Each Little World

Plant sale season: 2013

Every year I write about local garden sales and I pretty much say the same thing: I love them! Rather than give you lots of details here, I'm going to link you to more info. The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society lists dozens and dozens of sales and garden events in their April newsletter. You can access it online here. Sale info begins on page 5.

My personal favorite sales are:

The West Side Garden Club: Friday, May 10, from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 11, from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The sale is at 3518 Nakoma Road (near Seminole Highway and down the block from Thoreau School).

Olbrich Botanical Gardens: Plant Sale with the Pros on Friday, May 10, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Find complete details and why it's a must for gardeners at any stage here. I'll be working the Friday afternoon shift, so be sure to stop by and say hello. (Full disclosure: I'm an Olbrich member). 

The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society: Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. - noon, at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, Madison. Plants are from members' gardens and there are always some unusual offerings. Before I sat down at the computer to write this, I walked around my garden to determine what I can dig and pot up for the sale. Another benefit of this sale: lots of free parking! (Full disclosure: I'm a WHPS member and am also on their Board).

One of my favorite purchases from the West Side Garden Club sale. I never had any luck with this primrose until I bought some from this sale. 

Warming comfort food

December's snow and the current very cold snap we're in the midst of here, have got me cooking non-stop. There's nothing like a hot oven and a kitchen filled with good smells to take the chill out of winter. Last fall I bought a new cookbook — "Long Nights and Log Fires: Warming Comfort Food for Family and Friends." I found it at Cluck The Chicken Store, which I wrote about not too long ago. 

The book is published by Ryland, Peters & Small and is not a title I've seen elsewhere, so I was happy to discover it at Cluck. The photos that accompany almost every recipe made the book an easy sell for me. A cookbook is not one of those things that I would buy online, sight unseen. I want to read the recipes and get a sense of the content before I plunk down my money.

Ever since I brought "Long Nights" home, it's been sitting by my favorite reading spot where I can dip into it when I'm wondering what to make for dinner. The soups are one of the strongest sections of the book. I've made a number of them, all delicious: "roasted tomato soup with rarebit toasts," "slow-cooked onion and cider soup, and "monkfish, fennel and saffron bourride with harissa aioli." The cider soup was interesting because it uses veggie stock instead of beef (which is how I've usually made it), plus hard sweet cider and egg yolks which gives it a lighter color and a more subtle flavor.

I've also made a hearty "smokey sausage and bean casserole" with chipotle sausages, cannellii beans, smoked paprika and maple syrup. The next recipe I want to try is an entree: "sticky pork tenderloin with a pecorino crust, mustard mash and balsamic onions." Doesn't that sound yummy? At least to those of you who eat meat.

The dishes illustrated in the photo above (clockwise from bottom left) are: "goat cheese, leek and walnut tart," "egg, bacon and spinach pie," and "real treacle tart with carmelized bananas."

Obama gets his groove back in Madison

POTUS was in Madison yesterday and spoke to a crowd of 30,000 on UW's Bascom Hill. He was the Obama who was missing in action Wednesday night at the debate. Here's a report from The Progressive magazine and a great set of photos from Isthmus. And here's one of the things he said:

 

September at ACG

Last week I visited Allen Centennial Gardens on the UW-Madison campus with Julie Siegel, a Chicago-area garden designer, blogger and friend. The garden is a teaching garden for the university but it is also free and open to the public. It was a perfect day for a visit with blue skies and few clouds, evidenced by this shot of the decorative details on the house once used by the Deans of the Ag School. 

On the ground, however, it was a bit sunny for capturing the best photos. I took this shot of Geranium dalmaticum to remind me that mine is planted in the wrong spot in my garden judging by how happy it seems to be here.

Every time I visit ACG I discover something that is completely new to me — like this seedpod of Datura. I've seen this plant growing in many gardens but never at this season when it has these huge pods along with its last few flowers.

Ed Lyon, the director of ACG, always creates exciting mixes of edibles and ornamentals.  

And he's an expert when it comes to color in the garden: whether it's flower and foliage combinations or art objects that he adds for emphasis. Every one of the following images offers ideas for home gardeners looking to do something a little different. (These tubes are painted PVC).

I particularly like blues that have a touch of gray or green as accent colors in the garden, and Ed must also judging by all the ways he employs it at ACG.

When I was at ACG at the end of June, I was taken with the clumps of peachy-pink hollyhocks that picked up the trim color of the Dean's house. This visit, it was the seedheads that matched the Cream City bricks.

Cluck. The Chicken Store.

The mere name of this new little shopping emporium (see above and below) makes me start humming that song from The Music Man: "Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little, cheep, cheep, cheep." Somehow I never pictured myself falling in love with a business that caters to chickens and their fanciers, and yet there I was: out in Paoli admiring chicken coops. 

And though Cluck caters to chickens, they're only one part of the vision of owner Susan Troller. I am admitting right here that I am a friend of Troller's as well as her former editor, and I know from personal experience that whatever she turns her hand to, it will be well worth my attention. Cluck is no exception.

Cluck is the latest tenant in a hundred-year-old building that has housed everything from a blacksmith to a gas station. The original curved ceiling trusses still bear the painted warning "no credit." You can tell from this view of the shop's interior that Cluck is about more than chickens. While Troller is a lover of many kinds of animals and a "chicken wrangler" with a laying flock of six on her family's farm in New Glarus, Cluck is a much needed new home for all of us would-be domestic divas. Pull up a chair, sit down and peruse Troller's nicely "curated" displays, as the shelter mags like to say. 

The front half of the store is a gallery-cum-gift shop with chicken and country-themed art, old and new. Merchandise ranges from witty tea towels, stuffed pillows, mugs and sets of dessert plates, to vintage ice cream molds and a gorgeous cabbage-shaped soup tureen.  

There are books for kids, practical tomes for those who want to raise chickens (or bees!) and a tantalizing array of titles for the rest of us. I snapped up one on natural home decor and also a delcious cookbook of fall and winter dishes. Both titles are from a UK publisher and a nice change from what I find at B&N these days.  

 "Cluck," Troller's own book published by Wisconsin's Itchy Cat Press, is also for sale as is the new 2013 Wisconsin Local Foods Journal/Calendar.

And for those of us who still can't figure out why chickens are the fastest growing hobby in America, Troller has some adorable peeps in the shop. While they are not for sale, she'll help anyone who's serious abut chickens get started with advice, information, chicken feed and more. Live chickens are one of the few things Troller doesn't stock!

The chickens above are known as Lavender Orpingtons, and while they are beautiful, I fell for this rubber chicken coin purse. There are also full-size versions which are equally tempting. The big ones would also work to carry knitting or whatever project you might be schlepping around. 

Cluck's decor includes this feed sack from Troller's grandfather, Irvin Johnson.

There are chicken coops for sale that are as pretty as they are well made. Cluck will be hosting a meet the coop builders event on Sat. Sept. 29th.

Among the assorted artworks were a series of nicely-framed black and white illustrated covers from a British poultry publication called "The Feathered World." They'd be perfect for adding a spot of color to a kitchen or a touch of history to a library or den.

And perhaps my favorite find at Cluck, this pile of fluff from the British toy company, Jellycat. A young friend of Troller's recommended "Matilda Hen," with the pronouncement that "children love this toy." Matilda and her friends will charm more than children. 

Cluck is open every day but Monday. For times, events and blog posts visit Cluck's website. 

Keep on keepin' on . . .

From the neighborhood couple who always give me a mental boost with their handmade signs:

Real estate: The value of a garden

The young couple whose back yard adjoins ours, just told us they are moving to Minnesota. Sad news since they are fun neighbors and we'll definitely miss them and their darling new baby. It also means their lovely mid-century house is about to go on the market.

I couldn't help myself and had to sneak a peek to see how it was presented and being maketed on their realtor's on-line listing site. I have to say their house looked great, as did their garden and half-acre lot. Mark joked that perhaps we should get a cut of the asking price since the description mentions that the lot "Backs up to Japanese garden with custom ornamental fence. Stunning!''

I think the realtor meant the neighbor's whole house and lot are stunning, but we're more than happy to take it as personal praise for our garden and Mark's fence. Now all of us over-the-top gardeners have proof that a great garden not only increases the value of our own houses, but the neighbors' as well.

I break for plant sales!

Plant Sale madness kicks off this week with the Hosta Garden Companions fabulous Hosta sale at Tom and May Riddle's garden at 1809 Waunona Way, Madison. This event runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, beginning this Friday and running each weekend through May. I bought four Hostas from them last year at reasonable prices, but what was really great was being able to see each Hosta in a bed at its mature size and shape in a home garden setting. 

Then comes the West Side Garden Club's Sale. This group has been beautifying our community for 90 years as well as contributing to numerous civic projects, outreach programs, and scholarships (as do many of our local garden groups) via the proceeds of their annual plant sales. The gorgeous Japanese primrose (below) is one of many plant purchases I've made over the years at the West Side Garden Club's annual sale. It was grown in a member's garden as is the case with many of the items sold at local plant sales. As a result, this primrose has bloomed and increased for me to the point that soon I will be able to offer seedlings back to the sale! West Side Garden Club Sale: Friday, May 11 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 12 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3918 Nakoma Rd. just west of Thoreau School and opposite Seminole Hwy.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens Plant Sale with the Pros is on Friday, May 11 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Note the name of this sale: it is staffed with pros so no question will go unanswered. I could go on and on about this sale because it is always superb. Check out the link because they offer so many extras at this annual event in addition to wonderful plants. We've bought many of our best trees and shrubs at Olbrich over the years. I often donate garden books to the sale and usually take home a couple as well.  Not to be missed.

UW-Madison Arboretum Native Plant Sale is on Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the tent next to the Visitor Center. This is the premier event for native plant folks whether you have a woodland or prairie. 

The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society is holding their annual sale on Saturday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to noon. at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, just past the stoplight on Hwy. M. The sale is held rain or shine and this is a covered localion so you don't have to worry about weather. Just before this sale last spring, I toured a WHPS member's garden where I saw more wonderful primroses (above). And then, there they were at the sale where I was able to buy some in each color pictured. I've also bought a number of Korean maples (below) at this sale. Again, these are plants grown in local gardens so you know they should also grow for you. Though this sale is held later than many, there's always something unusual and unexpected at this event so don't miss it.

Full disclosure: I am a member of WHPS and on their board. I am also a member of Olbrich and the UW-Arboretum, as well as being friends with many gardeners associated with these and other garden groups. But in no instance am I receiving any remuneration, financial or otherwise, for my comments and support of these groups posted on this blog.

Click the links for details of each sale. You can also find a long list of other local plant sales in the on-line version of the WHPS April 2012 newsletter, beginning on Page 3. Most of these are open to the public but check the details to be sure that is the case, as some are member-only events. Most sales are also held rain or shine so come prepared for the weather.

Madison memo: Olbrich begins mulch sales early — today!

Double click on this poster to enlarge it so you can read all the details.

Woven Memories

March means it's time for the annual Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture. Presented by The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, this year's event includes both a lecture and film screening on consecutive evenings.                                          

"Woven Lives/Vidas Entetejidas" 

 A film by Carolyn Kallenborn, Design Studies Department

Wednesday, February 29th, 6:30-9:00 p.m.

The film will be shown first and will be follwed by a textile viewing and a discussion with Prof. Kallenborn and Ana Paula Fuentes Quintana, Director, Museo Textil de Oaxaca 

“Marrying Tradition and Innovation: Collaborations between Oaxacan Artisans and 21st-century Designers”

A lecture by Ana Paula Fuentes Quintana, Director, Museo Textil de Oaxaca

Thursday, March 1st, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Both events will take place at: 

Ebling Symposium Center, Microbial Sciences Building

1550 Linden Drive, UW-Madison, WI

Both events are free and open to the public

. . .

 

The textiles of Oaxaca, Mexico are known for their vibrant colors and bold designs. The master dyers and weavers of Oaxaca who make them have inherited skills passed down for generations. Thanks in part to the work of social entrepreneur Ana Paula Fuentes Quintana, this rich heritage will endure through collaborations between Oaxacan artisans and international designers. The pioneering director of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Fuentes Quintana is passionate about preserving and renewing Oaxaca's vibrant textile culture by fostering innovation that respects tradition.

. . .

UW-Madison Design Studies professor Carolyn Kallenborn has participated in this exchange. Her beautifully crafted film documents the "woven lives" of some of Oaxaca's finest textile artisans working at this fertile crossroad between the old and the new. 

You can watch a trailer for the film here.

The above information is via the HLATC mailing and website.