We’ve had a dry time of it lately, much to the dismay of the Ether Garden and its stewards. Fast is approaching the Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club’s annual Morel foray, and I’m beginning to fear there won’t be many Morels (or much else) to be found. Such is life when you’re at the whim of nature though I suppose.

April is a weird time here at the Ether Garden. Not quite growing temperatures sometimes, and other times it feels like summer! Confuses garden and gardener alike. Nonetheless there are definite signs of life about. The Lillies are pushing up their bizarre looking red spikes, Daffodils are starting to open, and the occasional albeit confused wild violet is popping up. Chives are starting to bud, and the Columbine which we thought had been lost to cutworms is pressing on with increasing vigor. Hooray for natives, no?

The cherry blossoms are fading, and the leaves are starting to come in. It’s interesting to watch the colors change from white to light pink to dark pink and then to green. Sometimes plants fascinate me. This weekend is the Blossom Tour in Lower Lawrenceville, and I’ll be there! I’m going to have a few examples of things you probably already have in your home which can be recycled into handy gardening tools, how nifty is that? Hopefully the weather will be nice for it!

The lettuces are pushing along in the cold frame, I’ve been nipping a leaf here or there for salads already. Not too much though, I’d like to let the romaine head up a bit if I can. Radishes went in along with the lettuces not too long ago, and are already popping their little heads up. We’ll have the tastiest salad ever in no time!

While out planting onion sets and tidying up the back strawberry patch I met a new friend. Last year I made friends with a baby bunny. This year? Meet Kibbles. Kibbles is the most loving of lovey kitties I’ve ever met, and I’ve co-habited with cats my whole life. I know some people look on cats as garden pests, but here in the Ether Garden we’re definitely cat lovers. I’ve not seen Kibbles digging in the garden at all anyhow- just lazing about under the Azalea or by the back fence. Maybe I should plant a catnip patch this year in honor of Kibbles, though I don’t want to make our own sweet kitten jealous (she’s indoor only unless she’s on her leash).

We’ve tilled up the narrow strip behind the back fence and worked in some bunny manure courtesy of Freecycle, the frugal gardener’s best friend. The plan is for sunflowers, hollyhocks, onions, garlic, and assorted wildflowers to go back there. With luck, the neighbors won’t drive over the patch too much before we put down some sort of barrier. Railroad ties would be nice, but we might try for some free bricks if we can manage it.

Anyone who has ever tried to travel to Washington D.C. to see the cherry blossoms is well aware that they are fickle creatures, if you can call a flower a creature that is. Despite the amazing beauty of a cherry in full bloom, it is a brief moment indeed. Last year we had a full 5 days of blossoms before the branches were bare and the ground was strewn with petals. So far we’re on day three of this years bloom. I will miss the delicate perfume on the air, but it certainly gives something to look forward to every year. This is our second spring here with the Ether Garden and I have an awe and appreciation for this tree which I can’t quite express. There are ornamental weeping cherry trees all around town, but I have yet to see another of the same size and sheer blossom load that ours has.

Today the tree was a-buzz with honey bees, which made us smile. The whole tree was just covered in them busily flying from flower to flower, there was a decent hive’s worth of bees there today. Such a lovely thing to see, especially with everything going on these days with hive collapse.

I did notice, while going through photos, that either the tree is early this year, or the flowers are late, or something. I also noticed how very quickly this tree grows! This photo is from last year, taken on April 17th. There is definitely not nearly that much going in the garden around the tree right now! Then again- it’s only the first week of April right now, so maybe the tree is early? I’ll try to grab a good photo of the tree tomorrow which really shows how much this tree has grown. The longest branches are touching the ground, and even the short ones are a mere foot shy. Who knew they were such vigorous growers? I’ve started reading up on how to properly prune the tree, to keep it as healthy and pretty as I can.

Bloom Day is here, and just on time! We had our first blossoms here in the Ether Garden about two days ago, in the form of our dwarf irises. They even beat out the crocus blossoms this year, which have yet to be seen even in bud! Of course, we’ve known spring was on it’s way for a while what with the temps popping up into the 70’s for a few days there and the robins being back in town.

The pussywillow is also in bud, which is always a treat. We actually have two in the Ether Garden, one standard and one of the weeping variety. I’ve always loved their little grey furry buds. All the trees seem to be in bud in fact- the weeping ornamental cherry and the maple are both brightly colored with scads of buds waiting for just the right moment. The cherry blossoms make such a brief appearance, but oh what a show!

This week also marked a good bit of garden clean up, namely pulling off the hay mulch wet with rain and melted snow and replacing it (where needed still) with some of the loftier bunches from on top. Trimming back the last of the dead tops from long since spent blossoms, and raking up of errant mulch and leaves is on the agenda for the next couple days. Soon- we plant peas!

This years varieties, at least as planned, include a vast array of heirloom veggies as usual, some are stand-by old friends, and some are new and exciting. The list so far includes (most seed is heirloom, all seed is organic):

• Bean, bush: Bountiful (1897) [47-50 days]
• Bean, bush: Empress (re-named 1979) [55 days]
• Bean, bush: Pencil Pod Golden Wax (1900) [50-65 days]
• Beet: Carillion [58 days]
• Beet: Chioggia aka Candy Stripe (1840) [50 days]
• Beet: Detroit Dark Red (1892) [60-65 days]
• Broccoli: Romanesco [75-100 days from transplant]
• Broccoli: De Cicco (1890) [48-85 days from transplant]
• Cabbage, red: Mammoth Red Rock (1889) [98 days from transplant]
• Carrot: Danvers Half-Long (1871) [65-87 days]
• Carrot: Minicor
• Cucumber, pickling: Double Yield (1924) [50-60 days]
• Endive: Galia
• Fennel: Florence
• Leek: Blue Solaize [100-120 days]
• Lettuce, romaine: Forellenschuss [55 days]
• Lettuce, looseleaf: Lollo Rossa [55 days]
• Lettuce, butterhead: Tennis Ball (1850) [50 days]
• Melon: Sakata’s Sweet [85-95 days]
• Onion, sweet-storing: Walla Walla (day neutral)
• Onion, scallion: Summer Bunching
• Pea, snap: Amish Snap [60 days]
• Pea, shelling: Sutton’s Harbinger (1898) [52-60 days]
• Potato, yellow storing: Yukon Gold [100-120 days]
• Pepper, sweet bell: Orange Bell (1989) [90 days from transplant]
• Pepper, sweet bell: Sweet Chocolate (1965) [58-86 days from transplant]
• Raddicio: Indigo
• Rhubarb: MacDonald
• Shallot: French Demi-Long
• Spinach: Monnopa [45-60 days]
• Squash, winter: Waltham Butternut Cucurbita moschata [83-100 days]
• Tomato, paste: Amish Paste [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, slicing: Cherokee Purple [80 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, beefsteak: German Pink [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, paste: Opalka (1900) [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Flower, Sweet Pea: Cupanis
• Flower, Nasturtim: Black Velvet
• Flower, Hollyhock: Nigra
• Herb: Provincal Lavender
• Herb: Dill
• Herb: Winter Savory
• Herb: Rosemary
• Herb: Marjoram
• Herb: Thyme
• Herb: Oregano
• Herb: Hot and Spicy Oregano
• Herb: Peppermint
• Herb: Lemon Balm
• Herb: Basil
• Fruit, Fig: Hardy Chicago
• Fruit, Strawberry: unknown variety

Remember how we mentioned that those local to the Ether Garden can benefit? Your first opportunity is right now! If any of the veggies or flowers above interest you, drop us a line! The Ether Garden is offering packets of seed in small numbers to local reader-gardeners. We will also be offering seedlings in May, and you can place dibs on seedlings at this time as well! Unfortunately we cannot offer herbs or fruit seed/starts at this time, but this may change later in the season. This is a great opportunity for those of you who simply don’t need a full packet of seed, but want to start your own. This is also a great way to get heirloom seedlings raised organically and locally.

There were dozens upon dozens of large white tents set up across the Phipps Garden Center’s rolling lawn, mostly representing local suburban gardening clubs, each selling their plants, vegetables, herbs, trees and bushes. There were also a few odd companies hawking garden paraphernalia — things that look like stones but are actually speakers, things that look like stones but are actually drainage systems, things that look like stones but are actually very special kinds of stones which you should pay hundreds of dollars for. Construction Junction had a tent too, as well as a couple people selling various sorts of garden junk — wire twisted up to look like giant bugs, a slightly larger than life-size mossy statue of a golfer, and of course garden gnomes, garden cats, and garden saints.

In general, everything was overpriced. Some guy wanted ten bucks for a single shoot of bloodroot — a native plant I could find for free anywhere. People were selling tiny dogwood trees for nearly $100. And of course tropical plants abounded. Some lady tried to push a hibiscus bush on me for half-price because they were closing up their tent. When I found out that I would have to take it inside every winter, I balked. That prospect sounded way too much like work to me. And I don’t think we’d even have a spot for it indoors anyway.

The event planners decided to have the May Market on a rainy weekend outdoors in a hilly spot covered in mostly grass, which means that after a hundred people trampled the grass down, it was a muddy mess. I had to occasionally carry my friend, Olga, around, who wore cloth high-heels, assuming that an high-class event at the Phipps Garden Center would not actually be Woodstock ‘94.

The theme of the show was “An Eco-Friendly Garden Fair.” The thing is: I have no idea what was supposed to be so eco-friendly about a bunch of people loading up plants into trucks and driving them from the suburbs into the city, only to load them up a couple days later and drive them all back to the suburbs again. I’m sorry ladies, but your geraniums will not save the planet. They’re still the same geraniums they were five years ago before you thought that appearing eco-friendly would be clever.

I suppose keeping a vegetable garden is eco-friendly, but I noticed fewer than five tents which featured vegetables. The rest of it was mostly tropical plants, annuals, and shrubs, most of which are invasive anyway.

If I weren’t so cheap, I would have bought a sundial on a pedestal for $75. Instead, I walked out of there with a pot of Hot & Spicy Oregano (O. vulgare ‘Hot & Spicy’) for three bucks. I noticed it on some guy’s table, and having never heard of that particular variety of oregano before, he let me taste a sample. It in fact tastes like oregano, but also hot and spicy — totally worth having.

Am I glad I went? Sure. I wouldn’t have this Hot & Spicy oregano if I had stayed home. Was it a ridiculous greenwashed show of empty “environmentalism?” Yup. You’ll need more than a concrete Saint Jerome and some overpriced marigolds to fix our dirty water and our broken atmosphere. From the muddy lawn to the utter lack of effort towards changing anything they’ve been doing for the past fifty years in regards to our environment, the entire May Market was a pink flowery celebration of a gross lack of planning ahead.

More than just flowers are bloomin’ here in the ether-garden this Bloom Day. While checking on the garden and replacing a few of the milk-jug cloches which got blown around during one of our recent storms, I happened across this sweet little one and his (her?) brothers and sisters. They were hiding awfully well, I nearly trampled the lot of them! I was surprised how calm this little guy was, and simply couldn’t resist a brief snorgle of his little white-spotted head. I made sure to explain the ground rules of living in the ether-garden before sending the little one along home.

Of course, there are plenty of flowers blooming too. The ornamental alliums have presented themselves in all their pom-pom glory, and the chives are following suit. The wild violets are out, along with a sneaky little variegated vinca growing up along the side walk. The yellow irises are in bud, as is my sage. I’ve never seen sage blossoms before, so I’m quite anxious for them to open. They’ve been in bud for some time now…

Sweet Vitriol has also bloomed a bit, you may have noticed a new author recently. Luminiferous joins in the fun to share his thoughts and ideas, and to keep the show running when I’m out of town. I see wonderful things in the future from this. A new page will be popping up soon as well, with brief bios and such on both Lumin and myself.

Not only is today bloom day, but for those in the Pittsburgh area and Allegheny County, we are now considered to be safely past the threat of frost. Now, if it goes and frosts again don’t blame me as this isn’t an exact science. I just know that today is the best birthday present I can ever ask for- the day I can safely plant the rest of my garden. Most of it’s in already, but what few seedlings were still waiting for that magic time can finally go outside and stretch out their roots and greet the world. Happy Bloom Day!

The notorious Bindweed, which plagues our city of Pittsburgh, has begun to sprout vinelings in our garden. Bindweed, also known as Creeping Jenny and sometimes mistakenly as Morning Glory, is a real pest. It’s a viney plant that is hard to kill, and will wrap itself around anything it can find, especially plants that you actually want to keep alive.

So, what do we do? You can’t just pull it out like other weeds due to its extensive root system. Established infestations of bindweed are known to have twenty to thirty lateral feet of roots, and taproots have been excavated to depths of thirty feet. While ripping out the shoots may seem satisfying, the real monster continues living happily underground, and you’ll end up feeling like Kevin Bacon in Tremors.

So, the only option we can really think of is to use an herbicide such as Roundup, which stinks because the Monsanto company itself stinks, and Roundup isn’t exactly organic. Nonetheless, what we’ll probably end up doing is pouring concentrated Roundup into a cup and using a paintbrush to paint the bindweed leaves with it. That plan should help manage things, and with luck in a few years could possibly rid ourselves of the infestation.

Are you not sure if that horrible thing taking over your garden is bindweed? The Idaho Weed Awareness Campaign has some good photographs, and even a nice little slide show which might help you figure it out.

We wish there were a way to handle bindweed without using Roundup. How do you handle bindweed?

First, on Friday we’ve got the Great Plant Auction at the Phipps Garden Center (remember, the Garden Center is located at 1059 Shady Ave, near the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts). Doors for the Great Plant Auction open at 6 p.m. Admission includes wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres: $20 members; $25 non-members.

Saturday brings the Phipps Conservatory used bulb sale, at the Conservatory from 9am to 6pm. Also on Saturday is the Audubon Society’s local plant sale at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, from 9am to 2pm.

I’ve been thinking about turning a section of the ether-garden into a native plants plot, and this is just the kick in the pants I needed. I’m definitely quite excited!

We got some three inch deck screws, a bunch of two by tens cut to appropriate lengths for our four foot by six foot boxes, our drill and screwdriver and hauled it all into the basement for some drilling and screwing. We pre-drilled two holes in the ends of each six foot piece of lumber, laid out the lumber on the floor as it would look in its finished form, and then screwed our deck screws. We used deck screws instead of just regular screws because they’ll be more weather resistant.

After completing our boxes, we took them into the yard and dropped them in a good spot. However, our yard isn’t exactly flat, and the boxes wouldn’t lie horizontally no matter where we put them. I decided that an unlevel garden box would be a problem when it rained, since all the good soil we put into the boxes would just run out of the tilting wooden frames. So, I fixed the problem by leveling them out. I dug a good trench in a few of the corners such that the box could sit level horizontally.

Look at that photo. Check out those rocks we had to dig out. Along with the big rocks, there were bits of glass and chuncks of plastic buried about a foot deep. It looks like our yard is built on clean fill, which isn’t surprising given that in our hilly neighborhood practically everybody’s yard has been leveled out industrially.

After digging the trenches, I used the removed sod to bolster the opposite corners of the boxes. And now we have three big empty garden boxes waiting for our topsoil and compost.