December 25, 2012 by Born To Organize

Fairy Mystique: The Young and the Young-Hearted

If you’ve been following Gardening Nirvana for a while, you’ll know that I’ve fallen in love with fairy gardens. You can read a bit about them here. I created several over the past year, and shared them on my blog. They’re whimsical and fun.

Imagine my delight to learn that the two little girls across the street decided to create a fairy garden of their own. They caught the fairy garden bug!

When the holiday season rolled around this year, I thought it would be fun to don my “fairy cap” and create a little magic of my own.

On my first visit to their families outdoor Christmas tree, I left a tiny note and some “decorating material” including sequins, silk thread and a roll of red laundry lint, perfect for making fairy pillows and blankets. I tucked it deep in the branches so they could enjoy the search.

Fairy Garden Package #1

Next up, another note along with some ribbon, a few wooden stars and a family of matchstick-sized dolls tucked inside a baby food jar and wrapped in mesh.

Fairy Garden Package #2

On my last visit to the tree, I left a parcel of miniature bristle trees, a few shiny mirrors (great for lakes and ponds) and a bag of fairy snow.

Fairy Snow

It has been so much fun sorting through my sewing box, scrap-booking materials, and left over art supplies to pull together little treasures for the fairy aficionados.

On Christmas Eve, just before heading out with my family to look at neighborhood Christmas lights I made one last visit. My son helped me fill the top half of a paper Christmas cracker, with a few gold coins. While my husband backed out the car, I tiptoed to their door, deposited the gifts, rang the bell, and ran like crazy. Getting caught in the act would spoil all the fun.

As I raced across their lawn and out of view, the neighborhood kitty gave chase. My parting thought as I ran around the corner was how funny it must have looked to see a woman in her fifties running across her neighbor’s lawn, with a small white cat in hot pursuit.

There’s Magic in that Tree

Fairy Garden Snow Recipe

one small handful of craft snow
a pinch of sparkles
a dash of blue bakers sugar

December 24, 2012 by Born To Organize

Dove Bomb Surprise: A Recipe for World Peace

Please Note: This recipe is not for pessimists or doomsayers.

As with all good recipes, the ingredients are critical. Do not settle for substitutes unless otherwise noted.

Gather together the following organic ingredients:

1 ounce of prevention

1/2 pound of genuine hugs

A sprinkle of laughter

Sunshine (to taste)

Optional: season with soothing music or a winter’s nap

You will also need:

1 missile launching kit (available on the Internet)

Assorted bomb casings

A positive attitude

Energy saving tip: No need to preheat your oven. Global warming is sufficient.

Prepare your missile launching kit following the manufacturer’s instructions. Set aside.

Mix one ounce of prevention with a half pound of genuine hugs until smooth. Fold in a sprinkle of laughter, blending well. Add sunshine to taste.

Remove chilled bomb casings from the freezer and carefully fill to the three-quarter mark with the above mixture. Add optional ingredients at this time.

Pop the dove bomb surprise into the missile-launcher and fire away. Upon impact Dove Bomb Surprise will coat the earth’s population. Those lucky enough to be at the center of impact will experience an incredible sense of euphoria. Others, at a more distant radius, will experience an overall feeling of joy and content. Pregnant women will give birth to children addicted to world peace. Warring factions everywhere will lay down their weapons and cast off their anger, wondering why they harbored them in the first place. Hatred will be rendered obsolete. Some nations will decide to share their oil; others will share food and water. Technology will be applied for the good of all humankind. The environment will return to its intended state and freedom will reign for all.

No mess to clean up. Serves several billion.

Olive Branch

Merry Christmas. May your world be joyful and bright. Gardening Nirvana

December 23, 2012 by Born To Organize

Harvesting the Gourds: I Grew a Pair

It’s pouring today. (I love it). Good thing I cleaned the garden box when I did. After a midweek frost, the birdhouse gourd vines shriveled up. I cut down the last of them and brought the pair of gourds indoors for drying.

Tidied Garden

I have a good giggle whenever I pass them. They look exactly like a pair of bowling pins.

Lindy keeps an eye on the “bowling pins.”

Earlier in the year, one of the vines grew up and over the telephone line. Eventually one of the two large gourds took hold, putting weight on the lines. I came up with a quick fix using garden twine and a mesh bag, pictured below.

birdhouse gourd in the bag

It worked really well, allowing the gourd to grow unhampered and at the same time it kept my internet up and running. I have my priorities.

What I didn’t expect was the honeycomb pattern the bag left on the gourd. It’s not imprinted but rather faded from the lack of sun. Isn’t that interesting?

Honeycomb Patterned Gourd

Now we wait. While the gourds are drying, I’ll be dreaming of a way to decorate each one. Here are a few ideas:

Debbie Almond: Birdsmiths

Linseed Oil finish from Fun In The Making

Natural Finish (from my ever changing garden)

December 22, 2012 by Born To Organize

Winter Solstice: Near Miss

I guess I missed it.

I’ve been referring to my wall calendar all week and according to the cute little box with the number 22, winter solstice occurred at 6:12 am EST today, December 22nd, 2012. With all the “end of the world” talk this week, I somehow failed to connect the winter solstice and the end of the world on the same day. My calendar was plain wrong.

December 22nd, 2012

It’s no small irony that the calendar producer is a company called Sounds True.

Sounds True Calendar

The rest of the calendar entries were correct this year, so you can appreciate why I missed it. Remaining dates are in good working order as well: Christmas, December 25th. Check. Boxing Day, December 26th. Check. And finally, New Year’s Eve, December 31st.

Here’s is what National Geographic has to say about the solstice:

During the winter solstice the sun hugs closer to the horizon than at any other time during the year, yielding the least amount of daylight annually. On the bright side, the day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days leading up to the summer solstice.

“Solstice” is derived from the Latin phrase for “sun stands still.” That’s because—after months of growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice—the sun’s arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days. Then the arc begins growing longer and higher in the sky, reaching its peak at the summer solstice.

The solstices occur twice a year (around December 21 and June 21) because Earth is tilted by an average of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun—the same phenomenon that drives the seasons.

During the warmer half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. The northern winter solstice occurs when the “top” half of Earth is tilted away from the sun at its most extreme angle of the year.

Please join me in counting down to the first day of spring; the Vernal Equinox. For those of us that long to get our hands in the dirt, that’s a date we don’t want to miss. And for all you computer experts who know that the internet is always right, please help me understand why my countdown calendar (right sidebar) it teasing me when it says March 20th is in two months?

December 21, 2012 by Born To Organize

Centerpiece on the Fly

The older I get, the more likely I am to buck tradition. Tonight’s centerpiece is a good case in point. I’ve enjoyed pulling together meaningful gifts in an unusual arrangement. It’s fun and festive and probably not available from your local floral shop.

First up, this lovely snowman casserole dish. It was a gift from a dear friend. I’ve never had the heart to actually cook in it, but instead usually display it on an easel. Tonight it’s the foundation for the centerpiece and a reminder of our friendship.

Snowman Casserole Dish, A Gift from a Friend

Next, I’ve featured my son’s recent clay project. He used a ruler and a fine carving tool to meticulously carve each brick. Such detail! I like the overall shape of the piece and the sweeping curves of the design. I love his creativity.

Ceramic Clay Medieval Turret

The flowers are the last remaining blooms of a pretty bouquet, a gift from the man I love. We’ve been together for 18 years and he still brings me flowers, just because. How can you not be cheered by flowers?

Flowers in a Spice Jar

I emptied the last of the peppercorns so I could use the spice jar as a vase. It’s the perfect size for the turret. A quick dusting of craft-store snow to pull it all together and I’m set.

The centerpiece represents love and friendship as well as art, nature and a bit of whimsy. In my heart of hearts, I think that’s what traditions are all about.

Are you entertaining guests this holiday season? What makes it special for you?

Unique Centerpiece Displays:

Fire and Ice (I love this idea!)
Non-traditional colors (Purple anyone?)
Vintage Roller Skates

December 20, 2012 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Snow

Little hands made it snow in the fairy garden today. It certainly felt cold enough for the real deal, but alas the skies were blue and clear.

My neighbor Jazzy’s day care kids love to run up and down the ramp and along the deck at day’s end. They were full of energy, happy to be outdoors and impervious to the cold. One of the little Munchkins asked if she could play with her doll in the fairy garden. How lucky that I had my camera! She was full of questions: was the grass real? Were the plants real? What about the berries?

Playing in the fairy garden

A pinch of snow

I love the inquisitiveness. One by one, the others joined in. I was pointing out the “snow” when I realized the wind had carried much of it away. I ran inside for more and within short order, they created a fairy winter wonderland.

Fairy Winter Wonderland

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

December 19, 2012 by Born To Organize

Jack Frost Nipping at the Plants

Jack Frost has a mean bite. In just one night, the late season pumpkins are through. I rounded the corner this morning, stunned to see how quickly the damage took hold. The pumpkin plant looks a bit sad next to the otherwise vigorous winter vegetables, but I knew it was just a matter of time.

I covered the two coleus with frost cloth in mid November, but a partially exposed section of one of the plants froze as well. I’m going to add another layer tonight (wished I had done so earlier). We’re expecting a low of 38 F for one more night. Showers are in the forecast the rest of this week with lows warming up to 45 F.

Baby, it’s cold outside!

Frost damaged pumpkin plant

Damage-free coleus

Frost Bitten Coleus

December 18, 2012 by Born To Organize

Rain Drops and Earworms

I’ve had an “ear-worm” stuck in my head for a day now. It’s the song made famous by Burt Bacharach, called Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head. It started in the garden yesterday, in the rain, of course. It continued well into today’s cold, dry weather and refuses to let up. I wish I could say the same for the rain which has let up. Again.

I understand that the rain is not for everyone. People living in Hamburg, Germany or Seattle, Washington get plenty. Living in a semi-arid climate like California means our rain is minimal compared to many other areas of the world.

I’ve always liked the rain. It’s fun to walk in it. I’ve been known to pull weeds while it’s pouring down. The sound of the rain on the roof at night is both calming and romantic. Gathering puddles bring out my inner child. It’s true that I don’t like to drive in wet weather. People seem to lose their heads when it rains. They drive too fast, follow too closely and we have the invariable car pile ups. Away from that nonsense, however, I do enjoy the wet stuff.

While snapping pics in the drizzle and humming my rainy day song yesterday, it was clear to me that all the plants in my garden agree. Rain drops keep falling…

Rain refreshed cauliflower

Cat fencing holds rain drops

Rain and Light

Delicate fern; beads of rain

Rain drops cling to new growth

Average Annual Rainfall (in inches):

San Jose, California – 15 inches
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – 19 inches
Hamburg, Germany – 28 inches
London, England – 29
Seattle, Washington – 38 inches
Kauai, Hawaii – 460 inches

December 17, 2012 by Born To Organize

A Broccoli We Will Grow

Birdhouse Gourd

We enjoyed cauliflower and broccoli at the table tonight, though neither of them came from my garden. I hope that changes soon. All the plants are looking healthy and perky from the recent rain. Last week I saw a green worm and what looked like eggs, but apparently a bird came along and had them for lunch. There isn’t a single trace of whatever it was, though chewed leaves are in abundance.

After a life of eating mostly from the grocery store, I get pretty excited at the prospect of real vegetables growing out back. I wasn’t raised eating either of these vegetables, but have grown to love them both. I prefer my broccoli steamed or in soup and my cauliflower raw.

The pair of birdhouse gourds are still hanging on, but it won’t be long now. I’ve seen some amazing examples of painted gourds on the web. Time to start pinning ideas.

Broccoli and Cauliflower, November 9th

Broccoli and cauliflower, December 17th (six weeks later)

It looks like at least one of the radishes survived the kitty onslaught, or it could be an herb that I don’t yet recognize. I love the mystery of it all. And yes, those are pumpkin plants in the lower box, a self-seeded crop growing away in mid-December. Go figure?

December 16, 2012 by Born To Organize

Finishing Touches: Seed Packets are a Go

I spent the afternoon putting the finishing touches on my Cosmo seed packets. It was a good day to be indoors, with cold temps and the occasional light shower.

The seed packets are ready! I’ve been saving them in a paper cup since late summer. Today I sprinkled them into individual, 3 x 3 glassine envelopes, then sealed them with a hand-punched heart. I momentarily panicked that I wouldn’t have enough to fill 20 envelopes but I did. I even remembered to save a few seeds for my garden next spring.

I punched the hearts out of a glossy fashion catalog. The green, water-color background was just the thing. No two hearts are alike. Aren’t they fun?

Cosmo Seed Packets

Punched Fashion Catalog

Heart punched Page

Watering Can Stickers

Cosmo seed cards

It’s nice to check this task off my list, but I must admit it’s been an enjoyable one. I hope the seeds live on with friends and neighbors (and the occasional bird) in the seasons to come.