December 13, 2012 by Born To Organize

Sweet Clementine…Candles

Today’s weekly email from Pinterest suggested “Pins You’ll Love.” Boy do they have my number. One of the pins was a do-it-yourself candle project from Apartment Therapy. The title: How to Make a Clementine Candle. I watched the instructional video and headed straight for the kitchen. I had a basket full of Clementines just waiting for something fun.

My first attempt was a bust, as you can see below, but the second one turned out okay. What a fun project.

You simply cut around the middle of the Clementine with a small knife, careful not to cut into the fruit. Then gently remove the fruit from both sides, leaving the internal stem intact. The stem acts as a wick for your candle.

Clementines

The instructions say to cut an opening in the top half using a knife. I’m not the best carver, so I improvised instead, using a small, sharp, cookie cutter shaped like a snowman.

Snowman Cookie Cutter creates a vent in the top of the “candle”

You fill the bottom half with olive oil. I pushed the stem into the oil for a few minutes to make sure it wicked properly.

Clementine and Olive Oil

Clementine Candle

I’m ready to host a dinner party, just so I can line the table with these fruity delights.

Snowman “Chimney”

Let me know if you give this a try!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see my Granny Smith apple in action.

From Apartment Therapy:

What is a Clementine?
California Cuties®: I buy them by the bag full.

December 12, 2012 by Born To Organize

Gifts for the Joyful Gardener

Gardeners are practical souls. We don’t mind dirt under our nails, or bruises on tired knees. We’ll get up early or stay out late, weeding, pruning, planting and generally enjoying our time in the garden. We love sharing seeds and flowers fresh from the earth and enjoy swapping tips for keeping the garden pests at bay.

If you have a joyful gardener in your life, here are a few gift ideas to tuck under the tree.

Practical

Your gardener will never lose their gloves in the garden again. Floral Gardening Gloves allow you to pull weeds in style.

Floral Garden Gloves

Seed Keeper or Seed Keeper Deluxe. I’ve been using mine for several months. It’s an easy and efficient way to store and retrieve the seeds you save or buy. They come packed with all sorts of garden goodies as well.

Seed Keeper Deluxe

Fanciful

Slipcovers: They’re not just for sofas! Dress up your pots with a Patio Art Planter Slipcovers. You can change with the seasons, or simply cover up an ugly pot. It’s a nice way to wrap up a potted plant to gift as well.

Slipcover Your Plants

Fair trade birdhouses attract birds to the garden. Keep those baby birds toasty warm till it’s time to leave the nest.

Fair Trade Birdhouses

What a clever idea! It’s a card and a desktop garden all in one. It’s edible too. It’s a postcarden! Click on the photo below and check out the time-lapse video on their site.

Astronomical

For the gardener with the travel bug: “Botanically themed cruises and garden tours of Europe are designed for gardening and gourmet enthusiasts who enjoy taking in ancient castles, magnificent châteaux and stunning landscaped gardens with iconic sites.”

Let’s all go! Who’s with me?

December 11, 2012 by Born To Organize

Mellow Yellow, Garden Gold

Yellow is a happy color. It exudes warmth and cheer. In the garden, it weaves its way through most seasons: striking daffodils in the spring, followed by snapdragons and sunflowers in the summer and fall. As the blooms fade, several trees take over, dropping golden-yellow leaves in.

What’s unusual this year is the number of summer plants still in bloom. Our deciduous trees have lost most of their leaves in time for winter solstice. I thought the snaps were done until several days of heavy rain. Now they’re back to in soft, buttery shades of yellow.

A tomato plant still towers in the side yard, sending out tiny yellow blooms. Several pumpkin plants self-seeded and flowered as well. Even in California, it’s unusual to see pumpkins bloom so late in the year. I’m trying to squelch my fears about global warming. Perhaps my garden’s micro-climate is simply in sync with the menopausal gardener.

Using yellow in the garden from Sensational Color:

Yellow is considered a warm color in landscape design.
Yellow’s appearance in the garden has a stimulating effect.
Yellow flowers come forward in the landscape, helping to make a large garden feel cozier.
Yellow lilies make for a bright, long blooming addition to any garden.
Yellow’s complimentary color in the garden is purple.

The Snapdragons returned after a heavy rain. I didn’t notice the tiny grey spider when I took the picture.

Yellow Wildflower Still Blooming

It’s mid-December. Do you know where your pumpkin flowers are?

Fruit-Loop Tree? Nope! Just three stages of an orange

Side Yard Tomato

Fruit Cocktail Tree Leaves

The Color Yellow:

Color Psychology
Vincent Van Gogh, master of yellow
Sensational Color, my go-to site for color theory and ideas

December 9, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Big Chill: Out of the Crisper and into the Soil

Three’s a Charm

When you live in a warm climate like California, it helps to employ a bit of trickery with the tulips. So when I bought three bags of tulip bulbs back in October, the first step was a cool dark rest in the crisper drawer of our fridge. Keeping bulbs in the frigid dark, prompts their DNA into thinking they’ve been through an early chill.

Today I planted about a dozen bulbs along the rock wall near the garden fence, convinced that the racing squirrels overhead were just waiting to dig them up for lunch. I tamped the soil firmly and with determination, hoping they’ll stay planted through early spring. I buried the rest of the bulbs in a variety of pots, and in a few random locations around the garden.

Ready to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Squirrel in the Pittosporum

Squirrel in the Pine

Figuring I could hedge my bets (or chance of survival) by interspersing the bulbs in heavily planted pots, I tucked them deep into the corners and under the canopy of existing plants. I hope they survive the onslaught of the squirrels. They’ll be a magnificent if they do.

Tulip Bulbs

December 8, 2012 by Born To Organize

A Treasure from the Past: The EncyclopÆdia of Gardening

Sulton's Seeds, Fertilisers, Horticultural Lundries

Sulton’s Seeds, Fertilisers, Horticultural Sundries

Mom only saved a few of Dad’s possessions after he died, but what she did save are gems. I have his photo albums, some of his landscape drawings, a few paintings and his painter’s easel. What I didn’t realize before today was that the battered, green book of his that I’ve hung on to all these years is a gardening encyclopedia!

While rummaging through a cabinet in search of a White Elephant gift, I removed the book to reach the back of the cabinet. Before returning it, I cracked the cover and there it was: my father’s lovely handwriting dated January 3, 1930. The next page revealed that I was holding The EncylopÆdia of Gardening by T.W Sanders, Knight of First Class of the Royal Order of Vasa, Sweden.

The Encyclopedia of Gardening

My dad was a horticulturist, so it’s not surprising that he had this book. What amazed me is that I didn’t realize what I had all these years. It’s a small book, no bigger than a paperback. There are no illustrations, but a few advertisements appear on the last few pages of the book. I’m dying to sit down and read it cover to cover. I read the forward and some of the introduction, then decided to look up a few plants.

Adverts

I’m named after Dad’s sister, Alys, so I started with Alyssum. Not only did I find it listed, but there was a small mark next to the entry. Goosebumps! As an aside, I learned that Alyssum was first introduced in 1710. I can’t get the grin off my face.

One last little treasure: between the middle pages were four postage stamps from India, where Dad lived before the war. The stamps say India Postage, Three Pies.

I’ve been beaming all day.

Resources:

December 8, 2012 by Born To Organize

Watering Can Stickers: The Shape of Things to Come

I love a little synchronicity now and again. Just two days ago I wrote that I planned to seal my Cosmo Christmas Cards with a self-made sticker using last year’s garden calendar. The following day a friend gave me a large punch shaped like a watering can. How perfect! I’m having fun thumbing through my old garden calendar, selecting pages for the punch. Jane Shasky’s garden illustrations are magnificent.

The Lang Herb Garden Calendar, painted by Jane Shasky

Watering Can Punch

Watering Can Stickers

After punching the shapes, I run them through my hand-held sticker maker by Xyron. Voila! Custom made stickers.

December 6, 2012 by Born To Organize

The Christmas Tree Dilemma: Real or Fake?

The Crew: Ready to deliver the neighborhood trees

I struggle with this question every year: Is it better to have a freshly cut tree or an artificial one? I think the answer is neither. Or both.

Aren’t you glad we got that settled?!

As a nature-lover, I’m not fond of the idea of cutting down a tree each year, only to throw it away (or at the very least compost it) after a few weeks. People float the idea of a live tree that you bring indoors each year, but given the size of the average pine or fir, the tree would outgrow your home in a few years. Further, the tree would do poorly in a dry, heated home, preferring the outdoors instead.

Clearly, artificial trees are the way to go.

Or are they?

Fluffy Under the Tree

Artificial trees last a long time. You can use them year after year, they never dry out, they’re less likely to catch fire and they’re sized for the average home. They are, however, made from synthetic materials, that will one day end up in a landfill. Styles change, the frame of the tree might break or you may buy a bigger (or smaller) house that dictates the size of the tree.

In our neighborhood, we have a coordinated effort to display cut trees on our lawn each year. The trees go up the first week of December and come down New Year’s day. I’m block captain for our street, and we make it a family affair. We borrow a neighbor’s truck, load up the trees, and delivery them up and down the block. The neighborhood coordinator purchases over 300 trees. Each block captain collects the order forms, deposits the checks and then delivers the trees. It’s fun and festive.

Indoors we have an artificial tree that we store and use year after year. We made that choice for all the reasons I mentioned above. So…I feel like a fraud at times, supporting different choices on either side of the door.

One choice isn’t really a choice at all: simply giving up the long-held and delightful tradition of a Christmas tree.

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree each year? Real or fake?

Here is what others have to say:

December 5, 2012 by Born To Organize

Cosmo Seeds for Christmas

Throughout the summer I enjoyed a magnificent display of flowering Cosmos. The color and splendor of these easy to grow annuals brought such cheer. I started gathering the seeds so I could share my joy with others.

Using Creative Memories software, I created a five-fold, two-sided panel card. Six of the panels feature photos I took over the summer. Two more panels have simple instructions for planting and growing the seeds. One panel has a greeting, and the final one is a placeholder for the seed packet.

I bought 3 x 3 glassine envelopes from the Paper Source to hold the seeds. They attach to the back panel of the card. I ordered one sample card, made a few design changes, and this week received the bulk order. They’re ready to go.

Photo Panel Card (Front)

Photo Panel Card (Back)

Folded Cosmo Card and Envelope

Cosmo Seeds

Back Panel (Placeholder for Seed Packet)

Back Panel with Seed Packet

The Stack
I love the way they look in a neat pile

I plan to seal each card with a self-made sticker using last year’s garden calendar. I’ll fill you in on the details later this week, so be sure to check back.

Are you making gifts from your garden this year for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza? Please share in the comments below.

December 4, 2012 by Born To Organize

Hydrangea: Wardrobe Changes

I expect the maple to go through several “wardrobe changes” each fall, but the Hydrangea surprised me. The blooms passed from vibrant pink, to faded fuchsia, blush and soft green. The clustered flowers fade slowly over weeks instead of days.

If you squint just a little, the clusters look like tiny butterflies resting before flight. Their petals are as soft as a butterfly as well.

I admired these plants for years, amazed at the variety and color. They’re large shrubs so they’re not well suited to small garden spaces. Now that we have the space, I’ve gone a little crazy. We planted three Nikko Blue last spring, then followed up with four more in pink (seen below).

Hydrangea Fuchsia

We planted the newest ones under our living room window. I have one hydrangea in an enormous pot on the patio. It lost its blooms earlier in the season. I used the dying flowers to make a dried bouquet for my sister’s costume in October. The blue flower clusters also faded fast. This beautiful specimen, however, continues to delight.

Hydrangea Pink

Hydrangea green

You can learn more about these beautiful plants at All About Hydrangeas.

December 3, 2012 by Born To Organize

After the Rain: Fresh and Fabulous

A couple of decent-sized storms moved through the area over the weekend, drenching communities up and down the state. I love being indoors listening to the rain and winds, but it was a bear for those who had to drive. We were lucky to be home. Several large trees went down in the storm, but I don’t think anyone was hurt.

Japanese Maple

Maple leaves in the fountain

Winds and rain stripped the remaining leaves from our Chinese Pistache but the more sheltered Maple continues its colorful show.

The vegetable beds and the surrounding barrier look none the worse for wear. In fact, the cauliflower crowns are forming. They looks so cute at this stage. Something’s been eating the outer leaves, though I couldn’t see any sign of the anonymous nibbler this morning. I’m hopeful that is the only damage.

Broccoli Plants

Cauliflower

It was disappointing to find so much standing water in the worm bin, and worried I drowned the lot of them. Fortunately, the layer of straw gave them a place to go so all is well. I got out the drill and put several holes in the bottom and sides so this doesn’t happen again.

Otherwise, the garden survived the storm and looks refreshed. Here is one last look: