Pinky Pinky

willow

columbine

london pride

tiny pea like weed

wild, wild rose

Here is Jake behind the striped pink

Naranja!

honeysuckle

native lily

some orange lilies behind a light orange coreopsis

orange stems of moss spores

Yellow...

Jake with some dandelions

succulent

tiny clover like flower

dandelion

shamrock

pansy

Purple

The next feature in my color series is Purple:

Jake standing in the field of plum topped grasses

centaurea

purple lupines

pansy

a pale violet

the underside of weeds pulled from the vegetable garden reveal a pretty purple secret

Red

I love spending time at my parent's countryside farm all year round. Summer has finally made its way there after a long and drawn out chilly spring. My favorite thing about summer on the farm is the vibrant colors that are scattered all about. I spend as much time possible exploring with Jake and my camera. Jake spends most of his time chasing field mice and phantom scents from the night before, meanwhile I try not to miss a single detail surrounding us. In this post I'd like to share with you a few photos showcasing the range of Reds we've captured.

my exploration partner, Jake

dianthus from the garden

weeds in the field

native maple

smultronstället

scarlet

Fuzshrooms.

An unexpected surprise in my flower bed. I had never seen a fuzzy mushroom that revealed gills on the topside as it opened up.

happy discoveries

xoxo

char

How To Plantling

It occurred to me, that I didn't explain how to fill the cups with succulents. Someone out there reading this may want to try this also. Here is my explanation.

Succulents are very hardy plants that require little water, little care, and have an amazing ability to reproduce itself with ease. As pictured in my last post, there are 2 types that I'm trying to propagate: Leafy ones, and Pokey ones.

Leafy:

The stalks of these leafy succulents have the ability to grow hair like roots very quickly. I might even be comfortable saying in a matter of days, or within a week or two. I snipped the stalk below the leaves and stuck 1/2 inch of stem in the soil. Viola.

Pokey:

The Pokey ones shoot out runners with baby Pokeylings attached to the end. I snipped the little Pokeylings off of the "parent" Pokey, then stuck the stem 1/2 inch into the soil.

In this photograph you can see runners with baby Pokey succulents attached to the end along with little bits of stalks that I trimmed off of the pink and green Leafy ones.

Plantlings

An idea sprouted in my head over the past few weeks: To create terrariums in glass fishbowl/vases for table centerpieces. Practicing my habit of being as economical as possible, I've decided to use all the resources that are available to me for this project.

Since the Rents rid themselves of their chickens, we've been saving our egg cartons to use as an alternative to peat pots for starting seeds next spring. It is still summer, and I've already found another similar but different use for the cartons: succulent propagation. Once the little plantlings take root, they'll be ready to go into the terrariums!

Step 1. Poke holes in every cup.

Step 2: Fill cups with soil (courtesy of Mell)

Step 4: Fill cups with succulents (courtesy of the Morris Family)

Step 5: Water and wait.

Pots and More Pots

Flower Pot 1 (above)

Flower Pot 2 (Below)

One of my dearest friends Susan organized and hosted a crafts and cocktails event on Saturday.

So I spent a beautiful afternoon sipping Sangria with with lovely ladies and painting flower pots.

I made 2 creations:

Flower pot 1 is a floral design with decidedly interesting broken pottery and buttons.

Flower pot 2 is an illustration of happenings in the sea.

(I'd like to make a notable mention to my friend Danielle for the beautiful azalea who is modeling in the sea-pot.)

xoxo

Happy Pots

Things in Pots

Violet from my parent's farm planted in a reclaimed tea cup that my mom made.

The cup's handle broke so we drilled a hole in the bottom to transform it into a flower pot.

Pink Strawberry.

I'm hoping the pink blooms will attract hummingbirds to my feeder.

Ceramic egg pot and a little succulent.

Once again, thanks Mell!

Right: Before... After...

4/18/10: Weed Removal

Same day: Planted Columbines and Poppies from Donna and the Honeysuckle bush from Mellow.

My day trip to Kubota Garden was hijacked by a beautiful sunny day and the need to get my plant gifts into the ground. I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and the beautiful plants.

I've tinkered with planting window sill gardens in my various apartments in NYC, but now that I have a large yard here in WA I'm excited about testing my landscaping skills.

Brooklyn circa 2003

I still have a lot to learn about plants, but it has been fun testing my basic design skills and imagination to create a composition with rhythm, movement, and balance.

We'll see how the composition progresses through the spring into the summer and fall.

Happy Planting

xoxo Char