the mid-winter reflections of a landscape architect...

Lately I've been thinking about how this blog reflects my state of mind, my pursuits and my current areas of interest. I've considered how it's evolved over time, sometimes with a focus on design in general, sometimes with a more urban agriculture focus and recently, perhaps, with more of a focus on landscape architecture.  

I've always had a voracious appetite for learning and new things and I'm sure that is being reflected here. Sometimes I feel like I need to reign it all in and focus on one thing at a time, but that's really just not me. I'm a generalist and I think that's a really nice quality for a landscape architect. I once heard someone say that engineers need to know a lot about a few specific things and landscape architects need to know a bit about everything, which is probably why we are such great project managers.

I have finally come to accept that my range of interests - art, gardening, dance, herbal medicine, agriculture, fashion, food, travel and on and on -  inform my process and designs and contribute to my wholeness as a designer. It's about time I embraced that!

ps. This photo makes me so very happy. I'm dreaming of a peaceful home studio with such beautiful light...

gorgeous greens

So apparently it has been some time since I gave an update on the Bloomfield Community Greenhouse; the last time I posted on the greenhouse (scroll down), these babies were just seedlings. Now they are gorgeously gorgeous and ready to eat! 

Prior to the holidays, our plants were looking a bit leggy. Perhaps due to the reduced light levels, maybe due to a lack of carbon dioxide. We made some adjustments, a fan for one,  and this along with increasing day length seem to have made the difference. At a time when produce has all but disappeared from the farmers' market, it's quite wonderful to enjoy a freshly picked salad of local, organic greens. 

baby pics

As promised, here are a a couple of photos of the first seedlings to inaugurate the Bloomfield Community Greenhouse. It's now been three weeks since the first seeds were planted and the photos show the seedlings after one and two weeks. I'm so very happy that they are coming along so well and can't wait to enjoy my first harvest of tender, baby greens

week one 

week two

bloomfield community greenhouse

I feel pretty lucky and grateful to have been selected as a participant in the first year of the Bloomfield Community Greenhouse. What a great opportunity to grow food throughout the long, cold Canadian winter! Also a lovely boost for the spirit - the greenhouse was a cozy 42 degrees celsius when I stopped in today (we're still calibrating details like temperature regulation).

The greenhouse is a collaborative project between two community organizations - Imagine Bloomfield and Ecology Action Centre. It's a pilot project with a vision of community greenhouses throughout Halifax Regional Municipality. A handful of us were selected through a membership lottery and now we're responsible for the day-to-day operations of the greenhouse, logging our experiences along the way.

 

Features of this passive-solar design include solar-panels, re-purposed barn boards, solar hot-water heating that circulates under the interior beds, an interior rain barrel, a community message board and a vermicomposter. I'm eager to meet the buider, Zak Miller of Full Cycle Builders, to learn more about the technical components of the building.

I planted seeds about a week ago and they are just starting to emerge. I am so excited to get started with a new crop just when the gardening season would usually be slowing down. I'll be back soon with pics of the new babies!

garlic planting tutorial (it's time!)

Right about now, at least in the temperate north, it is the perfect time to plant your garlic. Here is a simple guide to next season's bounty:

• A stop at your farmer's market will provide you with garlic that is adapted to your local conditions. I bought bulbs of two varieties from different farms in Nova Scotia as well as two red types that aren't local that I am experimenting with.

• Choose large well-formed bulbs. And from these choose the largest individual cloves to plant. Clove size is a better genetic determinant than bulb size of healthy, abundant garlic. I especially like the purple-tinged ones.

• Before planting 'crack' the individual cloves from the main head and choose those big, robust ones.

• This is the time to give consideration to next year's garden configuration. Remember garlic needs full sun.

• Plant garlic (pointy side up!) 4" to 8" apart and cover with at least 2" of soil. 

• Adding a layer of mulch - I used fresh seaweed but straw, hay, compost and leaves will also work - keeps the soil temperature constant. Garlic hates freeze and thaw cycles which are common here in NS.

• That's it for now! In early spring you will start to see your garlic shoots emerging. And in July the tops will start to brown and fade signaling time for harvest. We'll talk more later about harvesting, curing and storage.

repurposed patio

I see these old concrete blocks everywhere - at the curb, in parking garages, there are currently several in the loft of the cabin I am renting. This patio shows a great way to put a common, resource-heavy product to re-use. 

This patio is part of a kitchen garden designed by landscape architect Chris Saleeba of Fresh Digs  for the Pantry at Delancey. Saleeba  offers a service he calls 'DIY Construction Coaching' which gives support to budget-conscious clients so they can install a project themselves with guidance along the way. A fantastic idea! See more of the kitchen garden here.

chicken coop!

Ok I absolutely need a backyard so I can interject this sleek chicken abode The Nogg.

I have been very delinquent with my posting - but the garden is still going strong. I have been off on a little adventure which I will share with you as soon as things calm down just a bit!

coneflowers and bumblebees

The echinacea is in bloom and the bumblebees are loving them, even more than me! They are also all over the borage (more to come). As I was picking borage flowers one ran smack into my arm and didn't sting me. That is the way of the gentle bumblebee.

twined

My fellow community gardening friend, Crispin, has strung up twine through a neighbouring Japanese maple and connected it to his bean poles to allow them to keep 'twining'. It's quite lovely, I find twine to be very simple and elegant.

I tried something similar with my plot: I have been growing scarlet runners up tomato spirals and they too had reached the end of the line. Following suit I connected twine between the poles and my neighbours trellis to create an arbour. Unfortunately someone didn't like my idea and pinched the bean tips. Oh well.

Pesto!

The basil is finally ready and I made my first batch of pesto this season. I used this recipe which I fine-tuned last summer. Sooo delicious!

eggplant and potatoes

I harvested these gorgeous potatoes last night. They were delicious with fresh dill, butter, salt and pepper. I've been hilling my potatoes up with compost and exploring gently with my hands to unearth potatoes near the surface...

I'm also growing eggplant for the first time. Somehow the fruit just snuck up on me as I discovered them with delight a few days ago. These attractive plants caught my eye and I picked up a white variety at the local farmers market. I've chosen to grow them on my sunny SWest facing deck in a pot rather than transplant them into my gardening plot. I'm also growing watermelon and tomato on the 4th-storey deck and they're all thriving.

'happy' gardening

In the midst of a rough couple of days, I stopped by my garden last night in a horrid mood. As soon as I walked onto the sun-drenched site in the early evening I found myself thinking 'I love my garden, it makes me so happy!' Sappy I know, but true. Do you think of your garden as therapy?

pretty partnership

I just came upon this photo on the Evergreen website - cabbage and nasturtiums - what a lovely edible plant combination.

bok choi beginnings

I uprooted my bok choi today, as it had bolted. I meant to post these photos a while ago, when the garden had first taken off. Now they've been harvested and replaced with heirloom tomatoes.

I've started a 2nd sewing of the purple variety. Hopefully it's not too late...

lady birds

Snap of lady bugs on the sweet cicely at my community garden's communal herb garden. Apparently these little ladies have been scarce the last couple of years. The garden was practically teeming with them as they feasted on aphids so perhaps the pesticide bans are helping to bring back the pollinators and other beneficial insects.

farm dreamin'

Jason King over at Landscape+Urbanism has put together a great intro to urban agriculture that has me daydreaming about food production. He talks about such things as seed bombs, front yard veggie gardens and land sharing as well as some higher tech options such as roof and vertical gardening. It's full of fun ideas and lists some really great resources. After reading his post I've been thinking about new signs for my community garden's herb garden, backyard chickens and pygmy goats! Okay so I need a backyard first... Read the full post here.