Reflections on 2013

Another year of gardening comes to a close. Last year I spent more time learning about gardens than gardening, so this year I tried to get a little more dirt under my nails! My vegetable garden was a bust; I realize that I have a deer problem that needs some creative attention. My tomato plants were especially targeted by my four-legged friends, but any fresh green sprout was fair game.

In 2013, Eden By The Bay continued exploring gardening in the Bay Area, with special focus on plant diseases. We looked at plant diseases in every major group (bacteria, plant parasites, water molds, nematodes, fungi), as well as viruses. After delving into how much can go wrong, it is amazing that anything grows at all! Thankfully, there is a built-in arms race between predator and prey, enabling each side to combat the other.

We explored gardens throughout the seasons – appreciating plants as they move through their seasonal cycles, and the hardscaping that provides the infrastructure. We visited public and private gardens, including the Ruth Bancroft garden, the Lakeside Park on Lake Merritt, Capitol Park and the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, a secret garden in Berkeley, and the gardens of the Madonna Inn and Hearst Castle. We also went further afield to enjoy the tamed and natural places of the Presidio, Clear Lake in the Lake Counties, the deserts of Southern California and Bend, Oregon, and Duncan Garden at Manito Park in Spokane, Washington.

Diseases: oak gall Labels: plant diseases	 Nature: Presidio dunes Labels: nature, coastal dune
Gardens: Hearst Castle Labels: gardens, garden design, hardscaping	 History: Renaissance influence Labels: garden history, movie star plants

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We continued our study of garden history – focusing on European gardens (including Medieval gardens, Italian Renaissance gardens, and interpretations of Renaissance gardens throughout Europe). We continued looking for interesting garden elements, such as raised beds, roof gardens, and trellises; enjoying winter and summer movies that star the plant world; and cooking with holiday spices from all over the globe. Best of all, we celebrated family, friends, and gardens of the world!

Renaissance Christmas Carol

I spent a lot of time this year learning about the Renaissance and Renaissance gardens. For background I watched movies that depicted Renaissance gardens, read The Prince by Machiavelli, and watched the Showtime series, “The Borgias” (with eyes half-closed or covered during the gruesome scenes)! So I thought it would be interesting to learn about the kind of Christmas carol that might have been popular during the Italian Renaissance. One thing I realized is that the Italian city states had not yet been unified during the Italian Renaissance, so many languages and dialects were spoken. Consequently, there is no one representative Christmas carol sung by all.

However, I did learn about a Neapolitan carol called “Quanno nascette Ninno” (“When the child was born”). The melody and original lyrics were written by Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696 – 1787), a Neapolitan priest who founded the Redemptorist missionary order, ministered to the poor, and was later canonized. In 1744 he created a version of the Christmas hymn in Neapolitan, while staying in the city of Deliceto in the province of Foggia in southeastern Italy.

The lyrics were later translated into Italian, by Pope Pius IX (1792 - 1878) as "Tu scendi dalle stelle" ("From Starry Skies Thou Comest"). The translated version is a well-loved Christmas carol throughout Italy. Check YouTube for beautiful renditions of "Quanno nascette Ninno" and "From Starry Skies Thou Comest".

 

Merry Christmas to all!

Holiday Cooking – Poppy Seeds

This month I have researched some of the plants that flavor my holiday baking using J.O. Swahn’s The Lore of Spices. Today I’m looking at poppy seeds, which are an important ingredient in poppy seed muffins, bagels, breads, and cakes. I am especially fond of the lemon and poppy seed combination. One important research question – can you fail a drug test after ingesting poppy seeds in baked goods?

Papaver somniferum is in the Papaveraceae (poppy plant) family and native to the Near East and Central Asia. Today it is cultivated in Europe (Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria), Turkey, North Africa, and India. Poppies were used in ancient times in mystery cult ceremonies, as a pain killer, and as a stomach-calming drug. Today, the milky sap of unripe poppy fruit is extracted for its opiates and pain-killing properties; and ripe poppy seeds are harvested for baking, curries, and poppy seed oil. Opium is used recreationally in some cultures.

Botanical illustration of Papaver somniferum from Koehler's Medicinal Plants.
Published before 1923 and public domain in the United States.

The poppy plant is an erect, glaucous annual that grows to four feet high. Leaves are coarsely toothed or lobed; lower leaves are short-petioled and upper leaves are clasping. Flowers are often doubles, to four inches across, in white, pink, red or purple. Petals may be fringed or with a dark spot at the base. Fruit is a seed pod filled with many tiny seeds (the poppy plant was used to represent fertility in ancient myths). According to MythBusters, the answer to the research question is YES. You can fail a drug test after ingesting poppy seeds in baked goods. Traces of the opiates remain in your system up to 48 hours after consumption, so eat that piece of holiday lemon-poppy-seed bread responsibly!

Christmas Traditions

Our son is home from University of Alaska, Anchorage for the Christmas holiday, and this year he brought his lovely girlfriend, E.J. from Shanghai, China. He very gallantly gave up his bedroom for her, opting to sleep in the guest room/study (knowing his sleep will be arrested for my 7:00 AM and 8:30 PM conference calls with Bangalore, India). My husband and I are delighted to have both of them here for Christmas!

E.J. is very interested in experiencing the full American Christmas experience. It’s a great time to evaluate what our family traditions are, what makes our traditions unique, and where to they differ? How do our traditions measure up to the noisy, glitzy, commercial portrayal you see in the catalogs and commercials? There is the Snow Village, and the Christmas tree of course, with the tradition of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” while we decorate. There are several other holiday movies we watch, like George C. Scott’s “A Christmas Carol,” “A Christmas Story,” and “The Santa Clause.” There are the Disney Christmas stockings that we purchased on a visit to Disneyland in December one year.

I typically force some kind of bulb (paper whites, amaryllis, or tulips), and purchase poinsettias. We have accumulated a collection of Christmas mugs over the years, in which hot apple cider, egg nog, and hot chocolate are served. There are the goodies, like cookies, candies, and fudge, which we really shouldn’t eat (but do). Some of our traditions have become streamlined over the years, due to busy schedules (like the box holiday meals from Safeway). And of course, one or more of us usually catches a cold or the flu!

Some of the best traditions are just being together as a family and with friends – watching movies, talking, working on our projects, and going on outings. A highlight is attending the Christmas Eve candlelight service, singing and praying together, and experiencing the wonder of the season.

Holiday Cooking – Cardamom

This month I’m continuing my research into the plants that flavor my holiday baking. Today I’m learning about cardamom, which is used to flavor Scandinavian baked goods; sausages and ground meats; and Indian curry dishes. My burning question – how did a main ingredient in Indian curries end up in Swedish cookies and breads?

Botanical illustration of Elettaria cardamomum from Koehler's Medicinal Plants.
Published before 1923 and public domain in the United States.

Elettaria cardamomum is in the Zingiberaceae family (ginger plants), and is native to India, Ceylon, Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra. Cardamom grows wild in shady forests, and loves wet feet. It thrives at an altitude of 2600 – 5000 feet (800 – 1500 meters), and at a uniform temperature of 72 F. (22 C.). According to Jan-Öjvind Swahn, ancient Vedic texts mention cardamom as medicine 1000 years before Christ; Greeks and Romans used it for cooking and medicine; Vikings encountered it in Constantinople in the eleventh century and introduced it to Scandinavia. Cardamom was recorded north of the Alps in the thirteenth century, and in botanical literature during the Renaissance. It was blended with coffee beans by the Arabs, and chewed with betel leaves in Southeast Asia.

The cardamom plants is a deciduous perennial that grow to 10 feet high, with leaves to 2 ½ feet long and 3 ½ inches wide. The inflorescence grows up to 2 feet long; and bears many greenish-white blossoms, each with a wide lip in the middle. The fruit is an oval capsule, containing three chambers, each bearing up to 20 aromatic seeds. Propagation is by division of rhizomes, and by seeds; plants succeed in moist, shady places in warm climates. In cultivation, the plants require quite a bit of care, but are productive over a 10-15 year period. They are susceptible to weather conditions, insect damage, and plant diseases, such as the mosaic viruses. The cardamom capsules are harvested, dried, and distributed as whole seeds or ground.

Fungus Fair

Today is the 44^th Annual Fungus Fair, with the theme “A Celebration of Wild Mushrooms.” The event is being held in the San Francisco Fair Building in Golden Gate Park (9^th and Lincoln). This is a great opportunity to learn more about the mushrooms of the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Fungus Fair is sponsored by the Mycological Society of San Francisco. These people are goofy serious about mushrooms! And really, when you see some of the intriguing shapes and wide variety, you can see why.

Our rainy season kicks off growth of these amazing fruiting bodies. Collectors scour the wild and not so wild areas of the San Francisco Bay Area after a good rain, looking for fascinating samples. Some are poisonous, some are edible, and all are fascinating.

Holiday Cooking – Sugar Cane

I love the Christmas holidays, and relish the traditions, gift giving, decorations, and music that make it special. With a late Thanksgiving, there is less time for preparations, so only the most important items get done. High on the list is baking and cooking. For a short time, the palate is more important than the waistline! As in past years, I’m taking a look at some of the spices and ingredients that go into the new and traditional holiday recipes we use to celebrate the season, using the Lore of Spices, written by Jan-Öjvind Swahn. This year I’m starting with one of the most basic ingredients – sugar!

Saccharum officinarum is in the Poaceae family (also called Gramineae, the grass plants). This important family includes bamboo and grasses used in landscaping. Sugar cane originated in India, but its cultivated form is thought to have descended from a wild form that is no longer in existence (plants were bred to produce the best yield of sugar sap). The cultivated plants were traded and grown across the East Indies and Pacific Ocean, and often chewed to release the sweet flavor. At some point, Indians discovered the sap could be boiled into sugar syrup, which was used as a flavoring and a medicine.

Botanical illustration of Saccharum officinarum from Koehler's Medicinal Plants.
Published before 1923 and public domain in the United States.

According to Swahn, Indians began to dry sugar syrup into crystals five centuries before Christ, making it easier to transport and trade. The Chinese grew sugar cane as early as the fourth century A.D.; Persians in the sixth century (they also learned to refine sugar to remove impurities). Arabs grew and refined sugar using modern, chemical techniques in the eighth century. European crusaders came into contact with Arab sugar in the eleventh century, and European explorers grew the cane in their tropical colonies starting in the fifteenth century. Today sugar is grown all over the world in tropical and subtropical climates.

Sugar cane shoots can grow to 15 feet  high and up to two inches thick. The sap originates in the lower part of the cane. Leaves are deciduous and sheathed; inflorescence is panicled racemes; spikelets are in pairs (one sessile, and one pedicelled, both bisexual). Seeds are encased in glumes (basal bracts), lemma, and palea, with an external stigma like feathery antennae. The canes are cut every 12 – 15 months. The cane is crushed between rollers; the pressed plant parts are leached; and the liquid boiled to produce sugar syrup, then dried to form crystals.

All That the Rain Promises and More ...

After several good rains in the San Francisco Bay Area, we can start looking for mushrooms—the fruiting bodies of fungus! For some, this means gathering a delicious food source; for me, it means reveling in the wide variety of colors and shapes that pop up in the yard. I wanted a good resource for identifying mushroom varieties, and found All That the Rain Promises and More, by David Arora (Ten Speed Press, 1991). It is a “hip pocket guide to Western Mushrooms,” and companion to the author’s more comprehensive work Mushrooms Demystified (or MD).

The front and back end pages of the book provide diagnostic keys for quickly identifying mushrooms (gills, and no gills), and then finding information in the book. The introduction describes the book’s format, how to take a spore print, gear you need to collect mushrooms, ideal conditions for collecting them, and uses for mushrooms (cooking, medicine, mind altering, and dyeing yarn). The bulk of the book is dedicated to mushrooms organized by type, such as Chanterelles, Boletes, Puffballs, and Morels. Information for each entry includes key features, other features, where to find them, edibility, and special notes, as well as close up and clear photos of the mushrooms. Peppered through the text are recipes, and first-hand reports from mushroom hunters.

This handbook is a great resource and a lot of fun to read. I was amazed with the myriad shapes and sizes of the mushrooms depicted. Some of my favorites include the 50 pound puff balls, and the lacey morels. I love the deep black and violet shades of the Chanterelle, and the beautiful shades of dye produced by fairly plain mushrooms. I appreciated the section on deadly mushrooms, and was surprised that one of them is the classic red-capped specimen with white dots (Amanita muscaria) that is frequently used in children’s art!