My Furniture Line?

This is the Fiona chair, sold by The River Cottage company of Maine. It is, apparently,

Charming around the dining table or otherwise around the house. Waterproof, sun-loving and you can use this chair inside or outside. Only $690 US.

Lost and Found

One of my favorite things in the garden are objets trouvé. This pretty paving circle was built after the owners dug out an old pond on their property. Although they liked the pond, raccoons repeatedly made a mess of it and ate their fish. When they excavated the bottom of the pond, they found a collection of broken headstones. Fortunately, they recycled them into another part of their patio.

Musing

I don't think there's a much more appealing prospect than living in a mews house in London. Or at least having one you can visit.


What makes a mews house so appealing is that it is by definition quiet and secluded. It's like being on a little village street in the middle of a city. Certainly a mews suggests exclusivity without ostentation. I suppose most of them are in South Kensington, Belgravia, Notting Hill, and other desirable parts of town. And there can't be a more perfect place for a tryst.

Just try to describe a mews without using the words 'charming' and 'cobbled'.

Mews seems to figure in a lot of movies. In the last few months I've seen mews in the gangster movies I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (Clive Owen) and Layer Cake (Daniel Craig). In the 1989 movie Scandal, John hurt lives--and entertains--in a mews house.


Not terribly compelling?


Suppose you add children?


Okay, but try to resist calling this cobbled and charming.

The Green Hour

A young man was in the tasting room today. He was very excited about the still. It seems he is a fan of absinthe. Posed behind the tasting bar, I asked him if I would have made a good subject for the many artists who portrayed absinthe during the height of its popularity.


Perhaps like this? Or with a hat?
-The Absinthe Drinker, Pablo Picasso -Absinthe Drinker, Edgar Degas



I rather like this one...


And this is quite good. She looks nice and cool.

The main ingredient of absinthe common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). This woody perennial is related to numerous scrubby plants that grow well in hot, dry climates. Among them are french tarragon (A. dranunculus), A. 'Powis Castle', California sagebrush (A. californica), and beach wormwood (A. stellerana).

Common wormwood grows well throughout the West, grows to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It needs plenty of sunshine, little water, and excellent drainage. So far, so good. Other potential ingredients include star anise (Illicuim verum), fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare), Angelica (Angelica archangelica), Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), peppermint, coriander, lemon balm, dittany, and juniper. I think I see a garden evolving...

An excellent article by Jack Turner about absinthe appeared in the New Yorker last year. He describes the resurgence of interest that prompted my customer to suggest we should be in the absinthe business. (You can read it here). Why not?



Oh yes, Look what it did to Toulouse-Lautrec.

Whew

This is a relief.

Relax! Don’t feel you have to be too tidy.

I must tell my friends.

Still Here

Victoria Spirits celebrates the arrival of the new Meuller still from Germany. Here's what it looked like:



A lot of pieces. No assembly instructions.


"Hello? Germany? Can you send a wrench?"

Hornby Island

One of the most beautiful trees in the world, often called madrone or madrona, Arbutus menziesii is a Pacific Coast native with a limited range thanks to its exacting cultural demands. I recently heard a woman from Edmonton, Alberta (average Jan. temperature -13.5°C) discussing how she's like to grow one in her garden. Good luck with that. (And get a Western Garden Book).


Arbutus in Helliwell Park, Hornby Island, BC.

What makes the tree most striking is, obviously, is it's vivid, often neon-orange bark, which strips off the limbs to create psychedelic patterns. I love how the trees in these pictures are interlaced with ash-colored dead branches. Then the leaves are such a beautiful deep green.


More gorgeousness.

If climate change comes to Vancouver Island, how will plants that are adapted to very specific habitats fare? Our warm little corner of Canada would look very different without the Garry oaks that grace Victoria's most stately neighborhoods. From what I've read recently, the habitat that supports some of our signature trees is more likely to increase but only at the expense of other species. According to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun (B.C. Climate Change 2050 by Gordon Hamilton and Scott Simpson, June 2, 2007).

-Old-growth rainforests and salmon runs, icons that go to the heart of our West Coast psyche, will be dead or dying off.-The forests on the North Shore mountains will be dying of stress caused by drought in the summer and storms in the winter.-By 2050 giant cedars immortalized in Haida canoes and Emily Carr paintings -- the foundation of 10,000 years of first nations culture -- will be dying of thirst brought on by longer, drier summers.

It's not all bad, though, if you're a farmer (or a winemaker).

-Warmer temperatures will open up new regions of the province to agriculture. Kamloops, not just the Okanagan Valley, could be Napa Valley North. Oranges and lemons will thrive on the Saanich peninsula.-The eastern shores of the Queen Charlotte Islands will be warm enough to grow grapes.-Garry oak, which now clings to the rocky bluffs of southwestern B.C., could be thriving as far north as the Nass Valley.

If the pine beetle infestation is anything to go by, it's going to be a challenge to count on anything. (Infestations of pine beetles that would normally have been knocked back by winter cold have wreaked havoc on B.C.'s lumber industry). I won't be buying B.C. citrus futures anytime soon.

Obligatory Sunset Shot

Sunset on Hornby Island, British Columbia. I know sunset pictures are cliche and what have you. But it IS beautiful here.

Island Idyll

The bald eagle has just been taken off the endangered species list in the the US. Up here on Vancouver Island, we see bald eagles almost every day. On Hornby Island, about 3 hours north of Victoria, they don't seem to be in the least disturbed by humans. I spotted this one on a walk this morning and got within perhaps 20 ft. of its perch without it even batting an eye. But what beautiful creatures.


Look at that beak.

Vixens

On my recent trip to London, I was surprised one night by the sight of a fox near St. Paul's Cathedral. I was trying to get a cab and I saw an animal slip across the road then through some railings into the churchyard. At first I thought it was a cat, but the shape, tail, and gait were all so distinctive. In all the late nights I've spent out in London I've never once encountered a fox and so I thought it a rare sighting.

I've since learned (as is often the way with seemingly unique experiences) that foxes are not at all unusual in London.


This image from a guy who seems to have a bit of a thing about foxes (http://www.permuted.org.uk/).

First my friend Graham Rice told me that he had seen a fox a few years ago in the Chelsea Flower Show early one morning during set up, before there were many people about. It was apparently trotting through a display of desert succulents.

Then, while reading the highly enjoyable second edition of Alan Bennett's autobiography, Untold Stories (faber and faber, 2005), I came across the following, written after the author has been down to the Mall to see the extraordinary scenes following the death of Princess Diana:

"The evening is redeemed by an extraordinary sight. Despite the hundreds and hundreds of people trooping past, here, on the grass by the corner of Stable House Street, is a fox. It is just out of the light, slinking by with its head turned towards the parade of people passing, none of whom notice it. It's quite small, as much fawn as red, and is, I imagine, a vixen. It lopes unhurriedly along hte verge before diving under the hedge into St. James's Palace grounds. Besides us only one woman notices it, but that's probably just as well: such is the hysteria and general silliness it might have been hailed as the reincarnation of Princess Diana, another beautiful vixen, with whom lots of parallels suggest themselves."

And then, finally, I rent a movie called Breaking and Entering, which has a promising cast--Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, and Robin Wright Penn--and is set in London. It turns out to be one of those movies that doesn't quite pull it all together but guess what features in several scenes? Right, a fox. This time not slinking much, but screaming quite a bit in the most ominous and intrusive manner.


Not a real fox, but movie magic.

It turns out that one can buy the model who served as the fox from a company that sells movie memorabilia (http://www.premiereprops.com/). And, as quoted in a review on Salon.com the fox is "The one wild thing in your life, and it makes you crazy."

Nature is Wonderful

On a walk in the woods yesterday, Maeve and I saw a selection of variously colored banana slugs.


This one is yellow.

For anyone not familiar with these behemoths of the Pacific coast, they go by the botanical name of Ariolimax columbianus. They are found in the woods in California up to British Columbia. They usually delight and disgust children.

Seeing a few of these on a hike the other day reminded me of an article I wrote 10 years (10 years!) ago for Virtual Garden. It's no longer available on-line, but I turned an old-fashioned paper printout into a pdf.


Click for a big version.

Escargot en amour

A all-time favorite from the New Yorker.

Sign Language

From the Brompton Cemetery.

Can anyone guess what 'Anti-Climb' paint would do to somebody foolish enough to make the attempt?

Ready, Set, Garden

After life coaches, birth coaches, fitness coaches...now we have garden coaches. The NY Times discusses a recent trend.

A new addition to the landscape, gardening coaches — or gardening mentors as they are sometimes called — are the personal trainers of the prune-and-plant set. Their target audience — do-it-yourselfers in search of enlightenment — occupies a middle ground between the people who simply sit back and watch, while others do the planting and mulching, and amateur plant killers whose gardening strategy can best be summed up as trowel and error.

My friend--and fine gardener--Tom Wilhite offers just such a service in Sausalito, CA. I would say he sees himself as a guide, helping his clients to learn by doing. In this photo, he's teaching Julian something about the joys of succulents. Or perhaps advising on mulch.

Interloper

There's been an otter in the park pond for the first time since we've lived in James Bay. Julian and I have seen it a few times. Apparently river otters do visit the park from time to time. This picture was taken a few weeks ago; we saw the otter again last night.



I do wonder if it might be eating eggs and/or ducklings?

Here's an interesting fact. Otter droppings are called spraints. I pretty much guarantee you didn't know that.

I don't know quite how an otter would get into the lake as there are no above-ground rivers that run in or out of the park.

Perhaps I will go and have a chat with the park staff. I am very curious about this otter.

The Garden of Eden Imagined

Not quite how I imagined it. Wonder who they used as horticultural consultant?


Image and story from BlueGrass Roots blog.

Herons at Home

While I was away at Chelsea, the heron colony at the end of the road was apparently scared off by a rogue eagle the local media dubbed 'Birdzilla'. There are fears that the colony might be gone for good.

Funny enough, I was having lunch with the folks at Butchart Gardens, who had also been at Chelsea for the first time. One of them was saying that the herons had taken up residence in her back garden. I do hope they aren't gone for good from the park!

A little more Chelsea. Here's a lovely seating area from one of my favorite show gardens, the Westland Garden, designed by Diarmuid Gavin. It won a silver.


Diarmuid Gavin's Westland Garden at Chelsea, 2007.

Lovely Lavenders @ Chelsea

Plant breeders, florists, and nurseries exhibit in the Great Pavilion. This is the place to see new plants and often some stunning displays and plant combinations.


I saw some spectacular lavenders. Apparently there's a lot of breeding happening. Are these gorgeous??

Nice Digs @ Chelsea

For those who haven't been to the show, it's been held since 1913 in the grounds of the Chelsea Royal Hospital, which provides a "fitting home and community for ageing and infirm veteran soliders to whom the nation owes a debt of gratitute". When built, the so-called Long Wards, which house the Chelsea pensioners, were lined with individual rooms that measured just 6 feet square. They were designed by Sir Christopher Wren, who was a little more generous when it came to his own bedroom.


The show is usually sold out and ticket 'touts' (scalpers) offer tickets just outside Sloane Square. Tickets are also on sale on Craigslist and eBay.

The main attraction in the show is probably the Show Gardens, which are fiercely competitive and judged for RHS medals. The winner of 'Best in Show' is guaranteed enormous amounts of publicity and, I guess, plenty of wealthy clients for life.



One of my overall impressions was that I saw a lot of plantings in this naturalistic style. There always seems to be one plant that appears in almost every garden. This year it was Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima).


Can you spot some feather grass in here?

Best Rose Ever

Is there anything to change about this rose? A David Austin rose, Abraham Darby. Vigorous, apricot-pink and yellow colours. Fragrant with a fresh, tropical fruit, ever-so-slightly citrus scent. I love it, that's all there is to say.

Daffs Have Come and Gone

And now lilacs. My favourite? Perhaps. Something old ladyish about the scent. And yet lovely.

Shell Art

I spent my first day at the 2007 Chelsea Flower Show on a gorgeous sunny day in London.


A grotto!

My Award-winning Book

The Sunset Western Landscaping Book, for which I was Managing Editor, has won a Silver Award from the
Garden Writers' Association of America (GWAA).



What is that, you ask? Not as prestigious as a Webby (or even the cake-decorating prize at the school fete--
which I did NOT win), perhaps, but still.

You can buy the book on www.amazon.com and many other outlets.

From the GWAA website: For over 25 years, the GWA has conducted an annual awards program for talent and products published or aired in the field of garden communications. The purpose of the program is to provide recognition for the vast talents of the GWA membership in the area of writing, photography, graphic design, illustration and electronic media such as radio, television and Internet programming. It is a means of showcasing the many exceptional works created and/or published every year. From 272 awards entries, 41 works were recognized for individual or collective achievement in 2006. Working in category teams (writing, photography, etc.), judges reviewed every entry based upon an objective point system evaluating information accuracy, content, organization, style and originality. Entries placing in the top 10% of this non-competitive scoring receive the Silver Award of Achievement and become semi-finalists for the Gold Awards for Best Talent or Best Product. The Gold Awards for Best Talent and Best Product of the Year will be announced at the Annual Awards Banquet to be held October 1, 2007, at the 59th Annual GWA Symposium in Oklahoma City, OK.

The book features hundreds of gorgeous photos (chosen from the thousands we reviewed), including one here in Victoria. Noted garden photographer Alan Mandell shot this little but lush property around the corner from my house in James Bay.

Click for a pdf.

Kindness of Strangers?

A nice woman knocked on my door the other day. She asked if she could help me with my garden. Apparently she just moved to Victoria from Ontario and no longer has a garden, so she cast her eye about for someone who obviously needs help. I wasn't sure whether to be grateful or put out. Yes, it's true that my garden is a weedy mess.


Look at the wisteria and not the weeds.

But the fact is, it's my garden. And I get precious little enough time to spend in it. So I thanked the nice lady and said I would think about it.

That wisteria, by the way, is a hundred years' old. I have a photo of the house dated 1912 and the vine was already quite well established by then. Julian recently said that it was called 'mysterious', which is actually a rather good name (and one used by a friend's little boy, as well).


Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis).

Hapless Herons

At the end of my street in Beacon Hill Park is Vancouver Island's largest heron colony. Each year, dozens and sometimes over a hundred herons come to this stand of Douglas firs to nest from February through June.


Julian at the entrance to the heronry.

It's quite a spectacle. The birds build their nests high in the trees and can be seen on flying material-gathering trips all around the park and the neighborhood. But it's not all, so to speak, ducks and bunnies. If you believe in reincarnation I suggest you pray not to come back to life as a heron. For many, babyhood is nasty, brutish, and short.


Another egg on the ground.

The eggs are attacked by other birds and the ground is littered with their broken blue shells. As I write this, I see from my window a bald eagle circling just south of the colony. When the babies hatch, the eagle shows up at least once a day for a snack. In an effort to protect their young, the herons rise up and circle around, crying out in alarm. The scene is extraordinary and resembles a flight of pterodactyls. Many of the babies who survive the eagle are summarily pushed out of the nests by their siblings. The results are quite grim.

It's not all bad, though. One heron apparently survived such a descent some years ago. He has never joined the other herons but lives full-time in the park, often standing by the bus stop and posing for pictures (really!). Park employees christened him Henry. It's pretty amazing to see this annual pageant of birth and death playing out in the center of our city.


Henry in a contemplative mood gazing out over the duck pond.

You can see the colony on the heroncam

Garden Fundraiser

On Friday I worked at a fundraiser for the fabulous Abkhazi Garden here in Victoria. Among other things, Winchester Cellars provided the wine, Maeve and her friends were busgirls, and we invented a new drink.


Three lovely ladies toasting with Flaming Azaleas.

The 'Flaming Azalea' (shown above beside an azalea, naturally) consists of a secret recipe that contains the brand new Eau de Viognier from Winchester Cellars. (Look for more on this in the next few weeks). The cocktail was enjoyed by all, the food was very yummy, and Lana poured her Ortega/Bacchus blend along with Winchester Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. In addition, 7 magnums of Pinot Noir were offered at auction with very special labels commissioned from well-known local artists.


Music was provided amid the fallen camellia petals by Max Murray (pictured with friend Emily) and others.

People with hats looked on as the sun set.

Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/fionagilsenan/ for more photos of the event.

Golden Gate Glasshouse

Julian and I spent some time recently at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.



The conservatory was damaged by wind in 1995 and it took several years for volunteers to get enough money and interest to restore it; the opening celebration was held in 2003. It's not huge, but it's quite lovely. When we visited, there was a special exhibition in the rather psychadelic Special Exhibits room. It had something to do with circles of life and the interrelatedness of all things. Julian was most impressed with a pit of smooth black pebbles. I was intrigued by this sculpture.

Girly Blogging

I'm sure plenty of writers are linking to this fun tool. It's meant to divine whether you are a male or female writer.
Apparently I'm a guy. Or at least I write like one.


(from Popular Mechanics; photo by Maeve Winchester)

Peas on Earth

Peas are absolutely easy and quick to grow. Robin Weiss in San Carlos, CA, planted them this year.

You can see her harvesting here (helped by Julian).

Peas are cool-season vegetables, fast-growing, and almost fool-proof even for beginning gardeners. There is definitely a thrill to hunting and plucking ripe pods.

The restaurant at the Tate Modern in London serves a pea soup that is beyond memorable. I recently compared notes with a friend who had been to the gallery and mentioned the soup in the same breath as the artwork. Here's a recipe from www.foodnetwork.com that I tried and loved, but I can't promise it matches up to the soup at the Tate. Certainly you have to provide your own view--because the view of the Thames and London's east end with all its new buildings is quite something.


Fresh Pea Soup with Mint
Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 cups shelled fresh or frozen peas
5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground white pepper
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Toasted French bread, as an accompaniment

Directions
In a saucepan cook onion in butter, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until tender. Add peas and broth and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Stir in mint.

In a blender puree soup until smooth and pour through a coarse sieve back into pan. Heat soup over moderate heat until hot and remove pan from heat. Add white pepper and salt, to taste, and stir in all but 4 teaspoons buttermilk.

Divide soup between 4 bowls and gently spoon remaining buttermilk onto each serving.

Copyright 2006 Television Food Network.