August 1, 2009
19 Comments
Art/Craft

Now In Colour (For a Limited Time)

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Last night, at a party, artist Prashant Miranda painted my tattoo with watercolours. Please go have a look at his journal pages. Prepare to be blown away.

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Since getting the tattoo last year (drawn by Davin Risk), loads of people have asked me if I am going to get it coloured in. I’m still debating getting some light grey shading, and MAYBE having the tomatoes done in red, but my plan was always for a monotone tattoo. The only part that has felt unfinished are the tomatoes because the lines are thinner and there is a lot of open, flat space inside of them.

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But it was fun to see it done up colourfully. I really like the out-of-the-lines, messy softness of Prashant’s painting. Oh, and how painless and quick the whole procedure was. This took about 10 minutes while painting with an actual needle… let’s not think about it.

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July 30, 2009
1 Comment
Daily Botanical Flowers

Box Camera: Rudbeckia

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

In all honesty this could be any Rudbeckia. There are just so many that look alike and this was in a public garden. Who can know?

They do photograph well.

One of my tips when doing the magnifying glass/box camera trick is to seek out shapes that are large, simple and repetitive. It’s especially helpful if there are lots in a cluster like in this shot and the last because then it doesn’t matter if your focus is exactly where you planned for it to be. If you’re striving to photograph a single subject, chances are good that it won’t be in focus. I carry a retractable measuring tape to check the distance but it’s still mostly a guess.

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July 30, 2009
6 Comments
Links

Assorted and Sundry for 09/07/30

  • Urban Farming Around the World – An inspiring pictorial.
  • A Hairless Beast is Roaming My Neighbourhood – Hint: It’s not the Chupacabra. We haven’t seen it yet, but it’s become our favourite threat.
  • Ultimate Veggie Peeler – I made cucumber soup this week in an effort to pretend that this is really summer and not the spring that never ends. I really could have used this peeler. I’ve put off buying one for year because I figure if I’m going to get one it shouldn’t get clogged, slice easily and thinly, and be light in the hand. This one has a ceramic blade! I’ve assigned my brother to locate one for my birthday but so far no luck. And about the promotional copy on the site: Who peels tomatoes for gazpacho?
  • Guerrilla Floral Design – A curious art project in my city. They’re using live plants but I’m calling it floral design since the plants are only expected to survive short term for aesthetic reasons…. THAT is floral design, not gardening.
  • Peta Pixel Interview with Gayla Trail – This one is about photography, not gardening. I have always kept that work separate from here but…. here goes.
  • Interview with My Brother Jay aka DJ General Eclectic – Since I’m already going off-topic… I am so happy for him and thrilled about how much he has accomplished. He works hard! I could not have made the You Grow Girl Toronto book launch party without him — I truly had no idea where to begin (I know food and set up). Thankfully he is helping me again for the next one in Feb 2010 and we’ve already begun planning. Thanks Jay!
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July 29, 2009
39 Comments
Published Stuff Veggies

Grow Great Grub

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

As I mentioned earlier today it’s been a L O N G year. Actually, it’s been a long year and a half. Or two years. Where am I?

I’ve mentioned it briefly here and there but was finally given the go-ahead today to speak freely(ish) about the main project that has been taking up so much time over the last… very long while.

A NEW BOOK!

I’ve been busy making a new book and this time it is all about my biggest gardening love, growing food in small spaces. The book is called “Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces” and is published by Random House/Clarkson Potter.

I’m really excited about this one. Not just because the topic is so specifically near to my heart and where I most find joy in my own small garden spaces, but because I’ve changed and grown in the years since I made “You Grow Girl” and I think this book reflects that.

This new book has lots of pictures, most especially lots of BIG pictures, all taken by me with a few exceptions. It also has a much more gender-neutral design, which I think will take away the small embarrassment some felt in carrying book number one out with them in public. HA! As a funny aside, when the first book came out many people asked if that was me illustrated on the cover. I replied many times that while the woman sort of looks like me back when I had long hair, it wasn’t really meant to be me.

Besides, I would never garden in a crop top. EVER. The end.

This time it really is me on the cover. And my real plants. And my pickles. Delicious pickles. I can’t wait for you to make those pickles. Why is this suddenly reading like a euphemism? I swear, sometimes pickles are just pickles.

Unfortunately, the wait is long. Grow Great Grub will be officially released in February 2, 2010 (I keep joking that the aliens will have arrived by the time this thing sees the light of day), but it is available for pre-order from several online booksellers (and at sale prices too!) in the meantime. Once I’ve had some time to decompress from the long and harried writing/making portion of this endeavor, we’ll begin work on rolling out the details. My sweet, patient, and also very exhausted partner Davin (also my partner in designing and illustrating the book) has put together a quick micro-site and will be helping me build a bigger site soon.

Serendipitously, the book launch will coincide with You Grow Girl’s 10th anniversary so I’ve also got some fun events and whatnot in the works for next spring. Stay tuned and thanks for riding it out with me!

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July 29, 2009
2 Comments
Daily Botanical Flowers

Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris)

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

It’s been a difficult year and every cell in my body has been craving simplicity and play in an effort to rebound. When I’ve had some free time lately, I’ve found myself reaching for box cameras that I haven’t used in years rather than my usual mainstays. These cameras are as simple as they come: no light meter, focus, and no aperture. It’s just a box that holds film with a lens and a shutter. The viewfinder barely functions. Hold the box, point it, and click the shutter.

Oddly enough, this simplicity actually opens things up to a certain amount of complexity and fun experimentation. Most box cameras like this one can’t focus less than 2m. I took this close-up photo by holding a magnifying glass in front, juggling a ruler to be sure I got the distance right.

This photo was taken with an old favourite, the Ansco Shur Shot. I love the smell of the old leather cover. Unfortunately, it appears to have sprung a leak somewhere, which you can see by the numbers and dots from the paper backing that have burned into the film. Of course, some people would see that as an advantage that adds something to the image.

On the plant: Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) aka cowbell is one of my most-loved edible weeds. I’m not a huge fan of the eating part but I do love those bloated flowers. I’ve secretly come to associate the plant with a favourite director, Jane Campion. But given that it’s alternate name is cowbell, I think you could make a case for calling it the Christopher Walken plant. More cowbell!

You can’t eat the leaves at this stage since the leaves are tough and bitter this far into the season. Instead, pick the tender shoots when they first emerge in the spring. Like most edible weeds, it tastes kind of like spinach.

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