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8. Revisiting Prince Edward County

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:27:07 GMT

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

It has been several years since I was in Prince Edward County Ontario. This is a fertile tranquil bulge of land, almost an island in Lake Ontario. Indeed a ferry takes you to the “mainland” from its eastern coast. I returned a couple of weeks ago to find thriving communities of artisans, wine, cider and cheese makers, small towns with more shops than I remember, offering upscale and folksy fare. There are many bed and breakfast facilities offered in heritage homes in Loyalist country. There are museums, galleries, fine dining and sandy beaches, some with sandbanks.

I remember on the morning of my last visit we had rain. We headed to the town of Bloomfield, parked the car and with umbrellas up we strolled. On signs on front lawns were invitations to explore the gardens behind. Somewhere there would be a collecting tin to put a donation for charity. Would you feel comfortable having strangers walking through your back yard? But this is Prince Edward County. It was on that drizzling morn that I photographed a wet rose, which later won me first prize in a photo contest.

So people are coming to visit, explore, experience and buy. Indeed for those with discretionary income they are many opportunities to spend. My journey this time took me to the Huff Estates. Although I will give you the link, this is not a commercial. It is about a garden. In 2004, County-born Lanny Huff opened his modest, modern winery at a crossroads in the centre of the County; The Inn at Huff Estate opened in 2006, followed by the Oeno (art) Gallery in 2009. This year the gallery started planting a garden in which to display sculptures. The first flower beds are in bloom, the first interesting sculptures are in place. To be in at the beginning of a creative exercise is exciting. I will go back to watch it develop. They ask for $2 to help fund the project, but just like in the rose garden in Bloomfield, no one is supervising the money box.

Near the entrance are two steel forms of a man and a woman gardening. They are “The Planters” created by Victor Cicansky The sculpture stands in the middle of a flower bed. Their shape, their movement is so life like, I forgot they were hollow. They breathed the whole essense of the place.

Then on a hill something bright blue stands out against the cloud flecked blue sky. It draws you. The work is Shayne Dark’s “Tangtle Wood.” A pile of logs as if dropped from above falling higgldy-piggldy. The colour is so vibrant.

Then a stainless steel and glass “Urn” draws my attention. It is the work of Anne O’Callaghan. Through it “Tangle Wood” can be seen in the distance

On the path leading to the gallery amid bushy fragrant lavender is a work by France Grice called Garden Panel 2 – Blue of glass and metal. Now that one might just fit in my garden …

The gallery itself is worth a visit. The friendly staff are knowledgable about the works they are displaying.

Because the flower and sculpture garden drew my attention I did not get to partake of a wine tasting at the Huff Estates. But on watching a YouTube film later Iearned the answer to something that had puzzled me. I am aware the Niagara Region has so many vineyards because the climate is right. But Prince Edward County has cold snowy winters. At the Huff Estate at the end of the season they cut the vines low and then cover the remaining branches in earth. The snow lies on top which acts as an insulating blanket. They do take advantage however of the frost to make ice wine and other sweat dessert wines.

Finding this sculpture garden was a welcomed surprise, a little gem in the heart of the countryside to be remembered and revisited.

7. The Ongoing Saga of My Red Wigglers

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:58:19 GMT

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

So the castings from my vermiculture efforts in the basement continue to be spread in the garden to fertilize my plants. I am always amazed by how much my worms eat and how little food waste has to go out in the green bin. I do wish all the stuff that does go to my curb was converted into methane gas for use as a really green fuel. But not likely in my city where the mayor believes cutting costs should be done by digging a hole and putting everything into it.

However I read an article in the Toronto Star’s Friday July 8^th edition called “Keeping the red worms happy” by staff reporter Patty Winsa. She had met up with Carol O’Dwyer, an employee at Ontario Place where a compost station is part of the new on site eco-learning centre. O’Dwyer asks the kids “what they know about composting, the process of turning food waste into soil, to try to get them excited about the value of food waste.” The best way to do that is to “Show them the worms.”

Wonderful!!! Here they are. These are my red wigglers. If even one child learns that we will destroy ourselves by continuing to be a throwaway society; if one child changes his/her behavior, O’Dwyer will have done her job.

Castings ready for the garden and with water added it makes worm castings tea

However my real interest was tweaked when I read about how she prepares the food. They use a second hand blender; the resulting mix is frozen into ice trays and then dished out to the worms one at a time. Now here is an idea worth developing. Firstly it would compact the food and certainly save me the time of chopping things up so finely. Worms don’t have teeth so must wait for food to decompose before feeding.

I have been keeping the food for the worms in the freezer for three reasons. I always like to have a supply waiting and storing in the freezer gets it out if the way. Secondly by having a period in the freezer fruit fly eggs that may have been present can be killed off. There is nothing worse than a swarm of fruit flies in the worm chalet. The third reason for the freezer is that this summer I have been cutting up weeds, pruning trimmings and dead headed flowers from the garden and feeding them to the worms. I do not know what livestock I would be bringing in – so into the freezer. I do have a composter at the bottom of the garden but have never been very successful at getting the temperature high enough to get much action.

Now one thing I have to be very careful about is separating the worm food from my own stored food in the freezer. Last winter I mistook a zip lock bag of chopped up leak leaves and roots I was saving for my red wigglers for a zip lock bag on chopped up leeks for my stew pot. I had to do some quick ladling when I realized my mistake. That batch of stew had a decidedly chewier texture. But I digress. I wanted to share my experience with my blender.

Blenders don’t work well if you are filling them with weeds. You have to start out with liquidy, pulpy stuff or the blades won’t go round. I don’t really want to add water as the living quarters of my worms are quite gooey enough. Then I remembered that my blender came with a separate plastic contraption, wider than the blending jug and with a slicing blade. With this I had more success. I could layer things better because it had a wider base. The end result was a much finer cut than I was doing by hand and took up less storage room. I won’t be using ice cube trays, but larger containers – well marked before they head for the freezer.

Now I brought some kale in from the garden for freezing - for me - this afternoon….where did I put it?

6. Leave it to the Worms

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:31:00 GMT

By Susan Ellis of Key Life Journeys

Recently at the seasonal pot luck dinner and AGM of the East York Garden Club there was the annual ritual of deciding which lucky person got the table centre. This year the selection was from pet owners. Those of us who kept worms in our basements were not considered pet owners. I remember when I bought my first half pound of Red Wigglers and brought then to their new home. The seller reassured me that the most difficult job I would have in their care was naming them all. I had not succeeded at the task so I guess I was not a pet owner. But I am sure I had earned every table centre in the room since, having been at vermiculture for a year, I certainly had the most of anything in my house.

I’m very fond of my Red Wigglers. Not as big as the garden worm variety but somewhat more mobile, sleek and colorful. Each one of them is blessed with five hearts, but no teeth, ears or eyes. They are however sensitive to light and burrow deeper when its feeding time. They never complain, they don’t ask to be let out in the middle of the night and they don’t get angry when I don’t change their littler for months at a time. All I do is feed them and occasionally shred some more newspaper to add to their living environment.

I’m thrilled to say that even when I did not read all the instructions about their care and habitat, they still reproduced and ate all my vegetable leftovers. Along with the fruits and veggies, they had coffee grounds and filters, opened teabags, chopped up garden plants, leaves and crushed egg shells.

A year later I realize I had neglected to give them a full varied diet. In year two I am adding pasta rice and bread. I could also add cardboard egg cartons and coffee trays; if I had any I could give them my beard clippings. To speed up the decomposing process I cut up everything into small pieces. I also wash bananas, oranges and melons before cutting into them to stop the proliferation of fruit flies.

Recently it was time to harvest - the separation of worms from their castings. The "poo" is much treasured plant fertilizer. A year ago I started with half a pound of woems. I think I could go into business myself since my family of hermaphrodites has enlarged greatly. Harvesting is a tedious task to do manually so this year I invested in some real estate. I bought a three story worm chalet. The Red Wigglers are all currently on the ground floor. But when I think it is time for them to move out of their current bedding I set the new bedding and the food in the floor above and I have been promised they will move up and voluntarily vacate the ground floor. I will keep you informed.

A year of verminculture and so little of my food waste has gone out to the composting station. Well that’s where I am told it goes; I still believe much of it goes to the tip. All that is in my green bin these days are animal/fish scraps, oils and dairy products and the veggies skins which have coated in wax. Each of my family eats half its weight in waste vegetable matter and newspaper ever day. Bless their many hearts.

To learn more about vermiculture, worm sex and starting your family, visit this informative website. I bought my worms from Cathy.

5. The Mature Waterfall at Last

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:22:00 GMT

By Susan Ellis of KeyLifeJourneys

Three years in the making and finally I am looking at the waterfall I have held in my imagination for a long time. The final task was to find the right creeping vines to cover the concrete block shell that circled the back of the waterfall where it rises above ground level. In May of 2009 beginning the waterfall's second season, I planted a Boston ivy on one side and a yellow hops vine on the other. By last fall I could see the potential. The hops vine was prolific and long stems worked their way across the whole project. In the fall they died off and I cut back to ground level. The Boston ivy was a slow starter and grasped the concrete firmly as it extended.

This spring the hops got off to a quick start and now cover the waterfall. The Boston ivy continues to grow where it left off last year and holds the foundation together. I had always had the dream that my water would gush out of a jungle of green. I had images of Mexico and Mayan ruins hidden behind undergrowth.

Romans ate the young shoots of hops vines saying they tasted like asparagus; alternatively I could flavour my beer with them. But more pressing, I have to ensure the hops vine does not take over my whole garden. It may be at some future date that I will be hacking through the undergrowth, not to find Mayan ruins, but my BBQ and swinging garden seat.

For now I sit and watch and listen to my waterfall. All rocks, stones and pebbles came from Ontario. Most rocks collected by me and my friends over a period of years waiting for the day when I would break ground and create my pondless waterfall. It had to be pondless. I did not want to maintain a pond especially since raccoons love my garden. So the water drops into an underground reservoir before being recycled back to the top. Having the waterfall over rocks and then drop into water underground gives a stereo effect in sound.

I could have bought a kit to make my waterfall. But I created it from scratch. I must write an ebook on how I chose to do it. But right now I am just savoring the moment!

I hope you enjoy the film.

4. The Rituals of Spring

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 02:55:00 GMT

By Susan Ellis of keylifejourneys

Spring is a time of rituals for me, just like getting up after a long sleep. It was strange this year. The longing to be out in the garden came early because of the lack of snow, evident from my window. I felt I could be out there already. But finally the warmth of the sun softened the soil and it was time. It was the beginning of March and there I was raking the leaves off the grass and breaking off the dried out stems from past year's perennial growth.

A cold snap came so it was time for a visit to the conservatory in Allen Gardens and a look at the spring bulbs in bloom. Then more blooms.

Canada Blooms, this year's show was at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place;Toronto. A good location. Here I bought heritage vegetable seeds.

The next ritual was planting the first veggie seeds, two rows so far are in place. Then the moving of my metal circular trellis upon which my Scarlet runner beans will grow. I change its location on the veggie patch each year.

The next ritual is the visit to the cemetery at the end of the month. From 1st April the cemetery removes all winter wreaths. This 31st March marked the 11th anniversary of the death of my partner. I put a whimsical wreath up at the grave each year with Christmas decorations and Peanuts characters. Last fall when I had put it in place I had planted Icicle Pansies. They flower in autumn and the following spring. The squirrels had dug them up and no new growth greeted me this year.

It was cool but sunny so following the trip to the cemetery I took a walk in West Humber Park accessed from Parklawn Avenue. The bays made from landfill were filled with birds; diving birds as well as the ducks that stick their heads in the water and their fannies in the air; Canada Geese, noisy as ever and sticking their beaks into everyone else's business: swans, some with their wings arched up over their backs in regal splendor.

I sat on rocks on a pebbled beach, thelake calm, just rocking at the edge. Amongst the pebbles there werewater warn rust colored shapes of disintegrating bricks. I collectedsome small glass pieces made opaque by their smoothed surfaces, brown,green and clear turned white. On an adjacent beach slabs of pebbledfilled cement were rounded at the edges by water erosion. People, therebefore me, had built up piles to resemble four legged animals and twolegged inukshuks. I passed the butterfly habitat area, awaiting theirarrival.

Then came the next ritual. In the basement in brown paper bags my geraniums are stored through the winter. Each fall I shake the earth from the roots and put them in the dark. I love the moment when I open the bag to find green growth already started. Nature's clock knows. There is no need for light. The plant knows when it is time to start building for the summer. They go into buckets of water for 24 hours then into pots. They will be outside from 24th May. Finally it will be the turn of the dahlias. They too are in the basement in brown paper bags. I will be planting them indoors towards the end of April. I always like to see some green growth on them before I plant them outside.

These rituals have an effect on my biological clock too. I'm ready for a new gardening year!!

3. Vallarta Botanical Gardens

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:03:00 GMT

by Susan Ellis of keylifejourneys

Savouring a little bit of paradise this March away from the frozen north, I was on the Pacific shores of Mexico in Puerto Vallarta. This fishing village grown to mega resort destination has been a favourite winter get away place for me for many years.

But on this visit I celebrated of my birthday. To honour the occasion we did something we have never done before. We visited the Vallarta Botanical Gardens, 12 miles south of P.V. on Highway 200 - the only road south. It is set amid 20 acres at 1,300ft in the Sierra Madre Mountains and has been open to the public since 2005.

It can be quite an adventure to reach there unless you go by taxi and indicate you want to go to the "Jardino Botanico" Many hotels and resorts don't have the bus route down exactly right. We were told to catch the Mismaloya/Boco bus south from the old town. This is a frequent bus service and we enjoyed the panoramic coastal journey. But on reaching Boca we were turfed off and told to wait on the road for another bus to take us the rest of the way. Now if we had read the instructions given on the Botanical Gardens website we would have known to catch a different bus from down town - the one heading to El Tuito running about every 30 minutes. However we chatted a while with others on the road side at Boca and finally caught the El Tuito bus we could have got in down town in the first place. But our companions didn't mind. They were coming to celebrate a birthday also.

Hacienda de Oro Visitor's Center with spectacular mountain views, is also where you will find Hacienda de Oro Restaurant, with a courteous staff, delicious brick oven pizzas, salads and other Mexican specialties. So I had my birthday lunch looking out at the dry jungled mountains of the Sierra Madre and down to the river below where one is invited to swim in the crystal clear Rio Los Horcones. Hawks and other magnificent birds of pray circle in the updrafts.

The website also declares that one should visit "the famous 'classy' restrooms" where one detects a vacancy in the cubicle by the lack of a pair of feet protruding below the red 'velvet' curtains. Stepping outside the Damas there is an orchid house and plant shop and a photographer's paradise.

In my afternoon of exploration I could not experience all there was to see. But there was joy in seeing this place in its infancy. It has big dreams and plans for the future and aims to slowly grow to meet them. Already registered with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International in Surrey, England it aims to be the best in Mexico.

As well as the path to the river in the valley, already there are Palm Gardens, Rose Garden, Tree Fern Grotto, Orchid House, Jungle Trails, Tropical Bird Watching, Agaves Gardens, displays of Mexican Wildflowers and the Carnivorous Plant Collection. On one trail a swinging bridge thwarts some explorers. But for this traveler it evokes memories of journey's past.

My winter sojourns in Puerto Vallarta have some ritual re-visitations. A new ritual has been established. The Vallarta Botanical Gardens will be included on subsequent visits to P.V.

Entry fee is 50 pesos - Currently you get about 11 pesos to the Canadian dollar and 14 to the US. The bus costs 16-20 pesos depending on the route chosen. They are open 9-5pm and are closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Taking a taxi there is about $20US.

2. Gardens are Organic

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:02:00 GMT

Gardens are organic. I don't mean that to define whether there are chemicals or not. I mean organic because of its constantly evolving nature. Every garden has a story that is developing because of the people who touch it. It is like the quantum physics concept that everything that has been touched by a vibrating wave of energy will be forever changed by it.

My garden is like that. I have walked its length and breadth for 22 years now and the past present and future are tied into every rustling leaf, every bird that lands, every cat that walks through it and is evident in every raccoon dug-hole. It is as if the story teller never ceases spinning yarns.

I like that. Even in the winter I still can view my garden from my office window. I enlarged the window and placed my computer at an angle towards it. I just have to let my eyes turn to the left, hardly moving my head and the whole story is evident.

Being a bit of an eccentric gardener I like colourful objects to decorate the flower beds in summer and the lawn in winter.
When the snow falls I look out of my window and measure it by how far up the bicycle wheels it comes.

In spring time the visitors, such as the White-throated sparrow, arrive undisturbed as I look out on their space. My dreams and plans turn into reality as I implement the changes I have planned for the garden.

The garden's ever evolving nature is a reflection of course of my ever evolving self. The garden has many stories to tell about me; The first veggie patch; the new patio and the year I started putting bicycles in my dahlia bed. The decision that lawns were to be replaced by stones, rocks and pebbles; the three years it tool to finally remove all the grass from the front garden. Then there was the year we built the inukshuk. Now I'm creating the biggest of all projects - building a pondless waterfall.

I shall stay in this house with its garden for as long as it is realistic for me to do so. The garden will always be a reflection of who I am any given year. What gratitude I have in the knowledge that through a garden I can express the essence of me without words. How grateful I am that gardens are forgiving and there is always next year if one makes a mistake. Ah there are no mistakes, only lessons to learn. And so the story is being told.

1. We planted the apricot tree

sue@keylifejourneys.com (Key Life Journey's Blog) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:16:00 GMT

We planted the apricot tree in our garden in May 1998, a symbol of life's continuation for us. Sue, my partner, was soon to go into hospital for a tracheotomy. This was going to help with suctioning secretions from her compromised lungs. Sue had Multiple Sclerosis and was regularly getting aspiration pneumonia. Her body was dying. She was not ready to go. She still had too much living to do. Along with swallowing problems she could not speak so all our communication was via her head nodding in response to questions with yes or no answers.

Sue survived the surgery and that summer and fall we watched the apricot tree grow and eventually the leaves drop off. Sue died at the end of March 1999. I went into the garden to look at our tree of life. I found the winter had harmed not one branch and buds abounded. Later in April there was a memorial service at our church for Sue. I placed Forsythia boughs from the garden in a vase at the spot where she, in her wheelchair, had sat on so many Sundays. The Apricot tree was in full bloom.

I will always remember that day when I walked to the tree. The late afternoon sun back lit the fragile blossoms which seemed to radiate light. Its glowing energy, its vibrating frequencies seemed to melt into me, to connect. This was my first sense of a "physical" connection to Sue after her death. It seemed the tree was talking to me. My tears at that moment I think were of joy. Our tree lived on; a channel had be opened.

I'm not used to growing fruit trees but I did learn that one had to remove many of the fruit the first year to maintain strength in the tree. I think I counted 100. The next summer I wanted a big harvest, however the raccoons in the night seemed to beat me to the prize. I vowed the following year to protect the tree from climbing raccoons. As I had more time to spend on my garden I designed a patio in the area behind the apricot tree.

My mind is hazy as to when things started changing. But one year the bark started splitting and breaking, allowing insects to enter. There were some blossoms but no fruit formed. The branches still grew and I was pruning about 4 feet a year. But it was dying. Our tree of life was dying. This was a great stress. I associated the tree with Sue. Was she telling me I had to let go of the past? I am sure I was still holding on. I was supposed to let go, move on. I could not deny that this was the truth. Would there be other messages for me in metaphor and symbolism?

Branches started dying, but at the same time suckers were growing around the trunk. Ultimately I decided to nurture three suckers. They grew tall and strong. For a couple of years I let them grow up around the now leafless original tree. I would decorate its stark branches with glass balls and ornaments.

Finally in the spring of 2007 I snapped the old tree off at its base, the three suckers were branching out and now 15feet tall. I had let go of the old memory and had embraced the new. The transformation of both the tree and me was complete. I had moved on.

In the spring of 2008 the new trees were filled with blossom. That is why I took the photograph which is on the right of the header. No fruit appeared but that did not matter. The lesson had been learned.