Did anyone say transplant?

Is it me, or am I always transplanting?  I can't ever seem to get things in the right place, the first time.  Arghh!  And since it's chilly and damp and cloudy (what we call spring on the Cape), it's a good time for moving things (most things anyway).  Today as I was having my coffee, preparing to transplant, and listening to C.L. Fornari's Garden Line on 95.1 (a station on which you can also hear Rush Limbaugh--just saying) a flock of very large turkeys moved through the front garden.  I love watching them, even as I cringe as they root through things best left unrooted through.  Still
. . . they're Wiley Cottage turkeys, so . . .

Once fully caffeninated and turkey-bonded,  I transplanted 2 azalea bushes that were in the wrong place.  I think I've got them, now, in the right place, at the side of our gargantuan and legendary rhodedendron, planted by Mrs. Wiley over 30 years ago.  They will look good together, the small rounded shape of the azaleas mirroring the large rounded shape of the rhodi.  Of course I know this is not the optimal time to transplant the azaleas because they're just coming to life after winter.  But not everything in life is optimal, so . . . just live dammit!

gigantic rhodi

I also moved our blue-purple Rose of Sharon to the new, still in formation, front (someday, secret) garden.  I put it in front of and to the right of the limelight hydrangeas.  I know that doesn't sound like a good combination, but the tree cover determined the placement.  Aside from raking and watering-watering-watering the transplants that was my garden work today.

Some unpicked Eastham turnips are pushing out leaves so I cut some to
include in my white bean stew with smoked pork sausage from Johnson's Boucannerie in Lafayette, LA that Ms. Nev sent up for Christopher's birthday.  It was pretty delicious--just sauteed chopped onions, garlic and a carrot cut in big chunks.  A half pound of white beans, washed and soaked in cold water for a few hours while I transplanted.  A bay leaf, salt, pepper, a spring of thyme uncovered when I raked the herb garden.  Some frozen diced tomatoes (looked like about a cup) and the dregs of some white wine I had around.  That's it.  I had an endive in the vegetable drawer which I cut in half, rubbed with olive oil and salt and pepper and then put under the broiler for about 10m.  I topped that with some shaved parmesan and it was a passable first course.  For the main I did the smoked sausage in a traditional method--put the links in a skilled and cook over a medium fire until browned then add some water.  Continue to cook until the sausage wass glazed and crisp.  I split the sausage and served it over rice with the bean stew on top and it was pretty damned good.

sunset at Wiley Cottage

Tomorrow I'm moving the peonies and planting parsley and lettuces before I'm off to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History for a talk on using native plants in landscaping.  I hope the turkeys join me again for coffee!