ahhhh…summer

So I haven’t posted in a while, mostly because there have been many projects in the garden keeping me busy. Who wants to be inside typing away on the computer on days when the temp is just perfect for planting? Not I.

The garden has grown dramatically since the last post. We have added many new features, including a pond with five goldfish, only one of which we have named. Powder, as we so affectionately call the white-lipped fish, is easy to spot due to his distinguishing feature. They were all a bit shocked at their new environment at first, but quickly came around once feeding time was set on a schedule. We now have them trained to recognize a slight tap-tap-tap of the food canister on the rim of the pond. They get very excited and start slurping the water even before the food drops. It really is a trip to watch.

The water barrels that we installed are doing a great job at keeping up with the watering needs in the garden. Since their installation we have only had to water the entire garden with the hose once. The idea of all this free water going down the drain with every rainfall has me thinking that we did a great service to ourselves and Mother Nature by capturing it and putting it to good use.

The next project in the lineup was dahlias. I had been anticipating the arrival of the bulbs a couple of posts ago, and I have to say I have not been disappointed. They are doing great! I started them in pots just to be safe and then transplanted them into their own bed near the fence. The seven I had chosen, plus a free bulb that came with the order(!), are all growing by leaps and bounds. There are also 10 additional plants, five each of two varieties, that my wonderful husband purchased for me while out shopping one day. These became the front border of the bed since they are of the dwarf variety. But wait, there is more! A close friend of mine has requested my help in the creation of bridal bouquets and table centerpieces for her wedding in October and she wants to use my dahlias! What an honor. I sure hope I can keep all of them alive and well until then.

Tigger, his last portrait. Ironically, the night before he passed.

As with all well laid plans, one has yet again gone awry. The vegetable garden is dying. Again. I am not certain why I am able to grow just about anything else EXCEPT vegetables. My zucchini has some sort of growth on the leaves, the tomato plants haven’t grown an inch since I planted them and the bell peppers are producing peppers for munchkins. It is a sad state of affairs and my husband is in shock since he holds my growing abilities in high regard. So much for feeding my family with the fruit of my labors.

All this talk of the trials and tribulations of my garden has brought me to a very sad note. Our wonderful furry friend, Tigger, passed on April 22nd. He lived a long and happy 14 years with us and was unfortunately taken before his time by a pack of wild dogs. He enjoyed the garden just as much as we do and it will never be the same without him. We miss you, Tigger.

June 5th, 2009 in Uncategorized | No Comments

—————- is it spring YET? ——————————–

We may not be buried under a blanket of snow like most of the yankee states are right now, but I am definitely buried under a blanket right now, a big snuggly one. When will it ever end? We aren’t bred for below 40 down here! Of course, according to the local weatherman, we will be seeing upper 70’s by week’s end. I’m sure it won’t stick, though. It’s going to be bonkers weather from now until May. Never a dull moment down here!

In between the cool snaps, there has been lots going on around our little home. You know how scheduling a party becomes a deadline for all the major upgrades you’ve been putting off? Well, that is what the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade became for us. The interior of our place has been complete for almost a year now, but the exterior projects have been creeping along. Until about 3 weeks prior to the parade. Then they kicked into full tilt mode. Within a span of just three weeks, we had a contractor friend replace a few rotten areas on the exterior, then painters pressure washing, caulking and painting the entire exterior, then, the final touch, fabrication and installation of a roof structure over our wooden deck and an awning over the front door. Phew! We barely had a moment to breathe before Mardi Gras overwhelmed us for an entire five days. And the projects still aren’t complete. Well, the ones that were critical to our guests’ overall experience are. The others are more for OUR overall experience.

The current project is a rain barrel system that we have been planning and prepping for over a year. We were lucky to acquire three bright blue plastic barrels free of charge from a friend who no longer needed them. They have been patiently awaiting their next purpose among the backyard debris that collects behind every backyard shed. I personally can’t take any credit for the actual preparation of these blue barrels into their new use. I don’t think it was even my idea to have rain barrels in the first place, now that I think about it! Hmph. Snaps to the hubby on that one. But I do think we will both enjoy watering the garden with the new system. Hey, I did help install the gutter that will catch all that beautiful rainwater!

Next in line for an upgrade is the blank space between the end of the walkway to the front door and the wooden deck. At its best, it may have scattered bits of runaway grass growing spastically in bits mixed in with stray pebbles and mud. We now have a solution for that space, but the weather keeps us from it. As soon as it warms, and as soon as we have a free minute, that little no-man’s-land is getting a complete facelift. A walkway of square pavers linked by ‘coral carpet’ sedum, a galvanized feeding-trough-turned-water-feature and a planting bed of ‘bar harbor’ juniper, silver thyme, flowering kale, ‘Lemon Zest’ carex, black mondo grass and a key lime tree, will hopefully come together into the lavish garden I have created in my head.

Hopefully that day will be here soon. I can’t take much more below 40.

—————- Da Da Dahlias ———————-

Since we have now entered the coldest part of the season, although you wouldn’t have known it a few days ago, I am starting to crave the long days of spring and getting my hands dirty with planting. There have been a few flowering surprises in the garden so far this winter, like the strange bromeliad “queen’s tears” that was a gift from my mother’s neighbor. The nasturtium seed I planted in November is starting to bloom, which is very exciting since I have always wanted to grow these. Hopefully the poppies will soon catch up. My first attempt at broccoli ended up blooming, which I now know isn’t supposed to get that far along before you harvest it. The lettuce is growing really fast now, so I hope everyone likes salad because I won’t be able to eat it all!

Even though winter has brought interesting sights to my garden, my first sign that spring is on its way arrived in the mail on Friday, the Swan Island Dahlia catalog. I am so overwhelmed by the beauty of these flowers that it took me a year to decide which few I should try my hand at first. How can there be so many varieties to choose from and they all be so unique?! This boggles my mind.

Dahlias are classified in two ways, by flower style and size. There are a total of 16 styles and 6 size categories. That means that there are almost 100 style/size combinations of dahlias. There are over 360 dahlia varieties to choose from just in the Swan Island catalog alone! Ranging from the pom pons that are only up to 2″ across (and adorably cute) to the huge dinnerplate dahlias that can have blooms up to 14″ across in every style imaginable. They all have fabulous names, too, like “Harvest Moonlight,” “Raspberry Punch,” and “Bodacious.”

Dahlias make fabulous cut flowers, lasting 5-6 days in a vase. The bushes grow very tall, some over 6′, so this makes for very long-stemmed blooms. As much as I love having fresh flowers in my home, I really hate buying them already cut. It is much more fun to wander through the yard and see what I can throw together to make a fresh arrangement. And I can’t wait to add dahlias to those arrangements!

I have selected an area of the back yard along the awful chainlink fence to plant these beauties, along with a few other plant species I have been growing in pots for the big day. Now all I have to do is patiently wait for the tubers to arrive on March 15th. Boy, that seems so far away. Guess I’ll just have to drool over the pages of the Swan Island catalog until then…

————- What the…. ?!? ———————

3″ OF SNOW IN BATON ROUGE ON DECEMBER 11TH?!?!

No one was prepared for this, especially Tigger. He keeps walking to the door to go outside and then when I open it, he backs back indoors. Then he tries the other door, as if it were going to be a different situation. He finally went out once it started to melt, but I doubt he lasts long. He will be cuddled up on someone’s lap as soon as he can find one sitting still long enough.

I sure hope my lettuce and broccoli survive this freak snow storm!

————————————————————————————————-

————- GREEN for the holidays ———————-

Merry Christmas!

I know I am a bit premature on my holiday wishes, but for some reason I am very excited about the holiday season this year. Usually I become a grinch, muttering obscenities at every cheery holiday merrymaker. There is always so much to do in so little time. They really should consider spacing out Thanksgiving and Christmas a little more. Maybe September would be a better month for turkey day. Then we could really focus on the gift-giving and greeting-card-writing without so much stress tagging along.

I think the reason I am not so grinchy this year is because I have a whole new place to decorate. It’s like having a blank canvas again. So of course all of my old tubes of paint won’t do, I need fresh new colors and brand new brushes—much to my husband’s dismay! Luckily, he is a good sport and tends to just shake his head and roll his eyes at me because he knows he can’t do much about it. So let’s get started decking the halls!

The first hall that I decked was actually the front fence. I couldn’t even wait until after Thanksgiving. After consulting with the pros at Red Door Interiors about my design ideas, I went to Target. (I knew I could find what I wanted there for my budget, not the prince of Dubai’s.) It took me a solid afternoon to set it all up and I still have more that I want to do!

About three weeks prior to this, I had the idea of creating an eco-friendly Christmas tree theme. I researched which trees are best, the cost of LED lights versus standard bulb lights, and handmade ornaments. I am happy to say that I was able to adhere to two out of these three criteria. The LED lights are so much more expensive that I decided to put those off until next Christmas. As for the tree, we cut our own. And the handmade ornaments, oh boy, wait until you see those!

We usually purchase our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. The weather was windy and chilly, perfect for chopping down an evergreen. We bundled up and headed to Zachary, about a 30 minute drive from home, to Christmas Forest. As both of us are perfectionists, not just any old tree will do. I was in the mood for a fir, but this farm only grew cypress species. After about an hour of cruising row after row after row of cypress trees, we ended up going back to where we started (of course). We chose a rare species of the Leyland Cypress called “Silver Dust.” It has soft feathery green branches with hints of white speckled throughout. It is sort of a variegated cypress tree. Very unique! It was perfect!

Once we got the tree home and the lights strung through it (which was no small feat, I must say), I finally got to do some a-la-dec-o-ratin’ (as my mother calls it). The theme is birds. All types of birds, but the owls seem to take a front row seat. And an adorable hand felted little penguin ties it all together. I kept it as natural as possible, adding seed pods and other natural elements from the environment. Instead of a star or angel on top, I opted for peacock feathers. I made the tree skirt from a fabulous gold upholstery that was given to me by a friend who had no use for it. I also made my own bird ornament out of the same fabric.

Overall, I am very pleased with the final product. I just hope I can keep the tree alive long enough for my family to appreciate it when they arrive Christmas day. I would like to acknowledge the artists that helped to make my tree a haven for my feathered friends, so bare with me, there are quite a few. Please visit their etsy.com sites and view/purchase your own handmade holiday decorations. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

May your holidays be green and peaceful. And to all, a good night!

ARTISTS————– all can be found at www.etsy.com —————

EvelynX: sweet little stuffed owl ornaments, jewelry – San Jose, CA
WHIMSYlove: adorable owl ornaments, funky fork easels, prints – Richland, WA
dgordon: handmade stamped pottery ornaments, plates, bowls – Lake Worth, FL

AlliumArt: funky fused glass bird ornament – Minneapolis, MN
halfofvamh: patterned bird ornaments, initial ornaments - ?
quietkatie: stuffed bird ornaments that represent her family members – Ontario, Canada
localcolorist: beautiful origami crane ornaments – San Francisco, CA
Frippelous: glitter and feather bird ornaments and other shabby chic items – Walnut Creek, CA
norajane: custom stamped bird ornament and lots of other custom stamps – Carthage, NC
OIive: plump little bird cage ornaments, cool pillows and stocking stuffers – Las Vegas, NV
Fisforfrank: beautiful pewter bird ornaments, knobs/pulls, menorahs – Dallas, TX
WoodlandCottage: cool miniature gourd birdhouse ornaments – Alabama
mudpuppy: the most adorably tiny ceramic ornaments, small planters perfect for succulents/herbs – Denver, CO
DraigAthar: my favorite, the needle felted wool penguin ornament, also sells wool for felting – Willington, CT

———– how to get rid of a 32″ tv ————

So our Sony HD television bit the dust. It wasn’t even that old! Maybe it heard us talking about replacing it and decided to take its own life. Whatever the reason, no one wants to fix it because its a Sony. So now the question is, “what do we do with it?”

First let me point out that this thing is monstrous and weighs as much as a VW bug, so just hiking it to the curb to be picked up by waste management would be a three ring circus. But I wanted to go green on this and recycle it. Little did I know at the time that no one would. Here is where my complaint begins…

I am an advocate of recycling. I have even convinced more than one of my close friends to get on the recycle bandwagon. My little household has decreased its solid waste output by more than half since it moved to 8th St. and now has the convenience of weekly pickup and the Can-O-Worms compost bin. And I used to be proud of the leaps and bounds Baton Rouge has made towards a more comprehensive recycling program. Not anymore.

After doing a little research online, I located two businesses that claimed to recycle e-waste (electronic waste). The first one I tried to contact must have gone out of business because the phone number was no longer valid. The second one only recycled computers, not televisions. So that was the end of that line. I then discovered that Sony has a “Take Bake” recycling program. Upon filling out the address information to locate a Waste Management ecycling center nearest me, no results were found (surprise!). Finally I tried the Recycling Office of East Baton Rouge Parish. Every bit of online literature on their website simply stated: “WE WILL NOT ACCEPT: Televisions, Stereos, Appliances, or Furniture.” I then called them to find out what was a person to do that needed to dispose of a television. All I got was, “Put it out to the curb.”

That’s it?! You would rather let lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants leach into our groundwater than find a better solution for television recycling?! What is going to happen when (as we have all been duly warned about over and over and over again) in February of next year television signals will be broadcast in digital and all of the old analog televisions are tossed out in tomorrow’s trash? Why hasn’t a recycling system been set up for that, too? It boogles my mind that no one has even considered that!

Phew. I feel better now.

Needless to say, we ended up getting the monster to the curb (thanks, Donald!). The next morning we awoke to find that the darn thing had grown legs and relocated itself to just behind the fence! Now, I am not certain if the garbage collectors moved it or if a neighbor decided to put a claim on it and come back later to collect it, because later that afternoon, it was gone.

I am happy this drama is now over, but sad to know that I am not able to recycle a television in the capital city of Louisiana (I think the nearest place is in Shreveport). I also can’t help but envision the look on the new owner’s face when they lugged it all the way home and realized that it was in the trash for a reason. What will THEY do with it now?

———-Touring BR’s Public Art on 2 Wheels———-

What a bee-yooou-ti-ful day for a bike ride and a little appreciation of the arts! Now, Baton Rouge, Louisiana is not what most people would call a well-painted city. Our very near neighbor, New Orleans, covers that area for us. So I was surprised to find that our lacking-in-culture city had such a wide array of public art. The majority of it is totally dated and not my style, but I can appreciate it all the same. (If you ever get a chance to do a walking tour of the public art in Baton Rouge, you can find a brochure at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.)

Our bike ride was one of three fall events hosted by BRASS (Baton Rouge Advocates for Safer Streets). We gathered at the steps of the State Capital Building on the chilly but sunny morning of Sunday, November 9. Our first stop for art was just a block or so away from the Capital but no one would even know this sculpture by Lin Emery is even there because of the overgrown foliage surrounding it. It’s supposed to be a kinetic sculpture, but it can’t even catch a breeze because of its placement on the grounds of the new state library! As our fearless leader Mark Martin concluded, it seems the art committee and the landscaping committee had a disagreement. Guess who won…

We continued on to Galvez Plaza that showcased a couple of Frank Hayden bronzes. The Ivan Mestrovic court was around the corner from these between the RiverCenter and the Courthouse and featured a couple of bronzes by this well-known Croation sculptor, Pieta & Migrating People. (Interesting fact: Mestrovic was the first living person to have a one man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.) The most startling of the all the pieces in this area was the Wall of Water that most people don’t even know is there! It is one of those wonderful secrets that gets overlooked on a daily basis. Next time you are rushing to make the curtain call at the RiverCenter theater, take a minute to appreciate this drippy delight.

The ride then took us to my favorite piece on the route, “Destiny for Children” by recently deceased local artist Emerson Bell. It is located in a park in a not-so-safe-after-dark area of town underneath the roar of I-10. It stands stately, even in its deteriorating state, in a park that rarely hears the squeals of excitement of children anymore. As we were all admiring this piece, I turned around and noticed an older gentleman silently tending his extremely healthy garden nearby. I was envious and moved at the same time. What I wouldn’t give to have my little garden reap such a bountiful harvest! Yet here he was, peacefully attending to his plot while the world roared by above him (and a strange bunch of helmeted two-wheelers stood staring into space nearby).

Off we go again, landing at the Congregation B’nai Israel where we toured the art collection in the temple, every piece of which had such deep meaning to the Jewish religion. I think I learned more about the Jewish belief system from those few pieces than from anything previously.

We moseyed on over to the controversial Westdale Middle sculpture, due to be demolished soon. I personally don’t see what the problem is with this piece. Yes, it is a bit garish, but it has such deep sentiment to so many students that helped to design and build it. Just put the new fire station behind it, for goodness sakes!

After the long trek back to the Capital, which included a leg-burning peddle over the North Blvd. overpass (thanks for those little pushes, honey!), we wrapped up the ride with a detailed explanation of the meanings behind the many embellishments on our State Capital building. Tired and hungry, we left there for bevs and snacks in Lafayette Park, where the last Sunday in The Park concert of the season was being held. Whole Foods generously donated the grub, which included a yummy pasta salad, wraps and green salad. We also had a keg of Abita to wash it all down.

I am very glad my husband and I were able to participate in this ride together and get a better understanding of what Baton Rouge has to offer in the realm of public art. (I know I am always knocking Baton Rouge for areas in which I think it is lacking, but ultimately we live in a very nice place.) We made some new friends and we plan on bringing more friends to the next ride this coming Sunday, November 16th. I am really looking forward to this one! A tour of trees and swamps right here in the capital city of Louisiana! Join us!

If you want to see more pics of our ride, check out the flickr site of a fellow rider here.

one man’s trash…

I am happy to report that my attempt at composting is going at. a. very. slow. pace.

Which shouldn’t surprise me because worms don’t move very fast. But anyone who knows me can tell you that I am not a particularly patient woman. So, why, are you wondering, did I choose to use worms as a means of turning organic matter into compost?! Because I think they are amazing little creatures. And I really like having 1000 new pets that don’t require as much attention as one grouchy old cat with allergies and arthritis (sorry, Tigger).

Not everyone has acres of land on which to create a compost bin far enough away from their home to prevent stinking up the place. Worm composting is a more practical way to get it done. To keep it simple, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste and paper products for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost and liquid fertilizer called worm tea.

We purchased the Can-O-Worms composting bin from All Things Organic in September and have it set up around the back corner of our house to keep it in as much shade as possible (worms don’t appreciate sunlight). It came with a brick of coconut fiber bedding to start with, which when placed in a bucket of water expanded into an amazingly large amount of clean dirt. (That’s an oxymoron, I know, but it really was clean!) We then purchased redworms from a local farmer instead of online for obvious reasons. Now this was an interesting adventure.

The only reason we knew about this worm farmer was by a large spray painted sign in his front yard that said “RED WORMS.” We happen to drive down this road frequently for business and always pointed and giggled when we passed the place. Little did we know at the time that we would be stopping to buy our own little clan of “RED WORMS.” When we pulled into the driveway, it led to an old tin barn with an ice chest set on a shelf on the door. The sign on the door read “36 worms for $1, Put money in slot.” An honor system. OK, we can handle that. So we open the ice chest to find 11 neatly stacked styrofoam containers, each filled with 36+ worms with bedding. We loaded up our worms, dropped $11 in the slot and drove off. Simple. As. That. We repeated the process the next day, hoping that the farmer had refilled his stash, and picked up 12 more worm buckets. And the family was complete.

So far, the worms are feeding on the coconut bedding and a few scraps that we throw in every now and then, like dryer lint, eggshells and veggie peelings. They seem to really enjoy the veggies, as those are the first to go. Which brings me to the first rule in vermiculture (the production of worm castings), worms will eat what they like first and save the rest for later. Much like humans. See, they are amazing little creatures!

Happy composting!

Design at the Shop

This past Saturday night found good design addicts of Baton Rouge attending the first ever “Design at the Shop” event hosted by ephemeral gallery. Now you might not think there are very many good design addicts (gda’s) located in the capital city of our fair southern state, but there are a few. And they were all at this event on Saturday. (Well, except for the ones that couldn’t pull themselves away from a pathetic LSU/Florida game, which is usually the case on Saturday’s in these parts.)

The artists that displayed work at the show were personally invited by the gallery owners David Cano and Kathryn Hunter. These two are oozing with creative juices themselves, so it is no surprise that they know how to pick ‘em. They asked wood workers, furniture makers, ceramic artists, metalsmiths, a bicycle fabricator, jewelry designers, handbag designers, a graphic artist and a special effects guru to create pieces that met the theme of “function and form.” The results were extraordinary! Never before has a collection of this caliber ever been assembled in Baton Rouge. Hopefully this event will bring awareness to all of the good design available in our area. Thanks ephemeral gallery! {left: wooden/leather rocking chairs by Keith Cochran www.woodstudio.com; steel mirror by David Cano; steel L-shelves and side table by Annie Smith; wooden box by Brooke Davis}

By far my favorite piece at the event was the modern porch swing by David Cano and my extremely talented husband, Rick Brown. You could say I’m partial, but really, I just know good design when I see it. Available in basically any shade you can imagine, its clean lines and minimal elements really make it the only porch swing I would ever want to adorn my home. (if I had a porch…for now I have to convince my husband to make me a snazzy stand to hang it from.) The pillows hanging out on the swing in the photo were created by Brad Jensen of ICON, www.iconvisuals.com.

Below are more pictures of wonderful items that were available at the show. You will notice that they aren’t any “in progress” shots of the event because I was having too much fun to snap pics. You can also see my submissions, the eco collection from urban:kitty, which consisted of tote bags, iphone cases and aprons made from re-purposed vinyl wall covering and letterpressed by Kathryn Hunter (www.blackbirdletterpress.com), and urban cuffs made from remnants in my studio.

Green blogging… An Introduction

After relocating my life from a spectacular loft in downtown Baton Rouge to just around the corner in Spanishtown (considered by all as “an eclectic downtown neighborhood”), my outlook on “things” have changed. By “things” I mean, how my little family exists on this planet. We now own our little piece of earth and are more and more concerned about how we treat it. So begins my little blog about how my worlds have merged into something of the green variety.

Most of my acquaintances would agree that I am a fashionable person. If a hot new jacket comes on the scene, I am usually the first one to purchase it, finances permitting. The most recent trend I am obsessing over is shoe booties (aka “shooties”). I can keep going on and on about my fashion urges, but that isn’t getting to the point I am trying to make.

The point is that I have now incorporated into my extensive collection of shoes a pair of foam garden shoes. Yes, foam shoes. They squeak when I walk. They are a weird shade of blue, but only cost $8. It turns out they are made of Ethylene vinyl acetate, which is some sort of polymer that is also used in hot glue sticks, plastic wrap, and, yes, crocs (which is an entirely different rant that you don’t want me to get into right now).

I am happy to report that, since relocating, my inner fashion diva hasn’t been deleted. It has just been slightly rearranged. Instead of cruising 3rd street until 2 am hitting all the hot spots in heels and the latest urban:kitty handbag (www.urban-kitty.com), these days you can find me traipsing through my little 50′ x 134′ plot of earth early each morning carrying a watering can and my favorite pair of gardening shears, wearing my strange foam shoes, any of about 4 hats to protect my sun-spotted face, and a smile.

Stay tuned for more insight into the world of green from the little plot on 8th street…