C and I went to see the Rose City Rollers last night. It was the most fun I’ve had at a sporting event in recent memory. The Rose City Rollers are Portland’s own all-female roller derby league.
I was very loosely connected to one of the Breakneck Betties so C and I had a lot of fun rooting for “our team” with my coworker, Ms. J_, and her he-mate, A_. The Betties’ match with the undefeated Heartless Heathers was something to watch as the two teams were neck-n-neck until the finish. 
The courage and sheer gutsiness of the ladies on skates was impressive as were the referees who skated the outer perimeter and therefore had to skate very fast to keep an eye on the race. There was no lack of irony or camp in the trappings of the event — it would have been enough fun with the costumes, mascots and half-time show, alone — but the dedication and go-get-em-ness of the players made it much more entertaining than I expected.
The game is played seriously, not staged like wrestling (as I have heard some folks make that comparison), so the physical risks to the roller derby players are real and injuries were a common occurrence. It all added up to a rousing show that brought the crowd to their feet many times. The Rose City Rollers are one more reason to love living in Portland.
On the subject of the hedge, I had a couple of plant ideas for the curvy bed that C has recently re-exposed. Perhaps we should investigate mosses? Scotch moss likes shade and even flowers part of the year.
Then again, nix mosses — an ornamental grass would be a more appropriate scale for the giant hedges. Japanese Forest Grass (otherwise known as Hakonechloa macra ) is perennial, likes shade, goes well with hostas, and comes in a a number of varieties (Albostriata, All Gold and Aureola, to name a few). I just read about a new variety “Beni Kaze” that turns bright red in the fall, but have not been able to find any pictures. From my cursory internet research, it seems highly sought after and probably a bit spendier than its cousins.
I assaulted the westerly laurel hedge today, trimming back a foot or more of growth that was eating into our living and growing space, overshadowing flowerbeds and effectively reducing the size of the patio. Shouldn’t have let it get so overgrown, but last year the folks on t’other side seriously pruned it back (to bare trunks), as it was impinging on their driveway. I left our side alone so that it would have a healthy surface to help photosynthesize the life back into it.
I’m never very satisfied with the appearance, post-trimming… laurels only put out growth on their exposed face, so once you chop through the shiny new leaves you’re into some nasty, shade-dwelling territory that’s seen much better days. Ach, such is life. The nice thing is that they’re evergreen and grow all year long, so by trimming it in early June, I trust it’ll make good use of the long summer daylight and bounce back that much quicker.
As to the fate of the hedge on the south side… I’ve pruned-back the parts I can reach, but we’re going to have to call in a tree service to finish the job. The damned thing must be approaching 20′ tall in places, and suffered some broken and split branches in a wind storm this winter. Topping the beast a good bit lower, and peeling about a yard off its depth is definitely indicated. We should get much more light into the garden after that operation is concluded, though I fear the additional traffic noise we might experience. Shedding so much bulk will reduce the sound barrier that shields us (somewhat) from the busy street.
Still, once it’s all done and the surfaces healed, it’ll be pleasing. A nice, dense rectilinear laurel hedge makes it feel very much like a medieval walled garden back there, and while I admire (and enjoy the lessened effort required of) somewhat wild, “country” landscaping, there’s something very æsthetic about neat rows of vegetables and straight-walled hedges. The organic, stream bed-inspired forms of the flowerbeds beneath the laurels make much more sense, too, when they contrast the sharp-sided backdrop of a well-trimmed hedge.
Exciting things on the garden front! After a couple weeks of a finding only one or two strawberry du jour ripe and ready for consumption (usually by me), the little strawberry patch has finally come into its own. This morning I picked enough strawberries to generously top two bowls of cereal. We have different varieties sharing the same plot and it is my observation that the Hood variety, while oddly shaped (elongated and ovular) and smaller than the others, is by far the tastiest and most prolific.
The tiger lilies along the hedge are blooming. It seems like ages ago (2002?) that C planted the bulbs in that part of the garden. This may be the first year that blooming stalks have exceeded the number of original bulbs planted.
The spinach, Correnta hybrid, that I planted as seed has emerged. The beans are still sleeping. Our lettuce is lush and beautiful. The pressure is on to consume many salads before the lettuce bolts! C and I have not been cooking at home as much as, perhaps, we should be. Our vegetables are gaining on us.
We planted brussel sprouts this year in the hopes that we wouldn’t have the same aphid situation as before with brassicas. But, as I suppose we knew it would turn out, they are now rife with the squirmy grey critters. Ew. We lean toward organic methods and hesitate to use pesticides. C is on the lookout for a good pepper spray.
In addition to the beans and spinach, today also saw the planting of some Russian Banana fingerling potatoes. Buffalo Gardens had some wrinkly seed potatoes on sale when we were in to acquire jute twine for the stringing of the bean trellis. As the half barrel had previously been emptied of its Jerusalem artichokes, it seemed a likely spot.
I’ve only planted three — it’s not a large barrel — probably too many for the space, but given that it’s filled with the choicest compost, perhaps they’ll make out OK.
You know that your better-half is a graphic designer when, in contemplating the size of your front flowerbeds, she says “Right now it’s like we have a one-pixel border around a really large box.”
C’s Bamboo Bean Trellis
I harvested the spinach that C planted in early May (it was ready to bolt) and replaced it with a summer-lovin’ (“…had me a bla-a-a-ast…”) strain from New Zealand, “Correnta Hybrid” (Territorial Seed). This is our first attempt growing this type of spinach. It doesn’t *quite* get full sun, as it supposedly requires, so we shall see how it fares. I gave it a dose of diluted fish emulsion for luck.
I finally found Fortex (Fedco Seeds) at our local independent nursery, Buffalo Gardens. I also picked up some “French Climbing” beans sold in bulk. This will be the first time that particular bean has been planted in our garden.
C finished constructing a bean trellis earlier today, and has just now finished planting the Fortex and French Climbing. He tells me that the Fortex have been planted on the inside row, and the French Climbing on the outside. Let’s hope it’s not too late for a good crop!
I’ve often thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a MapQuest for bike routes?” Turns out there is! I came across this link to the byCycle Trip Planner on the Sellwood Cycle Repair website. The Planner is still very much under development, but I have great hopes for this tool. As of now, it is a pretty basic “Point A to Point B” resource. But in the future it will give riders the ability to customize their results according to distance, less hills, less traffic, etc. Very cool. The developers are interested in adding more cities to the Planner list which currently includes Portland OR, Milawaukee WI, and Pittsburgh PA.
C and I were inspired last weekend by the unseasonably summery weather and planted a raft of summer vegetable and herb starts:
- Early Cascade Tomato
- Black Krim Tomato
- Yellow Currant Tomato
- Yellow Crookneck
- Zucchini
- Black Beauty Eggplant
- “Asian” Eggplant (I forget the name, darnit)
- Spicy Veronese Basil
- Sweet Genoa Basil
- French Thyme
We have had no luck finding seeds for the slender french/filet pole beans that we like so much. Specifically, we have our eyes open for Fortex — a string bean we have grown in numerous years with great success.
Duly diligent, I amended half of the beds and planted some cooler weather veg yesterday. About 20 lettuce starts, a block of spinach, and an equally sizable block of Swiss chard. Chives and a lemon cucumber, too, though it may be a bit early for the cuke. I had a spur of the moment urge to grow Brussels sprouts, so I’ve planted six of them… perhaps this year the aphids will leave them alone, or we’ll have better luck dissuading them. Thing is, even the quick-maturing variety I’ve planted is ~76 days to fruition, by which time we’re well into the first week of July.
Q. What does one plant in July in Oregon?
A. As far as I know, nothing.
Feh, silly old me. Now I’ll have a bed just lying fallow during the hottest months. Too late to plant tomatoes or peppers or melons in it… I suppose it’s just conceivable that I could get a speedy winter squash going in there. Must investigate. Otherwise, it’s a fall salad bed, which does not excite.
The courage and sheer gutsiness of the ladies on skates was impressive as were the referees who skated the outer perimeter and therefore had to skate very fast to keep an eye on the race. There was no lack of irony or camp in the trappings of the event — it would have been enough fun with the costumes, mascots and half-time show, alone — but the dedication and go-get-em-ness of the players made it much more entertaining than I expected.
