8/26/09 THE BEST LAID PLANS

Wednesday, 8:15 AM. 61 degrees, wind W, light. The channel is patterned; glassy in the lee of the bluffs, wrinkled further out. The sky is cloudless and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. Today is a “perfect ten.”
The hated Japanese knotweed is in bloom, quite beautiful. I believe it should be controlled, but that it is foolish to try to eradicate it.
The American chestnut on Tenth and Mannypenny has a lot of fruit, not yet ripe. The stigmas of the female flowers, which receive the pollen, are still prominent on the developing chestnuts.
The first plant is terribly invasive, brought to our continent as a misguided introduction by the USDA; the second is a valuable native tree, now very rare because it has been devastated by a foreign disease introduced through commerce. “The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang agley."

8/25/09 PORCH SITTIN'

Tuesday, 7:45 AM. Wind W, light with stronger gusts. The channel is wrinkled, the sky overcast and the barometer predicts rain. The dark and quiet atmosphere emphasizes the beauty of an incipient storm.
Spending a lot of time on our back porch the last few days makes me realize anew how valuable an outdoor living area is in almost any climate, even if it is only used seasonally.
The term “outdoor living room” has been around for a century at least, and now has become “outdoor living area.” There have always been sheltered outdoor areas associated with the home, or nearby in the garden, whether called gazebos, pergolas, colonnades, patios, ramadas or whatever, adapted to the climate and architecture of most cultures. Greco-Roman classic home design often was more outdoor than indoor, given their Mediterranean climates.
The populating of California and the Southwest also sparked interest in “outdoor living” in garden design and architecture, and the converse, homes with large glass areas to “bring the outdoors in” became very popular wit h modern architecture and the advent of plate glass.
Today’s architecture and decorating have gone a step further, usually too far, in creating outdoor kitchens, bars, pizza ovens, fire pits, spas, and huge party areas, much of which is overtly lavish and ridiculously expensive.
I prefer a porch, large enough to be comfortably furnished and able to hold a small dinner party. We have several decks, but they don’t provide the shelter, comfort and sense of security of a porch. Here are my criteria for a suitable and affordable “outdoor living room.”
Covered and sheltered from the most of the sun and rain environment, with a sense of enclosure, while preserving air circulation
Suitable furniture for the style and economy of the home.
Plenty of rugs, cushions and colorful tablecloths.
Ceiling fans.
A simple heat source if possible.
Views and/or focal points in several directions, even if within a small or enclosed yard.
An area for a grill, and easy access to the kitchen of the home.
Lots of potted plants and flower arrangements.
One needn’t spend a fortune or inhabit a castle to enjoy “outdoor living.”

8/24/09: MOUNTAIN ASH BEER?

Monday, 8:30 AM. 60 degrees, wind S, light to moderate. The sky is cloudless with some haze over the Island. The barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
Many plants are bearing ripe frit and seeds now. The highbush cranberry fruits (not actually cranberries) are a bright red, and will remain on the plants far into the winter as a “last resort” food for the birds. The cones of the blue spruce in the front yard are large and glistening with exuding sap. The early apples are in at the orchards and fall is approaching fast. I have never seen the mountain ash bear so heavily, and I am tempted to make beer from them.

8/23/09 A RECIPE FOR BEACH PEAS AND OREGANO

Sunday, 9:00 AM. 52 degrees, wind SSW, light. The channel is obscured by fog, the sky otherwise almost cloudless, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy weather. We got another inch of rain in the last few days.
I collected seeds of the beach pea for the beach restoration project at the Reiten Boatyard Condominiums yesterday. They are hard little peas, several in a pod, and when ripe the pod dries and “explodes” with a twisting motion, catapulting the BB sized peas a short way from the plant. It wouldn’t seem a very effective method of distribution, but it must be, since it exists.
The folks on the corner of Tenth and Wilson, just up the block, have let a part of their yard grow into a meadow, the dominant plant of which is hardy oregano. I don’t know if they planted it on purpose or if it spread from the garden, but it is very pleasing.

8/18/09 A BEAUTIFUL AND BOUNTEOUS EARTH

Tuesday, 8:00 AM. 59 degrees, wind W, moderate with gusts. The channel is wrinkled, the sky is partly cloudy, with some clouds scudding along at high altitude. The barometer predicts rain but I doubt it. It is a fine, fine day.
The cloud formations have been beautiful, as have the sunsets (this one taken at Little Sand Bay).
We had camp dinner last evening with the Larsens and the visiting Matthiaes, no photos as my camera ran out of juice. The dinner was superb: rotinni with elk meat sauce courtesy of Paul, Joan’s pickle salad and Kohl slaw, and Judy’s fresh Dutch oven apple-blueberry pie. Truly all the bounties of the earth.
I collected a couple of handfuls of false Solomon’s seal on Mannypenny Avenue this morning that I will scatter in the front yard.
There will be no posts for a few days as I will be indisposed.

8/17/09 MOSTLY WILD

Monday, 8:00 AM. 61 degrees, wind WSW, very light. The channel is wrinkled, the sky clear with some haze and the barometer predicts sunny skies.
The Reiten Boatyard Condominiums design and installation has turned out quite well, although it needs another year or two to mature completely. The project started two years ago with a proposal to renovate the old landscape plantings on the west side of the complex, and grew to a proposal to landscape the east side as well, which abuts a city beach, park and the water. My design concept was to make the complex look like it was “at the beach,” which it did not relate well to at that time. I used mostly native plants, in arrangements that would have the essence of a south shore Lake Superior beach. Such beaches are quite varied and often very ephemeral, so the design was by necessity an esthetic approximation of such a beach. One concern of the owners was that the design retain a look of care and control, so the plantings have a semi-wild, semi-formal look in front of the buildings. A large area was seeded to mature to a more natural appearance further away from the buildings, with some mowed lawn in between. Most of the grasses and wildflowers were obtained from Wildflower Woods Nursery in Washburn, and the woody plants from Northwoods Nursery in Rhinelander. The native plant seeds are from Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota.

9/16/09 CAUSE AND EFFECT

Sunday, 8:30 AM. 70 degrees, wind W, light. The channel is calm, the sky overcast and hazy, the Island enshrouded in haze and mist.We got .75” of welcome rain last night, and the barometer predicts more. It is still humid, but the heat spell (all things are relative) seems broken. The garden is colorful and happy this morning.
Recognizing the law of cause and effect, I accept responsibility for the storm, as I watered heavily yesterday, both at home and at the condominium project. If I had washed the car as well we may have had a hurricane.

8/15/09 BEARLY MOVING

Saturday, 7:30 AM. 71 degrees, wind NNE, calm. The channel is glassy, the sky very hazy. The barometer predicts rain. If the wind picks up from that direction it will alleviate the hot weather we have been having.
The genus Hydrangea has a great many valuable ornamental species and cultivars. Most are Asiatic in origin, but there are some southern North American species of value, such as the oak leaf Hydrangea, probably not hardy this far north. The plants pictured are varieties of Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, the old “mop head” Hydrangea. In times past, Hydrangeas were coaxed to bloom white, pink or blue by adjusting the pH of the soil with acid or alkaline fertilizers, but modern cultivars usually don’t need that assistance. In any case, when purchasing Hydrangeas one has to really know what one is getting, or possibly be very disappointed.
The Johnson’s (the recent planting job) over on Catholic Hill heard a slow moving, persistent police siren a few days ago, looked out the front door and saw a very large bear being given a police escort out of town. Mr. Bear was reportedly in no hurry, stopping to investigate several berry bushes along the way.

8/14/09 FINISHING THE WALL

Friday, 8:00 AM. 71 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is glassy, the sky clear but hazy.
The planting of the Johnson’s wall went very well, all the plants looking good in spite of the heat. Lots of water in each planting hole and a light misting during the heat of the day did the trick.
The design purpose is to take a very awkward bank facing the house and make it appear natural and in scale with the restored residence, which is not suited to a great deal of formality. Using all native plants, the wall and plantings will create an anchor for softening and naturalizing the rest of the landscape.

8/13/09 CAMP COOKIN'

Thursday, 7:00 AM. 67 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is calm, the sky hazy with a few high white clouds, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy weather.
We camp-cooked at the Larsen’s last evening…grilled chicken, roast corn on the cob, Andy’s multi-grain Dutch oven bread and other fixins, and to top it off, Judy’s wild blueberry pie, the berries picked with great effort in the big swamp on Madeline Island and transported on the ferry, and undoubtedly the best pie berries (and resultant pie) in creation. Today will be devoted to planting the Johnson’s field stone wall.

8/12/09 NICE BUT OVER-USED

Wednesday, 8:00 AM. 65 degrees, wind W, calm. The channel is dimpled, the sky is blue and hazy, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies.
The hedge maple, Acer campestre, in the maple family, is a large shrub to small tree of Asian origin, much used as a background plant and occasionally as a small street tree. Its main attraction is the red-purple winged seeds (samaras) which are quite decorative. It also has good fall leaf color. The hedge maple has its virtues but is probably over-used.

8/11/09 A GOOD TRIP

Tuesday, 8:30 AM. 64 degrees, wind NW, light. The channel is calm, the sky blue but hazy. The barometer predicts sunshine.
The trip to Northland Nursery in Rhinelander was an all day affair, everything going well and plants arriving in good shape. We had some clouds and a few showers, which made driving and transporting the plants much easier. It was not all fun and games, however, as loading and unloading was heavy work. I had the camera along but got otherwise involved and took no photos. I spotted a spruce grouse on the side of the road on Hwy 51 south of Hurley, but by the time I slowed down it was long gone. Northwoods is a good sized, very well run wholesale nursery, one of the very few within a days drive from Bayfield. They propagate all their own pants and are located in Zone 3, so everything should be super hardy. The trees and shrubs are all in place at the wall job site and we will plant and finish up on Thursday. No time for anything else just now.

8/10/09 A TRIP TO RHINELANDER

Monday, 6:45 AM. 65 degrees, wind WNW, light to moderate. The channel is slightly wrinkled, the sky is partly clod and the barometer predicts more of the same. It is a delightful day for our trip to Rhinelander and the Northland Nursery to pick up plants to finish the wall job for the Johnsons.
We are now seeing lots of young hummingbirds, they love the hollyhocks.

8/09/09 FRUITION

Sunday, 8:15 AM. 63 degrees, wind W, light. The channel is dimpled, the sky overcast, and the barometer predicts more rain. There is a half an inch of rain in the gauge from last night’s thunderstorms, and the gardens, which were wilting yesterday, are standing tall again.
The season of fruits and seeds is upon us, many of the trees and shrubs coming to fruition. The berries of the pagoda dogwoods are disappearing as quickly as they turn blue-ripe; the mountain ash berries are now bright orange, as are the high bush cranberries. The hawthorn berries are yellow-green and will soon turn red. The berry farms are doing a land-office business.

8/08/09 POTATO, TOMATO, CLEMATIS

Saturday, 8:30 AM. 64 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is calm, the sky overcast. .2” of rain fell last night, and the barometer predicts more. It is a very quiet morning.
Virgin’s bower, Clematis virginiana, in the buttercup family, is not all that common here in the wild. It is a very attractive vine, clambering on shrubs and trees. In the Midwest it is usuallypronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, in the East, on the first. In NY my pronunciation of it gave away my geographical origins, akin to that of potato and tomato. As the song says, "let's call the whole thing off."

8/07/09 WALLS

Friday, 8:00 AM. 59 degrees, wind SSW, calm. The channel is glassy, the sky partly cloudy and the barometer predicts rain.
Robert Frost wrote, “Something there is that does not like a wall…’ but I am quite fond of them. We just completed this one for the Johnson’s up on Catholic Hill in Bayfield. I enjoy building fieldstone and flagstone walls. No mortar, lines or levels, just an eye for materials and the lay of the land. The first rule to is to pick the right stones, second, dig a proper base and compact it (the wall should look anchored, not like it is floating) third, pick the best possible face of each stone, fourth, turn the stones so they lock together, fifth, look for variations in size, color and texture as you lay the stones. This turned out quite nicely, and will be planted with native trees and shrubs.

8/06/09 DON'T NETTLE ME

Thursday, 7:00 AM. 56 degrees, wind NNW, light with gusts. The channel is wrinkled, the sky is blue and hazy and the barometer predicts sunshine.
Dead nettle, Lamium albium, in the mint family, is a “dead ringer” for the stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, in the Urticaceae, except for its white flowers. It has evidently evolved to mimic the true nettle, to which it is not at all related, and among which it often grows. In this way it capitalizes on its similarity to a truly noxious plant, thus keeping herbivores and humans at bay. This kind of adaptation is not uncommon in nature, being found among insects, plants and even some animals. The term “dead” refers to the hairs that occur all over the plant but cannot sting, as do the “live” stinging hairs of the true nettle. The dead nettle is prized in England as a bee plant, and has some culinary uses as well.