September 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

Mexican Sage: Low Maintenence Wonder

Bees are good for the planet

Not everything in the garden takes work. As flowering plants go, Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) is a low-maintenance wonder. This glorious specimen lives at the curb. I bought it for five dollars a decade ago, planted it in a spot without any irrigation, and within a short period of time it tripled in size.

Year after year, it produces glorious purple flowers. The bees love it and so do the hummingbirds. It’s also a favorite of a few little girls on the block. I gave one of them permission several years ago to help herself to a few blooms on her walk. I appreciated her interest and her lovely manners. She asked first.

Salvia Leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage)

Of course you can’t please everyone. The water meter-reader left a grumpy note one year asking me to “clear the shrubbery” so he could do his work. The sage is so soft that you can push it aside, or snap off a few twigs. Perhaps he was just having a bad day. Early this year, I removed a few lower limbs, knowing it would fill out completely by early fall. That did the trick. The plant is full and lush, but the lower branches float above the water meter.

Water Meter, clear for the reading

Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees

Vibrant purple, soft to touch

Last year my sister dressed up for Halloween as the Corpse Bride from the Tim Burton movie of the same name. I picked several branches of sage and wrapped them into a headband for her costume. Once dried, they were a perfect addition to the headpiece. Her friend Kim designed her makeup and together we created her costume.

Corpse Bride

Why plant a Mexican Sage:

Drought tolerant
Low maintenance
Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees
Soft as velvet with vibrant color
Show-stopping beauty
Looks great on a costume

September 26, 2013 by Born To Organize

Final Score: Pumpkins, 8, Squash Bugs, 2

Things got a bit dicey in the pumpkin patch last month. Nearly a dozen pumpkins grew happily on the vine until disaster struck. A rapidly producing colony of squash bugs moved in and things turned ugly. If you have any doubt, take a look:

This pumpkin never stood a chance

Instead of leaving the orange pumpkins on the vine to harden, I harvested all but two and set them on the patio thinking I would wipe them off before bringing them indoors. The next day, the squash bugs found the harvest! Eek!

I brought the pumpkins inside one by one, wiping them down with the first thing I could get my hands on: my son’s lip balm. (Desperate times call for desperate measures). I didn’t want to bring garden pests indoors, so I figured the coating would put an end to anything I missed.

Polished pumpkins

We’re big on pumpkins around here: we grow, harvest, decorate and carve them. It’s been a family tradition for a decade. I also enjoy saving seeds for the next season. This year I gave a few starters to friends, and passed on some seeds to an adorable pair of three-year-old twins that walk by the house with their dad. They planted the seeds and grew pumpkins of their own. I’m delighted.

The pumpkins hung out in the living room for several weeks, but as October approaches, it’s time to bring them center stage. I created a display on my iron bench combining an eclectic mix of drying lavender, three pumpkins and a refurbished fairy garden. Check back next week for the fall upgrade.

DSC_0013-001

I love October. It starts with my birthday, ends with Halloween with plenty of goodness in between. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, this Boo season brings a special visit from Boooooomdee. She told me to expect her on the whisper of a dandelion, but I think she was teasing. I’ll go to the airport to fetch her just in case.

Boo season, here we come!

September 25, 2013 by Born To Organize

Nature’s Garden, No Tarantulas

The good news (if you’re a tarantula) is its mating season.

Additional good news (for arachnophobics) is I didn’t spy a single one on my hike this week. You may safely continue reading without any surprises herein.

I’ve really missed my weekly hikes along the Almaden Quicksilver trail. Hiking trails feel like nature’s garden, a place to enjoy flora and fauna and if your lucky, a bit of wildlife. I generally hike with my friend Karen and her sweet dog, Dylan. They weren’t available this week, so I decided to hoof it alone.

I bent down to take a photo of some fall leaves, when two women approached and said “is that a tarantula?” Momentarily confused, I realized the hikers thought I was taking a picture of one of our eight-legged friends. The hikers I spoke with saw three tarantulas on the trail that morning.

Off I went in pursuit of exercise and wildlife (with four legs), careful to keep my eyes down whenever I approached a patch of shade. Years ago a tarantula crossed my path on a hike around this time of year. They’re actually slow-moving and quite docile, so other than the startle factor, I wasn’t concerned.

One of the amazing things about hiking this trail is how quickly you feel like you’re away from the city. I can get there by car in 15 minutes. I love that.

Given the long, dry year we’ve had, things were looking pretty brown. Even so, I loved the smell of fall in the air, the shadows in the trees and the view of downtown San Jose.

Come have a look at one of the quicksilver trails: nature’s garden, and as promised, no tarantulas.

McAbee Road Trail Head

Potpourri of fallen leaves

The first steep incline (no spiders here)

A view of Silicon Valley and the dreaded smog we have this time of year.

Parched earth

‘Tree cave’

Remnants from the quicksilver mining days

The bottom of the hill

A well camouflaged deer

Almaden Quicksilver County Park

September 24, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Catharsis

Slinky Malinki

Today was one of those days. We all have them.

The vet called to say that my sweet Slinky Malinki needed an additional blood test. Earlier tests revealed an infection, an elevated thyroid and unexplained weight loss. She refused her pill hidden in delectable treats, and I wasn’t able to pill her without the help of my husband who’s on a business trip…in the Bahamas.

My youngest son called from school not feeling well and asked to come home early. He seems to be doing okay, but he’s only called home from school twice in three years so I worry. It’s a mom thing.

The check-engine light stubbornly refuses to budge on my aging van, much like the extra weight around my aging midriff. This is not a good week for the car to break down.

So, when the going gets tough, the tough get gardening. After dinner with the boys and a quick clean up, I headed out doors. I pruned away dead branches from the lavender shrubs, cleaned out several pots, and watered my neglected annuals. The coleus had to go, a task I’ve been putting off. White flies or mites were everywhere, so any hope of saving cuttings was finally put to rest. San Jose has a yard waste pick up each week with our trash. I didn’t want to compost the ‘buggy’ plant so on to the heap it went. I filled up my watering cans, trimmed the potted roses and swept the by-now-dark front deck.

I brought the fairy garden into the garage for some TLC and finally called it a day. Hard work, especially outdoors, is invigorating and cathartic. Problems remain, but a clear head and a tired body put it all in perspective.

What do you do when the going gets tough?

September 23, 2013 by Born To Organize

Anniversary Bouquet

Bloomster’s Bouquet

We celebrated our wedding anniversary this past weekend at the historic De Anza Hotel in San Jose. My man of 18 years had these beautiful flowers waiting for me in our room. I think they’re exquisite and a nice metaphor for a long marriage: colorful, textured and varied.

We had the most amazing rain this weekend as well, a rare treat after a record-breaking, year-long drought. I arrived back home to an invigorated garden, two orange peppers, and a still-producing assortment of cherry tomatoes. After a weekend of over-indulgence, it was good to eat a small salad, fortified from our garden.

♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

The perfect tulip (actually all tulips are perfect)

The reddest rose I’ve ever seen.

Magical (I don’t know what they are, but they remind me of stars)

A little of this and that

More goodness

Enjoying our town:

September 20, 2013 by Born To Organize

Sunflowers From Boomtown

Special Delivery from Edmonton

My dear friend Boomdee is coming to town. She’ll be here in a matter of days. When we’re not sharing via our blogs, Facebook or Skype, we fill in the gaps with tiny treasures via snail-mail. When you have a kindred spirit, it’s a bit like having a twin. You find yourselves doing the same thing at the same time without realizing it until later. You fall into patterns as if you’ve known each other your entire life. The most incredible part of all is finding your kindred spirit through blogging.

Here is the latest from Boomtown aka Edmonton, Canada: a cheerful sunflower postcard with the glittery “Boomdee Touch.”

“The older I get, the more I realize how rare it is to meet a kindred spirit.” – Ethan Hawke

Practicing her best sunflower smile.

“True friends are always together in spirit.” – L.M. Montgomery from Anne of Green Gables

Do you have a kindred spirit? Tell me more in the comments below.

September 19, 2013 by Born To Organize

Self-Seeded Pumpkin: Late Season Wonder

Okay, so squirrels aren’t always destructive. There’s a good chance that a squirrel buried one of last year’s pumpkin seeds at the edge of the lawn. That seed managed to survive all the activity around building the curb garden (twice), not to mention the proximity to the street. You couldn’t ask for a clearer example of ‘survival of the fittest.’

I spotted the tell-tale seedling early on, but didn’t expect it to survive. I let it be of course, and it gradually sent out true leaves and a few flowers. Given the dense root system of the lawn, I figured it would overtake the pumpkin. I removed chunks of lawn around the tiny plant without disturbing the pumpkin’s roots. That did the trick. Look at the progress of this plant in less than 30 days:

Curbside pumpkin plant, August 24th

Curbside pumpkin plant September 18th

I’m seeing the tell-tale signs of late season mold on the leaves, but the flowering continues. Hopefully we’ll have one more orange pumpkin to add to the mix before the vine retires for the season.

Be sure to check back for updates.

Pumpkin plant closeup

Yep…it’s a pumpkin!

September 18, 2013 by Born To Organize

Mind Your Peas and Schmooze

Sprouted peas under the trellis

Do you remember the expression “mind your Ps and Qs?” A quick wiki search lead to several possible origins, each one plausible and fascinating.

One explanation suggests that “Ps and Qs” is short for “pleases” and “thank-yous.” Young children would pronounce them as Ps and Qs. Here are a few more:

Another origin comes from English pubs and taverns of the seventeenth century. Bartenders would keep a watch on the alcohol consumption of the patrons; keeping an eye on the pints and quarts that were consumed. As a reminder to the patrons, the bartender would recommend they “mind their Ps and Qs”.

Another origin could be from sailors in the eighteenth century who were reminded to pay attention to their peas (pea coat) and queues (pony tail).

Another possible and viable theory is after the Norman Invasion of 1066 the courts, church, and establishment were becoming French-speaking and the English dialect of the 11th Century had no qs; so one must watch their usage in court or discourse with the French Norman conquers.

Another origin of the story of “mind your Ps and Qs” comes from early printing presses. Printers placed individual letters on a frame to print a page of text. The letters were reversed, making it easy to mistake lowercase ps and qs in setting the type. – Wikipedia

Where was I?

Oh yeah, peas…

I’m happy to report that under Mighty Mouse’s watchful eye, the garden peas are up! Hurray, hurray.

No squirrels over here.

I planted half the seeds, soaking them first for 48 hours to rehydrate them. I hold a reserve for what seems inevitable: the unceremonious removal by foraging squirrels. Apparently squirrels don’t like peas. Score!!!

Not only did several come up in the curb garden, but at least half a dozen sprouted as well among the annuals on the other side of the lawn. As the annuals go to seed, the climbing peas will take their place.

Sprouted peas in the annual garden

It’s a happy day in the garden when seeds sprout and neighbor’s beloved kitty stops by to mind the peas and schmooze.

The peas look okay

The irrigation is in working order.

Now scratch my ears!!!

September 17, 2013 by Born To Organize

Salad: It’s What’s for Dinner

I cling to the fantasy of eating a salad made entirely from my garden. Alas, we don’t have the room to grow all we would need, so our meals are about compromise. Tonight’s dinner was a blend of both worlds: supermarket greens and a delicious avocado, along with fresh tomatoes from our garden. I sliced our first heirloom grown from seed, and tossed in a handful of Sun Gold organic cherry tomatoes grown from a nursery starter.

Garden Salad

Two of the peppers are turning yellow, so they’ll make it to the table by the end of the week. Our basil continues unabated, a garden staple all summer long.

Basil, Roma, Sun Gold and Heirloom Tomatoes

The days are shortening with our hemisphere’s Autumnal Equinox just 10 days away. Suddenly summer is over.

Living in our moderate climate, warm days will continue into November. The garden tells a different story, however, as plants perform the grand finale, before packing it in for the season. It’s been a great run.

Golden Pepper

September 16, 2013 by Born To Organize

Vintage Box Card: Garden Style

I’ve been at it again.

Last week I mentioned the Cameo by Silhouette, the clever addition to my crafting tools. It’s so sophisticated, that I can hardly imagine topping it. I won’t say that too loudly, as my limited imagination didn’t foresee carrying an entire computer in my purse a mere decade ago either. For now, I’m thrilled with the state-of-the-art possibilities.

That said, I’ll always enjoy combining the old with the new.

My good friend Donna has a booth at Antiques Colony in San Jose called Green House Supply. Donna is an avid gardener, crafter and purveyor of all things vintage. She sells a variety of gently aged paper goods, including these alphabet flash cards (below), bingo cards, maps and pages from beautiful old books. Her shop is great fun. I never leave empty-handed. This time I was on a mission. I wanted to make her a thank you note to show my appreciation for the generous bag of gardening books she left on my doorstep. I’ve been plowing my way through them and will also be offering them in our Little Free Library when we finally get that off the ground.

Here’s what I made.

Using a page from a child’s picture dictionary, I created the box card (with the Silhouette). I bought a vintage flash card with a D on it, turned it on its side, and added three-dimensional flowers. I wrote the note on the back.

Box Card and Insert

Completed Box Card

I used scraps of paper for the face of the card and the band, inking the edges for an aged look. I added a small strand of leaf-shaped ribbon and another flower for a finishing touch