Happy Summer Solstice!

This is an especially significant time of year. As is tradition now, I went camping over the weekend with Caera and some of my friends. It's the best way to celebrate the Solstice and my birthday on the 23rd. We explored Larrabee State Park in Bellingham and discovered some pretty cool fossils while we were hiking on Saturday.

In other news, June 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary of my move from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest. This corner of the map really does feel like home. Glad I could spend it with some of my chosen family.

    

     

Sitting in a Coffee Shop, Watching April Showers

It occurs to me as I sit here in a crowded Seattle coffee shop, sipping my second large-size caffeinated heartburn inducer of the day as I wait for a concert by a beloved local to start, that I haven’t written much (again) on this blog. I do have my excuses, and yet none of them seem acceptable. I’m not sure why I feel compelled, now of all times, to put some of my thoughts into words.

Regarding my last post, which I shared on behalf of my employer, we've been successful in hiring some new employees in the last couple of weeks, so this is great news for everyone. The days are much more enjoyable when shared with coworkers, and they’re all a great bunch of folks (one of whom I went to hort school with). Hopefully it will mean getting through the weekly maintenance routines more quickly and efficiently, and opening up opportunities for more interesting projects.

In other news, I finally took the CPH exam in March (I missed both exam dates last year because I was in the middle of moving, along with other out-of-my-control setbacks). This year has also thrown me some curve balls, for sure, which once again made studying difficult, but I still passed! Yay! What a relief. I feel like I've been knocked down quite a bit in the past year, so it’s good to experience a small victory.

Caera and I are renting a 40x40 plot of land at a community farm in Everett, so this is also an exciting new development. It's located in a flood plain and will require quite a bit of work (raised beds, amended soil, some manner of deer and vole prevention, setting up irrigation, building a hoop house, etc.), but I'm looking forward to the project, which has the potential to last for several years (unlike all of the home-gardening efforts which had to be restarted every time I moved). The only problem as usual, is finding the time to get out there during my days off. My schedule is busy, and my body not always cooperating. I'll be sure to post more about it (including pictures!) later.

Job Openings at Ironwood

Looking for some horticultural experience? My employer is seeking out more people. My own two cents is that he's very knowledgeable, and you're sure to learn a lot about plants and the maintenance business.

Boosting the signal:

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Ironwood is a small full-service landscape company and we are looking for enthusiastic people to join our team! Your horticultural training, professional landscape experience, and passion for plants is needed!

We are an organic landscape company with a strong emphasis on proper horticultural practices and great customer service. We provide high-quality garden maintenance services, landscape installation, stone walls and patios, installation of container designs, garden renovations, and fine-pruning projects.

Ironwood's owner, Derek Fowler, is a graduate of Edmonds Community College in Nursery Specialization and Landscape Design. He has traveled to China many times, built and maintained a rare plant garden on Camano Island for 10 years, is an avid hiker and native plant lover, and has a background in bio French intensive organic farming, market gardening, and community-supported agricultural systems. His goal in providing high-quality chemical-free landscape maintenance and installation services with a focus on excellent customer service, is to work with dynamic and passionate horticultural graduates and enthusiasts to contribute positively to the horticultural industry and Ironwood’s clientele. Outside of work, Derek spends a great deal of time planting common and unusual fruit and nut trees, growing and eating vegetables from his garden, and volunteering with Plant Amnesty, Washington Native Plant Society, and other groups when his family permits.

Landscape Maintenance Technicians

A good landscape maintenance technician can tell what needs attention in a landscape just by looking. With experience, the technician develops an eye to assess how the landscape was installed, why plants are not thriving, which pathogens or insects have taken hold, and what course of action may be necessary to improve or correct all of the potential problems that result from unprofessional landscape installation and management processes or approaches. When you work for Ironwood, we will teach you to stand out in a crowd of your peers as you learn to master your horticultural craft and its practice in the field. We are passionate about our work and believe in investing in our employees. We want to succeed in our business and help you succeed as part of our team.

Candidates will be enthusiastic with a positive attitude, able to work alone or with others, possess a valid WA driver’s license with a clean driving record, take direction and give direction, communicate with clients, and are punctual.

Knowledge of the following:

Weed identification and removal

Some plant identification and desire to learn more

Pruning- woody and herbaceous plants

Landscape maintenance activities- lawn mowing, line trimming, and application of organic fertilizers

Able to lift 50 lbs regularly

Pay DOE part time; full time position available
Full time positions offer 1 week paid vacation, performance bonus options, and continued educational opportunities

Construction Technicians

A good construction technician is able to understand how landscapes are built and which processes are to code and how they are employed. As a technician, you are able to address soil concerns and cultivation methods, preparation of areas for lawns, walls, patios, and irrigation systems. With Ironwood, we will teach you to stand out in the landscaping industry. You will be able to see need for improvement where others see perfection, will know how to ensure that installations are made safe for all intended users, and which material is best for a given environment and its application. We are passionate about our work and believe in investing in our employees. We want to succeed in our business and help you succeed as part of our team.

Candidates will be enthusiastic with positive attitude, able to work alone or with others, possess a valid WA driver’s license, take direction and give direction, communicate with clients, and is punctual.

Knowledge of the following:

Plant identification and proper plant installation and removal techniques

Patio preparation and installation methods

Stone wall construction

Irrigation installation and troubleshooting – drip systems and in ground rain bird pop up systems

Able to lift 50 lbs regularly

Pay DOE part time or full time position available
Full time positions offer 1 week paid vacation, performance bonus options, and continued educational opportunities

Please contact Derek Fowler at ironwoodlandscapedesign (at) gmail (dot) com or Ironwood 206-229-3738.

Where Has the Year Gone?

Hello, Blog! What a shame to have started a website about one of my favorite topics in the world, and then drop off the face of the earth for most of the year. If you're wondering what happened, here are the highlights:

In March, I got hired part-time at Northwest Nurseries, Inc. (a wholesale nursery in Redmond) and The Gray Barn Nursery at Pacific Topsoils (a retail nursery in Redmond). This was in addition to my one landscape maintenance gig I do every Monday in Lake Sammamish, along with some light administrative work for the editing job. It's been a rewarding experience to work both the retail and wholesale side of the plant nursery business. I was unsure if I'd be fit for Gray Barn, given that I don't see my introverted self thriving in the retail environment, but I think it's been a good challenge for me (and it's easy to say that now, far past the height of springtime madness).

Also in March, I had to relocate, so I ended up moving from Kirkland to Bothell. In the midst of all those transitions, I didn't have enough mental bandwidth to take the CPH exam, so I decided to hold off for a while and focus on moving, setting up my garden at the new house, and exploring my two brand-new jobs.

Ever since I transplanted from Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, I seem to have this strange attraction to changing locations during the springtime, which unfortunately means getting a late start on the vegetable garden. This year (for the first move, that is) followed the same pattern. Nonetheless, I often came home from work and went straight to the back yard to get things set up as quickly as possible. It was a slow process that bled into summer, but I got a respectable garden going in five 4x4 raised beds, along with additional flowers and veggies growing in pots. Somehow I managed to do this while working over 40 hours a week (something my body's not used to) and being 6 months into a new and wonderful relationship with a woman in Everett. Needless to say, I was busy! Of course, Doing All The Things is not really sustainable, so I couldn't fine tune the garden the way I would have liked (and I obviously didn't carve out enough time to work on the blog), but at least I had some activity happening at home that I could be proud of.

The garden had humble beginnings...

...and then it ate the house!

Okay, maybe it wasn't that big.

This is what happens when you don't prune your veggie plants.

Yes, that's a pink shirt I'm wearing. Yes, I'm comfortable with this.

Jami and her damned tomatoes. Always with the tomatoes.

I had several respectable harvests.

And as you all were expecting, that meant plenty of Insalata Caprese, which is my favorite summer food and perhaps the meaning of life.

But that's not all! In July I got hired at a small landscape installation and maintenance company called Ironwood, so I reduced my hours at Gray Barn to pick up a few days with Ironwood. It's another great opportunity to get hands-on experience in the field, so I'm glad I took it on. Maintenance work is invaluable for learning how plants behave in the garden from season to season. My boss is an old pro in the horticulture field, so I'm hoping to learn a lot from him.

In other news, finding stable housing has been a challenge this year. My partner and I decided we were ready to move in with each other by the end of summer, so we started the process of creating a household together. The details of that process are exhausting; let's just say that circumstances made it necessary for me to move three more times (and two of those moves were with my partner). Ultimately, we ended up in a house in Bothell and just finished moving last Saturday. There's a good deal of work and unpacking to do, and I'm on the mend from what I think is a minor sprained wrist, but I'm feeling really hopeful and excited about the new living arrangements. I'm sure I'll post more on that later. :)

That's all for now. I don't think it should take another year for the next post. Cheers!

Edibles: To Seed or Not to Seed

Robin Haglund, of Garden Mentors, Inc., has written a handy article over at Fiskars.com about when and what to start seeding right now. Some edibles are easy to start indoors, while others can be sown directly into the ground. And others you just want to buy from starts.

Edibles with Ease: When to Get Growing from Seeds or from Starts?

Inspiration from Graham Kerr

Last Wednesday, while the rest of Seattle was celebrating during the Seahawks parade, I was inside the Convention Center attending a seminar by Graham Kerr. Yes, I'm a nerd, along with a handful of other people in the room. His talk this year was Nourish & Delight! Growing, Cooking & Sharing Edibles for the Common Good:

Graham Kerr is in his fifth year in the garden, his 66th year in the kitchen and also celebrates his 80th birthday on January 22 – and he still gardens and tackles weeds with gusto. He shares with us lessons from his personal garden patch and herb garden, two community gardens where he is involved and area Food Banks and School programs. Focusing on plants such as Red Beets 'Ace', Kale 'White Russian', Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and Tomatoes 'Sun Gold', he will provide growing, cooking and harvesting tips. Graham wants to inspire audiences to be the new PIONEERS – Pass It On Now with Eagerness, Enthusiasm and Resilience! How's that for an acronym?

That really sums it up. His entire philosophy epitomizes why I'm studying horticulture in the first place. It's about the big picture: growing food, finding the joy of cooking nutritious meals, and building community around the whole process. I love this man. His enthusiasm is so inspirational!

So, taking advantage of the small turnout (what's wrong with you sports freaks?), I went into fan girl mode after the seminar and bought one of his books. He signed it, and I shook his hand and gushed about...well, hopefully something intelligent. :)

Eggs!

Last week, the day before Graham Kerr's seminar at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, I decided to finally try my hand at Kerr's famous Velvet Sauce, which I learned at his seminar the previous year. I couldn't believe I waited so long to cook this sauce (it's super simple), so I made sure to try it before I saw the Galloping Gourmet again. I've also been attempting to cook for someone with a restrictive diet, but who can eat eggs, so it was the perfect motivation. I experimented with a parsnip sauce and a sweet potato sauce, and I used coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. I still need to play with the herb mixture, but I was happy with the results. Simple recipe, served over scrambled eggs:




While I was on an eggs kick, I ended the evening with some deviled eggs, because why not? Extra dilly with a little bit of heat, just the way I like 'em.