“New” Fries???

There’s no danger of a new career for Rose Allie; the day job will do just fine. However, she was fascinated with and had to sample the new Satisfries at Burger King the other day. Who could resist the claim of 40% less fat and 30% less calories? On top of that, they are in her favorite potato shape, crinkled.

The reality of the new spuds is quite different. Less fat and fewer calories than what? Rose questioned the breakfast crew: Are they real potatoes? Yes. Are they fried in a different oil? No, same as the skinny straight fries. So, what makes the difference? We don’t know.

Burger King isn’t telling their secret except to say Satisfries have a different batter than skinny fries, which absorbs less oil. Batter? On fries? On top of that, Satisfries are more expensive than skinny fries, $1.89 for a small order, which is 30 cents more than skinny fries. And Rose’s order was so salty they were almost beyond consuming. No, Rose Allie will never pursue a job as a food critic. It’s hazardous to her health.

Supposedly, fall is the best planting time of the year for perennials and shrubs. In ideal conditions it would be but right now the ground is so dry and so hard that gardening might be hazardous to Rose’s health as well. The weather is cooler, sure, and there are some sales at garden centers right now. There are not as many bugs buzzing around and plants put in the ground now will have more time to become established before spring blooming time. Therein lies the problem: getting plants in the ground.

If you’re fortunate to have diggable soil right now, go ahead and plan a weekend project that will result in a new bed for spring. Pick an area than can be completed in one day. (This does not include the trip to the nursery and the actual hauling of the plants and other products home.) Remove sod, roots, rocks and other debris. Amend the soil with compost. Smooth the area with a hard rake to make the soil slightly higher in the center. Again, do this prior to planting day, if possible. Well, what was thought to be a weekend project is turning out to be an extended job.

Anyway, plan your new bed on paper before you actually go to purchase plants. A couple of azaleas, some tulip bulbs, lamb’s ears, parsley plants, snapdragons, liriope, cast iron plants – if an array of colors is chosen, you’ll have a glorious show come spring.

Old favorites such as mums are always dependable, but most of them are not spring bloomers. Be sure to ask at the nursery if the ones you’ve chosen are perennials. Asters, anemones, forsythia sage, autumn sage, anise-scented sage, pineapple sage and bush sage would combine well with mums and asters to create an interesting fall perennial bed in that blank space in your yard.

Oh well. Life’s road is full of bumps and detours. Rose would like to add that when planting bulbs in the fall, one must decide whether the health and well-being of the rodents underground are a priority. If you can get by without tulips and crocus bulbs you won’t have a problem with moles and voles and other critters. They will, however, turn up their flea-bitten noses at grape hyacinths, daffodils, jonquils, snowdrops and bluebells – problem solved and garden planted.