State Garden Show...A Photomemoir

Despite a fresh snowfall, spring fever is starting to really hit me hard. After all, it is the end of February, which mean it's time to do my planning and even start a few seeds indoors soon! Woohoo!

*Note - this is a post about non-edible plants, but just as inspiring to the gardener's soul!

Landesgartenschau 2011
The State Garden Show here in northern Germany was here in town 2 years ago, hard to believe it's that long ago already! Never the less, it was a great display of beautiful flowers and plants from the region. Not only was it a nice way to spend an early Fall day (I went toward the end on October 3rd), but a chance to surround yourself by themed beds and a taste of garden life in the city. Here's some of my favorites from my photo attempts (click on each to enlarge):

Lots of gorgeous specimens...check out the cabbage-family plant lower left!

 

Big, beautiful beds as far as the eye could see!

A memoir of Fall....

One of my favorite themed beds (Fall, length-wise view). I really like the mix of dark leaves and orange and pastel flowers.

Fall-themed bed, view more from the side - gotta love the texture and color combinations here!

A Spring-themed bed - great warm colors!

Another eye-catching themed bed - love those dark purples and light greens together!

I enjoyed the themed beds the most (the last 3 pics) - they were displayed on the edge of the show grounds, in a very natural setting, in long beds surrounded by natural grasses. And the hue/texture combinations were impressive. Nothing like enjoying beautifully-landscaped beds at twilight....

And most importantly! This post is here not only as a nice inspiration for spring planning, but also as mental preparation for....

The International Garden Show 2013!

I cannot wait for this! And I'm lucky enough to have it take place right here in Hamburg!! This year's IGS opens on April 26th and has an "Around the World in 80 Gardens" theme - sounds exciting! Only 60 days left!

Not only will the grounds be filled with live music, theater, and outdoor exercise courses (yoga, qi gong, etc.), but there's also opportunities for kids and the whole family as well as tasty treat from an international kitchen.

And of course the main events - the plants, oh the plants! Some areas of the park: World of Ports, World of Religions, Rose Boulevard, Miniature Gardens, Forest House, Cultural Landscapes, World of Water, United Nations Park, World of Continents, and many more!

From the looks of it, I'm gonna have to go a few times ;)

So I'm looking forward to a fun-filled spring with events, planting, and growing!

Mystery Vegetable: Corn Salad

This one isn't really a mystery to me these days, in fact I've grown to love it over the past few years here. Now it's my favorite type of lettuce-y vegetable!

Introducing this luscious green also known as lamb's lettuce aka field salad aka feldsalat aka nut lettuce aka rapunzel aka...

Corn Salad!

Valerianella locusta is its latin name, and has round, soft, dark green leaves, about 6 to a plant or so by the time it's ripe for harvest. It has a nice flavor and is not bitter or rough like many other greens. In fact, it is quite delicious!

It's best eaten on the side with just a little light dressing, or as a base for a salad - if you try to cook/fry this one, it will wither into non-existence!

It supposedly got its common name because it is known to grow as a weed in wheat fields, which is actually kinda funny - when I fist arrived in Germany, I saw my German friends eating this and laughed because I thought they were eating a weed! This delicious green is, however, anything but a weed to me! Check it out!

Germination Charts for Outdoor Planting

Mid-February means you really can start planning your garden ordering seeds!

I know how easy it is to get the itch to get planting, too - I also have fallen into the trap of starting plants too early indoors and had them get too long, leggy, and pale before it was warm enough to get them out! Talk about Spring fever!

Make sure to check your seed packages to determine when to start your seeds indoors, most packages do mention a time span on the back.

For those who are planning on starting their seeds directly in the outdoors, I've found these 2 lovely charts to guide you - they provide an overview of which seeds will germinate in what amount of time at what temperature. Handy!

Here's another one split up by temperature:

A big thanks to Roots Nursery for these charts! Check out their website or like them on Facebook!

Happy V-Day!

Red Beet Heart Stamp

Happy Valentine's Day to all the vegetable lovers out there! And a Happy Vegetable Day to my readers, ha!

As you can see there, vegetables are not only edible put can be made into cute crafts, like this red beet heart stamp I made for the occasion of the day!

Just:

1. cut the beet approx. in half (depending how big you want the heart to be), then
2. carve a heart shape on the surface with the tip of a small knife, then
3. carve off the outer part from the skin to the heart cuts, allowing the extra to fall off so only the heart is left protruding
4. make sure to cut deep enough so that the heart sticks up far enough, otherwise you will get a ring around the heart when you stamp
5. just stamp the heart down on a piece of paper! if it gets too dry, dab with a few drops of water, or cut off a thin layer to get at the juice on the inside!
6. Enjoy and be creative!

Great for those who want to make their own personalized Valentine's Day cards, and even better if that special someone loves veggies as much as you do!

Have a great day and share the love!

Mystery Vegetable: Black Salsify / Viper's Grass

Black Salsify / Viper's Grass

It's a dirty turnip...it's a dirty beet....no, it's Schwarzwurzel!!!

Literally translated from the German word as "black root", these black round balls landed in my veggie box for the week! These little guys, about the size of a small beet or turnip, look like someone just forgot to wash them - yet the black coloring is part of the skin, rough and almost net-patterned. This is definitely a vegetable that I've never seen outside of Germany before, let alone in the States. Way to go Germany, with all your root vegetables!

This is supposedly called "Black Salsify" or just "Salsify" or even "Viper's Grass" in English; Scorzonera hispanica is its latin name...anyone heard of it? While they can be eaten raw (has a bit of a spicy bite raw), they are best eaten cooked or steamed and tastes kinda like a mix between radishes and kohlrabi. And you can't forget to peel the tough skin from them before cooking - they are also practically pure white inside! I've seen a variety of this in the store, which was a lot longer and shaped like a carrot - maybe these are round because of the late and cold weather harvest time?

These guys, due to being pretty hard, are robust and can be stored for a long time without going bad. A good and very nutritious winter vegetable, another new one to try! They are best cut and put into a casserole or stew, or in a curry. Or just with some meat and other vegetables in a pan with a finishing cream-type sauce!

CORRECTION (Mar 6, 2013): This vegetable was mislabeled in my CSA box...I was wondering why it was not carrot-shaped like it was in all the pictures I saw. This is because it is the healthy Black Spanish Radish!! My description is still the same, just goes by another name, sorry for the mix-up! :)

Squirrel in the City

European Red Squirrel

Who says just because you live in the city, or have *just* a balcony garden, you don't get to attract and admire wildlife? Well, whoever it is is wrong, very wrong!

Despite being on the corner of my building, and despite it being quite windy up here, I have been able to experience a multitude of different kinds of wildlife on my little balcony paradise! Despite Punxsutawney Phil's forcast the other day, I sit bundled up in my apartment, waiting for spring and longing for a nice and lush, green balcony, where I can enjoy a nice dinner with freshly-picked herbs and vegetables and look out at sunrise over the skyline....

I digress - unfortunately do think it is a little to early to allow myself to be consumed with thoughts of Spring and gardening outdoors on my balcony in a warm breeze, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything out there running or flying around that can't be taken care of and enjoyed!

You wonder how a squirrel made it to my 4th floor balcony? This is not the first time, but an explanation is there - the tree only a few yards from my balcony, separating our building from the neighboring one. It's a weeping willow type tree, not too tall to block the sun but tall (and dense) enough to provide a natural curtain in the summer from the neighbor's curiosities. The tree is also inviting as stopping point for birds on the go around the neighborhood, as well as squirrels, so they also jump/hop/flutter over to my balcony for a bite to eat as well. This squirrel even stayed still long enough for me to get close enough for this photo, wow!

Last Winter was better for them since I left more plants to go to seed on my balcony than I did last year, providing the birds and squirrels with lots of food and shelter. Not only did I receive visits from a few red  squirrels (the variety they have over here, also less abundant and smaller than in the USA), but also a variety of colorful birds! Yellow, red, brown, they came in many colors. I think they were finches (possibly a Greenfinch) and different types of swallows and warblers, but I also get some bigger birds like the black-billed magpie, also common to the area.

I saw that one of my neighbors hung a little suet bag on their balcony, maybe I will do the same! My little wildlife nature preserve! :) Come birdies, come! And come Spring, come!