Garden for the Environment

Just a few pictures I snapped yesterday on my way to a double bill of X-Men First Class and Bridesmaids at the fabulous, funky Balboa Theater that is not one of those gross megaplex chain movie theaters (my first day off from school...I wanted some very passive entertainment. Both movies were okay. You know, those super-hero movies always try to do too much, and end up rushing the character development to the point of disaster. But whatever. I think I have a crush on Michael Fassbender. Too bad his character turned so resolutely evil by the end of the movie. That could have waited until a later sequel. Bridesmaids, I think, got too built up for me. Same thing happened with Ghostbusters, the first movie I had sky-high expectations for that just ended up disappointing me. Bridesmaids was still funny. I especially enjoyed the scenes with Kristen Wiig and John Hamm. And I really liked January Jones in X-Men. Maybe I should consider watching Mad Men after all).









My blue honeywort was not so inky blue this year (Cerinthe major purpurascens). Maybe it's getting a little inbred, coming up from seed so many years in my garden. Note to self: get some new plants this fall.



Some day we'll have a bigger garden with room for a long row of alstromeria.





It's been so cold this year, and I have been so busy, that I haven't bothered with vegetables in my garden. This morning the TV weather man was talking about a cold pattern moving in... A cold pattern moving in? When in the last several weeks has it been anything else? I know the a lot of the country is roasting right now. What can I say. Come to San Francisco where it's cold and miserable.



Perfect for kale tho'.





Ever since we stayed at the Parker Palm Springs, I've been in love with the pairing of Copper Canyon daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) with aloes and agaves.



The daisy, a species of marigold, is an airy, frilly complement to the succulent's bulky, inflexible architecture. Plus, the flowers are constant and the foliage is fragrant, especially with heat.







Okay, I'm off for a little hiking today. You can sit and stay for as long as you want.

Garden for the Environment

I'm always happy to visit this garden at 7th Avenue at Lawton, and we've come here on the blog together many times. This place demonstrates what a productive, water-wise, and ecologically friendly San Francisco garden can be...given sufficient sun. Even situated in the fog belt, as this garden most certainly is, on a corner lot without any tall buildings, a home gardener would be blessed to have this much sun anywhere in San Francisco.





























The gardeners emphasize year-round flowers, and year-round food production. The small, attractive beds are perfect for small, city gardens.





I didn't get pictures, but they also grow several apple trees, a big kiwi vine, and some lemons.

Garden for the Environment

I saw some nice plant and flower combinations today at the Garden for the Environment.











And I saw a cat.



And an oven.



I saw pears and stairs.



Many apples.



I saw nekkid ladies, almost.



I saw Grindelia



Full of bugs.



And there were lettuces



On a table



With squash underneath.

Making herbal medicines

I thought I would enjoy the herbal medicine-making class at the Garden for the Environment today, but I guess I wasn't in the mood for what was offered. I'm trying to figure out why I didn't like it.

What can I say without sounding like a jerk. As a scientist you learn to put up with, or accept, a certain amount of pseudoscience and scientific illiteracy from the general world. Sometimes letting things go is a compromise you make in order to get by and get along. I admit to making that compromise from time to time, but I don't think it's a virtue.

Sometimes you want to reach out and enlighten. That works best one on one. Much harder to do in front of a group of people you don't know, especially when the teachable subjects are many and various. Nobody likes a know-it-all. Moreover, when you're paying to take a class, you don't want to teach it too, right? That's only reasonable.

In all honesty, I do not regard herbal "medicine" as medicine. Simply having, or allegedly having, medicinal properties does not make something a medicine. Medicine is contingent on the current state of knowledge. A miracle drug in one age is a dangerous, antiquated therapy in another. We never have perfect knowledge, we never will.

I will gladly take any benefit from the quinine in my gin and tonic. If my blueberries have cancer-fighting antioxidants, so much the better. I can hardly function in the morning without a cup of coffee. But am I going to call those things medicine? Not with any seriousness. You can if you want to, but why would you? I guess you would if it's part of your tradition, or worldview. So it is that "herbal medicine" is about more than just botanical extracts and plant preparations.

Above all else, the instructor wanted us to think of herbal medicine-making as a way to learn more about plants. Well, what gardener doesn't want to learn more about plants. If she had stopped there I would be fine. But she and the class made and exchanged several scientific-sounding claims that seemed to have little if any basis in fact. If you're going to talk about qi and chakras, why mess it up with pH and cancer?

I think herbal medicine is not for me. I thought about responding to a few points that I found particularly irksome, but I'm just going to do the blog post now.

We prepared two herbal remedies--a vinegar for colds and a honey for sore throats. This is the set-up for the vinegar.



To make it, add chopped garlic and onion and pepper flakes to raw apple vinegar. Cover and let steep several weeks in a cool, dark place. The instructor brought in some already-made material to try. It was hot and tingly. I thought it would be great on a cold cabbage salad.

For the honey:



Add equal amounts of thyme, sage, and mint to honey, steep for several weeks, then filter (heat it in double boiler until it runs, and pour it through a strainer). Also quite tasty, but cool and smooth as opposed to the hot, pungent vinegar.

If this subject excites you, here are some books you might be interested in:




I'm just going to leave it at that.

The new camera

hath arrived! Actually, I had to go get it because FedEx couldn't find the delivery address. No problem-o. It can be hard to find your way around a university campus.

This camera has more complex shooting features that I have yet to master, but other than that it's what I used to have, but better.

I took a short walk over to the Garden for the Environment a few blocks away.





It's a crisp 50 deg F. Supposed to get colder and rain this weekend. Yay, rain!







The seeds are from the Japanese anenome hybrids. I wonder if anything grows from the seed.



Do you grow fava beans in the winter?



I'm trying too, but they don't get much light.



This is what my hair looked like in college.









Some doorways in the neighborhood.











Have I put up exactly these pictures before, or what?



San Francisco must all start to blur together for you.