Garden and Food books by Gayla Trail

Barry’s Lithops

Can you distinguish the plants from the rocks? Lithops, aka stone plants, are a favourite botanical freak but I am very tentative about growing them. I’ve killed a fair share and even though I have an intellectual understanding of their needs, I still don’t feel like I truly “get” them in practice. I currently have

Yes Virginia, There is a Blue Tomato

And I am growing it! Back in February a secret somebody, whose identity I will not reveal (pinky swear), gifted me a package of seeds of the only open-pollinated (OP) blue tomato to have been raised by natural plant breeding techniques (not GMO). I was under the impression that this yet-to-be-released tomato was so secretive

A Bit of Light Summer Reading

As usual I’m acquiring books faster than I can read them, although I have placed a light moratorium on cookbooks. Last year I mentioned a sudden and insatiable craving for cookbooks. A year later and I have no where to put them! The cookbook monster has been placed on a leash for the time being.

Update on the Morelle de Balbis

When I wrote about the Morelle de Balbis (Solanum sisymbrifolium) last it was on April 30, 2010 when the seedling was still living in the greenhouse. It had just begun to produce its thorns and I was beginning to get a glimpse into what I’d signed on for. It is now July 1 and the

A Truly Black Viola

There are several pansies and violas that claim to be black, but when it comes down to it they are purple, more or less. Ever since Mr. Brown Thumb posted about his not exactly black, black viola, I have been meaning to pull out a photo of Viola cornuta ‘Black Magic’, the blackest flower I

Garden 52

The other day I realized that I am in a garden everyday during the growing season, enjoying some pretty fantastic things that never show up on this site. It’s not uncommon for me to visit a stunning garden and take hundreds of photos that I never get around to posting here. I’m still sitting on

Oxalis squamata

Here’s another close up of a plant I mentioned in the post about my roof garden’s back wall, Oxalis squamata. In it’s pot.

Timelapse Video: A Day in the Life of a Pot of Herbs

Yesterday, I made a timelapse video of the day in the life of one of the herb pots I am growing on the roof (1 pm – 10:30 pm). I choose to focus on the ‘Rose Petal’ thyme because it’s blooms were attracting a lot of tiny little bees and pollinators. My favorite portion is