August 23, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Borrowed Landscaping

The concept of borrowed landscaping incorporates the view beyond your garden. It takes advantage of nearby elements like trees, architectural structures, and other natural views, so that your garden seems to extend beyond its borders.

Active borrowed landscaping requires planning. The idea behind it is to blend trees and plants grown on your property into a cohesive flow, so that the landscaping out of your control becomes one with your garden.

Passive borrowed landscaping simply takes advantage of what is already there. You accept the challenges, and works within those parameters. We are grateful for our borrowed trees every time we head out to the yard.

We live on a small lot in the suburbs with narrow lot lines and small yards. They built homes with fences surrounding the back yards to afford privacy. I have friends on the east coast with two acres of land, and others out of country with farms. We measure our puny lot size in feet. With 1/8 of an acre, you want to make everything count.

Here is what we borrow every day:

Monterey Pine

This majestic tree grows at the back corner of our lot. It towers over neighborhood homes. The pine provides shade we wouldn’t otherwise have and drops an occasional pine cone. It makes a suitable race track for energetic squirrels who go round and round, the tree.

Muskogee Crape Myrtle

Our neighbors Crape Myrtle is tall enough to branch out over our shared fence. It’s covered in tiny lavender blossoms this time of year, giving a softness to an otherwise rigid fence. Myrtle isn’t far from our dining patio, so our guests get to enjoy her lovely show.

Cactus

This prickly plant belongs to a prickly neighbor, so it seems appropriate to include it on the list. It’s currently flowering behind the lattice. In this case “good fences do make good neighbors” with a thorny plant thrown in for good measure.

Crepe Myrtle-Southern Belle

I discovered alternate spellings for this lovely tree. Our shared Crepe Myrtle sits on the property line in front of our homes. It has lovely white flowers all summer long, then further entertains with its shedding bark. The kitty from a few doors down love using it as a scratching post. This tree gets lots of “love” and attention.

Do you have a favorite borrowed landscape outside your window or door? Let me know in the comments below.

August 17, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Books and Flowers

My book club meets once a month with each of us taking turns as host. Tonight was my turn, and the first time in a few years that it landed on a warm, August night. Awesome! I couldn’t wait to play host in the garden.

I spent part of the morning shopping for food, sweeping and washing the patio and then I went really crazy and took out the iron! I don’t know what came over me. Probably that ironing post on Boomdeeada. I ironed the cloth napkins, a fabric remnant for the sideboard, and the tablecloth.

Tie-dyed tablecloth compliments the garden flowers

The tablecloth wasn’t a tablecloth at all before today, but a piece of muslin, recently tie-dyed purple and originally intended to re-cover a folding screen. That’s a long story for another post, but now it’s a tablecloth. As my head filled with details of candles, flowers and other little niceties that make hosting fun, it occurred to me that I might have enough fabric left over from recovering my swing in early May to repair the screen. The remnants were for making swing cushion covers, but covering the screen would be more interesting. Would I have enough?

Amazingly, I had exactly what I needed with just a small square of fabric left over. I used fabric trim to cover the side board, a splashy pink against the subtle green. Really, I should have my head examined for tackling this project today. What was the rush?

Leftover pink trim makes the perfect sideboard cover

Three smashed bottles of tacky-glue later, the screen was 90% complete. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.

I rolled up the used newspaper, put away my tools, vacuumed the rug and jumped into the shower with 40 minutes to spare.

The evening came together nicely. It’s great seeing friends and discussing books. Our pick this month was The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, described as

“a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.”

Thumbs up for the book! Thumbs up for the Bookettes, too. Thumbs down for the crazy gardener who still thinks she can do it all.

The Bookettes

August 12, 2012 by Born To Organize

Looking up at the Cosmos

Looking up at the cosmos this evening was a treat. I fell in love this summer with these magnificent flowers. Like any new love, I’ve enjoyed the novelty and discovery of uncharted territory.

Writing about cosmos for this blog and snapping dozens of photos along the way has enriched my garden experience. I’ve captured small changes I might have otherwise missed in pictures and prose. Such simple pleasures.

All week I’ve wanted to gather a few seeds, but the heat has been oppressive. This evening, after an hour of tending to the less glamorous garden chores, I sat cross-legged in front of the cosmos and took a moment to enjoy the view. Then, using a soft toothbrush, I swept up the seeds gathering on the pumpkin leaves below. I’ll package some of the seeds for holiday gifts and the rest will be carefully stored in my Seed Keeper for next year. I’ve spotted several black and white songbirds lately, so I’ve left plenty of seeds behind for them too.

Seeds safely stowed, I rolled on my back and took a few photos from the ground looking up. For a moment in time I was a girl again, lying barefoot on the grass, eyes skyward. Time for a bit of daydreaming until reality intrudes.

Cosmos Looking Up

Cosmo Seeds

Cosmo seeds at the Beach

Blooming Thursday: Dwarfed by the Cosmos (gardeningnirvana.wordpress.com)
Sit Back and Enjoy a Cosmo (zone9b.wordpress.com)

August 9, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: It Must Be August

In the far corner of the garden, the Japanese Anemone are about to put on a show. The plant is unremarkable most of the year, with a low, leafy green spreading across the rock wall. After a winter die-back, they reemerge in the spring, gathering energy for the days ahead.

Anemone Buds

Anemone Japonica ‘White’

July arrives and on cue, the Anemone burst forth sending out tall stems covered in lush green leaves. July is dress rehearsal.

Anemone Bloom

Take a seat ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin. The chorus lines the rock wall, tiny buds at the ready. When the curtain opens, dozens of white blooms take center stage.

Be sure to tell all your friends. The show continues its run through late August.

August 2, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: A Tiny Bouquet

I used to dream of growing tall, sturdy flowers that I could arrange in elegant bouquets.

I’m over it.

Gathering tiny blooms, bits of green here and there, and then arranging them in a small vessel is infinitely more fun. Last night, as I gathered seeds from the Cosmos, I snipped a few blooms for a bouquet. I added lavender, asparagus fern, tall grass and a few bluebells and arranged them in my favorite cup.

Cosmos, Lavender and Bluebells in a vase

Cosmos at rest: Flowers from the garden, cat mug from the heart
Cosmos, bluebells, lavender, fern and grass

Cosmos by the light of day

My college friend, Carrielin, gave me this cup thirty years ago. It’s always been a favorite. She knew how much I loved cats, flowers, and tea, and managed to combine all three in this charming mug. What better way to display my little bouquet.

Kitty Mug Close-up

Even the Handle is a Cat

Do you have a favorite little treasure filled with joyful memories?

July 26, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Lemony Yellows

The first flower on my lemony yellow tour self-seeded from last year. Within two weeks it was covered in buds and blooms and tripled in size. My friend Laura, referred to it as a Four O’clock, the time it usually blooms. Our plant must think it’s in a different time zone, as it was in full bloom at 9:00 this morning.

Lemony Yellow Wildflowers

Next up are the ‘Evergreen Yellow’ daylilies surrounding our Magnolia. Is it just me, or do the stamen look like delicate, curling fingers?

Trio of Daylily Flowers

Yellow Daylily Up Close

Rounding up the tour, we have Fuzzy little Kangaroo Paws shooting up behind the lilies. They’ll grow to about three feet tall and will bloom now through fall. Aren’t they sweet?

‘Harmony’ Kangaroo Paws

What’s blooming in your garden this Thursday?

How to grow Four O’clock Flowers from Urban Farmer.
You can read more about Kangaroo Paw from The Flower Expert.
Growing daylilies from University of Minnesota.

July 19, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Blushing Pinks

Growing up a redhead my mom never let me wear pink. A ginger herself, she advised that pink was not our color. She was right of course, but when you’re told not to wear something, you can think of nothing else. Am I right?

Pink is definitely one of those colors that can easily be overdone, but not in the garden. This has been my summer of pink. The volunteer cosmos continue to splash color across the pumpkin patch. The pink potted Hydrangea doubled in size and bloom production. I added a few pink Vinca to one of the patio planters and rounded things out with a polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya), grown for its beautiful pink and green leaves.

Power to the Pink!

Pink Hydrangea with a Drop of Morning Dew

Kitty shows off his cute little pink ears

After my “week of bugs” this flower is starting to look just like one.

Strong winds this week have the Cosmos leaning sideways

What’s blooming in your world this Thursday?

July 12, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Pelargonium Stunner

Pelargonium ‘Old Bury Duet’

I fell in love with this Pelargonium on my last trip through the nursery. I was racing to the front of the store with my 4th of July annuals and it stopped me in my tracks. This ‘Old Bury Duet’ was nestled on a table with equally gorgeous coleus which seem to grow well on our deck.

Of course the big question is “where will I plant it?” The snapdragons in the planter at home were healthy, but the companion Lobelia looked tired. I never have much luck with Lobelia. Upon further reading, I’ve learned it prefers cool weather. Once our temps rise, the plants quickly dry out. So…

Into the cart they went.

Once home, I transplanted two of the snapdragons into a pot with the roses where they get more sun, and moved the rest to another flowering pot out back. The Lobelia moved to a cooler spot, but they sadly are no more.

Now my trio of front door planters include the new Coleus ‘Inky Fingers’ and the Pelargonium ‘Old Bury Duet,’ along with the existing coleus and the trailing flowers.

What’s blooming on your Thursday?

Duet of Color

Variegated Leaves

Torch Like Beauty

Friend or Foe? Do you know?

June 28, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Dwarfed by the Cosmos

I’d like to give a shout-out to the bird, or perhaps it was the wind, for planting the cosmos. These pink and yellow beauties are my new garden darling, the flower I didn’t know I loved. They were part of a mixed flower seed packet from last season. We had several flowers bloom over many months, but nothing as spectacular as this. Around the corner from their original home, a leafy green plant emerged. I let it grow along with the pumpkins and now this flowering lovely is taller than I am. I’m 5’10” so that is saying a lot.

Here’s a little photo journal of life among the cosmos:

Dwarfed by the Cosmos

Sisters

Ruffles

Seeds!

The flower cycle

June 14, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Flowers that Shouldn’t

Flowering Basil

I checked on the basil a day ago and all was well. Today it flowered! Maximum production requires more pruning then I realized. The flowers are pretty but the prize on the basil plant are those delicious leaves. They are at their best, before the flower.

One of my favorite uses for basil is caprese salad, made with basil, mozzarella and tomatoes. It’s also delicious in pesto.

So when the sun goes down, the pruning shears come out. Can’t you just smell it?

How to make Caprese Salad.

Easy Pesto: Step by step

How to dry Herbs: I’ll stick with it fresh, but all you cooking gurus can give this a go.