The Popular Banana

Bananas. Okay, first off, we do not grow bananas in Desert Aire. But I love this fruit, don't you? Eaten plain, sliced on cereal, used for banana splits, milk shakes and smoothies, added to fruit salads, mashed in cakes, cookies, and breads, the list goes on. Some use the banana peels for facials and puffy eyes. Gardeners, you can even chop the peels and place on top of the soil to decompose and release nutrients (please do not place near plant stems for best results 😏). 

Banana is the one fruit we most likely take for granted in the supermarket. For me, it's always, "Are we out of bananas?" I seldom leave the small store in Mattawa (Harvest Foods) without a fresh bunch. At home even the overripe bananas get eaten eventually. Frozen in baggies, they become mashed ingredients for muffins, corn bread, pancakes and more. Delicious!

Did you know that a banana tree can grow 10 to 26 feet tall? One cluster alone contains 50 to 150 bananas. Packed full of nutrition, bananas are an excellent source of B6, as well as potassium, manganese, vitamin C, copper, biotin and dietary fiber. 

Unless you are one of the unlucky ones who is allergic to this yummy fruit, the health benefits are impressive. Cardiovascular protection due to the fruit's potassium and fiber content for one, and protection from ulcers. Further, bananas can help with constipation, and promote good eyesight, bone growth, and kidney health. What's not to like?

Malaysia can take credit for the origin of bananas some 4,000 years ago, where it was first noted. From there the banana tree spread to nearby Philippines and India. Bananas were later discovered in Africa in 1482 and brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 1500s where they planted banana trees in the Caribbeans. But it was not until the 19th century that bananas became available in the United States. Today bananas are primarily grown in Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil and Ecuador.

Here's a fun Banana Recipe: 🍌

"Banana Dressing with Poppy Seeds"

1 banana (ripe)

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream 

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tablespoon poppy seeds 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

3/4 teaspoon salt

Mash bananas in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill for 30 minutes. This is great on salad greens, fruit, and as a dip. Yield: 1-3/4 cups. Enjoy!

More fun...😄

Banana Jokes:

Question: What did the boy banana say to the girl banana?
Answer: "You have a lot of appeal."

Question: If a crocodile makes shoes, what does a banana make?
Answer: Slippers!

Banana Movies: (Remember these?)

--Bananas (Woody Allen movie) 1971

 --Herbie Goes Bananas 1980
(Herbie the VW has a wild adventure)

Banana Books:

--Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
by Dan Koeppel (2008) (adult nonfiction)

--Anna Banana: 101 Jump Rope Rhymes
by Joanna Cole and Alan Tiegreen (2010) (ages 4-8)

Banana Songs:

(Beetlejuice fans.......Remember this?)

"Day-O" (Banana Boat Song) by Harry Belafonte
(from the movie Beetlejuice - 1988)

Why I Believe in Garden Gloves

Gardening may be the furthest thing from your mind with chilly mornings and snow dusting the mountain tops not too long ago. There's also that morning “burr” factor when you step outside. But except for our record windstorm in December that took down trees and roofs, winter weather has been somewhat mild compared to the rest of the nation.

My garden shed is calling. I peeked in the other day and saw the insecticide I will soon add to some trees (best done in February). I give two maple trees a special in-ground treatment to ward off aphids. So far, it has worked fine. So, I put on a pair of garden gloves and did the job. I also finished a rock border where the red rock needed to be separated from the gravel. It felt good to be outdoors. The sunshine was glorious. Healing even. It seems only fair with 2020 well behind us now. Never mind the virus is still a problem in places. We need to be aware of those areas, but mostly, I feel liberated with all those shots behind me.

As for wearing garden gloves, if you do not know already, gloves are important!! Some obvious reasons would be to keep the garden chemicals from penetrating your skin when applying fertilizers and insecticide. The stoutest gloves also keep thorns and stickers from poking through and drawing blood. Ouch. I find that welder gloves work extremely well when pruning roses. They are thickly padded and cover your lower arms completely. I'm on a second pair now. So worth it.

Another obvious benefit of wearing garden gloves, assuming there are no holes in the fingers, is to keep your hands and fingernails clean. Important if you have someplace special to go later. Maybe dinner out somewhere nice? A good soak in the tub is the only other option. So, wear the gloves!

A few summers ago, I came to appreciate an even greater benefit of wearing gloves. Their use in preventing insect bites. We have scorpions and black widows in Desert Aire. Fortunately, the scorpions are not the dangerous kind. I read that their bites resemble a bee sting. Fortunately, I wouldn't know. It's never happened. But yes to black widows!

 

Black widows, although not normally aggressive, will bite if threatened. I discovered this while checking the cantaloupe vines for fruit. (Cantaloupe grows well here in Desert Aire). But dumb me, I was not wearing garden gloves that day. When the bite came it was a needle-like sting, and left double fang marks on the skin. I instinctively knew it could be serious. I recognized the spider's white silky web a foot or so away. We were familiar with black widows and often sprayed, but apparently missed this one.

I went inside immediately, turned on the computer, and googled “black widow bites.” Already my hand was swelling and hurt like the dickens. I iced it as instructed, swallowed antihistamine and ibuprofen, and waited…watching for more serious signs. Within the hour I felt nauseated and wanted to vomit, thinking it was time to head for the medical clinic in Mattawa, but the nausea passed quickly. No breathing problems, cramping, or numbness followed, which would have definitely meant a trip. The swelling lasted for several days though. So please, take those garden gloves seriously. Don’t let a half-inch spider protecting her eggs convince you. 

Happy Gardening Everyone. Spring will be here soon. If you happen to see me later, running across the lawn like a crazed woman, I probably walked into a spider web. I must admit I'm easily spooked now. 😀

Sharon Himsl

 

Heather - Oh What a Beauty

HEATHER. If you happen to have this rewarding small shrub in your garden, the bees will soon be buzzing around its pink flowers enjoying the nectar immensely. Right next to your yellow forsythia also in full bloom when spring finally arrives. Spring, isn't it wonderful? Oh, how I long for its return, don't you? When the trees bud out and the warm air soothes. Then again... It's February. But still, I can daydream. Won't you join me?

After admiring my neighbor’s pink heather one day, I knew I wanted one in my rock garden. I now have four in the ground and will likely add more. The tidiness and hardiness of this shrub is admirable. As an evergreen, heather is attractive all year long and does well in Desert Aire. I have yet to notice any insect problems.

Heather is a low-spreading shrub that grows to about two feet tall, three feet wide. My neighbor and I have pink heather, but the colors vary a lot (e.g., red, white, and purple). Over the winter the foliage on mine has a purple hue, but this too can vary. There are hundreds of species of this cultivar to choose from.

Heather can tolerate poor, rocky soil, but like other evergreens, it prefers acidic soil conditions. You can plant heather in pots as well. Just make sure the potting mix is “evergreen friendly.” To make your own potting mix, combine 50% peat moss, 20% perlite and 10% each of garden soil, sand, and compost (or farm manure). Early spring (coming, I promise😏) is a good time to plant heather. You can locate in full sun or light shade. You can also plant during the Fall. Once established, heather is pretty much maintenance free. 

In Victorian times, white heather was gifted to friends and young lovers💑 for luck and protection. Scottish brides always carried heather for good luck, when walking down the aisle. Similarly, purple heather represented beauty, admiration and solitude. The tradition continues to this day. 

Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929) wrote, “Here's to the day when it is May. And care as light as a feather. When your little shoes and my big boots. Go tramping over the heather.” 

Happy Gardening Everyone! I'll be tramping over the heather in my daydream till spring arrives, when I hope to plant more of these gems.