November 20, 2013 by Born To Organize

Rain, Glorious Rain

After an incredibly dry year, I’m so happy it finally rained. Twice! That’s a bit of a big deal around here after one of the driest years in memory. We’re semi-arid to begin with. We need all the rain we can get.

Sweet Peas refreshed

The air smells wonderful. After a few hours of grey clouds, followed by sunshine, I feared we had already seen the last of it. Then around 1:00 this afternoon, another storm blew in. I’m loving it and enjoying it while I can. We’re back to ‘sunny and 68′ F (20’ C) by the weekend.

Hyacinth emerge

Our season runs from July through June. Season to date is typically 2.18″. We’ve recorded 0.66.”

I realize it’s all relative. Parts of the world are shoveling out snow. Others are already fed up with wind and rain. Super Typhoon Haiyan besieged the Philippines and the mid west state of Illinois will take years to recover from late-season, powerful tornadoes. Such devastating losses our weather can bring. My heart goes out to everyone suffering these profound injuries and loss.

Today, in my little corner of the world, I’m happy the rains are falling. I’m also filled with gratitude for all I have.

‘Maori Sunrise’ New Zealand Flax

Relief Efforts Around the Globe:

November 19, 2013 by Born To Organize

Wreathiness

Earlier today, ‘Selfie’ was named Word of the Year by the Oxford Dictionaries. It brought to mind an earlier Word of the Year back in 2005 coined by Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report: truthiness.

Truthiness is “the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.” That is how I feel about my garden wreath.

In concept I wish it were beautiful. If you look at a small corner of the wreath it’s pretty.

Closeups are deceiving

If I was going for truthiness I could call it a day. Alas, I’m a gardener that likes to keep it real.

The wreath had potential:

A sturdy, but unobtrusive green metal base from a craft store
Lovely hydrangeas, dried to a soft purple gray
Long strands of velvety, purple sage
Snippets of lavender here and there
Bits of ribbon and a hair pin, no longer in use.

I wrapped strands of sage along the edges of the wreath, then placed three hydrangeas in a loose triangle. I added a small ribbon and a hair pin. It just wasn’t enough. I gathered lavender and added sprigs of that, then hung the wreath on the door, scattering dried flowers as I went.

The wreath lacks volume. Adding lavender made it smell nice, but it didn’t really help my cause. Every time I tried to ‘fluff it up,’ I made it worse. I found a few more hydrangeas, smaller and still green. Still not enough. Now I have dried petals all over the front porch. They continue to drop every time I close the door.

Wreath of shame

Balding wreath

So, crafty friends, what’s a gardener to do? Should I hide my wreath of shame? I ordered a Christmas wreath from the local Boy Scouts. Maybe I should just wait for it to arrive.

Is there still hope for my garden wreath?

Suggestions welcome in the comments below.

November 18, 2013 by Born To Organize

Plan-Free: My Mellow-Yellow Weekend

We had a mellow-yellow, no plans weekend. I loved it. That’s not to say I didn’t do anything, but that I enjoyed doing ‘whatever.’

First up, crafting a wreath:

wreath detail I’ve had an idea bouncing around in my head for a while and wanted to give it a try. I’ve been drying a few hydrangea blooms, now faded to a soft purple-gray. The sage is winding down the season, but still has plenty of purple plumage to spare. The thought was to wrap strands of the soft sage along the edges of the wreath, punctuated with three hydrangeas and a bit of ribbon. The colors are lovely, but the implementation is all wrong. Further, the more I worked with the hydrangea, the more I damaged the brittle blooms. Stay tuned for my sad little tale later this week.

Next up, seed organizing:

Oh, how I love organizing. And seeds. And my computer.

I gave my Seed Keeper an end-of-season clean out. It’s a great place to collect and store the seeds, but after a busy spring, I’d neglected the contents. When I had finished planting, I tossed empty seed packets into the box, thinking I would later use them for record-keeping.

Seed Keeper Deluxe

Head slap: I keep a blog. So, remembering the log part of blogging, I tossed the torn packets into the recycle bin. (At one point I thought I would save them to make cards, but muddied finger prints and torn edges helped me realize the error of my ways.)

The clean out left plenty of room for this season’s seed collection, my most methodical and organized to date.

Matching garden photos with the seeds I plan to store, I created a photo collage. I sized the collage to fit a sheet of name badge labels, passed it through the printer and voila, an easy way to make seed packets. Using glassine envelopes on hand from last year, I included the name and the year, added the label and seeds, and filed them in my nifty Seed Keeper.

Flowering annual seed packets ready to fill

Photo collage for identifying seeds

Looking for directions (sorry buddy, these seeds aren’t for you). The peanuts are one house over.

End of the weekend, project:

I connected with Emma at Greenhouse Starter over the weekend and made plans to ship her Craft it Forward treasure. I stayed up making a card to go with it, the perfect end to my mellow-yellow, no plans weekend.

Are you making your way through Monday or still hanging on to the weekend?

November 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

Seedy Business

Remains of the Day

It’s seedy business.

If I don’t do it though, the birds, squirrels, wind and rain will.

Gather seeds, that is.

I’m fairly new to seed-saving. I’ve always been a seed packet junkie, often buying far more seeds than I could ever hope to plant. When my son was much younger, he regularly talked me into buying every pumpkin variety to be had. Santa brought additional seeds for his Christmas stocking each year. Our seeds runneth over!

Last year I started saving my own seeds and now I’m hooked.

Planting:

I planted four o’clock seeds this summer with mixed success, but collected them again for a second try. I successfully started one plant in a pot, but thanks to ‘self-seeding’ ended up with multiple plants in the side garden.

Growing:

The compost bin produced an entire crop of pumpkins so I had left over seeds to spare. I started several plants indoors, then gave them away to friends. Reports were positive, so I definitely plan to do this next year.

Sharing:

This is the best part of my seed-saving adventures. I saved handfuls of Cosmo seeds at the end of 2012 and gave them as gifts that Christmas. I made a tri-fold card using digital software and my own Cosmo photos, then added small seed packets inside. A few of my friends kept the cards and seeds intact, but others planted them. My friend Stacie sent me a photo last month of her towering Cosmos. That was pretty cool.

Cosmo seed card front panel

Cosmos Seed Cards – Back Panel

Early this spring, I gave away pumpkin seeds to a pair of adorable three-year-old twins. I met them walking with their dad one evening while I was working in my garden. The girls showed genuine interest, so I went inside and got them seeds to take home and plant…and they did! I saw the family a few months later, and dad told me the plants took root. Good stuff.

Saving:

The annual garden is going to seed and temps are finally dropping. I knew time was of the essence. I collected a healthy sample for next year, at the same time leaving plenty of seeds on the plants for my foraging friends.

My system: I used a portable tote and plastic cups from an Easter-egg dying project. I dropped seeds into the cups, then salvaged a bloom for easy identification later.

I’m looking forward to sorting and labeling seeds this weekend, a joyful activity for someone ‘born to organize’ like me. I’ll share my progress next week.

My favorite seed pod. Tiny black seeds tumbled out when I gently tapped the pod

Happy weekend!

November 14, 2013 by Born To Organize

Craft if Forward: Garden Journal

This month’s craft it forward goes to Emma at Greenhousing. Emma is a fellow gardener, helping things grow in her own special garden in the UK.

She started Greenhousing: Big Plans for a Small Garden with her husband to:

plan and keep a record of our hard and not-so-hard work.

Luckily we have been hoarding lots of plant pots of various sizes, seed and drip trays, pot trays, seeds, weed suppressant fabric, vegetable and tomato fertiliser, etc. so we can make big plans without having to spend a lot of money.

The garden is an odd shape at the back of the house, with fencing on three sides and a corner of a neighbour’s garage jutting into it. The big plan is to work around any obstacles and grow some tasty food and lovely flowers and plants.

She hasn’t posted for a while, so I’m hoping life simply got busy and that all is okay.

Garden Memories

I started by gathering garden-inspired paper and embellishments. Oh how I tax myself [wink-wink]). I assembled an 8 x 8 book/album, small enough to carry into the garden to record notes on garden progress. It can also be used to save photos of her garden successes or remembrances of her first year with a lovely greenhouse.

Here are a few sample pages:

What is Craft it Forward?

Here’s how it works. The first five people to comment on the original post receive a handmade item with the gardening nirvana touch. In return, they agree to pay it forward, crafting their own unique item for the first five people on their list. Craft it Forward encourages community, creative spirit and camaraderie. It also encourages flexibility, so I expanded my list from five to seven based on interest in the project. Isn’t it fun making your own rules?

Further, in the era of the internet, who doesn’t like ‘real’ mail? If you haven’t started your own Craft it Forward, today is a good day to get going.

Craft it Forward #1: Living Journal
Craft it Forward #2: Flowers and Oscar Wilde
Craft it Forward #3: Three’s a Charm
Craft it Forward #4: Secret Garden in The Round
Craft it Forward #5: Tiny Album, Big Heart
Craft it Forward #6: Garden Journal

November 13, 2013 by Born To Organize

The Colors of Fall: Our Own Special Tree

Colorful leaves

New England states are known for stunning displays of fall color. My husband and I crossed the country by train one year so we could enjoy the spectacular (and fleeting) beauty.

We also had the good sense to plant our own fall color in the strip of land between the street and the sidewalk. Though there were four beautiful trees growing in the back yard when we bought our house in 1996, we didn’t have a single tree out front.

Planting the tree
August, 1996

We planted two that first year, and have since planted a couple more. The Magnolia shows off in early spring with huge, snowy-white flowers but the fall belongs to the splendid Chinese Pistache.

The City of San Jose requires a permit before planting a tree in the sidewalk strip, the space between the sidewalk and the street. They provide a list of “approved” street trees. Approved trees must have non-invasive roots, non-staining fruit and other good-neighbor qualities. In the past, neighboring streets sported Liquidambar trees. They’re pretty but a nuisance when planted curbside. Invasive roots lift the sidewalks, causing myriad tripping hazards, and the seed pods are hard enough to twist an ankle when stepped on. I remember getting them caught in the wheels of the boys’ s stroller and later in the undercarriage of scooters. One by one, homeowners removed the Liquidambar, leaving neighborhoods bereft of trees.

A few years back the trend reversed, and once again families are planting trees.

Planting a tree is an act of hope and optimism. It also says “I’m here to stay!” My family moved a lot when I was a child, and I moved even more during college and my early working career. The same was true for my husband. Planting a tree outside our front window said “we plan to stay awhile.”

August, 1996

Spring, 2011

Now and again my husband grumbles that our tree is not as tall or as full as the one across the street. I immediately come to our trees’ defense and assure him that it’s just fine. BK (before kids) we used to measure the tree’s height each year. We settled into life raising two boys, and measured their growth each year instead.

Growing boys, sleeping tree

Now we have three strapping teenagers (two boys and one tree) and all three are taller than me. The colors of fall, and our beautiful tree, are an introspective time to reflect.

November 12, 2013

This little hummingbird sang while I raked

November 12, 2013 by Born To Organize

Reclaimed Fences, Birdhouse Charm

My friend, Michele and her family get together every year and make birdhouses. They reclaim wood from broken fences and other old materials, then craft them into unique designs. I’m the lucky recipient of this charming model, below.

Reclaimed fencing

I love their family tradition of gathering and creating together. I’m also a huge fan of reclaiming materials and giving them a new life.

Back of birdhouse

They attached the back of the birdhouse with screws for easy removal and cleaning. Weathered wood blends beautifully into the landscape.

Ceramic or porcelain “chimney”

The birdhouse “chimney” is a vintage ceramic or porcelain insulator. Once used as old telephone wire insulation, the markings indicate manufacturing by WP or Wisconsin Porcelain. The top of the insulator reminds me of a peppermint Lifesaver. I’m never far from my sugar-loving roots. Ha!

Even the rusty nail is re-purposed, artfully bent into a perch.**

Do you have gift-making family traditions?

**I plan to display this lovely birdhouse as a piece of art. If you want to attract nesting birds to your yard, here are a few safety tips.

November 8, 2013 by Born To Organize

Looking Back at the Corner Garden

Earlier this year I removed a small patch of lawn, a corner near the sidewalk facing the house. Originally I thought I would plant annuals and perennials, but decided annuals would be more fun. Perennials, once established, require little maintenance. I wanted a bit of action in my new flower garden and it’s action I got.

Corner near the sidewalk

April:

After removing the grass and preparing the soil, I planted seeds, including Sunflowers, Bachelor Buttons, Cosmos and a Spring Mix of assorted purple plants. I covered it all with a portable green house. The goal was to keep digging critters away from the seedlings to give them a fighting chance.

It half-worked. None of the critters were able to dig, but I couldn’t keep it well-watered either.

The seeds didn’t get enough consistent moisture, and next to nothing germinated.(I did get one sunflower).

April, 2013
Seeds tucked in for warmth and safety

May:

Disappointed but not defeated, I headed to the nursery and bought a few cell packs. I picked up a dozen sunflowers as a compliment to the one that grew from seed, my signature annual Alyssum and a few flowering annuals.

May, 2013
Sunflowers, Alyssum and assorted annuals

June:

In early June, I drove up to the house in an unseasonal windstorm, and saw the fruits of my recent labor (the sunflowers) bending in the wind. I dragged a bench, a folding table and anything else I could think of and braced all the plants. I’m sure the neighbors wondered why I would move the bench to the edge of the sidewalk, but desperate times (sunflowers in peril) require desperate measures (in this case looking foolish). That said, I’ve gone out to lunch with girlfriends wearing a wig and false eyelashes so I suppose my concerns about looking foolish are moot. Ha!

June, 2013
Sunflowers staked to the bench

July/August:

The summer heat settled in and then this happened. The Bachelor Buttons, Cosmos and assorted seeds took off. Every week something new popped up. What a joyous experience. As the sunflowers died back, the annuals filled in. This also became my test garden. I bought (and forgot) about three pink zinnias and left them to suffer the heat out back. I replanted them in the sidewalk garden and they flourished.

sidewalk garden flowers

September:

The Bachelor Buttons started going to seed, testing my resolve. The orderly me wanted to deadhead the flowers and trim back dying branches. Daily visits from the birds kept me in check. It was nice to see them swoop down and grab a bite. Another plus, re-seeding. As the birds and squirrels drop seeds, they’re likely to regrow the following season. We all win!

I planted most of my garden peas in the curb garden, but since I had plenty, I planted a few among the summer annuals. As the annuals died back, the peas could take their place.

zinnias and cosmos

October:

October was all about pumpkins and Halloween. Drip irrigation and a warm sun kept things humming along.

Oh, and this visitor:

butterfly collage

November:

The peas are growing among the summer annuals and will need to be staked soon. Still lots of color but the zinnias are starting to decay. Nightly temps in the forties signal the end of summer weather, even when it does make it to 72 F by mid-day.

November, 2013
Going to seed

November, 2013
Garden peas grow among the flowers

What’s next? Time to collect seeds for next year. I’ve snagged a few here and there, but I need to make a concerted effort now before our promised Monday rain. Oh wondrous rain, how I’ve missed you.

Then on to planning for next year. Happy weekend. I’ll see you Monday.

November 7, 2013 by Born To Organize

Garden Peas, Hold the Salt

First of the garden peas

We grew up eating peas, both fresh and canned. We loved them. When we moved to the States, it stunned our classmates to see my sister and me eating them from our lunch tray at school. Looking back, I don’t remember anything really delicious arriving on a school lunch tray but somehow those peas were edible, at least to us.

Kids would scoop there peas on to our trays and dare us to eat them. It was a nifty party trick. I don’t have many positive memories of lunch at school, but I do remember eating the offered peas and enjoying the attention that came with it.

Now I’m growing my own peas. Straight from the vine, they’ll be fresh and crisp. Inside is the hidden treasure: a row of nature’s green pearls.

Shoots and ‘ladders’

Although I’ve always known that peas were good for you*, I didn’t know they were also good for the environment. According to The Worlds Healthiest Foods:

Peas belong to a category of crops called “nitrogen-fixing” crops. With the help of bacteria in the soil, peas and other pulse crops are able to take nitrogen gas from the air and convert it into more complex and usable forms. This process increases nitrogen available in the soil without the need for added fertilizer. Peas also have a relatively shallow root system which can help prevent erosion of the soil, and once the peas have been picked, the plant remainders tend to break down relatively easily for soil replenishment. Finally, rotation of peas with other crops has been shown to lower the risk of pest problems. These environmentally friendly aspects of pea production add to their desirability as a regular part of our diet. – Source WHFoods.org

Pea perfection

Pretty flowers give way to legumes

*Of Note:

Apparently peas aren’t good for everyone. Peas contain naturally occurring substances called purines. Taken in excess they can cause health problems in people with gout or kidney stones. The purine converts to uric acid. They suggest limiting any high purine-containing foods such as green peas. Who knew? You can find the complete article here.