A short break...

Notes from Steve...

    Spring has hit hard with a long list of tasks, chores, jobs, and obligations, making it difficult to maintain blog postings. 

    A minor update -- the rose trellises proved to be an ambivalent success regarding their ability to withstand the wind -- such ability seems somewhat dependent on their being anchored to the plants that they are in turn supporting -- a true symbiotic relationship.

    Jim Edminister was correct, the tulips proved to be too much of a temptation for passers-by.  I had to clip the remaining blossoms in order to prevent the bulbs from being pulled up.  The show has been magnificent though -- the classic tulips are almost done, the Rembrandts are just manifesting their full glory, and the species tulips are just about to blossom, probably next Tuesday or so.

Two Mennonite Community Spring Celebrations!

Schmeck gut!

Exploring through photographs how communities come together through food and tradition to fellowship and sustain each other, passing connections and dialogues from one generation to the next.  What is the magic that builds and sustains these communities?  What causes people to identify with and share with each other?  How do experiences of shared labor and a common table bring individuals together into a single group, a single, common identity?  How do we experience this commonality in our communities today?  Just some thoughts to ponder.

50th Annual Mennonite Schmeckfest

Lustre Christian High School

Lustre, Montana

photos by David Wedel, Glendive, Montana

 

 

 

Schmeck gut!

Easter Morning Congregational Breakfast

Prairie Street Mennonite Church

Elkhart, Indiana

photos by Steven Wall

Photographic Report on Sustainability Fair

Seward Neighborhood Sustainability Fair
photography by Scott Ziemer

Boulevards and Hellstrips

Jim Edminster

Chicago’s Fairy Gardener

  Whether you call that strip of land in front of your house between the curb and your front gate a parkway (as they do in Chicago) or a verge or a hellstrip or just curb plantings there are things to consider if you want to alter this area with plants or decorative items:

 

Some things you SHOULD do: 

A)  Find out who this land belongs to.  In Chicago, for instance, it belongs to the city.  (This fact may change what you want to do to it.)

B)  Is there an agency in your town which will tell you of buried sewer lines or phone, water, gas or electric lines in this area?  You don't want to damage these lines or put an expensive plant in a place where it might soon be removed.  (In Chicago this agency is called "Digger:  Chicago Utility Alert Network.")

C)  Figure out whether you have sun or shade in the area - you'll need this info later down the page.

D)  When planning what to do, leave a foot and a half of free space curb-side.  Car doors have to be able to be opened - put nothing in their way.  (Put plants there & they'll be stepped on.)  If you can brick this area or use broken concrete or pavers - don't put grass in - it has to be mowed then.

E)  Plan to use plants of as low maintenance as possible.  No prima donnas please or you'll be sorry (& over-worked).

F)  Depending how wide your property is you need to leave a sidewalk width somewhere to provide access to the street.  (For taxis, moving vans, deliveries, etc.)

Some things you SHOULDN'T do: 

A)  Some places like Chicago don't much care if you plant the parkway but they very much care what you plant.  Don't plant messy trees like catalpas.  Don't plant fruit trees - apples falling on the street are not a good idea.  Ditto nut trees.  (You possibly could plant trees with small berries that stay on the tree for birds.)  NO thorn-bearing bushes or trees - this is just a lawsuit waiting to happen.  (Yes, this includes roses.)  No large showy single flowers like iris or peonies - they're not dangerous but they are eminently pickable (& they will be!)

B)  If trees are already present do not bury their roots and lower trunks with dirt.  This is a good way to smother them.

C)  If there are visible tree roots there do not cut large ones.

D)  Some folks like to put sculptures and the like in the parkway.  Small cute stone kittens and/or colorful glass gazing balls = gone in three days.  If you have a (large) group of friends who want to help you wrestle a 300 pound stone Foo dog into place out there go for it!

E)  Veggies out in this area are not a good idea - they can be stolen & they are highly likely to be polluted by gas fumes & road salt.

Some things you MIGHT consider:

A)  If it is possible, raise the bed by several courses of brick or railroad ties.  You could put the bricks all the way around or let the bed slope down toward the sidewalk.  (If you do the second you might want to put a small fence in front.)

B)  If you have big tree roots you can dig pockets between them to plant hostas & the like.

C)  Ivies can be planted which will cover tree roots.  Neither will hurt the other.

D)  Plant flowers with many small flowers like coreopsis or asters or salvia.  These are not as likely to be picked.

E)  Small bulbs (which can be planted in sun or shade) like miniature iris, crocus, species tulips, and small daffodils are also unlikely to be picked.

Using Native Species in the Hell Strips

11 April, 2015

Presentation Materials for Using Native Species in Boulevard Plantings

Seward Neighborhood Sustainability Fair
Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Note that much of the following information was taken with permission from Prairie Moon Nursery.  Please visit and support their site at:  http://www.prairiemoon.com/  The appropriateness of these plants for boulevard or Hellstrip planting is based entirely on the presenters' judgment and does not reflect on Prairie Moon.

Recyling Challenge:

Creative Support Networks:

by Steven Wall

    Gardening in a challenged neighborhood is not for the feeble of heart.  No, one does not need extra courage or a protective sense of mission, one needs merely to make sure one's cardio-vascular system is up to the challenge of physical labor and the garbage pick-up necessary in yards, lots, and streets increasingly being overlooked by city services.

    On the other hand, seldom are the rewards so immediately realized or so personally fulfilling.

Problem 1:

  En Glaβ Häs, the Glass House, was vacant for a number of years.  While the grass was maintained to a safe and legal height, the fence-lines, shrubbery and beds were out of control. 

    Two basic issues confronted me as the new home owner:  bringing overgrown landscaping under control, and cleaning up the immense piles of debris, garbage, and broken glass.  Twelve extra-large leaf bags of mere trash were collected from the outside of the rear fence-line alone.

    A year later, things are looking up, but outside trash continues to invade the yard on a daily basis.  One certainly gets one's morning exercise walking the perimeter to collect trash from the alley-apartment car lots and the paths leading from the local convenience store.  More dangerous items, such as drug paraphernalia, broken bottles, the remnants of covert romantic trysts, and occasionally, even drugs themselves are to be found along our alleys and sidewalks.  

    The whole situation can sometimes seem overwhelming.

    Having cleared the side fence of excess vegetation and brush last year, Glass House was left wondering if the overgrown vista was not in fact preferable to what we were greeted with this Easter. 

    Yet, one can see promise in that having cleared the beds, we were greeted with almost a full border of spring crocuses and at least two large clumps of abandoned rambler roses:

    I was excited to discover the rambler roses last year, but despite being trimmed in the spring and cleaned up, the reward for my effort was a mere three blooms.  

Rambler Rose in Bloom, 2014.

    Rambler roses are an old varietal popular with our great-grandparents and grandparents.  They seem to develop bush-structures of numerous tall, straight canes, and were often trained to grow over fences and trellises.  The discovery of these roses in my yard was a definite heirloom bonus to the garden.  But, unlike their more prolific "climbing" rose cousins, they tend to blossom only once during the early summer (June).  Thankfully, their long, graceful canes are beautiful in their own regard and they tend to bear large colourful rose-hips that are visible into the fall.

    www.gardenseeker.com mentions that one might easily tell the difference between a rambler and a climbing rose not just by their growth and blooming habits, but by simply counting the leaves.  According to their blog, rambling roses have groupings of seven leaflets, while climbing roses are grouped in fives.

Problem 2:

    Glass House was formerly used as a law office, so the basement was chock full of discarded shelving materials that had to be removed.
 

A Double Solution:

    Taking a tip from Jim Edminster, Chicago's Fairy Gardener, we pondered a "re-define and re-use" solution.

   The shelf supports are inexpensive wooden frames available from Menards or Lowe's.  Usually, inexpensive planking or plyboard is strung across the supports to provide cheap utility shelving.  The supports have a basic lattice or ladder structure that makes this possible -- a structure that could be easily adapted to support other things -- such as rambler rose canes.

    A few changes would be necessary.  The wooden supports had been safely sheltered from rain and water inside a dry basement. The inexpensive lumber and glues that hold the frames together could be greatly impacted by outdoor garden conditions.  One way to help mitigate this process is to paint the frames with boiled linseed oil -- the same trick your great-grandparents used to preserved timber garden elements back in their day.

    Boiled Linseed Oil is easy to apply with a brush.  Will Lipscomb recommends trying a spray bottle or sprayer, but the Mennonites in my home town tended to stick to brushes, applying at least two coats to begin, and a restorative coat every spring following.

    We then used long wood screws to bind two frames together at an angle.  The result was a stable angled frame that could be set against the existing mature bushes in a way that collects the canes and then supports them within the crook of the screen.  Other options could include using twine to bind the frames together, to create triangular or box-shaped supports using three or four frames instead of two, or to connect the frames using recycled household hinges for easy removal and winter storage options.

    Our frames are intended to remain outdoors and we preferred the open access of the two-frame screen design.

    We do not yet know how effective our framing solution will be, but they have already survived three windstorms and plenty of rain.  The rambler roses have remained safely confined to the crooks without need of additional support.  And, there seems to be plenty of room for future growth, leaves, blossoms, and hips.

    We will keep you informed.