Bullet Train Bushes

This very odd, yet probably very expensive, landscape item caught my attention a few times as we passed it three times in the course of a week spent around Strasborg, France.

It's a cross between an sculptor's poor use of hedges, a landscape designer's poor use of a full-sized train, a junk heap and a rock pile. If I had access to a spare train, this might not be my first choice. Though, to improve it, I'd have painted the train green and had the paint texture sort of merge with the hedges, or planted orange hedges. Maybe they ran out of money to do that. It's an expensive pile of rocks on which it sits.

Baha'i Shrine & Gardens

In the port city of Haifa, Israel, is one of the most amazing gardens I've ever seen. The Shrine of Bab, the second-most holy site in the Baha'i religion, is surrounded with a spectacularly designed, immaculately maintained, terraced garden. The Baha'i garden was designed by Fariborz Sahba (a Canadian) and constructed from 1990-2001.

The terraces are lined with stone balustrades, fountains, and stone eagles.

The number 19 is a spiritual number in this religion (their year consists of 19 months, each having 19 days) and there are 19 levels to this garden on the side of Mt. Carmel. There are nine terraces above and below the shrine (completed in 1953), with the shrine taking up a terrace on its own.

The base design of the garden is concentric circles, or waves, out from the shrine. The terraces are linked by stairs flanked by twin streams of running water cascading down the mountainside through the steps and terrace bridges.

The religion values symmetry -- gardeners use measuring tapes when they prune to insure every plant and hedge is uniform.  

The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the full gardens are open to the public from 9-12 daily. The outer gardens are open from 9-5 daily. Wouldn't you know, they were closed the day we were there. I think it was a Baha'i holy day. Oddly enough, I think this is one garden that can be more appreciated seen from a distance.

We got our first look from the top of Mt. Carmel, over looking the gardens, shrine, the city of Haifa, and the Mediterranean. Across the bay, up the coast, just out of visual range, is Lebanon. We then drove to the base of the mountain and got the view looking up the bottom terraces toward the shrine (photo, left).

Rumor has it that underneath the gardens is a huge underground hideout with bomb shelters, conference rooms, medical clinics, dining hall, supermarket and parking garages – all spotlessly shiny, clean, and freakishly empty.

The Baha'i religion isn't even that old -- started in the mid-1800s in Iran. Emerging from Muslim society, Baha'is believe in the unity of ALL religions and believe that messengers of God -- like Elijah, Moses, Jesus, Buddha & Muhammad -- have been sent at different times in history with doctrines varying to fit changing social needs, but bring substantially the same message.  

They teach that there is only one God, one human race, and that all the world’s religions represent stages in the revelation of God’s will.  Its believers support the unification of all religions and world peace. They preach equal rights among men and women, the dispersion of knowledge, education around the world and the creation of one worldwide community based on justice and equality. There's believed to be about five million Baha'is world-wide, largest concentration in India.

You can see more on their gardens website here.

I like me some espalier. Here this espalier went up the sides of the stairwells. You could only see them from the side. Looking straight on the garden, you'd never see them.

If there were a few ideas I could steal from this garden, it might be trying to use more symmetry in my own garden. Though it would seem symmetry requires maintenance & work, both of which I abhore. Really only my vegetable potager garden has any symmetry. I also liked the idea of having a spiritual number and repeating it throughout the garden. I don't have a spiritual number though. Do you? And how do you determine one? Your height, divided by your width?

Seven Garden Walk Buffalo gardens featured in Great Backyards magazine

Great Backyards spring issue is out. And it contains seven Buffalo gardens, all of which are on Garden Walk Buffalo. Each garden has a two-page spread and helps illustrate landscaping solutions.

The gardens, from diverse neighborhoods within Garden Walk Buffalo, appearing in this issue include:

• 44 Irving Place (Perennial Impact - Seasonal color changes provide just the right punch)
• 56 North Pearl Street (Full-Shade Splendor - A writer with a penchant for spring bulbs shows how they can flourish). The garden of Elizabeth of GardenRant / GardeningWhileIntoxicated)
• 815/819 West Ferry Street (Symmetrical but Different - Unifying two gardens on the driveway - each with different needs)
• 377 Little Summer Street (Up Against the Wall - How a garden grew against a neighbor's garage)
• 533 Auburn Avenue (Funky English Style - A tiny, lush lot evolves with an artist's help)
• 167 Richmond Avenue (Less Lawn, More Garden - A garden, house and homeowner finally nestle together)
• 7/11 Putnam Street (Colorful Daylily Profusion - A professional's three gardens flourish with 360 varieties)

All are long-time Garden Walk Buffalo participants. The magazine features 50 gardens from around the country, with Buffalo being represented more than any other one city or area of the country. Last year's issue of this same magazine also featured 12 Buffalo gardens. All photography was created by Garden Walk Photographer Don Zinteck of Photographics 2.

Great Backyards, a magazine by Harris Publications, can be found at Wegmans grocery stores and most other bookstores where magazines are sold throughout the country. Editor Barbara Ballinger will be visiting us for Garden Walk Buffalo this July.

The floating tree of Jaffa

We spent last week in Israel. We stayed in Tel Aviv. Just a short walk down the boardwalk, along the Mediterranean, is the small area of Jaffa, named for one of Noah's sons. Once Jaffa was one of the most important sea ports in the world, now is a quaint "artsy" neighborhood within the ever-sprawling Tel Aviv.

Walking through Jaffa, we came upon this hanging tree. No signs leading up to it. No explanation why it's there. No over-wrought interpretive signage in multiple languages with an artist's statement. Not even any other trees around. Just a lonely tree suspended in the air, separated from the earth by inches.

According to Greek mythology, Andromeda was chained to a rock just off the coast of Jaffa -- a sacrifice to a sea monster as a punishment for her mother's bragging (but was saved by Perseus, her future husband). Here, also, Jonah was swallowed by the whale. 

While in Israel, we were able (with excellent tour guide Mimi) to visit Jerusalem, climb the Masada, float in the Dead Sea, drive through parts of the West Bank, see the Holocaust Museum, visit Haifa, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and Qumran (site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found).

It'll take months to comprehend all we saw and learned. My daughter's take-away was that she likes falafel, and that any place Jesus did something, they built a church.

Airdate for Extreme Home Makeover - Buffalo Edition

Not only will Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Buffalo air on January 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC -- it will be a special two-hour show. Citing the fact they had too much footage for just an hour, and their biggest turnout of volunteers ever, and the extent of the work done on the neighborhood, it was decided to make the episode twice as long.

During

The Buffalo News states, "...the weeklong effort affected 71 homes and involved 6,336 volunteers working 53,544 hours, including 1,428 skilled workers and 855 who helped on the food drive...119 trees were planted, two murals painted, two community gardens built, 388 units of blood given and 85 tons of food collected with a value of $255,300."

 The "after" of the house itself.

To read/see a blog of a local landscaper  that worked n the project, including the green roof of the garage, visit landscape architect Joy Kuebler at jklastudio's blog. You'll have to scroll down a few posts. She's got some great up-close photos of gardening projects that no one else was able to get. Joy is a friend and a client -- visit her blog often to see her large-scale landscaping projects & solutions in process.

Another view of the garden.

Possibly, during Garden Bloggers Buffa10 in July, we can get a drive-by this house and community gardens so you can see them in person. I'll be trying to get them on Garden Walk this year.

At top is a community garden added almost across the street from the makeover home.

Garden Bloggers to take over Buffalo...

This week, Elizabeth Licata (of Garden Rant, Gardening While Intoxicated, editor Buffalo Spree magazine) and I invited hundreds of garden bloggers to Buffalo -- two weeks before Garden Walk Buffalo. So far we have responses from 55 bloggers from 22 states and two countries. And this is just a week after the announcement. My god, what have we done?

Austin, Texas 2008

This is the third meet-up of garden bloggers nationally. Last meetings were in Austin and Chicago. Many of the bloggers are professional writers, some are professional landscapers, some have written books, have radio shows, newspaper columns or TV shows, some are horticulturalists, some are nursery professionals, most are just avid plant/garden fans. Everyone has in common a penchant for writing, photography, social media, technology and -- come to find out -- eating, drinking and peeking at other people's gardens.

We're expecting upwards of 55 bloggers to ultimately visit Buffalo on Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 11. Embassy Suites in the new Avant Building is offering a special rate for those that reserve before April 30. We'll get a bus to take the group around. We've got a very preliminary itinerary set up (subject to changes and additions). We even have a major sponsor (Troy-Bilt) and some in-kind sponsors for door prizes & goodie bags. If you think you can be a sponsor, or have items good for door prizes or goodie bags (50+), please let me know.

Chicago, 2009

We've set up a website for the any garden blogger interested in coming. Please visit Garden Bloggers Buffa10. You can see the rough itinerary and a list of the bloggers that have committed to visiting.

The benefit to all this, other than showing off Buffalo at its best? There will be, potentially, hundreds of blog posts, starting that weekend, up to Garden Walk on July 24 & 25, creating an internet buzz like no event in Buffalo has ever seen.

Snowflake Field Guide Part 6 - The Blizzard of '77

The Blizzard of ’77 was noted mostly for its massive snow fall and biting temperatures: There were 45 consecutive days below freezing, averaging 13.80 F. Also, Buffalo made a record for the greatest one month snowfall with 68.3'' (beat in 2001!).

The storm was spread from Buffalo to Watertown, NY, but Buffalo, being a large city, got most of the press and the lasting image of a snow-weary city. Honestly, it's not. We're more weary of the image left behind by that storm.

Just south of the city, along the eastern shore of Lake Erie - in the snow-belt ski areas they do get significant snow accumulation. The city of Buffalo is at the northern-most tip of Lake Erie and gets socked with a huge storm only every three or five years. But what city in our latitude doesn't?

I wasn't in Buffalo in 1977. I was a tenth-grader happily ensconced in Binghamton, New York, almost four hours away, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the northern half of my own state.

Here are some photos I found, for your pleasure.









Each day this week, I'm posting some facts about flakes.

Snowflake Field Guide Part 5 - The History of Snow

Well, a brief history of man's interaction with snow. I'm assuming snow was here before mankind.

135 B.C. Han Ying The first mention of the hexagonal form in relation to a snow crystal was made in China in the publication Hanshi waizhuan. "Flowers of plants and trees are in general five-pointed. However, flowers of snow, which are called ying, are always six-pointed."

Twelfth Century Zhu Xi, a philosopher in China, theorized why snowflakes are always six-sided when he wrote: "The reason why snowflakes are six-pointed is because they are only half-frozen rain (xian) (i.e. water) split open by violent winds, and so they must be six-pointed. If one throws a lump of mud on the ground it will splash into a radiating, angular petal-like form. Now 6 is a yin number; and gypsum also is six-pointed with sharp prismatic angular edges. Everything is due to the number inherent in nature. "

c.1390 Wang Kui wrote in Lihaiji: "Snow is the ultimate (state) of yin and completely possesses the number of Water (i.e. 6). Every snow-flake is six-pointed. Frost and snow are due to the condensation of rain and dew. Water is is generated by Metal. A surplus of qi reveals the Mother (i.e. Metal). Hence frost and snow are all white."

1611 Johannes Kepler published a short treatise On the Six-Cornered Snowflake, which was the first scientific reference to snow crystals.

1635 Ren Descartes was the first to pen a reasonably accurate description of snow crystal morphologies -- as well as can be done with the naked eye.

1665 Robert Hooke published Micrographia, with sketches of everything he could view with the latest invention -- the microscope. Included are snow crystal drawings, which revealed the complexity & symmetry of snow crystals.

1931 Wilson A. Bentley (shown in photo above) was a farmer and snow crystal photomicrographer, in Jericho, Vermont, who captured some 5,000 snow crystal images. His entire collection of snow crystal images can be found at the Buffalo Museum of Science. We stopped by the Jericho Historial Society once when were were visiting Vermont years ago. They have a permanent Bentley exhibition with the camera and tools he used, as well as many crystal images -- it's worth checking out if you're ever in that corner of the world.

1954 Ukichiro Nakaya was the first person to perform a true systematic study of snow crystals, which resulted in a giant leap in our understanding of how snow crystals form.

1966 Magono & Lee extend the Nakaya Snowflake Classification chart from 41 classes to 80 in Meteorological classification of natural snow crystals.

There are still snow scientists. Nowadays they are more likely to be studying Arctic climate and its global implications; remote sensing of snow, ice, and frozen ground; physical & mechanical properties of snow; snow cover and glacier mass/extent as indicators of climate change, human-environment interactions; Inuit knowledge; innovative technologies and methodologies; linking indigenous and scientific knowledge, Glaciology; remote sensing of the poles; Antarctic history; geochemistry; and planetary science.

Years ago, as a direct mail promotion, I created a Snowflake Field Guide for the Buffalo Museum of Science. The text was supplied to me by the Museum. Apparently some of their research included the site, PaperSnowflakes.com. Please visit there for more information on snow. Each day this week, I'm posting some facts about flakes. It was originally intended for kids, but I didn't know much of this info when I started.

Snowflake Field Guide Part 4 - Snow Stats

Increase your sknowledge. Impress your friends, amaze your families. Photo above is of a frozen Niagara Falls in 1911.

• More snow falls each year in southern Canada and the northern U.S. than at the North Pole.
  
  
• Snowflakes can measure up to 2'' across and contain hundreds of crystals. The largest snow-flake ever found was 8''x 12'', reported in Bratsk, Siberia,1971.
  
  
• In Germany, frogs were once kept as pets because they croaked more loudly when air pressure fell and when bad weather was coming.
  
  
• The lowest recorded temperature was at Vostok, a research base in Antarctica, on July 21, 1983: -128.60 F.
  
  
• The heaviest snowfall in 24 hours – 76'' at Silver Lake, CO on April 15, 1921.
  
  
• In western U.S., mountain snow contributes up to 75% of all surface water supplies.
  
  
• The heaviest snow storm occurred on February 13-19, 1959 at Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl, CA: 189''
  
  
• The greatest snowfall officially reported in Phoenix, Arizona was one inch. That occurred twice. The first time was January 20, 1933. And again, four years later, on the same date.
  
  
• Each year, an average of 105 snow storms affect the U.S. A typical storm has a snow-producing lifetime of 2-5 days.
  
  
• Practically every location in the U.S. has seen snowfall. Even most portions of southern Florida have seen snow flurries.
  
  
• Nationwide, the average snowfall amount, per day, when snow falls, is about two inches, but in some mountain areas of the West, an average of seven inches is observed.
  
  
• Buffalo, NY does not rank highest in snowfall in the Western New York area. Syracuse beats us with about 115'' annually, as opposed to Buffalo’s 93''. On average, Rochester, NY, has as much snowfall, if not slightly more, than Buffalo. (Though Buffalo gets heavy duty lake effect storms every few years -- and all the press. Winters are not as bad as people believe.)

Years ago, as a direct mail promotion, I created a Snowflake Field Guide for the Buffalo Museum of Science. Each day this week, I'm posting some facts about flakes. It was originally intended for kids, but I didn't know much of this info when I started.

Snowflake Field Guide Part 3 - SnowFacts

Snow is good for plants. A layer of snow protects a plant from drying wind & cold. I'm sure you know the rules surrounding yellow snow, but did you know some of these other facts?

How big can snowflakes get?
Snowflakes are a collection of ice crystals that form in a round mass. Most are less than one-half inch in diameter, although under certain conditions irregularly shaped snowflakes can grow to be up to 2''.

Is snow edible?
In an unpolluted world snow is edible. Snow in urban areas may contain pollutants and should not be ingested. Stick to the countryside, but stay away from the yellow stuff!

Does snow change how sound waves travel?
Yes. When the ground has a thick layer of fresh, fluffy snow it acts like a blanket and absorbs sound waves. However, when the snow surface is smooth and hard, it reflects sound waves and sounds may seem clearer and travel farther.

Can there be thunder and lightning with a snow storm?
Yes, but it is rare and usually occurs near the coastline. Though, I can attest in Buffalo there's lightning and thunder during a snow storm at least once a year.

Why do more icicles form on the south sides of buildings?
Icicles form when ice or snow repeatedly melts and freezes. Because the south sides of buildings are exposed to the warmth of the sun, icicles are more likely to form there than on the shaded north sides of buildings where melting does not occur as often.

Why do forecasters seem to have so much trouble forecasting snow?
Snow forecasts are more accurate than they used to be, but meteorologists still have a challenge. That’s because in stormy weather, the heaviest snow falls in surprisingly narrow bands. It’s not unusual for the scale of these bands to be dwarfed by the sheer size of storm systems or forecast zones.

Why is snow white?
Much like a diamond gemstone or prism in a crystal chandelier, snowflakes contain tiny surfaces that reflect light. Snow is white because the sunlight it reflects is white.

Photo above is of my potager vegetable plot safely blanketed for the winter. It also happens to be where we "store" snow from shoveling. Years ago, as a direct mail promotion, I created a Snowflake Field Guide for the Buffalo Museum of Science. Each day this week, I'm posting some facts about flakes. It was originally intended for kids, but I didn't know much of this info when I started.

Sowflake Field Guide Part 2 – Storm Terminology

What do these clouds have in store? Blizzard? Flurry? Squall? Here in Buffalo, we choose snow over earthquakes, brush fires, floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, 100+ degree weather, mudslides, locusts and other pestilence & plagues. So differences in snow terminology matters. Forewarned is forearmed. And helps determine the shoveling schedule.

Storm Terminology:
Blizzard Winds of 35 mph or more with snow and blowing snow reducing visibility for at least three hours.

Blowing Snow Wind-driven snow that reduces visibility. Blowing snow may be falling snow and/or snow on the ground picked up by wind.

Snow Squalls Brief, intense snow showers accompanied by strong, gusty winds. Accumulation may be significant.

Snow Showers Snow falling at varying intensities for brief periods of time. Some accumulation is possible.

Snow Flurries Light snow falling for short durations with little or no accumulation.

Years ago, as a direct mail promotion, I created a Snowflake Field Guide for the Buffalo Museum of Science. Each day this week, I'm posting some facts about flakes. It was originally intended for kids, but I didn't know much of this info when I started.

Snowflake Field Guide Part 1 - Snowflake Classification

When your Spatial & Stellar Dendrites are piling up on the garden and it's too cold for your Sectored Plates to melt, and Rimed Crystals are predicted, it's time to learn more about them.

The 1951 International Snowflake Classification System
This system defines seven principal snow crystal types as plates, stellar crystals, columns, needles, spatial dendrites, capped columns, and irregular forms. To these are added: graupel, ice pellets and hail.

Stellar Dendrites
Stellar dendrites have six symmetrical main branches and many randomly placed sidebranches.


Sectored Plates
Like the stellar dendrites, sectored plates are flat, thin slivers of ice that fall to earth in a stunning diversity of complex shapes.


Hollow Columns
Columnar crystals are the main constituents of many snowfalls. These hollow columns are hexagonal, like a pencil, with conical hollow features in their ends.


Needles
Columnar crystals can grow so long and thin that they look like needles.


Spatial Dendrites
Spatial dendrites are made from many individual ice crystals jumbled together. Each branch is like one arm of a stellar crystal, but branches are oriented randomly.


Capped Columns
These crystals started out growing as columns, but switched to plate-like growth. This happens when a crystal is blown into a region with a different temperature.


Irregular Crystals
Snowflakes can have a hard life blowing about in a turbulent cloud, so that many arrive on the ground broken, ill-formed, and generally in bad shape.


Rimed Crystals
Snowflakes are made of small water droplets. Droplets that freeze onto a falling snow crystal are called rime. Sometimes a snowflake becomes just a ball of rime, called graupel, or soft hail.


Wilson Bentley was the first person to successfully photograph snowflakes.
The Bentley Snow Crystal Collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science is a digital collection of stunning, un-retouched images of Wilson A. Bentley’s original glass slide photographs. Wilson Bentley was the first to discover that no two snowflakes are alike.

When it looks like this out your office window (photo at top), thoughts turn to dendrite build-up. Years ago, as a direct mail promotion, I created a Snowflake Field Guide for the Buffalo Museum of Science. Each day this week, I'll post some facts about flakes. It was originally intended for kids, but I didn't know much of this info when I started.

I've designed my second book...

Alas it's not a gardening book. I'm hoping to eventually get to do another one of those (the Garden Walk Buffalo book was my first). I've got some ideas for a gardening book, but they'll have to wait until I have the time & resources to make that happen.

For now, I can hone my skills on other people's books. In this case, it is obsessed-Buffalo-Sabres-hockey fan Suzanne K. Taylor's (a.k.a. The Aud Braud's) AUDieu, Buffalo Says Goodbye to the Aud, published by Buffalo Heritage Press. It was released just before Christmas and is a tribute to the role the Aud played in Buffalo's past as well as a memento for any Buffalo Sabres die-hard fan.

Suzanne was given complete access to the site -- including the roof -- to document its demolition. Her collection of original photos and researched archival photos is exhaustive, as are her personal and collected stories and quotes from Aud fans.

The Aud was a central character in the lives of many Buffalonians -- construction starting in 1939 and hosting its last event in 1996. For me, not so much. I didn't grow up in Buffalo, am not a rabid Sabres fan, nor am I a huge concert-goer. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I was actually in the Aud in my nearly 30 years here. It was my first big-time concert experience though -- Billy Joel -- the Nylon Curtain Tour.

It was fun to design. The background image for the pages is concrete. If you spent anytime in the Aud over the years, you remember the concrete. Sections are color-coded to the seat colors of the Aud itself. Chapters & page numbers are defined by small auditorium seats with which Aud-goers are all familiar.

There's even a flip-book in the corners of all pages of photo taken from a webcam in the tower next to the site. By flipping through, you can see the Aud being demolished (or, go backwards and see it built back up again!)

There's a photo of the Aud on September 11, 1939 as ground was being cleared and a photo, from the same position, taken on September 11, 2009, exactly 70 years to the day, showing basically the same cleared-site scene.

There're dozens of great factoids most don't know -- its opening dedication was trumped by just two days by the opening of Kleinhans Music Hall's dedication opening ceremony; it was intended to also act as a convention center; one of the most famous photos of Elvis, early in his career was taken here; it only took 12 men, and one woman, to demolish the entire building; and many, many more.

How long does it take to produce a book like this? This one happened fast, due to the great (and voluminous) photography Suzanne had taken during the demolition and her relentless pursuit of archival photos and collectible items surrounding the history of the Aud. That, and with the publisher's drive to have it on store shelves in advance of Christmas, the book was completed in about six weeks. The most intensive work happening moments before it was sent to printer, which happens no matter the production schedule.

You can flip through the book and see the layout here. Interested in purchasing? That can be done here. Buy the book, hell, buy a dozen. I get royalties.

This year's card

Every year, I design a Christmas card for family friends & clients. They're all based on traditions of Christmas. I've been referred to as the Cliff Claven of Christmas. And they're blatantly Christian -- no mamby-pamby "Seasons Greetings" here. Above is this year's card, extolling the tradition of Christmas ornaments. It features our own ornaments we buy as souvenirs when we travel throughout the year.

The process starts in October when my wife asks if I have any ideas for the card. It really starts after Thanksgiving when I sit down to work on it. It's always cut close, but they do get out before Christmas. Most of them anyway.

The cards have been collected by many friends & family and have become part of their Christmas decorations -- they bring them out every year. Each year, I tell myself this is the year I should get them printed up, in bulk, and sell them so others can send them out. This could be the year.

Below are some of the cards sent out over the years.


Last year's card was on the origin of the creche. This is our own creche, given to us as a wedding gift. Did you know, traditionally, a creche should be set up on the Sunday nearest November 30 each year, and taken down on February 2?


Probably never gave much thought to where the use of tinsel came from. It was a spider. This card had actual tinsel stapled inside. We found tinsel around the house for years after this card was assembled.


Our daughter was the model for this card with the Mexican-based legend of the Poinsettia. She doesn't look too Mexican, but she had sad & depressed nailed!


And Santa? A Greek-born (now part of Turkey) Saint - the patron saint of sailors, bakers, pawnbrokers, children, prisoners, shopkeepers and wolves. We can thank Coca Cola for the U.S.'s current incarnation of the Bishop of Myra.


The history of mistletoe at Christmas starts with pagan druids.


The first "Holiday Traditions" card I did. It held an actual candy cane. The three lines of red in a candy cane represent the Trinity.


This card, with the history of the Christmas tree, had a tree-shaped piece of paper embedded with seeds to plant.


One foretold Christ's greatness as a king, one foretold his divinity, the other, his human death. Do you know which is which? My wife put her foot down when I was trying to source frankincense & myrrh to put into cards two weeks before Christmas that year.


A pre-Christian German tradition. Different evergreens on a wreath have different meanings.


In medieval times, bells were rung during the longest night of the year to ward off evil spirits.


The wise men were rabbis and astronomers. This card had a rhinestone glued to the cover.


The history of the stocking deals with death, despair and loss of worldly goods. We can blame the Dutch for this tradition. The stocking used on the card was one made for our daughter, by a friend, the year she was born


Ever wonder how the birthday of the Son of God (December 25) was decided? It was a manipulative Catholic ploy to co-opt the holidays of other religions, in this case, Persia's followers of Mithra, the god of sun.


Sent out just after Christmas one year, this New Years card listed toasts from around the world - 69 of them! The tradition goes back to the medieval tendency of nobles to kill each other by poisoning wine.

Where do I get me one of these?

Walking around Disney’s Animal Kingdom we ran across about a dozen people staring into a tree. At first glance we wondered what the deal was, only thing we saw was a vine. Then it moved. It was a vine suit on a “performance artist.” She would be motionless for minutes at a time, then shift subtly. Sorta freaky. Sorta cool.

This is a favorite old post, created before I was on Blogger. I repeat it here to save & catalog it on this new site. Sorry if you've read it before.

TheAtlantic.com Garden Walk mention

A glowing article about Garden Walk Buffalo, entitled Buffalo dreamin' can be found on The Atlantic.com website. Writer Andrew Sprung, subbing for writer Andrew Sullivan's column, praises Garden Walk Buffalo with comments such as:

"Buffalo has become a site of the triumph of imagination over physical reality in two ways that have caught my heart. The first is the inkpool spread of neighborhoods that have gone mad with gardening. Really. Gardening, like happiness and obesity, is contagious, and urban pioneers on the West Side have inspired neighbors to garden and so attracted new urban pioneers."

"The movement has been driven in large part by the mind-blowing Buffalo Garden Walk, America's best event of its kind, held the last weekend in July."

He even goes on add that, in addition to Japanese- and English-style gardens, we have a new category - a Buffalo-style garden:

"...what I would call Buffalo gardens - eclectic, funky mixes in which found objects and exotic-looking surrounding rooftops figure prominently. "

"There's a miniaturist intensity to many of the small back-yard enclosures. But Buffalo's also got a fair amount of open space, and some entries are more like small parks."

The link to the article can be found here:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/buffalo-dreamin.html

A slide show of his own making can be found here:
http://buffalogardenwalk.blogspot.com/

National Historic Trust park system's care in jeopardy

Okay, so it's a little too late to go to the Rally mentioned in the video (that was yesterday), but tomorrow there's a Buffalo Common Council Finance Committee meeting (Tuesday, December 15, 10 a.m. in council chambers, 13th floor of City Hall) open to the public -- and the Olmsted situation will be on the agenda.

Other things that can be done:

Sign the Olmsted petition!

Call the Mayor's office and voice your concern. Call 311, or 716.851.4841.

Email the Mayor at bbrown@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us

Write letters to the media endorsing the Conservancy's work and sharing park memories.

As more proof that the mayor's letting the clock (and funding) run out on the Conservancy, here's a link to the City's website where they're asking for group that utilize the park to "register" with the city, rather than working with the Conservancy for this information. Visit: http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Mayor/Leadership/Press_Releases/Parks_Usage

The Conservancy may have to start laying off employees as soon as this week, with no contract and funding in place for January 1. I just can't understand how our mayor cannot pick up the phone and deal with one of the nation's leading park system managers.

And, if all appearances are true, how can he drop the Conservancy and the $8 million they've raised in the last five years to help maintain the parks (matching what the City & County have contributed). Isn't it financial mismanagement? Dereliction of duty? Is due diligence being set aside? What happens when there is willful disregard for cost savings? How can a mayor make decisions with such an impact on the city budget? Are there not checks and balances? I guess well find out more at tomorrow's meeting...

Mr. Mayor, what the hell are you doing?

Mr. Mayor,

Back in September, you announced that, at the end of Erie County's five-year take-over of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks on December 31, 2009, that the City wanted the responsibility back. In 2004, the County had placed the day-to-day management of the Olmsted Parks, Parkways and Circles into the hands of the non-profit group, The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Since that time, The Conservancy has not only maintained the parks, parkways and circles, but have vastly enhanced them, reconstructed lost aspects, and has a master plan to restore gardens and structures to more closely match Frederic Law Olmsted & Calvert Vaux's original plan.

They were the first non-profit in the nation to manage a park system. Other cities look to the Conservancy as a model of how public/private park management can work. When people from outside our region look in and see what is right in our community -- The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is chief among them.

They have done a nation-wide search and found a leader in Thomas Herrera-Mishler. He's a professional Landscape Architect/Planner/Urban Designer with experience running the Toledo Botanical Garden, and has led a state-wide, non-profit horticultural society. He has experience in management, operations, budget & finance, fundraising, programming, education, strategic planning, board development, public relations, and partnership building. I have yet to meet him, but I'm told he also has a vision of restoring aspects and structures of Calvert Vaux's design. With goals of rejuvenating the Rose garden reached and Japanese gardens almost in reach, he's a leader with vision -- and the will & skills to make them happen. Folks with his experience don't come around too often. He should be on your team.

The Conservancy has put in place professionals that solicit annual memberships, grants, corporate partners, donations and organize creative fundraisers -- matching the $8 million spent by the County & City since 2004. Their board alone has given over $1 million. Do you have the staff in place to keep this going?

They have hired other specialists to take care of the parks -- landscape architects, a tree-care specialist, program coordinators, a rental & volunteer coordinators, and managers for golf operations and fundraising -- and in the process have revolutionized how park systems can be managed through Zone Gardening, utilizing a community-based advisory council, developing a 20-year master plan and more. Do you have the innovative & enthusiastic staff to keep these and other new initiatives going?

Constructed in the 1870s, these six parks, eight parkways, nine traffic circles and seven smaller spaces, were the first of their kind in the nation and represent one of Olmsted's largest bodies of work. They are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Olmsted's inspiration for their design included England's Stourhead and Paris' boulevards, parks, squares and gardens. The parks have been in gradual decline since their construction under the City's care -- a highway slicing through one park, eliminating a boulevard & parkway for a below-grade highway, circles eliminated, portions of parks taken away, ponds & streams left to dumping, structures razed, fountains that didn't work, overgrown & dangerous pathways, services closed (boating, skating, etc.), graffitti-ridden buildings. One ticked-off Parks Commissioner ordered barrels of salt dumped into a park lake years ago. Still tremendous assets for Buffalo, but far from their former beauty & intended purpose. Only the Olmsted Parks Conservancy has started to reverse the decline in the past 133 years. Some aspects of the original design will be gone forever.

I understand completely the City's need to review The Conservancy's contract. It's smart (and the law) to do so. The Conservancy, as any other group, should have to meet the City's standards as set by the city charter, codes and contracts.

As The Conservancy's contract now stands, they are to continue to operate one year into the City's takeover of the parks - through 2010.

At first, it was stated the Conservancy needed to satisfy diversity hiring goals (turns out 40% of their employees are minority) and adhere to residency requirement rules (turns out 68% live in the city, even though they have been county-funded for the past five years and that hadn't been a requirement).

After those were satisfied, the new issue is insisting the Conservancy comply with a living wage provision, equipment needs and inflationary riders, yet you are unwilling to provide them with the means to resolve these issues.

But there had to have been agreement as of last week in order for the Conservancy to operate into next year. No contract has been arranged. No negotiating has taken place. No meetings have been held. No phone calls have been returned. As it stands now, an emergency meeting of the Conservancy has to be held this week to determine what employees have to be fired first, two weeks before Christmas. They will not have a budget for salaries as of January 1, 2010.

Your spokesman has said, "...that negotiations with the Conservancy were continuing." But there haven't been any. You have been negotiating with the county to take over 50 parks employees and negotiating with unions on their contracts.

You have proposed to the City Council to create an $85,000 a year position of "Deputy Parks Commissioner," but have yet to respond to the Council's questions about the position. So that's on hold too.

The majority of citizens want the Conservancy to stay put. The majority of the City Council wants them to stay put. Your opposing mayoral candidates, in three years, will have the rallying cry of, "Remember the Olmsted Parks fiasco?" Who is advising you on this issue? The unions? They're not looking after your back.

The lack of communication with the Conservancy reeks of ineptness, ignorance, incompetence and -- if not those -- deceit. It certainly doesn't seem like there's a plan where all the partners are clear on what the goals are and everyone heading in the same direction, resolving issues, with transparency.

As the president of Garden Walk Buffalo, the largest garden tour in the country, I am more than aware of the value of our Olmsted Parks as both a quality of life benefit and as a a tourism draw. It is an asset any city in the nation would envy. Having the right stewards in place to keep, improve and restore one of the city's most valuable assets is just good business.

The Conservancy is that steward. The City of Buffalo neither has the reputation, capability nor history of being diligent and progressive stewards of the Parks. Whatever you're planning (because it's not clear), The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy should be your partner in stewardship. Pick up the phone and give them a call Mr. Mayor. The number is 838.1249. Ask for Thomas. He's waiting by the phone.

Jim

My first garden group presentation sucked

It was a fiasco. I'm totally incompatible with the Greater Rochester Perennial Society. Not only was my MacPro laptop incompatible with the projector (You'd think a bunch of gardeners would use Apples...), but I prepared the presentation in an Apple software - Keynote. It's Apple's version of Powerpoint. Well, between these two issues, I was not able to project the slideshow I'd worked on feverishly for two days onto the screen.

Despite valiant attempts by my Rochester friend, Pat P.,-- with trips to a hardware rental place (closed), a Bestbuy (couldn't help), and an Apple Store (bought an adapting cable, but it didn't work) -- I ended up setting up my laptop on a cart and using that to talk about Garden Walk Buffalo in front of around 50 members of the group. Gardeners tend to be pleasant, generous accommodating and patient souls. Well, except for me.

Once I got going and was able to tell some of the stories of some of the gardens, point out some of the unique gardens of Buffalo and was able to answer some questions, it all went well. Just without the impressive visuals. Most of the photos in the presentation were shot by Don Zinteck and really were of a great quality.

Afterwards, while they were trying to make me feel better about botching up their meeting, they said I did a good job, that I was entertaining, funny and informative. They said they usually have speakers talking about plants with bad photos and that it was good to have someone talk about the plant settings and the other aspects of gardening -- architecture, art and garden design ideas. And even small visuals of great quality were better than big visuals of poor quality.

A handful of attendees had been on the Walk and I think many more will attend this coming year. It's an easy day trip for Rochesterians (about an hour-and-a-half by car). The biggest issue may be their big plant swap, which happens the Sunday of Garden Walk Buffalo this coming year.

I raffled off a Garden Walk book. So I know at least one person in the room was grateful I had attended.

There was a small honorarium, and I would love to come back and do it again for the group at no charge, I feel like they only got to hear me talk, which is not worth the money the attendees spent on gas to get there. At the very least, you'll be able to see the presentation above in video form. Though now you get to see it without the benefit of my off-the-cuff talk, which was apparently entertaining and funny -- if I wasn't lied to.

If only one thing showed me it was a success, it was the three people that came up to me afterwards asking if I knew of any good hotels to stay in for the Walk. My recommendation is always Embassy Suites in the Avant Building. Not only are they a Garden Walk Sponsor, and the hotel that will accommodate the Garden Bloggers during next summer's meet-up, but they have some of the best views of the city, look over some Garden Walk Gardens and are basically across the street from one of our three headquarters during the Walk. Oh, and free internet access, breakfasts and happy hours.

Thank you Laurie B. for inviting me. Lesson learned -- get a hold of my own projector and not be dependent on the hardware generosities of others.

Tulip bed time story

Back about six weeks ago, when I thought it would be the last decent-weathered weekend, I planted my bulbs for next spring. I ordered bulbs about mid-summer, before there was a chance of them being out of stock. The added bonus was, they were paid for, well before they arrived.

I publish them here now, with "lifted" web photos because by spring I will have lost all record of what I purchased and have absolutely no recollection of what I'd purchased the summer before when I selected them.

2008 Tulip bed in front yard. Ignore the recycling out by the curb. The swath or "river" of grape hyacinths along the driveway does come back every year. I do try to keep the swath clear of bulbs.

Had no idea we'd have at least four more weekends when I could've planted them, but it's over and done with. And the sore knees, legs & back from bending, stretching and kneeling are just starting to feel better now. I bought a fancy bulb hole digger and used that when I could add a couple bulbs in one hole. But there are so many perennials planted in this area, I had to work around and didn't want to disturb too many roots with the bulb hole digger. So I used the "whack & wiggle" method with the garden trowel for most of them. So far, no trouble with squirrels digging them up. The only other natural predator, for this area beside the driveway, is the plow guy. He's scrapped through this bed accidentally in the past.

I learned from reading garden blogs, especially Gardening While Intoxicated, that if you put yourself in the mindset that that tulips are annuals and treat them as such, you'll be a much happier gardener. I believe that whole-heartedly.

2009. I hadn't planted any new bulbs, hence there was less tulips and less color. Ignore the trash can non the curb. Can't figure out why I always take pictures on trash pick up day. As an art director, you'd think I'd stage my photos better.

Previously I had planted bulbs and assumed they'd come back every year. Only the naturalizing ones come back. If any other tulips came back, they were less vigorous growers or wimpier in color or would get a good start and fizzle before there was much of a bloom. I am much more content planting all new bulbs every couple of years and also experimenting with some tulips I may not have ordinarily chosen, since they're only temporary.

There's a small chance of a big gardening magazine coming to shoot small-space spring bulb gardens and I wanted to load up the front tulip strip with good-sized flowers, and color with impact.

Here is what I planted this year:


Ostara Hyacinth - deep porcelain blue florets return annually for renewed beauty.


Estella Rijnveld Tulip - fringed petals combine bright white with flamingo red and touches of green open to 18 cm.


Toronto Tulip - pink flowers sport a tangerine-pink interior. Each bulb produces two stems with multiple blooms.


Spanish Pinkbells - naturalizers multiply easily in shade & every type of soil. Pink flowers are shaped like a broad bell with a flared rim. Each bulb will produce about 12-15 flowers.


Drumstick Allium


Donald Duck Tulip - yellow and red flower was introduced to honor the anniversary of Donald Duck. 12 cm blooms adorned with brown stripes and speckles. Great for naturalizing.


Azure Allium


Monsella Tulip - canary-yellow blooms open to dark red painterly streaks. Each bulb produces about three blooms that measure up to 15 cm.


Parrot King Tulip - Light yellow petals, yellow-orange edges offset by an emerald-green midrib. At full maturity, their emerald-green color disappears and a yellow-orange color spreads across the petals, now outlined in red.


Daffodil Rainbow of Colors - As they bloom, the split cups appear yellow, transforming to pink orange as the flowers mature.


Don Quichotte Tulip - pink flowers.


Tom Pouce Tulip - flower colors are long lasting and short, sturdy stems make them ideal in windy or exposed locations.


Golden Parade (Sun Gold) Tulip - golden-yellow blooms.


Guinevere Tulip - pink blooms.


Red Dynasty Tulip (Red Impression) - signal-red blooms.


Halley's Comet Tulip (Oxford Elite) - yellow blooms with flames of deep red.

And a few others:
Purissima - lustrous white blooms.

Towering Prism Tulip (Perestroika) - this enormous bulb - 14cm. or larger - produces a tall (over three feet tall!), chalice-shaped flower with a pink blush, fading into a yellow trim.

Golden Charm Tulip - pure white flowers with a yellow base surrounded by green basal leaves which form a rosette. Good for naturalizing.

Variegated Firespray Tulip - White-edged leaves add beauty after the flowers fade. Stem is topped with three to five bright red blooms, highlighted with a pale yellow base. Multiplies annually.

I think I'm going to like that Halley's Comet tulip the best.