose and look after trees, climbers, ramblers, border plants, shrubs, herbaceous plants, bulbs, annuals, biannuals and topiary. It details a wealth of plants that we can include according to our situation and needs.
Section Three A Cottage Economy
Section Three covers "A Cottage Economy" and teaches us how to grow and tend a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, tree fruit and soft fruit.
He includes cultivation methods and how to grow vegetables in borders. It is a very useful, practical and interesting guide to growing and tending these plants.
The way Geoff Hamilton approaches the information, it all seems totally achievable and straightforward to learn.
Cottage Garden Plants Through History.
Finally the book discusses Cottage Garden Plants Through History where he gives a snapshot of plants that would have been grown through the ages. Although a short section this is quite fascinating to learn what was grown in different eras in history.
I bought this book in the UK as a hardback copy but it is available via Amazon in hardback and paperback and I imagine it is the same book.
If you have the smallest interest in gardening or even garden history in terms of cottage gardens and the way people lived with them and how they evolved, this book is very interesting and a worthwhile read.
If you love gardening and want to learn more from a true master I do not hesitate to recommend Geoff Hamilton's Cottage Gardens Book either for yourself or as a beautiful gift.
Geoff Hamilton died many years ago now but even today, or perhaps more so today, many people grow vegetables and fruit in gardens or allotments to supplement the weekly shop.
With shortages and prices of vegetables, salad and herbs rocketing in the shops, growing food ourselves can make it more accessible and affordable to us.
I wonder if gardening may again become something we need to know how to do and an essential life skill to pass on to the next generation as it used to be. So maybe the story or history of the Cottage Garden is not yet over.
More Gardening Articles
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Hobby Time from the Review This! Contributors
January is known as National Hobby Month. The contributing writers here on Review This! each have their favorite ways to enjoy a relaxing pursuit and have written many reviews of various how-to books, crafting supplies and DIY tutorials, gardening tips, recipes & kitchen aids for the cook, photography lessons, reading or listening to music, sports, and a host of other hobbies.
These are but a few of the hobbies enjoyed by the Review This crew. The list of hobbies is almost endless. If you are interested in looking for what we writers here have reviewed, type in the name of your 'hobby' either in the box in the top left-hand corner of any Review This page, or in the search box down the right-hand side. By looking at the author's name, you won't have any problem figuring out which HOBBY is each writers' favorite! For instance, mine (Wednesday Elf) is crochet and my hobby is shared by several other contributors here, so we learn and share with each other. A more comprehensive list is shown below.
National Hobby Month
Begun by the Hobby Guild of America in 1955, National Hobby Month was celebrated in April until 1976, then in October until 1986. Since then, it has been celebrated during the month of January.
January was most likely chosen for National Hobby Month as it is the beginning of a new year and a good time to start a new hobby. Many people have never had hobbies during their working years or while raising a family and begin one in their retirement or after the children are grown. Others try many hobbies throughout their life before finding one or two that gives them the most enjoyment.
Hobby Examples on Review This!
Hobbies can be passive (such as crafting, reading, writing, listening to music or watching a movie) or an activity such as gardening, cooking or participating in sports. Many people have more than one hobby and often combine them, such as listening to music while crafting.
In addition to writing reviews here on Review This!, most of the contributing writers here write for their own blogs and websites. Writers consider writing to be more work than hobby, so time away from writing is important. That's where the activities done in our leisure time become such a pleasure. It is also interesting to note that the passion we feel for our hobbies is shown in many of the subjects we write about.
- Barbara Tremblay Cipak (Brite-Ideas) is crazy about country music and frequently writes about the artists and their music she is so passionate about. She is also loves to experiment with color in home décor.
- Dawn Rae does crochet and participates in a group of fellow jeep owners. She also enjoys gardening and lately 'learning about homesteading'.
- Cynthia Sylvestermouse is a freelance writer and photographer who loves all different kinds of crafts, including crafting in the kitchen, creating fancy cakes and cupcakes.
- Barbara (BarbRad) is an expert on books and loves to read. She is also a nature photographer who most enjoys photographing her central California area.
- Mary Beth Granger (MBGphoto) is a fabulous photographer who continually takes photography classes to learn more. Photography has become her passion in her retirement, along with traveling. Lighthouses and beaches are her favorite subjects.
- Wednesday Elf loves crochet and needlework, watching baseball and reading.
- Beverly Owens is busy researching her Native American Indian heritage and loves to write about spirit animals and the wisdom of her ancestors. She also enjoys crocheting.
- Olivia Morris loves gardening and following the fashion world.
- Brenda Little (Treasures By Brenda) collects coffee mugs and researches the history of vintage cups and other vintage items which she shares in her eBay store. She also loves reading, great movies, cooking, and pop culture.
- Diana Wenzel (Renaissance Woman2010) enjoys an off-the-grid lifestyle where she pursues her interests in animal rescue, wonderful nature photography, and DIY projects. She also loves to read.
- Louanne Cox (Lou16) loves reading, 80s music, zombies and dolls, among a host of other interests.
- Heather Burns (Heather426) is an artist, illustrator and graphic designer. Her hobby is her artistic accomplishments, including the colored pencils she has created for coloring pages and coloring books.
- Coletta Teske is a published book author and loves to sew.
- Sam Monaco enjoys cooking and he has a passion for preserving old family recipes. These can be found on his blog Sam's Place. He also loves history.
- Jasmine Ann Marie Annie (Raintree Annie) loves gardening and nature. Her favorite hobby is photography and photographing the wildlife, animals and birds in nature.
These are just the highlights of hobbies and interests I have observed from the articles they publish and the interaction we have as a team here on the staff of Review This!. I am sure there are other interests each of them have.
Quick View Home Page
By clicking on the Quick View Home Page button at the top of any Review This! page, you will have weekly examples of many of the articles your hobbyists here enjoy (plus many non-hobby reviews).
Stop by the comments section and tell us your favorite hobby or activity. The Review This! staff would love to hear about what gives you pleasure in your leisure time.
(c) Written by Wednesday Elf on 1/20/2018
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