same chairs, new dressing

being backyardovich, May 2010

Love grows where my

Rosemary goes

marinade
Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lemon juice, slice and add remaining pulp and rind
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
rosemary sprigs
salt
pepper
2 lbs. chicken breasts





Rosmarinus officinalis

Preparation:

In a large food storage bag, place lemon juice, oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add chicken. Close bag and marinate in refrigerator 3 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally.

~

Rosemary is a member of the Labiatae (or Lamiaceae) family which also includes thyme, basil, mint, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, and lavender.

~

Latin Rosmarinus officianalis
rosmarinus translates to “dew of the sea.”

~

Rosemary is an ideal companion plant for carrots as it repels the carrot fly, and there is a mutually beneficial effect on growth when it is planted near sage.

~ 

The Rosemary in the photo above is currently growing in our back porch waiting to be planted in the new vegetable and herb garden. It's future plans include soaking in that marinade and being wrapped inside breasts of chicken with some Gorgonzola and sun dried tomatoes, then grilled.

spring trees on campus

Campus Crabapple, Quince, and Cherry ~ May 19, 2010

Baby Millar's Lady's Mantle

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling) i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

Photogarden May 16th

Gayfeather, Juniper berries, Tamarack droplets, 
Rhododendron petals 

honeydew

Garden Blog To-Do List

1. Though I'm terribly behind, I have to write a post about Renee's Garden and the Seed Grow Project. It's been too early to plant here yet, but I wanted to acknowledge the package, and note my plans. I'll probably plant the seeds this weekend.

2. I must visit the greenhouse, Dennis & Susan, and post a photo journey through this year's growth.

3. There's a mountain to write about our garden.
- plans for the new vegetable bed
- transplanting some of my treasured perennials to the front shade garden
- John Davis' survival story
- dogs in the garden
Not to mention photos of the progress. I can't keep up with the rhubarb, which is already near it's first harvest. The azalea is in full bloom right now, and the lilac is showing signs of a great bloom already. Ferns and hostas are returning under the spruce tree, and all the daylilies have begun to grow.

4. I've spent a fair bit of time in the garden lately just cleaning it up and puttering around the plants. It's been a decent distraction, and I do find solitude in working the soil.
Our new vegetable bed is a little behind schedule. After the demolition and construction of our new back porch last fall, the bed that used to contain all of Rohan's favourite succulents was destroyed. We saved the plant but have decided to transplant them elsewhere around the garden, and use the ideal space for vegetable and herbs.
The space has southern exposure, with protection from the house to the north, and steps to the west. It's not large by any means, but enough for us to put a few tomatoes and peppers, some herbs, and possibly peas. The deck and barbecues are just to the west of the veggie space, so I can imagine a lot of snacking going on.

5. We stained my old Adirondack chairs with a solid stain in lime-moss green. They look fabulous. Photos will follow soon.

burying my heart in the garden

She spoke very broken English through a thick Italian accent, much like the many backyard vegetable growers who frequent the greenhouse, except I was sitting in my office when she approached me. Sure enough she was a gardener looking to reserve a plot in the campus garden. She wanted to grow beans, and mentioned beans between every sentence.
It's happened a number of times - people are being directed to me for information on the campus garden. Most people still associate me with the garden, so I've been getting a lot of calls and emails. I don't mind; they're easy enough to redirect. I do enjoy interacting with the gardeners.

She was nice enough (actually, very understanding and compliant) when I explained to her that I am not coordinating the garden this year. I wrote down the name of who she's looking for, building, office number, phone, and explained to her how to get there. Thankfully she seems to know her way around campus, so I was able to use the library as a reference point. She thanked me, all the while continuing to talk about growing beans and some other simple veggies, how she just wants a little space, how she lives in an apartment now, and more about the beans.

She began to walk out the door, but then turned back around and said, "you lost a little baby eh", looking at me sympathetically. "I was here last week and someone told me you were away, you were sick, they didn't know when you would be back because you lost a little baby eh." I kind of choked, and nodded. I could tell by her tone she certainly wasn't meaning any disrespect. "I didn't upset you did I", she asked, but before I could answer she continued on, "My daughter lost three little babies - me two, but she has one now, and I have three children - all grown - but I lost two, and my daughter, she lost three little babies."
I just sat there, probably looking kind of stunned. What she was saying didn't make me tear up, which was strange - everything these days makes me tear. I wasn't offended by her frankness either, but I think that was because between every breath she sighed a sad "aw", and shook her head in a mournful kind of way. She went on to tell me what a pretty girl I am, "so young, so pretty" she said a few times, "you'll have another little baby soon." Then she left.
The entire time she was in my office she was speaking or sighing, either about the beans, the garden, the little baby, her daughter, herself, and about me and our baby.

It's been twenty eight days since we lost our precious baby. When we first learned of the pregnancy I became so distracted with joy that I couldn't think of anything else. It was February, and though I would normally be kicking off garden planning in high gear then, I couldn't think of anything else but what was going on inside me. Looking forward to a summer of cute baby belly relaxing in our garden, and tending our new small veggie bed was about all I could manage.
I kept wanting to write posts about gardening during pregnancy but was holding off until the news made to everyone. Then I went through weeks of being too sick with morning/all day sickness to read a book or look at a computer screen any longer than I had to. By the time I beginning to feel up to writing again it was too late.

The grief for this loss has been overwhelming - more than any other loss. All the dreams and possibilities wrapped up in this tiny human become too heartbreaking to think of.

We've decided on planting Lady's Mantle or Alchemilla mollis for our baby; the same plant I planted in memory of Lisa when she passed away. I'm not generally fond of imitating a previous memorial plant, but in this case I can't think of any plant better suited.
As it's name suggests some sort of chemistry,  it was/is used in many ways as an herbal remedy - mostly to heal bleeding disorders, even more specifically to female bleeding disorders. (Though it shouldn't be used during pregnancy!)
I think it's beautiful. It's an unassuming plant, low growing, and somewhat clumping in form. It has soft, fuzzy, 7 to 9 lobed star-like shaped foliage that famously collect morning's dew and raindrops. Right now I feel like all those droplets could take the place of all the tears we've cried.
The flowers are really small and bloom in clusters on top of tall stems - a yellow, almost limey-yellow - which look simply amazing on a rainy day.

The plant has been designated "Little Magical One" in lore. Medieval alchemists are known to have used the droplets of water that collected on the leaves in all kinds of "mystical potions" because it was thought that the plant could increase any existing magical powers (usually specific to healing).

I think it offers a lot in memory of our Little Magical One...and I think we could definitely use a little healing.

Baby M would have been born in October. Both the calendula and cosmos are recognized as October's birth flower, so I will plant a few of each this year (and every year). They'll go nice in the vegetable bed, and in pots around the garden. It breaks my heart that we find ourselves in this place - I don't want to plant a memory of this oh so special little baby. 

Precious Baby M, 01.30.2010 - 04.08.2010

spring garden

back yard Garden April 17th 2010

The Renaissance of Bees

The Renaissance of Bees

Woolfson, Jonathan

Source: Renaissance Studies
Volume 24, Number 2,
April 2010, pp. 281-300
Blackwell Publishing

ABSTRACT

Insects have occupied the planet for over 400 million years, humans for a mere one million. Their impact on human development has been incalculable. They are likely to outlive us. This article explores selected cases in attitudes to the honeybee, an insect with a particularly intense history of interaction with humans, from the late fifteenth to the early seventeenth centuries, mainly drawn from England and Italy, but with forays into other parts of Europe. It is argued that the Renaissance of bees is a mixed phenomenon, characterized by the elaboration of ancient and medieval ideas about these creatures; a heightened tendency to moralize about human society in the light of them; and a new curiosity for understanding them better through direct observation. The study of attitudes to bees sheds light on religion, politics, science and gender during the Renaissance.

Jonathan Woolfson ¹

  ¹ Istituto Lorenzo de'Medici, Florence

 I am grateful to audiences at the Warburg Institute, Sussex University, and the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in Atlanta for response to versions of this article. Thanks especially to Susan Brigden, Peter Burke, Rita Comanducci, Martin van Gelderen, Claire Preston and Flaminia Pichiorri. For general orientations to the subject of this article see Peter Burke, 'Fables of the Bees: A Case-Study in Views of Nature and Society', in Mikulas Teich, Roy Porter and Bo Gustafsson (eds.), Nature and Society in Historical Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 112–23; Claire Preston, Bee (London: Reaktion Books, 2006); Bee Wilson, The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us (London: John Murray, 2004); Max Beier, 'The Early Naturalists and Anatomists during the Renaissance and Seventeenth Century', in Ray F. Smith, Thomas E. Mittler and Carroll. N. Smith (eds.), History of Entomology (Palo Alto: Annual Reviews, 1973), 81–94; and Hattie Ellis, Sweetness and Light: The Mysterious History of the Honey Bee (London: Sceptre, 2004).

waiting for spring

Click here to create your own magnetic garden poetry.

2010 Symposium on Sustainable Horticulture

Canadian Institute for Sustainable Biodiversity

February 16th through 19th, 2010

2010 Symposium on Sustainable Horticulture

Join experts and specialists from all over Ontario and further abroad for our three-day symposium on sustainable horticulture.

What part does horticulture play in making urban Canada a healthy, productive place to live?

How does our urban landscape - gardens, parks, lawns, ecologically designed hardscapes, green roofs and other innovations - ensure that well-being and biodiversity are supported and enhanced?

What steps can all practitioners of horticulture - from the trades to home gardeners and plant breeders - take to issues like invasive species, pest management and urban biodiversity?

The symposium will explore these and many other questions, Wednesday February 17th through Friday February 19th, 2010 (with a day of workshops on Tuesday February 16th).

• Hands-on workshops one day only, Tuesday, February 16: plant identification, seed saving, cooking with local produce
• Multidisciplinary panels, keynotes, presentations and poster sessions
• Sessions: Sustainable Sites Initiative, water features, climate change, urban agriculture, native plants, green roof technologies and more
• Keynote presentations: Dr. Jennifer Sumner, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Dr. David Galbraith, Royal Botanical Gardens, and Dr. Steve Windhager, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas

Register on-line

Information on volunteering

Download a flyer for the 2010 Patrick Colgan Lecture, “Climate Change and Horticulture through Mid-Century” by Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon, on Wednesday 17 February 2010 at 7:00 PM

Roses I have Known

Morden Sunrise

Parkland series, hardy shrub rose

Introduced in 1999

Blooms appear in a combination of yellow, orange, and pink, against dark green, shiny foliage.

Morden Blush 

Parkland series, hardy shrub rose

Introduced in 1988

Pale pink blooms in cooler temperatures, turn creamy white in warmer weather.

John Davis

Explorer shrub / climber

Introduced in 1986

Medium pink double flowers in clusters. 

J.P. Connell 

Ottawa Breeding Program

Introduced in 1987

Lemon yellow blooms look a lot like a hybrid tea rose open to look more like a floribunda in creamy white.

• I still have my John Davis rose, who has faithfully bloomed year after year since 2001, moved three times, and has lived in a bucket for months at a time.

Floriography

 Flora's Dictionary

 "By a Lady"
Elizabeth Washington Gamble Wirt, 1784-1857
Originally published in Baltimore by Fielding Lucas, June 1829.
This first dictionary of flower meanings can be viewed in full (scanned version) (or downloaded to your Kindle) thanks to the contribution from the University of California Libraries to the Internet Archive.


My appreciation grows for these scanned copies of treasured books for the sake availability and record, but oh how I'd appreciate even more being able to hold an original copy.

Ms Wirt's floral dictionary was one of a number published during the Victorian Age; when gardening for leisure flourished, and propriety meant constraint, the symbolic use of flowers was a means of expression. Floriography, or the meaning of flowers, has continued to serve as a instrument of the romantic gesture. What I adore about Flora's Dictionary is the combination of science and folklore. The book begins by setting the stage for a botanist's study, but the references aren't direct and are quoted from literature, namely poetry - the songs of the heart.

Often the message is as much about the colour of the flower as the flower itself. Over time, the language of  these emblems of emotion has been reconstructed; for instance Ms Wirt's yellow Tulip symbolized hopeless love, while now is commonly known to speak for cheerfulness. Innocent Daisies stand over time, but the Foxglove Digitalis evolves from "a wish" according to Flora's Dictionary to being known as "dead man's bells" or "witches gloves" due to the potency of the plant's chemicals.
Whatever their meaning, flower symbolism continues to satisfy the human psyche, and the heart. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching I'm quite certain the florists will be busy interpreting the language of flowers.

As always, I recommend reading A Contemplation Upon Flowers by Bobby J. Ward.

 Also

The Language of Flowers; With Illustrative Poetry by Frederic Shoberl
Lea & Blanchard, 1848
Harvard

Flora Symbolica or, The Language and Sentiment of Flowers. Including floral poetry, original and selected.
by John Henry Ingram
Published in 1869, F. W. Warne and co. (London)



Flora Symbolica: Flowers in Pre-Raphaelite Art by Debra Mancoff
978-3791328515
Prestel, 2003

gardenerd

also

(JSTOR) Scientific Theory in Erasmus Darwin's "The Botanic Garden" (1789-91)
Clark Emery
Isis, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Sep., 1941), pp. 315-325
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society

gardenerd 

Greenhouse Dreaming

Trevisanutto's Greenhouses, 2007

six more weeks

Wiarton Willie saw his shadow this morning, and so we have six more weeks of winter. Shubenacadie Sam, and Punxsutawney Phil did, and I'm going to assume our furry little friends R.O.U.S.'s in the LU Garden have also seen their shadows.
This means six more weeks of winter reading, so I picked up a copy of The God of Small Things today from the university bookstore. Winner of the Booker Prize, I was sold by the description of being "lush and lyrical", and the first chapter title: PARADISE PICKLES & PRESERVES.
Roy begins with a description of Ayemenem, India in May; rich in red ripening bananas, and fruity air - just the sort of place I want to read myself into on this cold February. A little bit of travel writing to take me some place else.

Groundhogs are popping up all over the city, not only in the LU Garden. The courthouse on Court Street also boasts a groundhog, and I'm sure there are some living near the ridge of Hillcrest Park - near our garden. Luckily Claire and Gromit have little affection for large rodents, and will do well at keeping them at a distance. woof

The legend of the groundhog's forecasting powers, though up for discussion, dates back to the early days of Christianity in Europe when clear skies on the holiday Candlemas Day, celebrated on Feb. 2, meant an extended winter.
The tradition founds its way to Germany, altering so that that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast its shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of cold weather.
The Groundhog Day was then carried on in North America during the late 1800s thanks to a Pennsylvanian newspaper editor and publisher, who organized and popularized a yearly festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The festival featured a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil to foretell how long the winter would last.

A typical groundhog, or by its scientific name Marmota monax, weighs approximately 9.5 pounds with a body length reaching about 20 inches.
Groundhogs use their short, powerful legs, claws, and large teeth to dig underground living habitats, which can run quite extensively with as many as five entrances and various tunnels extending some 45 feet, and as deep underground as 5 feet.

"Shubenacadie Sam, Nova Scotia's furry season forecaster, spots his shadow as he emerges from his enclosure in Shubenacadie, N.S. on Monday, Feb. 2, 2009."
(Photo by Andrew Vaughan / 
courtesy of THE CANADIAN PRESS)

As the light grows longer

The cold grows stronger

If Candlemas be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

If Candlemas be cloud and snow

Winter will be gone and not come again

A farmer should on Candlemas day

Have half his corn and half his hay.

On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop

You can be sure of a good pea crop.

FRESH

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.

http://www.freshthemovie.com/

Establishing A Food Forest

Establishing A Food Forest
(The Permaculture Way Series)

by Geoff Lawton

Educator and Consultant Geoff Lawton discusses the principles of Permaculture and Agroforestry in his film on developing sustainable, ecological food systems. A review of the film can be read here, I can't describe it any better. Though the film features in Australia, the principles are globally relevant.
Consider how this theorum can be applied in our Boreal forest.





Order your own copy of the DVD from the
Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

The Permaculture Research Institute as a registered charity and global networking centre for Permaculture projects around the world.

Permaculture is a design system for sustainable human habitats that supply human needs in an environmentally sustainable way – an environment enhancing way. -- Geoff Lawton

OMAFRA factsheets

Why Farm Organically?

Factsheets from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs are a invaluable source of information. Though focused on commercial farming, the principles can be applied to any grower. The OMAFRA Vegetable Production Information page lists everything from soil science to seed companies, and homemade pesticides from Health Canada.

Season Extension Techniques for Vegetable Crops is a particularly relevant sheet to gardeners in our area.

Interim Report on Ontario's Biodiversity (a 66 page pdf document from the Ontario Biodiversity Council) discusses everything from native species, ecosystem diversity, sustainable use and Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Land-Use Planning. The anecdotal (though fundamentally scientific) information in the document and links to further reading can keep a gardener well entertained on a rainy spring day.
The Ministry of Natural Resources extends to Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy and "seeks to engage more Ontarians in our efforts to achieve the goals of protecting biodiversity and ensuring the sustainable use of our biological assets."

Interested to know What's current in crops?

Vermicomposting

Pictured right is Marge Stadey of the Ogden-Simpson Veggie Garden Project showing some children her worm compost at the local food forum at the Lakehead University Agora in November 2008.

The Thunder Bay Vermicomposting Network was initiated by Dr. Brad Wilson and a number of his students of the Geography Department at Lakehead University.

Worm composting is an efficient way to deal with home kitchen food scraps, turning it into useful and nutrient rich compost for your garden. The process is simple; instructions can be found here, compiled by EcoSuperior.

Red worms (red wigglers) are the companions you want for your worm composting, and are available from Dr. Wilson's network.

---

City Farmer executive director Michael Levenston's posts in City Farmer News are some of my favourite to read. I've been subscribing to this journal for a long time, and am continually engaged with his historical Canadian gardening stories, along side the current movements City Farmer News follows on the west coast.

In a recent post, City Farmer News published the following video on worm composting which answers a lot of the questions people have, and with this video demonstrate the process.

To read the full article, please visit
City Farmer News Worm Composting Tips.

City Farmer’s main web site Urban Agriculture Notes (www.cityfarmer.org) has hundreds of pages of information about city farming. Published since 1994, it was the first web site on the Internet to promote urban farming.

more cold day dreaming

Bergamot Monarda didyma (Bee Balm) 

growing in my cousin Wendy's garden 

July 2009 Mississauga Ontario