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Happy composting! And happy weekend everyone!

I leave you with a few recent scenes from my garden.

Clematis ‘Empress.’ I mis-identified it as ‘Crystal Fountain’ a few weeks back.

Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale).

Columbine meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegiifolium) unopened.

Columbine meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegiifolium) fully opened.

Allium ‘Moly Luteum’, red Dianthus (I can’t recall its name), Pasque flower seed pods (Pulsatilla vulgaris), Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina), Purple Sage, Lime Thyme.

Before I introduce this week’s plants, I just want to say how much I am enjoying this project. I have walked through the garden these last few Wed mornings with an eye to what I will add to the box and I can’t tell you how much joy I find in artfully assembling the collection. This task taps into a part of my child brain that needs stimulation. It’s fun to see the images compile in a folder on my computer and I look forward to months from now when there are weeks of boxes within boxes within boxes all together.

Again there is so much going on in the garden right now it was hard to narrow it down to 9 plants that represent the garden as it is. I tried to chose plants that are at their peak or blooms that may not be around for next week’s collection. Still, there are a few like the Chocolate Cosmos that I know will be around for some time yet, but I was simply too excited to leave them out.

From Left to Right:

Top Row: 1. Climbing Rose ‘Westerland.’ I choose my roses based on their hardiness, scent, color, form, and pest resistance — pretty much in that order. Since planting this one against our ramshackle shed last year, I’ve noticed a few aphids that I’ve had to keep a close eye on, but beyond that it has met all of my other requirements. It came back strong in its second year without any special attention, reaching up to the top of the shed door in the few months since Spring began. It started blooming while we were away last week and has absolutely exploded. I LOVE it so, and I know from last year’s experience that we will see many more blooms straight through until the frost. 2. Allium ‘Moly Luteum.’ I knew this allium was going to be spectacular when I planted it back in the fall and it has not disappointed. It is indeed edible and tastes like an onion with a mild garlic flavor. I’ve added a few flowers to my lunchtime salads, but can’t bare to eat much more as I want these to produce seed and spread more for next year. 3. These pretty little gems are the flowers of a dwarf coreopsis that I believe is called Coreopsis auriculata ‘Nana’, although I am not sure as I received it from my friend Barry last fall and while it is possible that he sent me on my way with an ID, my brain….

Middle Row: 4. Caraway (Carum carvi) This plant is absolutely exploding with flowers right now. They are edible, and while I have slipped a few into our salads, they don’t add much to write home about. The seeds are the ultimate goal. My brain has been whirring recently, trying to envision some special way to use them. Perhaps a loaf of homemade bread… 5. Viola cornuta ‘Black Magic’ I have grown this exceptionally black viola in the past. It is perennial, but did not come back last year so I’m at it again with a new plant and the hope that this one will establish itself and reappear next year. I love it so much that even if it doesn’t I will keep trying again and again. 6. Papaver orientale I moved this plant over from the Street Garden last spring and it has taken the plant a year to recoup, reproduce, and flower. While the growing conditions in that garden were fine, and poppies are notoriously aggressive, the poor thing never had a chance. Passerbys were prone to ripping off the stems as soon as the flowers emerged, sometimes damaging the plant in the process. In turn, I was never able to enjoy them as I have this year. It’s been a treat.

Bottom Row: 7. Chocolate Cosmos aka Cosmos atrosanguineus It’s been over a decade since I first heard of this deep brown flower and I have been coveting it ever since. So when I saw it at a local garden shop, 3 for $10 I jumped, no hesitation or regret. I have not yet noticed the subtle chocolate/vanilla scent that it is known for, but this is the first bloom to emerge and I am patient(ish). 8. Chive Flowers The bulk of my chive flowers are gone, harvested in a panic last week, just before we set off on a short roadtrip. Chive flowers are a truly seasonal delicacy. I knew they would be passed their prime before we returned and I did not want to miss out on my annual routine of making homemade chive flower vinegar. It’s easy: just stuff a jar full with clean chive blossoms, top with the vinegar of your choice (I used cider vinegar this time around since it was all I had on hand), and let it steep for a few days. Strain into a sterilized jar and enjoy the subtle chive flavor all summer long. 9. Variegated Wormwood aka Artemisia vulgaris ‘Oriental Limelight’ . This is another rescue from the old Street Garden. It’s a gorgeous plant but beware that it is an aggressive spreader. The patch has nearly quadrupled in the span of a year and I have already pulled out half with the expectation that I can always pull out more to make room for something else. Unfortunately, I have a weakness for variegated foliage and I’ll grow anything, no matter how aggressive as long as it doesn’t have that sickly look that some variegated plants suffer.

It’s that time of year where so much is going on in the garden, I can’t keep up. I LOVE it!

Clockwise from Top Left: 1. Two types of mint, pink snapdragons, and a geranium in pots. I set these pots on a metal table at the back of the garden, in front of the ramshackle shed. The geranium was not happy there and has since been moved. 2. My friend Barry bought me two of these video blue metal pails a few years ago. I love the colour and always try to plant them up with complimentary plants. This one is currently holding yellow violas and pansies. 3. My lunch on holiday Monday. The salad is from the garden. It was sprinkled with dianthus petals that are now blooming in full force in the dry bed garden. 4. May 19.

Assorted and Sundry

Have a great weekend! And happy long weekend to my American friends.

This week’s Herbaria is a tribute to columbine (Aquilegia) and some of its friends. There’s a lot going on in the garden right now, but chances are good that this will be the last week that they are all blooming at the same time and I was eager to see them assembled together as a collection.

Aquilegia are charming, graceful, meadow flowers that dance and sway in the breeze on long, thin stems. They are generally very profuse self-seeders, although I planted a deep wine colored double last year that broke the rule and did not reproduce or come back, period. [Shakes fist] Despite the rare exception, they are very easy plants to grow and the toughest of the bunch will succeed in surprisingly shady locations.

Aquilegia are a diverse group with plants in a wide range of forms, colors, and flower shapes. I tend towards the simple native types and the elegant double flowers. I am generally not a fan of the two-toned or very open flowers, although you can see that there is an exception in my collection. Of the flowers and leaves I have assembled below, there is one missing that I was not able to add here, a dark double called ‘Black Barlow.’ I put it in as a bare root early this spring and it will be another year before the flowers make an appearance. Plus, Davin moved it and I don’t know exactly where it is so I couldn’t find a leaf to include.

In the future I hope to add the native Aquilegia canadensis to my garden, but I’m waiting to get one in trade. I just can’t bring myself to purchase a plant that reproduces so readily!

From Left to Right:

Top Row: 1. Columbine meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegiifolium). It’s not an aquilegia; however, the resemblance is so strong they put it in both the common and botanical names. 2. Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea). Again, not an aquilegia, but I had to fill up nine boxes and there is a resemblance. In fact, I have it growing underneath some of the other aquilegias. They’re garden friends. 3. I bought this one on a whim at the Parkdale Horticultural Plant Fair last year without any clue as to what the bloom would be like. All it said on the tag was, “blue or pink.” That’s chancy for someone like me who is picky about columbine flowers. The good news is that I like it a lot, most specifically because of the little tinges of green on the ends of the petals. It’s hard to see in the photo at this size, but the leaves are two-toned, with a darker trim around the edges.

Middle Row: 4. Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Maxi’. These bright yellow flowers with elongated spurs seemed to show up everywhere I went in Denver last summer. I absolutely fell in love with it and went home with the strong desire to add at least one to my garden. I wonder if they served as inspiration for the Alien creatures? I think of the films every time I see it. 5. My friend Barry gifted me this plant last spring. The flowers are white, but what makes them extra special are the green tips. I just love green flowers. 6. I believe this is also a Thalictrum, but the plant it came from is small and hasn’t produced flowers as of yet. I’ve noticed that these younger leaves are much more bluey-green than those of the mature plant and I’m not sure if that’s down to age or location.

Bottom Row: 7. This purple and white aquilegia is my least favorite of the lot and I am considering culling it from my collection. It came to me as a volunteer at my community plot and was brought over accidentally in an attempt to transfer its bedfellow ‘Nora Barlow’ (end of this row), which was also a volunteer there. I was happy to leave it be in the community garden, but the two-toned flowers are bordering on the line between what I deem to be a nice columbine and one that is crass. 8. Variegated columbine. I love just about everything chartreuse and/or variegated, so when I saw this one last spring, I had to have it. What has surprised me is how much I LOVE the flowers. They are a solid, deep purple and they bloom profusely. The entire plant is absolutely gorgeous and I’m glad I located it right at the front of my garden, even if its girth has reduced the width of the path to a sliver. 9. Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Nora Barlow’ This one was featured last week, but I had to bring it back again to round out my columbine collection. I love its graceful, double flowers, and again, the green tinged theme makes an appearance. This one is a charmer, and if I had to choose a favorite, comes in at a very close second behind the chrysantha.

Building an outdoor compost bin was the very first thing we did when we started working on the new yard last spring. We made our bin on the cheap by upcycling a busted futon frame that was left in the yard by former occupants. So far the bin has worked beautifully, but like all one-bin systems it has its downsides. Keeping the bin aerated is a chore, and the fresh, ready-made compost is a pain to extract from the very bottom of the pile. The bin is also open to vermin, and while nesting rodents can be discouraged simply by keeping a well-maintained pile, I have had at least one unwelcome occupant in my years working with D.I.Y compost piles.

Homemade bins are very viable and often far superior to the cheap black plastic contraptions sold by the City (our kept falling apart and eventually housed a wasp nest), but they are not ideal. For that reason I have longed to try a really good composting system, specifically a tumbler that makes easy work of turning a heavy pile. Still, when eartheasy contacted me about trying out the Jora JK125 Tumbling Composter I was intrigued but extremely hesitant as I wasn’t sure where or how I would cram a second composting unit into an already jam-packed, narrow urban yard.

Over the years, my motto as an obsessive plant hoarder working within exceptionally tight spaces has been, “I’ll make it fit.” And somehow, magically, I always do. The only reason I was able to to manage it here is because the Jora is a self-contained unit. It smells a bit when the balance of greens and browns is off, but even then we’re only subjected to a marginally funky smell when the lid is opened. Beyond that, it’s a really easy composting system to live with. I specifically located my D.I.Y bin way at the back of the garden, away from the house, but I was able to cram the Jora into our outdoor seating area, nearly touching the table I eat at. So far so good. Some people decorate their outdoor living areas with decorative water features, attractive container plantings, or charming woodstoves. I sit down to dinner next to an industrial-green, powder-coated steel, 33 gallon compost bin.

And I actually like it! Turns out that I like the Jora a lot more than I imagined I would and my delight in it is growing everyday. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the unit set up long enough to make it through to a first batch of finished compost, but here are my thoughts and observations so far:

• The bin is insulated to create heat. It is purported to compost straight through the winter, which is something that my D.I.Y bins have never managed to accomplish. I can’t wait to see this in action this winter (although I am in no hurry to actually GET to winter).
• Aerating the “pile” really is as easy as you’d imagine and want from a turning composter. The contraption has several handles located on all sides and so far they’ve been very sturdy. I turn it daily with just about no effort. Love this feature!
• There are two chambers, each with their own securely fitted lid. This means I can fill up one side, then work on the other while the first side does its business. The first bin is supposed to be finished by the time the second is full. Genius!
• So far the bin has been big enough to hold our family’s food scraps with some browns from the garden. The key here seems to be in adding garden bits that are small or chopped up — no lazy cheating with larger sticks and bits as we sometimes do with the D.I.Y bin.
• On the plus side, I’ve been able to add more citrus peels than I usually add to my D.I.Y bins and so far, so good.
• I have noticed some leaking out of the seams on one side. Liquid is often generated in the composting process and I’m not yet sure whether this was an indication that my bin was too wet at one point, a problem with the bin’s construction, or if this just happens and that’s that.
• My only complaint so far is that it was a pain in the butt to put together. I have even worked professionally designing, illustrating, and writing assembly instructions for office furniture so I know my way around a complicated build, and Davin and I still had some trouble with this one. We made it work in the end, but not without losing our cool once or twice in the process. In hindsight, I probably should have watched the handy how-to video on the eartheasy website. Even if the video didn’t help clarify the process, it would have given us somewhere to direct our frustration.

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How to win a Jora JK125 Tumbling Composter

The folks at eartheasy have agreed to offer up one of these sweet units to a lucky YouGrowGirl.com reader. Simply post a comment below and you will be entered to win. Your comment can be as simple as “Enter me please” or “Count me in.”

Limitations: Unfortunately, this particular contest is limited to residents of the lower 48 states of the United States of America only. Canadian and International readers will not be entered this time around. Sorry folks.

One winner will be chosen at random using random dot org’s tool after entries close at midnight EST Thursday, May 31. Good luck to all!

Every week, from now until I can no longer find anything living to fill up the boxes, I will be photographing and posting a collection of flowers, leaves, stems, and other plant parts that are in my garden. This is an experiment in celebrating diversity and I hope it will allow me to focus more closely on the beauty that is inherent in the different parts of each plant. It will also serve as a visual file of the seasons.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I know I will enjoy putting them together. I can’t wait to show you more! The garden is so full and alive right now, I could have put together several for this week alone.

From Left to Right:

Top Row: 1. Pansy, unknown corner store purchase. 2. White Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’) from my friend Sakura’s garden. She gave me the seedling just days before she died. I think of her whenever it blooms and am thankful that I now have a safe place to grow it. 3. ‘Bloomerang’ Lilac (Syringa) now in its second year. I have dug it up and moved it three times since and yet it flourishes.

Middle Row: 4. Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain’. At least I think it is. I lost the tag. While not my usual style, I’ve been surprised by how much I anticipated the blooms opening up this year. Even Davin got in on the excitement with daily early morning status reports. 5. Coleus ‘Henna’ I grew this last year and loved it. 6. Purple Iris. Dubbed ‘Parkdale Purple’ I can only assume this is because this particular variety has spread all around the neighbourhood. I bought mine years ago at the Parkdale Horticultural Society Plant Fair and planted it into the Guerilla Garden/Street Garden where it lived for about a decade. Last year I dug up several rhizomes and transplanted them into my new garden. They are happier here than they have ever been, most likely because the soil is perfect and I’ve been able to pamper them.

Bottom Row: 7. Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Nora Barlow’). I originally acquired this beauty as a self-seeding volunteer in my community garden plot. I loved it so much that I brought it over to the new garden where I am pleased to find it is flourishing. 8. Cushion Spurge (Euphorbia polychroma). I have absolutely no recollection of its origins, but I believe it may be another transplanted from the Street Garden. 9. Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum). I originally planted this in the Yardshare Garden, but moved it over here this spring. Someone new has bought the house so the garden has come to an end.

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Please note that I received both ‘Crystal Fountain’ Clematis and ‘Bloomerang’ Lilac as review plants last year from Loblaw Inc.

We’re hitting that magical time of the season when a growing portion of our meals are gleaned from the garden. I enjoy moving around the space, snipping bits of this and that from here and there. I have edibles tucked in everywhere. There are lettuce seedlings in every bed, except the dry one. They would not fair well there.

Yesterday’s lunch, a simple salad (Except the eggs. No chickens here. Le sigh. Oh, and the cheese.) came from the garden.

Here’s my process:

1. Photo Top Left: ‘Four Seasons’ lettuce. This is the same lettuce that miraculously overwintered. I dug up the seedlings and planted them here and there.
2. Photo Top Right: Harvesting assorted edible greens. These include: Two types of spinach, bloody dock, chive flowers, viola flowers, French Sorrel, pea shoots, curly parsley, violet leaves, another type of lettuce (I forget), curly cress, ‘Green Wave’ mustard, mizuna, ‘Red Frills’ mizuna, spring onion, lemon balm, mint, and borage seedlings. These are just a few examples of salad fixins you can grow.
3. Photo Bottom Left: Easy dressing done right in the bowl. Just add your greens and toss. Olive oil, a dash of Balsamic vinegar, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped chive blossoms and parsley.
4. Photo Bottom Right: And eat. With boiled eggs and asparagus. Enjoyed with a kefir milk smoothie.

I am loving this combination of the chartreuse ‘Designer Genes’ hosta, flanked by the delicate Claytonia virginica ‘Spring Beauty’ blooms.

See also: Sierra Spring Beauty (Claytonia nevadensis).

Last night, I gleefully laid out the collection of items I had purchased from the flea market onto the floor and imagined how I will use them in the future. Most of the items were purchased for the garden and some will make an appearance in the photos I take for future book and assignments.

Most of the items that show up in my work projects are also used by me in my home. Few are purchased for one-time usage and then shuffled out the door. Perhaps it would be better that way, but I am a collector, always have been. Still, I can’t recycle the same plates, bowls, and fabrics book after book, photo after photo, so to keep things fresh, I collect an affordable hodgepodge of items that I like, primarily from thrift shops. I’ve never really been into sets anyway. It’s one part of my job that gives me an excuse to indulge in a whim that I would be otherwise forced to curb. It is why I go to the effort of dragging home dirty curbside “treasures” on my bike and why I fill up my luggage with special canning jars when I go away on business trips. In truth, I was doing these things before it became a part of my job — this just gives me the justification I need to continue.

Part of a burgeoning collection of rusty witches’ cauldrons. Some are used as pots. Some just sit there. What can I say? I like them.

Davin looked on lazily as I went through a sort-of ritual of assembling and disassembling the motley collection. Lay the items out. Ponder their use. Put them away. Pull them out again for a second glance. I looked up at him and remarked that laid out like that, I could see that what I had purchased that afternoon amounted to a pile of crap. If it is rusted, dirty, broken, and has sat unused in the back of a barn or storage shed for at least a decade, chances are good that I will buy it and bring it home. As long as the price is right.

There I sat, like a kid with new toys, delighting in a pile of wares that most people would identify as garbage. I’m like a bird seeking out shiny things, but the things I seem to like most are tarnished, pocked, and laden in a patina of filth.

“They’re for your Tickle Trunk,” Davin said.

“But I don’t collect costumes — I’m not Mr. Dressup.”

“It amounts to the same thing. You use them to tell your stories.”

Antique cobbler shoe lasts that will sit in the garden and hold up nothing.

Old tools. They’re all still in excellent shape and will be used in the garden. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

I didn’t buy these, but I wanted to. They’d make great planter boxes. But at $75 a pop, they are not within my budget, nor do I think they were worth the hefty price-tag regardless. Someone with more dollars and less sense can have them. I tend to stick to things in the $1-15 range.

I loved this old bird mansion with the adorable topiary bushes flanking the doorway, but again, too expensive. I may be a sucker for junk, but I don’t drop $60 on things that are falling apart no matter how beautifully decrepit they may be. I have my limits. It is also far too big for my small yard.

God, how I love an overnight rainfall. There is nothing more optimistic than waking up to a bright and sunny day with the soil moist and fresh smelling. These are the perfect conditions for weeding. The softened soil makes it easy to slip weedlings (a spelling slip that I’m not gonna change) from the soil, and the pleasant atmosphere brings an added sense of joy to the task.

I’ve made it a habit over the years to learn about and identify as many plants in the seedling stage as I can so that I know at a glance who stays and who goes. Some seedlings are worth cultivating, but others just suck up nutrients and space — the sooner you can get them out the better.

The mystery seedling with just the seed leaves showing.

A handful of one particular type of seedling that I can not identify has been coming up in a section of the garden. They seem too delicate to be a tree, but don’t look like anything I have grown or even seen before. Some seedlings do change dramatically as they age, so there’s always the chance that they are something I am growing. They could have come in with the wind or birds but I don’t see them in my neighbors’ yard, yet many are situated near the fence. They could have come in the soil with some plants I planted last year… I can’t say for certain where they hailed from, but I do want to know what they are. They are delicate and pretty little things. Their beauty has bought them some time as well as my curiosity.

Can you identify these seedlings? I’m so eager to know I will send one of our t-shirts, any size or style to the first person that can correctly identify them.

Your help is appreciated!

UPDATE: Thanks to Kristen who identified the seedling as jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). The plant came in through a bush I bought at last year’s Parkdale Horticultural Society Plant Fair and I left it because it’s such a useful medicinal plant. I completely forgot about it until Kristen made the identification.