Straddling today’s 4:32 pm sunset, in a former industrial building: Plantulary. A “word-list-dance-song-architecture made from observations, conversations, and relationships with each other and the plants that continue to teach us about what it means to be in relationship with the cycles of time, the processes of living and dying, and with this place that sustains us.”
Category: City Gardening
The Irrigation Whisperer
I’ve been helping a neighbor set up an automated watering system to keep their plants alive while they’re away for three months. The control unit’s integrated rechargeable battery won’t last that long. Instead of continuous charging, I opted for this $8 smart plug, which arrived from Amazon today, to occasionally turn on to top up the battery.
Plant Gathering Place
Dwight has been wheeling plants to one end of our home for easy access to the watering system while we travel. Here, he’s created a room: on the left, the green wall has filled out well; to the right, plants mainly grown from cuttings, are thriving in maximum natural light. My role has been to… Continue reading Plant Gathering Place
Plant Parenthood
Dwight spent a good part of the day tending to houseplants. He prefers to water manually, but that is not an option when we travel. Some tasks fell on me, including creating a new watering zone for these plants, most of which have been nurtured from cuttings. The system has several power supplies, and one… Continue reading Plant Parenthood
Sixty Shades of Green
We’re saving this lone ripe tomato from our balcony plant for a ceremonial tasting at dinner. About sixty others are still green. We did this mostly for fun; we also have herbs in pots, which are far more practical all summer.
A Sense of Ownership
Cycled between two concrete planters near our home, as I often do. Presumably they’re placed here by the city to deter drivers from crossing this pedestrian bridge. Some neighbors have taken it upon themselves to keep them looking good with plants that change with the seasons. A couple weeks ago, someone tagged one of the… Continue reading A Sense of Ownership
Sunday Roast
Tonight: wild salmon from Alaska on a cedar plank on the barbecue. Snap peas and new potatoes from the local farmers market. Parsley to go with the potatoes, ultra-local, from our balcony.
Pampered Plants
School’s back next week, but today I played. Still, our Thursday tradition is to walk out for dinner, this time Zen Box Izakaya. Over dinner I learned about Dwight’s day lugging 200 foot hoses, watering hundreds of plants. Each plant has a color-coded label for watering instructions. Water comes in three flavors: city water at… Continue reading Pampered Plants
Happy Grass, Smart Watering
Relaxed day: walking, reading, troubleshooting, …. Here I’m troubleshooting a plant watering schedule on a Hubitat home automation hub. I finally set up schedules for a water pump that irrigates the long line of grasses on our balcony. Back in the day, a plug-in mechanical timer would’ve done the job.
Bringing a Prairie Home
It was Dwight’s fourth visit to Gertens this week, my first. Now we have 72 pots of native grasses, plus various herbs and tomato plants. We spent the afternoon putting the grasses in grow bags then placing the grow bags in long planters. When the grasses have recovered from the ordeal, I’ll make the big… Continue reading Bringing a Prairie Home