December 11, 2013 by Born To Organize

Cyclamen: Pretty in Pink

Like dominoes, much of the garden continues to succumb to days of frost. The cyclamen, however, look terrific. The plant pictured above remained dormant all summer. As spring and summer annuals died, my trusty cyclamen bloomed again. I’ve always loved the way the flowers soft petals seem to fold in like little clam shells.

The nurseries are full of them this time of year, usually in red and white. I assumed they were all the same plant, but apparently the nursery variety are grown for indoors. Though sold as ‘house plants’, they prefer cool temps. In fact, if you keep one indoors, they suggest putting it outside for a few hours, or even overnight, to prolong the health of the plant. It seems counter-intuitive. The rest of the garden needs salvaging from the carnage of this unusual frost, but the Cyclamen crave it.

According to Garden Web:

Cyclamen [in its native habitat] is an endangered plant. Centuries of collecting from the wild have decimated populations and the Cyclamen is now protected by CITES. CITES is the Congress on International Trade in Endangered Species. It is a worldwide body set up to protect not only plants, but animals that are in danger of extinction. It is illegal to import or export Cyclamen to or from any cooperating country without a CITES permit.

I had no idea! I saw hundreds of them on display at a nursery earlier this week, so hope this bodes well for their survival. Meanwhile, this little gem is looking pretty in pink and happy in the garden. I’m inspired to plant many more.

Garden Update: Frosty and Dry

Days of unseasonal frost have left my garden looking desolate. I raced past the dying tomato plant on my way to dump kitchen scraps. I upended them into the compost bin, then raced back inside for warmth.

Tomatoes last stand

Still no rain in sight, other than one brief storm last month. The days are cold and dry.

The leaves have been off the Pistache since mid-November, but the maple is just now turning color. It’s nice that they set color at different times. It gives us a chance to enjoy each one.

View from my living room window

Japanese Maple

Somewhat comically, I won’t need to refrigerate my bulbs this year. Generally speaking, California isn’t cold enough so we have to tease the bulbs with a six-week chill. They’re getting plenty of cold in the garage and should be ready to go soon. I’m not ready, but they are.

The hyacinth bulbs are popping up, happy with the autumn chill. When they finally bloom, the smell is potent and intoxicating. I can’t wait. It evokes a happy childhood memory, so I look forward to breathing that in each year.

hyacinth

I’m off to the craft store to buy some ribbon for the finishing touches on a gift. One last seasonal trip to the post office tomorrow.

What’s happening in your corner of the world? I’m behind on my reading, but look forward to catching up with all your lovely comments, and blogs, soon.

December 9, 2013 by Born To Organize

Lawn Tree Traditions: Greening up the Neighborhood

Mother and son

If you drop by this week, you’ll see Christmas trees up and down the block. Our neighborhood has an extensive and coordinated effort to display cut Christmas trees on our lawn each year. The trees go up the first week of December and come down New Year’s day. I’m the block captain for our street.

We try to make it a family affair, but now that our boys are teens, their interest wanes. This year my older son did the heavy lifting along with his dad, dropping trees at each house while I drove the truck. My youngest son asked if he could stay in bed! So it goes.

The Muscle

Our neighbor, Greg lends us his truck for deliveries. I get to dust off my manual transmission driving skills once a year. It keeps me in the game.

Ready for delivery

The Bay Area is diverse. Not all neighbors celebrate this tradition. When I was a young, I wondered why one or two people wouldn’t want a tree in their yard. Then I grew up and understood that the world is full of different religions and cultures and it all made sense. We see Menorah in neighboring windows and understand others simply don’t embrace the ritual. It’s a great time of year to pause and reflect on the richness of diversity.

We have an artificial tree indoors, and a cut tree on the lawn. I wrote about the pros and cons of real vs fake last year. You can read more about that here.

Do you celebrate Christmas? Do you display a tree? Real or fake…or both? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, below.

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this month on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak. Today’s blog: Holiday Storage: The Case of the Shrinking House.

Of note: Wikipedia has a wonderful and detailed article on the origins of the decorated Christmas tree. I’m always learning something new on that site and must remember to make my annual donation accordingly.

December 6, 2013 by Born To Organize

Make Like a Tree

Shhh…

Don’t say anything, but sometimes I pretend I’m a tree. I stand stock still in the garden and wait to see what happens. I’m a tree with a camera, but lets not argue semantics. I get the best shots when I’m quiet and unmoving, even though I long to call out ‘come look!’ at the cuteness nature serves outdoors.

I ventured out this morning in my warmest coat and watched the ballet. One crow, then two swooped on and off the phone lines. They soared overhead, settled in the neighbors pine, then flew back again. I was so tree-like at that point that I missed the photo-op entirely.

A pair of hummingbirds danced a different dance: low, fast and chit-chit-chitting as they went, They crossed and swooped from tree to tree, feeder to tree, and back.

Hummingbird on guard

A squirrel hopped the fence, stuffed to the gills. It looks like our neighbors have a two-for one offer on peanuts this morning. This little fella looked worried, even though I assured him I was just a tree with a camera. His peanuts were safe.

Two-for-one special

Squirrels don’t have wings, but I swear he flew along the fence. For all his concern, I’ll probably unearth those peanuts in the vegetable garden come June. I can’t imagine his well-padded frame could eat another bite. Of course that never stops me from grazing.

Bums the word (and hopefully not a commentary on the gardener)

If you have a few extra moments this weekend, make like a tree. Let me know how it goes in the comments, below.

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak. Today’s blog, Reorganizing Traditions, suggests evaluating our holiday traditions. then bringing them in line with our current lifestyles.

December 5, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frost Nipped Peas

Two days of a hard freeze were unkind to the garden peas.

Frost Damaged Peas

I gathered a handful this afternoon. There’s nothing to be gained at this point by leaving them on the vine. The vines are drooping as well.

The frost damaged the outer skin leaving it mottled. The inner ‘pearls’ look surprisingly good though.

Peas, unmasked

The in and out of garden peas

It’s supposed to ‘warm up’ to a low of 38º F (3ºC) by Friday, but will drop back ten degrees the following day. With over two weeks to go before the winter solstice is upon us, I wonder what this means for the season ahead?

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak. Today’s blog offers some tips for creating new giving traditions for the holidays.

December 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Frosty San Jose

My son’s prized inflatable, pretend snowing in San Jose

Still no rain, and certainly no snow, but we did get some frost last night. This isn’t a big deal for everyone, but it’s a rare occurrence around here. It’s December 4th after all. The tomato plant had to go eventually.

I have lots of frozen peas (and I never stepped foot in the freezer aisle). They look plump and juicy and, well, frozen. Since it’s a winter crop, I’m not sure what to think. The plant doesn’t seem to mind, but it may take a few days for any damage to appear. I’ll let you know.

Frozen peas, available now in your neighborhood garden

Last week I *finally* planted some beats. I soaked the seeds at the same time I planted the peas, but originally planned to put them in the veggie garden out back. The tomato plant hung on and on in one bed, and the strawberries in the other, so I didn’t have room. I planted the beats in the curb garden with the carrots and peas. I hope they’re equally successful, and that I didn’t plant them too late.

Plump and ready

I started my broccoli seeds indoors and all was going well. Somewhat foolishly I started hardening them off, the process of acclimatizing the seeds to their new outdoor home. It would have been better to wait till the holidays were over. I simply forgot about them. They came back inside for water and a rest. Hopefully enough of them will recover so I can make a go of it.

Next up, spring bulbs. My back just hasn’t been up to the task this year, so bags of bulbs sit in the garage waiting for my next move.

I think I’ll go make myself a hot cup of tea while I give this more thought. I hope you’re enjoying your day.

Frosty paw prints

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of articles featuring organizing around the holidays this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak. Today’s blog has a few filing tips (boring) along with beautiful file folders (sweet) to inspire this mundane task.

December 2, 2013 by Born To Organize

Mum’s the Word

Chrysanthemums will forever remind me of my own ‘Mum’ this time of year. She loved them. Mums were her go-to plant. She always brought one with her for the holidays. She liked sending mums as a gift, saying that flowering plants lasted longer than cut flowers. Mum and Dad owned two flower shops in Canada in the mid-fifties. Sadly for me, they sold the shops before I was born. I’m not sure how old I was before connecting the dots that ‘Mums’ and ‘Chrysanthemums’ were the same.

Pink Mum Closeup

A year ago I bought this pink pretty pink Mum for the front deck. They usually last a season, dry out and then people toss them. I don’t give up on plants that quickly, so I cut this one back to the stems and continued to water it. It showed signs of life all summer, albeit short, green stems. It briefly sprang back to life this fall, with another display of color.

Pink Mums

Non-Sequitur

On the subject of “Mums”, “Mums!” and “Mums,” I consulted Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty on the proper use of quotes. Her explanation went a long way toward explaining my confusion. There is an American Usage and the Kings English usage. Since I started my education in Canada, then moved to US schools, it explains my confusion. I insert quotes with trepidation, and will restructure a sentence to avoid ending with a quote so that I don’t have to worry about incorrect usage.

Whew…I’m so glad I got that off my chest.

Here’s what Grammar Girl has to say:

When combining exclamation points and question marks with quotation marks, Americans follow the same logical system as the British. Where you place the other marks relative to the quotation mark depends on the context of the quotation.

If the whole sentence, including the quotation, is a question or an exclamation, then the question mark or exclamation point goes outside the closing quotation mark; but if only the part inside the quotation marks is a question or exclamation, then the question mark or exclamation point goes inside the closing quotation mark.

Quotation Marks with Semicolons and Colons

With semicolons, colons, asterisks, and dashes, we get back to a simple rule. They always go outside the closing quotation mark.

Summary

In American English, periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation mark; semicolons, colons, asterisks, and dashes always go outside the closing quotation mark; and question marks and exclamation points require that you analyze the sentence and make a decision based on context.

Hopefully, now that I’ve read this, copied it, edited it for brevity, the concept will stick. If not, as my grammar friend Francie likes to say, “so sue me!”

Organized at Heart

I’m posting a series of organizing around the holidays blogs this week on my blog Organized at Heart. If the subject interests you, please go take a peak.

November 27, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Giving Garden

One of the coolest things about our neighborhood is the general camaraderie. Neighbors talk to neighbors.

On the surface, that sounds so simple, but time and again we hear from others how lucky we are to live on a street where all the neighbors know each other. Over the years, we’ve covered for each other with emergency child-care, extra meals in times of poor health, emotional support and carrots.

Carrots?

Yes, even carrots.

The grandfather of one of the daycare kids walked by while I was curbside chatting with (yes) another neighbor. I reached over to offer him a fresh garden pea, when he stopped me and asked if he could have ten. More specifically, his granddaughter needed ten items to trade during Kindergarten class for a lesson on trade and Thanksgiving.

Our quick search didn’t yield ten pea pods, but there were still plenty of carrots. Not just any carrots, but the very carrots the wee kinder (gardener) planted herself. He came back with his granddaughter later that day. Her brother gave her special permission to harvest his carrots as well in case she didn’t have enough.

Baggy in tow, she pulled up several carrots, bagged them and happily smiled for the camera.

Harvesting

Grandpa asked her to rinse the dirt from her hands in the fresh rain water, and then she wiped them on the grass. I stepped in and dried her tiny hands on the inside of my jacket, because honestly, once a mom always a mom. I scooped her into a hug and she was on her way.

Harvested carrot

All smiles

You reap what you sow . I felt such a welling of emotion as I turned to come inside. Ten little carrots were on their way to the classroom, and once again the giving garden filled me with joy.

November 25, 2013 by Born To Organize

Magnolia vs Scale: This Tree has Game

Tulip Magnolia
March, 2012 BC (Before Scale)

All is not lost!

Last week I wrote about my struggling tulip Magnolia. It’s infested with scale, a nasty soft scale insect. It’s been a problem for two seasons. You can continue reading, or pop over to this page to view graphic photos.

Did you go look? It’s not pretty, is it?

I met with a certified arborist today to discuss the tree’s plight. The arborist nodded and said ‘yes it’s a problem,’ and agreed that gardens with tulip magnolias frequently harbor scale. He went on to say the problem is systemic and that most treatments don’t work.

He did, however suggest a fairly new product that has recently shown promise. Bayer Tree and Shrub Protect and Feed. It’s applied at the roots so no spraying. Further, it’s supposed to have minimal impact on beneficial insects, always a concern. I’m going to give it a try. He said improvement wouldn’t happen ‘over night’ but that with time, it may help. He noted the green shoots on the tree and the lack of mold as two good signs. Apparently all my scraping and washing helped.

Two hours worth of scale removal.

The arborist also approved of the banding my husband banded did last summer. It’s an ant barrier, a sticky substance that the ants won’t cross. Since ants protect the scale in order to harvest the secreted honeydew, it’s another step toward protecting the tree.

Hope, renewed.

In other news…

Special thanks to Betsy of What’s Green With Betsy!?! and Pauline of The Contented Crafter for including me in there list of recommended bloggers. I’ll write more about this later in the week.

Liebster Award: Discover New Blogs
The Versatile Blogger Award

November 22, 2013 by Born To Organize

Saucy Succulents

Succulents

I love that word. Succulent conjures up something sweet and juicy, but it also refers to a type of plant. Saucy, juicy, care-free succulents.

I met a succulent gardener last summer over a bunch of dirt. Top soil to be exact. Long story, but I ordered planting mix and received top soil instead. The vendor offered a refund but would not come pick up the soil. I offered the top soil on Freecycle, and that’s how I met Amy.

Amy grows succulents in her beautiful garden. I helped her unload the soil at her home and she gave me the nickel tour. I hope to go back and take pictures to share with all of you. Her garden is unique and perfectly suited to our semi-arid climate.

Amy sent home a few cuttings from her garden that day.

Cutting from Amy’s garden

Earlier this year, I planted Sedum in my tower of pots. I simply pressed the cuttings directly into the soil and off they grew. Amazing! They’re doing great in a couple of pots on my deck.

Tower of pots

Amy’s cutting joins the tower of pots

Coincidentally, I bought a few succulents mid-July. They came beautifully pre-planted and ready to hang. I hung them on the side of the house near the deck. They only need water about once a month.

Assorted succulents hang on the side of the house

In early October, I moved the hanging planters to make room for Halloween decorations. Turns out they look nice back-to-back on the center of the outdoor table.