Oh my, It's a GARDEN!

Over the last few weeks, we have been growing many, many plants and a puppy. Our very early mornings and mid-sleep pee breaks have kept us too busy to be doing much else. But we are loving it nonetheless! We have so many more puppy friends through puppy school and our romps in the park. And then she falls asleep on us...

We did have time to enjoy a great day for bbqing. We picked up two racks of side ribs and made our favourite ribs yet: a very easy recipe from Primal Grill, our favourite saturday morning television show about grilling. It is a bit like Bob Ross  but with charcoal and large chunks of meat, rubs and marinades galore. Use the recipe here, but skip the lemon bbq sauce at the end. The spicy rub and bourbon-cider-butter grilling juice are more than enough for a very nice dinner.

As a side for same dinner, we had a fresh batch of home-grown arugula in a vinaigrette. I harvested the arugula from our own garden shown below! Our friend, Andrius (shown below in white hat), has been our gardening mentor and has guided us through the growing process to lead us to this back-yard utopia of veggies! It is so rewarding to harvest from your own backyard. 

The pink Columbine (above middle) seems to pop up in cracks of pavement on sidewalks and between buildings. It is a beautiful little surprise all over the city! Look at that bed of lettuce, spinach, arugula, leeks, peas, chives, and tomatoes climbing in the back! Also seen are golden raspberries, wild strawberries, chives, cabbage, kale, radishes and some herbs. Below are my two favourite gardeners, my boy Tom and my little lady Ruby. Awww. Ruby has become a great little gardener, sniffing about but not stepping on anything! She has a green paw.

This weekend we got up early enough to hit the Palmerston Street Yard Sale, a wealthier strip in the hood that has good 'crap'. We came home with a new skateboard, some fenders, many new clothes, and a few cupcakes. Tom also found some 75 litre planters on the roadside and HAD to ride them home on his bike. They went into the garden as planters. Tom has set up a rainwater collection system in the back yard so that we just use rainwater to irrigate the garden. It's great living with a Mechanical Engineer.

These are a few of my Favourite Things: 'Alive in my Apartment'

We have a small but very much alive domocile. Myself, Tom Mosher (my elven boyfriend who is also a maker and takes part in all experiments around the house), Chicken (black cat), and our family of plants, all pictured below.

Tom: Fixed-gear freestyle bike trick guy, green thumb, up-and-coming chef, playmate. (Left photo by Sungwoo Kim)

Chicken: Sits on all things i am currently working on, pretends to hate being loved.

And the plants. I have listed my favourites below, all are hearty, easy to maintain and somewhat eccentric in appearance. 

Cylindrical Snake Plant (Sansevieria cylindrica)

Each 'leaf' is a hollow spear similar to a pencil in weight and strength. Very sculptural and skeletal. Only needs watering once a month. The spears can be braided or shaped into whatever mass is desired.  Tom bought me this beautiful turquoise vase (which is also spiny) for my birthday. Thanks, tom!

 


Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)

A slow-growing yet hearty succulent that will tolerate cold windowsills and hot humid summers. This one also requires only one or two waterings a month, produces pink flowers (which i have not yet seen), and is easily propogated by cutting off small stems and planting them in same soil. I have pruned this one for the last five years since i bought it as a two inch cutting, which allows the trunks to get thicker and stronger, more like a bonsai. 

 


Wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) 

We nicknamed this on 'Cascadia' since it hangs above our staircase about two metres long. It thrives in mid light (indirect). It is easy to propogate by placing cuttings in a glass of water for a few days to grow roots, then potting in a new pot. Frequent trimming helps the plant to stay full; if it gets too long, it will become thin and spindly. Makes a great 'green' chandelier!

Elephant Palm (Beaucarnea)

Also called a Ponytail Palm, this very decorative plant has a trunk that looks like an elephant's foot with curly, stringy tendrils hanging down. It grows slowly, but can reach 4-6 feet tall. Easy to care for, dark or light conditions, humid or dry.  Unfortunately, also readily available at ikea. 

 


Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa)

This canopy plant (also called 'fruit salad plant') is named after its adult leaves which unfurl to show leaves with holes in them (like the cheese). While the plant is young, leaves show no holes. Leathery leaves can become anywhere from 25cm-75cm across, providing a nice umbrella in a shady room. Fairly easy to maintain as long as it is out of the sun and away from heaters. Also provides a great focus point for speculation ('it has holes because it grows so fast') during dinner parties. 

 


Organ Pipe Cactus (Lenaireocereus Marginatis)
 

This guy had a rough beginning. He started out as four tiny spikes in the soil, then got knocked over a few times. Parts were broken off. We replanted those broken parts upsidedown thinking the whole thing was going to die anyway. What happened? It started growing tiny clones out of the exposed broken bits! Now it has aerial roots, the whole thing looks like a crash site. Fluorishing! Again, waters once a month. Pick off the clones at any point, let them dry out for a few days, then replant in soil.

Plants make great stress relievers. The clones make great gifts for friends...and they are free! It is strangely rewarding to watch them grow. You might collect so many that you will have to make a 'green curtain' as i have done in my washroom. Installed a few shelves in front of the windown instead of those nasty dirt-collecting venetian blinds:

A great source for all house plants is a book called 'The House Plant Expert' by D.G. Hessayon. 

GET THIS...the best part....NASA conducted a study in the 1980's that showed that houseplants help to purify air inside due to chemicals that offgas from building materials for decades. For a 2000 square foot home, fifteen large plants will take care of formaldehyde, benzene, and Trichloroethylene that exist in insulation, paints, adhesives and varnishes. Since I live in approximately 600 square feet, I guess my forty something plants cover all toxins.