Our gardens at the ranch are worked year round so that we and our guests can enjoy being outside and the wild birds have plenty of food, water, hiding places and nesting material! We had a great flush this past Spring after the hard freezes of the winter helped put nature back in balance with growth patterns, weeds and bugs. We use of a lot of the flowers, herbs and fruits in our cooking classes and food preparation. There is nothing better than “farm fresh”. We encourage all our guests and cooking class participants to use anything they can find locally and fresh from the farmers markets and meat markets…..
Some great photos of some of our flowers and herbs: (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘plants’
Texas B&B Antique Roses, Herbs & Spring Gardens
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Wildflowers, Painting, Scenic Views Washington County
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
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- T.W.Vanta Painting the Wildflowers of Washington County
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- Hills of Washington County: Wildflowers and Country Church
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- Painting in the Hills of Washington County with Man’s Best Friend!
Washington County, home to our ranch and bed and breakfast, is incredible year round but is particularly known for its’ spring wildflowers and breathtaking views. We recently spied these painters on the side of the road enjoying the views and painting opportunities provide by our fabulous spring displays. Benjamin Knox has a gallery in College Station and Cowboyhas a gallery in Somerville. Their trusty black lab was along for the adventure!
Local CSA Near Texas BB Provides Farm Fresh Goodies For Foodie Class
Friday, April 16th, 2010
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- CSA Monthly Market Day, Brenham TX
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- Fresh off the farm at our local CSA Market
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- Fresh Pastured Organic Fowl Can’t Be Beat!
The monthly market day of our local CSA held at Home Sweet Farmsin Brenham TX produced some amazing tidbits to enhance our Foodie Cooking Class at the B&B. Some if the procured items included pastured duck, fresh raw yogurt, wild honey and fresh Brussels sprouts! Eat fresh, raw and local any time you can!
Herbs for Spring at Texas B&B Ranch
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Spring at our Ranch B&Bin Brenham, Texas is just around the corner and after this crazy, wild winter we are planning on a bumper crop of spring herbs. Some of our favorites include Aussie Sweetie Basil, African Blue Basil, Biergarten Sage, Lemongrass, Rose Pelargonium, Dill, Fennel, Cilantro, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Mexican Mint Marigold and Lemon Thyme, to name just a few. Our Bay Laurel trees have survived the frigid temps of this winter in fine form, as well as the Thyme, Rosemaries, some of the Sages, Parsley, Fennel, Sweet Marjoram and more. If you try any of these, they will definitely get you started on the road to flavor! (more…)
Winter Gardens Brenham TX B&B Guest Ranch
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Winter gardens at the ranch are a thing of beauty even in their starkness. The Camellias and Quince are blooming which is a sure sign of late winter at the ranch and also a reminder that Spring is just around the corner! After this unusually wet and cold winter, I am anxiously awaiting a wonderful Spring full of incredible fresh green herbs and beautiful new garden growth at the B&B!
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- Quince at Murski Homestead B&B
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- Flowering Quince Blossoms Up Close at the B&B
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- Buds forming on the Tulip Magnolia
Snow At Bed & Breakfast Brenham Texas Ranch
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Unbelievable fat white flurries descended from the sky making everything frosty white and giving us a sense of being up North experiencing a real winter wonderland! Snow blanketed the gardens at the ranch and caused even the Cardinals to see cover amongst the branches and thorns of some of our antique rose bushes. The Geese (more…)
The Big Freeze of 2010 at Brenham, Texas B&B Ranch
Friday, February 12th, 2010
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- Frozen Pond
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- Frozen Pond with Slush
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- The Big Thaw
The ponds froze up this year during the big freeze of January 2010! We haven’t seen this in years. The gardens took the brute force of the below freezing temperatures that lasted for several days, looking worse for wear (even though we covered and clamped down and lit up with lights to help keep them warm!). Those that have not survived the big chill will be replaced with a new and different specimen. This is our opportunity to venture out with something new and experiment. The freeze is a definite bonus for us with bugs in that it depletes the numbers and knocks them back to a more manageable level for us. When the ranch goes years without a major freeze, it allows the bugs to multiply and winter over creating more work for us with each succeeding year!….especially for those of us who are mostly organic gardeners! Looking forward to Spring, the wildflowers at the B&B and excited to see what comes back in our gardens!
Gardening, Local Food, Cooking Classes at Murski Homestead
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Our cooking classes feature local produce, meats and wine when available and we seek to encourage cooks to use local foods from their farmers markets and co-ops. Promote sustainability and living fresh from the farm by purchasing from local growers. You will enhance your health as well as your palate! To that end there is an event coming up for anyone who is interested in gardening, growing your own food, experiencing a local growers world or just learning something new. It is the Market Growers Symposium March 2010! To learn more about it check out the link! Come stay with Murski Homestead B&B that same weekend and double your pleasure! Book now for March fills up quickly!
Herbs & Vegies for the Fall
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Oh what an incredible and glorious fall it has been so far! Not only have the rains replenished our tanks, cattle and land but also perked all the gardens up and the fall blooms are abundant. The ‘Country Girl’ mums, the Mexican cosmos with their radiant orange flowers, the smellicious almond verbenas, the multi-colored zinnias and the ‘Ponderosa’ lemon weighing heavily with its abundant and heavy fruits are but a few enjoying the bounty of the rains. Butterflies still abound in the garden – especially on the various mistflowers, butterfly weeds, the zinnias, and the chaya. Caterpillars are busy munching away on the fennel and other plants in a hurry to metamorphose before the first frosts.
Speaking of Fall, now is the time to plant herbs and flowers. Culinary herbs such as dill (herb of 2010), fennel, parsley, caraway, coriander/cilantro, celery, chervil, and lovage. There are also many ornamentals such as bishop’s weed, Queen Anne’s lace, and laceflower. Vegetables such as carrots, beets, turnips, and parsnips obviously belong here too. I also sprinkle in seeds of tri color swiss chard for their beautiful and edible foliage, sugar snap peas and baby lettuces for a quick harvest.There are also medicinal plants such as angelica – of which the Chinese variety (Angelica polymorpha var. sinensis) does best here (zone 9) - in part shade. It is biennial and can reach 8 to 10 feet when blooming! Angelica, by the way, is a historically important plant that was used to treat a variety of ailments and gives its characteristic flavor to the liqueur Benedictine. One member of this family which you should truly avoid growing is poison hemlock. It can be mistaken for parsley and is quite lethal – just ask Socrates if you don’t believe me. As a important and fun experience, most of these plants are great larval host plants for many butterfly species!Get on your gloves, get out your spade and get digging! The reward is far greater than the work involved….
National Herb Day
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
October 10th was National Herb Day and the Pioneer Unit of the Herb Society of America put on herb day demonstrations & lectures at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas. Talks on herbs, tastings of herbed products and demonstrations on using herbs were given. This free event, held every year in October, is a great way to learn hands on and experience the beauty of herbs in the setting of an incredible nursery. The members who put on this day are noted gardeners, horticulturalists and herbies, passionate about herbs and willing to share their wealth of knowledge to anyone willing to listen and learn. Be sure to put it on your calendar for next year as it is a day not be missed!
