Studiology

Ya Me Voy

With much planning and finger crossing, I should be in Mexico this week to celebrate Day of the Dead. Joining the group that I often travel with, the art supplies have been gathered and the bags are almost packed. We are making heart shrines, or an object or two along those lines. The area we are traveling to is on the "green list" aka the non-red list, and there are a number of protocols that have to be followed, including masks everywhere. All of these outings were cancelled last year, so of course I'm eager to go back and embrace the culture. 

I've been taking Spanish lessons online for a month, to be better prepared and I'm even taking a cooking class while I'm there. So ya me voy, it's gonna be an adventure!

 

A Witch's Broom

The lingo of gardening is full of odd terms. A few that come to mind are deadheading, pricking out, pinching, and witches's broom. The latter is not in every horticultural glossary, nor is it common knowledge, but it's a very real thing. In defining the term, or even describing the abnormality, common words include disease, deformity, and even a place where a witch landed. To look up the term on "Google" you will have to scroll past the literal brooms of witches to get to any horticultural reference. 

photograph by Janice LeCocq

Visually a witch's broom is a tree or shrub branch that has developed a tight cluster of smaller branches. At first look you might think bee or squirrel's nest. To some it's a prized rarity, to others a threat to crops, specifically the brooms caused by a fungus that attack chocolate trees in tropical areas. 

There are eight different reasons for the tight forking of branches. Insects, fungi, virus, even solar radiation at high elevations can be responsible. A dwarf mistletoe which occurs in the northern states and Canada causes wide spread brooming as it disrupts the growth hormones at the growing tips of trees. 

Of interest to those in horticulture are the cuttings and seeds from these anomalies when propagated. Cuttings will remain tight and dwarf, seeds will develop into variable offspring, even the cones on witch's brooms are significantly smaller.  Many of the dwarf plants sold at nurseries began life as a broom, often with a name that reflects that  i.e., Tsuga canadensis 'Fantana Witch's Broom', Picea abies 'Millstream Broom', and Picea orientalis 'Shadow's Broom'. In this scenario the brooming can be financially beneficial, drawing witch broom hunters to popular areas, haunts like the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, and central Europe. Some climb trees to harvest cuttings but many literally shoot them down, armed with rifles. 

photograph by Janice LeCocq

In my lifetime I have only found three. The largest of my three sightings was in a cedar or Juniperus virginiana in the cemetery in Upperville, VA, located on route 50. I watched it for years, a sizable broom. Eventually the juniper was cut down and disposed of and it's unlikely that the broom was propagated. The other two were on white pine, the result of a broom mite that injects saliva and creates adventitious buds (buds that emerge in areas they do not usually develop). One white pine broom was at the National Arboretum in Washington DC and the other in my own garden, only recently discovered. I see it as a gift, a prized freak of nature! All who visit are soldiered out to my tree, informed that they are about to see my witch's broom. A nongardening friend was quick to comment that she had been waiting for this day, true to form and always the clever one, I think she was disappointed. It's true, it won't take me places, but I'm good with that.

Show Time

October is my month, a deadline, a theme, and a purpose. My goal every year for my show month is to have 20 new pieces and I made it to 19. The show is in the gallery I manage and in the space as you enter the door. Who ever operates as manager is allowed to hang their art in this prime piece of real estate in a gallery that houses 24 other artists. Over the years I have covered various themes; dreams, sea, circus, travelers, and saints (with sinners). This year it's fairy tale with a focus on Alice in Wonderland. The real excitement for me is to see it all come together, when every piece is hung on the wall. 

But of course there is nothing like seeing it in person and taking it all in. The show will be there for the month with a reception on Saturday, October 16th, from 3 to 5. To help you understand, I am showing some process photographs, taken in the studio as early as January when I began the real building of various pieces. Alice falling took the longest because of challenges in the process. It began with a frame, Styrofoam, aluminum wrap, and a coffee can. The roots are rolled up paper held together with wall paper paste. The final layer was paper mache and mulberry paper. 

This masks begin as a simple plastic form and is modified with cardboard, bits and pieces of things and covered in paper mache with tissue paper as the last layer. I used some clay, beads, and a glass eye  and like the others, there is a wall hanger so it can hang like a piece of art, or be worn to a party.

Rabbits rule and are made of various materials. I'm extremely happy with this one with the background painted in an abstract pattern. 

With each show I learn something new and this show was filled with new techniques. Possibly my favorite was bending wire and then coating it with paste to harden. The process allowed me to create vines and filigree additions. Jack in the Beanstalk was really good for this and the little pea pods dangly loosely.  

The Mad Hatter's hands were also made this way as he holds his tea cup.

The piece de resistance is my crazy March Hare mask. He should be worn with a large wig and a crazy outfit. I painted bravely and it scared me. But it worked.

As one final note, this is as colorful a show as my circus themed year. I humbly believe it's a real joy to behold and something that will bring a smile to your face. 

 

 

Slipping

The month of September slipped by, slipped under, and fell out of sight. Although I remember it well as the month of too many tomatoes, too many Birdie walks, a lot of work and a tight show deadline. 

As for the tomatoes, I planted late, June 5th to be exact. With the hottest summer ever, it was not a good thing and the plants sulked. Every Saturday morning was a visit to the local farmer's market to buy heirloom tomatoes at $4. a lb., and they weren't nearly as tasty as the varieties I had planted, all 51 plants. Then came the last week of  August and all hell broke loose. The kitchen table was topped with at least 30 tomatoes a day, sometimes 50. I was determined that not a one was going to get away from me, so I froze salsa nearly everyday. I use the recipe in Craig LeHoullier's book with a few modifications. That salsa is then used to make huevo's rancheros for breakfast, which are much better with my own tomatoes, particularly the yellow varieties. The recipe is simple and here is mine:

6 large tomatoes (deskinned and cut into chunks)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 to 2 scallions - diced

1 Poblano Ancho pepper - diced

teaspoon of salt

Place all ingredients in blender and puree

fresh ground pepper top the eggs after they have been placed in the hot salsa

The first thing I do is crisp up corn tortillias in olive oil, remove. Pour in the salsa, a bit more than you think because it thickens as moisture steams away. Drop in the eggs, ground pepper on top, cook the eggs as you prefer and serve up. Lately I break up the tortilla before adding the sauce and eggs to make eating easier. 

My favorite yellow and orange tomato varieties are 'Lillians', 'Sweet Sue', and 'Kellogg's Breakfast'. A salsa with just these is sweet and very, very tasty. The fruit is full with small seed pockets, so slicing is like cutting into a melon, there's a lot of meat.

If anything, there is a lesson to be learned in planting late, it's good for a second crop and as October has arrived, it's nearly over. 

The arrival of September did see a bit of relief from heat and a return of rain. The hardy cyclamen popped, cool season perennials perked up, the weather has been magnificent as we turn the calendar to October. The gardens I work in really responded to all of my hard work.

And not to bore you again with my night garden, but my enormous Brugmansia 'Frosty Pink' had over 200 blooms one night. As cool nights move in the show ends, but it was a very fun summer! At one point there were 5 sphinx moths here to cavort and entertain. 

Lastly, Birdie is well, such a sweet girl but still a crazy nose driven beast on a leash. The show is up, and I look forward to October. I hope you are well.