"Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time
like dew on the tip of a leaf."
Lady's Mantle(Alchemilla mollis)
Gardener's Note: Lady's mantle, a gracious hardy garden companion whose mounds of scalloped foliage with airy chartreuse blossoms drape over the ground like a mantle, are 'a must' perennial for zones 3-7. Legend tells us that perhaps Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, chose Lady's Mantle as an adornment or that the lobes of the leaves were very similar to the scalloped edges of the mantle or cloak that she wore. Many herbalists regard lady's mantle as 'women's medicine', treating a variety of female issues. With a preference for light or partial shade, lady's mantle is perfect for woodland or cottage gardens, sprawling ground cover and delightful informal edging. Covered in fine hairs, its fuzzy leaves capture raindrops and dew that bead up and shine like sparkling jewels. The airy flowers make fabulous fillers in fresh or dried arrangements.
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STREUSEL-TOPPED KEY LIME SQUARES
~ Tangy and tart perfect ending for warm days (COOKING LIGHT)
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1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. grated lime rind
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. lemon extract
1 cup AP flour
cooking spray
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. AP flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice
(Persian limes are fine but not as tart)
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place first 5 ingredients in medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until creamy (about 2 minutes). Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into dry measuring cup; level with knife. Gradually add 1 cup flour to butter mixture, beating at low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently press two-thirds of mixture (about 1 1/3 cups) into bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray; set remaining 2.3 cup flour mixture aside. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown.
- Combine 2/3 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp. flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. salt in medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add lime juice and eggs, stirring with whisk until smooth. Pour mixture over crust. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove pan from oven (do not turn oven off), sprinkle remaining 2.3 cup flour mixture evenly over egg mixture. Bake and additional 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar. (16 small square servings)
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12 comments:
alchemilla is one of my all time favourite plants, lovely photos Joey.
K
Hi Joey, your lady's mantle photos are so pretty. I grew it several years ago and remember how it held the droplets. I don't see it offered for sale very often anymore. Plants seem to go in and out of fashion.
Your recipe sounds yummy.
Marnie
Stunning colors to match your yummy recipe...I think I'll try it for my son's graduation party this weekend. Thanks for the wonderful post...as always! Kim
Hi Joey, my Alemilla mollis (I just love it so!) is at the same stage as yours. its colors go well with your key lime streusel! :)
I agree, Karen. I once heard said, when I purchased my first Lady's Mantle, that if one could have 1 plant in the garden, this would be it! I also have the little alpine in my 'once' minature garden!
This is one plant that will never go 'out of fashion' for me, Marnie. Wish you lived closer ... I love to share :)
Hello dear Kim and thank you ... I often think how lucky I was to taste your delicious jam! Hugs across the miles. (Remember if you make this recipe, it's a small batch for a crowd.)
Hi Monica and dear friend ... you caught my drift!
Goodness Joey, You are such an artist...in the kitchen and in your garden. Look at those colors, textures and combinations of flowers/foliage...even the Key Lime fits. Beautiful. gail
I love that quote! And Lady's Mantle also. Never had any. Don't know if it grow here...
Brenda
How sweet, Gail ... an honor coming from you, dear gifted friend :) Don't you think all gardeners think of themselves as artists, painting with plants! It's the same in the kitchen ... painting with food (still color, texture, form, taste)! And then there is the the eye behind the lens that wishes to capture the moment in everything we see, taste, smell, and feel. Isn't life a miracle and aren't we blessed!
That quote is you, Brenda, and not surprised that you like it. Lady's Mantle is a wonderous plant ... years ago, it was one the first chartreuse plants introduced to my garden ... then it became a 'love affair' because it had so many other wonderous precious properties, crucial in a perennial garden.
I love all your photos, Joey, but especially the ones in the upper right hand corner: the dewdrops are like jewels on the leaves. You've convinced me I really need to add Lady's Mantle to my shade garden!
And do you have an extra Key Lime bar to share?:)
Joey, That was a sweet comment back Joey! Thank you! You are a dear...Hoping all is going well? gail
Yes, you are an artist both in kitchen and garden.
Delighted you love Lady's Mantle, Rose. Trust me, it will become a favorite! Easy to divide, eventually you will have drifts of this stunning beauty, especially in the morning when awesome dew drops glisten.
I often think of you when in the garden with my camera, Gail, knowing you are as joyful and in awe as I am. Shed my soft cast but have traveled here to the lake keeping it handy :) Daughter's knee issues on conserative hold for surgery depending on therapy ... issue with blood clot emergency appointment turned out negative. My car is finally back home after accident ~ Mr. Ho-Hum took it in for oil change and stunned mechanic found HUGE squirrel nest covering engine plus an ample supply of pine cones. Isn't life interesting :)
How kind, Jarlin. You have a beautiful soul!
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