Wilder Quarterly

In Pictures: Twiggy In The Wild

Twiggy, of course.

Pictured: Blue plumbago (Plumbago capensis)

Category: In Pictures

Posted by celestine

A Note To Our Subscribers

Our heartfelt thanks for helping to make Wilder’s first three issues a tremendous success! As a publication obsessed with the seasons, we have taken to heart that spring is a time of growth and have spent our season building a strong foundation so that we can continually create Wilder Quarterly long into the future. In light of this, we have decided to forgo our spring issue and move on to the summer season. Like our fellow gardeners know, work hard in spring and a beautiful and bountiful summer will follow. Current subscribers shouldn’t despair: you will still receive four issues despite the season skip. We hope you will enjoy our bigger, badder summer issue with world-exclusive images and stories and more photography to love and inspire. We will also be creating a limited edition poster of the cover to be sent to our subscribers as a thank you for their commitment to Wilder—and for their patience. Cheers to the warm weather to come!

Category: Wilder News

Posted by celestine

The Wilder Quarterly Summer Issue Announcement

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The 2012 Summer issue of Wilder Quarterly takes a look at indie-darling Melanie Lynskey’s passion for home-grown veggies, examines the mystical practice of dowsing and goes foraging for delectable edibles in suburban Texas with Mark “Merriwether” Vorderbruggen. We check in around the globe with the experimental garden eatery of chef Andoni Aduriz in San Sebastian, Spain, visit farm and garden expert––and blueberry connoisseur––Lee Reich in upstate New York and do a sound check with Los Angeles-based plant musician Mileece. As the season heats up, we share instructions on making your own backyard a wilderness, a recipe for Rosemary ice cream with James Beard Award winning chef Christina Tosi, get advice on community-building with artist Dustin Yellin and give you loads of tips and tricks for keeping your cool through the summer swelter. Let the Dog Days begin!

The image above and the summer issue cover (which we’ll unveil shortly) were shot by the fantastic Grant Cornett

Category: Wilder News

Posted by celestine

Things I’d Love To Grow… Sweet Shrub

Although Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus) looks as though it hails from some hot and steamy jungle, it’s native to southeastern part of the USA. And even though its rich red blossoms (smelling sickly sweet of fermenting fruit) are summery in essence, this plant blooms in spring. Best of all, sweet shrub is blithely tolerant of most soils, and flowers its heart out in full sun to part shade. Another added benefit- deer spurn it, as even the leaves exude a noticeable aroma when bruised. Although this plant can grow somewhat leggy in the often shaded spaces of urban gardens, its inherent planed structure is beautifully architectural. Gardeners considerate of the meaningful role native plants play in our landscape, but looking for something different should give definitely this plant a try.

Want a Sweet Shrub? The Arbor Foundation can help you out.
Image source

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Diahann Carroll’s Big Break

Diahann Carroll as Julia - a groundbreaking sitcom that premiered in 1968.
Pictured: Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)

Category: In Pictures

Posted by celestine

Earth Day Dinner At Sunday Suppers

On Earth Day, I had the pleasure of attending a special Sunday Supper – a class-cooking-dining experience, pairing friends and food in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The classes are held in this spare, gorgeous waterfront loft with a view that’s worth drooling over. The evening is hosted the lovely Karen Mordechai and a local chef. In this case, that chef was Stacy Adimando, the author of The Cookiepedia and the current Food Editor at Every Day With Rachel Ray.

Despite by very basic, but constantly improving cooking skills, I had a wonderful time. Especially because some of the guests included Wilder friends like Kelly from Remedy and Judy from Artisan Books.

Everything was truly delicious, but my favorite dish was certainly the globe artichoke soup crispy salami, quinoa, and salsa verde. Love. Looking forward to when Karen posts the recipe. It would be perfect for today’s rainy New York weather.

Category: Food

Posted by celestine

Attracting Bats To The Garden

When it comes to bats, the majority of us think of leathery winged flying mice. Or maybe you have some kind of sharp-fanged, blood-drenched Dracula association? Although most North American bats are insectivorous, some do drink blood. But a few species drink nectar, too. In fact, bats are the primary pollinators of the iconic cacti of the American southwest, and right about now, they are performing that ritual under cover of the sonoran desert night. The luminous white trumpets of the saguaro cactus unfurl for but one night of seduction. Rich with the scent of over ripe melon, these funnel shaped flowers advertise nutritious pollen and nectar- the bats’ payment for the service of pollination. Two species, the lesser long nosed bat and the Mexican long tongued bat undergo grueling migrations from the neotropics to arrive in time for the desert spring. Saguaros aren’t the only cacti visited by these bats. Organ pipes, agaves, and cardons are all bat friendly, and can be cultivated in the garden. When selecting bat-sustaining plants, choose species with night blooming, light colored, strongly scented, large flowers. These kinds of plants speak bat, and know just what they like.

Image by Merlin D. Tuttle

Category: Plant Lessons Tell Me About It

Posted by molly

Wacky Weather + The Case Of The Lilac Blight

Here on the East coast we skipped over winter this year and virtually broke out the bathing suit in early April. Temps reached the mid 80s and all the late spring garden stars like lilac bloomed 3 weeks early. Then, spring caught up with us. Chilly, normal temperatures returned along with April’s tardy daily deluges. And the result? Lilac blight. Celestine (Wilder’s founder) emailed me a picture of a flagging, browning blossom on her new lilac bush this morning. Loud and clear I heard it: FUNGUS. BACTERIA.

Blights cause spots and browning in the midst of otherwise healthy looking flowers and leaves. Lilacs are commonly affected by the blight caused by Pseudomonas syringae, a bacteria named after the shrub’s genus. Symptoms include blackened, wilting shoots, sludgy brown flowers, and dark spots on green leaves. The bacteria is ubiquitous and distributed by precipitation. Scientists discovered it lurking in the frozen cores of hailstones, and shortly thereafter determined that the bacteria causes water to freeze at higher temperatures. The bacteria invades frost-damaged plant tissue and wreaks pure havoc on sweet smelling flowers and new green growth. Higher than normal temperatures followed by a cold wet snap caused lilac flowers to get stuck in a stretch of weather they wouldn’t ordinarily experience- and to be exposed to a higher than usual dose of this bacteria.

The good news is that this bacteria is more prevalent at nurseries than in the landscape. When purchasing new stock, especially in the wet and misty spring, check for symptoms before purchasing. It’s not the end of the world if your lilac catches the blight- new growth is generally the only part of the plant affected, and can be pruned off once the weather turns sunny and dry. Don’t prune in wet weather as this will only provide further entry ways into plant tissue for meddling bacteria. To prevent blight in the future ensure your lilac has ample light and spacing. Oh, and get the weather to behave while you’re at it, too.

Category: Growing Guides Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Maria Callas’ Pause

The one, the only Maria Callas.
Pictured: Rose (Rosa)

See all of our In Pictures… here.

Category: In Pictures

Posted by celestine

Kickstart The Shandaken Project

The Shandaken Project is a community-supported residency program in the Catskills. Beginning this summer, artists, writers, curators, and more will be invited to live and work on their 250-acre grounds for free. Residents can use their time as they choose, but are required to give back to the project by working in the communal vegetable garden. They have a great property, and a lovely house and operating costs covered. They are currently fundrasing for one-time costs including: building three private studios, fencing our kitchen gardens, and amending the soil in our garden areas.

This is a lovely project and they’re almost at their goal. Go tip them over the edge?

Category: Farms/Farming

Posted by celestine

Ramp Pesto Recipe

Ok, so I’ve been hammering hard on edible wild food lately, but what’s a hungry girl to do? It’s SPRING. Now is the get-em-while-it’s-hot smorgasbord season, when shoots and leaves are at their most mouthwatering. Just a few more weeks and bitter tasting alkaloids will have developed in foliage, rendering even the most scrumptious of edibles unpalatable. So while we’re here in this moment of wild plenty, let me make just more suggestion: RAMP PESTO. And while I’m at it, let me introduce you to Wilder contributor, and ramp pesto whizz Kate MaClean. Kate recently moved to a hilltop plot of farmland in beautiful far-flung northern Vermont.

While her chickens rev up egg production, her milk cow puts on weight, and her peas start to consider the prospect of blossom and growth, Kate is foraging. Kate and her partner Nick’s ambition is to offer a whole diet CSA, eventually supplying their shareholders with meats, dairy, vegetables and added value products. Until the farm gets in the groove, mother nature is handling dinner. Follow the pair’s lovely and idyllic experiences on Kate’s blog.

Kate’s Ramp Pesto

1 1/2 to 2 bunches of ramps; bulbs and leaves a bunch is about a handful
1/2 to 3/4 c olive oil
a pinch (or two) of sea salt
1/2 c parmesan or as much as you want, for this only increases the deliciousness of the pesto
1/3 c crushed almonds, pinenuts, walnuts, whatever.

Image by Kate MacLean

Category: Food Recipes

Posted by molly

Food Book Art Fair Today!

Hi,

We’re going to be hanging out at the Food Book Art Fair today. The first ever event bringing together food publications from around the world alongside a dynamic set of events celebrating food writing, reading, and activism.

We’ll be at at the Foodieodicals Marketplace along with great mags like Remedy, Put An Egg On It and Acqtaste. I hope you’ll come by and say hello!

Celestine

Category: Wilder News

Posted by celestine

Tomorrow: The Night Of The Super Moon

It’s going to be a big party tomorrow night. Cinco de Mayo will play host to the Super Moon when the orb will appear up to 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger than normal. According to NASA, “The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. On May 5th, this Moon illusion will amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with. The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset should seem super indeed.”

And that’s not all. Saturday night will also be lit up by the Aquarid meteor shower. It occurs every April and May when the Earth passes through a stream of debris cast off by Halley’s comet. Expect 40-60 meteors per hour, but you’ll have to get around the super light from the super moon to catch the show. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ve got the best chance of seeing this astrological double feature. Lucky you!

Category: The Sciences Video

Posted by celestine

Brendom Grimshaw’s Private Island

Trailer for the documentary, A Grain of Sand, about an 86-year old man who in 1962 bought the deserted Moyenne Island. Now 86 years old, Brendon “Grimshaw has planted 16,000 trees and reintroduced giant tortoises to the island. Developers have reportedly offered him $50 million dollars or more for the island, but he has always refused to sell. The island is now a national park.”

Via Laughing Squid

Category: Inspiration Video

Posted by celestine

Spring’s Ephemerals

Trout lily, bloodroot, spring beauty and shooting star. All across the country in April and May, spring’s harbingers emerge for a brief few weeks. On a mission to flower, get pollinated, and set fruit before summer’s canopy closes, these plants are easy to miss. Mostly residents of woods with moist, dark, rich soil now is the time to look for these species. Many of them are relatively common, and could be quietly growing in a park near you.

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

Holly Falconer’s Flowers For English Lads

Above is Holly Falconer’s English Lad and English Lass series inspired by Vladimir Tretchikoff.

Tretchikoff was a Russian painter who trafficked in the paintings of Asians and Africans. Hugely popular, Vladimir, became famous for his portraits of Asian women and pictures of flowers. That series included “Chinese Girl” one of the best selling prints of all time.

Read the truly interesting interview with stylist John Williams and Holly about their re-imagining of Valdimir’s naive portraits, race, identity and art.

Via The Flower Appreciation Society

Category: Fashion Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Head Above The Trees

Robert Voit
Via

Category: Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Beginners: Breaking Out Of The Growing Box

A recent chat with our upcoming summer issue’s featured expert, Lee Reich has got me thinking outside the box. Listening to Lee talk about the joys of low maintenance gardening, and how to increase the productivity of your plot, while decreasing the amount of work you put in has made me start to question the old and rigid ways we are taught to garden. Like in straight lines… And perfect squares.

Without a doubt one of the ceaseless draws of gardening is the calculated control you can exert over your space, but does it have to be so impractical? Take the vegetable patch, for example. Everybody likes neat and tidy rows of obedient greens, or the clean, contained angles of a set of raised beds, but if space is a limited resource for you, you’re better off sowing in a circle. A popular design in permaculture, the keyhole garden allows the gardener to access all points of the bed from a single point in the center. This means less soil compaction, less motion on the gardener’s part, and better use of space. If you want, the bed can even be raised to waist height to eliminate kneeling altogether. Especially if you’re an urbanite, this design makes some serious gardening sense!

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

Olivier Theysken’s Nature Shots

I just re-discovered the 2010 issue of A Magazine, NºD curated by Olivier Theyskens. A little back ground:

“Olivier Theyskens is a dreamer, a man whose wandering mind has found inspirations in the world of botany, in the subtle curves of the human form, and in the myths and fairytales of centuries past. The opening story in his magazine NºD is a dramatic, sensual recognition of this fact – diving deep into the Belgian forest to capture the journey of a young girl as she hurries through the hazy, verdant fields.”

My favorite series are the posed flower portraits set in the forests surrounding the Château de la Hulpe, just outside of Brussels. These flower vignettes were created by with Theyskens constant collaborator photographer Julien Claessens for NºD.

“The bouquets of freshly-cut flowers were ‘styled’ by Olivier himself, spewing forth with sickly vibrant citrus yellows and oranges or a barrage of stark white punctuated with deep, royal blue.”

I’d love to find a back issue for my very own. If you have one, let a lady know?

Category: Art / Design Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Q & A: Megan Paska of Brooklyn Homesteader, Beekeeper and Founder of Hayseed’s Big City Farm Supply

Wilder Quarterly interviews the urban farmer, beekeeper and founder of Hayseed’s Big City Farm Supply, Megan Paska. Paska talks to us about bee-keeping, gives us advice on growing in Brooklyn and speaks to her exciting plans for the future.

By Lena Vazifdar / Photo of Megan shot by Patrick Lamson-Hall. All other photos are from Rory Gunderson.

Blogger, bee keeper, urban farmer, educator and business owner, Megan Paska, is a modern-day polymath. She started Brooklyn Homesteader, a blog about her urban farming experiences a few years ago. “The blog is mostly focused on the bees but there are a few here and there about my garden, my apiaries and my chickens,” she says.

Megan’s love for farming started at an early age, visiting relatives in rural Virginia during summer vacations. “They have about 450 acres outside of Lynchburg and when I was a child they grew tobacco and corn and grain for feed,” she says. “That lifestyle impacted me in a big way. It just seemed ‘right’ and from then on I knew that I wanted to work for myself and that it would involve food, animals and being outdoors.”

Along with her colorful Brooklyn blog, Megan hosts popular educational classes like her backyard homesteader boot camp and beekeeping workshop. Her lifelong love of urban farming also lead her to a new Brooklyn venture, Hayseed Farm Supply, where you can find everything from beekeeping supplies, locally adapted heirloom seeds to books and poetry.

WQ: What is your gardening/growing history?

MP: My grandfather and grandmother always had a vegetable patch with onions and cabbage and tomatoes. My mom liked growing flowers and tomatoes. I think it’s a common story, most people have gardeners in the family. I’ve been gardening for about 10 years, beekeeping for 4, keeping chickens for about 4 and just started raising rabbits this year.

WQ: You recently opened Hayseed Farm Supply. Could you please tell us a bit about the store?

MP: My partners at Brooklyn Grange and I had been talking about providing affordable urban farm supplies to Brooklyn for some time. I had been putting organic, soybean-free chicken feed orders together for about a year and coordinating pick up at Grange. We wanted get the best products for a fair price and figured we couldn’t be alone in that desire so we started putting feelers out for the right situation.

I met the gals from Domestic Construction last year when they started their garden plot and asked them if they’d be keen on hosting an urban farm pop-up shop. They said yes and countless emails and meetings later here we are!

WQ: What do you think are the best things to grow in the Brooklyn climate?

MP: We have a slightly longer growing season than upstate NY because of the atmospheric conditions of the city. There isn’t much you can’t grow here with the exception of maybe long season crops like peanuts. Growing things like corn and wheat is tough just because you’d need a lot of space to get a yield that is worth it. I think a person could keep themselves stocked in greens year round with small garden space.

WQ: Do you have any tips for a novice urban gardener who wants to start their own garden at home?

MP: Start with short season crops like lettuces, radishes and pea shoots. There’s a low rate of failure rate and a low time commitment. If you do manage to fail at that, you still have ample time to try again … and again. They are forgiving crops and a great way to get acquainted with gardening. They are also highly productive in small spaces, making them worth the effort.

Category: Farms/Farming Wilder Interviews

Posted by Guest

Ian Knauer’s Dutch-Style Green Beans

In my concerted attempt to be a woman who cooks at home rather than a woman who eats out at a restaurant more often than not, I’m pleased to announce that as of last night, I have moved beyond Mark Bittman’s fabulous book on the basics and into Ian Knauer’s The Farm: Rustic Recipes for a Year of Incredible Food. I’m a new fan of Ian Knauer although the cooking community has loved him for years. He spent 8 years in the test kitchens of Gourmet magazine and the last year, on his family’s Pennsylvania farm laying down the recipes for this book.

Last night, I made his Pennsylvania Dutch-Style Green Beans that sit in this truly delicious dressing made up of milk, vinegar, brown sugar and some other great ingredients. I paired it with some from scratch cornbread (thanks to Bittman again) and I’m feeling pretty much like a champ. I highly recommend you get Knauer’s book. In the mean time, try out this amazing green beans recipe.

1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved
4 slices of bacon
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

- Cook the beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, and drain again.

- Cook the bacon (or meat substitute) in a large heavy skillet, turning, until it is crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain. Reserve the fat in the pan.

- Cook the onion in the bacon fat over medium heat until it is golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

- Whisk together the milk, brown sugar, cornstarch, mustard and salt, then whisk the milk mixture into the skillet with the onion and cook, stirring, until it comes to a boil. Boil the sauce until it is thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar.

- Place the beans in a serving dish and pour the sauce over the beans. Crumble the bacon. Sprinkle the bacon and egg over the top and serve.

Category: Food

Posted by celestine

Meet Jimmy Ng

Author, chef and activist Bryant Terry also has an internet TV show called, Urban Organic, where he visits different personalities from across the California growing community.

In his most recent episode, he visited urban farmer Jimmy Ng who started The Growing Experience, which provides public housing residents access to community gardens and just as importantly, paid job training for the multi-million dollar “green industry” that has sprung up in the past decade. It’s worth a watch.

Category: Farms/Farming Video

Posted by celestine

Beginners: Lawn Alternatives For Rainless Days

Here on the east coast we got the first drenching rain in over a month last night. The only thing that’s been holding steady though spring’s parching drought, strangely enough, is my lawn. But my lawn is no ordinary lawn. When I first moved into this house I gave it an appraising glance, cynical, skeptical- why does it look so scruffy? I’m not one for neatness- I was charmed by my lawn’s bedhead- but the texture of it threw me. Carex pennsylvanica, or Pennslvania sedge, grows in low neat tufts, rather than in seamless verdant sheets. It tolerates deluges, droughts, and guess what? It even blooms. Sure, your average lawn grass does too, but it’s not much to look at. This April my sedge lawn has been a sea of golden, wavering flower heads, underpinned by its indestructible green foliage. What’s more, Pennsylvania sedge grows in shade, and only requires mowing 2-3 times a year. So with climate change happening right here, right now, think about the ways you and your garden can adapt. And for other ideas perhaps more suited to your area (because whoever said all our lawns have to look the same?), go here

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

The Flower Effects Of Last Days Of 1984

I’m happy to be posting this music video from Last Days of 1984 called “River’s Edge.” Directed by Sophie Gateau, the video is a visual delight of still life’s, disassembled flowers, shapes, colors and bouncing boys. Odd little music video, but a lot of fun.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

Strawberry Knotweed Pie

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Celestine posted about her freaky knotweed invasion? She called me up, all curious, and I had to break the bad news to her: THIS PLANT IS SATAN. I even ventured so far as to suggest the unspeakable: “you might want to try herbicide, Celestine.” Thing is, that was before I learned about knotweed pie - strawberry knotweed pie, that is. A few days ago I was delivered a piping piece of this totally tangy, sweet and succulent pie and I am hooked. Not only is it delicious, but with each forkful you’re continuing to fight the good fight, and helping keep these invasive beasties at bay. Get the recipe here.

Remember, there’s a season for this harvest, too. Knotweed shoots should be cut in earliest spring, before the leaves uncurl. The stems will be soft and flexible, like asparagus. Which reminds me, they can be steamed, rolled in salt and butter, and eaten like that, too. Bon appetit.

Category: Food

Posted by molly

Au Naturale Soil Remediation

If you live in a city, chances are you have pollutants in your soil. Decades of human traffic builds up levels of unwanted chemicals and heavy metals, like lead, which eventually make their way into resident garden plants. Luckily, there’s a pretty nifty, green (literally) solution. Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) has been show to take up considerable amounts of heavy metals over the course of the growing season, rendering the soil healthier, cleaner, and ultimately more productive. The only catch is you have to dig up and throw out your mullein at the end of the year- poor payback for its help. But then again, another moniker for the plant is indian toilet paper. Maybe you could give those downy leaves one last task before you toss them.

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

The Food And Farms Of Down South

Southern Food Alliances (SFA) is just prolific. I was introduced to the organization last night and am stunned by the dept of their work. I completely understand why the Atlantic Monthly called the SFA “this country’s most intellectually engaged (and probably most engaging) food society.”

The member supported organization resides at the University of Mississippi where they document, study, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. Their output looks like BBQs in Nashville, lectures, assistance to farmers, the collection of oral histories, cookbooks, short films and good ol’ fashioned dinner parties.

The video above takes you to meet the Hardy Family, of Hawkinsville, Georgia who operates a well-known family peanut farm. The SFA has so many other stories worth checking out from peach farmers to an exploration of the Louisiana cochon de lait tradition.

If you’re in the South or lucky enough to be going this summer, make sure you head to one of their href=”http://sfaevents.blogspot.com/” target=”_blank”>events. East some good Southern food and take some photos for us.

Category: Food Video

Posted by celestine

A Bright Spot

I love this photo from Emile Fresson. It’s making my day.

Category: Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Internet Jackpot: The Backpack(er) Magazine Treasure Trove

With summer almost upon us and spring in full swing, I’ve noticed lots of my friends are planning that first warm weather camping trip. For those campers, foragers and wildercrafters, as well as you nostalgia junkies, I’ve got a treat for you! I’ve stumbled across every issue of Backpacker (nee Backpack) magazine online at Google Books from its very first issue in 1973 all the way through to the early aughts.

Backpacker was founded by William Kemsley, Jr. when he noticed that the boom in backpacking that took place in the late 60s was having an negative impact on the trails he loved.

“It was common to find a long string of gum and candy wrappers strewn along a popular trail, not to mention tissues and cigarette butts. Campsites were beginning to become worn from over-use… Most of the increasing numbers of hikers were on trails for the first time. I became so concerned about the impact of this rapidly increasing trail use that I decided to do something about it. That eventually led to my starting Backpacker
magazine… Don’t many of us go to the trails simply to get away from rules? How, then, to influence new hikers, if not by laws?”

And Backpacker was born – a decades long source of inspiration, knowledge and community for those on the trails. While I am not much of my hiker, my husband is pretty serious going way beyond hike and straight into mountain climb. These terrific Backpack covers from the 70s and 80s have me close to getting my own pair of crampons.

Category: Inspiration The Great Outdoors

Posted by Rory

Araki Nobuyoshi’s Sleazy Sad Sensual Flowers

Japanese photographer Araki Nobuyoshi has had a long and controversial career. While best known for his noirish photographs of Tokyo’s sex clubs and brothels, and his stark and intimate erotic portraits, he also photographs flowers, decadently arranged and in various states of decay. As with his other imagery, the lines between romance and pornography, sex and death, the beautiful and grotesque seem deliberately blurred.

The flowers in his photos appear either exploding with biological radiance, their petals showing off evolutionarily flirtatious designs or appearing elsewhere in the same photos in a half-life state of withering decay – a fitting memento mori for the flower arrangement, a traditional and easily trivialized symbol of all things alive and beautiful.

His plant photographs are collected in his book: “Sensual Flowers”. The book can be hard to find, so here is a preview.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by Rory

The Art Of The Desert

We are in the midst of creating the next issue of Wilder. One topic that keeps coming up is the inherent beauty and challenges of growing in arid areas. I’ve become interested in not only the how-to, but the imagery of desert plants and foods.

This newfound curiosity led me to photographer Bernard Plossu. At thirteen, Plossu made his first journey to the African desert with his father. He wrote that this trip was the source of his life long passion: “It was then that I took my first picture and it was then that the idea of becoming a photographer entered my mind.” What luck to be certain so young.

The photograph above is from one of his many journeys across the American West during the late 70s and early 80s. It’s also my favorite although Plossu has also beautifully captured the deserts of Spain for his book Jardin de poussière (Garden of Dust) and Mexico in La Frontera. All sparse, skeletal, hot and perfectly, dutifully dry.

Category: Art / Design Inspiration

Posted by celestine

In Pictures: Marilyn Was So Sensitive

The legendary Cecil Beaton does Marilyn Monroe.

Pictured: sensitive plant (Mimosa). Mimosa earns it name since “the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, re-opening minutes later.” See the video below for a demonstration.

Category: In Pictures

Posted by celestine

Dear Wilder Answers: Spider Mites And Shade Loving Greens

Welcome to ‘Dear Wilder’ where Molly Marquand (Wilder’s horticultural editor) answer your questions about growing. Thanks to those who wrote in! If you have a questions send it to dearwilder at wilderquarterly dot com.

Without further ado, here are this week’s questions:

Cushla from New Zealand writes: My neighbor’s house shades the yard from October to April, the sunshine is very limited and growing anything is very difficult! Should I just hang up my gardening gloves over winter & resign myself to the fact I’ll have to buy my veg – or are there some varieties that grow in really shady spots?

An important thing to remember when growing veggies is that flower and fruit production is most heavily dependent on sunshine. To grow greens, a little shade is just fine. If you have constant dappled shade, or at least three hours of sun a day on your beds arugula, chard, and kale will manage, and more wild type edibles such as cress, miners lettuce, and sorrel will do even better. Try to find some cultivated varieties of native edibles in your area to grow at home. Already adapted to your climate and seasons, these kinds of plants are more likely to thrive in difficult conditions. Consider embracing the wintry darkness and forcing some veggies in your cellar or basement, too. Beansprouts, endives, seakale and rhubarb can all be forced with zero light and produce totally sumptuous harvests, whatever the time of year. So definitely don’t hang up those gloves yet!

Siri writes: I wanted to know what some effective, and as all-natural as possible, ways are to deal with spider mites attacking your plants?

Spider mites are one of the most surreptitious plant killers. They’re so teeny tiny, the spidery webs hundreds of them spin together are often the first noticeable sign that they’re around. The best way to keep mites from harming your plants is to practice good preventative care! Like most pests, mites target plants that are already ailing, especially if they are suffering from under-watering. Keep your plants in amply lit areas and adopt a steady watering regime to avoid the super stressful process of wilting (but don’t over water either! That’s just as bad). To get rid of the mite population you already have, use a dilute solution of soap and water to gently clean the leaves. Safer soap® is a good option, but 1.5 tsps of regular dishwashing detergent and 1 quart of water will do the trick. Make sure you really douse the plant and get in all the nooks and crannies where those buggers are hiding. Pull the plant out of direct light and leave the soap on for about 10 minutes, then thoroughly wash off. I’d suggest a complete re-potting of your plants to eliminate any mites or eggs living in the soil, too. To make things a little more interesting you could consider getting yourself a Pinguicula. With its sticky, bug-digesting leaves, this carnivorous plant is the chosen pest zapper of awesome gardens like Kew!

Good luck to all!

Category: Dear Wilder

Posted by molly

Urban Foraging in Central Park with Steve Brill – April 28th, 2012

Wild edibles can be found almost anywhere, even in the middle of Manhattan. If you live in New York city and want to learn what edible plants can be found growing around you, sign up for the 2 hour tour guided by foraging expert “Wild Man” Steve Brill on April 28th. Brill is the author of “Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plant in the Wild (and Not –So-Wild Places)” and “The Wild Vegan Cookbook”.

Bring plastic bags for collecting wild edible “shoots, greens, herbs and roots” and paper bags for mushrooms.

Not in New York? Don’t worry there is a “Wild Man” Steve Brill app for IPhone and IPad.

Category: Cities Food How To

Posted by Rory

The Museum Of Wildlife Art

The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Wyoming is holding its annual Quick Draw contest on June 16th and I wish I was going. The contest features “a broad array of masterful artists [who] will have four hours to create a spectacular piece of art” as part of the opening celebration of the museum’s new sculpture trail:

“The Sculpture Trail is a new three quarter-mile outdoor art venue for the National Museum of Wildlife Art, designed by award-winning landscape architect, Walter Hood. Overlooking the National Elk Refuge, the trail will feature nearly 30 permanent and temporary works of art. The design allows for display of works against the Gros Ventre Range backdrop, and a naturally sheltered amphitheater space near the museum entrance. The Sculpture Trail will also connect to a recently constructed Jackson-to-Grand Teton National Park pathway via a new underpass for easy biker and hiker access.

Wyoming is one of the few states I haven’t had the chance to experience. I’ve heard that the Gros Ventre Range (made up of 317,000+ miles and true big game) is something everyone should see.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

Marco Casagrande’s Sandworm

Finnish architect Marco Casagrande’s Sandworm is what Archdaily marvelously called an “organic structure/space/creature” set on the Wenduine coastline, Belgium. Made of willow, Sandworm was built in 4 weeks in order to create something that Casagrande “describes as “weak architecture” – a human made structure that wishes to become part of nature through flexibility and organic presence.” It’s lovely.
Via Archdaily

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

The Fiddlehead And the Ramp

Gotten down in the dirt lately? If you had, you might’ve noticed a couple of things corkscrewing up from the ground. The first is the famous fiddlehead- the juvenile frond of ferns, and a superb asparagus replacement. The second is the foliage of America’s native garlic, otherwise known as the ramp. I’ve seen both these plants sold for their weight in gold in New York City’s Green Market and Whole Foods, while they quietly grow under our noses in woods just a stone’s throw from the city. While the ramp can be stirfried, blended into pesto, or safely chewed on raw, the fiddlehead is another matter. The ostrich fern is delicious steamed and sauteed in butter, but other kinds of ferns? Other kinds of ferns are a different story with nausea, abdominal cramping, and severe migraines on the list of likely side effects. So how good is your fern ID? Might want to stick with Whole Foods on this one.

Category: All Very Interesting... Food Plants

Posted by molly

NYC Food Book Fair – May 4-6th, 2012

Wilder Quarterly is delighted to be attending The NYC Food Book Fair - the world’s first event aimed at bringing together food publications from around the globe. In addition to cookbooks, the Food Book Fair will feature memoirs and magazines addressing diverse topics including science, food systems, agriculture, urban design, food art and culture. Over three days in May, the fair will host curated panel discussions, a pop-up bookstore and dozens of book signings.

We’re really looking forward to it. If you’re in the city, we hope you’ll come say hello!

Category: Wilder News

Posted by celestine

A Film, A Plant, A Dress

I’m having a very tropical moment that includes a film, new additions to my garden and a change to my wardrobe. It all started when I saw the film Indochine featuring the iconic Catherine Deneuve last week. Set in the 1930s, the film centers around Denevue’s privileged character and the rising Vietnamese nationalist movement. While the script is a bit of a mushy mess, Denevue is wonderful and the lush, green landscape is breathtaking.

Shots of overgrown jungle had me hungering for a trip to Vietnam and a Colocasia plant. Despite it’s south Asian roots, you’ve definitely seen this genus of plant with it’s oversized attributes and tropical texture. Today, I’m excited to put two gigantic bulbs of Coloscasia Esculenta (aka elephant ears) into the ground. I can’t wait for them to tower over the south side of Brooklyn backyard.

These hot weather plants reminded me of a photo shoot I recently came across for MSGM’s spring/summer collection. The Italian label has taken the floral and tropical trend to heart creating a collection of evocative, hot weather looks that now have me thinking that not only do I badly need a new summer dress, I need some tropical flora to pair with these elephant ears. Allamanda or a Brugmansia?

Sigh. And it all started with Indochine…

Category: Inspiration Plants

Posted by celestine

New Online Plant ID Key Out!

The New England Wildflower Society just unveiled its new plant ID website last week! Tinkered, tailored, and perfected over the last three years, the site helps you identity the plants in your backyard, street corner or even in the local pong. The key represents a three pronged approach to New England plant ID: the simple key allows for quick naming of over 1200 of the most common plants; the advanced tools help identify over 3,000; and the coming-soon advanced key will put the entire flora of New England at your fingertips. The site is smartphone and ipad friendly so c’mon, you’ve got no excuse. Get out there.

Get started with the key here.

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Charlotte’s Chrysanthemum

Charlotte Rampling.
Pictured: chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)

Category: In Pictures

Posted by celestine

Urban Dye Gardens

The New York Times has a great story today about a new generation of creator of natural dyes.
An excerpt:

“In truth, the art of natural dyeing has been near dead since the mid-Victorian era. Yet in Ms. Duerr’s experience, the last couple of years have seen a new bloom of interest in growing botanical dyes.

In a formerly derelict lot in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, a new dye garden and Community Supported Agriculture program will begin this spring. The Textile Arts Center, which is helping to start the garden, will offer not just plant material, but a workshop and access to its Gowanus studio. All 10 of the offered shares sold out in mid-March.

Natural dyes exist all around us, said Isa Rodrigues, 26, who organizes the center’s Sewing Seeds program, yet “people are not aware of them.” Colors can come from common flowers (like dahlias and marigolds); tree leaves (Japanese maple, sweet gum); berries (blackberry, elderberry); herbs (mint, rosemary); nuts and shells (acorn, black walnut hulls); and barks (birch, madrone).”

Category: Cities Fashion

Posted by celestine

Easy Apartment Greenery Via Succulents

Via Scotch & Scones

Category: Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Invasion Of The Garden Snatchers

Okay. I’m ready to finally say it aloud: “I’ve also got an invasion of Japanese Knotweed.” Molly, Wilder’s ever optimistic Horticultural Editor’s response to my panicked email, was “Oh my poor, poor dear.” One quick Google and I realized that I am far from alone. One video described it as a “warrior plant without fear of shovel, soil or weather” and that it can set-up “colonies.” The one before recommends “drying out cut stems because they will just start regenerating from wherever you threw them.” Oh and my favorite from some tough minded horticultuaralists: “ Effective treatment requires a multi-pronged approach that will need more than one attack.”

It’s official. I have zombies in my backyard.

And while the plant may not be all bad (it appears to play a role in fighting Lyme disease), I could do without. I love plants to be ramblers, wild, over and under, sprouting up and merging with ground cover. I am not meticulous or exacting in anyway. However, these fast growing, giant stalks that are crowding my long loved raspberry plants have got to go.

If you’ve got tips, please share! I can use all the help I can get.

Category: Plants

Posted by celestine

David Hockney’s Pink Hose Has Me Pining

It’s going up to a high of 78 degrees today in New York. Oh, how I wish I could stay home and take care of this overdue weeding. Hockney’s 1974 photograph has me pining even more.

Category: Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Natural Landscapes In Southern Spain

This is the view from southern Spain- specifically from the arid hills of Almeria, a province grown wealthy from intensive production of tomatoes, and other heat loving crops. The problem is, Almeria is also home to a preponderance of endemic wild plant species whose habitat is being gobbled up by greenhouses (known in the region as ‘plasticos’). Standing along the almost constantly dry arroyos you can find giant cane (Arundo donax), the largest grass in the world, standing 20 feet tall, and the diminutive blue-eyed iris (Morea sisyrinchium) reaching no more than an inch. And the landscape itself is a garden designer’s dream. Hill upon undulating hill stands peppered with handsome, ancient boulders offset by tufts of grasses, perfect balls of rock rose (Cistus) and golden sprays of broom (Genista). It is the perfect exhibition of the pallet of primary colors- the red of the rock and the yellow of blossoms- contrasted against the infinite blue of a cloudless spanish sky. Images by Molly Marquand

Category: Plants Travel

Posted by molly

Intermediate Lessons: Houseplant Cuttings

As the days warm and the hours of sunshine lengthen, buds start to swell and plants wake up. From their shoots to their roots, all the members of your garden (whether indoor or out) will be concentrating on one thing: growth. That makes now the perfect time to take cuttings.

Cuttings are small pieces taken from the stem of the original plant, rooted, and grown to produce a new plant. Hardwood and semi-harwood cuttings are taken from growth that’s woody, mature, and a year old or less. Softwood cuttings are taken from new, current season growth, and are best done a little bit later on, during the height of the growing season. Although some sources advise quite specific, optimum times to take cuttings, the most important thing is to select only healthy, vibrant plants with healthy, vibrant stems for cuttings. When done correctly cuttings can multiply your plant collection in no time, making plenty of replicates to give to friends.

How-to

The trickiest part about cuttings is determining where to make that all-important cut. Examine your plant’s stem and snip just below a sizeable pair of buds, preferably on a piece with promising new growth. If no new growth has appeared on your plant yet, don’t worry. But make sure your plant has plans to break out soon by checking for bulging buds.

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

The Traveling Blue Trees

Artist Konstantin Dimopoulos uses environmentally safe pigments to paint trees in urban areas to raise awareness of the acres of forest destroyed each year. The travelling project is leaving Vancouver and headed to Seattle this week.

Category: Art / Design Cities Video

Posted by celestine

In Pictures: David Bowie Takes On The World

Pictured: geranium (Geranium)

Category: In Pictures People

Posted by celestine

The Wild Wanderings Of A Gardener

Wilder contributor Helen O’Donnell rubs elbows with some of gardening’s greatest. In fact, right now, she’s at Christopher Lloyd’s Great Dixter, no doubt on hands and knees, dividing some gorgeous little known specimen. From making chestnut stakes to digging celandine to planting shrubs in Dixter’s revered High Garden, Helen does it all. Drawn to England every March she makes the pilgrimage to learn, and to feast on some of horticulture’s oldest, greatest, and most breath taking displays. Contemplating characteristics like color, vigor, texture, shape, shade, form, and bloom length, Helen brings back every bit of information and carefully dishes it out to her own gardens in Vermont. Naturally, Helen is an artist too, informed and inspired by the landscapes she works. Check out her art and follow her gardening adventures here!

Category: People Wilder News

Posted by molly

Plants As Decorative Element In A Gallery

From a post about exhibition photography and plants on the Walker Art Center blog:

“One aspect of my position as a photographer here at the Walker is to document the exhibitions. This has been an ongoing process dating back to the beginning of the Walker Art Center. While reviewing images of past exhibitions, I began to notice something now absent in the galleries, potted plants.”

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Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

Spring On The Wing – The Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Spring has come early this year, and the insects are beginning to catch up. Wafting from tree to tree I spied a Mourning Cloak butterfly today, the earliest butterfly to appear each spring. Mourning Cloaks more commonly feed on tree sap, but will occasionally do their pollination duty and seek out nectar sources from flowers. Oddly enough, Mourning Cloaks are an overwintering species, spending the cold season tucked away in the crevices of old logs, or lodged beneath the protected eaves of a building. As the name suggests, the butterfly’s wings are mostly dark, and somber colored- but the insect gets around. You should be able to find one of your own virtually anywhere in the USA. Look for adults and their spiny, red and black caterpillars on willows (Salix), elm (Ulmus), and birch (Betula).

Image by Rob Curtis

Category: Insects and Animals

Posted by molly

The Contemporary Still Life

Dane Lovett’s paintings of flowers in vases and jars provide a nice update to an old setting.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

3/28/12 – The View Today From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The view from the Free People offices in Philadelphia, PA. Submitted by Carrie Yotter.

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Got a great view? Share with us your nature-based view from your home, farm, vacation spot or office. Make sure you take the photo on March 29th, 2012. Please send it to: info at wilderquarterly.com along with a link to your Tumblr, Flickr, Twitter, etc.

If your photo is selected, we’ll send you a package of our !ilder Quarterly seed bombs and our latest issue.

Can’t wait to see your view!

Category: The View

Posted by celestine

Winter Wonders On A Wisconsin Farm

In the winter issue, Wilder visited two farms – one in upstate New York and the other, Cala Farms, in the heart of Wisconsin. The photographer, Cameron Wittig, captured these farmers in a series of outstanding images. Since we couldn’t print them all, Adrian Shirk, Wilder Quarterly’s assistant editor, spoke to Cameron about his work, Wisconsin and his impressions of Cala Farms.

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Cameron Wittig was born and raised in Milwaukee, and when Wilder Quarterly assigned him to shoot Cala Farms in Northwestern Wisconsin, Wittig had been itching to take an excursion anyway. That region in particular has dominated the geography of this photographer’s imagination for as long as he can remember. “I regularly drive across the state,” Wittig says. “From St. Paul, I take 35W, and try to get out of the city as fast as I can… Entering into Wisconsin is like coming upon a very quiet, old stranger, who, when she finally speaks, uses very few words but is able to say a lot.”

Cala Farms is situated in the small agrarian community of Turtle Lake, which hugs the Eastern border of Lake Superior. “The Minnesota side of the lake has a lot of development,” Wittig says. “It’s kind of the Cancun of the Midwest. But the Wisconsin side has very little development, and I think they like it that way… There isn’t the same presence of money, and I think residents appreciate that it‘s stayed that way.” Corn, sugar beets, and soy control much of the area’s farming economy, though more and more Minneapolis restaurants and vendors are patronizing smaller farms like the Calas’, as the interest increases for locally sourced food.

The town of Turtle Lake is just under two square miles, populated by approximately 2,000 citizens, and is fiscally bound by its cash crops and a single casino. When Wittig set out that afternoon, it was bright and cold, and the ground was covered in a crust of snow. The Green Bay Packers were still undefeated. “It was more silent than usual. There were no cars out. You got the sense that something important was going on. I just kept driving. I had the roads to myself because everyone was at home watching the football game.”

Rodrigo and Juan Carlos of Cala Farms were very welcoming to Wittig. The two cousins immigrated from Mexico City to the US just four years before, and with the help of Minnesota’s Big River Farms’ training program were able to get organic certification in 2009. “I liked them a lot. I think they’re very smart, and ambitious,” Wittig said, referring to the Calas. “They came to Minnesota to work on farms, and ended up buying a piece of land that’s surrounded by much bigger, established farms. They’re growing organic because they understand there’s a demand for that. While I was visiting with them, Rodrigo told me a story about a neighbor he’d spoken to recently. The man was approached by developers, and he stressed to Rodrigo that he did not want to sell it for that purpose, but he didn’t expand much after that. I don’t know what Rodrigo was thinking, but this is the sort of territory he has to navigate, pitting himself against casino or condo developers, befriending his neighbors as a Latino immigrant.”

During his tour around the farm — which was largely dormant for the deep freeze of the Midwest winter — Wittig walked the perimeter of the property, around their greenhouses and tilled land. “Some of the old structures on the property were in disuse, not in good condition. The silo, and the farm house. Those were there when the Calas got the land, and they haven’t decided what to do with them yet.” One striking photo features a pile of summer melon husks, half submerged in the snow. Another shows rows and rows of dark, leafy greens pushing through the frost. “I believe that was a cover crop,” Wittig says. “Maybe spinach. They’ll let it decompose, and it’ll make the soil nutritive for the next season without having to use chemicals.”

When Wittig was packing up to leave, he felt somewhat empty-handed, like there was still so much he couldn’t grasp about the life of the farm, the lives of these farmers. “I was reminded of a time when I went to the delta of Mississippi on assignment, shortly after Katrina. I was frustrated because I couldn’t figure out what was going on, really, or how to really get in on the action, anything important. And I met a film maker who’d been working in the area for ten years. He said, ‘Stop trying to understand what it’s all about — the only way you’d get it is if you’d lived here you’re whole life.”

He eventually decided he wasn’t empty handed after all. “I now knew these two guys — and I really liked them. And they’re possibly going to struggle more than the average farmer in the area. They both stressed that they were very, very cold in Wisconsin, and they told me a little about their family in Mexico… As I drove through Turtle Lake that evening, taking Highway 8, I’d see people on the street or idling in their cars at a stop sign and I’d wonder, do they know them? Are they friends of theirs?” Wittig ended up hightailing it to Deluth, the freshwater port on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin, where he checked into an old motel. He went through the day’s photos. “I kept thinking of the last thing Rodrigo said to me. He said something funny about Mexico. He wanted me to know that Mexico had a bad reputation for being dangerous, but that it’s not actually a dangerous place — and that I should know that if I ever wanted to go.”

Category: Long Reads Wilder Quarterly Articles

Posted by celestine

Daffadowndilly

So the story goes that Narcissus, a beautiful Greek youth, became so entranced by his own reflection, that he drowned in the pool he used as a mirror. Daffodils- fragile, ephemeral, wonderfully scented- sprang up where he had knelt.

Since then the Daffodil has spawned poetry, songs, and spread across the world. It goes by many names, like ‘easter bell’, ‘jonquil’, and ‘daffadowndilly’, and represents many different things. In China, it is a symbol of the new year. In Wales it is the flower of the nation’s patron saint, David. But everywhere it blooms it brings an irrefutable message: spring has finally sprung.

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

3/27/12 – The View Today From Lake Casitas, California

Lake Casitas is near Ojai California.

Submitted by Marc Alt.

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Share with us the magnificent natural view from wherever you are. Make sure you take the photo on March 28th, 2012. Please send it to: info at wilderquarterly.com along with a link to your Tumblr, Flickr, Twitter, etc. and we’ll post it to the Wilder blog and our Facebook page.

If your photo is selected, we’ll send you a package of our Wilder Quarterly seed bombs.

Can’t wait to see your view!

Category: The View

Posted by celestine

Got A Question? Get An Answer.

Starting next week, Molly Marquand, are horticultrual editor is going to be answering your plant questions. Curious about a plant? Need to know the best way to grow food indoors? Trying to figure out what works best on a Chicago rooftop? Molly has the answers. Email her at dearwilder at wilderquarterly dot com. She’ll be posting answers here and on our Facebook page on Monday!

Category: Dear Wilder

Posted by celestine

Things I’d Love To Grow: Toadshade

If there’s a plant that all nativists and shade gardeners covet, it’s got to be Trillium cuneatum. Commonly known as sweet betsy, bloody butcher, or, my favorite, toadshade, its names are apt tributes to the plant’s perfect blood-red, six petaled flower, and its preference for wet, dappled shade. Many Trillium species can take up to seven years to bloom when grown from seed, which accounts for their often exorbitant pricing at nurseries and in catalogues. Like most gardeners, I guiltily crave instant gratification, and that’s why sweet betsy is best. Give it a whirl in any damp, shaded area. And if you’re in the southeast, you’re in luck. That’s betsy’s favorite place to be. For those of you with the full sun garden, go plant spotting in your local woods in April/May. The bloody butcher’s cousins are just as lovely and in the northern states, are a relatively common sight.

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Stevie Nicks’ Flower And Vine

Stevie Nicks being the very fabulously, witchy woman she is.
Pictured: rose (Rosa)

Category: In Pictures People

Posted by celestine

Lessons For Beginners: House Plant Fertilization

Good gardeners treat plants like what they are: living, growing, changeable things. Where we got the notion that plants are like green machines, performing and behaving in predictable and consistent ways, I have no idea. Plants have likes and dislikes. Plants get sick. Plants get hungry. And sometimes they’re not. But as we slough off that last bit of winter and dive into spring, plants are most definitely feeling needy. They want light. They want water. They want food. Most of all, they want to grow. So help them, with proper fertilization.

Mistake number one of the beginner houseplant gardener is never feeding your plants. Many houseplants can stay in the same pot, in the same soil, for years on end and do just fine, but most of those kinds of plants are desert plants, accustomed to torture and riding out the hard times. Mistake number two of the beginner houseplant gardener is feeding too often. On the back of every Miracle Gro container it’s written- ‘feed once weekly’. THAT’S WRONG! Plants cannot grow bigger, and bigger and bigger ad infinitum. You feed them too much and they will give up the ghost. Symptoms of overfeeding include curled, brown edged leaves and a ring of white crust around the soil’s edge.

In order to accurately assess when your plant is ready for food, listen to it. Look at it. Is it sprouting out new growth? Is it flagging, looking wan? In spring, your houseplants will respond to extended daylight, despite being kept indoors. The new flush of growth that occurs at this time of year should be bolstered by the first administering of fertilizer. But, if no new growth appears as the days lengthen and warm, feed to help your plant strengthen up. As the season progresses, you can listen to Miracle Gro. More or less. Fertilize as necessary bi-weekly until the end of the season, re-potting your plant if it is getting too big for its container. And then give your plants a rest. They’ll be getting sleepy.

Image by Clara Pregitzer

Category: Plant Lessons

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Liam’s Left Hook

Liam Neeson looking marvelous.

Pictured: gerbera daisy (Gerbera)

Category: In Pictures People

Posted by celestine

Wringing My Hands Over A Japonica Kerria

In my Brooklyn backyard, there are two things taking place – lots of early blooming and lots of worrying. I’m terrified of a cold snap – a breeze of cool weather that will have the daffodils and crocus’ wilting on their stems. More importantly, I shudder to think of what one 40 degree day might do my cheerfully blooming Japanese Kerria (pictured above) shrub. This is the first plant I ever got into the ground and well, kept alive three years ago. Despite being an incredibly easy plant to grow, I’m always so surprised when the yellow blooms reappear each spring. I almost feel grateful that the plant’s thin arching stems have weathered another brutal New York winter. After all that anticipation, relief, joy, I’d hate to have these tissue thing yellow flowers disappear so early in the season.

New growers and city growers – the Japanese Kerria (japonica kerria) is for you, as it loves the shade. With that shocking LSD-yellow color, it’s also just a stunner against the back drop of a city’s greys and browns.

Category: Plants

Posted by celestine

Juan Gris’ Flowers

Juan Gris was one of the pioneers of Cubism and is also, the subject of today’s Google doodle. Generally, there’s no reason to comment on a Google doodle, but in this case, it’s worth illuminating Gris’ painting above titled, “Flowers.”

The SFMOMA website is home to a short, but interesting video video featuring curator Janet Bishop discussing Gris’s contribution to art and his patronage by the great literary lady, Gertrude Stein, through the lens of this single work, “Flowers.” Enjoy.

Category: Art / Design Video

Posted by celestine

The Perilous Tomato And Other Killer Plants

Ok, so the tomato isn’t so perilous. But its cousins certainly are. Closely related to the bright red symbol of summer are deadly night shade (Atropa belladonna), jimson weed (Datura stramonium), and angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia). And all three have relationships to us humans just as powerful the tomato’s.

Take a look at deadly night shade’s latin name, for example. Atropa is for Atropine, a naturally occurring alkaloid, which lowers muscle activity. Belladonna is for the beautiful ladies that used this substance to dilate their pupils making them doe-eyed, and irresistable.

Jimson weed’s uses are a touch more sinister. Although the plant has been smoked for many years, mainly for religious purposes across Southeast Asia and North America, fatal overdoses are alarmingly common. Also known as Jamestown weed, Datura stramonium was so named when several British soldiers were drugged with it by a clutch the colony’s rebellious citizens. Earlier in Britain the seeds were known as ‘knock out drops’, a kind of early rohypnol.

And the uses of angel’s trumpet are just as dark. Popular with shamans, the plant is still consumed in South America to open portals to the spirit world, aiding medicine men in their communication with the undead. Hundreds of years ago Andean tribesmen ingested the seeds prior to marching to their sacrificial death, so they would not fear what lay ahead.

Lucky for us the tomato is just so nice.

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

Light Up The Night

Barry Underwood’s surrealistic photographs have got my attention. From his artist statement:

“I approach my photographic work with a theatrical sensibility, much like a cinematographer or set designer would. By reading the landscape and altering the vista through lights and photographic effects, I transform everyday scenes into unique images.”

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

Enter Plantasia

Plantasia LP (1976) is the final LP in the career of exotica/psychedelic Moog composer Mort Garson. Tracks include “Symphony for a Spider Plant”, “Ode to an African Violet”, “Concerto for Philodendron and Pothos”, “Swingin’ Spathiphyllums”, “Mellow Mood for Maidenhair” and “Music to Soothe the Savage Snake Plant”.

From the record sleeve:

“Full, warm, beautiful mood music especially composed to aid in the growing of your plants.”

“It has been proven beyond any doubt that harmonic sound waves affect the growth, flowering and seed yield of plants.” — Dr. T. C. Singh, Department of Botany, Annamalai University (India)

Download here.

Submitted by Marc Alt

Category: Art / Design Inspiration

Posted by celestine

X-Rays Of Flowers

Brendan Fiztpatrick has created a study of flowers using x-rays machines at a local radiology lab to create the skeletal imagery you see above. Pretty amazing.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

The Spud Version Of A Skyscraper

Necessity is the mother of invention. And with more and more city dwellers taking an interest in growing their own food, numerous ideas have emerged to conquer the limited space that plagues urban green thumbs. Enter, the potato barrel. It’s the spud’s version of a city skyscraper. Plant your taters down deep in an old whiskey barrel (Or a bucket. Or a garbage can. Or a stack of old tires) and flip the container over at season’s end to harvest. The barrel minimizes space, mess, and time spent growing and preparing your crop. An excerpt from Scott Meyer’s ‘The City Homesteader’ explains how to make your own here.

Image shot by Sandy Austin

Category: Growing Guides

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Nancy Sinatra’s Sprung

Nancy Sinatra’s spring flowers are a fitting post to pair with the 70 degree weather in New York today.

Pictured: chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum)

Category: In Pictures People Tell Me About It

Posted by celestine

To Grow A Hedgerow

Gone are the days of the tight lipped topiary. The wafty, free form personality of an unkempt hedge is where it’s at. Hedges provide all kinds of benefits to the garden, besides being beautiful: they create habitat for birds and pollinators, they prevent erosion and anchor soil, and they block out all kinds of unwanted things, like prying eyes and wind and driving snow. What’s more, the hedgerow is gloriously amiable, and undemanding. In William Robinson‘s book, the Wild Garden, he discusses the rampant beauty of the untamed hedge, illustrating both it’s practicality and natural appeal:

‘we live in mechanical days, when many think that among the blessing and fine discoveries of the age is that of making a gridiron fence! and so we see some of the fairest landscapes disfigured by a network of iron fencing…’

So when it comes times for you to consider the limits to your garden, let your imagination run a little wild. For California, think manzanita (Arctostaphylos) and ceanothus. For Florida and the rest of the deep south try lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) and bottlebrush tree (callistemon). For all of you up there in the North, Juneberry ( Amelanchier) is a sure bet, as is the fruitful beach plum (Prunus maritima)

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

The Home Of The 4,000 Year Old Olive Branch From King Tut’s Tomb

The British empire lives on in the jam-packed closets of London’s Kew Gardens Herbarium. Carefully pressed, mounted, and stashed away are some 7 million specimens from all over the world. Not least of all is a 4,000 year old olive branch from King Tut’s tomb. Other gems include specimens from Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle, and a collection made by (the) Doctor Livingstone, which is accompanied by his handwriting, still blotchy from the african rainforest’s daily deluge, 150 years ago.

Marvels of all kinds abound in the herbaria’s hallways- it is also known to be one of the best sources of historical letters and books documenting the trials, tribulations, and quiet glories early plant hunters faced. Prominent among the archives is a giant tome written and illustrated by Carl Linneas himself. Brilliantly and delicately drawn, the botanist’s attention to detail and great love of the plants that shaped his career is plain to see.

Recently, Kew began an ambitious project to attempt to repatriate these specimens, and send them back to the native lands they were unceremoniously plucked from years ago: detailed photos of the pressed plants are being uploaded to a database which will be accessible to scientists everywhere. What? You thought the actual olive branch would go back to Egypt? Not likely.

Category: All Very Interesting...

Posted by molly

The Beginning Cook (Um, Me) Meets Mark Bittman

I’ve never been much of an eater. From day one, I was against almost all foods my mother put in front me. Fast forward to my early twenties where my palate had gone from picky to unsophisticated. This all began to change when I met my husband. He designs, builds, and/or owns (all depending on the day) restaurants and bars. One of those locations comes with an amazing chef named Tyler Kord. Master of the food mash-up, he’s got me appreciating things like kimchi, Mongolian tofu, fried broccoli, and combinations that normally make a scaredy-cat eater like me blanche.

I’ve come to appreciate good food because of this precise combination of growing and cooking, so I decided it was a high time I learned how to you know, actually, cook. To that end, I’ve started cooking my way through Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food With 1,000 Photos. Wordy title there, but it also sums up the 496-page book perfectly. I’ve learned how to quarter apples, build flavor, skin fish and run through lessons about mincing, cutting nuts and splitting a whole chicken. The book is full of detailed instructions, photos, instructions and variations. Perfect for the beginning cook. I can’t recommended enough for you other first timers.

Bittman, a journalist and former editor of Cook’s, is a passionate whole foods and home cooking advocate. Check out his recent spin on NPR for more.

Category: Food

Posted by celestine

A Hike Across America

On a recent trip down the Appalachian Trail I caught up with Martin Bernstein, who is in the beginning stages of an epic journey across America. This is no ordinary top-down, rt 66, scenic cross country drive, however. Inspired by his adventuresome Norwegian bretheren (people like Amundsen, Nansen, and Monsen) Bernstein decided on two rules for his trip. First: no sleeping indoors. Second: every mile covered, must be covered on foot (well, actually canoeing is allowed, too).

When asked why he’s decided to undertake such a long and grueling journey with nothing but two dogs and the bare essentials to keep him company, Martin has to smile. To him, this is what life is about. To him, an adventure of this kind is the most wonderful thing he could possibly be doing. Dropping the helter skelter life of the city to follow the long and winding 5,000 trail to the west coast is nothing less than a dream come true. Bernstein will hunt, fish and forage as much as possible on his journey, and write about it along the way. He’s taking the Appalachian Trail south to Pennsylvania, the Ohio river west to the Mississippi, and the fabled Pony Express all the way to the Pacific.

Follow him here.

Category: People Travel

Posted by molly

The Bastard Victoria Plum And Lady Northcliff At Brogdale

Henrietta Crosby, Lady Northcliff, Allington Pippin. Sound like names belonging to English nobility? Well, they’re actually varieties of apples. And how about Beech Tree Nestling, Gelbe Triumphbeere, Hero of the Nile and Golden Lion? These impressive monikers belong to a hairy, unassuming little fruit known as the gooseberry. The list goes on at Brogdale, the site of England’s national heirloom fruit collection, where over 3,500 cultivars are lovingly maintained. Here, even the most obscure and long forgotten varieties thrive, and bask in the glory of names like ‘Ben Nevis’ (a currant named for the tallest mountain in Britain) or ‘Bigarreau Antoine Nomblot’ – a cherry. Not a French courtier. This precious cache of diversity ensures the continued adaptability of fruit crops in the face of increasing threats from diseases, pests, and climate change. Brogdale, located near Faversham in Kent, is open to the public. Interested greenthumbs can purchase their own totally unique Brogdale gems at the nursery – so what strikes your fancy? How about a Bastard Victoria plum?

Image by Ammgramm

Category: All Very Interesting... Fashion

Posted by molly

Inspiration For The Day: The Flowered Bonnet

Category: Inspiration People

Posted by celestine

Blooming Rooms

Anna Schuleit has gathered 28,000 plants and placed them in a mental hospital slated for demolition. Anna spread out her flowers across four floors of the Massachusetts location and invited the community to wander through the spaces. Her thoughts:

“It would have been infinitely easier to work with just a few hundred flowers, or a few thousand even, but I wanted to reach my goal of twenty-eight thousand, because it had occurred to me at the beginning of the project that that was the minimum number that was missing here. If it had been a project merely for photography, we wouldn’t have needed so many. But it was really a project for the passing visitor, someone coming in, in real time, from the street and finding this sea of color inside the building, and throughout. A multitude of greetings on every floor. Really, simply, a work of the imagination. That’s all I hoped for. I was amazed by how many people wandered through the building on those four days.”

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

In Pictures: Kelly At Cannes

Grace Kelly at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.

Pictured: peony (Peonia) sage (Salvia)

Category: In Pictures People Tell Me About It

Posted by celestine

Beyond Allergies – Pollen Nabs Murderers & Marks Time

Invisible, scentless, soundless. Pollen is the silent task master of the plant world. The thing is, pollen is just as beautiful as the plants that create it. Members of the Asteraceae, or sunflower family, have pollen grains that look like celestial suns. The Betulaceae, or birch and hazel family, have delicate, tricornered grains resembling a Napoleonic hat.

Despite its tiny size, pollen punches way above its weight. Those of you badly allergic to the stuff can surely agree. But did you know pollen has solved murder mysteries? In one case in Berkshire, England, a palynologist (that’s a pollen expert) discovered a dusting of pollen in a suspect’s throat. Turns out, the pollen matched a unique plant that was blooming in the field where the victim was buried. Besides all that, pollen allows scientists to reconstruct ancient landscapes. Dredging up cores of lake sediment, where pollen is well preserved, palynologists can identify the grains to incredible precision and say exactly what was growing, and where. Pretty impressive for such a little thing.

Category: The Sciences

Posted by molly

A Brief History Of… The Banana

Believe it or not, bananas are older than Christendom. A sweeter cultivar of the usually starchy fruit was grown in Rome as early as 63 B.C. The plant’s scientific name, Musa acuminata, is actually a tribute to Antonius Musa, the personal doctor of Emperor Octavius Augustus, who promoted widespread cultivation of the fruit. As kingdoms, republics and empires rose and fell the bananas distribution continued to grow. Plantations emerged in Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, and Indonesia producing millions of tons of the fruit and making it one of the most widely consumed foods in the world.

It wasn’t until 1502 that the Cavendish variety, commonly sold in supermarkets today, was created in England from Chinese stock. When this super sweet cultivar arrived in the USA it was considered such a delicacy people ate it with a knife and fork. In England, people missed the point entirely and made use of the banana’s skins, stewing them in a pie. Banana’s are actually grown from suckers, or offshoots of the original mother plant, as the heavily cultivated varieties no longer produce viable seed.

To grow your own bananas, try the hardy, plain green Japanese banana, Musa basjoo, which thrives in zones 5 and up. For a little more color look for the Himalayan banana, Musa sikkimensis, which sports purple stripes on its leaves.

Category: A Brief History Of... Food

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Jimi Hendrix’s Gold Dust

Pictured: gold dust plant (Aucuba), Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)

Category: In Pictures Inspiration People Tell Me About It

Posted by celestine

The Future Of Urban Farming Conference

For those of you in New York on March 16th, the Horticultural Society is hosting a conference on urban farming where folks like Erika Brenner (Dekalb Farm), Annie Novak (Growing Chefs), Phyllis Odessey (Randall’s Island Park), and Britta Riley (Windowfarms) will be in attendance. A bit more about the event:

“While the potential of urban farming is huge—NYC alone has some 25,000 acres suited to it—this potential remains largely untapped. We will explore urban farms that have made it in NYC, as well as discuss hurdles to further development, promising avenues for activists, and what role we can expect urban farming to play in the larger food system. Whether you’re new to the concept, have been scratching city dirt for decades, or hope to make your mark on our food system, this conference will put urban farming in a “big picture” context with something for everyone.”

For more details, head on over to The Hort’s website.

Photograph taken by Jackie Snow of Annie Novak for Wilder Quarterly Winter 2012

Category: Cities Farms/Farming

Posted by celestine

Matt Singer’s A Million Trees Benefit Backpack

Designer Matt Singer has teamed up with Rivendell Mountain Works to create a limited-edition backpack to benefit the Million Trees NYC initiative. Their goal is to plant and care for one million new trees across the City’s five boroughs over the next decade. Planting trees is one of the most beneficial and cost-effective ways to help clean New York City’s air to reducing the pollutants and cool the city.

The bag is handmade in the Washington Cascades with the impeccable sturdiness and quality that Rivendell made its name on back in the 70s. The backpack is available in limited numbers, so if you want, it best go get it now. If you live in New York City and want to support Million Trees inititviae by volunterring, you can get in touch with them here.

Category: Cities Tools

Posted by celestine

Dear Wilder…

Have you guys met Molly? This is Molly Marquand, the Wilder Horticultural Editor. She’s a whiz with all things growing from farming to serious botany.

Molly is now going to extend that expertise to the Wilder community with Dear Wilder. Got a question about the how, what, when of growing or farming in your backyard or on your fire escape? Ask away. Each week, she’ll answer selected questions on our Facebook page and here on our blog.

Just email her at dearwilder at wilderquarterly dot com.

Category: Dear Wilder People Plants Wilder News

Posted by celestine

Urban Plant Spotting: The White Rayed Pentachaeta

City parks are more than just places to walk your dog and catch a few rays of sun. Vestiges of natural habitats that once flourished before human populations expanded, parks serve a conservation purpose, too. In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, a little plant known as the white rayed pentachaeta thrives amidst mostly non-native neighbors. An endangered relic from the park’s past life as a serpentine barren, the population growing on the San Francisco peninsula is one of the last of its kind.

The plant puts on a fantastic show in early spring, covering drab wintry hills with countless heads of nodding white and yellow flowers. In the megatropolis known as New York, similar sights can be seen at this time of year too as ephemeral wildflowers raise their heads for the briefest of moments before diving back down into the urban soil.

Image shot by Sage Ross

Category: Cities Plants

Posted by molly

In Pictures: Tilda Swinton’s Lounge Act

Tilda Swinton in bed.

Pictured: rose (Rosa), lily (Lilium), moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) boat orchid (Cymbidium)

Category: In Pictures People Tell Me About It

Posted by celestine

The Prickly Truth About Cacti

Most people probably think that the spiny cactus can pretty well take care of itself. However, the truth is over a third of all cacti species are endangered. Although all wild species of cacti are protected by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), cacti fall just below drugs and guns as the most popular item smuggled out of Mexico. Large specimens of saguaro are in demand in the landscape trade. The psychotropic species peyote brings in up to $250/kilo, and barrel cacti are prized for their sweet pulp which is used to make a popular candy in Mexico.

Recent efforts to curtail illegal cacti harvesting include outfitting some of the most wanted species with tracking devices. The chips will allow officials to easily sweep nurseries and landscape centers, which might be accepting ill begotten plants. Recently, a pair of German collectors were detained at Mexico City International with 543 species of cacti in their possession. They face thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time. The next time you purchase a cactus, ask where it comes from, and make sure it’s grown in legal nursery.

Category: Plants

Posted by molly

The Woods Of Thomas Jackson

I’m not one for camping, but I have come to enjoy a trek through the woods. My rugged father-in-law, James, get all the credit for that. West Virginia men just have a way with the wild. This year, I’ve signed up for a class on edible East Coast foliage. I’m hoping a little foraging and scavenging know-how will make the walks even more interesting, but I admit, I’m also aiming to impress.

Every time we take a cool autumn walk or a hot summer stroll through the woods by their home, I imagine I’m going to see something like Thomas Jackson’s photography above. The woods always make you feel like you’re about to happen across some sort of mystic secret – like how Jackson has these leaves moving through the trees in concert or the gathering of orange dots around that massive tree trunk. It’s part of the fun.

… Oh yeah. Those orange dots are cheese balls.

Category: Art / Design Inspiration

Posted by celestine

Exploding Flowers

I just bought a print from Fong Qi Wei’s exploding flower series. I’ve been meaning to forever, but after those cold, bitter day, I need a little sunshine.

Category: Art / Design Home

Posted by celestine

Flower Anthem By Karina Eibatova

“Flower Anthem” by Karina Eibatova. Weirdly fantastic.

Category: Video

Posted by celestine

An Expert’s Eye For Growing New York

The Natural Resources Group is charged with conserving New York City’s natural resources, which means that Clara Pregitzer, an ecologist with the group, sees things most New Yorkers don’t. In her travels up and down the five boroughs she keeps an eye out for all things natural, and beautiful. As an early spring descends upon the east coast, Clara is keeping tabs. She takes pictures, and fills willing listeners in on the urban-defying nature that is welling up in spring soils. Recently reported news includes information on city salt marsh restoration projects, and the blooming of march bulbs.

Check out her blog, Unscene New York and experience New York in a whole new way.

Image shot by Clara herself

Category: People

Posted by molly

How To Make A String Garden

One of my favorite pieces in the Winter Wilder Quarterly was the DIY guide to creating your own string garden. Created by Taylor Patterson, who runs floral and garden design studio based Fox Fodder Farm , and photographed by Rory Gunderson, the step-by-step guide shows you how to make a gorgeuos indoor or outdoor string garden. They’re gorgeous and perfect for weddings, outdoor parties are just to bring a bit of spring into your living room.

Download the full instructions

Category: How To Wilder Quarterly Articles

Posted by celestine

A Wilder Japan

Our friend Hiroshi in Japan just sent us a photograph of Wilder at the Utrecht store in Tokyo. We can see our good friends Inventory to our left and directly next to us is a collaborative art zine with photographs by Takashi Homma and embroideries by Kaoru Yokoo called “In Our Nature.” Embroideries? Think we’re going to have to order that one.

And, hello Japan. It’s nice to meet you.

Category: Wilder News

Posted by celestine

Things I’d Love To Grow: Kinmokusei

I’ve been looking for something colorful with a heavy aroma for the backyard. Honeysuckle came to mine, but now, I’ve made a hard left into more exotic territory.

The Kinmokusei plant, aslo known as Osmanthus fragrans and Sweet Olive, carries the scent of ripe peaches or apricots throughout a garden or home. The plant is a native to Asia, the city flower of Hangzhou, China and in almost every backyard in Kyoto. The flowers of this large shrub bloom in winter, early spring and sporadically throughout a not too hot summer with white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow flowers. The orange flowers have caught my eye with their slightly unusual shape and the descriptions of their aroma has me lusting for a Kinmokusei shrub of my very own.

What’s most amazing about Kinmokusei is that it a sun to partial shade plant, which makes it a good choice for some urban backyards that may have shifting shade throughout the day. Check your zone as it does better in 9 than 7.

Category: Plants

Posted by celestine

Flowers Are The New Black

Stella McCartney’s new spring/summer campaign is all about being in the moment.

“It’s very much looking at the energy of summer — when you’re outside, you’re moving, you’re feeling every moment of it,” McCartney told WWD. “It’s about heat, it’s about movement. The sporty side, mixed and merged with the more feminine, lingerie, sensitive side. And then there’s the masculine side. It’s all about trying to bring all those moments together into one story.”

Category: Fashion

Posted by celestine

Take Me Away To Florida?

On this dreary day in Brooklyn, I’m really loving florist/photographer/writer Amy Merrick’s West Palm Beach photograph.

Category: Art / Design

Posted by celestine

In Pictures: William Klein’s Roses

You probably know this image without knowing the man behind the camera, William Klein – fashion photographer and filmmaker. Great short interview with Klein can be found here.

Pictured: Rose (Rosa)

Category: In Pictures People Tell Me About It

Posted by celestine

The Watchers: Early Buds And Global Warming

The current warm weather has gardeners itching to get out onto the fire escape or out into the backyard. From Sumatra to Norway, the blossoming of plants is triggered by environmental cues that, until recently, have been relatively constant. Across the temperate climes average annual temperatures continue to creep up the mercury, bringing earlier springs, and earlier spring flowers.

In England, dedicated naturalists have been recording the breaking of spring buds since the 1700s. Released by Britain’s Royal Society of Biological Sciences, a 250 year index shows the flowering dates of 405 species and demonstrates the impact of climate change on growth. The current index shows that for every 1C rise, bud burst occurred five days earlier.

On the U.S. side, Project BudBurst monitors the timing of phenological plant events (such as leafing, blooming and fruiting) by collecting data from citizen scientists across the country. The data they collect will help scientists understand how the alteration of to the climate will affect things like bird and insect diversity, pollination, and our own food production. The red maple and other ultra-early spring bloomers are the most doggedly watched by BudBurst’s team. Other ubiquitous, easy-to-identify plants such as common yarrow and trout lily open the study up to anyone – like maybe you?

Category: Growing News Plants The Sciences

Posted by molly

All Very Interesting…

San Diego-based orchestral outfit The Tree Ring hosted a hike-in show in the woods off Big Laguna Trail, in a place only reachable by foot. See the video above and this link for more.

From Nowness: Fashion’s Premier Florist Reveals the Secrets of a Perfect Bouquet (link)

In Vancouver? The Victory Gardens Launch Party and Silent Auction is on Friday, March 2nd, 7 – 11pm. (link)

The new book Wild Fermentation has been recommended to us by some serious foodies and chefs twice today. (link)

Leah Durant’s nature themed work. (link)

Category: All Very Interesting...

Posted by celestine

Love Her Or Hate Her She’s Got A Great Florist

Lana Del Rey crowned in flowers.
Pictured: Rose (Rosa)

After the jump, Lana in flowers upon flowers.

Category: In Pictures People Plants

Posted by celestine