Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Me.

Smellin’ the jasmine that finally started to bloom on my fence. I guess I shouldn’t say, finally – since  it’s been through hell. Last year my landlord decided it was time to paint the fence, thus ripping it off said fence and while that was going on my dogs took full advantage of using it as some sort of pull toy. Once the painting was completed I sewed it back onto the fence and now it’s blooming. First Jasmine, next the huge Wisteria.

I recently learned that Jasmine is one of the most elusive scents in the fragrance world. You can find something called Jasmine almost anywhere, disguised as a perfume. But the true scent of Jasmine is rarely used. Something to do with the amount of chemicals naturally found in the flower – and when that is extracted and reproduced, the top note is usually lost.

Flower Clock

Friday, January 29th, 2010

My pencil was extra sharp (Shout out to Matt Leddy! my old landscape architect professor that would always say No Fuzzy Lines!!!!)) today while I was finalizing the latest drawing I’ve been working on for a new client. This design has gone remarkably smooth, most likely a combination of an open and easy to work with client, and myself being totally engrossed in yet another podcast. I find if I design without any background noise inspiring ambiance, I rarely get shit done over analyse and over complicate things. So today I had on a Radio Lab podcast about Time… I was half listening, half drawing when I heard the name Carl Linnaeus. And since I love all things Linnean, I stopped to listen more closely. They were talking about how Linnaeus spent time observing flowers, and how those flowers opened and closed at certain times of the day. This is for a few obvious reasons – the sun, duh, the bugs, pollination blablabla – but what Linnaeus did, was make a clock with the names and images of certain flowers that predictably opened at different times.

Hence, one could figure out what time of the day it was by simply looking at which type of flower was open.

“How handy is this!?”, I thought. Who needs those pesky iPhones or that cheesy Rolex when you can simply walk around some highly wooded and naturalized area looking for open flowers! Genius, I say.

Although more modern plants may have to substituted depending on where you live, this would make for an excellent garden. (hint, hint future clients!)

Botanical name Common name Opening time Closing time
Tragopogon pratensis Goat’s-Beard 3 a.m. -
Leontodon hispidum L. Rough Hawkbit by 4 a.m. -
Helminthotheca echioides (L.) Holub Bristly ox-tongue 4-5 a.m.
Cichorium intybus L. Chicory 4-5 a.m. -
Crepis tectorum L. (more…)

Valentine’s Day Yumminess

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Stumped on what to get your loved one for Valentine’s Day???

Well, flowers of course.… oh ya and diamonds. Puppies are good too.

But for a more eco-inspired Valentine’s Day gift check out Sustainable Harvest International and their gift of a chocolate forest!

“The mission of Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) is to provide farming families in Central America with the training and tools to overcome poverty while restoring our planet’s tropical forests.

Since the organization’s start in 1997, SHI has planted more than 2.6 million trees and converted thousands of acres to sustainable uses; thereby saving tens of thousands of acres of tropical forest from slash-and-burn destruction.

SHI works with families and students throughout Honduras, Panama, Belize and Nicaragua implementing alternatives to slash-and-burn farming, the leading cause of rainforest destruction in the region. “

Monday, January 25th, 2010

The muscari are just coming up now on one of the little pots on my railing. I love to watch them come up because it’s so weird to see an actual flower bud push through the soil, as opposed to leaves and stems – then the flowers. And yes, they do smell like grapes.

Love the apricot colored Pansy growing under my dormant rose bush. The yellowish plant behind it? An oxalis! Yes, one of the worst weeds can make for a beautiful bedding plant.

A Patootie in my Garden

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Now introducing: Patootie.

or P.Toots

or Tootie

or Toots

or Tea Bag

or P.T. Cruiser

or White Ninja

Here’s a shot of Toots looking out where the big mama agaves used to be. Last week we finally found a home for the last of the agave I harvested back in the summer. They are a perfect addition to a new garden we landscaped in Moss Beach.

The client, Karen, must have thought I was crazy when I asked, “Exactly how much do you like agave?”.  I informed her they were basically like my soul mates or my children… no better! These agave were like a whole batch of freshly baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, that I know I can’t/shouldn’t keep to myself but really wanted to.

After much soul searching I decided to give up my cookies….. err…. wait, agave – and planted them at Karen’s. They look incredible and she is very pleased.

In their place, along the white picket fence, are some new little strawberries that just got potted up last week. And a Patootie dog watching over the joynt.

(more…)

Devastation…

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Comes in the form of the wind last night, pushing my rectangle terra cotta pot full of agave, off the railing to plummet to it’s death.

Here is where they were.

Here is where they landed.

:(

Mushrooms on Montara Mountain

Friday, January 15th, 2010

(more…)

New Year’s Resolution

Friday, January 15th, 2010

The Organic Consumers Association (not to be confused with OC ASS) has some great in site for New Year’s Resolution. If the standard dieting, not drinking or no more trips to Tijuana New Year’s Resolutions are getting boring, try this one out this year:

2010 New Year’s Resolution: Boycott Chemical & GMO Foods, Eat Organically

Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.

“On the average, organic food is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food’s shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production. Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.”

For more info and to jump start your resolution, check out www.organicconsumers.org

first bulb flower of the season

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

p5040002