I think the notion of the Cocoon by designer Mans Salmonsen is very fun – grow herbs on the top planter portion and store fruit and other goodies below. Makes good use of space doesn’t it?
{ 4 comments }
Posts tagged as:
gardening
I have a great calendar that I love – it’s part art (pretty illustrations of plants and birds) and part practical garden and folksy greenery type info. There’s always some bit of folklore or wisdom listed on each month that I didn’t have a clue about. For example for February:
Did you know that the full moon on Sunday is called The Snow Moon – it was an Indian name that was given for the full moon in February because there’s almost always snow on the ground. I was hoping it would be a misnomer this year, but as you can see from my gargoyle Dedo above there’s snow in the air.
The English called it a Wolf Moon for one reason or another. It’s also called the Hunger Moon – that must harken back to colonial times when there wasn’t a scrap of food to be found; and the Candles Moon – would love to know where that comes from. The Buddhists call it Navam Poya. So have a lovely Navam Poya this weekend!
{ 2 comments }
Went to see The Last Station a few days ago – it’s pretty rare that the acting in a film is so great and amazing that the plot is almost a secondary pleasure point of the movie watching experience. Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McCavoy, Paul Giamatti, and Kerry Condon (pictured below – who I predict will be a big break out star in the next year or so) were all really remarkable in their roles – so much so that I more or less forgot that this is a film about Tolstoy and the movement he inspired.
As much as I loved the acting – the film primarily takes place in a commune setting at Tolstoy’s home – and many of the scenes show the people who are part of the movement working outside – chopping wood, weeding the garden, ect.
Silly me, of course amid all the political churning and human struggles that are thematic in the film, I was mostly inspired by the twig fence that was used to surround the veggie garden (shown top) and I’m hoping I can recreate it in my garden this year. It looks fairly straightforward – posts and then some medium sized branches which I have on my property in abundance. I realize this fence probably won’t last very long unless I treat the branches with something – but I think the charm will make up for it.
{ 0 comments }
I woke up this morning to a light layer of snow that blanketed my garden and softened the light (below). And while that darned groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, I can’t help dreaming about planting my garden this year.
The stack of gardening magazines is really piling up already – I can’t seem to resist them every time I go to the store. I’ve been studying Fine Gardening, and the many Better Homes & Gardens SIP’s each morning. I plan to populate the area above (see green arrow) with flowers of all kinds – it gets lots of sun and has very rich, well drained soil so things grow splendidly. I already have several roses, and peonies – which bloom amazingly as long as the moles keep out of them.
Of course, I’ll confess that last year I let more than my share of really obnoxious weeds take over – but let’s just let bygones be bygones already. I have a new area that I’ve been filled in for the past 18 months that will make a great spot for veggies – all fenced in and everything.
Clearly I’ll need to plant all this from seed – and I’ve found lots of tips and ideas that I’ll get started on in a few weeks.
But my mind at the moment is on bulbs – since those I can see flower right away thanks to a little gentle forcing. I went out last week and picked up an array of hyacinths in pinks and blues and planted them in pots outside and inside.
The planters outside – here’s one of a pair of rusty urns – will be awhile, but my indoor bulbs are coming along really well.
I have the big pot below, replanted the urn after the paperwhites were spent, and scattered little pots and vases like the one above – full of gorgeous blossoms-to-be all over the house. I just the jewel color and bright scent of the blooms when they come up.
In BH&G’s Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living (on stands now) I found this great idea for hyacinth vases that I think look really neat. My forsythia is quite a ways off, but in warmer parts of the country I’m sure they can put this idea to good use right away. Just grab some quilted jelly jars, or plain old Bell jars, and put in a bulb, and a few sprigs of forsythia and perhaps some other twigs and tie them like a tepee with raffia or a brown twistie. I think this is adorable and what a wonderful Valentine’s gift this would make coupled with a hand written note or poem.
On the subject of Valentines I was also reading the SF Chronicle online this morning and found this great Garden Bon Bon gift set that looks really great – these were created by a landscape architect in Seattle named Anne Dowell and are actually seed balls mixed with clay and compost and decorated with cinnamon, coffee and turmeric (natural pesticides). Each box has eight bonbons in either an Italian Herb Selection with basil, parsley, chive and thyme, or an Herbal Tea Selection with lemon balm, chamomile, borage and stinging nettle. More info here>>
{ 4 comments }
I’ve been mining through the cinders of my old blog over at Typepad – picking through my favorite web scribblings from the past year and deciding what to bring over to this spot.
I came across this post about orchids that had been inspired by something I saw in National Geographic. It was an article that talked about how orchids develop a sophisticated method for fooling insects and humans into falling in love with them. By evolving exotically beautiful flowers they can propagate across the planet – even while stuck in a little clay pot – can you imagine? After reading about their ingenious behavior I can understand why people get so spellbound by them.
I love these gorgeous macro shots taken by Daniel Schwabe that I found to go with my quotes. Who can resist these?
“Many Orchids offer no nectar or pollen to reward the bumblebee – rather it seduces male bees with the promise of bee sex and then insures its pollination by frustrating exactly the desire it has excited. The Orchid accomplishes its sexual deception by mimicking the appearance, scent, and even the tactile experience of a female bee.”
“The exactitude of the perfume business may help explain the astounding diversity of the orchid family. A mutation producing even a slight change in the orchid’s scent could … turn out to be the key that unlocks the sexual attentions of a new pollinator, while at the same time turning off the original one.” — National Geographic, September 2009
photos: Daniel Schwabe
{ 2 comments }
Scott and Leyla Jaworski own a 1910 Victorian in Weehawken New Jersey that they’ve been remodeling since 2006 – room by room. Scott, with a background in construction, and Leyla a homestaging expert, had a loads of ideas for putting their house in order, but first they had to contend with a very wild a rambly front porch and yard. Here, Scott tells the story of how they turned their front yard from out of control to oasis:
{ 2 comments }
Floaty Iris under a cloudy sky
I spent the weekend putting this blog together – learning Word Press, and the theme Thesis, which wouldn’t be hard if I had a better background in web design, but seemed overwhelming for a few hair tearing hours.
So yesterday afternoon, after it seemed as though I’d finally gotten things going to a place that was workable, I took a little break and had a cup of coffee on my porch. These giant bearded iris have been getting ready to blossom for weeks, and low and behold, I looked over and there they were – fresh floaty blossoms.
Knowing how fleeting iris blossoms can be I grabbed my camera – and wella, here are my shots. I thought they looked so pretty against the deep lavender of the salvia behind them. (Never mind the weeds that are just out of the frame – ahh the beauty of photography – you can just crop out the unsightly parts – wouldn’t it be great if all life was like that?) Anyway below is my first experiment with galleries, which after blogging for years and not having that option, is really exciting!
-
- Floaty Iris under a cloudy sky
{ 3 comments }
