A Tiny Herb Garden By the Steps

This is my tiny garden by the steps.Here are the two pots before anything was planted.

At the bottom of the deck stairs is a little place just for me. Pavers in a square...just big enough for two chairs and a small table. The sun shines here in the early morning, but along toward noon the chairs are in shade from the overhang of the house. I sometimes go out around 10:30 to do some yard work (earlier on very hot days) and by noon, I'm ready to sit in the shade.I like to hide here from the birds and chipmunks. They seldom see me until they get right up close. It's a good place to take pictures. 

The trellis was a gift from my daughter. I had it in the woods, but it didn't show up back there....so I moved it closer to the house. The picture below is from last year.I had tomatoes growing in the pots and a black eyed susan vine on the trellis. The tomatoes didn't work out well....the deer kept eating them, so this year I did something different.

This year I decided to plant some herbs in the two pots, along with some French Mesclun salad greens. I bought a big pack of seeds and scattered the remainder just this week in another place in the yard. The delicious but pricey mix of French salad greens called mesclun (or "field salad" in some restaurants) may be the easiest thing you can grow in your garden.It only takes about 6 weeks to sprout. It grows well in containers. Along with the lettuces I have basil, oregano, parsley, chives and in a close by pot...rosemary.

I was at my brother's house last week and in his living room were big pots of chives and parsley. He has the perfect set up...windows to the south with nothing keeping the sun out. You should have seen his plants! His herbs were doing well in the house. He is a wonderful cook and has floor to ceiling shelves full of cookbooks. He does things like grilled romaine lettuce and grilled asparagus. 

 

This year I tried something new. I planted purple hyacinth beans to climb the trellis. You can see them in the back of this big pot. I hope by the end of the growing season...they will have filled out and be full of pods. I really had never seen these growing...so after looking at Renee's Seeds, I ordered a packet of 10 seeds. All of them sprouted. By the end of the season the herbs will have taken over...the lettuce will be done and the vines will fill the trellis.....that's my plan.

Today I plan to make the Oriental Chicken Salad that they serve at Applebee's. Here's the recipe.

Oriental Dressing

3 Tbsp. honey

1 1/2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar (the white one)

1/4 c. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp. Sesame oil

Blend together all ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk or mixer. Refrigerate while you work on the salad.

Salad

Some frozen chicken tenders

My French Mesclun salad mix along with shredded carrots

bagged coleslaw cabbage

1 Tbsp. sliced almonds

1/4 c. Chow Mein noodles

Bake the chicken strips according to the package directions. At the last few minutes, add the almonds on the pan that the chicken is on so they can get toasted. Remove and cool. Cut up the chicken.

Mix together some of each of the lettuce and coleslaw. Top with cut up chicken, almonds & noodles. Drizzle the dressing on top. 

Have a great day. It's raining here...so the grill gets the day off...and so does the guy who mans the grill :)

Balisha