Inspired by Asparagus (from my veggie garden)
I have long wanted to make a pendant about my favorite, most beautiful garden vegetable, Asparagus. I just love the way it is designed. A little like an artichoke. A little like an exotic flower. An always the loveliest shades of green. This year, on probably the hottest day of summer, I decided I needed yet another patch of Asparagus. It takes about 3 years to get one going well and the one I planted that long ago seems kind of barren to me so I found some great asparagus shoots and started digging the trenches.
Meanwhile in my studio I was making a ceramic mold from one of my asparagus spears.
Asparagus roots purchased from a Nursery ready to plant
This is how the roots look when they come from the Nursery. This one already has some shoots ready to grow so I figure these will be a vigorous bunch and give me a productive new patch.
When my mold came out of the kiln, I could see that it was going to be a good, clear impression.
asparagus roots laid out in the trenches I dug which are 8 inches deep and 12 inches wide
My asparagus mold came out well and I began making some trial pieces. They came out well but were too big. So I tried a small pendant, and I am so pleased with how it came out.
When I planted these, I spread the roots out like an octopus with the little shoots heading upwards. As they grown I will gradually add the soil that is mounded around the trench. At planting I put in some rich compost and some soil over the roots. The deep trench is to encourage the roots to stay deep in the soil so they can weather the cold winter.
my not too productive asparagus patch
I will still keep this patch and we have gotten some great pickings from it but it should be more productive, I think. I may have planted it too close to our raspberry patch. Or the soil may be too dry. Not really sure what is going on with these.
asparagus pizza we made about to be cooked
One fun way to eat asparagus in on a homemade pizza. I found a great recipe for pizza dough in the Spring issue of Fine Cooking. This is the first recipe that every helped me make good homemade pizza.
So that is my story of Asparagus love and how it came to be that I made these ceramic Asparagus Pendants. To celebrate the new patch and the pendants, I am having a giveaway. I hope you will enter and I wish everyone the best of luck!!
The Giveaway
You can win an Asparagus Pendant like this one.
You can win an asparagus pendant like one of the ones below by leaving a comment on this blog post. I would love it if you would tell me which veggie you love the most, but you don't have to to enter the giveaway. Just a comment and a way to contact you is all you need to do. I will pick a winner on Wednesday , June 20, the first day of Summer. . So be sure to enter by midnight Tuesday, June 19. Thanks so much for reading this post.
Ceramic Asparagus Pendant in my Etsy shop
Ceramic Asparagus Pendant in my Etsy Shop
I'd love to win your pretty pendant Mary! I am also a fan of asparagus (particularly with a little lemon juice and grated Parmesan over the top) but I think my favourite veg must be sweet corn. I absolutely love it! Hot, cold, corn on the cob....it's all delicious. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty pendant! My favorite veggie is zucchini, because I can fry it, steam it or juice it and it all comes out nicely.
ReplyDeleteI love grilled asparagus and your pendant captures it's beauty! My favorite summer eat is a home grown tomato. When I lived in Iowa we had the best ones! In Nebraska, the clay soil is not the best and I miss them! Thank you for hosting the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMmmm, I love asparagus when it's done right. What a great pendant. The colors are lovly.
ReplyDeleteAs for my favorite vegetable,does chocolate count? Actually I like corn. Last weekend we had roasted sweet corn in wild rice risotto, and the corn really made it flavorfull.
Thanks for the chance to win!
I love your pendant!! I have to admit, I've never tried asparagus, but I will have to try it on pizza - sounds yummy! I love grilled corn- wrap it in foil with a bit of butter and red pepper flakes. I also make salsa with grilled corn and summer vegies - delish!
ReplyDeleteI love your pendant!! I have to admit, I've never tried asparagus, but I will have to try it on pizza - sounds yummy! I love grilled corn- wrap it in foil with a bit of butter and red pepper flakes. I also make salsa with grilled corn and summer vegies - delish!
ReplyDeleteLove Asparagus and love how your pendant turned out... beautiful. Your pizza looks delicious as well. My favorite veggie...Broccoli.
ReplyDeletethere aren't many vegetables i don't like, but asparagus is a favorite - broiled with a little olive oil and kosher salt - mmmmm.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing the story of your pendant!
Oh Mary,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a difficult question for me. I love ALL veggies!
The ones I like the least might be green peppers and parsnips. But,cooked right(LOL) I'll eat them too!
To answer the question properly- I'll pick one. Turnip!
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pretty pendant! i love pretty much all veggies, but my favorite would have to be cauliflower. yum!
ReplyDeleteI tried growing asparagus at one time, but never happened...anyway, this is a lovely pendant as all of yours are Mary!
ReplyDeleteI also love the look of the asparagus when it hasn't been picked and is allowed to seed. It is beautiful.
Thanks for this opportunity.
I love asparagus too, but right now my favourite veggie are the fresh beats I'm buying @ the farmers market for roasting.
ReplyDeleteOh oh oh1 - I just adore asparagus! It's the height of its short season here in the UK so I'm making the most of it while I can. I love most vegetables...I know it's really a fruit but sweet yellow or orange pepper roasted in olive olive oil and served with Feta cheese and olives - delicious. Then there's cauliflower baked with a rich cheese sauce, or Italian black cabbage braised in red wine with red onions...well you did ask!
ReplyDeleteFabulous giveaway - thank you.
That's a really pretty pendant! My favorite vegetable would have to be sweet bell peppers. I just cannot get enough of them!
ReplyDeleteLove asparagus and fresh veggies from the farmers market! That pizza looks yummy too! The pendant is beautiful as always. Suzette
ReplyDeleteAsparagus is my very favorite vegetable. I love most all of them (can't really think of one I don't like, actually) but when spring comes and asparagus is fresh, we sometimes eat it every day. Can't ever get enough. How great to grow your own. I hope it flourishes! The pendants are great!
ReplyDeleteYour asparagus pendant is fabulous. What a neat idea! When we moved here I made an asparagus bed. I planted really nice, disease-reistant asparagus and tended it with love and kindness. When the fingerlings appeared the next year, I was SO excited!! Fresh asparagus!! I went out a couple of days later and it was gone.
ReplyDeleteTo make a long story shorter, it turned out that Mitchell, our Basset hound, had a passion for asparagus. No matter what we did, he got it first. No fence could keep him out: he went through it, over it, under it....around it...
Finally I gave up and let him have the asparagus. I never got one single spear, but he was a happy hound.
As I live in a land with a short growing season, I have developed an appreciation of all fresh veggies (as in, locally grown, not the sad, woody ones that have travelled a thousand miles to my plate). We do keep a small organic garden, and it is such a treat to enjoy tomatoes, carrots, and beans straight from the warm earth and tended by one's own hands. Unfortunately, asparagus is not one of the plants suited to our climate, so I rarely get to enjoy it. I hope you plan to continue this series of garden veggie pendants... vegetables are sexy, after all!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love asparagus and it makes me so happy that you made asparagus pendants! I've never tried growing my own, but may do so next year.
ReplyDeleteTotally awesome! I, too, love asparagus but, being I'm the only one in the house who does, we don't have it often. How great your mold turned out so well. I'd love a chance to win one of the pendents.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! As we both love asparagus and so do our grown children we are in the process of instituting an asparagus patch in our garden (new this year). Hubby bought 30 to start so in three years we will hopefully have a lovely crop.
ReplyDeleteI have two favorite veggies - green beans and asparagus! After reading this post, it's going to be asparagus as a side for dinner tonight! I like it grilled, but tonite I will stir-fry it with a touch of olive oil, garlic, and grated pepper and salt just until it is crisp tender! Your pendant is just gorgeous, as is all of your work! Best of luck with your new plantings!!
ReplyDeleteOmigosh those pendants are gorgeous! My fave veggie is definitely asparagus; I wait all spring for it to arrive, and love, love it pickled as well. Thanks for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win this Mary! One of my favorite pieces of yours!
ReplyDeleteSandra
the pendant is teally cool! I love asparagas too, and started my bed last year, and have had about three meals from it this year, YUM! I will have to try it on pizza, it sounds good
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMary, I love this pendant. My daughter WAS a hater of ALL veggies. Now that she is an adult, she eats asparagus 3 times a week. I would love to make a necklace for her with this pendant.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, whoever wins will be very lucky!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful pendant! I love asparagus grilled with homemade bbq sauce. However, I must say my favorite veggie is corn on the cob - one of my 2 pugs whines while we are shucking it & begs to eat it (typewriter-style) just like a human! :)
ReplyDeleteThe pendant turned out beautifully! I love most fresh grown vegetable, but my favorite has to be corn on the cob. When it is just fresh from the farm.
ReplyDeleteI love all veggies but I will have to say a tomato is my favorite especially on a BLT! I do love asparagus and also corn. I could probably be a vegetarian! beetique@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI love the pendant. Another beautiful piece of nature you have captured in your pendant art. It is hard for me to choose a favourite veggie - fresh out of the garden is all wonderful. A fresh sun-warmed tomato or crisp green beans are favs. I have never attempted to grow asparagus, but we just had some from the local farmers' market today. Getting a little hot for asparagus growing but it was yummy. andrea.ross@ymail.com
ReplyDeleteOh, Mary! You have such unique ideas! Love your new pendants! Love your appreciation for ceramics, as I am a former ceamic studio owner back when ceramics was really popular. I, too, love asparagus. I can't wait til the local farmers have it at their stands & I mainly just steam it and add some butter and salt and pepper. But....one of my favorite memories is when we went to a Bead Show in nearby Cleveland, OH and stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. They served the most delicious steak salad (which is thinly sliced tender beef filet pieces over salad greens)....but to this salad they added cold pieces of asparagus, This, mixed with a vinegarette dressing, was out of this world. Glad I could share & hope some of the readers will try this cold salad. marcia.mcmahon@apitech.com
ReplyDeleteI adore asparagus! Roasted with just a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. I could eat the whole bunch. It would be so much fun to create a piece of jewelry with this great little pendant to honor this delicious veggie. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
ReplyDeleteLynda
Hi Miss Mary! I love the story of this new mold. Very pretty colors that asparagus plant! I am fascinated by the roots! I am not a big veggie fan, but baby carrots, raw always appeal to me. I also love fresh cucumbers from the farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteI just got back last night from the B&B and guess what was in the mail? Your package! It came back to me as undeliverable to the PO Box that I used. Perhaps I typed it in wrong. I can't get to my email until later today to check where I went wrong, so if you want to send me the address again, I will get that back out to you! I am so embarrassed that the earrings never reached you!
Enjoy the day. Eri
Love asparagus. Thanks for the chance to win this pendant. I can be reached at ritamicallef@rogers. com. (without the space)
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteHow I miss the North Country !
Your pendant is lovely. I do enjoy your styles. I wear my hearts often.
Thanks for the chance to add such a wonderful pin. randy_merrill@comcast.net (you already have this)
I love veggies, other than onions/scallions, and anything from the onion plant. Although, fried extra well is another story.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite veggie is zucchini! I recently made this zucchini soup that is to DIE for! I like asparagus too though :)
ReplyDeleteI adore Asparagus. It delights me that most in my family turn up their nose to it (more for me - yum!). I love the way your garden makes it into your clay studio!
ReplyDeleteOh how cute is that asparagus pendant! My dad has an asparagus patch and there is just no comparing it to store-bought stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite veggie? That's tough, and it's probably a tossup between carrots, artichokes, and yes, asparagus! Unless garlic counts ;)
Favorite veggie. . .hmm, that's a tough one as I am a veggie lover. I might just have to say it's a toss-up between broccoli and cauliflower right now. But that could all change next week. ANd, as look through the answers of others, I'm already changing my mind. .. IS garlic a vegetable? If so then THAT's my pick!!
ReplyDeleteIt is much easier for me to tell you what I don't love: lima beans. I love all vegetables except them! But, strangely enough, I like butter beads. They don't smell the same (at least to my nose) and the odor is the problem with limas.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the entry. Your pendant is perfect for us veggie lovers!
Hello Mary! My name is Diana Kolowski and I am a big fan of your beautiful beads! I would love to have a chance to win that lovely pendant of yours! My favorite vegetable would have to be tomatoes, but I really do love them all! You can contact me through my etsy shop baublesbeadsandmore.etsy.com or my email which is dlkcrafty@sbcglogal.net Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those who thinks the asparagus looks way better than it tastes. I agree with you, the colors are awesome, but the taste is not the best (at least not for me!) My favorite veggie? The sweet potato! I love me some sweet potatoes! e-mail: abney_m(at)yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love asparagus but since my husband doesn't care for it I don't get to enjoy it often. Around this house zucchini rules
ReplyDeleteLove it Mary! Asparagus is wonderful, I'm a veggie of all kinds fan (except onions and mushrooms...yuck!) so I'd vote Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes or Asparagus.
ReplyDelete