Bonsai Bonanza

There's a story of a man who takes a bonsai tree to a get help from a Master.  After hours of tinkering, pruning, and wiring this bonsai together the Master said; 'Very good... now in ten years, if you keep this up you'll have an OK bonsai.' Imagine a goal ten years out to be 'OK', not remarkable, just okay.  For some people that kind of pacing might be discouraging, but I find it inspiring. 

The world we live in is full of fads, phases and fleeting moments. To put forth the dedication for results that may come after decades of work has been lost in this time of fast food and key strokes.  Impatience has been equated to drive and ambition in a world of get it done to get ahead.  But speed doesn't always give us the quality of life or the substance we require to cultivate lasting relationships with the people and places around us. 

I don't want to admit it but my fascination of bonsai could be traced back to the first time I watched the 'Karate Kid'.  Mr Miyagi's whole mantra of hard work and persistence as training for life and the ring, rang true to me then and even more so now. 

It is said that an unmaintained tree will ultimately out grow it's ability to support itself.  Even trees in our own yards can out grow their potential and become hazards to themselves and others.  Canopy maintenance and branch selection can be just as important in a large scale tree as it is in the miniaturization of trees.  Bonsai allows these miniaturized trees to have the ability to live on indefinitely, giving these trees the opportunity to out live their full sized counterparts.  That is if someone is willing to tend to these living artworks over the course of centuries. 

I currently limit myself to three bonsai trees.  One indoor plant that resides in my kitchen, it is an Hedera helix; English Ivy.  This is actually a vine that grows outside in more mild climates but can be used as a house plant as well.  I've trained this vine into a dwarf tree with a fairly informal structure, been working with this tree for over 33 months now.

The other two are both Holmstrup Arborvitaes, both evergreens I've been maintaining over the last two years.  One of which is in a heads up competition against my brother's bonsai. We started them from the same shrub and challenged each other to a ten year bet.  Whoever has the best looking bonsai of the two after ten years wins. (10 bucks... a dollar a year) It may be as simple as who ever can keep theirs alive for ten years.  The first few years are just structural laying the ground work, building girth and taper on our trees of small stature.  We'll see how they evolve over the coming decade...

An article I was reading about bonsai talked about a curator of a bonsai society who claims to have a bonsai collection with over 70 specimens.  Of those 70 trees, he would be willing to show ten of them, leaving the other sixty works in progress.  Are there museums for unfinished Rembrandts?  I don't know. 

Bonsai is the greatest example of Art mimicking Life.  The artist can recreate the forms seen in nature and reproduce them in a much smaller scale, utilizing life itself as it's canvas.  Making a beautiful circle of life and art.  

When life gives you strawberries...

Its not nearly as discouraging or overwhelming as when life is dealing out lemons, but as I've always said...well not always, but I've been known to say... or at least I have said once: 'When life gives you strawberries, make Daiquiris!' That statement could have been followed by make Jam or Pie or even strawberry drizzle for Vanilla Ice Cream... but Daiquiris are more fitting with the beverage theme of lemons into lemonade.  Not to mention delicious.

Now through my short time as a consumer of this tasty iced beverage I've discovered you never know what caliber of daiquiri that you'll get at a bar or restaurant. If you need one that is hearty and refreshing home made is best. I've tried a few different strategies while making my own at home.  The actual fruit blended with the white rum, ice and daiquiri mix is a must, but after some important hands on research I come to the conclusion that frozen strawberries add much more complexity to the drink than fresh ones.  

When using frozen strawberries another key factor is to blend the ice cubes before adding the frozen strawberries.  If blended at the same time you lose any of the texture the berries have to offer. I like my daiquiris more like a meal than a drink... the fruit chunks are a necessity. There is nothing worse than getting a strawberry icee claiming to be a daiquiri only to be flavored with rum and red food coloring.

Home grown berries pack much more sweetness than store bought ones.  Knowing this and having the opportunity to pick strawberries in my mother's private berry patch, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my share of the harvest.  During berry season they need to be picked nearly every day, or the fruit will become overripe and spoil.  As the season progresses the berries get smaller and less attractive, as my luck has it my turn was at the tail end of the berry crop and things were getting a bit suspect.  Although there were slimmer pickings and less desirable fruit I was not dismayed; with daiquiris being my end game aesthetics were not a driving factor in berry choice.  Everything with enough red made it into the berry box.

Once they made it home they got a quick rinse, were allowed to dry of in a colander.  The cleaning and freezing was pretty straight forward.  I removed the stems and bruising and placed them in daiquiri ready pint-sized freezer safe bags. 

Did I mention I liked my daiquiris chunky?  No, the straw was used to get all the air our of the bag. 

Each bag measured our for a single batch of drinks and placed into the freezer to await a worthy libation.
I have the macrame lawn chairs and a blender... who's gonna join me?  I've got the berries, will you bring the rum?

Lucille's Circle

When I first moved into my house, as a renter, the only stipulation to the lease was that I was in charge of planting Grandma Lucille's circle.  A responsibility that I didn't take lightly.  It was the only bit of gardening that was still being don at the place and it was in a prominent location in the yard. I can still hear her saying 'When are you going to plant that circle?', well I was able to get around to it this June. 

My choice of plant material really depend on the plants in excess at work. The last two years we have had an abundance of coleus left by my planting time (always around Mid June).  This allowed me to be a bit quirky with my design.  In 09 I  planting a Yin and Yang utilizing light and dark leafed varieties of coleus. I have always enjoyed the philosophies behind the the Ying Yang.  To all thing there must be a balance. Dark:Light Male:Female High:Low Hot:Cold  At the heart of the philosophy are the two poles of existence, which are opposite but complementary.  Though being opposite each is necessary to truly appreciate the other.   For every summer there must be a winter, and season of growth and season of rest.  Which is one reason I love the Minnesota the Winter provides the cleansing cold to allow the vibrant rebirth of spring and summer.  Whether the battle for balance is internal or its a search for balance in your surroundings, I find its best to do the search grounded... or at least in the ground.

Last year I reprized the coleus symbol theme.  It was simply a smiley face, Electric Lime and Red Ruffles coleus.  It caught the mood of the season, sun a happy time.  As it grew together it was quite the enjoyable thin to see each day leaving my driveway.

This year, due to new efforts at work for inventory control there was not enough of any two coleus to make a statement.  So instead I walked the Garden Center for inspiration, sometimes it only takes one plant to determine the mix of a whole arrangement or garden. Inspiration struck with 'Field of Dreams' Ornamental Corn.  Its a brand new plant variety and was the rave of the California Spring Plant Trials, raised alot of eyebrows and made some waves in the trade magazines. The corn in variegated green & white with not so subtle pink stripes work it.  It can grow 4-5 feet and produce small ornate cobs of corn. 

From there a theme emerged, I added 'Purple Flash' ornamental pepper.  A new variety of pepper w/ purple foliage and pink and white splashes of variation.  The deep color of the pepper should stand out in from of the lightly colored corn.

 Also used was Verbena bonariensis, Supertunia Raspberry Blast, and Margarita Sweet Potato vine.

In the past few years the lines between and ornamentals have begun blurring as more people integrate edible plants into their landscapes and breeders make introductions of plant material that was once plainly a vegetable and now has some amazing unique aesthetic value.  The palette of color and textures for the garden is ever increasing. 

This garden showcases three such plants, while the Verbena and Petunia add a some needed flair.  The others are a new way of looking at some old classic crops, reinventing themselves for a whole new purpose.  Just as we must do, integrate the old with the new.  We must truly appreciate the opportunities given to us and the new and different ways to look at things, and all we can hope to do is try to learn something from it all. 

Each year I will plant Grandma's Circle, it has become a sacred routine, but what I plant can change each year.  That gives me both the structure and freedom of spirit that one needs in life.  Which brings me back around to balance.

Tomatotastic and Pepperific!

You want to see me excited set down a vine-ripened tomato in front of me.  It’s good to be able to take enjoyment from the most simple of things. I've always gravitated to tomatoes' juicy, delectable goodness. Now peppers, I really didn't let them into my life until senior year of college.  A professor handed me a fresh bell pepper while on an organic vegetable garden tour, one bite into that fresh red bell pepper and my dietary world had been broadened.  Tomatoes are still my favorite, but its a good thing that they play so nice together.

The versatility of this most precious fruit is unmatched in my mind.  There are a few tomato based staples in my life; pasta sauce, barbeque sauce and of course salsa.  All of which I've made in the past and plan to once again.  Other great uses are out there and I love to eat, it goes hand in hand. But before we get to consumption there is a lot of hard work to get us to that point.

Ground preparation is very important, practices of rototilling, adding amendments; peat moss & compost. The unique structure of peat moss improves the soil's water & air holding capacity. Compost adds organic matter and nutrient holding abilities. Growing in the glacial outwash that is the Anoka sand plains soil structure becomes a big concern.  Trying to fix your soil in a single year could become an extensive and expensive task.  Instead practice good land stewardship and over time the dirt you started with can become the life giving soil you deserve. 

Peat moss and compost added to the soil, concentrated in where the rows of veggies will be planted.  

Last year I had a devastating run in with the blight, most everyone I know had a hard time with their tomatoes. The growing season was not conducive to tomatoes, my vines began to wither and it seemed like the crop was doomed. It was a scary sight and I began to panic and hoard the tomatoes I could.

This year I decided to do things a bit different, weeds and disease are two big concerns.  Many commercial growers have adapted to using plastic mulch as a barrier between the soil and the plant. I wanted to do something of the same, but also want it not to be wasteful.  By using landscape fabric I could reuse it from year to year and still have the weed and soil barrier.  Plastic fabric over plastic allows water and air to pass through, I don’t want my watering to be overhead and need it to be more efficient. (That will be tackled another day, I've got some ambitious plans for plant hydration).

A propane torch made the holes in the fabric for each plant, melting the plastic to prevent fray. 

I dug the hole with a post hole digger, filled each with water before adding the plant.  After placing the tomatoes I back filled the holes with soil and compost, then watered again.

That’s enough detail on the planting, what it is really about is the plants. Altogether on this day of planting I was able to plant 34 tomatoes and 34 pepper plants.  But I struggled even narrowing it down to these numbers.  Most of my tomatoes are heirlooms; 1) out of curiosity, 2) I have access to plenty of conventional tomatoes from work, and 3) The different colors, tastes and textures allow for a lot of tomato improvisation.  The variety of different uses of each of these will provide for some excitement this fall.  

This last year I saved some seeds from some unique peppers that didn't grow true to type.  From this seed I started plants for the garden to see if they grow into the same pepper. One was a purple bell pepper that grew long and twisted and the other was a lime colored Ancho hot pepper. I have always been drawn to plants that are different, something unique and perhaps even a new variety.  Whether I ever take the step further into plant breeding that would be a whole other venture, but would be quite fun. I also planted a few hots and some sweet peppers, a range of shapes and colors. 

Last few peppers to plant, the diagram shows the list of varieties chosen for the garden. 

There will be a rundown of varieties and uses to come. But I wanted to get this updated.  Thirty-four plants of each peppers and tomatoes are probably more than a man needs, especially when his only roommate doesn’t eat either.  I do love my fresh veggies but not everything needs too be eaten freshly, that is where my passion for preserving the harvest comes into play.  I’ve got my favorite recipes, but am always on the look out for a new or old recipe to try.     

Just a bit Exposed...

Do you ever feel exposed? Like everything you do is out there for the world to see.  Thats how I feel about my front yard at times, its one reason I enjoy the sanctity of the backyard yard. Two years ago I was chatting with a customer at work and she asked who was living at my Grandparents old place. I told her it was me, and she told me she was glad I was still feeding the birds in the bird feeder in the front lawn. I guess the neighborhood likes to keep watch, it is even a bit comforting to know they care.

No matter how much work needs to be done on the house and the other out buildings I always believed the first improvements would come with landscaping (even the bird feeder is long overdue for a face lift). The proper use of trees and shrubs can soften any exterior of a house, or provide the necessary buffer or screen. Lets just say there is a bit of softening that can be done around my place. One wake up call was when my mother was talking with a new employee about where I live, and she proclaimed 'Oh the abandoned farm?' It was never abandoned, but hasn't been updated in decades. To tackle the plethora of projects and updates necessary with the buildings on the property will be a long journey, with budgetary and time scarcity concerns, this is a journey I wish travel but will be packing a lot of patience.
But I can do something about my feelings of overexposure, it does not take much time to plant a tree.  Or ten.  Or twenty.

I've always been a big fan of hedges, I've joked that if I ever get in an auto wreck it'd be because I got distracted by someone's hedge.  A well manicured hedge can be an amazing sight to see, it showcases a gardener's true patience and vision.  One of my favorite hedge related experiences was on the island of Oahu at the Dole Plantation, they've got a hedge maze made out of hibiscus.  Lets just say amazing.  

This glorious hedge was spotted in Oahu... one of the many inspiring botanical sights I've  seen.

The use of many plants grown as one to form a uniform object, a team. It could be said that Hedges are my favorite team sport and I've got aspirations to be Head Hedge Coach, perhaps someday we'll win the tree pennant.

I have had this dream for some time now; plant some Columnar Maple trees... let them grow to create a living wall.  I saw pictures of this hedge made out of trees, the hedge started four feet off the ground and then was a solid mass of foliage for twenty or thirty feet up.  I get giddy thinking of the potential of these trees growing alongside the county road.

The trees I ordered came bare root, without a root ball there is an urgency to plant them, but the process goes faster and the plants adapt quicker.  

The process took two evening plantings and one early morning digging. An extra pair of hands and a third set of eyes ensured the trees were planted in a row and upright.  Three perfectionist are better than one. Waking extra early one morning to plant a few trees was beautiful. There was a hint of fragrance from the blooming trees; a mix of pear, plum and crab apple blossoms in the air.  The air was still fresh this morning and was accompanied by a gentle breeze, if I every morning was like this one I could become a morning person.

The line of trees, spaced six feet on center.  The first batch planted a week before the others is already leafing out.

Along with the maples which will give me a lovely show of yellow fall color, I planted a cluster of five river birch along the west line of the square.  They'll provide additional screening from the east and some great winter interest with their exfoliating bark.  Its always a bit therapeutic to get something into the ground. The feel of the earth at your fingertips; it gives you a connection to the present and a vision for the future... now I wait.  And water... often.

Not all Moles are Beauty Marks

 Plans and progress can only do so much... not every outcome can be accounted for or even expected.  It's been a long Winter and with a Spring that isn't standing its ground it is easy to get discouraged.  One unforeseen consequence of having such an abundant cover of snow this year is the survival rate of the Moles. Those little critters must have rested pretty easy this winter.  My yard is checkered with their underground pathways, and they've been busy.  

 In the past I've been one to leave them to their digging, what real harm can they do under that soil.  Turns out grape vines can be tasty, and my Valiant grape plant lost a not so valiant battle with the stealthy critter.  All that is left is a grape twig tied up against its stake, no roots, no connection to the earth.  It's wasn't even uprooted, just de-rooted.  Something must be done.

 I've been on a metaphorical mission of taking back my yard.  It being a yard of a neglect, decades of dilapidation, not because of a lack of love but a lack of time.  I've pledged myself to my yard and plan on bringing it to its former glory and beyond.  But that mission may have to be put on hold as I must literally take back my yard from these underground invaders.  They mustn't be allowed to continue their rampage, the moles will have to face the my wrath for what they did to my grapes.  "I know this... a man got to do what he got to do."

Cloudy days make for Cloudy minds

I have always been someone who plans more than he does.  This isn't saying I don't do things, its more that I spend much more time thinking and planning things.  I have the desire for many things, but am so concerned about doing everything the right way that sometimes it does not get done at all.  This is a constant battle within myself.
My gardening is a great example of these struggles.  I believe I've already begun to make progress, my first example would be my grape vines.  I've been living in my home for three plus years, but was renting for the first two.  As a renter I didn't feel as connected to the property or home to make any physical improvements.  I was renting a place to live and keep my things, but the insecurity of a lease prevented me from tackling issues of the house and yard.  Why would I plant a vine which would take three to four years to bear fruit if I was going to end up somewhere else before that even happened?  Just last year I solidified the purchase of the property and the home is now mine.  Now I have the yard to do all the things I've ever dreamed of in.  My work schedule competes with the free time necessary to devote with yard work.  I became frustrated because I had a yard, I had grape plants, yet I didn't have a trellis to plant them on.  I decided to plant the vines, and tackle the trellis another time.  Sure it felt as though it may be the wrong order, but the vines can wait for the trellis, I on the other hand couldn't wait any longer for progress.  Perhaps sometimes doing things the wrong way is better than not doing things at all.  At least its a start.

This cool, cloudy spring weather really messes with my ambitions for outdoor projects.  I haven't felt the urge to get started on the many things to do in my yard.  The projects within the house have also been quite the distraction, takes a while to paint a room when you only dedicate two to three hours every other day or two.

But I figured I'd put together a list of yard projects that I'd like to see some progress on:

Garlic: Needs Mulch and Irrigation
Fish Pond: Finish the creek between the two pools & release the goldfish for the summer
Build Chicken Coop: Chicks arrive May 14th (though they wont need the coop for a few weeks as chicks)
Deer fence: Additional deer pressure, must protect the tomatoes... June.
Vegetable Garden: I like to supplement my summer cooking with food from the yard.
Hops: I've got three varieties in pots waiting for their place in the sun.
Over-arching Landscape Design: First need to start with a site map of the property.
The Dug-out: This is just what I refer to as the line-up of trees and other plants that are on my list but have yet to find their way into my yard.
Pruning Trees: I started working on the trees in my yard this winter, but they'll need much more work.
Tree Climbing: I've got the gear necessary, I've just got to work on my knots before I start swinging from branches.  This ties into the previous item, best way to prune is secured to the tree.
Perennial Garden: This one will be extensive, mostly shade but it'll be big enough for some morning sun situations as well.  I'll be designing this in my head for quite the while still.
Grape Trellis: I'll need a trellis for the five I've already planted, perhaps even an arbor.  There are quite a few other varieties of grapes I'd like to find room for in the yard as well.

These are just a few of the things I plan on tackling in the backyard, chronicling the progress will be a great opportunity for me to share my experiences but also keep me on task.  Because these cloudy days keep me in my head and out of my yard.