A Pair of Scrappy Cards
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A Pair of Scrappy Cards

I’m sharing two cards for this month’s challenge to create with scraps, hosted by Kate at Tall Tales of Chiconia. The idea is to use up your stash, be it paper, fabric, or any other crafty medium, by creating something new.

The first card uses a pair of patterned paper scraps. The green print is subtle once it’s die-cut into the leafy background, but it still adds variation in tone.  The blue mixed-media styled paper is the last bit of one of my favorite paper packs from 49 and Market. I used it to cut three circles. For dimension, I brushed the outline of each circle with a dark blue distress oxide ink, then added a greeting using vellum. I brushed a light amount of ink on the white card background to soften it, and that’s one scrappy card done.

A decorative card featuring intricate die-cut floral and leaf patterns, layered with circles in shades of blue and a translucent overlay with the text 'for a great friend'. A small blue bird is depicted on one of the circles.

I had a lot of fun with this second card, using a variety of my seemingly endless green scraps to cut multiple pieces of foliage to create a birthday card.

Various pieces of textured green craft paper and metal leaf die cuts arranged on a grid cutting mat.
Green scraps and dies

My friend has recently started collecting and nurturing house plants. She told me about a shop called Leaf & Vine that sells houseplants and indoor plant accessories created by local artisans.

Business card for Leaf & Vine Urban Plant Shop featuring a wooden design.

I bought her a gift card to the store and incorporated it into her birthday card as a faux planter for my scrappy foliage. The gift card is adhered with foam squares, but it can be removed easily when she decides to redeem it.

An open greeting card featuring botanical illustrations, with a cut-out design on the left and a layered green foliage composition on the right, along with a wooden label for 'Leaf & Vine Urban Plant Shop'.
A decorative card displaying greenery patterns and the text 'Leaf & Vine Urban Plant Shop' on a wooden background.

Thank you, as always, Kate, for inspiring this monthly challenge.

You can see what other bloggers are up to at the following links.

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa, Tierney,
Hannah and Maggie

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WordPress Housekeeping (Spring Garden Pics)

I changed the settings in my comment section today. Please let me know if it becomes cumbersome in any way.

More and more, I see “someone” or “anonymous” comments from regular readers. WordPress has settings to avoid spam, but if not logged in, it apparently allows the comment without identifying the user.

Another puzzle, as yet unresolved, showed up earlier this week. My spam folder contained several comments, all from long-time followers. I usually ignore the spam folder, assuming it’s doing its job, so it was a shock to see these lovely comments land there.

I’ve used some of the forums in the past, but without much success, or frankly, patience, trying to get through the weeds. In my world, weeds are tamed from a kneeling pad, garden fork at hand.

If you’re a WordPress user, commenting while logged in lets me know it’s you.

If you’re a friend popping in from Facebook, you can leave your name and email address (the email is never published), so I know it’s you.

And finally, as my mother used to say: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Alas, that’s what the spam filter is for, yet here we are.

My garden:

Shaded garden
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Two-Ingredient Flower Vases

The lovely Cathy at Rambling in the Garden encourages her followers to share a vase of flowers from our garden each Monday. It’s also a fun way to explore the creative side of flower arranging. She calls it In a Vase on Monday or IAVOM.

It’s April, so the options are plentiful.

I’ve cut flowers for three vases today, using two garden components in each.

The tall glass jar has been patiently waiting for long stems. My friend Jasmin filled it with sunflowers and brought it to a dinner party earlier this year. I’m happy to have three lovely Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) stems to show off the glass shape. I’ve clipped twining green fern (asparagus setaceus) for a walk on the wild side.

A clear vase holding three white calla lilies and green fern leaves, placed on a textured table outdoors.

My second vase, also a gift, came from a friend’s kitchen. I’ve been helping her declutter, and when I spotted this pretty pitcher, I mentioned how much I loved the pattern. Portmieren debuted this collection in 1972 when I was 12. She said it had belonged to her mother, and she was getting rid of it, so lucky me. 

It’s not intended for flowers, but that’s never stopped me. My research indicates it’s a “Garden Drum Jug Pitcher from their Portmieren Botanical Garden collection,” but around here it will now be known as a flower vase. I’ve filled it with sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and sprigs of Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa), a soft-leafed beauty from the garden.

The final vase for the day is a tiny treasure I picked up in nearby Campbell from a shop that sells items made in California.  It’s no taller than a deck of cards, but perfect for these sprigs of Silver Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’), along with more of the green fern.

A small blue vase holding a few green leaves and delicate blue flowers, placed on a black table in a garden setting with blurred greenery in the background.
A vase containing greenery and delicate blue flowers, placed on a table outdoors.

I’ve placed the first vase on our dining table,

A wooden dining table set with a floral centerpiece featuring white calla lilies in a glass vase. The table is adorned with a decorative cloth, and wooden chairs are positioned around it.

the sweet peas in our living room,

A black clock displaying the time on a wooden table next to a white pitcher filled with vibrant purple and pink flowers, accompanied by a small green bowl containing decorative cards.

and the wee vase on a shelf in my crafting room.

Two framed illustrations hanging on a wall, featuring architectural sketches. Below them is a decorative table with various items, including a colorful pot, a small painting, and a vase with greenery.

It’s sitting on my “homage to Canada” shelf, along with a photo of my mom, and other Canada treasures. The framed art above are a pair of garden designs from one of my dad’s horticulture studies. The mixed media tag with the nigella is a gift from artist and blogger Wilma Millette nd the postage card is from my friend Donna.

Please visit Cathy, our In a Vase on Monday host, at Rambling in the Garden to see what others are sharing. I promise an uplifting experience.

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Garden Imprints for Cards

I’ve been enjoying the process of creating imprints from some of our vibrant garden greens. In turn, I’ve cut those prints into panels or used dies to cut sentiments, before making them into cards.

I experimented with this technique nearly ten years ago. At the time, I tried different papers, including an old file folder, watercolor paper, craft paper, and vellum. I learned that not all paper is created equal, and the same goes for flowers and leaves. Some transferred beautifully, while others looked more like mud.

A greeting card featuring green fern leaves with the text 'for a great friend' in a circular cutout, embellished with small pearls.

It was a pleasant surprise going through my sample booklet, seeing plumosa fern (Asparagus setaceus) and the catmint or catnip (Nepeta) prints still retained a lovely shade of green. 

A metallic silver leaf branch cutout positioned on a textured green leaf background, with a piece of light blue paper partially covering it.
Using a die to cut from Nepeta imprint

The subtle, earthy scent remains on the watercolor paper, at least initially. In some of the images, you can see the impression of the stems.

A handmade greeting card featuring a purple tag and floral design with the text 'you brighten my day' set against a background of green foliage and purple flowers.
Poor lighting, but if you look closely you can see the green imprint cut into a leafy shape.

When I first tried this technique, our cat Mouse jumped on the desk, enticed by the lovely Nepeta, also known as catmint. I miss this sweet boy.

A close-up of a white and orange cat licking its lips while sitting on a green leaf illustration on paper.

The fern in these prints has been with me since 1988, when I bought it for seventy-nine cents at a now-defunct nursery. I rented an apartment in those days, where the fern lived on my nightstand next to the bed. The plant followed me everywhere, and by the time we bought this house, it was huge. We finally planted it in the ground, and it’s done well in that spot for nearly thirty years.

Close-up of vibrant green fern leaves with intricate textures.
Lush green ferns growing near a wooden fence, with additional leafy plants in the foreground.

It’s fun blending two hobbies into one.

Mirrored images: one fern frond pressed between two pieces of watercolor paper.

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A Version of Spring is Upon Us

Spring officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere today, but you wouldn’t know it by the weather. An insufferable heat wave landed in San Jose on Monday, with temperatures all week ranging from 89 to 92F, nearly 25 degrees above seasonal norms. I’m looking forward to cooler days starting tomorrow.

10-day weather forecast showing daily temperatures with highs reaching 91°F, 89°F, 90°F, 79°F, and 77°F over the week, with varying sun and cloud symbols.
Screenshot

It’s hard to gauge how the garden will react long-term. The majority of our garden is native or drought-tolerant, but heat waves in March are new. We’re constantly adapting.

Gardens are a thing of beauty this time of year, and a treat for all the senses. I’m grateful for this patch of earth.

Freesias are growing along the walkway to the front deck, en masse, with others dotting the path to our garden bench and tucked here and there. One of the bulbs planted itself under the Russian sage, and now stands taller than any I’ve seen. I wish you could see it at dusk with the last of the sun streaming through. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

Sweet peas have painted the garden in gorgeous pastels, while the nasturtiums add pops of bright red, orange, and yellow. It’s always hard to thin some of the interlopers, but I needed to make room for things to come.

Mike helped me place netting and garden stakes along the curb to keep the sweet peas off the sidewalk. The vines rapid growth ads to the wafting scents in the air. Of all the flowers I’ve grown over the years, those lovely, fragrant, soft-petaled sweet peas charm passers-by. They evoke a gentle nostalgia.

When I walked up the driveway this morning, I noticed the red carnation already in bloom, with the other two plants soon to follow. I had never seen carnations, officially known as Dianthus caryophyllus, for sale at a nursery before, so these additions two seasons ago to the front garden are a delight.

I forget how spectacular this candy-cane azalea is this time of year. You have to walk around the side of the house to see it, nestled against the wall of our garage. I trim the azalea once a year after it blooms to keep it from over-taking the space. It remains healthy, but instead of a round shape, it’s wide and flat.

I gave the lemon tree a hard prune last year as it was overdue. My research indicated that the tree would skip a year before bearing fruit again, but it otherwise looks healthy.

Next week we’re having a new roof installed, so fingers crossed that the demolition of the current one goes well. They should be tossing the debris off the front of the roof into a bin in the driveway, and not sending old shingles into the garden. I might be “holding my breath” for a week.

A charming garden pathway lined with colorful flowers leads to two unique book-sharing structures—the left one is a small blue library box, and the right is a wooden book house decorated with a birdhouse, surrounded by lush greenery.

I hope you and yours are doing well, and finding some light and joy.

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Feathered Visitors Brighten My Days

While working in the garden in early February, I started hearing a light tapping sound along the back fence. A few years ago, I hung mirrors there to break up the space and to reflect the garden. Now the mirrors are attracting a pair of birds.

This little darling, an American female Bushtit, fell in love with her reflection.

American bushtit

Eventually, a second bird joined her, and between them they remained enamored with their reflections. I tried to capture video, but not wanting to scare them away, I couldn’t get close enough. I did take a number of photos, though, by hiding behind a nearby tree.

After a few days, they began flying between two of the mirrors and later ventured into the garden to gather seeds. Sated, they soon returned to the mirrors.

While I rested on the back steps, a stunning California scrub jay came to the water fountain for a long drink. This photo isn’t as clear as the others, but it makes me happy, so I’m sharing it with you. I watched the jay bob up and down in the water, and willed him to stay, but alas, just as quickly, he was off.

California Scrub jay

I’m making a point of looking for and documenting feathered visitors to the garden, with two water fountains as an added draw. We had heavy rain in January and an average amount the month following, but now we’re at the start of a heat wave, in March if you can believe it, with a heat advisory beginning Monday and lasting for six days. It seems that winter has come to a screeching halt, bypassing spring and heading straight for our too-hot summer.  It’s concerning and disorienting.

Other visitors include this California Towhee, 

California Towhee

A pair of Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

and Anna’s Hummingbirds.

This male hummingbird stood watch on the trellis below the feeder and chased off his perceived competitors. Eventually, a female got her turn.

Just this week, I spotted a mourning dove (no pics), and the crows are ever-present along the drive but rarely in the back garden. I love them all.

How about you? Do you have a favorite fine-feathered friend?

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Creating with Paper Scraps

Crafting cards has been a welcome distraction from the world’s chaos. I sit down at my desk to create as often as I can.

I’m joining Kate and others for the monthly “ScrapHappy” challenge. where makers create with scraps. I also enjoy upcycling with calendar pages and advertising mailers, so I’ve made some cards using them as well.

My friend Therese inspired this first set of cards. She passed on a drugstore calendar from Hawaii, full of tropical photographs in rich hues, and challenged me to have fun. I did!

I used the heavier paper from the calendar’s cover to make a few bookmarks.

The following two cards are created with a Tommy Bahama mailer, in tropical oranges and greens.

I managed to cut two butterflies and the floral image from the mailer.

I used a piece of blue-and-silver paper left over from a set for the birthday card. The body of the butterfly is darkened using a black Sharpie marker, with a scrap of vellum behind the wings.

The second card uses a piece of gold card behind the butterfly, centered among a few flowers, and as a thin mat to frame the card. When the recipient opens the card, the butterfly wings lift up for the  illusion of movement.

These three small gift tags will accompany some Easter chocolate for my family. I colored the bunny’s bow in Mike and our son’s favorite colors. I’m not sure where that scrap of yellow ribbon came from, but I had just enough for the three tags.

This “thinking of you” card is for a friend whose partner died in an auto accident earlier this year. They owned horses together. I fashioned this card after one of her horses, using a downloaded silhouette of a horse cut from patterned brown paper, which my sister passed on to me years ago.

I cut the horse’s spots, the fence posts, and the background from scraps, and used leftover floss from a kit for the horse’s mane and hooves. She loved the card.

Using the last bits of my spring paper and some extra envelopes, I made fifteen crafting kits to put next to our children’s Little Free Library. They’re always a hit.

If you’re interested in what other bloggers are making and sharing, you can click on any of the links below.

Thanks as always for hosting, Kate.

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa, Tierney,
Hannah and Maggie

Not About the Garden
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Not About the Garden

The summer I turned 14, my sister and I walked to the local high school a few days a week for free swim. The school hired teenage lifeguards, adding a sense of security. 

One afternoon in the pool, and for reasons I’ve long forgotten, another girl climbed onto my shoulders, pushing my head below water. I was unprepared for the dunk, so I hadn’t taken a breath. Unable to lift her off my shoulders, I opened my mouth to scream, and pool water rushed in. Those seconds were among the most terrifying of my young life. I don’t know exactly how I freed myself, but I remember finally surfacing and seeing a parade of young lifeguards, oblivious to my recent plight. I could have drowned, but they were none the wiser.

Trauma has a way of surfacing, catching you unaware. I think those moments of fear, panic, and dread mirror what I feel most days living in a country where democracy is unravelling at an alarming clip, with a cruel, bombastic, and entitled man-child rewriting the rules to line his pockets, and to satisfy his insatiable ego. Friends I hold dear are in a similar boat, feeling numb, angry, frightened, sad, and, dare I say it, powerless. It’s bad enough that this is happening in the US, but his actions are reverberating around the world. I am sad and scared most days.

Having said all that, I’ve missed writing this blog. The brutality throughout the month of January at the hands of ICE knocked me off my feet. It seemed that anything I might share here is trite.

I’m trying to reframe those thoughts and to begin anew, but I wanted to share my absence from this space first.

Thank you for following Gardening Nirvana. Your readership means more to me than you know.

Alys

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ScrapHappy in January

This month’s challenge combines two inspirations: Kate, who encourages crafty projects from scraps, and Natalie Brown, who shares clean, simple card tutorials on YouTube and Facebook. 

Natalie shared a sketch, colour palette, and theme, challenging us to make cards using her suggestions.

Here’s the inspiration:

A calendar page for January 2026 featuring a sketch with the word 'sentiment', a photo of a pink flower, and color blocks in green, pink, and orange. Additional details include 'Medium: Paint Pens', 'Tool: Smoosher', 'Theme: New Beginnings', and 'Shape: Feathers'.
copyright NB Cards (Natalie Brown)

My first scrappy card uses the envelope of a marketing mailer (scrap).

A colorful greeting card featuring a floral design framed in pink with the word 'Bloom' in a playful font, placed on a background of green grass.
A partially opened envelope featuring tropical flower designs, with a message indicating a $50 award from Tommy Bahama.

It also incorporates Natalie’s design sketch, suggested colours, and applying ink with a smoosher, a simple DIY tool made from a plastic bag and some paper towel.

I cut parts of the envelope into narrow strips for the background, and chose a focal point from another area, then matted it in on a scrap of white paper, inked with a coordinating shade of pink.

Close-up of a partially torn envelope featuring floral designs with white flowers and green leaves, alongside the text 'Start your holidays at Santana Row'.
Used to cut image for focal point
A decorative card featuring a floral design in a framed square with the word 'bloom' in a stylish font, set against a white background and surrounded by colorful embellishments.

I stamped the “bloom” greeting on an image of a pink petal and punched circles in three tropical colours. Cutting the narrow strips was fiddly, but fun in the end.

The second card uses a shiny black page from a paper sample book given to me by a friend years ago, a piece of gold paper from the lining of an envelope, scraps of two kinds of white paper, and the last of the paper napkins gifted to me by Pauline King before she passed.

A greeting card featuring a colorful illustration of a black cat with white paws and a yellow background, bordered by decorative edges. The text on the card reads 'thinking of you'.

You can see other napkin cards in my post, Crafting With Scraps.

If you would like to share your own crafty creations, please get in touch with Kate, at Tall Tales From Chiconia.

Please have a look at other ScrapHappy posts at the following links:

Kate, Eva, Sue, Lynda,

Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 

Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,

Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,

Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 

Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,

Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,

Hannah and Maggie

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Soothing Pinks and Welcome Purples

An impromptu browse through the garden this morning revealed unexpected pinks and purples on a dark and drizzly day. December rain cleared most of the remaining foliage on the dormant hydrangea bringing into focus a pair of out-of-season blooms blushing against the grey sky. These garden anomalies make me smile.

Raindrops linger amid the lavenders, pinks, and blues of this small, January hydrangea
Off-season pink hydrangea

According to Jafe Decorating, “Pink is widely recognized for its calming and soothing effects on the human psyche. Studies have shown that exposure to the color pink can reduce feelings of anger, aggression, and anxiety, creating a serene and tranquil environment, helping to alleviate stress and tension.”

Shades of pink and purple appear in the center of this succulent

Succulent, possibly a Pachyphytum

and along the edges of its companion.

Penwiper Plant (Kalanchoe marmorata)

These plants came in a hanging basket and made do with cramped quarters for some time, but once they had room to spread out, they quickly dominated this raised bed. They tolerate the cold and can mostly handle the heat, though they get a bit of sunburn on scorching days.

Aeonium haworthii
Aeonium haworthii

At the corner of our patio, the first of the pink hyacinths is up, with more pinks and purples to follow. They remind me of Mom, who once gave each of us one for Christmas along with a glass bulb-growing vase. I still remember what a thrill it was seeing that fragrant flower emerge from the top, but being able to see the roots, too.

By now, I was on a mission to find anything remotely pink or purple in the garden. Everything smells wonderful after a rain, so I took my time and turned up one more, this tiny flowering ground cover that self-seeds as it pleases, and has done so for thirty years.

Pink knotwood (Persicaria capitata)

The last of the pinks is a collection of Christmas cacti that live on the kitchen counter under diffused light. I can’t remember a time when they bloomed so profusely. They are a balm for the weary soul.