Every Thursday, Jan and I mosey on over to our favorite Farmer's Market, which is in the friendly neighborhood of South Pasadena, a stone's throw away from Eagle Rock. There, we join throngs of people just like us (well, most of them have 2 kids instead of 2 Frenchies) - all looking for better, healthier, fresher food, and a sense of community. It is something I look forward to all week. Why does it feel so good to shop this way?
In a regular grocery store, everybody is walking around in their own bubble, grim-faced, grasping the handle of their carts like they clutch their steering wheels of their cars. If you catch someone's eye, chances are they'll quickly look away. If you smile at someone while passing them in an aisle, they'll think you're trying to initiate a flirtation of some sort. Sheesh...

At the Farmer's Market, couples stroll arm in arm, people share recipes, a teenage singing circle does great covers of The Pixies and The Velvet Underground, and sometimes a guerilla theatre trio will do a silent performance. All this, and you can buy freshly grown produce, and munch on grilled corn!

Right now, my favorite things are these baby purple artichokes. By next year, I'll be harvesting my own. I'm planning on growing my vegetables from now on, but Jan and I will keep our Thursday evening Market dates. I think we all need to feel in touch with "the agora" - we have been shopping in these festive outdoor communal spaces for centuries. When I'm drifting among the stalls of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, sampling food and talking with friends and strangers ... I feel a little like who I thought I'd grow up to be.

                                 
Was everybody as enthralled with the story in the Entertaining section of this month's issue, "In The Vase - Dark Flowers" (pg 75, Sept 2007) as I was?
You all know about my penchant for somber colored leaves and flowers - remember the post Dark and Luscious... - where I added a bonus cocoa nib cookie recipe (Try it! Anyone who eats one will fall deeply in love with you - they are THAT powerfully good). And then there was More Dark and Luscious (surely I could have come up with a different title - or at least a different word for "Dark")
Well, the man behind the posies is the Andre Leon Talley of gardens - Stephen Orr. As contributing garden editor for Domino, he has been putting together some wonderful stories, but this one is particularly close to my gothic heart. I think Orr may have a bit of the vampire in him - on pg 76, he suggests that you 'use your teeth' to tighten the twine around bundle of stems. Was this a subliminal shout out to his shadowy bretheren, or...

Mr. Orr also wrote and produced the story about Oscar de la Renta's "Haute Vegetable Garden" - GULP! What beauty! That arched espaliered apple walkway! Those perfect little puffs of lettuce and chives! I have no illusions about my soon-to-be-completed vegetable garden... it is going to be something utterly different (and awesome) - but I am so glad I read the article before planting. I have some new ideas now, and the images have gotten me charged up. Even a Germinatrix needs inspiration - and Stephen Orr gives it to me every time!      
                                                   

(beautiful illustration courtesy penelopeillustration.com - check her out!)

Okay, it's Saturday morning and my maintenance man is giving my garden a loud and terrible blowjob. Who invented those damned leafblower machines anyway??? It certainly wasn't anybody interested in the health of plants, or the health of a community. I mean, every single morning starting at 7am, the droning begins. I was still trying to sleep!

These gas powered blowers spew out noxious fumes as well as ob-noxious noise. And they do damage! If a maintenance person is blowing your garden, I'll bet you have no soil to speak of. Just take a look at everything after the blowing is done - plants twisted sideways, all compost and nutritious leaf litter gone, the exposed dirt rock-hard. These machines are the work of some sort of rabid anti-garden faction.

I have asked my maintenance man to stop blowing and re-discover the rake, but he refuses. I even told him I would pay him more, but he won't do it. I finally got him to agree to not blow in the planting beds, but I often catch him doing it when he thinks I'm not looking. I run outside and pounce - "AH-HAH! Porque estas soplando donde estan las plantas quando yo no lo quiero asi?!?" He'll always give some reason why the rake wouldn't work in the area in question, to which I will reply that rakes always work! (I mean really - have you ever known a rake not to work?)

I understand that these horrible machines allow these workers to cram more yards into their schedules, which in turns allows them to make more money. But if they would learn the craft of REAL garden maintenance, not just Mowin' and Blowin', they could charge more and actually do something that has value and dignity. Am I being harsh?

And by the way, whatever happened to these blowers being outlawed? Did I just dream that up, or did it happen in another area of the country? Somone has to finally JUST SAY NO TO BLOW!!!

You may think that the Minions are just your average sculptors/handymen - but they are much more than that.
Take, Minion Z, the Gentleman Farmer. His people come from North Carolina, where they have worked the land for generations. An affinity for nature and growing things is in his bones, so much so that he tended to a small vegetable garden during his rigorous last semester at artschool. His beds contained a few varieties of tomatoes and peppers, and he also harvests the fruit from the pomegranite and citrus trees that live happily in the backyard of the house he shares with two other recent grads.

Unlike many batchelors his age who exist on Taco Bell and who knows what else, MZ enjoys cooking up simple meals that utilize the bounty of his garden. Pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil, lemon zest, and a fruity olive oil is one of his favorites, as is cous cous with fresh tomates, sweet peppers, and parsely. If it is in his garden, chances are he will eat it...

Being from farming folk, he knows that it isn't all plant, water, and harvest. There are the inevitable losses... but he remains circumspect. Earwigs and pillbugs need to eat, too.

Pam, a fantastic garden designer and blogger from Austin, Texas prompted a valuable discussion on her blog Digging with the post 'Broken Eggs'. The gist of it is - is there really such a thing as a green thumb, or do some of us overcome the natural state of black-thumbedness because we refuse to say "Uncle"?

I have to admit, there was never a thumb blacker than mine. During my younger years, the desire to explore my earthy side manifested itself in several potted plants that all died a miserable death, and an herb garden that became a slimy mess within a month of planting. While the dancer in the dorm room next to me at college had a jungle on her windowsill, all I could muster was tiny aloe that was eventualy stolen. When I finally had some land of my own, I thought about these pathetic attempts and knew I wasn't cut out for this gardening thing, but I tried anyway...I'd plant something beautiful and wait for it to flourish, but it would usually perish. I would mourn and sigh and ask why, why do I have such bad luck with plants - but I kept on planting. It may have seemed foolhardy, and it certainly wasn't cheap ... and then somewhere down the line, I stopped taking plants dying personally. I realized that more plants were living than were shuffling off this mortal coil. By paying attention to the way my plants were living - and dying- I was learning how to tip the balance in my favor. All those dead plants made me the gardener I am today!

So I don't believe in Black Thumbs - or maybe what I believe is that we so-called 'Green Thumbs' just refuse to let failures in the garden get to us ... we keep on trying, learning, and growing... and growing more, and more...

What do you think, ya'll?

I'm off topic again, but I promised to show everyone an image of the Puppy Portrait in place, when it got here. Well it's here! Jon Kroll did a most amazing job capturing the personalities of my little gargoyles - Dexter looks slightly worried and Sadie seems to be dreamily pondering what kind of trouble she's planning on getting into next. Jan and I decided that we HAD to put it over the fireplace mantle- really, where else could it go?
Devoted reader Suasoria shared this link with us - any hummingbird lover will be captivated. Right now, there are approximately three to five hummingbird families patrolling the garden - I wish I could get a shot of one or two of them, but they are just too damned fast!

Reading this thoughtful post by Gayla Trail on yougrowgirl.com made me crazy about the water issue - it's important everywhere, but here in Southern California we are defeated from the get go. I mean, it NEVER RAINS HERE! While those of you who garden in other parts of the country (and world) can capture water when it falls from the sky, we here are stuck with using city water. By planting drought tolerant species and using water conserving technques such as mulching, soil ammending, companion planting, and the like, many gardeners in the same boat as myself have figured out how to make a dent in our irrigation needs, but let's face it - our world is facing a water crisis! We have to go further.
I water my garden via an in ground irrigation system...pop-up sprinklers. I know, I know ... but I program them for the shortest amount of time I can. For my vegetable beds, I chose drip irrigation. I stopped using drip in client's gardens because it is a big headache to maintain - but the water problems we are facing is causing me to re-think their use in certain areas.

So what else can I do to further reduce my municipal water usage? Well, there is water recycling, or gray water. The goal is to re-use as much of the water that comes out of your pipes as possible ...shower water, laundry water, dishwashing water, even cooking water. (Toilet water - no. Ick.) There are expensive, complicated systems that conform to California's draconian gray water codes, but there is an active Water Underground that sets up jerry-rigged systems that work to clean the recycled water, making it usable in gardening beds - even on edibles. The Graywater Guerillas are a group of Bay area water activists that make it their business to broadcast the happy news about re-using your household H2O. While I'm not ready to install a wetland around my home to filter my household graywater, I am determined to incorporate some graywater practices into my garden life.
Is there anything you are doing to conserve water?
I'd love any tips and ideas, no matter how kooky!

Nyokki is the modern girl's answer to the very outre Chia Pet. I mean, okay - Chia Pets were never the hot thing, but being an ugly terra cotta beastie, did it ever really have a chance? Nyokki are egg shaped "pet plants" from Japan, and I am WILD about them. Plastica sells them online (as well as in the store, those of you who live in the LA area), and you can find them at Sprout online as well. They are so cute! The little egg pets are filled with rye grass seeds; sprinkle them with water and set them on a bright windowsill...

They grow super fast...

...and then the fun begins : the HAIRCUTS!

Minion J gives groovy bi-level, asymmetrical do's ala Vidal Sasson, while Minion Z is more of a classical stylist. (since I don't have kids, the Minions are often charged with providing the touch of childish whimsy every household needs) I water them and do maintenance trims ( on the Nyokki, not the Minions).

They are small and charming! Nyokki are the perfect way for those who think they have black thumbs to develop green ones...
Check out individual portraits - just jump!

Fragrance isn't always about flowers - so many leaves have amazing smells locked inside, just waiting to be released! I love planting these kinds of fragrant plants, because they don't knock you over the head - they wait for you to come to them. My favorite of all is Melianthus major, and it's dramatic gray serrated leaves smell exactly like ... peanut butter! I mean EXACTLY. As if that isn't enough reason to earn it a place in any garden, it is also strikingly beautiful - with deep red flowers that honeybees and hummingbirds can't get enough of.
Other plants that need to be tickled before they release their smells are the fabulous scented geraniums (actually, they are pelargoniums). I use the peppermint one in almost every garden - wherever there is a wall that needs some drip... just brushing against it sends hints of mint wafting your way. Another favorite fragrant leaved plant is Salvia clevelandii, which smells so clean and fresh I actually use it, along with sprigs of marjoram, in my bath.
So start smelling the leaves as well as the flowers - I'm sure you'll find yourself bathing in some wild herbaceous concoction yourself, and loving it!
Here is an easy recipe using scented geraniums - geranium sugar! You can use any of your favorite varieties, but I think the best are the lemon, peppermint, and the rose. Mix them up if the mood strikes you!
All you have to do is get a clean, airtight jar, caster's sugar (any superfine sugar), and whatever scented geranium leaves and flowers you want to use. Layer them in the jar, then close it and place it in a cool, dry place to "cook". It should be ready to use in about 2 weeks, and it just keeps getting better. Add to iced teas, lemonades, sprinkle on sugar cookies, use it as a delightful facial scrub - you are limited only by your imagination!

(photo courtesy Heavy Petal)
You all must check out this post at Heavy Petal - it's a perfect example of the hotbed of seething sexuality that is the average garden. Yes, pretty plants and flowers seem innocent enough, but so did Britney Spears!

I love the idea of solar powered landscape lighting, but the reality is a little - dull. Clunky ... and then I saw the Sunjar. I have been coveting the Sunjar by Tobias Wong since I read about it in Jamie Gray's first post for the Daily Dose. But $50! Boo. I need so many - no way could I afford them. I was dejected ... but then I remembered that I have Minions! I googled "Sunjar" and, lo and behold, via the coolest site called Instructables, I found instructions for making my own! Or, really, for wonderful Minion Z to make me my own. We gathered the ingredients, and he cooked up not only several Sunjars, but also a Starjar!

I am beside myself with happiness at the crafty effectiveness of MZ. He had to make a substitution since we couldn't get our hands on Blu-tak (whatever that is), so after experimenting with about seven different kinds of glue, he finally settled on Scotch Super Strength Adhesive by 3M. The other items were easily found, and the jars were artfully assembled. (Fri, Aug. 3rd, 7:51pm - MZ emailed to remind me that the final adhesive was actually silicone caulking. See - he takes his job so seriously!)

The photos don't really do them justice - they are truly beautiful, and cast the warmest (or coolest, from the Starjar) light. It's like a tiny ray of sunshine was captured inside ... and since it's a solar panel that is doing the work, I guess that is exactly what it is!
If you have an itch to make something cool, do this! You will LOVE it!
... or you can buy one, of course!
... or have someone make it for you...