A Little Privacy Please

I live on a busy street and contend with need to establish privacy without appearing unwelcoming. In research process of my privacy project, I found inspiration in a beautifully illustrated gardening book, Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat, by Marty Wingate.  The author addresses garden intrusion in many forms, but I will be focusing on the privacy needs of my front and side yard gardens.

Solution 1: Buffers

Pride of Madeira cover up the unwanted view of alley.

Buffers help the homeowners avoid seeing things they don’t want to see or hearing things they don’t want to hear. When we bought our home, our three established plumerias acted as a buffer between our property and our neighbor’s property to the west. They also buffer some of the road noise and the road dust that blows toward the house on that side. The east side of our home had no such buffer. Approximately 2 years ago, Hubby planted a half dozen Pride of Madeira along the east side of our yard to buffer traffic noise and dust from the alley that runs along that side of our property.  With the plumerias on the west and the Pride of Madeira on the east, we informally established the boundaries of our property and removed the site lines directly into our neighbor’s yard and the alley. 

Solution 2: Barriers

Japanese variegated mock orange non-hedge

Barriers can be a touchy subject. On one hand, the homeowners want exclusivity, but do not want to appear unwelcoming to their guests and neighbors. Fences are the logical choice and there are a wealth of materials, heights, and styles to accommodate any garden. However, fencing is expensive and must comply with city codes and HOA restrictions. My solution to the expense of fencing was a hedgerow of my favorite shrub, Japanese variegated mock orange. Hubby indulged my whim in removing the kangaroo paws, succulents, and tea trees from the beds facing the sidewalk. The mock orange will create a lovely barrier to digging (and pooping) dogs, plumeria pickers, and road dust and debris . . . once they grow.  Mock orange have a slow to moderate rate of growth compared to other options, but I insisted on this plant because I love the bright appearance and the gorgeous fragrance their blooms release starting in February.  For now, I am stuck waiting for the individual plants to grow into a hedge and create the barrier I desire.

Solution 3: Screens

Fourth of July are climbing roses that will make good screens.

Screens are an ideal means to provide partial coverage but retain accessibility. I would love to create a screen of sorts that covers the garbage and recycling cans we keep on the east side of the front yard, but I have yet to devise a cost effective solution that works for the space. I have also contemplated creating a jasmine trellis to enclose the north side of the backyard patio. I am unsure if I want to create division in that part of the garden, but I would love to cover the compost container.  Lastly, Hubby and I would like to screen our cinder block wall near our fruit trees with Fourth of July Roses. Thorns will be a good barrier to incursion, but be prepared to deal with them effectively. Thorn plants are not good choices for families with children and inquisitive dogs, and there is much care involved in thorn plants so they do not become unruly. Word to the wise: Always do your research!

Good barriers make for better security, vistas, sounds, and ultimately, better peace of mind. The key is to complete these privacy modifications in an esthetically pleasing way that hopefully impresses the neighbors and guests without appearing unwelcoming. To better address your privacy needs, I recommend reading Landscaping for Privacy as a starting point for ideas and an extensive plant list that will accommodate all North American climates.

Pilfered Plumeria!

I sincerely believe that gardeners are generous folk. We love to share big, beefsteak tomatoes with our co-workers, succulent cuttings with our neighbors, and dried herbs with our friends. Need gardening tips or help? Please ask! We’d love to lend a hand or provide you with experienced insight! We have a wealth of intellectual and material resources and our well-being grows every time we share it.

But please, oh please, do not take from our private gardens without permission! Yes, it may seem like there is plenty to go around. But unthinking scavengers may not understand that certain resources may be specifically earmarked for other people or other endeavors. Even worse, ripping, tearing, or pulling on delicate plants can be very harmful or lethal!

Deliberate cuts were made on the right and left side of the plant.

On Thursday morning, I pulled out of my driveway and as I drove past my front yard, I noticed that my plumeria closest to the street was missing two large branches! I pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the damage. This was not a simple break of small fingerling limbs I have experienced in the past. Some ne had very deliberately sawed off two large branches that would have yielded approximately a dozen cuttings!* I was furious, just flat out spitting mad! I glowered in my office with my door shut until mid-morning, hoping that no poor, hapless co-worker had the misfortune to walk through my door.

Someone thoughtlessly broke this branch by hand.

After I got over my anger, I felt hurt. I have been very generous offering cuttings to my neighbors. I handed out cuttings to visitors when I participated in the Clairemont Garden Tour in 2010. When I trim my plumeria, I leave a bucket of cuttings in the driveway for passers-by to take. I love giving thank-you plumeria cuttings to my co-workers in appreciation for all the ways they support me and our company. These thieves took branches I had earmarked as “thank you cuttings.” They stole, not understanding that those cuttings were meant for someone else. Plumeria cuttings are a hot commodity and can earn between five dollars and thirty dollars (and up!) per cutting depending on the kind and quality. If I make a conservative estimate that my twelve cuttings were worth ten dollars apiece, the thieves stole $120.00 worth of product from me. 

More damage to green wood

I sadly feel a whole lot less generous than I did previously about sharing my plumeria cuttings.  I even contemplated installing a vinyl privacy fence. Barriers may deter the thoughtless pilferer, but they will not stop a determined thief. I don’t want to be one of those crotchety neighbors constantly screaming, “Get off my lawn!” But I would like some privacy and respect for my property, especially when I have been so generous in the past. If you would like a cutting or a piece of fruit, please knock on my door and ask. Chances are, I’ll say yes. If I don’t, then you need to respect my answer and understand that I have my reasons for refusing. 

We are very tempting, especially in our gorgeous, late fall bloom, but please leave us alone!

 *Plumeria plants are propagated by removing a small portion of green wood called a cutting. Cuttings can then be planted, and with proper care, will grow into another plumeria plant.

How to Re-Pot a Plant that is Root Bound

Great tips from Jeralyn, available on her blog, here. 

How to Start a Family Garden When You Live in the City

This is a great article, with some nice new ideas on how to tackle the challenge of gardening in the city:

"Gardening as a family cannot only help you reduce your carbon footprint, pass along the ideals of sustainable living to your children, and save money at the grocery store, it can also help you forge even stronger bonds with your family through your shared goals. When you live in an urban setting, however, starting a family garden requires a bit more creativity than it would in a rural area."

Read more

Tomatoes Are Good For You

Did you know that tomatoes will make your teeth sparkling white, your breath minty fresh, your hair shine with new luster and cut your risk for stroke.  Well one out of four is not all that bad.  According to a study based out of Finland, published in the medical journal of Neurology, tomatoes (and especially cooked tomatoes) can reduce your risk for stroke.  The secret ingredient is lycopene.  You can obtain lycopene in other fruits such as grapefruit and papaya, but come on, what would you rather have, spaghetti or grapefruit?

The study followed 1,031 men between the ages of 42 and 61.  The study followed these men for 12 years and was intended to determine if other dietary items affected stroke risk.  I am inherently skeptical of longitudinal studies.   I mean really, are you going to remember what you ate last week and in what quantity?  I have trouble remembering what I ate for dinner yesterday unless it was spaghetti.  Hey, maybe they are on to something. If you want to read more about the study, the link is below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444897304578044680394134430.html?mod=ITP_personaljournal_0

I always look for news items that affirm my narrow view of the world.  And if scientists say that tomatoes are good for you, then it must be true (especially if I can read it on the internet).  I was devastated when the nutritional police came out years ago to say that coffee was bad for you.  Then they changed their minds and it was good for you, then it was bad for you. Now, I only read stuff that tells me that whatever I am eating or drinking is good for me.  I sleep much better at night this way.  Sweet Tomato says I take the reputed health benefits of red wine way too seriously.  As if I needed any excuse to drink red wine.  As my dear Great Grand Father used to say, “Water is over rated, it just rusts your pipes”.  He lived to be 96, ate lots of tomatoes and drank large quantities of red wine.

An interesting idea

The Guerrilla Grafters are a group of botanical dissidents who are covertly grafting branches of fruit trees onto ornamental trees in SF.

"There’s a group of gardeners in San Francisco that are spreading organic graffiti across the city. How? By grafting branches from fruit trees onto ornamental trees that have been planted along sidewalks and in parks.

They are using a very simple tongue in groove splice that’s held together with annotated electrical tape. Good luck to them."

Info from BoingBoing: http://boingboing.net/2012/09/25/guerrilla-grafters-covertly-ad.html

Summer Culinary Delights

During the hot days of August and September, the tomato harvest becomes a daunting task as Sweet Tomato and I try to use tomatoes into nearly every meal we enjoy.  Here are two easy and really good recipes.  And of course, they use tomatoes.

Tomato Frittata

I make frittatas all of the time.  I generally cook them as a way to use up left overs.  If you get creative, there isn’t much in the left over category that can’t be used in a frittata.  Here is a recipe that relies on the San Marzano Redorta.  The San Marzano Redorta is a wonderful plum heirloom tomato from Italy.  It is large and meaty with little or no internal liquid.  It is great for pizzas and frittatas because as it heats up in the oven, the tomato does not cook out much liquid. This means you can use these tomatoes fresh off the vine without roasting or drying them first.

Mix 6 to 10 eggs in a bowl.  The amount of eggs depends upon how much frittata you want.  If you have some cream, add a tablespoon or two.  If not, don’t worry it is not required.  Add salt and pepper to the eggs and wisk the eggs until combined.  You will need an oven safe skillet.  I use a 12 inch skillet that has a normal metal body. Many recipes tell you to use a non-stick skillet, but I have never felt comfortable putting non-stick skillets in the oven.  I have more cleanup afterward, but other than that, a regular metal skillet works just fine.

Heat olive oil in the skillet.  Add some course chopped garlic and some thin sliced onions.  I use a lot of garlic, probably more than you or most normal people would, so use an amount of garlic you are comfortable with.  The key thing here is not to let it burn.  If you let your garlic burn, throw it out and start over.  Burnt garlic is nasty.  Add the onions.  I use sweet or red onions (whatever I have at the time – I am not picky) and sometimes use green onions if that is all I have.  After the onions have begun to caramelize, add the eggs to the skillet.  This next part gets a little tricky and takes practice.  Stir the eggs over medium heat as if you were making scrambled eggs.  I have this really nifty non-stick spatula that lets me move the eggs around in the skillet so they cook evenly.  If you let the eggs just set there, they will burn on the bottom and be runny on top.  Once you get to a consistency that is just short of true scramble eggs, remove the skillet from the heat.  The eggs should be runny, but just starting to get some solid egg chunks.

Now cover the frittata with sliced San Marzano Redorta tomatoes.  The tomato slices should be about a quarter of an inch thick.  Tomato slices with skin should be put on the frittata skin side down.  I forgot to tell you to heat your oven to 350 degrees, so go do that now.  When the oven is at 350 degrees, put the frittata in for 8 to 10 minutes.  The eggs should be cooked through, but the tomatoes are just beginning to cook.  You can remove the frittata at this point, let it cool and eat it out of the skillet or move it to a platter. 

However, if you want to “kick it up a notch”, set the oven rack just under the broiler and turn your oven to broil.  Sprinkle parmesan over the frittata.  If I am really enterprising, I will roast some panko bread crumbs in a little bit of butter and then sprinkle them on the frittata along with the parmesan.  Place the frittata under the broiler. 

DO NOT WALK AWAY!! 

Broiling the frittata can take 30 seconds to a minute or so.  Leave the oven open and watch the frittata. The parmesan (and bread crumbs) should be browned, but not blackened.  You may have to move/turn the skillet while it is under the broiler to brown the top evenly.  Here is what the end product looks like.

A few other tips.  Salt and pepper the finished frittata to taste.  If you have any left over marinara, ladling some over the frittata is a great addition.  And for those of you who think you have asbestos fingers, use oven mitts when handling the skillet.  It is tough to eat frittata with burnt fingers.

Tomatoes with Grapes, Figs, Asiago Cheese, Sausage and Lettuce

This one is really easy.  Spread some lettuce onto a platter. We use garden lettuce or the store bought packages.  Both seem to work equally as well.  Layer with sliced fresh garden tomatoes.  If you don’t have quality heirloom, fresh, garden tomatoes, this will not be nearly as good. Spread some grapes and figs around the platter.  Add some thinly sliced cooked sausage.  We use sweet Italian sausage generally of the left over variety.  Use a cheese peeler to create some thin slices of Asiago.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  We generally have a few slices of crusty bread as well, and of course some wine.

The tomatoes and figs were picked from our garden that day.  I defy anyone to be able to order a salad like this at any restaurant!