An apology: Something happened to this post whereby much of it got underlined and nearly deleted. At the risk of losing it entirely, I am keeping it as is. Sorry for the inconvenience of having to view everything as if it were a book title. Winter parsley is an exalted version of its already-awesome self. […]
Sometimes You Just Say – Whoa!
I love the fact that as a seasoned gardener I still get surprised by things….I mean really surprised, to the point of almost mirthful laughter. I recall being astonished a few years ago to discover the shovel-headed flatworm (Bipalium sp.) in my school garden. Not exactly cute, but remarkable nonetheless, though the creature did drop […]
Something in me loves Italy
Something in me loves Italy, and I know that’s not just a personal peculiarity. I think as a more northerly North American, steeped in cultural origins that are Northern European, there is both subconscious and conscious attraction to the sunnier climes and their cultures. To a French Canadian raised in New Hampshire, Italy resonates, practically drips, […]
You Just Want To Shrink Wrap These Things!
Ah, what finer pleasure than a lineup of English cukes, skins glinting in the morning sunlight. This morning I picked some really beautiful cukes, and, folks, I am proud to say that I have discovered a second way to grow really straight cukes, you know the kind you just want to shrink wrap and bring […]
Beans for Brekkie
Sun’s comin’ up. Time to get to work. Breakfast…an afterthought. Summer is always a time of early-to-rise (but perversely late to bed!) and out of the house, off to work before the day’s heat really sets in. I like to strike an early, vigorous blow at the day’s task list, and there’s nothing like the cool morning […]
Stand back, puny human gardener
Our bodies are weak and puny, and that is why humans, since the beginnings of our self-consciousness, I think, have been fascinated with animals and their wondrous powers. Their claws, talons, beaks, antlers, wings, hooves, eyes, noses, fins, tails, etc. are awesome tools given them by nature and their powers of flight, sight, agility, scent, […]
Chicago Inspires, Even Vegetably
Walking around Millenium Park in Chicago is the last place I’d expect to be inspired with garden ideas, but the park’s landscape designers have tucked some mid-western, veggie-patch sensibilities into their otherwise prairie-themed beds.Here, very neatly manicured, is a row of tomatoes, pruned to one vine and staked with bamboo canes. It’s an attractive look, […]
Let us grow these!
Gotta give you three great lettuces that I’m loving, and you’re going to love that there’s still time to plant all of them for both late summer and fall production. First is Italienischer, which, as I understand it, is the English-pronounced German word for an Italian. That alone makes it intriguing, but its performance in the garden […]
Radicchio Gets Double Sexy
Many years ago I grew an amazing, red-and-green-mottled leaf chicory called Variegata di Castelfranco (the Variegata meaning variegated, meaning mottled, meaning multi-colored in patches or streaks). It was a brilliant performer over the winter, but its bitterness definitely needed tempering by winter’s cold. Now Johnny’s Selected Seeds has released a similar all-season chicory called Bel Fiore (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-9021-bel-fiore.aspx) […]
Sime Mold Postlude (Actually More Crude Than Lude, and Ultimately, Quite Shrewd)
So you thought one post on the disgusting, yet strangely fascinating, slime mold was going to be enough, but, no, I couldn’t resist an update. Is it wrong that I wanted to photograph this? Shortly after I took the first set of images, I observed the slime mold morph, changing from a tawny-colored, dog-vomit-like form […]