Showing posts with label flower arranging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flower arranging. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pink Blooms, Purple Blooms, and Life.



My gardens have been alive with purple and pink flowers.



Do you see that little pink poking up there?
It is one of my treasures, slow-growing but diligent to come up every year.

It is a hardy orchid.
I have had it for about 5 years now, 
and it finally has a baby next to it.




Bleeding hearts remind me of childhood days at a friend's house.
I loved her mother's bleeding hearts.


 

That rhododendron was one of the first things I planted when we moved here.
See it around the other side of the tree?





Hardy Gernaniums are a favorite because they seem to rebloom all summer.


These pink with black eyes are Patricia Geranium.

I recently read that although they share the name 'Geranium',
annual and hardy geraniums are not related.
Annual geraniums are actually Pelargoniums.
They don't look alike, but they share the same name:
just a curiosity.


These 'Brookside' geraniums grow large and full so that they actually look like a bush.




Planted with them is a patented specially bred Mountain Bluet.

It's blooms are spectacular.



Another purple that I noticed blooming is my Blue False Indigo.


They usually seem to bloom a bit later than this time, especially with how cool it has been this year,
but these are planted up by the barn where the heat radiates off the cement foundation.

Everything up there seems to be advanced.




The Russian sage up there is much larger than the one I have planted by the house.
I love the smell of crushed Russian sage on the hands.







There is lots of purple blooming in the front flower bed as well.
The dwarf wisteria vine stands tall on its trellis.



The salvia is always buzzing with bees.



These Pink Haze Siberian Iris seem to be much more prolific growers for me than the regular iris.
I think the clay content in our soil is not dry enough for regular iris,
but this one fills out so much, I am able to dig some out of it every year to sell at my plant sale.





Of course, the lilacs were grand this spring, too.


Some of the Miss Kim lilac even made it into the kitchen to lend their fragrance.



Apparently, somebody thought they would be good for more than just a bouquet.






Life with children:
giving new meaning to the garden bouquet vignette.


 Linking up to these fun blog parties:



Posted by Tonya at Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9 comments
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Simple Autumn Love: My Fall Mantel.


Can you believe it is fall already?

Where did the days of summer fly off to?



 I didn't climb up to the attic to fetch the fall decorations this year.
I just decided to use some natural decorations
 like the little gourds a friend gave my kids,


the hydrangeas that I dried a few weeks back,



a small fresh tansy bouquet in an old jar,

and some red maple leaves
(these are in the leaf-painted jar I experimented with last week).
The old farm lantern belonged to my husband's grandfather.


The huge picture on the mantel was a crazy yard sale purchase this summer.
I thought the print was pretty,
its fall simplicity and simple life drew me into it,
although the gold strip on bleached wooden frame made it look a bit too 60's,
so I painted the frame white.

The lady holding the yard sale was doing it as a help to her sister
 whose husband had just passed away.  She needed new tires,
and all the proceeds of the sale were going to it.

I found a few things I liked,
and the picture happened to make it into that list.




This old looking slat box was very inexpensive at the Charity Store
because it had another slat coming down that was hanging off.

I pulled it out and found this image at the Graphic Fairy
that I thought might fit well.


 After printing it on tan paper,
I inked the edges with a yellow stamp pad 
and then a brown stamp pad,
with the help of a soft sponge.

 I colored in the wording with a permanent gold marker I had
and then crumpled the whole thing up.


 I was trying to get the paper to have an aged look to it.

 I picked a bouquet of purple beauty berry bush for another old jar.
I have dried them before and although the leaves will wither,
the berries still hold their color for the season.


The decorative candles were a gift from my husband's aunt
and bring fond memories when I pull them out of my candle box.


 It is a simple fall mantel,
but I think simple was a nice change for me.



(If you'd care to join me,
I will be posting my favorite/family recipes for the month of October,
a new recipe every day.)


Linking up to:



Posted by Tonya at Tuesday, September 25, 2012 6 comments
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Monday, August 27, 2012

End of Summer Garden Specials: How to dry Hydrangeas and How to Make Peppermint Extract.







This is the garden I pass on my way to the clothes line every day.


The fragrance of mint is strong
and it is welcome,
even though it has clearly gained dominance in the flower bed.


If it were spring, 
I would tear into this patch with a vengeance to remove it's greedy presence,
but as almost everything else has had it's moment of glory,
I allow it to run wild
with the promise that I will gain from it.




This weekend, I decided to act on my threats.

Fist fulls of chocolate mint and peppermint were collected.

I also made time to gather up the hydrangea blooms to dry while I was out
since they were at the perfect stage for picking and drying.




I tried two methods of preparing my mints for their purpose
of becoming mint extract:

Pulling the leaves off the stems,
starting by snipping off the top most tender leaves,




and then grabbing the top of the stem...


 pulling the leaves from the top down.
They slide off rather easily this way
preventing the tedium of picking off each leaf.




 Any imperfect leaves were set aside from the good ones in the colander.

I then washed the separated leaves
with just a good spray of water,
and then set them out loosely on towels to dry.



 I also tried washing and then drying whole stems of the mint.


 (I found I preferred the first method
as the leaves were easier to pull from the stems before washing.)

These should then sit overnight,
so that they can dry out a bit.

The less water in them,
the stronger will be the extract.
Also, the leaves should only be left out for not more than a day
as all would be lost if the leaves start growing mold.



Once the mints were set out to dry,
I could turn my attention to preserving the hydrangea blooms.

I have found I prefer the "Sip of Water" drying method.

The blooms are stripped of all leavers,




and then the stems are placed in water.

The blooms by the time they are picked,
are slightly papery.  They are not soft.

 To pick them in this state is perfect because if a strong rain storm blows up while they are still on the bush,
it could damage the blooms.

They will drink of the water
until it is all evaporated,
and then the flowers will dry to a stronger dried bloom than if they were
air-dried upside down.

 Also,
one has the distinct advantage...




of enjoying the blooms while they dry.






The next day,
the mint leaves can be scrunched up
to damage the leaves and allow more of the oils to be released.



The leaves are then put into clean pint jars.




Once filled to about 1/2...

the leaves are completely covered in a bath of vodka.

These jars are then capped,
put into a cool, dark place,
and allowed to sit for about a month
when the lid can be removed
and the extract can see if it has strong enough flavor.
If so, strain out the leaves,
and use as an extract in baking.




Did you enjoyed any treasures from your gardens this weekend?


Posted by Tonya at Monday, August 27, 2012 7 comments
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Monday, April 2, 2012

A Simple Spring Vase.


I've been spending a lot of time outside:
I have a large plant sale every year in May.

This early warm weather has made everything pop out of the ground
like popcorn pieces suddenly unfurling from heavy seed coats.
I have been digging up, separating, potting up, watering,
moving plants around
like a person who's eaten too many hot tamales.

My back feels like it's as fragile as a dried up chicken's wishbone.

Okay, enough with the food comparisons.

Diets seem to do this to me.


I picked some purple sand cherries because their beauty is fleeting
and their fragrance is sweet.

Wanting to give them a sturdy place to perch in,
I remembered this rusty tin bucket I had painted with home-made chalk paint:
(a combination of Plaster of Paris with some paint).


I had wiped off some of the paint to let the rusty look whisper through.


Finding an image I love
at the Graphics Fairy is never hard to do:


I settled on this picture.



Once I'd printed it and cut it out,
I painted some Mod Podge on the back of it,
carefully placed it on the bucket,
and then painted a layer of the matte Mod Podge over the top of the picture to seal it.

To protect the metal container,
I put a canning jar inside of it in which to place the stems in water.
It is a bit wrinkled,
but I think it ads a touch of age when it is wrinkled.

Wrinkles are a nice touch of age, aren't they?


 We'll have to discuss this question over some tea,

and cookies,
and ice cream,
and chocolate...

I think I'd better end now.


Happy Monday to you
and sneak a piece of chocolate for me!

Posted by Tonya at Monday, April 02, 2012 11 comments
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Pussy Willow's Gift.


When I strolled around the yard searching for something
"SPRING"
to place in my watering can,

I came to my black Pussy Willow shrub.

I was late for the pussy willows again this year.
I never seem to remember to pick them while they are still dormant
so I can have the fun of dried pussy willow branches.

Pussy willows need to be picked in February around here,
and I'm afraid
I'm just not thinking much about the coming of spring blossoms
in February.

Pussy Willows are from the willow family,
obviously,
so they love moist ground
and have roots that spread and search for water,
so one must be careful not to plant them near wells
or water lines.

They also need to be pruned back
or they will quickly become a tree
rather than a bush.

But the thing I love about Pussy Willows,
is what they provide in early spring's first warm days.


As I came to them,
I was overwhelmed with the sound and sight.


The first bees of spring do something to my soul.

They wake me to the reality of spring,
to long hours of work in cold soil,

of warm sun on pale shoulders.
Of muddy hands and dirty fingernails.
 Of brilliant lime-colored grass.

Of newness.

Sometimes when one is tired and cold,
it's easy to fall into a slump of inactivity,
to let the spirit drift in quiet thoughts of lulling dullness.
Of lying cold from fear of change,
of growth,
 of challenge.

But spring comes
and brings renewed vigor,
as if God is pointing to His vast creation
to remind us that
"To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"
Ecclesiastes 3:1


In this newness of life,
it is as if I can hear Him saying,
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings;..."
Malachi 4:2a

The hum of the honey bee.

It is a good reason to love Pussy Willows.

Listen.





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Posted by Tonya at Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7 comments
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