Month: July 2025

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Successful Immigrant

ellenparkerwrites

Arriving with a good education and ambition, Henry Shaw brought a shipment of hardware to St. Louis in 1819. The town was small, but showing importance as a gateway to other portions of the Louisiana Purchase.

With family connections in the hardware and steel business in England, Mr. Shaw set up a hardware store and soon was making a profit. Many people paused in St. Louis and purchased tools and equipment necessary to set up new homes in the West. With an eye to the future, he purchased land on the southern outskirts of the city.

Please, have a seat and enjoy my garden. Botany was my passion after my early retirement. The place where you sit, within sight of my country home, is designed for the public to enjoy and learn.

Thousands of St. Louis residents visit the Missouri Botanical Garden each year. Among them, I like to think are the characters from the sweet romance, COMFORT ZONE. A couple of any age can enjoy a stroll among the roses, through the shady woodland, or by the lake in the Japanese Garden. Check out the book and meet the characters at this link: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av

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Do you feel Underappreciated?

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Are you ignored? Joked about?

Be assured — you are not alone. Consider the humble Kumquat. (Yes, it’s a real plant and fruit.)

When ripe, these kumquats will be yellow orange. A rather neglected citrus, the tree is native to Southern China but now found world wide. Hardier than orange trees, the smaller fruit is rich in vitamin C and fiber. However, I doubt you’ll find a large display in your local supermarket — perhaps a small number on a seasonal basis.

In mid-19th century Illinois, any citrus was rare and seasonal. Lemons, limes, and oranges would have made brief appearances in the winter — in larger cities before small farm communities. Kumquat? Good for a laugh.

Single mothers faced even more, and greater, obstacles than a kumquat salesman in fictional Elm Ridge. Join Polly Black in the sweet romance, Stitching a Dream, to discover how a new arrival in town changes her life. More information at the link: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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Am I Lost?

ellenparkerwrites

I took a right turn. Then a left. Oops! Time to turn around and try again.

Shorter, and younger, people have a greater challenge in the boxwood maze. I suppose the people with the greatest advantage are those with a spotter in the observatory (where I snapped this photo) to guide them on their phone.

However, where’s the fun unless you take several wrong turns and keep meeting a few others in your same state of confusion. (By the way — confusion is a nice state with a large population.)

Today’s featured sweet romance is Stare Down. Dave Holmes, a young surgeon is tossed into a state of confusion over many topics by his charming neighbor, Maylee. Check out the blurb at the link: http://amzn.to/1LXiTwP

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Kitchen Constant

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The dried fruit of this plant has been in every kitchen I’ve encountered. Sometimes it has been whole. Often it is ground – either fine or coarse. Black outnumbers white by a wide margin.

The fruit of this vine has not ripened. I don’t see even a hint of red. Perhaps I should have returned a few days or a week later.

The next time you pick up the pepper shaker (or grinder) and add a little “pep” to your meal, consider the vine. Unless you have a greenhouse, I doubt you’ll be able to grow your own in the United States. This tropical plant likes it warm. The commercial growers are located in Sumatra and Java — plus other places with similar climate.

In the sweet historical romance, Stitching a Dream, Polly purchases peppercorns from the grocer. She, and others, are in the habit of “bruising” them with a pestle or other heavy kitchen tool before putting them into soups and stews. Have you cooked with whole peppercorns?

Here’s a link to the book: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

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Tasty World-Wide

ellenparkerwrites

Sometimes a spice or flavoring gains approval throughout the world. And from one generation to another. One of these is cinnamon.

Whether using the quills (cinnamon bark sticks) or ground cinnamon, this warm, sweet spice has become associated with sweets in the West and savory in the East. As usual with spices, overlap occurs.

Native to Sri Lanka and nearby regions, cinnamon is recorded as being used as a spice in China since 4,000 BC. It is mentioned in the Bible as well as documented as a spice by the Greeks and medicine by the Romans.

One of the most common spices in 19th century American, the bakers in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois would have kept a supply. I can imagine the aroma now. Picture Louisa Mueller grating and grinding cinnamon sticks into fine powder to make the filling for her popular cinnamon buns. The flavors of yeast dough, butter, and sugar combined with the spice transports Hans taste buds to the skies.

Check out the sweet historical romance, New Dreams, for more of Louisa and Hans’ story of their journey to and first months living in America. Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Three Millennium

ellenparkerwrites

Would you like to cultivate a plant which symbolizes strength? How about good luck? Or long life?

Would you appreciate a plant that is both ornamental and medicinal? What if we could add edible?

Meet the Sacred Lotus. Cultivated for three thousand years and wearing all the attributes listed above the photo. This grouping of plants is much younger and grows at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Come and stroll among these and many others. Can’t make a journey to St. Louis? Seek out a public garden near your home.

The sweet romance, Comfort Zone, is set in St. Louis — but a similar story could take place in many American cities. Check out this tale of second chances and choices to be made at the link. https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av

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Tall…or Medium

ellenparkerwrites

Sometimes when you say a plant name, many varieties are included. For example: depending upon the species, today’s featured plant can be from less than one foot to greater then three feet tall. The blossom color also varies, from almost white, to pale pink, lavender, and dark purple.

This planting of ornamental onion grabs the walker’s attention. Are those colored ping-pong balls on stalks? Not exactly. Each of those globes consist of many, many small, star-shaped flowers. Long-lasting, this plant works well in borders. Yes, put the tallest ones in the back. Plant the bulbs in the fall, sit back, and watch for surprises in late spring into early summer.

Louisa Mueller, and all the other ladies tending gardens in 1851 Elm Ridge, Illinois, did not bother with this “onion”. They grew the traditional type to flavor soups, stews, and roasted meats. Some households grew them in great quantity — families were large — and some immigrant groups used them in more dishes than others.

Check out the sweet historical romance, New Dreams, to discover other facets of the lives of Louisa and other Deutsch immigrants in this fictional river town. Steamboat’s coming! Follow the link! https://amzn.to/3vWydWE

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Charming…in all Sizes

ellenparkerwrites

Tall, medium, or short. Wide, moderate, or narrow.

While size might matter for certain uses, all of the above, in any combination of height and width can be a delight to the eye.

I’m speaking of waterfalls today. It does not matter if you marvel at the narrow stream falling off the edge of the cliff in Yosemite or bask in the mist and power from Niagara. Once, on a short hike in a park, I rounded the corner and was enchanted at a modest example.

This example, in the Missouri Botanical Garden, invites the walker to seek a bench, take a break, and clear their mind of daily cares. Set your mental schedule aside for a few minutes — laundry and groceries will wait. Enjoy the play of sunlight on falling water and the lush vegetation nearby.

The sweet romance, Morning Tryst, introduces the reader to several Missouri State Parks. Water is a feature in many — river or lake. Our photographer heroine, however, finds more than beautiful scenery and snippets of history. Check out the information at the link: https://amzn.to/35gH37S

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Pretty in Pink

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Also in white, orange, and any flower color except blue.

When I found this bed of lilies one June at the Missouri Botanical Garden, I couldn’t resist. I wonder how many other visitors snapped their photo that day. Or in the years since?

When I was a child, we called the orange ones “tiger lily”. It was pretty much the only color we saw. According to my recent search, they are Asiatic lilies. Of course, that’s rather misleading. Since the plant is native to North America and Europe as well as large portions of Asia.

Regardless of name and place of origin — they are a credit to any garden.

In the mid-19th century, many American gardens included a few flowers among the vegetables. They added a splash of color. Sometimes they also furnished medicine or a little pest control. In the sweet historical romance, New Dreams, one of Louisa’s first tasks at the bakery was to tend the garden. Fenced to keep out the animals which tended to wander, the garden contained raised beds of vegetables, herbs, and (I like to think) a few flowers. Check out this summer read at the link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE