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!