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.

I inherited this guy & was so excited when it started sprouting new growth (after lots of regular watering) that I snapped a photo of the four baby leaves.

See the little tiny one in the center?

Early days

Hello. You might recognize some of the things here....this is my first real garden of my very own.

The first thing I did after we moved into a house, is to pick up a shovel and rake. I dug up the grassy weeds to reveal dirt that smelled like...um well, vintage dirt. My nose radio carbon dated the second layer of dirt to the 1970's. I dug several shovel sized holes & fertilized them before putting in some herbs & tomatoes.

Let's talk about one of those herbs: Fennel (the fluffy stuff in the middle left) is native to the South of Europe and the Mediterranean region but it LOVES Northern California & you'll find it everywhere, including the side of the road. Even if you don't like the leaves (which taste like black licorice and is usually used to flavor fish) the seeds are divine. If you like everything beagles, you've eaten some. In addition to the seeds & leaves , the base and stalks are edible. I was delighted to find fennel stalks served on a pizza(!) in Orem, Utah Pizzeria 712. The stalks are more like celery...they seem to not have much flavor but they were great on that pizza. Scroll down to the bottom of Whole Foods recipe assistant to see a list of things you can make with fennel or check out the Epicenter for more information on Foeniculum vulgare.

The stalks start modest then get huge & topple over awkwardly producing green then brown seeds which are my favorite part. It's a hearty plant and quite attractive.