Friday, 25th May, 2012, overcast, cool, a bit windy. Watering plants during cool, cloudy weather, the kind we are now having, especially near or on the coast, is very effective. The earth will hold the water longer than in dry, hot weather, thusly enabling the plant to absorb more water and hydrate its plant tissues. Also, if you add fertilizer to your plants, in situ or in pots, the plants will have more time and moisture to absorb the nutriments, slowly and more gently. Fertilizing plants on a hot day is like giving them a double shot of coffee. It hits the plant's tissues hard and could cause burning to the roots and leaves. They get wired so to speak. So, spend some time watering the plants in this cool weather. Just because the plants are alive doesn't mean that they can't be helped by deep gentle waterings which will last longer and benefit the plants longer. When we water slowly, "drop upon slow drop" as I heard one intelligent woman gardener say, we waste less water, do the plants "lots of good," and have time to observe what's happening in the garden. When I do this slow watering, (sometimes I let the hose drip very, very, very slowly over night at the plant's base), I can actually see the plant leaves becoming turgid and alive looking. It's as though the plant has awakened, and actually it has; the way plants awaken after a Spring rain. And don't forget that roots are not the only plant tissues that absorb water.
Actually plants absorb water through the atmosphere. That is why my Spanish Moss and airplants flourish. They get their pores cleansed, the stoma, and they get the filthy pollutants and chemicals washed off their leaves, and of course their plant tissues suck in tremendous amounts of water. The plants become upright, I would say attentive, because they have water in their tissues.
The only thing that bothers me about watering is that we live in a clime of very few rains. Almost everything survives and grows at the end of a hose. I've heard all the chatter about drought resistant plants, and there is something to that. However most drought resistant plants look exactly like our chaparal clothed hills.
The inflated, water-drought-resistant-plant-types have gone too far. If all gardeners would water effectively and be careful about that vital life "juice" allowed to run right off the lawns into the gutters and drains, a varied plant garden would be possible. I installed a special valve at our bath-shower head to drain that pre-hot, water, cold water, out side to a holding tank. We waste one and a half gallons of water before the hot water comes out! Every time we take a shower! That does add up in a year. You can buy the valve at Home-Depot for about 7 dollars, and it's easy to set up. If you have any questions, let me know.Also, developers put in mile after mile of trees and ground cover, all of which needs, you got it, water! Look at the new developments and you will see nice, lush, verges of trees and ground cover. And, I mean verges of 50, 60, 70 feet wide. Being a believer in Balance, I think that a great amount of water could be saved if we gardeners learned how to water our plants effectively. It's not that we want to be too cheap with water; we want to water effectively.
I was once told by a bonsai master, a real one in Japan, that it takes a very long time to learn how to water bonsai, and bonsai being a microcosm of the world at large are a fitting example for learning how to water our gardens effectively.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
WRITING IS LIKE SEEDS SPROUTING, it's an individual's discovery
For me, writing is like seeds sprouting---like the primal energy of the Cosmos appearing in plant life. I never really, completely know what will emerge from the tip of my ink pen---I write with a pen and ink, yes. It requires patience and skill. I'm sure that the egoic, materialistic types think that they can explain what happens, to a degree, when a seeds sprouts, but actually they cannot, anymore than they can explain the birth of a new human baby-soul into the world. The acorns from Pincio Park grounds, the Borghese Palace and Gardens in my beloved Roma, sprouted today! They bring the Borghese again to my mind once again; the museum that has the marvelous Bernini sculpture of Daphne being chased by Apollo, as she sprouts into leaf, into a tree rather than to submit to his demands. The tiny leaf sprouts are actually visible emerging from her finger tips.
I feel a great Security when I see a seed sprouting, especially those for whom (yes, 'for whom') I've been waiting a long time for them to come up. Seeing that first glimpse of the turgid leaf stem as it heaves its leaf-shoulders, breaking the earth's surface, is a Satisfaction for me that makes the rest of the day, even life itself, worthwhile! The Sprouting of Seeds, pushing and heaving their shoulders to the LIGHT is a magical, even a mystical encounter, and I mean 'mystical' as a person's experience of God, not an atmospheric weather condition (remember, my blog my turf?). An individual's encounter with spiritual can't be completely explained, but I am feebly and honestly trying here anyway; that's the work that real writers do. The seed's moving to the Light is an encounter with life energies, both in itself and outside itself, the Life energies, the etheric energies of the Cosmos which we all share. I did have to spread some snail poison on the cucumber seed area this morning---sometimes seeds need a little help from their friends the gardeners. Such is life in the real world. Why be squeamish?
I feel a great Security when I see a seed sprouting, especially those for whom (yes, 'for whom') I've been waiting a long time for them to come up. Seeing that first glimpse of the turgid leaf stem as it heaves its leaf-shoulders, breaking the earth's surface, is a Satisfaction for me that makes the rest of the day, even life itself, worthwhile! The Sprouting of Seeds, pushing and heaving their shoulders to the LIGHT is a magical, even a mystical encounter, and I mean 'mystical' as a person's experience of God, not an atmospheric weather condition (remember, my blog my turf?). An individual's encounter with spiritual can't be completely explained, but I am feebly and honestly trying here anyway; that's the work that real writers do. The seed's moving to the Light is an encounter with life energies, both in itself and outside itself, the Life energies, the etheric energies of the Cosmos which we all share. I did have to spread some snail poison on the cucumber seed area this morning---sometimes seeds need a little help from their friends the gardeners. Such is life in the real world. Why be squeamish?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
EMILY DICKINSON and HER GARDEN
Emily Dickinson, (1830-1886) poet of my heart and devoted gardener wrote some beautiful observations about her garden, both the one out doors and the one in her conservatory which exists to this day in her homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts. The N. Y. Botanical Garden now has an exhibit of her garden complete with the plants that she grew and with some of her poems. From "The Gentian Weaves Her Purple Fringes" we get;
In the name of the bee--
And of the Butterfly---
And of the Breeze---Amen!
She always capitalized nouns and words she wanted to emphasize. I see every Flower in my garden in the early morning with her words, "Every Flower a Resurrection." Try looking at a flower with pure attention, without naming it, without even describing it. Can you do that for even 5 seconds? Can you do that? It's hard for me too. You see it's difficult, but you just might SEE the flower.
That' why she was able to write poems---she could See, and she had writing skills that she developed through constant use.
Here she is on bees, again;
Bees are Black, with Gilt Surcingles--
Buccaneers of Buzz.
Ride about in ostentation
And subsist on Fuzz.
Amazing--Buccaneers of Buzz! Amazing! Who of us could say that? Surcingles, means a girth that binds, all proof that Dickinson had a vocabulary, could use words, and had an imaginative mind primarily because she was not "on fire" with the distracting minutia of daily, distractive illusion. She lived right through the American Civil War as her dates show. She felt it, but almost never mentioned it. And, she never read Buddha's "Fire Sermon," but she had it carved somewhere in her Soul.
"Every flower a resurrection." The hybrid daylilies that my wife and I planted a few years ago are blooming now. What can I say? They neither toil nor spin? They will surely outlast the burning politicians, You would have to SEE them to appreciate them, the lilies not the politicians. The bees never name them, as far as I know. They simply suck their nectars and buzz on.
The exhibition of her garden, her only extant dress and her poems is a wonderful show at the NY Botanical Garden, seen by millions on The Lehrer News Hour, and by Millions daily at the the NYB Garden. Also, her poems, one of them, are on all the adds in the NY City Busses. You know, those add-venues that you sit across from and mindlessly read about wireless phone adds. Pretty good for a girl who got only Five ( 5 out of her 1,300 ) poems published in her lifetime! Yes, five out of 1,300. And, the editor, although very supportive of her work, was a bit afraid or reluctant to publish those five. He said they were too different in diction and rhyme from what his readers expected. (The readers might not understand, nor not like them.) And, Dickinson really didn't care whether they were published or not. She only cared, and was grateful, that she had the poetic apercu that enabled her to write, and so be it. That was her Power.And, she came to realize that, precisely, late in life.
Also, I am sure that had Emily Dickinson "achieved" Fame she would have gone on living every 'particle' of her life as she always had; caring for her mother, for her brother Austin, for her father, for nephew Nat prior to his tragic early death, being devoted to her sis-in-law Susan next door at "The Evergreens", and of course there was her garden, poetry, and the utterance of witty remarks. One day an officious stranger came to her door and asked if she knew of a place where the rent in town was cheap. Without missing a beat she said to Him, try at the Cemetery, it's for Eternity.
In the name of the bee--
And of the Butterfly---
And of the Breeze---Amen!
She always capitalized nouns and words she wanted to emphasize. I see every Flower in my garden in the early morning with her words, "Every Flower a Resurrection." Try looking at a flower with pure attention, without naming it, without even describing it. Can you do that for even 5 seconds? Can you do that? It's hard for me too. You see it's difficult, but you just might SEE the flower.
That' why she was able to write poems---she could See, and she had writing skills that she developed through constant use.
Here she is on bees, again;
Bees are Black, with Gilt Surcingles--
Buccaneers of Buzz.
Ride about in ostentation
And subsist on Fuzz.
Amazing--Buccaneers of Buzz! Amazing! Who of us could say that? Surcingles, means a girth that binds, all proof that Dickinson had a vocabulary, could use words, and had an imaginative mind primarily because she was not "on fire" with the distracting minutia of daily, distractive illusion. She lived right through the American Civil War as her dates show. She felt it, but almost never mentioned it. And, she never read Buddha's "Fire Sermon," but she had it carved somewhere in her Soul.
"Every flower a resurrection." The hybrid daylilies that my wife and I planted a few years ago are blooming now. What can I say? They neither toil nor spin? They will surely outlast the burning politicians, You would have to SEE them to appreciate them, the lilies not the politicians. The bees never name them, as far as I know. They simply suck their nectars and buzz on.
The exhibition of her garden, her only extant dress and her poems is a wonderful show at the NY Botanical Garden, seen by millions on The Lehrer News Hour, and by Millions daily at the the NYB Garden. Also, her poems, one of them, are on all the adds in the NY City Busses. You know, those add-venues that you sit across from and mindlessly read about wireless phone adds. Pretty good for a girl who got only Five ( 5 out of her 1,300 ) poems published in her lifetime! Yes, five out of 1,300. And, the editor, although very supportive of her work, was a bit afraid or reluctant to publish those five. He said they were too different in diction and rhyme from what his readers expected. (The readers might not understand, nor not like them.) And, Dickinson really didn't care whether they were published or not. She only cared, and was grateful, that she had the poetic apercu that enabled her to write, and so be it. That was her Power.And, she came to realize that, precisely, late in life.
Also, I am sure that had Emily Dickinson "achieved" Fame she would have gone on living every 'particle' of her life as she always had; caring for her mother, for her brother Austin, for her father, for nephew Nat prior to his tragic early death, being devoted to her sis-in-law Susan next door at "The Evergreens", and of course there was her garden, poetry, and the utterance of witty remarks. One day an officious stranger came to her door and asked if she knew of a place where the rent in town was cheap. Without missing a beat she said to Him, try at the Cemetery, it's for Eternity.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
BE GENTLE TO THE EARTH__KEEP THE TEACHING PURE Sat.,12.5.'12
It is time to set out basil seedlings. You can grow many varieties of basil from seed if you plant seed late in the summer; this is necessay because basil seedlings damp off especially near our foggy, moist coast. So, for now, buy pots or six-packs of Basil (you know where I'm sure), divide the seedlings and set them out into pots, and then into the garden, as the weather gets warmer. Basil are members of the mint or lamiaceae/labiate family, and basil's genus is Oncimum, hence Oncimum basilicum.
The word 'basil', the dictionary tells us, has a first pronunciation 'basil', short a as in pat; and, a second way with long a as in base. One egoic so-called cook carped with me and said his way was the right way, and of course he never cracked a dictionary to look up the word. I wonder if he smells the roses---"a rose by any other name . . . ." I do look up words because I was a professor and scholar for 34 years. And I owed it to myself, and my students, and people in general to have integrity, I suppose.
However, all this doesn't matter diddley, except for intellectual integrity, and when I smell that basil aroma on tomato dishes, I don't care how the word is said. Basil is the 'King of Herbs'. In Italian we say 'basilico' (accent on the o)which is very close to the original Greek word, as we shall see.
Yes, the word 'basil' comes from the Greek 'basilikos' which means king or royal Our words 'basilica', the Roman building, and 'basilica' the Christian Church, come from 'basilikos'. Basil is of Indian origin the Hindus adoe it as tulsi the holy basil, and of S.E. Asia, perhaps, and it is highly revered. A basil leaf is put in the mouth or on the chest of a corpse to speed it on its way back into the arms of the Cosmos. Also, orators in Rome used to put a basil leaf in their mouths to speak eloquently and honestly. I think think that all world leaders, and senators, representatives, and politicians in the U. S. should grow basil and remember this cultural usage of ancient standing.Perhaps they would be more gentle and keep the teachings pure. It would keep their mouths sweet. It's my blog, so it is my take to comment as I wish.
There are so many varieties of basil. 'Genovese' or the big leafed var. is excellent and the most often sold in nurseries. Then, there are the purple leaved kinds, delicious. The S.E.Asian kinds are sold a lot nowadays--check out Home Depot. They have 'Thai' and 'African Blue' both of which are almost perennials, the latter growing to four feet tall and being very pretty. Then there is 'Basilco fine verde' what the Sicilians and Italians call 'The Good Basil.' Well, we all have our opinions, I suppose. But, I think they are right! It has tiny pointed leaves and is hard to grow near the the "mystified", foggy coast. "Johnney"s seed catalogue has the most varieties, photos, and cultural instructions I've seen in print. Check it out. On line or send for the catalogue. Johnney is a true plant lover and teacher.
Always put the basil in the cooking food at the very end of of the cooking. Basil is fugitive, fugacious, so you don't want to cook out its flavor. Also, when putting it on hot food at the table, like pasta con sugo di pomedori, let the pasta cool a little bit so the basil won't burn and turn black.
Basil has several true medicinal properties that I will not go into here, but I have to say that its main effect is that of calming. Again, good for the pundits and politicians.
Well, enjoy basil. It, believe me, doesn't give a thought as to what you call it. What' in a name, Gertrude Stein on roses, I think. Simply grow it if you want to, buy it at the grocery and appreciate its leaf color, its succulence, it lovely aroma and taste. Boun'appetite!
The word 'basil', the dictionary tells us, has a first pronunciation 'basil', short a as in pat; and, a second way with long a as in base. One egoic so-called cook carped with me and said his way was the right way, and of course he never cracked a dictionary to look up the word. I wonder if he smells the roses---"a rose by any other name . . . ." I do look up words because I was a professor and scholar for 34 years. And I owed it to myself, and my students, and people in general to have integrity, I suppose.
However, all this doesn't matter diddley, except for intellectual integrity, and when I smell that basil aroma on tomato dishes, I don't care how the word is said. Basil is the 'King of Herbs'. In Italian we say 'basilico' (accent on the o)which is very close to the original Greek word, as we shall see.
Yes, the word 'basil' comes from the Greek 'basilikos' which means king or royal Our words 'basilica', the Roman building, and 'basilica' the Christian Church, come from 'basilikos'. Basil is of Indian origin the Hindus adoe it as tulsi the holy basil, and of S.E. Asia, perhaps, and it is highly revered. A basil leaf is put in the mouth or on the chest of a corpse to speed it on its way back into the arms of the Cosmos. Also, orators in Rome used to put a basil leaf in their mouths to speak eloquently and honestly. I think think that all world leaders, and senators, representatives, and politicians in the U. S. should grow basil and remember this cultural usage of ancient standing.Perhaps they would be more gentle and keep the teachings pure. It would keep their mouths sweet. It's my blog, so it is my take to comment as I wish.
There are so many varieties of basil. 'Genovese' or the big leafed var. is excellent and the most often sold in nurseries. Then, there are the purple leaved kinds, delicious. The S.E.Asian kinds are sold a lot nowadays--check out Home Depot. They have 'Thai' and 'African Blue' both of which are almost perennials, the latter growing to four feet tall and being very pretty. Then there is 'Basilco fine verde' what the Sicilians and Italians call 'The Good Basil.' Well, we all have our opinions, I suppose. But, I think they are right! It has tiny pointed leaves and is hard to grow near the the "mystified", foggy coast. "Johnney"s seed catalogue has the most varieties, photos, and cultural instructions I've seen in print. Check it out. On line or send for the catalogue. Johnney is a true plant lover and teacher.
Always put the basil in the cooking food at the very end of of the cooking. Basil is fugitive, fugacious, so you don't want to cook out its flavor. Also, when putting it on hot food at the table, like pasta con sugo di pomedori, let the pasta cool a little bit so the basil won't burn and turn black.
Basil has several true medicinal properties that I will not go into here, but I have to say that its main effect is that of calming. Again, good for the pundits and politicians.
Well, enjoy basil. It, believe me, doesn't give a thought as to what you call it. What' in a name, Gertrude Stein on roses, I think. Simply grow it if you want to, buy it at the grocery and appreciate its leaf color, its succulence, it lovely aroma and taste. Boun'appetite!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
MANURE,that word from the Latin for Manus, HAND or by HAND
In affluent suburbia I see those lovely green lawns. How back East they are. Proper looking and all that. I have a neighbor who has a fine vegetable garden in her front yard, (it really is amazing and all organic) and when she was complimented by me she said "ABUNDANCE!" But, this is not the East, at least climate wise. The affluent pay thousands to keep up these lawns with water, a lot of which trickles into the gutters and goes down the drains to the sea. That is another problem. And, they fertilized heavily to "green up" the lawns, and they pay the gardener to come regularly and mow it. This is where it gets bad. Then, the gardener takes the clippings to the land fill---I've asked them where they dump the cans of clippings; "in the landfill". I ask them to give me the clippings. They gladly and kindly do that. This save them gas money to the dump, and we get to talk for a few minutes, something that is anathema to the affluent, entitled folk.
The grass clipping are so rich, that if left in the cans for only one day they begin to heat up and ferment. It really gets hot, hot! You could bake a ham in it; one group of students in London did exactly that, except they used Sycamore leaves, very English indeed, eh? I might cook hotdogs. This plant generated heat kills weed seeds and gets the clippings ready to spread. This now called "green manure." All that nitrogen fertilizer and water are ready to spread by hand, to MANURE on my garden beds. I use gloves, sometimes if I'm playing the master gardener role. The vegetables such as tomatoes thrive on it. After I immediately wash in the "green manure" with very little water, releasing nitrogen, enzymes, trace elements, the tomatoes respond immediately. That nice, thin Oscar Wildian layer of decomposed plant matter makes the tomatoes (and other plants really perk up).
So, the "Affluent in Paradise" are running their money straight down the drain, and then they lament at cocktail parties how we, "Oh yes, should be more conscious of water usage because one day we won't have any for our grandchildren." All grandchildren, or only theirs? I don't really know.
I wonder why they don't go out on gardening day and trash pick up day, see what the gardeners are doing, (they always do a good job), look at the fertilizer and pesticide rich morning "juice" going down the drains, and get a clue. It's not the gardeners' faults. There's a profound Hebrew saying that I like, maybe like too much; "the fish stinks from head down."
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Thurs. May 3rd 2012 cloudy, overcast, but warm. Some plants love that, like my giant, thriving artichokes--carciofi in Italian--isn't that a beautiful word? I'm firing my gas kiln today. It's great to see that heat surging out of the kiln. Sort of like the heat and steam that is generated by compost. It is magical, even alchemical in the true sense of the word's meaning; physical and spiritual. Heat is a great catalyst of inert compounds and of all relationships. With pottery you take clay and make it permanent--it will last 2000 years or more. Some times I can detect the fingerprints of ancient potters on their pots. Immortality? I often wonder how the ancient peoples discovered that fire makes clay permanent (sintered), water resistent. With people you give openness and compassion, and responsiveness (eschewing ego power trips), and you create lasting relationships.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Green Lady, The Gardening Spirit
Today, I want to explain the photograph of my ceramic Green Lady. I sculpted her of clay as a consort to my Green Man. I have made many greenmen that can be planted with all manner of plants, or, they can simply be positioned in other places in the home and garden. The greenman-woman is such an ancient symbol of the Natural Forces that drive the lives of plants and of all living creatures, so I have incorporated these ceramic images throughout my garden. The greenlady-man are the earth's healers. Others have placed these green faces in their gardens as well. I have sold many green planter-masks at the San Diego Horticultural Society and at other venues. As a living, green force, the greenman-woman is expressed so beautifully and powerfully by the great poet Dylan Thomas as the "green fuse" that drives the plant. The GREEN FUSE, how powerful! There must be a powerful, essential Force, or as the Taoists express it, a TE, in all living being, and who knows, perhaps even in all existence? I highly recommend "Green Man" by William Anderson and Clive Hicks, Harper Collins, a 'fantstically' complete work of greenman information and images of all times.
Please feel free to send questions or comments to this blog or to my email, larosamazza@gmail.com.
Please feel free to send questions or comments to this blog or to my email, larosamazza@gmail.com.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A little note to composting: have you ever walked in the forest and thrust your hands into the leafmulch-compost on the forest floor? Well, this is what I meant by a "Veneer" of compost, and this is what we want to create as a layer of compost in our garden beds, and, as you may know, the forest mulch smells good. Sprinkling water on the top of the veneer regularly will help it to decompose pretty fast. As in the forest, your veneer layer of compost will help to replenish the earth. Ciao, Frank
franksgarden blog
MAY DAY, 2012, A PLEA TO RENEW THE EARTH It's a wretched shame that people spend thousands on water and fertilizer that create plants that are "in turn," dumped into the landfills. What a shameful waste. Chop up all that green matter and and spread it REGULARLY in you garden beds. Over time (what is made with time, time respects), a rich layer of nutritive (from the Latin nutrire, to suckle) mulch and soil is built up. The layer should be started at 6" thick with cut -up green matter, leaves, and grass clippings. Add this stuff regularly so that in reality you will have a layer of "layers;" a veneer, an integrated system of organic matters. You will have the bottom layer of decomposed detritus, the middle of decomposing matter, and the top layer of newly sprinkled on plant clippings. And, eschew being a dilettante, trendy, gardener in suburbia. Do it regularly and with skill. There is not enough SKILL and application of WORK among trendy home gardeners. Yes, it takes some time but "what is made with time, time respects"! I don't see how a person can claim to be an accomplished gardener when he or she buys compost at the supermarket, has the "gardener' spread it on, and has the "gardener" stack out the cans at the curb on trash day. This is the essence of waste and incompleteness. Real Hands on, EH? I posit that what is made of the earth should be returned to earth, not to the toxic landfill. That rich, chocolate-cake composted earth grows the the best, delicious fruits and vegetables. The proof is in the "fruits." Ciao from Frank on MAY DAY, and good gardening!
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