They're baaaaaaaaack . . .

When I wrote yesterday's blog entry, the sun was not up, and I had not taken a detailed look at my terrace garden to assess how it fared during Hurricane Irene, but I indicated in that post that it appeared all was well. Upon checking out the situation in my garden (after publishing yesterdays post), I was extremely thankful to see that all the things which I grow in my urban garden were unscathed. Of course, I had to remove small branches which had fallen from neighboring trees, and move everything back into place that I had switched around to prepare for Irene's predicted wrath, but my clean-up paled in comparison to many folks, who suffered damages as a result of this past weekend's hurricane.


Something that did thrive in my garden (as you might have surmised from the photographs at the top of today's blog entry), was the "return" of mushrooms, which are a thing that, once upon a time, I found to be an eyesore, as I indicated in a previous post.
They once again popped up in the container which "houses" my Continus Coggygria AKA Smokey Bush (seen in the first image) as they had done before, but they also appeared in the container which is the home to my first Paeonia suffruiticosa AKA Tree Peony (seen in the second image), a shrub that I have discussed in many blog posts which you may refer to by going to the labels menu on my blog (to the left of all blog entries) and clicking on the selection designated as Paeonia suffruiticosa (Tree Peony). Additionally, over three dozen  images of this lovely shrub are featured on Flickr as indicated by the thumbnails posted below, and which may view in larger sizes by going to this link.

But what about the mushrooms? What are you going to do about those? These are questions you may be asking, given that I've mentioned their return at the beginning of today's blog post. For that answer, I turn once again to Michael Kuo, the man I referred to in my blog entry regarding the first appearance of mushrooms. Here is what he had to say in answer to those who find mushrooms invasive, as I once did:


"No; your yard  (urban terrace-container garden in my case) is the invasive. Your grasses, flowers, vegetable plants, and ornamental trees are anything but natural to your area. In short, you have taken a big chunk of an ecosystem and deliberately destroyed it, planting not only your house, but invasive species everywhere. I don't mean to be confrontational here--and I do own a home with a yard full of non-native organisms. But we should be honest about what's going on, rather than pretending that our artificially created environments are 'natural,' while the weeds and mushrooms are 'invasive.'


"If your mushroom is actually a species that does not belong in your area, it is probably only there because it is attending to something non-native that you put there. Your mulch may be cypress mulch. Do cypress trees grow in your area? Woodchips and mulch from Home Depot or Wal-Mart come from who knows where, and they are often accompanied by invisible mycelia . . .  Now stop for a moment to think about how ironic it is that we often create woodchip trails through our forest preserves in an effort to keep people from tramping through the woods and harming the ecosystem!"


Last week, after I read Kuo's opinions regarding mushrooms and invasiveness, I felt somewhat humbled as I have thought of myself as being sensitive to how the human race invades the environment of nature. Kuo's points about mushrooms and invasiveness were not lost on me. In fact, his attitude reminded me of a recent article about the so-called invasive geese in Prospect Park which is in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, where there is an on-going brutal battle about whether to get rid of the "invasive" geese (by killing them) or allow them to be in the park unharmed by humans. The article, Fowl Thoughts (which appeared in April 2011 in New York magazine and can be referred to by clicking here), includes a statement, made by Mary Beth Artz, an "unofficial" spokeswoman for geese's rights. Artz's statement was in response to the issue raised by those who are "anti-geese" who are concerned about the presence of unsightly poop throughout the park making the atmosphere unpleasant as a result of the presence of geese. Artz apparently said, "No, its not pleasant to look at. That doesn't mean we should kill them."


And while I would not appreciate geese droppings in my garden or neighborhood, I don't think killing the bird is the answer either. In 2009, when geese flew into the airspace of Flight 1549, forcing  its captain ("Sully") to land in the Hudson River, some of the aftermath talk raised this question: Do geese invade the air space or do humans invade their space; after all, whose birthright comes with the ability to fly?


The answers to the question regarding geese and just whom is invading whom and the answer to gardeners and mushrooms regarding "invasion" is a debate that will go on long after I have left this world. For now, as for me and my mushrooms, I'll let them be. They can duke it out with my herbs, vines, flowers, plants, shrubs and trees – unless they bring real harm to them.


Meanwhile I'll mind my own business on the issue of mushrooms in my terrace garden and focus on the things that are under control in my lovely urban garden, such as completing my Name Tag Project , an endeavor I introduced a couple of weeks ago and one that I have made progress in completing as discussed in other blog entries, including ones you may refer to by clicking here and here. As of yesterday, I have photographed twelve more of the things which I grow in my terrace garden and posted them to Flickr as evidenced by the thumbnails posted below.

Now, I only have eighteen more name tags to add and ultimately photograph for Flickr, but for now I have a good excuse for my delay (as I  will not meet my self-imposed August 31, 2011 deadline) and that is this: Jennie has not finished writing them but plans to by next week. Her handwriting is awesome and it is well worth the wait.


In the meantime, dear reader, I realize I have shown you photographs (within the aforementioned "name-tag-related" blog posts as well as within images on Flickr) of the classy name tags, but perhaps seeing one next to a mushroom (as it appears in the photograph which includes yellow arrows pointing to name tags that are within the containers of two different things). This will give you a sense of the name tag's size.

Upon your having read my entry, dear reader, I am interested in you weighting in with your thoughts and ideas on the "so-called" invasiveness of mushrooms, geese or anything else for that matter.

Monday, Monday! It IS all I hoped it could be . . . (Irene's Aftermath)

Thankfully, as of late yesterday afternoon, August 28th 2011, I had been relatively unaffected by Hurricane Irene, an event I discussed in this past Saturday's blog post. The sun is not up yet this morning, but from what I could see from my window before going to sleep last night, my terrace garden seems as if it endured the storm — thanks to my preparations based on Juan V's advice which was included in my blog post for this past Saturday.
I am grateful to have fared well in terms of Hurricane Irene, prompting me on this Monday morning, August the 29th of 2011, to not only think of  the line, "Monday, Monday, it was all I hoped it could be" (from the "golden oldie" song from The Mama's and Papa's), but to use a minor modification of it as a title for today's post. This Monday's  blog entry is one of those off scheduled postings that I mentioned in my schedule earlier this year which you may refer to by clicking here. 


Scheduled or not, this Monday morning is worthy of a blog entry, after the drama surrounding Hurricane Irene (that has dominated the news since last Thursday). There is much for me to be thankful for on this Monday morning, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, given all the worst case scenarios that dominated the news about her, which, in some places within Irene's path, occurred.


This morning is eerily quiet — the calm after the storm — not to be confused with the calm before the storm; for the distinction is profound. Calm before a storm is layered with anticipation of what's to come, calm after the storm, at least after the storm of Hurricane Irene, on this Monday morning in New York City is peaceful. Perhaps, in this instance, the aftermath peacefulness can be attributed to the name Irene which means peace.


You could easily argue, dear reader, that if Irene means peace, then how could a storm which packed more than 120 mile per hour winds, knocked out power up and down the Eastern coast, and, in New York City, gave cause for massive mandatory evacuations in low lying areas, in addition to shutting down the entire subway and bus systems, as well as Broadway shows and sports events, have a name equated with peace? Aside from the fact that there was peace from having all these venues closed, the name, Irene, is not solely associated with peace. Evidently, according to Behind the Name Inc, "the name (Irene) was common in the Byzantine Empire, notably being borne by an eighth century empress, who was the first woman to lead the empire. She originally served as a regent for her son, but later had him killed and ruled alone."


In any event, the naming of hurricanes does have a long and interesting backstory, which you may want to read by clicking here. Essentially, giving these storms names was done to reduce confusion when more than one storm was occurring at the same time, and up until 1978, tropical storms were named solely after women. In 1978 this was revoked, and storms began to be given both male and female names. Pondering the name of this past weekend's hurricane, and the origin of naming hurricanes in general, was something I did as I hunkered down during this past weekends storm.


I also used the "hunkering opportunity" in another area related to names. I used the time to make progress on my Name Tag Project, a project which I introduced in a previous blog post that you may refer to by clicking here. As you may recall, dear reader, there has been a brief follow-up on this project, which you may refer to by clicking here. In that follow-up, I mentioned that I had "four down and forty to go", referring to the  amount of name tagging that still needed to be done (after already doing forty-seven) for the herbs, vines, flowers, plants, trees and shrubs which I grow in my terrace garden. Most of the name tags have been completed by Jennie at this juncture, and the things which grow in my garden are "wearing them"; but photographing them became impossible with the inclement weather we have been experiencing in New York such as heavy, heavy rainfall (discussed in a blog post which you may refer to by clicking here) followed by this weekend's Hurricane Irene.
Having said that, I have put seven more name tagged items on Flickr; as evidenced by the thumbnails seen in the photograph posted below:

The new additions are as follows:

#1.Ophipogon planiscapus AKA Black Mondo Grass (the third of the triplets finally is recognized in The Name Tag Project on Flickr)
#2. Lavandula angustifolia  AKA English Lavender (one of my angustifoia twins is now in the The Name Tag Project on Flickr)
#3. Allium schoenoprasum AKA Chives (one of my schoenoprasum twins is now in The Name Tag Project on Flickr)
#4. Aristida stricta AKA Wire Grass (one of my stricta twins is now in The Name Tag Project on Flickr)
#5. Spicey Basil (one of my "spicey" twins is now in The Name Tag Project on Flickr)
#6. Thymus vulgaris AKA English Thyme (one of my vulgaris twins is now in The Name Tag Project Flickr),
And lastly for today's update:  
#7.White Swan Echinacea has now joined The Name Tag Project on Flickr, however, the Echinacea has a set of its own (don't tell the other things that grow in my garden or they will all want their own set, which, btw, a number of them will be getting anyway)


Now I only have twenty-nine to go! Meanwhile, all the aforementioned may be viewed along with other photographs in the Name Tag Project by going to my Flickr pages which can be accessed by clicking here.


Names are very important to me, and I am by no means playing favorites with the things which I grow in my garden, regarding any order of the process for my giving them their name tags, and subsequently photographing them before their ultimate upload to Flickr.


One of the things which inspired me to focus on names is a literary piece by Sandra Cisneros (from The House on Mango Street), which she calls a "lazy poem".  It goes like this:


"In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.


"It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse — which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female — but I think it is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong . . .


"At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something. like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name — Magdalena — which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.


"I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do."


Zeze the X, sounds good to me too, and I suspect that some of my herbs, plants, flowers, vines, shrubs, and trees would agree, but for now I think they are happy to have their name tags, especially the ones that are on Flickr.


In keeping with my "policy" of giving the things which I grow in my terrace garden equal treatment,  I hope to spend the remaining part of the day finishing the photographing of those who have their name tags, which total twelve; and after that,  Jennie has sixteen more tags to make, so please stay tuned for updates on this project.


Meanwhile, I hope, dear reader, that you were unscathed by Hurricane Irene, and I'd love to hear about your experiences with this storm: prep, hunkering down or otherwise.

4 more down & 36 to go (Name Tag Project Update)

On this "unscheduled day" for posting: Just a quick follow-up on the name-tag  project discussed in yesterday's blog entry; four more name-tags have been added to the things which I grow in my urban terrace garden, if you'd like to see the updated Flickr Gallery, please click here.

Salve! Mihi nomen est _______________________ (OR The Name Tag Project Part One)

Salve! Mihi nomen est__________

OR

You may have surmised, dear reader, that a few of the things which I grow in my urban terrace garden like to express their thoughts, since some of them have taken it upon themselves to author posts for this blog. As you may remember, this started back in April of 2010 when my Paeonia suffruiticosa (Tree Peony) took to the keyboard and made a short blog entry which  you may refer to by clicking here.

Then, as you may recall, this past April of 2011 — almost a year to the day of my Paeonia suffruitcosa's flower's post — one of my tulips posted entries about Sylvia Plath, when it thought her poetry was insulting and hurtful. You may review how the tulip weighed in on Ms. Plath's poetry by clicking here and here. 

And your memory is serving you well if you are thinking that not to be outdone by my poetry analyzing tulip, my Physocarpus opulifolius (Coppertina), Rose, and my Helichrysum bracteatum (Strawflowers) all put in their two cents about urban garden life in posts that you may find by clicking here and here as well as here respectively.

The latest one to join the cyber-world was my Echinacea Plant who recently showcased itself on Flickr; then blogged about the opportunity! (You may click here if you'd like to see it.)

At this time, all of the herbs, plants, flowers, vines, shrubs and trees, which grow in my terrace garden have gotten together and informed me that life in my urban terrace garden has become a real social networking opportunity that is being hampered by the fact that it is difficult to remember everyone's name what with over sixty different things making their home in my garden. Moreover, because my herbs, plants, flowers, vines, shrubs and trees are surrounded by windows of neighboring buildings, they have come up with an idea for remedying this – an idea sparked by something that they saw on the televisions through the windows!  

I have not had a television since the late 1970's, so the fact that they even glimpsed at the "boob tube" surprises me, but they have confessed that this is exactly what they have done, and in doing so they learned a thing about social networking from a Bud Light commercial. Please take a look at what they saw as I've posted it below.

From their having seen this advertisement, they are imploring me to finish the name tags that I started a while ago. You may recall, dear reader, that in a previous post which you can read by clicking here, I stressed the importance of calling all things by the name that they wish to be called. In any event, the tags which I got for my plants are copper, as seen in the photograph of my "tagged" Juncus effsus (Unicorn Soft Rush) plant posted at the top of this blog entry after the screenshot image of your average name tag for people to wear at events which are not so attractive, but the copper name tags are very attractive and unique, which I am sure the things that I grow in my garden will appreciate since they have such high standards even though they watch television and get their inspiration from Bud Light commercials!
The copper style tags were suggested to me by Juan V, and you may have noticed one or two of the name tags in photo-collages that I included in my posting about my Echinacea Plant which you may go to by clicking here. The writing on the tags is unique too and very special as evidenced in the tag for my Ajuga plant seen in the photograph posted below.

Each tag's script is slightly different and was done by Jennie from a shop called "roam", which is located on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper Westside of New York City. An image of their store-front's window can be seen in the photograph posted below.

The paper flowers you see in the window were also made by Jennie, and as you might surmise, she is multi-talented. I am grateful to have her "stamp" on my urban terrace garden in the form of her "script" on my copper name tags.  At this time, forty-three name tags (there are forty more to go) have been scripted by Jennie, and photographs have been taken of each one of the scripted copper name tags with their respeectivre plants. These images are posted on my Flickr Account which you can access by clicking on this link. A "sneak" preview can be seen below:

I will post another entry when the remaining thirty-one name tags are completed. Meanwhile, dear reader, if you are a gardener, do you "tag" the things which you grow on your garden? If so how?