Green Space in the City

Here in the Twin Cities, we are blessed with an abundance of natural green space. From our acres of city lakes, to the Mississippi River Trails and an endless collage of urban parks within our blue print. It is the main reason I have stayed and I am also very aware of the solitude it brings me. A summer night with a quick walk to the shores of Maka Ska to watch a sunset is not lost on me.

But leave it to New Yorkers to astound with remarkable ways to innovate what green space means within a city. There is the High Line which has been a revelation over the last decade. And the new Floating City Park on the piers is a blog post for the near future. But this shout out is for the newly imagined green space at Lincoln Center.

For any tourist or local, the iconic fountain in the center of the Plaza is a recognizable landmark. This is what it will look like for the summer of 2021. It is a way to celebrate the end of the pandemic and welcome crowds back to an area of the city with a new twist.

Mimi Lien is a reputable set designer who has re imagined the space as a giant green canvas of turf. For the summer it will serve as a back drop for Restart Stages. This is an outreach program of Lincoln Center to bring arts back to the public with visual art displays as well as live performance art as pop ups. There is lawn furniture, a concession area and daily workshops in addition. It will be a great gathering space for a city that has been especially bound by the pandemic and so treasures its place in the performance world. Wish I was there to see it.

 

Stinging Nettle Bites!

 I am posting this one today because this plant busts my chops!

 Every Spring it gets me again and again. Today I was weeding around the Iris beds and blooms. I know exactly what it looks like. But usually in the mix of all the other weeds, it slips my mind until it is in between my thumb and pointer finger and it is TOO LATE. The sting is immediate.

I am careful with thorns. The raspberries have fine pricks around the base of stems and nab me when I am separating young plants. My blackberry plant might as well be a barbed wire fence. And my Winnipeg Parks and Shrub roses can surprise me even when I'm being mindful of them. I have garden gloves, but don't often wear them when doing normal work. I like the tactile feeling of working with plants in my bare hands.They are short and only 1-2 inches at this time of year. But over time, can grow to at least 10 feet tall along a roadside ditch. They have roundish leaves in pairs that are notched and a soft mint green. Don't be fooled by those gentle hairs you see lining the main stem. They are actually hollow tubes that act like needles with toxins that immediately penetrate your skin. You will feel the prick instantly. And from there, reactions can venture into rashes, itching and burning specific to the prick. If you are really unlucky it can lead to allergic reactions of breathing effects, vomiting or the plain shits.  But these nettles! It is now 4 hour later and the tips of those two fingers are still numb. So I am passing on whatever tips I can to possibly shed some light for other gardeners to learn from my mistakes. The trick is not to rub them right away; it only grinds the hairs and toxins further into the skin. Wash with cold water and soap right away. If you want to try some other methods, aloe vera or baking soda and water also help

Stinging Nettle has wellness traits as a medicinal herb. The trick is harvesting them and letting them dry FIRST. Beware of this little devil. Not all plants are pretty!

 

 

 

The Wonders of Miss Wondersmith

I am fascinated by the world where gardens meet edibles; most usually in bakery recipes. I have experimented with everything from Lilac infused donuts to Dill, Rosemary or Cardamon breads. With the onset of Spring, I was going to do a feature on foraging. But recently I've stumbled onto this Rabbit Hole of genius that is Miss Wondersmith.

She is this pixie of good nature from the Pacific Northwest. I first found her via a suggested follow on Instagram. Self-labeled on her webpage, she refers to herself as a Do-Gooder who sees joy through the world of nature and wants to spread its wonders. So many incredible talents. Give her a full read when you have some time.

But again, my first draw to her were her bizarre and unusual baking creations. They are far beyond what you see on any cable baking show. Her originality is boundless and the presentation is worthy of an art exhibit. The colors are intense and I can only imagine the flavors are as well.

 

How about Flowerfetti Pierogis! She hand rolls out her own pasta with an assorted list of some 25+ flower petals as options in the tapestry. I would never get past the pressing of the dough itself!

 

Who would have guessed Tulips?! Apparently they can vary from sweet to spicy and have the crunch of an iceberg lettuce. Her genius again mixes them with spring Asparagus and stuffs them into a lovely setting of stems and petals! I cannot even imagine.

I am a huge Clam Chowder fan and almost salivate at the thought of her foraged Chowder from the Pacific with shellfish, morel mushrooms and seaweed. I would gladly pay up just to feast on her creations since I cannot even fathom coming close to mastering these recipes. Please give her a full read and offer her a thumbs up. She is gonna be bigger than Martha Stewart with her infectious spirit and smarts. 

 the Wondersmith recipe blog

 

 

 

Some Love for the Dandelions

Did you know the Dandelion is actually considered an herb? The season is certainly upon us which can be a menace to most of us - whether a gardener or just in mowing your front lawns.

They are part of the larger Asteraceae family which makes them cousins of everything from Sunflowers to Asters to Daisies. They get their common name from the French phase "dent de lion" - meaning tooth of the lion. Because of their single taproot, they go deep and are difficult to purge from your lawn. Not to mention the 100s of flowerets that can populate off a single dandelion head.

In spite of all these bad qualities, the plant does have many redeeming traits if we are able to overlook their persistence. Every part of the plant has a use - the flower, the leaves and the root. Most of us have heard of Dandelion Wine. It is not the most pleasant taste being bitter, but it is still an old farm recipe. It can work also as a tea - hot or iced. The greens when cooked are high in iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The root, like Chickory, can be used as a substitute Poor Man's coffee.

Their whispy parachutes of white can travel up to 5 miles in gusts of open wind. So even though you may rid your yard of them, chances are they are going to find you one way or another. Because they one of the first blooms to arrive, they can play an important role for early pollinators. I do pull mine out, but because I have plenty of other Spring blooms for be options.

I bring them up with a sense of childlike joy. Plucking them from the yard and brushing them onto a nose to leave a blush of yellow is something I remember fondly. Or sometimes playing with them as a paintbrush in my watercolors to make some original artwork. And of course the daisy chains made into a crowns or a necklace. For most of us, it is likely a love/ hate relationship. But this is their time and let's celebrate the season.

 

Adopt a Tree

This post is a No Brainer for my fellow residents in the City of Minneapolis. Especially in this season of Spring planting. This would apply to those who fear gardening is too demanding and would rather watch from a slight distance. It is similar to adopting or fostering an animal on a much easier commitment level!

If you are a craft beer lover, it is going to be an even easier task. There is a program called Brewing a Better Forest. What it does is connect residents to a park or boulevard planted tree. Their Mission: Create a better urban forest by blending a passion for trees with a passion for excellent craft beer. Here is all you have to do. Simply go to their website and pull up an urban map that shows every single tree planted on public property by the Mpls Park Board. You can Zoom into your location and click on a tree up for adoption. You have to agree to water it weekly when we hit dry periods over the course of the season. There is no patrol or police. It is simply the honor system. Once you hit enter - you will be sent 2 vouchers for a free brew or beverage at random craft beer pubs around town. Easy Peasy!

Brewing a Better Forest

I stumbled onto it totally by accident. When my rotting Maple died out 4 years back, the city replaced it with a London Plane Tree that I absolutely love. But it is zoned for slightly warmer and needs a bit of TLC for its formative years. I was told about it by the handsome man with the Mpls Trees and Forestry Dept. So I checked it out and adopted the tree right in front of my home. I named it Basil after my grandfather since you are able to name your personal tree. It will have a number and it will note the variety. Why wouldn't you? I got my free drink at Sociable Cider and 612Brew. There are hundreds of green dots on the city map. Make one of them YOURS. No better time than today. 

Looks Too Good To Eat

Flower blooms are almost like snowflakes, in that each one is so unique there is almost no duplicating. They are creations of nature often imitated but never copied. My mom has constantly been a fan of silk flowers for decades as she creates wreaths and arrangements. They have certainly come closer, but most still retain that Dollar Store quality that can be spotted as a fake from feet away.

In a different genre, there are edible flowers used in fine dining and even home baking. Violas, Nasturtiums, Squash Blossoms and Roses are common ways to add splash to a plate. Last year I even tried a stab at Lilac donuts. They were a novelty and I'm not sure I would make them a regular fixture, but for once a year, they made for a conversation piece.

 Joey's Lilac Donuts

These creations literally take the cake. There are several local bakeries, even the grocery chains that do credible work at mirroring natures blooms. But pastry chef Atelier Soo defies expectations and makes you really wonder if.... To start with, she has more brush strokes with a frosting bag than Bob Ross could imagine. And the colors that she mixes are nothing out of a Watkin's food coloring dropper. These are master works of art. An abundance of them that is awesome. I cannot imagine biting into one of them. Yes, the sugar content, but it would also be like defacing a piece of fine art.

Take a look at her Instagram page to a catch of glimpse of her mastery. She apparently does teach classes. If you happen to be passing through Seoul, South Korea! As I said, Too Good To Eat!

Atelier Soo - cakes

 

 

 

Animals in their Natural Habitat

There are Spring stirrings all around with our practical heat wave here in Minnesota. I am sure it is short lived for now.  But the last week has been glorious with both sunshine and warm temps. It has been invigorating to get out and take it all in.

 

This is true for the animals in nature also. Some are coming out of hibernation. Some are spawning offspring, and the rest are just coming out to explore as we are.

 

This photo feature is from an artist from Finland, Ossi Saarinen. Like my dear friends in town, Regina Williams and Ann Michels, they use their fine skills with a lens and combine them with amazing patience to capture just the right moment. His images have not only detail, but character as well. They resemble cuddly pets rather than feral animals in the wild. I sometimes talk about my childhood and my two pet foxes. There did not seem to be a lot of distinction between a puppy and a pup red fox at that age for me. It is a wonder; that bond between all living things.  Keep your eyes open in stillness and see if you can share some of the living, breathing space with them for an instant in this change of seasons.

 Ossi Saarinen website