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 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 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 13, 2013 by Born To Organize

Aren’t You Glad I Said Arachnid?

Nocturnal spider

The itsy, bitsy spider went…

Who am I kidding! This baby is huge! Spider, arachnid, eight-legged wonder. You can call it what you like, but these super-sized spiders make my hair stand on end.

I was enjoying a warm evening on deck with my hub, when he pointed out this nocturnal spider. The spider’s web stretched from the house to the Magnolia tree, across the ramp leading to the deck. By day, this arachnid must pack away her web, but once the sun sets, she’s open for business.

I say ‘she’ because my friend once suggested that I think of all spiders as female or as someone’s
mom making them appear less creepy. I’m not sure it helped.

Spiders are great for the garden. I’m delighted they’re here and appreciate the good work they do, reducing the non-beneficial bug population. It’s just that I prefer they do it when I’m not looking.

Waiting for dinner

September 12, 2013 by Born To Organize

Tomatoes: Ripe for the Picking

I have nothing original to say about tomatoes. Grow them. Eat them. Love them.

Fresh off the vine they are sweet and delicious. They resemble nothing you get in the grocery store, unless you’re lucky enough to find heirlooms.

I seem to be a two-crop wonder this year: my first optimistic attempt at growing them from seed; then round two with starters from the nursery. No matter. They’re here now and I’m enjoying them while I can.

Given our temperate climate, tomato plants can produce well into late October. If that holds true, I’ll have a beautiful bounty for the next six weeks. Yum!

Here’s what’s ripening on the vine:

Orange cherry tomatoes

Roma Tomatoes

Indeterminate (hopefully Baker Heirlooms)

Thanks for stopping by!

September 11, 2013 by Born To Organize

9/11: National Day of Service and Remembrance

Dahlia ‘Hypnotica’

9/11. Thirteen years ago, it was just another date on the calendar. That changed for the world on September 11, 2001. I’ve struggled all day to find words to share, but they all sound trite.

Many of us wake up on the morning of September 11th and remember those early hours of fear, and disbelief. Though I live in California, the destination of all four planes that crashed that day, I didn’t lose a friend, a family member or a colleague. I was fortunate.

But we all felt the collective sadness and fear that swept through this nation in those early days and weeks.

Today is a day of service and remembrance. I’ve tried to come up with something meaningful, but didn’t do an adequate job planning for the day. If I had, I would have picked a day of service activity. I’ll do better next year. Today I planted a bright yellow ‘Hypnotica’ Dahlia as a remembrance. We’re a collective planet warmed by the yellow sun. These warm yellow flowers give me hope while honoring lives lost. I placed the Dahlia curbside in a muted green pot for passersby to enjoy.

I donated to the American Red Cross fund in lieu of service. The:

“American Red Cross exists to provide compassionate care to those in need. Our network of generous donors, volunteers and employees share a mission of preventing and relieving suffering, here at home and around the world, through five key service areas: disaster relief, supporting military families, lifesaving blood, health and safety services and international humanity services.”

9/11 Remembrance

I’m also planning a random act of anonymous kindness before the day ends. People often joke about this, but I believe in my heart of hearts that if we all practiced individual acts of kindness, it would go far in improving all our lives.

Sending love and hope back out to the universe.

September 9, 2013 by Born To Organize

Crafty Watering Can Brings Flowers to Life

Several months ago I attended a weekend scrap-booking retreat and fell in love with the Silhouette Cameo™. In fact, one of the designs, featured today over at Boomdeeadda, uses the Silhouette. Check out the clever lantern designed by Despina Boettcher.

Over the years I’ve admired all the various die cut systems, but never jumped in. Where would I store them all? Then along came the Silhouette. Simply attach the Cameo to your computer via a USB port and download (or create) designs. The watering can design below was only 99 cents. Most of the designs are under two dollars. If you’re a designer, you can make your own creations and even sell them to other users. So darn cool!

This weekend, while hiding indoors from the current heat wave, I had fun making this paper watering can. The design, by the clever husband-and-wife team at SnapDragon Snippets was a great way to combine my love of crafting and gardening. Since it was my first attempt, I used paper leftover from another project to see how it turned out. I love it!

Paper Watering Can designed by SnapDragon Snippets

Since none of my real watering cans look this good, I decided to age my paper one for an authentic flare. I used a water-based dye ink called ‘garden green’ and brushed on a coat of gold and copper leaf flakes, originally used on a Craft It Forward project earlier this year.

Distressed watering can

Then I waved my magic wand to make it waterproof (or for the less gullible I added a small jar inside).

Garden flower bouquet

In an effort to beat the heat, I raced around the garden early this morning snipping hydrangeas, anemones and for height, a few snips of flowering basil. (Since the flowers take away from the flavor, I could snip to my heart’s content).

Anemones, hydrangeas and basil

It’s easy to forget how relaxing it is to pursue a creative hobby. Cutting and arranging flowers is soothing too. Note to self (and anyone else reading this): remember to make time for your favorite creative endeavors.

Searching for inspiration? Here are a few:

September 6, 2013 by Born To Organize

Lighting the Garden

The talented Anne Daiva taught me a couple of things about photography, and the significance of natural light. Anne takes stunning photographs of babies and families with artistry and depth. When she mentioned taking her outdoor photos at the beginning or the end of the day, I took notice.

Coincidentally, those of us with fair skin and freckles are better off in the garden at the beginning and end of the day. I’m usually outdoors when the sun is up but not yet heating my bare shoulders.

Though I’ll never be the photographer that Anne is, I do enjoy playing with my camera while allowing the powerful sun to work its magic. Here are a few: