Lisa's Polytunnel

My good friend Lisa has been living abroad in Ireland for the past several years, where she's running the successful fledgling publishing company, Doire Press, with her partner John.  Now, Lisa and I share no gardening history, and I've never known her to have a garden....until she moved to Ireland.

We met over 10 years ago in a literature class devoted to the fascinating writing & illustrations of William Blake.  (If you love William Blake and have never seen Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, you should.  My advance apologies for two graphic scenes of violence.  I'm not interested in violence, but will endure a lot for Blake.  Besides, it stars Johnny Depp before he became a gay pirate...)

So Lisa is gardening in the stony seaside of Ireland near Galway.  She's been digging up stones, growing potatoes and greens, and this year she wrote to tell me she's thinking of adding a polytunnel to her space.  So what is a polytunnel?  I'd never heard it before.  After looking in all my usual places, I found it's essentially what Yanks call a "hoop house" or "door garden".  My Dad has a substantial one that we call "the greenhouse".

 The benefits of it are getting an early start on your garden, and extending it later into the fall/winter, even allowing a fully year-round cycle in the temperate Pacific northwest.  The protective plastic cover provides a microclimate that offers young plants an earlier (and in winter, a later) warmth.  I don't have one!  But this morning as I examined the cautious progress of my pea starts in this late-warming Spring, I had a desire to make one.

The best part of this clip is not that it shows you how to construct a polytunnel, because it doesn't do that in detail.  The best part is that it shows you how to clean one, to keep the plastic cover in good shape for years of extended gardening.    





You can visit Lisa and her partner John at the following web address.  While you're there, ask about the progress of their polytunnel.  http://www.doirepress.com/site/HOME.html

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." 


-William Blake

First Day Barefoot!

I believe there is no such thing as a shrinking violet, that there is only the shy or cautious viewer.  Violets embody the qualities of divine power (blue) and of divine love (pink) which, when merged, create a pulsating energy that consumes on contact the darkness within all that it touches.  


"The violets are children with bare feet"


Translation by Allen Prowle
Original poem by Rocco Scotellaro

The leaves are fresh on the almond trees,
spring water rains from stone walls;
trotting lightly, the donkeys choose
the friendlier of the river’s banks;
the girls with the darkest eyes
clamber on the squeaking cart, aloof.
March is a baby, laughing already, in its swaddling clothes.


And you can forget the winter,
who, bent by bundles of wood,
have told your beads,
mile after freezing mile,
to roast your face by the fire.


Now ticks come back to the horses,
in the stables flies stir the air,
and children with bare feet
charge upon clumps of violet.

If you have a mind to grow these, try planting them in a portion of your lawn that's shaded from hot afternoon sun.  They tend to take over, albeit slowly.  Harvest the flowers in spring (March - June) for homemade Violet Syrup, to toss into fresh salads, or to candy for an old-fashioned treat.

To make Violet Syrup, pour 1/2 C. boiling water over 3 cups of flowers (no stems) and cover.  Let cool and steep together for 24 hours.  On the second day, add 2 - 3 C. sugar (to taste) to the violet water and bring to a gentle boil, stirring 'til the sugar is dissolved.  Strain the flowers.  Your Violet Syrup is ready for use!  Store in a cool, dark area or in the fridge for up to 6 months.  Little re-corking bottles make sweet gifts.   

Photo by French Tart

Stalking Wild Greens

When talking about weeds, I find the least accusitory definition is "any plant not wanted in the location it grows".  Often in gardening, and definitely in the Pacific Northwest, our most common garden-variety weeds are wild-grown native plants, edible or otherwise useful.  One has only to decide to put them to their use.  If, in your own garden, you're not content with the natural invasions of inconspicuous foliage bearing unpretentious blooms, consider tasting them...if only once.  It's possible you'll enjoy the sweet flavor and juiciness of Miner's Lettuce, and be tempted to further harvest them for salads, smoothies, and fresh eating.

Miner's Lettuce (Montia perfoliata), is a Pacific Northwest wild native that got its name from history's gold miners who sought its freshness in late winter through early spring.  Take a look around your own yard and you may find some.  Gastronomes are rediscovering the consumable value of this and other garden-variety weeds.  These days, it is increasingly found at farmers' markets.  For some, it's always held value.  During the winter and spring that I worked the landscape crew in Laurelhurst Park, I saw the same petite grandmother harvest a large patch on the park's grounds several times.

So how do you go about harvesting this diminutive lilypad-looking green?  This simple instructional video shows how to make the most of one of our early spring "weeds".