such small hands

From the Heart of Hell, I Stab at Thee!

I know how Ahab felt, fighting against a force of nature like Moby-Dick. Our east-side neighbor's worthless wisteria is also a force of nature. It was a pet project of our former neighbor's ex-wife, who allowed it to wind around the chain-link fence between our properties, in the hopes that it would eventually bloom. She did say we could do whatever was necessary to keep it away from our trees and stuff.

 
The Wisteria from Hell

Today I cut it back from our lilac and cedar, filling up a trash barrel and part of a second with the cuttings. It will probably need another cutting before the growing season is over. If it were mine, I would have cut the entire thing out and fed it to the wood chipper. But it's not mine. And Ken appreciates it for the privacy screening it provides. Like in those National Geographic Channel shows, if human life ceases on Earth, then our house would be a battleground for the wisteria, English ivy and wild grapevine. In a few years, it would just be a mound of green.

An Answer!!

I received a helpful e-mail this morning from a reader, Steve B., who identified my mystery perennial in the post "Right Stuff in the Wrong Place." It is Common Sundrop, either Oenothera tetragona, Oenothera fruticosa or Oenothera perennis. Either way, it is a member of the Evening Primrose family. It's really helpful to identify these plants finally!

One Thing Leads to Another

Weeding around the yellow mystery flowers and the coral bells, preparing to mulch, I noticed several dead-looking branches on the little ornamental tree in that corner of the yard. The tree has been there since we bought the house; it is a corkscrew hazelnut (Corylus avellana). I spent all Friday morning cutting off the dead branches and clearing the weeds from around the base of the tree.

The experience led me to realize that I don't really like this little tree all that well; I would never have chosen to plant it in the first place. It's just ... odd looking. Like something out of a Tim Burton movie. Twisty, curled branches (hence the name) and misshapen heart-shaped leaves. But as long as it is healthy, I see no good reason to cut it down and replace it with something else. Maybe it's just that we've neglected it ... that area of the garden has always seemed to take care of itself with minimal attention.

The area looks better now, not so overgrown. But working back there led me to notice another problem that has to be dealt with. (One thing leads to another.) The east-side next-door neighbor's worthless wisteria (the thing has never bloomed, in the 10 years we've lived here) has wrapped around some branches of my lilac. More on that story in the next post.

The Adopted Bed

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had designs on my neighbor's flower bed that abuts our driveway. The landlord gave me his blessing, so I began clearing it out. Finished it the other day. These photos show a before (sort of. I didn't think to take the photo until I had already cleared out all the grass and started mulching) and after. In the lower part of the bed, I dug out the grass, replanted a couple of the small, mowed-off hostas and transplanted a couple clumps of the sedum "Golden Acre."

In the top level of the bed, I just needed to clear out all of the weeds, sticks and dead leaves. The upper bed has hostas, creeping phlox and a tall plant I can't identify until it blooms. Once I cleaned it out, I just laid the mulch around the existing plants. There's a big open space in the center, where I will probably transplant one of my bleeding hearts in the spring. I'm delighted with it. Instead of a neglected weed bed, we have a garden that actually looks like someone cares about it.

Right Stuff in the Wrong Place

I have this marvelous perennial that was in the garden when we bought the house almost 10 years ago. Darned if I know what it is. If any readers have a clue, please leave a comment. It has these bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers in early June atop leafy stems about 18-24 inches high. It spreads by underground runners.

By now, the plant has migrated to the front of the flower bed, where it is blocking the view of shorter perennials such as a red-leafed coral bell and scented-leafed geraniums. So, I'm wondering if I should just yank out the intruding masses, or whether I should try to transplant them to the back of the flower bed. And is this the right time to do it?

Too Much of a Good Thing

Once we thought this sedum ground cover "Golden Acre" was going to solve the problem of the grass growing between the rocks bordering our flower beds. But it never really took to growing on the lawn side of the rocks. Instead, it crept into the beds, gradually. In some places, it has been mannerly. But one spot in particular spread too much, and became infested with grass. Like the wheat and the tares, it was impossible to separate the grass without damaging the sedum.

For a while I didn't mind the sedum taking up the space, but now it's crowding my irises and I have other plans for the space. This year, I'd had enough. I saved about a flat-size clump to plant elsewhere, then dug out the rest and tossed it. For now, I've covered the area with mulch and put in the leftover coleus and marigolds. In the fall, I have a spot picked out for a peony that needs more sun.

After considering where to plant the sedum that I saved, I started looking at one of my neighbor's flower beds abutting our property. He's renting the house now, so he doesn't really give any attention to the yard and garden. He gave me his blessing to have my way with the flower bed. So the sedum will go in part of it. Maybe, come next spring, I will transplant one of my extra bleeding hearts to that bed. It's going to give me so much joy to see that weedy little eyesore transformed! 

Why Garden?

What is there about making and tending a garden that is so attractive to some people?

Maybe it's because it gives adult a legitimate, respectable reason to play in the dirt. Maybe it's for the exercise and being outdoors. It is that, but it's also deeply satisfying to see living things grow because of your hard work. Living things that can help feed your family or make a meal even more flavorful. Things that can adorn your home and bring the outdoors inside.

Did you know that gardening was the first job that God gave Adam in Eden, when Paradise was still paradise? Genesis 2:15 --- "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

I think gardening is one way we try to get back to Eden, to work and tend our own little corner of paradise, even though paradise is now cursed with thorns and thistles.
 

Making Horseradish

Turning the gnarly white root of the horseradish plant into the relish you find in the store is actually pretty easy, if you have the right tools. You'll want a sharp knife, a food processor, kosher salt and white vinegar. Oh, and weather nice enough you can do the job outside.

Cut your roots into small pieces, roughly the same size, about an inch long. Put them in the food processor with the sharp blade. Pulse at first, then turn on and chop until the horseradish is finely shredded. Catch a whiff of it, as I did, and your eyes are going to water as if you were chopping an onion. If you want mild horseradish, add the salt and white vinegar right away. If you prefer hotter horseradish, wait a few minutes, maybe 5 to 10.

Store in the refrigerator in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid.

An article in a recent New York Times had some helpful advice on how to plant, when to harvest, and making your own horseradish.

Horseradish

Add horseradish to my previous list of plants we're growing this year. Ken is a nut for the hot stuff --- he puts it on just about any kind of meat, but especially beef. When he found out horseradish is easy to grow, he jumped at the chance to get some.

His cousin Bob Millinger, who lives on a farm outside Toledo -- near Elliston, Ohio, actually, hometown of "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox. Ken and I met up with his brother Dan and Dan's girlfriend Sue to pay a visit to Bob and his wife Janet. That was in late April, for the express purpose of getting some horseradish sets.

Bob's longtime plants were growing under an old cherry tree, so digging them out was a little difficult, but both Dan and Ken went home with several healthy-sized cuttings. We took off part of the roots so we could make a little chopped horseradish now, and planted the tops in four places in various beds and one container on the deck.

They didn't do much at first, but now they seem to be taking hold well. Even the one in the container (pictured) is looking as if it might take over.

Ken and I should resolve this weekend to chop up those horseradish roots I've been keeping in the fridge and see how homemade (not boughten) horseradish tastes.

Starting the 2010 Garden

The design theme change reflects the content change I am planning for this blog. It's been idle for a long time. I just don't have the wherewithal to comment on current events or much of anything else.

But I wanted to begin a garden journal. Rather than put it on paper, I decided why not use my existing online journal? Honestly, I don't even care if anyone reads it. I hope to keep track of what I am doing in the garden, and plans for future projects. Basically, it's for my own reference.

Living in metro Detroit, I am in Hardiness Zone 5B. We can safely plant about the middle of May, but the traditional planting weekend is Memorial Day. You can find your hardiness zone by ZIP Code at the National Gardening Association web site.

I am working with a big perennial bed. Over the last couple of years, we have switched from filling in around the perennial flowers with annual flowers to vegetables and herbs.

This year, we have planted:

• Green pepper "Linebacker"
• Sweet basil (ocimum basilicum)
• Cilantro (coriandrum sativum) in a container
• Two Early Girl tomatoes
• One Sun Sugar tomato
• One Big Boy tomato
• Broccoli
• Flat-leaf parsley (which amazingly survived the winter!)
• Cucumber
• Zucchini
• Oregano
• Tarragon
• Chives
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

Right now everything is planted and I still need to fill in the areas with mulch.