Reflections on 2011

This has been a great year for gardens, gardening, and learning about gardens. The Eden By The Bay blog focuses on gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area, but gardening is so much more than simply tending a garden (which is pleasure enough). It is also about nature, seasons, plants, people, relationships, exploration, migration, and history.

In 2011, Eden By The Bay explored gardening and gardening resources in the Bay Area, with topics ranging from the Mediterranean climate and Sunset-defined microclimates, to native plants, local garden visits, books and resources, soil and trees, seasons, local agriculture, and my own vegetable gardening experiences in Montclair. But we roamed farther afield as well – exploring desert climates in Southern California and Bend, Oregon; gardens and habitat in the Pacific Northwest; Mediterranean plants; landscape ideas, and fruits and spices used in holiday cooking. For fun, we went to the movies for a glimpse of plants as movie stars.

Explore – find adventures close to home or far away.	Experiment – use what you have; try something new.
Enjoy – stop and smell the tulips, with friends.	Educate – keep learning and discovering new things.

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Exploration in one area often leads to exploration in another. Surprising connections exist between people, places, and facts. The garden journey may begin in a local garden, but it can lead to the gardens of the world.

The Lore of Spices

The Lore of Spices explores familiar and exotic spices from Europe, East Indies, and the New World, as well as salt and sugar. The author is Jan-Öjvind Swahn, and the publisher is Barnes & Noble, Inc. (1997). The book was a gift from my sister, who knows of my interests in cooking and plants, and is a wonderful reference for many of the spices we use to flavor food, drink, perfume, and other products.

The overview to the book defines the term “spices” and provides a brief history of spices and the spice trade. The rest of the book provides interesting botanical information and cultural history for each of the spices. The cultural history includes plenty of intrigue, price-fixing, imperialism, and lore. The book is lavish with graphics, photos, botanical art, maps, charts, and facts.

I used The Lore of Spices, as one of my sources to research all of this month’s articles on holiday cooking (starting with, Holiday Cooking – Vanilla). I was especially intrigued with the “new world” spices, and how they have been introduced as crops in other countries in the world with similar climates. If you are interested in cooking, plants, or history, you may be interested in The Lore of Spices.

O Holy Night

The Christmas season is not complete until I hear some version of this carol. The words paint a picture of a starry night blanketing a labored and oppressed world, into which the Divine is inserted (Emmanuel - God with us) causing a ripple of hope; a worshipful response; and a call to our better and intended selves. The music soars, and the best voices soar with it in clear, unwavering tones.

The original poem was written by Placide Cappeau in 1847, and called Cantique de Noёl, or Minuit, Chretiens (Midnight, Christians). Cappeau was a wine merchant in Roquemaure, France, who wrote poems for a hobby. The local parish priest asked him to compose a poem for Christmas. Cappeau wrote the poem on a business trip to Paris; while in Paris he took the poem to composer Adolphe-Charles Adam (a friend of friends). Adam was a successful composer, having written Giselle in 1841 and many other stage works. Adam obliged, and the song was performed at midnight mass on Christmas Eve in Roquemaure in 1847.

Sheet Music for "Cantique de Noel," written by Adolphe Adam.
Cited by Douglas D. Anderson.

The version we are most familiar with was translated in 1855 by an American Unitarian minister and music critic/journalist, the Reverend John Sullivan Dwight. Both Cappeau and Dwight were anti-slavery, and Dwight’s English translation clearly reflects this:

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

With those noble thoughts in mind, seek the Divine, enjoy the people and blessings in your life, and have a Merry Christmas!

Holiday Cooking - Cacao

This month I have researched some of the plants that flavor my holiday baking. Today I’m learning about cacao (or cocoa, when it is processed into a powder). Recall that cacao was mentioned earlier, in conjunction with vanilla (Holiday Cooking – Vanilla). Hot chocolate, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered almonds, and Grand Mariner truffles are just a few of my culinary favorites made with chocolate. Chocolate can be light or dark (with higher cacao content).

Theobroma cacao is in the Byttneriaceae (or Malvaceae) family, and native to wet lowland tropical areas of Central and South America. Cacao is thought to have originated in the Amazon, and was cultivated in Central America by the Mayans and Aztecs. Christopher Columbus was served hot chocolate in Nicaragua by a local chieftain on one of his expeditions to find India; Hernando Cortez was served hot chocolate in Mexico by Montezuma (Cortez reported that cacao beans were used as currency instead of gold). Cacao is now grown in places such as Madagascar, Polynesia, Tahiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uganda, and Guatemala with similar climates. The Spaniards introduced cocoa (and vanilla) to Europe.

Botanical illustration of Theobroma cacao
from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published before
1923 and public domain in the United States).

Cacao is harvested from the fruit pod of an evergreen tree that grows to 25 feet or more in the wild, in the shade of taller trees. Its leaves are leathery and oblong to 12 inches long. Flowers are borne on the trunk and branches in long pedicels, with yellow petals surround by a pinkish calyx. Fruits are yellow, purple or brown, with 10-ribs to one foot long. The seeds are elliptical to one inch long, and borne within the fruit pulp. Propagation is by seed. The seeds are fermented and dried to yield cocoa and chocolate.

Winter

Winter is another subtle season in the San Francisco Bay Area. Days are shorter now, and we have had several of our seasonal rains. Temperatures hover in the 50 degree range, but may spike during the day or plummet at night. Fog, or even frost, may be on the car windows in the early morning. The sun is lower in the sky, and somehow always seems to be in my eyes.

The garden is neglected – it is typically dark when I get up in the morning and dark when I get off work in the evening; and cold enough during the weekends that any garden task can wait until the weather is warmer. The garden seems to be “dormant.” I recently took a stroll through our small garden. In truth, I found signs that nature is very active, and many things are happening in the garden.

Azalea bud	Hydrangea bud
Ivy florals	Magnolia bud
Rhododendron bud	Tulip tree bud

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Gifts for the World Garden

Christmas would not be Christmas without dreaming about peace on earth and good will towards humankind. Here are some ideas that take the dream into action.

This year my husband and I signed up as members of the Zion National Park Foundation, which helps support Zion National Park. We enjoyed our week in the park last fall, and want to help support it.

Holiday Cooking – Nutmeg

This week’s spice is nutmeg, which is sold as a dried “nut,” and served freshly grated. During the holidays, we grate it over eggnog, and whipped cream on pumpkin pie. Nutmeg can be used as flavoring for sweet and savory dishes, including squash soup, creamy spinach, vegetable dishes, cakes and cookies, and bread pudding.

Myristica fragrans is in the Myristicaceae family, and native to Grenada in the Caribbean, southeast Asia, northern Australia, and the Banda Islands in Indonesia. It thrives in a hot moist climate, in rich, well-drained soil. It is also cultivated in Malaysia, and southern India.

Botanical illustration of Myristica fragrans from
Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published before
1923 and public domain in the United States).

Nutmeg is harvested from the fruit of an evergreen tree that grows to 70 feet high in the wild. Its leaves are alternate, oblong-lanceolate to 5 inches, veined, and glaucous on the underside; flowers are small and unisexual, with a lobed corolla; propagation is from seeds and grafting. The tree is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers grow on separate trees. The fruit is yellow, to 2 inches long, and splits into two halves. M. fragrans produces two spices – nutmeg from the seed pod, and mace from the red aril that surrounds the seed (100 pounds of nutmeg yields one pound of mace). The brown seed is dried and sold as a “nut” or ground; mace is dried and ground.

Gifts for the Garden

I'm working on my list of Christmas gift ideas, thinking of the wonderful people in my life. Of course I think of the garden.

A gift doesn't need to be extravagant or expensive. Sometimes the smallest, most personal item is the best.

Stick Wreaths

As I mentioned in Fall Foliage Arrangements, I like to follow the code of “using what you have,” instead of always buying new stuff. My husband and I made two stick wreaths early in our marriage, when we had more time, energy, and ideas than we had money. A friend of ours from work, Paul Sharaba (computer programmer by day, light-opera singer by night), pruned his yard one fall weekend, and brought us a truckload of long, slender, flexible sticks.

Over several weeks, we formed the sticks into wreaths, holding them in place with clear fishing line. We visited a craft store for ribbons, ornaments, and artificial cones, berries, holly, and nuts; then decorated the wreaths. The smaller wreath is about a foot across with a red theme, the larger one is about three feet across with a purple theme.

Stick wreath decorated with artificial foliage from the craft store.

Over the years, the sticks have hardened into shape, and the wreaths have been reworked with new lights, ribbons, ornaments, and themes. Now you can purchase commercially-made stick wreathes at craft stores. They are very handy, economical, and have a uniform appearance. But they don't have the same charm as our stick wreathes, with their uneven shape, buds frozen in time, and wisps of fishing line.

Holiday Cooking – Cinnamon

This month I’m learning more about the plants that favor my holiday baking. Today, I’m taking a look at cinnamon, which I use to flavor pumpkin pie, zucchini bread, molasses cookies, and apple sauce. While growing up, Dad made the best cinnamon and sugar toast, placing the toast under the broiler until the butter, cinnamon, and sugar mixture bubbled, but did not burn. Cinnamon sticks make great stir-sticks for hot apple cider, spice up holiday potpourri, and look pretty tied to a wrapped gift or jar of jam.

Cinnamomum verum (formerly called C. zeylanicum) is in the Lauraceae family (same family as laurel or bay leaves). Cinnamon originated in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and is distinct from but similar to Cinnamomum aromaticum (cassia), which originated in China. Cinnamon was traded throughout Persia, the Mediterranean, and Middle East in ancient times (as early as 2000 B.C.in Egypt), and used for cooking, medicine, perfume, anointing oil, and embalming. The spice factored into Christopher Columbus’s quest for an alternate spice route; and became more available to Europe in the 1600s. Cinnamon is now grown in tropical and subtropical climates, such as Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. Scholarly research is currently being done for medicinal purposes, such as boosting the immune system, as an antiviral, and to combat Alzheimer's disease.

Botanical illustration of Cinnamomum verum
from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (published
before 1923 and public domain in the United States).

Cinnamon is harvested from the inner bark of an evergreen tree. Its leaves are ovate or ovate-lancelot, to 7 inches long, aromatic, shiny green above, and lighter green below; flowers are tiny and yellowish, bunched at the branch tips in panicles; propagation is from seeds or cuttings. Once the tree is established, the tree is cut back severely. In two years, six to eight shoots are ready for harvest, and the tree is cut back again. Harvesters use sharp knives to strip the outer bark and harvest the inner bark during the rainy season. The inner bark is dried, first in the shade and then the sun. The rolls are telescoped into meter long (39 inches) quills. The quills are later cut into shorter lengths, or ground for retail distribution.

Christmas Trees

Last weekend I passed the Lucky Supermarket loading dock as they were unloading Christmas trees. I was enveloped with the sweet fragrance of pine while I loaded my groceries into my trunk. Decorating the Christmas tree is one of the fun projects of the season. We drag out the boxes of decorations, set up the tree, and cover it with amber lights, beautiful glass balls from Germany, and tiny angels and musical instrumentals. We typically play the DVD “It’s a Wonderful Life” while we decorate, reminisce about Christmases past, and snack on fresh-baked cookies and eggnog.

Growing up in Alaska, we typically hiked into the woods to find our Christmas tree. Dad brought the saw or ax, Mom brought a thermos of hot chocolate, and my brother, sister, and I trudged through the fresh snow considering the merits of each tree. Some years, our clan came to visit from Southern California. Together we—from my Grandmother down to the youngest cousin—picked the right tree, chopped it down, and hauled it back to the car. Sitka spruce and pine were the best. Hemlock dried out and lost its needles too early. We decorated the tree with colored lights, tinsel, and ornaments, some of which were homemade.

Selecting a Christmas tree in Southeast Alaska.

After my husband and I married and settled in Southern California, we visited Christmas tree lots to find our tree. Our favorite was the Noble Fir, grown in Oregon, with its distinct lateral branches, which showcase ornaments so well. When our son was born, we discovered local, urban Christmas tree farms, where they actually grew the trees, typically under massive power lines. Our rambling ranch-style house had a high ceiling, so we bought the tallest tree we could afford.

Later we moved to Northern California, and started buying our trees from the Boy Scouts in Montclair. We had great times sorting through their collection of pines, to find the perfect tree for our small Bay Area cottage. Now, my husband and I are content to pull out our artificial tree that is pre-wired for lights. It takes just a few minutes to assemble, and looks beautiful once decorated. But it does not have the heavenly fragrance of a fresh evergreen.

Forcing Amaryllis Bulbs

By December, most of my gardening activity and yard work has ceased, and my attention turns toward preparing for the Christmas holiday. One of my traditions is forcing Amaryllis bulbs to bloom off-season. Amaryllis bulbs are easy to force indoors, grow very fast, and produce multiple bodacious blooms per bulb. The stems grow right before your eyes (adding half an inch in height a day), and then the flowers unfurl in succession for an ongoing dramatic display. The whole process takes four to six weeks. The flowers are large and showy, and colors range from deep red, to white, with many colors and patterns in between. Forced Amaryllis bulbs make a great decoration for Christmas, or gift for someone special. Kids enjoy watching them grow.

Hippeastrum spp are in the Amaryllidaceae family, and originated in the tropical and subtropical areas of South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. They are typically marketed as Amaryllis around the holidays, with names like “Red Lion,” “Minerva,” and “White Giant. They are different from Amaryllis spp that originated in South Africa.

Amaryllis is a monocot, and perennial. The bulb is tunicate (a papery tunic protects the bulb from drying out) and 3 – 5 inches wide; the leaves are linear and glossy; the stem is a hollow tube; the inflorescence is an umbel (with three or more short flower stalks, or pedicels, originating from a common point), and sheathed in a bract at the origin. Each flower has six petals formed in a trumpet, with multiple stamens of different lengths, and a single, longer stigma. Propagation is by seed or bulb division.

Holiday Cooking – Vanilla

Baking is one of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday season. I pull out my favorite recipes (add a few new ones), and fill the house with delicious aromas. This month I’ll be taking a look at the plants that season some of my favorite recipes. None of them are native to the San Francisco Bay Area, but several of them are “new world” plants that were exported and are now cultivated around the world.

First up is vanilla, a favorite flavoring for cookies, cakes, and candies. Vanilla is from the Orchidaceae family, and the species most used for cooking is Vanilla planifolia (also known as Vanilla fragrans). Two other species used are Vanilla pampona and Vanilla tahitiensis, both of which contain a third less of the substance “vanillin” that provides the distinctive flavor. Vanilla planifolia originated in Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America. The Aztecs used vanilla to flavor a chocolate drink called tlilxochitl that was served only to royalty. The Spaniards introduced vanilla and cacao to Europe.

Botanical illustration of Vanilla planifolia
from Koehler's Medicinal Plants
(published before 1923 and public domain in the United States).

In the wild, Vanilla planifolia grows as a long vine (80-100 feet) on tall trees in the rainforest. Leaves are short-petioled, oblong-lancelot to eight inches; flowers grow on a raceme, with each flower lasting for a day unless pollinated; the fruit is a seed pod that resembles a green bean. When cultivated, the flowers must be pollinated by hand. The vanillin is extracted from the seed pod in a labor-intensive process that involves sweating, drying, and fermenting the pod (hence the cost). Vanilla is sold as an extract, a paste, and as a bean. To find out about the best vanilla for your holiday baking and gift-giving: 
http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/wheretobuygourmetfoods/tp/topvanillabrand.htm

Welcome to Eden: Wrap Up

Learn about gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond!

Winter rain drops off a Juniper tree

Getting Started 

Get to know the San Francisco Bay Area climate.

Welcome to Eden
Our Wonderful Climate
What's Your Climate Zone

Gardening in the San Francisco Bay Area 

Start gardening in the Bay Area.

Clay Soil Shocker
Building a Raised Garden Bed
Gopher Proofing
Drip Irrigation
Seeds and Starters
Soil Compaction
The Harvest
Shady Ideas

Visit Parks and Gardens 

Visit local parks and gardens of the Bay Area to enjoy nature and get some ideas.

Hayward Japanese Garden
Leona Canyon Preserve
POPOS
The Ruth Bancroft Garden
Oak Hill Farm
The Butchart Gardens
Mountain View Cemetery
Sunset Magazine Headquarters
Sunset Magazine Test Gardens
Trees at Mills College
U.C. Botanical Gardens at Berkeley
Kaiser Meditation Garden in Pleasanton

Travels 

Experience a variety of beautiful parks and gardens away from home.

Anza-Borrego Desert Park
Whitewater Preserve
Desert Plant Wrapup
Ranching in Bend
Beautiful Bend
Marine Influence
Monarchs and Milkweed

Resources 

Discover great local resources to support and inspire your garden habit.

San Francisco Garden Show
East Bay Regional Park District
Farm Trails
Community Supported Agriculture
History of Sunset Magazine
Sunset Magazine Contributions to Western Gardening

Books 

Portals to great ideas and places.

Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates
Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction
Beatrix Potter
Designing California Native Gardens
Gardens are for People
Botany for Gardeners