Cutting edge science of flowers

I always find it delightful to check out the wall art in the school in which I volunteer. The other day I saw this. Kinda-super-cute, huh? You have to love the little bug.

Oakland Garden Tour Highlight reel part 1

Every year in Oakland, there's a wonderful event called the Bay-Friendly Garden Tour (here's another bloggers highlights) whereupon folks grab their hats, lather up on sunscreen (if they're me) and go in the the backyards of complete strangers to admire their gardens. Over 40 gardens open up & owners are on hand kindly offering lemonade, seeds, clippings, and most importantly, garden conversation. There were too many amazing sights to cram them all into one post so the gardens I saw are going to be broken up into multiples.

In this post, I'm going to talk about the whimsical designs I admired at our first stop. The two connected backyards reminded me of the Jade Seahorse in Utila, Honduras, designed by a former Los Angeles Teacher, Neil & his wife Julia. The Seahorse is covered from top to bottom with bold colors and irreverent designs. Sigh.

Back to beautiful Oakland . . . Look at the use of colorful rocks!

The red glass rocks above look buckshot. Nice.

I drooled when I saw this beautiful blue spiral. More to come on this amazing tour later.

Columbines: too pretty to eat?

I recently learned from my friend Serena that Columbines, a pretty perennial which attract hummingbirds, are also edible! I have no idea why someone would eat these beauties. Hopefully they are delicious.

I'm relatively new to gardening & this plant was one that I was sure I'd killed since all of it's leaves withered, but they reappeared a few months ago and just a few weeks ago blooms have appeared.

Horray! I probably won't be eating my columbines..their too pretty!

Does your city have a tool lending library?

And if not why not?

For many of us there's a time in our lives when we didn't give a fig about a rototiller or a chainsaw. Before I had access to my own garden, my brain only processed my local tool lending library peripherally.

But when you want a $30-$300 piece of equipment for a day or three and don't want to pay $30-$300, the local tool lending library is just what you need. Some of these locations have more useful equipment than others. In Orem, Utah, for example, they lend out earplugs. Gross! But the great thing about libraries is they often respond to community needs so maybe with some pestering, Orem can get a chainsaw or something else a little more useful than orange vests.

States with tool lending libraries (See more details):

California
Georgia
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Missouri
Montana
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Washington

Axe pictured below courtesy of Oakland Public Library

What to do with all that Mint

Spearmint has been a delightful surprise because of its heartiness.

Native to Europe and Asia, they grow white or reddish runners which seem to just sprint across your garden and I've dealt with this by taking them out of my veggie garden and putting them in containers with enough to spare that I split pieces off, put them in plastic tubs & gifted them to friends and neighbors. They can deal with wide a range of sun exposure--full sun to mostly shaded(!)

Because these are in such a mad dash to propagate, and are so easy to care for, your only trouble is how to keep pace eating spearmint.

I have two favorite uses:

1. Muddle, chop, or mush any way you can and add it to your coffee or coco.

2. Mix with sparkling or still water, lemon juice and some sugar for a great summer lemonade.

Pampas Grass: for huge lawns only

Today I dug out Pampass grass and I had no idea how sharp it is. My arms have 1,000 cuts, feel tender and look very red. Ouch.

By getting personal with Cortaderia Selloana and reading more on wikipedia, here's what I learned:

• Plant this grass in a huge yard, at least 1/3 acre, and you'll have a fetching, unique, accent.
• The grass blades are sharp so use this plant somewhere walking is heavily discouraged.
• Plant it in a condo or a normal sized yard and it will take over.
• Pampas grass is a native to South America but is often considered a weed elsewhere.
• When removing, be prepared. Wear long sleeves and gloves and before you start digging, cut all of the grass off first so you don't end up with arms on fire like me today.

Arranging the natural: Beyond Flowers

I picked up a book called beyond flowers which has opened my eyes to how beautifully arranged leaves, sticks and other natural byproducts can be. Worth a look see.