Reflections on 2016

The year is coming to an end, and it’s a good time to reflect on all the activities and lessons learned in 2016. Here at Eden By The Bay we had a great time delving into plant procreation, learning about the seed-to-seed life cycle processes, and cloning plants through cuttings, division, and runners. We learned more about gardening innovations that followed the Landscape Movement, visited gardens and nature in the San Francisco Bay Area, and enjoyed the rain that brought relief from our drought!

Filoli Garden	Seasonal change
Planting from seed	Japanese Tea Garden

HTML Tables

In our spare time, we read books, went to the movies, had fun with a digital microscope, and enjoyed the blossoms and fall colors of our subtle Bay Area seasons. We took our annual trip to the desert in Southern California to see tenacious blossoms despite the ongoing drought, travelled vicariously to Mediterranean climates of the world with Monty Don, and learned about native plants and the importance of legacy trees. My husband and I made several trips to the Pacific Northwest to visit our son and daughter-in-law, and to experience its gardens and natural places. Looking back, it was a great year in the garden!

Christmas in Seattle

Greetings from the Emerald City, where we are celebrating Christmas with our son and daughter-in-law in their new home, and staying as guests in the Quisenbnb! Their place is modern and sleek and full of promise, just like they are (my husband and I feel invigorated in their presence)! They have worked hard over the past few months to put their unique and artistic stamp on their home, reflecting who they are, and providing both sanctuary and a welcoming atmosphere. Here we pass the torch to the next generation – enjoying family traditions passed down through the years, and starting new ones.

Hand crafted Christmas decoration by EJ

The house is decorated, the tree is trimmed, and the stockings are hung. Sweet and savory aromas waft from the kitchen, and the holiday music collection ranges from sacred to contemporary to jazzy. Gifts are appearing under the tree (more are being wrapped in other rooms—you can hear the crinkling paper and barked orders - “don’t come in”!). Hot chocolate and egg nog are on the menu, as well as pie and molasses cookies. A puzzle, games, and Netflix have been discussed as possible activities, along with outings to Alki Beach Park, the Seattle Museum of Art, and the Space Needle.

Robot sighting in the Snow Village

At the heart of all the activity and traditions is love. Love for family, friends, and Emanuel (God with us); and gratitude for our many blessings. We take a temporary pause from busy lives, work schedules, trials and victories to enjoy the season.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Holiday Cooking – Rosemary

This month I have been exploring several familiar Mediterranean herbs, which are used in savory holiday cuisine. I’m using J.O. Swahn’s The Lore of Spices for information, and today I’m learning about the aromatic herb rosemary.

Rosmarinus officinalis is in the Lamiaceae family (mint family). Rosemary originated in the Mediterranean and Asia, and has a long history of uses from symbolic, to medicinal, to culinary. Per Swahn, rosemary was named by Pliny the historian, to indicate that it grows close to the sea shore (ros for foam, and mare for the sea spray). During ancient times, rosemary had a religious role, and was used to strengthen memory and elicit fertility in the next life.

Caption: Botanical illustration of Rosmarinus officinalis L. from Koehler's Medicinal Plants.
Published before 1923 and in public domain in the United States.

In Medieval and Renaissance times, rosemary was used as a medicine, and possibly to cover up the saltiness of preserved meats. In the 17^th century, rosemary was used to flavor pork, lamb, game, and boiled potatoes. We continue to flavor food with rosemary in modern times; to extract its oils for use in perfumes, candles, and incense; and to include it as a drought tolerant plant in the landscape.

Rosemary grows as an evergreen shrub to 2-4 feet (.6-1.2 meters) high. Stems are woody, and mostly square in cross section; young branches are pubescent, turning to woody with age. Leaves are simple, opposite, leathery, linear, ½-1 ½ inches long, somewhat rounded at the tip (obtuse), generally rounded downward to the underside of the leaf (revolute), and woolly (tomentose) beneath. Flowers grow in tiny clusters (verticillasters) along the stem, and are pale blue, and rarely pink or white. The calyx grows as a bell (campanulate), with the corolla about three times as long as the calyx to 5/16 inches long. Two-lipped, with the upper lip entire, and the lower lip 2-lobed. 

Holiday Cooking – Sage

Back to the kitchen for more holiday cooking, this time using savory herbs from the Mediterranean. Our guide for this culinary adventure continues to be The Lore of Spices, by Jan-Öjvind Swahn. Today’s herb is sage, which provides a rich and potent flavoring for chicken and pork, wild game, rice dishes, and bread stuffing. The leaves can be used fresh, dried, or ground to a powder.

Salvia officinalis is in the Lamiaceae family (mint family). Sage has long been used as a healing herb (per Swahn, sage and salvia are both derived from the Latin word for saving, and the species name officinalis indicates a healing plant). Sage was used in ancient times for snakebites, female fertility, wisdom, and warding off evil. In Medieval times, it was used to promote general good health, ward off plague, and superstitiously to influence romance. Sage was grown in monasteries, and was included in Charlemagne’s list of medicinal plants to be grown on all estates.

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

Sage grows as a low bush approximately 2 feet (.6 meter) high. Stems are white and wooly. Leaves are oblong, 1-2 ½ inches long, entire or crenulate, with wrinkled edges (rugose). Flowers grow in a cluster consisting of two crowded clusters (verticillasters), with each cyme (cluster) arising opposite each other and with a central stem bearing 5-10 flowers (a formation typical for mint). Calyx is 3/8 – ½ inches long, pubescent, corolla is 1 3/8 inches long, in white, pink, or violet blue.

Holiday Cooking – Parsley

It is December already, so time to head for the kitchen! Time to make our favorite holiday dishes (and try a few new ones) – the kind of dishes that send delicious aromas throughout the house, and conjure up tasty memories of holidays past. Over the years, we have been working through Jan-Öjvind Swahn’s book, The Lore of Spices, to explore herbs and spices from around the world. Thanks to “plants on the move” these herbs and spices have enriched cuisines all over the planet, and our holiday cooking is a beneficiary.

In this Christmas season, I’m spotlighting three herbs from the Mediterranean – parsley, sage, and rosemary (three of the four herbs immortalized in Simon and Garfunkel’s song “Scarborough Fair” from their 1966 album “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme”; itself based on an old English folk song). These herbs are used extensively in European, Middle Eastern, and American cuisine. They are mild in flavor, compared with some of the fiery and potent spices we have explored over the years, but they add an earthy and homey taste to our vegetables, meats, stews, and soups.

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

Petroselinum crispum is in the Apiaceae family (formerly Umbelliferae), the parsley plants. Parsley originated in the Mediterranean, around southern Italy, Greece, Tunisia, and Algeria. Not much is written about cooking with parsley in ancient times, instead it was thought to reduce the feeling of drunkenness, and crowned the heads of sports champions in ancient Greece. In Medieval times, parsley was thought to ward off evil, and was included in Charlemagne’s list of medicinal plants that should be grown on all estates. By the 1800s, French cooks saw parsley as a vital ingredient. Now we recognize that parsley is high in vitamin C; use parsley to garnish our meals and freshen our breath; and include parsley for many savory dishes. Swahn notes that the best way to bring out the full taste of parsley is to deep fry it, just until it turns bright green. Something new to try!

Parsley grows 3 feet (.9 meters) tall. Flowers are greenish-yellow or reddish in compound umbels, with involucels (small floral clusters), at the base. Fruit is ovate and compressed; seeds are slow to germinate. Leaves are ternately compound. All parts of the plant, especially the seeds, contain the essential oil, apiol; and a glycoside, apiin. Soak seeds before planting to accelerate germination; and transplant the fibrous root to a container, and place in a warm window for winter use.

Sex in the Garden: Wrap Up

Understand the seed-to-seed life cycle of plants, learn how to clone plants through cuttings, division, and runners, and enjoy a few curiosities of the natural world.

Propagating succulents

Getting Started

Learn the basics about the life cycle of plants.

Sex in the Garden
Birds and Bees – Flower Parts
Birds and Bees – Pollinators
Birds and Bees – Fertilization
Birds and Bees – Seeds
Birds and Bees – Germination
Birds and Bees – Fruit Development

Plant Propagation

Increase your plant population by cloning what you have, using cuttings, runners, and division; and zoom in on a gallery of seeds from Alaska and California.

Plant Propagation – Cutting
Plant Propagation – Runners
Plant Propagation – Dividing
Seed Gallery (Alaska Ark)
Seed Gallery (California Ark)

What's Blooming?

Observe the natural bloom cycle of favorite Bay Area plants from January through June.

What's Blooming in January?
What's Blooming in February?
What's Blooming in March?
What's Blooming in April?
What's Blooming in May?
What's Blooming in June?

Curiosities

Enjoy several curiosities of the natural world.

Discriminating Squirrels
Zooming In
Twin Corn

Books

Learn more about how to grow and propagate plants.

Grow Your Own Plants