Winter planning and designing the garden
Trying to see what the garden might look like before I invest in new plants and seeds, I make montages every year and do a lot of cross-checking with eBay vendors (eBay makes it so easy to compare prices with big and small vendors alike) ...
.. here's the meadow plan clockwise from upper left: Aristea-South African Iris; Salvia Farinacea; huckleberries; pink petticoat columbine; Baltimore Belle climbing roses; campanula blue bellflower; Salvia Horminum Marble Arch Rose; Achillea yarrow mixed pastels. Center: Maggie on the meadow path.
RAZ Imports, Ltd. Spring '12
from the Birds and Blooms Collection
Bird nest detail by bird-loving me ... this is a finch nest ...
... and a robin's ...
The images I have at RAZ, blend flowers and birds, of course, but also lace and some lyrical looking script ... and, oh yes, I have always loved sparkling cobalt ...
RAZ Imports are beloved everywhere. These four matching prints are on page 87 of the Spring 2012 catalog, and soon to a brick-and-mortar shop, or in your Internet neck-of-the-woods, or you can get them from RAZImports.com
January update
Freshened up the "greenhouse" with Listerine and a broom.
The greenhouse is currently a sunny, and crafty corner of the basement, full of plants, art supplies, tools ... also woodstove & table and chairs.
When the sun shines on the terrace outside, even in snowy weather, the rescued plants start a blooming party around here ...
... the Alpine berries have given us years of lushness, not to mention fairy-sized berries all summer. If I bring them into the "greenhouse", they keep flowering and fruiting, no matter the weather ...
Looking forward to winter weather: this is the time of year that poppy-lovers (like me) can look forward to planting in the snow. Winter is a great time of year to buy seeds! Especially wildflower types. I've started serious shopping this week for seeds for the season.
And winter-sowing...there's tons of info out there about it. My own style is to use stackable plastic and recycled mushroom boxes. In the hopes of growing things like these!
... look at these fairy-tale characters, edible art! These were spotted on eBay and all around the Internet. You will be stunned at the variety, once you start exploring flowering, or ornamental kale:
Kales love to be planted in winter in cold frame boxes like these, where they can get bracing cold at night, but warm during the day. We used these boxes last winter, then tucked them away under a couch. Ready for another go this year!
January 1
First things first! The Atlanta's Mart Gift show is Janaury 11th, and I will be a part of Suzanne Cruise/Cruise Creative exhibit. I'm feelin' lucky!
... and already planning the winter sowing projects (photo from my archives). Garden dreaming, I do it all the time.
Plumbago, blue berries, and blue hydrangea ... that's what I dream on winter days! Roses and clematis. Lettuce and currant tomatoes. Here I come!
Christmas holiday!
I painted a sign on a piece of antique wood gingerbread for a Secret Santa friend I met on FaceBook! Can't show you yet, as she may pop in here ...(But we have the pics and how you can get a similar look!)
Secret Santa is so much fun. I'm adding it to my "Elf-List" for next year too! If you havent played yet, I highly recommended it for a lot of random joy!
My "Elf-List" is where I keep track of ideas for giving to others. Elf-Lists keep me from giving argyle when what is really wanted is a Bonanza DVD or Native American dream catcher. It helps me to remember who loves white chocolate and orchids... or Snake Plissken boots. Take it from Santa and I: Christmas lists = good!
But you know, for me, what would make me happy (except for perfume and a leaf shredding machine) is pretty much free, or very little in money! I love listening to great music, cooking gourmet treats, and walking in the wilderness with my loved ones! How about you!
By the way, will you make a little time for the animals in your part of the world for the holidays? Corn will help keep them warm on cold days, according to local country wisdom!
Happy Thanksgiving from our valley!
We elebrated early with lunch in Frederick, Maryland ...
followed by a hike along the Shenandoah River ...
and did lots of art at the drawing board ...
November 2011
The art of putting by:
Winter is settling in now, and by my way of thinking, it's the little things that keep cheer sparkling in the darker, colder months. One thing I do is cover hardy herbs (parsley, my fav) with plastic cake covers or storage tubs, creating mini-micro-climates inside. I've had parsley thriving even in the snow! Much lighter than glass cloches, these are easy to store and stay in place outdoors until spring, even in strong wind.
And look at this bouquet gathered before the snow on Halloween weekend ... I trimmed down all these annuals and have them over-wintering in a sunny, cool room indoors. Next year, I'll have geraniums, petunias, and zinnias early, with luck. (Some of my annuals are teenagers!)
The Autumn leaves survived the snowy weekend, so I'm sure a few more will find their way into my journals and odds and ends basket. Who can resist!
September 2011
Harvesting the herbs
It's the month where my garden goes to rack and ruin, and a little sadness (about how short life seems) creeps in ... brightened by apples and pumpkins, thank Goodness ...
This is the month I preserve herbs and tomatoes to add summer spirit to my winter menus. The easier the method, the better, I say!
Easy to dry herbs like parsley and mint, get rolled into paper towels (loosely), tucked into plastic bags (with lots of air flow), and into the back of the fridge where they will dry very slowly ...
Basil and chives get blended into oils like olive and safflower, and frozen into icecubes, then transferred to paper bags inside of Ziplocks.
But this is my latest invention! Plum tomatoes dried 24 hours at 90-degrees with just a bit of olive oil, until quite small with concentrated sweetness ... and then frozen in simple plastic containers. If you defrost these in a little water, they taste amazing! You can toss them into any steaming food and give them a little time to soften, or stir them into dips where they will do the same.
These have none of the sulfur or bitterness of store-bought dried tomatoes. Plus they hold their bright red color instead of turning dark. These are so much richer than the watery, disintegrating frozen tomatoes I used to put by. Give this dry-freezing a try, if you love summer tomatoes!
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Pardon my elf …
He's marking things that are not all thereyet, and a reminder that we all need nine extra hours in the day!