Decorate now for fall
Fall is just about here, and we all love to decorate.
Our yards and porches are all very important for any holiday in the South. From the very simple to the ones that go all out, they are all beautiful.
If you are using plants in your decorating, like mums, I try to put plants in a container that holds a lot of water. The foliage of the mums will suck up a lot of water on the warm days.
When buying your mums, try to find ones that have buds just about to pop open, and your plant will last a lot longer. It is exciting watching them open. It’s exciting when you come in from work and see how they have opened from the day before.
If you thought to plant the mums from last year, they should be about to bloom. I hope you remembered to cut them back so they weren’t 6 feet tall by mid-June. If you did not cut back, you might want to get string to hold them up so the wind won’t blow them down.
After the fall season, before the ground gets cold, plant your mums, and when they start to die down, cut them off even with the dirt and water in the ground well. Mulch about 5-6 inches to keep the root ball from freezing out under after the last frost in the spring, and let them come up. At the end of May or June, cut back to about 6 inches above the roots, and they will still set buds to bloom in September.
I always get more each year because most of the ones we plant are grown very fast, and the root balls are not strong.
In a few weeks is the time to start mulching your beds and grouping your pots together in the flower bed to care for until spring.
Now let’s chat about food a little.
Garlic-Parmesan Monkey Bread
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons finely-chopped green onions
3 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1-pound loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
¾ cup parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Coat a 10-inch Bundt pan or tube pan with cooking spray.
Whisk together eggs, green oinion, parsley, garlic powder and salt, then whisk in butter.
Pull of 1-inch (walnut sized) pieces of dough and roll each into a ball.
Set aside 2 tablespoons parmesan, then toss together remaining parmesan and minced garlic in a shallow bowl. Arrange one-third of coated balls in a single layer in bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle balls with half of garlic and parmesan mixture.
Make a second layer with another third of dough balls in pan and sprinkle with remaining garlic and parmesan mixture. Make a third layer with remaining dough ball then pour any remaining egg mixture over top and sprinkle with reserved 2 tablespoons parmesan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
