Hashem, Hannah and Flannery

Our Sunday started with a trip to Cromwell Valley Park to join the Baltimore Folk Music Society's Spring Faire. With mild 65 degree weather, it was the perfect (and cheap!) outing for me, my son and his Great Grandmother. Fiddles were going, May pole ribbons were streaming and the atmosphere was full of joy. We tried our hands at juggling and joined a madrigal song circle, too. The event was such a nice speed. E did somersaults on the lawn and we had a pleasant time.

E and his Great Grammy at the May pole.

The food left something to be desired, though the handmade crepes looked good. We needed a place to sit and rest...and somehow the lawn for great grammy didn't seem appropriate. So we headed to the Bel Loch Diner for lunch.

Entering the diner is like entering a time machine. The exterior has a funky art deco appearance. The turquoise blue seats atop the chrome bar stools lend a hip 60's retro vibe. The food is what you might expect, quick and tasty even for a vegetarian like me. The egg salad and sweet potato fries were delish!

Picture from the SouthernLiving website when the diner was featured in "Secrets of the South's Best Diners". 

What I really love about this place is the history. Great gram told me that she remembered this diner from when she and her late husband were married (it opened in 1964). I love that this old fashioned diner has been a staple in our community for over five decades.

Yeah, yeah it's charming, by now you get it. But here's where it's really like a time machine: I noticed a young guy bussing tables and I couldn't help but think that it was a boy that I taught some years before. I taught art in a local public middle school for four years and during that time I worked with over 1200 students. Needless to say I still run into them everywhere I go.

So great grammy decided to ask a waitress to grab the boy (embarrassing) so that I could find out if I was right - sure enough it was Hashem, a respectful young man that I always liked. But what happened next was just strange. Another girl came from out of the kitchen and said, "do you remember me? I'm Hannah, you were my art teacher in 6th grade." Of course! She was in my Gifted and Talented art class. She was still a meek, pretty girl with frizzy blond hair and once she said her name I knew exactly who she was.

And then a THIRD girl came from around the corner and said "do you remember me?" I thought for sure someone was pulling my leg but she said "My name is Flannery and..." and I immediately blurted out her last name. I remembered her, too! She was a studious, sweet girl now an outgoing waitress.

What were the chances that three of the diner employees were all my students almost ten years ago?

The time warp caught me completely off guard and in mommy mode. But it's brought back fond memories of my days in the classroom, teaching up to 36 students per class. Despite how hard those years were (working full-time at the school and part-time at the nature center), I stayed optimistic and tried to savor all the good times with the kids. I will always be grateful for those experiences and excited to run into more of my students as the years march on.

DIY herb spiral

It's a proverbial glorious spring day, mild weather about 70 degrees and sunny skies. In my tireless quest to make the garden beautiful and useful, there is a new addition to the yard: the herb spiral.

What's an herb spiral? Research on these herb sprials is varied and all fascinating to me, the garden geek that I am. This invention came about in the 70's as a new take on "permaculture". The concept is that the plants at the top of the spiral-shaped raised bed will get the most sun and have the driest soil. Plants on one side will be partly shaded with slightly more moist soil. The plants at the bottom will have the most moisture since water will drain down and around the spiral. Therefore, you can grow a large number of plants that have many different soil and light conditions all in one space. Other advantages include the raised soil bed which provides easy access to everything and keeps plants away from nibbling critters. (Between the groundhogs and rabbits in our yard, I'll keep my fingers crossed.)

What should you plant? Typically herbs spirals are, well, for herbs that you cook with. They are placed in easy access of a kitchen or outdoor cooking area so that they will get lots of use. But you could grow all sorts of things on the spiral. Trailing fruits and veggies would work - squash, cucumber, watermelon - any would be fun to try. Flowers would be charming here, too, though many herbs will flower. My plant list includes:

-rosemary, two varieties
-French marigold (edible)
-sundrops
-basil
-oregano
-thyme, two varieties
-chammomile, two varieties
-sage
-mint
-chives

Making it: First, mark off your circle somewhere around 5-6 feet in diameter (your call). Lay cardboard and/or landscape fabric down to kill weeds. (Avoid cardboard that may have lots of inks that could leach into edible plants.) Laying cardboard or landscape fabric is helpful especially if you're making the spiral right on top of a lawn. I used both, along with metal stakes to pin down landscape fabric.

Next you need to create the spiral. Some sources suggest that your spiral go clockwise (or counter) depending on what hemisphere you live in. Mine is clockwise starting from the center.

You can use rocks from the yard, bricks, even poured concrete if you really want to. I stacked local stone to form mine, but I also had random leftover pavers that I used at the bottom of the center spiral. Since they are hidden, I figured why not.

The goal is to make the center of the spiral about 3 feet tall. Remember, the idea is for the soil to be raised in the center, then spiral down to the lowest point at the end. This will make harvesting and weeding easy. Mine is just shy of three feet but if you're a perfectionist, grab your tape measure.

Now you're ready to add a thick layer of mulch. Again, this will help prevent weeds and also add nutrients that will break down over time. There are many different substrates you can use from this point, depending on how technical you want to be. In the truest sense, you would want to amend the soil with peat, use straw, and compost from your yard. This will create nutrient-rich soil and establish those distinctly different growing zones for permaculture described here. I used the layer of mulch, then a soil/compost mixture.

Finally, water down the soil to make sure you've filled in all the pockets. Now you are ready to plant!

Here is our new herb spiral, right by the kitchen door:

I'll repost once the plants fill in later this summer. I can't wait to start cooking!