Thursday, April 16, 2009

Forsythia



Every spring I look forward to the forsythia blooming. Here, this blooms on a scruffy patch at the base of the Howard Street Bridge. Usually a homeless person lounges about in this area, but since this was a rare occasion when he wasn’t here so I whipped out my camera. I am partial to forsythia because it reminds me of my childhood. When we were kids we had some that were so big that we used to play house inside of them. There were several different bushes growing in a row and it seemed like there were several “rooms” inside them.

As you could guess by this forsythia bush’s location, forsythia are very easy to grow and require little maintenance or special conditions. They are tolerant of polluted areas. Ideally, they require full sun, well-drained soil. Technically, forsythia are deciduous shrubs and are a member of the olive family. The leaves drop off in late fall but do not turn any exciting colors. Forsythia is of Asian origin and was discovered by Robert Fortune in the 18th century. Forsythia was introduced to America at the turn of the 20th century. The shrub was named in honor of William Forsyth, who was a prominent gardener in England

Forsythia blooms in March and April with yellow blossoms early in the spring and the blossoms are always on the previous year’s growth. As evidenced by my childhood activities, it can grow large, often between 4 and 6 feet tall and with a spread from three to five feet wide. It also grows fast, from 1-2 feet per year. It leafs out nicely and is often used for privacy. Single forsythia look best wild but if they are in groups they should be trimmed. Many gardeners prefer the unruly look and hesitate to prune them. Forsythia can be grown from cuttings. Cut a 3-6 inch branch from an area of new growth and then place is a pot of moist soil, keeping it moist. It will slowly take root over a few weeks.

Resources

How to Grow and Care for Forsythia

Planting and caring for forsythia

About Forsythia

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Sweater Trees



One Sunday recently I was reading The Washington Post and they had one of those “wacky things about Baltimore” articles. Well, the quirky sites were typical, such as some oft mentioned shopping and dining sites. But, I stopped dead when I saw a mention for something called “the sweater tree”. Even more amazing, it was only a few blocks from my home, in front of the LovelyYarns shop. She collected abandoned knitting projects from the people who frequent her shop and then stitched them around the trunk. Apparently they also knitted meter cozies but they were quickly removed.

Apparently this is a part of a trend called urban knitting, or even guerilla knitting. Most famous is the Knitta please project began in 2005 as some of the members agonized about what to do with their abandoned knitting projects. Somehow this led to them surreptitiously attaching knitting to mailboxes and street signs in the middle of the night.
They call it “graffiti”, only using knitting materials. Since then, knitters have attached their knitwear to any available public place. Largely this consists of trees and light poles, but like in the case of Finish and Swedish knitters, it can extend to moorings, handrails, and whatnot. Surprisingly, this trend is visible in urban cities all over the world, even if it is not as prevalent as other art forms. Some cities, such as Yellow Springs, Ohio, led an organized effort to beautify their communities with “tree cozies”.

I’ve heard rumors of another sweater tree on 31st between St. Paul and Charles, so I will investigate that soon.


Resources

"Urban Knitting: The World's Most Inoffensive Graffiti" by deputydog

"A Sweater for a Tree" (AP story)

knittaplease.com