Iris reticulata

Finally in bloom today are these Iris reticulata, which I've been planting every fall (I'm aiming for large drifts, eventually). I adore these dwarf iris, and especially the fact that they are found in so many variations of purple and blue. In my garden alone, there are three shades; a clear ultramarine blue in addition to those pictured.

spring: a photo essay

Oncidium hybrid orchid in bloom (a new addition to my collection, this was about to bloom when I bought it so I can't take credit for the bloom, but I hope it will flower again under my care)

Phalaeonopsis about to bloom

Dendrobium 'Aussie's Chip' in bloom (a new addition, bought at the Boston Flower Show)

Meyer lemon in bloom

Kumquat about to bloom

purple basil seedlings

cherry tree in bloom

ferns unfurling within the stone wall behind the house

it's a gas gas gas

When we bought our house, back in October, we ran all-electric, all the time. Electric heat, electric hot water, electric stove, you name it, it ran courtesy of our town electric company. Having a municipal electric company has its perks. During the Freak Storm and Blackout of Fall 2011, our lights were out for 12 hours, whereas some of the neighboring towns, even those closer to the city, were without power for over a week in some locations. It also means our electric bills are fairly low. But, heating your house with electric is pricey. The former owners heated with wood, and used the electric to supplement, not as their main source of heat. The wood stove served us well, too, through Christmas, and Mike became quite good at getting it roaring hot quickly.

our Vigilant, circa 1977, in October

Just before the holidays, our gas line was run in from the street, and just after the holidays, we had nice hot water baseboard heat on the first floor, powered by a cute and powerful boiler in the basement. It was a good investment, and we hope to extend the gas heat to the upstairs once our pocketbook is no longer feeling quite so bruised and thin.

A gas boiler also means, eventually, a gas stove. Hurrah! I look forward to replacing our glass-top '90s vintage electric stove. I grew up cooking on gas, and learning to cook on electric was an adjustment I didn't appreciate (white people problems, as Mike would say, ha!). Plus, slightly more practically, I can use a real wok (the one I inherited from my mom, the real one with a stand and round bottom) on a gas cooktop.

It also means a challenge in the garden department. How so? Well, on top of our front yard looking like it recently endured the tunneling of a giant mole (from running the gas line, you see), we have this:

Lest you think that this is no big thing, let me assure you that it is right next to both front entrances (garage and formal front door), and that it is a blot on our otherwise welcoming dooryard. Here's another mugshot:

It sticks out about a foot and a half from the side of the house. On the left in that photo is the path going up to the front door. Just in front of that path is a sizable plot of dirt with not much planted within it that I especially want to keep (anyone want a green-and-gold creeping euonymus? I have a dislike of both creeping euonymus and of gold-variegated plants, so this one's definitely out. I'll even dig it up for you and put it in a pot, if you come pick it up). So the question is, what shrub would be most interesting and serviceable in this spot? Oh, also, this is the north side of the house. No direct sun at all. This shrub needs to be:

• attractive for most of the year, i.e. no oak-leaf hydrangeas or cotoneasters that look like shite in winter;
• fairly large so as to extend its branches gracefully outward from its place near the corner of the house and screen or otherwise distract attention from the gray metal atrocity;
• not dwarf Alberta spruce or burning bush/winged euonymus; 
• bonus points for flowers or other nice features.

But, you say, aren't you the expert? Why are you asking your blogience (blog audience, c'mon... don't give me that skeptical look, it's a great word, use it and spread it around) about what shrub to choose? Solve your own garden problems, you lazy thing! Well, yes, but I already have a list of shrub candidates for this spot, but I thought perhaps you might be more clever.

My short list: 

Viburnum rhytidophyllum Leatherleaf Viburnum

Viburnum rhytidophylloides Lantanaphyllum Viburnum

Hydrangea paniculata Panicle aka PeeGee Hydrangea

It really is intensely shady in this spot. The viburnums would most likely not flower, so it would be more about their leaves and form. What do you think?

jeepers peepers

eeep peeeeeepp peep beeduonk! eeeeep eeep krr eeep peeep beeduonk! eeep eeee eeeep krr kr eeep eeeep peeep krrr eeeep eeep peep

For a week, this has been the sound coming from the marshy woods at the back of my yard. The spring peepers are out in force, along with their friends who go "krrr" and "beeduonk!" If I had a great big boom mike I'd go out there and record it for you, but suffice to say, if you haven't heard peepers before, the above is but a shy approximation of the actual effect. Peepers sound a little like a car alarm, and a little like the shrill crescendo of atmospheric static-y tones played in horror movies when something bad is about to happen. I may just perhaps have come up with the latter when home alone one very dark and humid night over the past weekend  (cat doesn't count, anyways he spent the evening staring just beyond my head with a concerned expression, so that was no comfort). Oh, I know! Listen to the last track of the Neko Case album Middle Cyclone, "Marais La Nuit," and turn up the volume a few ticks past comfort. There ya go.

I have heard spring peepers many times before, but I've never lived somewhere where every moment at home at this time of year proceeded with a relentless backdrop of eeep-peeping. But relentless as they are, I will tolerate the spring peepers because I've always had a soft spot for amphibians, and I'm hoping they and their hopping friends will eat the giant mosquitoes that breed in the neighborhood. Also: do frogs eat ticks?

So hey guys! BBQ at my place! Anyone!? Anyone...?

 I transplanted lettuce and herbs last night serenaded by the spring chorus. The lettuce was starting to send roots groping out the bottom of the yogurt cups, so I gave them a nice new home in some cedar window boxes. Why of course, I always garden by moonlight and frog-song, it brings forth the sweetest piquancy in herbs, so says my grimoire...*

lettuce and radicchio (two rows at right) by porchlight

basil (front), two kinds of lettuce, and parsley by porchlight

Tomatoes, cilantro, dill, chives, and hollyhocks are also coming up, but they are not so photogenic right now.       Eggplant is nowhere to be seen... hello eggplant germs, are you alive? Come on up! I installed most of my young plants, along with the dwarf citrus trees,** on the sunporch, which is very warm during the day and fairly humid. I do not have a heating mat, which they (the green thumb they, not the other they) recommend for eggplant and tomato germination, but the sunporch--which if I forget to leave a sliding door agar can be upwards of 90 on a sunny day--should be sufficient, right?

I leave you with a query: Should I harvest my lettuce piecemeal, the cut-and-come-again method, or should I let it leaf out into a big leafy bouquet and then harvest it?


*I do not have a grimoire, mores the pity.
**The citrus trees, Meyer lemon and kumquat, are sending out explosions of leaves right now, as if they'd been impatient to do so. This is very nice as I was not sure if the kumquat was alive or not, it didn't really do anything growth-like since October. The Meyer lemon, poor thing, keeps trying to flower. I keep pinching off its copious flower buds (perfuming my fingers deliciously), feeling mean, but it is too young to be trying to fruit so promiscuously. It must wait until it is at least 2 and is stouter.

pruning

Just a typical Sunday spent whacking at tree limbs.

before

after--note that I also ingeniously pruned our neighbor's house out of the picture

  

This weeping Higan cherry (Prunus subhirtella), cultivar unknown, had suckers all over and a mass of monstrous, criss-crossing branches.  Previous owners liked it to look like a large green mushroom during the summer (whereas I like better a cherry with graceful branches that touch the ground), so they went snip snip snip around the "skirt" of the cherry branches, without thinning the branches up top. Some damage was done over the years of this pruning regimen. For example, the overlarge claw-like branch at the left in these photos. I could not take it out because it would leave too big a hole, but I'd like to try to re-shape that side of the tree, eventually. Can you see the difference? I hope that it blooms well! I've only seen it looking bare, or like this:

home again

Spring break, n: school holiday or vacation occurring roughly during the middle of a spring academic term. In other words: the eye of the storm.

It is very sweet to be home. *sigh*

Yesterday I went to the Boston Flower Show with a good friend and fellow plant-lover, Emily. The Philadelphia Flower Show is heavy on spectacle and competitions, with less emphasis on inspiration and things real home gardeners can do. The Boston Flower Show has plenty of the latter two items. The theme was similarly not highfalutin': Container Gardening. How practical for the city dweller! I find this type of flower show more endearing and approachable. Though I don't think I am the type to join a Garden Club, as I shun competition when it regards things I truly love,* I respect garden clubs and think they are quite wonderful in an idealized small-town neighborly sort of way. 

Unfortunately, flower shows have hideous lighting which makes for bad photos. But here is a sample:

Delphiniums, juniper, pine, and white tulips, among other plants, in the Garden of the Treehouse

Dendrobium kingianum 'Roy'

I purchased 'Roy' in spring 2009, at the Smith College Botanic Garden orchid sale. He has fragrant purple flowers in abundance when he blooms. The drawing at left depicts only one of his "branches." What are they really called? Bulb-lets?

To be honest, though I painted the picture on the left last night, the underlying pencil sketch was done last winter, when Roy sent up numerous spikes of flowers. This winter, he has not bloomed, though it is prime orchid blooming time and all my other orchids (except for the teeny baby Phal, which is still nor more than the size of my thumbnail) are blooming. Why? Well, it's my own fault. While he was blooming last winter, I overwatered him, thinking that surely putting up so many flowers must be taxing. As a result, instead of storing up flower-energy during the summer, Roy sent up a huge crop of clonal babies (keikis). This, I read, is a dendrobium's response to receiving surplus water during what is supposed to be its dry season. Oops. Those babies, however, after they sent down lots of fibrous white roots, were transferred to tiny pots, and given to friends (I still have one unclaimed. Any takers in Ithaca?). I'm keeping him dry right now, in the hopes that he will bloom next year. On the right is a color photo of my D. kingianum 'Roy,' alongside Oncidium Twinkle 'White Twinkle.' Twink has been banished to the corner of the kitchen under the grow-light, where she is now blooming her silly head off, because her flowers smell like cheap vanilla perfume, with top-notes of putrid fruit. Roy (coincidentally, also the name of my future father-in-law) smells like fresh iris and violets.

Edit: Since writing this post, I have taken a look at my orchids, and one of the offspring of Roy is growing a flower stalk! Hooray! The parent plant is also showing some swelling buds. There will be flowers after all, just a little late. 

la versaillaise

la Versaillaise

Today was the fin des fraises, si triste. Most of them had stopped producing, so we ripped them out to make way for leeks. I felt as though I should say a few words in homage. I arrived here at the height of the strawberry season, which was sadly diminished by a cold and rainy spell. We saw them at their peak, we cleaned up the rotten berries with chagrin. They were tasty while they lasted! The only strawberries left are the rare, the incomparable, the Versaillaises. This variety is so delicate we cannot pick it to sell in la boutique here at the Potager du Roi, because it would no longer be good eating an hour after picking. The Versaillaise strawberry is small, half red or pink and half white. It is often slightly deformed. It is not a pretty strawberry. It doesn't have to be, its flavor is incredible--as if someone had taken a whole kilo of strawberries and crammed them into one tiny strawberry, with an added flavor that is almost alcoholic, like a sweet liquor. They are more sucrée, too, than other strawberries. Amazing.

I think the intense heat we've had for the last week has further concentrated the sweetness of the Versaillaises. Other fruits, like peaches, currants, and raspberries, are quickly ripening. Yesterday, having received at last official permission to harvest from the garden whatever I would like for my meals, I went grocery shopping. Evening songbirds were singing from the tops of espalier, swallows were tittering and swooping everywhere, and the sun was setting over the Pièce d'Eau Suisses as I walked through the Grand Carré of the Potager. I felt deliciously overwhelmed. Eventually I took a few early turnips, courgette, spinach, parsley, and white peaches. Oh! picking peaches off the tree! They are so fuzzy and tender... Mmmmm. I was tempted by the artichokes but would like them to be a little bigger. I am spoiled by garden riches! Not to mention the French supermarkets in general... even the little 8 à huit convenience store around the corner has treasures of cheese, sorbet, and jams. They have a Poilâine bread stand in the 8 à huit, for goodness sake! I found shrimp--big, juicy whole cooked shrimp--at Monoprix today, 10 for about $3! I only needed 5 of them to make a meal. I ate them with fresh potatoes that I dug up myself, with a sauce of fromage blanc and shallots.
Did I mention the incredible $4 bottles of wine?
To paraphrase Nathan Detroit: "So hate me, hate me, go ahead hate me, I love you." Wish you all could come visit!

post edited by Liz on 11/14/2010

waiting for the clouds to break

Very humid and warm today, a day I am happy that my room is in the basement. Trying to stay in production mode here, but here are just a couple of photos of recent doings:

Orchids were brought outside to luxuriate in the jungle-like air.

I have a few new orchids. A friend in horticulture gave me a Lycaste, an orchid with wrinkly pseudobulbs and big leaves. It is a rescue case, I had to cut off a bunch of rotten roots, but it does have some healthy-looking new roots so I hold out hope.

She also gave me two bitty baby phaelaenopsis orchids. We're talking tiny wee here. The size of my fingernail. For the size of the leaves, they have very impressive roots!









This brings the grand orchid total to 6 (one of the baby phaels will go to Cindy but I am nursing it for now).

Pig and Buffy didn't think much of the heat.

the snow semester

Previously I wrote about how the weather is really not so bad here. I may have revised my assessment a bit.
The snow is pretty, yes, and though it was grey most of today the sun did shine brilliantly through my apartment windows from 3 to 4:30. But for the most part, this is the annoying, depressing time of winter. The depressive quality can be attributed not only to the precipitation and lack of sun, but also to the very cold and the difficulty of getting around.
That sun streaming through my windows improved my mood quite a lot. Maybe I need to get one of those full-spectrum lamps. Due to a variety of factors, I haven't been feeling super happy this week. Lack of sun, lack of exercise (I intend to asap, possibly skiing this weekend? X that, skiing too expensive), adjusting to the rhythms of the new semester, lack of boyfriend, and anticipation of stress. Yes, I am an anxiety junkie: I stress about stress.
The obvious solution to feeling low at the beginning of the semester is to get involved with my work. Then once I take some steps towards getting on top of things, I'll take some time for reflection and relaxation. The low feelings will pass, soon.

Note on previous post: the people upstairs have been pretty quiet since I sent that email to my landlord. Not sure if he spoke with them or what, but quiet is good anyhow.

and we're back from the break! this just in...

One of my new year's resolutions is to improve blog entry quality. Out with the mundane, in with the thought-provoking! Problem with this has been, I am often too tired/distracted/eager to take a break from deep thoughts when I write & post blog entries. Since I'm taking an l.a. theory class this semester, perhaps I will quote from my better writings for that class (Ye gods, writing is required for an l.a. class?! Yes. Well the prof is a former english prof). Multitasking. Yes.

But first... a bit of mundane. Rather ranty, please excuse me. It's been accumulating.
Some of you may remember my complaining about the noise from upstairs neighbors? At first I was sort of amused at their youthful antics, such as playing Rock Band with their friends, jumping up and down, & whatnot. Then I got peeved at how loudly they seem to walk back and forth (stomp really) into the wee hours of the morning (seriously, they do not seem to sleep at all). Among other loud noises. Well, I tried earplugs, but those fell out and mushed into the sheets or hurt my ears.
Then last night, the night before start of classes for spring semester, my upstairs neighbors arrived back at 2am ish, after which followed half an hour of them clomping up and down stairs, slamming the front door (which is behind the head of my bed), and then clomping all over their apartment for an hour putting stuff away and (seemingly) moving furniture. While yelling at each other. I fell back to sleep. At 5:30am I woke again, because of sex noises from up there. Great. I was so pissed off I stood up on my bed and rapped with my fist on the ceiling. This kind of helped, though I immediately felt a little mean.

But sleep is very important to me as a grad student. I don't get a ton of it usually.

I know it is not their fault really, they just seem to be naturally loud people and the thinness of the ceiling does not help.

Well. I emailed my landlords to say "Hi my toilet is running and by the way the people upstairs are rather loud, don't know what I can accomplish by telling you but they woke me up an average of 3 nights per week last semester, so maybe telling you can help in some way." They emailed me back promptly (my landlords are great), to say "Toilet will be fixed soon, thanks for letting us know. But on the other issue, what do you mean by "people" and "they"? There is only one person on the lease for that apartment."

...

I didn't mean to get them in this much trouble, as I said to the landlords in my reply, but I also said "Yep there are two people living there as far as I can hear." Which is true. I didn't go into details. I would be surprised if the guy is paying rent somewhere else.

Don't know what will happen as my landlords are pretty strict, and this is a clear lease violation. I requested that the landlord not inform my upstairs neighbors that I ratted them out. It would be bad if they knew. But maybe it is obvious that it was me? Yeesh I hate house drama. This is why I do not want roommates.

Speaking of housing, I am currently leaning towards living with my lovely lovely relatives the Bradburys next academic year. I have started to think that I do not want the responsibility of helping other grad students with their problems. Additionally, because I spend quite a lot of time in the studio, as a landscape architecture student I may not be well suited for this position. Also the mandatory August 1 start date for the training might mean an internship would not be possible.

Living with the Bradburys would be fun and cozy, plus could potentially enable me to have time for a TA position or other campus job.

debris

Shrapnel from the work bomb that exploded in my apartment over this past week is still lying about. I slept until 11 this morning so there's not much chance of getting this cleaned up before I go to class (if I also want something to eat).
Prior to sleeping for 12 hours last night, I was up for 36 hours. This was the final push for that renaissance garden project and then I resisted taking a nap yesterday even though I had opportunity because I wanted to get myself back on a normal sleeping schedule. Ah, the worklag.* Last night helped me relax into "I can sleep now" mode. Watching "The Pianist" with friends, delicious snacks, red wine, and a warm puppy (Titan, Todd's pup) snoozing on my lap--all very restful and restorative. Sleep helped too.
Now I want to go on vacation to that renaissance villa/garden I created (it's on an island on a lake in Lombardy) and bring all my friends. I think 2 months of relaxation should do it.

In reality, though, in less than a week I will be at home in Dorchester with my puppy, and lovely family, with walks in the NH woods, a toasty wood fire, and leisurely good-food-eating in store.
It will be heaven.

*worklag is what happens when your sleep schedule gets thrown out of whack because of work. Because jetlag is not an appropriate word in this instance... unless your work involves jets? In which case the right word would really be jetworklag?

For now, see my Italian Renaissance Garden. Click on the picture for an up-close view.

progress

Today I worked at home all day, but I got a lot done so it was good, if a little claustrophobic. Above is the sketch-in-progress for my design of an Italian Renaissance garden. The assignment is to take a minimum of 6 pieces from different Renaissance villas, and combine them to make a "Villa Eclectica." That tadpole-head thing on the left will look better when it is balanced by the lemon grove I intend to put in just below it.

catching up

Two huge projects due next week, two huge projects which both mean a lot to me. My head is spinning.

For now, some catching-up in photo form. What has Liz been up to? In sum:

Fall Break: hiking up Taughannock Gorge on 10/11














Making tasty food when she has time:









steak au poivre with red wine reduction, accompanied by rice pilaf, haricots verts and butternut squash (for Mike and myself when he came to visit me over fall break)











omelet with picholine olives, roasted-tomato salsa, and goat cheese











miso chicken broth with soba noodles, shitakes, green pepper, and roasted butternut squash

Walking through autumn mist on the way to class:



















In other news, I have moved my orchids and maidenhair fern inside for the winter. They are now hanging out in my bedroom by a southwest facing window. I just have to remember to open the curtains for them before I leave for the day. Fortunately my bedroom is the coolest room in the house so it's not bad for plants, not too dry. Also I have acquired a new orchid, an oncidium. It is about to bloom.

grumpy grad student lives below you

The people upstairs are playing Rock Band and jumping up and down, and whooping. I'm in favor of youthful enthusiasm, but when it is in full force and my walls are vibrating I tend to get grumpy. It's actually slightly better than when they play the zombie-killing video game and there are sounds of machine guns and zombie-dying sounds (Sample: raatt tat tat tat tat tat tat ARRrrrrghgurgle ARRrrrrghgurgle raat tat tat tat tat tat tat ARRRrrrrghgurrrgle... repeatedly, at 2:00 am). Also when they play Rock Band they don't tend to scream "die f***ing zombies, die... woo hoo got 'im!" When they did that, I was minutes away from thumping on the ceiling with a broom handle, no joke.

I got a letter from my landlords asking me to tell them my intentions to dwell or not to dwell for the 2009-2010 lease year, by October 15 (as is typical for Ithaca).
Despite the noisy neighbors, I would like to stay here as it is so convenient to campus, and I like my cozy home. It's just the right size and my bedroom is huge. However, I also realize I should explore my options, and try to find somewhere less expensive. I do so hate moving.

studio/home, home/studio

I have now moved nearly all art supplies and class-required books to my desk space at studio, so that I have to go over there, like I did tonight, for reading or recreational painting. I prefer it that way. For one thing, I like being in studio because there are people around. For another, I want to get to know these people (those are two things--sometimes there are people around and I appreciate them being there, too, but I don't actually talk to them beyond a "Hi").
But it does mean that I am going back and forth between apt and studio a lot. However on my bike that takes about 7 minutes door to door, so not a big deal. I'll enjoy the flexibility for now since there is no snow on the ground and it is warmish weather.
When it gets cold out... let's just say I may be bringing a blanket and pillow to studio. I already plan to keep some frozen meals there.