Studiology

The Reception

I wanted to thank everyone that came to my reception, I was truly humbled. The masks were a big hit and they were literally finished the morning of the big day. Such wonderful friends I have and so many positive comments, this was a show that will always be remembered fondly!

As October continues the show will remain, and I have some special plans for the holiday season, so consider a visit to Art A La Carte Gallery.

Here are some photographs of the masks, they are not just fully functional but were made with custom wall mounts so they could be hung like a piece of art. 

 

 

She Sells Sea Snails

The show is up, a huge sigh of relief, another year down. There will be a reception on Saturday, October the 12th with wine tastings and finger food.  I hope to see some of you at Art A La Carte, 310 Mill Street, Occoquan, Va. from 2 to 5. Here are some photographs of the show which is shared with Kathleen Kendall and you can meet both of us on reception day.

 

Fall Migration

Gardening one fall day I was struck by a cold wind that rustled the leaves around me and ushered the warm air out as it charged south. Looking skyward I was stuck by the most incredible vision, a line of migrating birds stretching as far as the eye could see. Traveling with the wind, they were hitchhiking, every sort of bird, large and small was coasting with their wings spread. 

I have hoped for a repeat of that event, but it's never happened. With fall arriving, I will be watching the sky as cold fronts come and go and I suggest you do the same. We are on the cusp of fall migration, particularly as the neotropical migrants head to south and central America. Chimney swifts left over a month ago, they rely solely on insects, so their exit comes early as they fly to Peru. 

Those that migrate later in fall spend their summers eating insects, switching to berries for fall. A critical part of their journey is the increase in body fat prior to migration. Weight gain is often 50 to 100 % of their body weight, which will quickly disappear as they exhaust their reserves. In berries, they are searching for those that are high in antioxidants, fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Dark colored fruit will provide the antioxidants which are helpful in breaking down carbohydrates and negating the stress of long flights. 

The primary source of high quality food comes from native plants. Shrubs that offer berries with the richest dietary supplements are the grey dogwood (Cornus racemosa), arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum), and spicebush (Lindera benzoin). These three have fruit that contains nearly 50% fat. Antioxidant rich berries come from Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and arrowwood viburnum; with this viburnum providing more antioxidants that any other species. 

Protein, fiber and carbohydrates are also necessary, found in the berries of poke (Phytolacca americana), poison ivy, southern magnolia, and American holly, which are all native. Fruit from nonnative plants are often low in the necessary dietary supplements for long arduous flights and it may take six times the amount of fruit to equal a few of the high power natives, which actually leaves a bird starving in stressful times. 

For safety most bird migration occurs at night, by day they seek a place of shelter with high density vegetation and a rich diet to replenish. Vast acres of manicured lawns help little as sources of valuable food. Knowing the need for these specific berries, I have altered my gardening practices and am leaving the Virginia creeper, pokeberry plant and poison ivy vine in place. A little wildness is good for us both. 

Excuse Me While I Bragmansia

This my friends is my 500th blog post and how fitting to have the topic be my night garden. Of my three large brugmansia or angel's trumpets, one always takes center stage for a few nights of the year and this year it's 'Charles Grimaldi', or so I have dubbed him. Bought as a generic variety, if he is not Charles, he is darn close. Last year it was 'Ecuador Pink' in all of her raging beauty, but she was gobbled up by tomato hornworms in early summer,  so she is practically half of her normal size, but also full of flowers. 

I have lost count as to how many years I have dug these small trees up for a frost free winter, but it may be six! Never before has  'Charles Grimaldi' been so awesome, so I really believe that time helps with some varieties and may hurt with others. My reliable 'Frosty Pink' has slowed down for the last two years, so one never knows.

The flowers are white the first night and alter as the night progresses to reach their true color on day two. The scent becomes stronger as the night passes and one can enter pockets of intoxicating fragrance as they settle into spots in the yard and garden. So was the case last night. The flower count is over 100, and this is my hybrid with the "longest tooth" or point to the petal. Literally what the hybridizers call the best hybrids as those that are "long of tooth". 

There are many other plants in my night garden, moon vine, acidanthera, jasmine, four o'clocks, nicotiana and tuberoses. So each and every night is different with the show beginning in June and reaching a peak in August and September. I highly recommend this type of garden for those that work days, it just makes sense or shall I say scent!

Sea Odyssey, the Show

I am once again sharing the spotlight with Kathleen Kendall at Art A La Carte Gallery this fall with a two person show. Titled "Sea Odyssey", there will be plenty of mermaids and various sea creatures in 2D and 3D. The show goes up on Friday, the 27th of September, the day before the big Arts and Crafts Festival in Occoquan. Our reception is Saturday, October 12th, from 2 to 5:00. We have literally been working on this project for a year.

My fourth year at the gallery as I was officially juried in on May 6th of 2014. The owner of the gallery announced a move to Florida over a year ago, which triggered panic on my part because there are few things worse than having to find a new gallery to sell your art from. We are a cooperative gallery with 24 members and the short story is - I'm the new manager. Scary and exciting at the same time, it's part of my plan to move into more art, splitting my life between horticulture and creative time in the art studio. And if you have never visited the gallery, please consider a visit, I am sure you will love it as I do (plus we are open 7 days a week from 11-5).

So here are some previews of completed artwork that will be on display at the end of this month. This piece is another wand, supported by strong magnets.

 

 

 

 

 

Zombies

The garden is usually a place of happiness, escape and calm. This year I gave up using Roundup so there are parts that have gone rogue. I get a bit tense about them, but that's not what's got me in a funk about my garden. The despair comes from my inability to raise butterflies successfully, it's just been a hell of a summer. 

Last year was over the top with monarchs, night flowers, frogs, etc... Morning visits this year turn up with dead monarch larvae and black chrysalis's. One morning I gathered 11 dead monarch caterpillars and that's when I decided that I needed to know the answer. My first thought was the parasite known as OE, which is present on a large percentage of our butterfly populations and will kill the host when their presence is so high that the caterpillar is too weak to live. For this particular problem there is little that can be done, so my funk deepened. I reached out to someone that knows all about raising monarchs and she suggested an alternative culprit - stink bugs. A few things she said started to make me a believer; they feed at night so the dead are found in the morning, they love fennel (which I have gobs of ), and the dead caterpillars have a kink in their body where the feeding tube was inserted by the stink bug to suck them dry. As I sent her photographs she confirmed the problem and suggested I go out at night with a headlamp to hunt them down. I still had some doubts (I will admit) but when I repeatedly found the stink bugs feeding I knew she was right.  

For such small insects, no more than a quarter of an inch large, they have an astounding appetite. Maybe it's just a cyclical year and next year will be better. I'm certainly hoping. 

Then came the inability of my monarchs to go from chrysalis to adult butterfly. This was a really big problem as I have only found one chrysalis that has successfully incubated or completed its life cycle. The tachinid fly is responsible for these deaths, a parasite of other butterflies as well, the fly egg is deposited on the caterpillar, often when it's hanging in the J position to begin the chrysalis building. The fly larvae feed on the caterpillar's blood, growing until it occupies up to half of the poor host's body. They emerge on a silky thread to drop to the ground and continue their incubation. The blackened chrysalis and hanging string are both indications of tachinid flies. I can only begin to imagine the effort involved in trying to function with something living inside of you, eating away. To make it even more unimaginable, they may have up to 6 tachinid fly larvae feeding inside!

There are other parasites as well. A very large wasp family, the ichneumon wasps will also parasitize, which leads one to wonder how can any of these caterpillars succeed? 

Those 2 holes aren't peep holes, just another parasite attack. My comment to my knowledgeable friend went something like; "horror movie writers must be gardeners". I think she got a chuckle out of that, but really, wouldn't you agree?

And I know that the only alternative is to raise my butterflies inside, but that too has its own set of problems. So with each day, and my garden has at least 3 monarchs flying around at any given time, I will observe and try and teach myself enough to help where I can and not let the garden become a place of depression. 

A Tomato Log

As you may recall I traveled to Raleigh, NC to buy dwarf heirloom tomato plants from Craig LeHoullier in spring, the author of "Epic Tomatoes".  I was intrigued by his book and the idea of dwarf plants with big fruit and great flavor. I was also sent home with some testers, new hybrids to try. 

Twenty-five plants went in the ground (not 100% dwarf) from Craig and I added a few more, primarily because I realized that I was heavy on yellows. Harvest time has come and I am tasting them everyday and keeping a log of my favorites.  Some are large fruiting, some tiny, it's been a fun summer and now my favorites are coming together based on taste and bounty. 

Back in the plant farm days we held tomato tasting parties and 'Kellogg's Breakfast' was almost always the champ and it's still a wonderful tasting tomato with a good harvest. 'Aunt Ruby's' is a personal favorite because of the great color and balanced but intense flavor plus I think she's always pretty on a plate. 'Big Brandy' is another standard or large grower with 'Brandywine' as a parent and it's tart and sweet, really yummy. 'Hannah's Prize' is named after one of Craig's daughters, a good grower with beautiful fruit that is red with pale stripes and a tart taste.

Of the cherry tomatoes, my favorite is 'Teensy Green' and I am a little surprised at that, I like them sweet and this tiny green cherry is sweet but also delicious in a big tomato way. Incredible flavor for such a tiny fruit. The 'Teensy Pink' was a test hybrid and it tasted good but the fruit dropped too much. 'Pink Ice' (test plant) was beautiful to look at but very meaty with little flavor. Of the larger yellow cherries I think that 'Egg Yolk' is better than 'Lemon Drop' but not because of flavor but how the skin seems to dissolve better. The taste on 'Black Cherry' is powerful but can't hold a candle to 'Teensy Green'.

All of these yellows are dwarf so it's amazing when you have fruit that may way a pound or more which happens pretty consistently with 'Lillian's Yellow'. My notes on this one say "sweet, a little milder, I love it!" For 'Sweet Sue' (named after Craig's wife), I called it "intense but good, very good". A great plant that's not over 4 feet tall and loaded with fruit. 'Mr. Snow' is also at 4 feet with beautiful fruit and a tart flavor that balances out, I guess a complex flavor that ends up a favorite on a regular basis. The dwarf 'Wherokowhai' was meaty but good with consistently smaller fruit.

It's always interesting to see them cut and 'Sweet Sue' wins the beauty contest in my opinion.

This was some of today's harvest and just seeing certain varieties over the course of a month tells you they are bountiful. I have no notes yet on 'Lucky Cross' which is also from 'Brandywine' because I was too quick to turn them into salsa. But there will be more, more varieties and more maters.

 

Wisconsin in August

The perfect hostess talked me out of visiting Wisconsin in June, instead recommending August, a nice time to leave the heat of Northern Virginia. Little did I know that it was also the peak week to go for cherry picking, and of course the weather was delightful. My destination was Sister Bay, a small village that is filled with tourists in the summer and located on a narrow peninsula that extends into the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. At its narrowest point it's not even four miles wide so one can walk to the beach either way with fresh water that extends as far as the eye can see. 

The summer gardens there are gorgeous; hollyhocks don't get rust, you can grow lettuce in the summer, and there is even an indigenous primrose (primula). My explorations included wild areas, art galleries with sculpture gardens, and cherry orchards, (which are everywhere).  I met artists, goats, honeybees and sailors, blues singers, hard cider makers, and wayside farm owners. All in just four days. 

My favorite artist was Pamela Murphy, not only is she a painter but she grows 90% of her own food with everything from goats for milk and cheese, chickens, geese, and all sorts of fruits and vegetables. 

Pamela Murphy with Karla (the perfect hostess)

Pamela's art studio is in an old dairy barn where she hangs her canvases to coat with gesso which is liberally added layer by layer to create texture. Silver and gold leaf are a large part of her process and they are also added, often in a random fashion. 

I met my first goats here, one was an escape artist and loved chewing on my clothes.

Steven Woodward was another artist that creates very large installation pieces. His studios are in rental units, where he can store pieces that were larger than the height of any standard house ceiling. Made of wood, metal, and fabric, they were incredible. This is a museum piece that utilizes braided rugs, unbraided and recreated.

Karla's maiden name is Grasse so we visited her cousin who has a vineyard and is bottling wine. They also have goats and Karla keeps her honeybees there so I was able to suit up and learn a bit about how to take care of them.

There was a sunset sail on Lake Michigan from Sister Bay, and we had to help with the riggings, or the sails, or whatever he was talking about (the jargon was lost on me).

I was also treated to a native plant walk at The Ridges Sanctuary with is a bay that has been washed over by the waters of Lake Michigan where they are dumped in ridges that can be narrow or very large. The plant diversity was incredible with wetlands and dry ridges. There are pockets of boreal forest, mostly black spruce. A mistletoe species parasitizes the younger trees which causes them to develop witches brooms, which are clusters of branches growing from a tight junction. The small red growths are the mistletoe.

a black spruce with multiple witches brooms

Jens Jensen, the famous landscape architect from Denmark created a school at the tip of the peninsula which is called The Clearing Folk School. Well known for his council rings, there is one there but I also noticed many in surrounding gardens. 

Nearby are the bluffs where the terrain rises very high and the trees grab onto the rocky soil and their roots are exposed. 

As Karla pointed out, imagine this with a light coating of snow?

The cherries were picked on my second day there, $53. worth. The picking was simple, lift your hand and fill it full of dangling cherries which detach from their stem with such ease that you wonder if it's a function of hybridization or just how cherries work? The Ballantine cherries were ripe and Karla's favorite for Cherry Bounce, so they're mine too. I have tried repeatedly to imitate her recipe only to figure out that it's all about the cherry. 

We drove to the nearest Piggly Wiggly to choose our alcohol, I prefer mine with brandy and Karla likes bourbon or whiskey, and we had them in jars by nights end. Her plan is to mail them to me, and you cannot open the jars until Thanksgiving. I know it will be extra special, and I'm already planning my trip back.

Cheers!   

 

Weed Smarts

The daily routine of weeding is constant. The process teaches us a lot about the tenacity of weeds. If they don’t explode, they catch on your clothes, fly in the wind or arm themselves with thorns. In fact weeds are so good at spreading their seed that modern inventions have been designed from studying the whys and wherefores of seed dispersal. Good examples are Velcro, devised from the seed of cockle burr and the stealth bomber which mimics the seeds of an Asian climbing gourd, Alsomitra macrocarpa.

 

During the fall there always seems to be more weeding than the gardener can keep up with.  A necessary tactic is to understand their means of procreation and attempting to put a halt to it. The yellow sorrel or oxalis will send its seeds in a showery explosion as soon as you touch it. The best method of eradication is to grab as much of the plant as possible with a clenched fist and tug till the plant is uprooted. The same tactic works for penny-cress (Thlaspi arvense), a cool season weed with tiny seeds that launch themselves as far as 16 feet.

 

When plants spread their seeds by flinging them away from the parent plant, it is called mechanical dispersal. Rain drops are frequent triggers, which aids germination with added moisture. Temperature can also be a factor; this is how hamamelis or witch hazel spread their seeds. The pods are made up of two compartments, each filled with one seed. The warmth of late summer pops the seed pod open, flinging the seeds far away from the mother plant. Our local impatiens, Impatiens capensis also known as touch-me-not, or jewel weed is a well-known native with small turnip shape exploding seed pods.

 

Prongs or hooks are another strategy, moving the plant away from the parent by riding on a passing animal. This method is known as passive mechanical dispersal. Bidens or two-pronged tick-seed is common in Virginia and readily comes to mind. Its ability to latch on is remarkable, evident with tiny, black spears that grab onto jacket, sweater, even hair. The flowers produced by this aster relative are bright yellow and fill unmown fields in late summer. That along with lavender asters and little bluestem make for an attractive wildflower meadow, yet all are capable of producing seed that can latch on.

 

As we move into fall, the warm and cool season weeds join in unison, an added punch when the gardener may be tired from a long, hot summer. Many of the problematic weeds are pioneers or light germinators, which simply means that the seed requires light to germinate. When strewn on the ground, they sprout readily, attempting to outgrow neighboring plants. These same seeds will not sprout if they believe they are underground or in the dark. Those smart little seed brain cells are saying that the area is occupied, no vacancies here if they don't see or sense light. One way to discourage pioneers is to lay 5 or so layers of newspaper over the offenders and weigh it down with mulch. If your weeds have sprouted and are taller, cut them back and then layer the paper and mulch. This will effectively thwart their growth, at least until the paper disintegrates. The seeds of this group of plants are patient, waiting for years, perhaps centuries until conditions are just right, but at least this is a way to regain ground you felt was lost. 

  

A Review

This summer is dry, hot and dry. Last year was so different, a real contrast and hard to believe they can be back to back. The garden needs water this year, the frogs need their pools filled and my night garden is extra thirsty. At least July has passed and August will eventually see a dip in night temperatures as we approach September. August is the month of morning fog, the month for moon vine and brugmansia and lots of fresh tomatoes. For that I am excited.

The guinea is still alive and the cooper hawk fledglings have left. The daily conversations between each hawk eventually ceased and one by one they flew away. I don't think my plastic owl contributed and nobody seemed to even notice him. Especially the guinea, who has yet to raise an alarm at the plastic owl that hoots randomly in the middle of hot days, and has eyes that blink bright yellow. 

The daily wisteria experiment, which began in mid April, is still ongoing. Every week I cut all of the new growth and I have not measured the growth from week to week, but it may still match or come close to five inches a day. My intent was to weaken a monster plant, one that is overreaching with large trunks that have rooted and risen to form a thicket. The reaction from my daily wisteria slashing was to launch into flower, or at least attempt to. Once again I chopped off every flower, thinking it's trying to placate me with something pretty, which of course is not based on any science. My horticultural theory is one of survival, if the wisteria believes it can't spread with new growth then maybe it can with seed. The longest wisps of new growth occur where there is a potential branch to climb up. Like the plant is seeing, which is easily explained from a sunlight perspective, less sunlight with an overhanging branch (hence the elongation). I like to think it is seeing and studies have shown that climbing plants can and do see to grab hold for support. With this belief I begin my daily cutting with a brief strut, a walk down and back, directly in front of the wisteria so it has time to "see" me. I then lift my clippers to make sure it knows what comes next. My hope is that it will "bend the knee", or at least wilt a bit. As you might imagine, none of this has happened. 

In other news, I am flying today to Sister Bay, Wisconsin. A long weekend will include some botanizing and art viewing. The day temperatures there are 76 degrees with a drop into the low 60's at night. I will be in Door County which is the little finger of land that extends up into the Great Lakes. It's cherry picking time and the location and source for the best sour cherries to make cherry bounce. A odd priority you might think, flying halfway across the country to pick cherries? Well let's just say "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" or drinking (in this case). The results will be known in November and I have high expectations.