Mary, Mary...How Does My Garden Grow?

 When I first bought my home back in 1994, my yards were devoid of life.  The ground with hard, dry dirt over pebble infused clay.  What grass there was was whispy--like the remaining hairs upon my head.  It was essentially a blank canvas, and I took to it little by little.  

In the back I established a circular pathway around a central bed.  Years of adding soil and clay busters and mulch with lots of variations of annuals and perennials.  At first the space was sunny.  Then as the trees I planted were joined by various volunteers planted by birds and squirrels (I have a couple of really beautiful Scarlet Oaks), it has morphed into mostly shade.  The transformation also affected what would and wouldn't grow and what would thrive. 

About a decade ago I did a major overhaul and added some additional raised circular beds and rechristened it "The Circles" garden.  Then last June I had major back surgery.  As a result  the whole thing--all my yards--were let to go fallow.  The aggressive invader, English Ivy, took full advantage of my physical recuperation to enter and dominate.  It was all too happy to bring along, volunteer wisteria, Fox grapes, and porcelain-berry, and worst of all, honeysuckle!  At least with the others, when you pull at a tendril, it usually pulls up intact.  Honeysuckle loves to snap off.  It's insidious.  

BEFORE I LIFTED A TROWEL...  Like discovering a lost civilization in the jungle!

Yet...

"Though an old man, I am but a young gardener." 

~ Thomas Jefferson, 20 AUG 1811

Secure in the wisdom of Jefferson, and without urgency, I am called back to my garden again with budding results.

DAY ONE

Rediscovering the brick pathway I laid in by hand 30 plus years ago.  I got about 75% of the way before the ground hornets became too curious.  I went out and bought some plants--great time of the year to find things on sale!  

DAY TWO

Hornets pacified and off terrorizing some place else, I liberated the rest of the pathway.  Pulled the invasive vines from the Circles Garden, and planted the 18 begonias (a start)

One for the most personally satisfying features is the Rock Garden.  Most of the stones are sedimentary field stones from Kentucky laced with Carboniferous Period fossils and some even had Geods.  There is also some white quarts, and some beautiful dark gray-blue stones of unidentified origins.

Another nearby project is this trio of planters: A couple exotic begonia that I bought a month ago and a pair of Bird-of-Paradise I got for 50% off.  

DAY THREE

Back with five more ginormous Begonia, a couple of Canna Lilies, a packet of white impatiens and 4 of these interesting vines Sweet Caroline Green.  I know sweet Caroline, but I've never seen them with leaves this frilly--like Palm fronds.  Finally a Pink Rio (Dipladenia).   You can see the bush-like red begonias!

In previous years, I've used Vinca to great affect; however, with the increased temperatures and more to the point, rainfall; Vinca is so susceptible to mold.  Impatiens and Choleas from India are other possibilities, but they both have been decimated by slugs in past years.  I grow both in pots successfully on my deck where I can control the presence of slugs.

I added the Dipladenia to the middle container, because it will climb up the metal obelisk.

Can you see how Palm-like the foliage of this varient of Sweet Caroline is?

Dinner: Pork & Zucchini Dumplings on a Bed of Red Cabbage, Carrot, Scallion and Cilantro

 

My Little Garden Zoo: The Babies

 Every Zoo knows that when babies are born there is a cost/benefit analysis between what it takes to care for newborns, and the excitement and revenue that allowing them be seen by the public bring.

This year (oddly) like every year, my Little Garden Zoo is ripe with births!  (Tongue fulling pressing my cheek... :P )  Here are some recent pics.

Bractrian Camel

Sumatran Tiger

African Lion

Grant's Zebra

Hippopotamus

Reticulated Giraffe

Cape Buffalo

Cheetah

Western Mountain Gorilla

Grizzly Bear

Llama

Dinner: Fagiolini Italiani with Shrimp and Rice

 

Olney Theatre Center: Kim's Convenience

 The play that gave birth to the Netflix's/CBC series of the same name.  It is a snippet from the story of a Korean family's immigration to Toronto in pursuit of the Canadian Dream.  The play opens with the patriarch receiving a very generous offer to purchase the store that he founded decades ago.  His wife is devoted to a dying church, his daughter is still single and driving him crazy, his son is estranged and has just become a father of his own son, unbeknownst to the patriarch.  Great fodder for comedy, right?  Well, yes!  Yes it is.  The plot is simple, the goal is to right the things that have gone wrong, and humor and poignancy Ins Choi accomplishes all just over 90 minutes.  What more could you ask for when in the mood for a light summer diversion?  

The set was an elaborate recreation of the inside of a convenience story in Toronto complete with lots of culturally appropriate references like the Canadian Lottery and the selection of the crisps on the rack.  In one scene clearly Canadian currency is exchanged during a purchase.  And while its not like the play was set in Nepal or Uruguay and needed to appropriate items from those places, it was still a delight to see the attention to details.

The cast is made of five actors: Father, Mother, Daughter, Son and 1 ensemble player who took on four roles.  As an ensemble, they made a nice balance.  From what I know from previous exposure to some, Tuyét Thį Phąm was the most outstanding of the company in the role of the Umma (the Mother).  She brings a quiet presence to any part that can transform a moment by the most subtle or unexpected turn.  As the scene between herself and her son close, he reached down to grab his backpack and in pulling up onto his shoulder, a plate with half-a-dozen soda cans toppled.  She immediately stooped and re-established order.  At first, I thought what a brilliant metaphor for the role of her character in the family.  Then I thought about the expression of the actor playing the son's face.  It was an unintentional gaff.  And without skipping a beat, she made something remarkable out of it.  

Playing until the 27th of July, recommended for my local peeps--although I learned from the young woman sitting next to me that the rest of the run is sold out.  In fact, tonight was sold out and she got in with a stand-by ticket.  

Mr. Kim (Stan Kang) and his daughter, Janet (Justine "Icy" Moral) as he tries to convince her to take over the store so he can retire.

Officer Alex (Jonathan del Palmer) flirting with Janet.

Mrs. Kim (Tuyét Thį Phąm) reasoning with her son, Jung (Zion Jang) over his past relationship with his father.

Mr. Kim employing his Korean martial arts skills to facilitate a conversation between his daughter and Officer Alex.

The "arm twisting" bears fruit!

Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Center - Moundsville, Ohio

 A lovely coda to my recent trip and visit with my dear friend in Wheeling.  We visited the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Center in Moundsville, West Virginia.  It's a wonderful little museum and research center built next to the Grave Creek Mound, one of dozens of known sites created by the Adena people BCE; a.k.a The Mound Builders.  The museum is free and includes both information about the Adena People and this mound, as well as, other aspects of local history, industry and culture.  I had such a good time exploring it's displays and artifacts.  There was a little something for everyone.

This giant Woolly Mammoth skeleton dominates the main room and is the first thing you see upon entering.

Prehistoric Fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago to a 100,000 few tell the fauna story of this region.

THE STORY OF THE ADENA PEOPLE

Take me to any museum and show me a quality diorama if you want to see me swoon!

Glyphs left by the ancient civilization.

LOCAL TOY INDUSTRY AND THE MARBLE

GLASS AND POTTERY MANUFACTURING