Red Cedar

Back in the spring our neighbourhood group Sunrise Commons got $1300 to install boulevard gardens in our little neighbourhood pocket of William, Napier and Parker Streets. Which seemed like a lot of money until we realized that 25 households were interested in participating in the Boulevards Alive Project. In the end we settled on purchasing dirt for everyone’s projects and providing $30 per household for plants and bits to get them started – and in the last two months we’ve been seeing the fruits of our labours as many people around us have got their gardens well underway!

Though Brian diligently dug the turf out of our boulevard and trucked dirt into it a month ago, it took me until this week to get to the work of shaping and planting our little plot, and although it’s still pretty “naked” looking I’m excited by what I’ve got going in there.

This site has some specific challenges which lead me to experimenting with a mix of things to see what is going to work over the long term. First and foremost – it’s a boulevard which means auto traffic on one side, and foot traffic on the other. Secondly, the whole street is shaded by sixty-year-old beech trees which have a voluminous root-system close to the surface of the ground (beech roots both above and below ground). Third, the soil is pretty acidic and parched of nutrients due to the trees.

In keeping with these factors, along with my desire for both edible and native plants I’ve decided to start with the following:

• Lingonberry shrub (partial shade, high-acid)
• Huckleberry shrub (partial shade, high acid)
• Ostrich Fern (which is one of the cultivars that produces edible fiddleheads)
• Asparagus
• Hostas
• Fragrant Solomon’s Seal
• Lemon Balm
• Lavender
• Garlic Chives (they grow anywhere don’t they?)
• And for fun – some gorgeous red swiss chard

Looking at that list now, I realize it seems like a bit of a hodge-podge – partly because I chose plants based on what I could get super-cheap off the perennial clearance table at Gardenworks – but I know that all of the above will survive with quite a lot of shade, and if it’s looks too strange once it starts to fill out then I’ll start moving stuff around.

I still plan on more edible, native plants – some oregon grape and perhaps a small cranberry bush – but for now I’m focused on getting more structure. Looking for edging bricks and accents to make it look more like a garden and less like a dirt mound with plants in it. Most exciting? By spring this once-dead patch of turf will be providing food and habitat for critters and humans in the neighbourhood.

Making Thanksgiving dinner is somewhat deceptive isn’t it? Partway through the day you’re thinking to yourself: hell, this dinner is practically making itself – a little prep work and all my veggies are ready to go, turkey in the oven, cream for dessert whipped – and you’ve even got enough time to take a little bath before the guests come to the door…. And then WHAM! As soon as the turkey comes out of the oven, everything switches into frantic mode as the potatoes need mashing, the turkey carving, the gravy stirring, the veggies checked to ensure they aren’t over or under-done, and everything somehow has to make it onto the table in nice dishes and still steaming hot (while not forgetting to take the apple crisp out of the oven before it burns). It’s a bit of a dance really, and in our small kitchen last night, B and I collided more than once in the process.

But it was magnificent in the end with a repast of turkey and stuffing, roasted yams and parsnips, brussels sprouts, steamed swiss chard & beets, mashed potatoes and apple crisp with whipped cream for dessert. And on top of that, we shared it all with some dear friends including two people I’ve known for more than twenty years!

I’ll get back to garden-posting this week, but first I want to share a couple of highlights from last night. First off, if you have trouble getting perfect mashed potatoes, then I would like to point you here. This is by far the best technique-dissection I have ever seen, and it really does make *perfect* potatoes. Amazing and perfect potatoes.

Secondly, I did a little veggie-improv last night in the kitchen because of a space shortage and worked out a recipe that makes for instant presentation-loveliness:

Swiss Chard and Beets

Ingredients (for as many people as you are serving): Red Beets, Swiss Chard, Walnut pieces

• Toast walnuts in a cast iron pan or in the oven, set aside.
• Chop chard into ribbons, set aside.
• Put your beets in a  steamer and steam them for 20 minutes or so, until they are pretty much done.
• Remove the covered beets from the heat, take the lid off them, throw the ribbons of chard on top of the beets and then put the lid back on for three minutes (or longer if you like wiltier chard).
• Take the steamer off your saucepan and invert it into your serving bowl. This creates a gorgeous presentation of bright red beets on a bed of greens.
• Sprinkle with toasted walnuts. Drizzle with oil or dressing (if you choose). Serve hot.