June 4, 2013 by Born To Organize

Sweet 16 in the Fairy Garden

Happy Birthday, Sweet 16

No one is more shocked than I am. My oldest son turned 16 today. He’s grown into a tall, charming and kind young man, nice enough to compliment me on the fairy garden, even though the idea of one is long past its prime.

We’re serving birthday cake down among the moss-covered stones. It would be lovely if you stopped by for a wee slice.

Fairy-sized birthday cake

Happy birthday, C!!!

Thwarting the curious cat: small links attach to the bench, keeping the fairy garden upright.

My fairy garden decor is often a mix of ‘this and that.’ It’s fun challenging myself to use what I can find.

The garden table base is the metal cap from a wine bottle, topped with a scrap of paper and a geranium leaf.
The birthday banner uses scraps of paper and string
I re-painted the chairs, featured in last year’s fairy garden, in my ‘June Bugs’ favorite colors.
The table and chairs rest on part of a broken fountain.
I purchased the tiny cake from my friend Donna’s booth at antique colony. They once belonged to her young daughter. They’re making the rounds.

Tile Chairs for my “June Bugs” born 6/4 and 6/18

May 15, 2013 by Born To Organize

What’s That Buzz?

The clichés are true. Bees are busy and they do buzz when they move from flower to flower. My gardening confidence bumps up several notches when they come to town, knowing my pumpkin plants are in good ‘hands.’

I’m terrible at sitting or standing still for long, but find the garden helps slow me down. While standing still, I notice so much more. This morning I saw three different birds in the orange tree, a snail meandering on an orange peel and a group of industrious, shiny black bees.

The standing still part didn’t last long as I followed the bee from flower to flower, snapping as many pictures as I could before the pollinator moved on. Within a few minutes another bee arrived and as I darted from flower to flower, so too did the bees. They make a frantic bzzz sound before landing, then silence as they dip head first into the flower, rolling their shiny bodies in golden pollen. No time to lollygag, they quickly emerge, darting to their next destination.

A nice dip in the pool

Pumpkin plants produce several male flowers at the start of their growth. Within a few weeks the female flowers appear. Without those bees, all the flowers would eventually shrivel and die, leaving a healthy but fruitless vine.

A pair of male pumpkin flowers

What’s that buzz? It’s music to my gardening ears!

Spreading glassy wings

Ready for lift-off

A bee and its shadow

You can learn more about the critical role of pollinators at Pollinator Partnership. The site has a fun, downloadable poster as well.

February 3, 2013 by Born To Organize

Super Bowl Gardening?

Squirrel eating sunflower

I’ve been wracking my brain for a gardening-Super Bowl tie in today. Since half the world is probably watching the Super Bowl now, I could simply make something up. I doubt anyone is reading a gardening blog.

Instead I consulted the ‘For Dummies’ series to educate myself on the following football terms. I’ve come up with my own (gardening) interpretation of the same:

Down: A period of action that starts when the ball is put into play and ends when the ball is ruled dead (meaning that the play is completed).

Down: A period of time known as winter. Gardening down time.

End zone: A 10-yard-long area at both ends of the field — the promised land for a football player.

End zone: The only zone in which you can’t grow a thing. I garden in zone 14-15.

Extra point: A kick, worth one point, that’s typically attempted after every touchdown.

Extra point: When you plant one thing, and two things come up instead.

Field goal: A kick, worth three points, that can be attempted from anywhere on the field but usually is attempted within 40 yards of the goalpost.

Field goal: My goal is to grow a garden as big as a football field.

Fumble: The act of losing possession of the ball while running with it or being tackled.

Fumble: The act of losing possession of the bulb you just dug up when the resident gardener runs after you saying “No! Not the tulip bulbs!!!” This usually pertains to squirrels.

Hash marks: The lines on the center of the field that signify 1 yard on the field.

Hash marks: The indentations left on your knees after pulling weeds all day.

Interception: A pass that’s caught by a defensive player, ending the offense’s possession of the ball.

Interception: The sunflowers saved by a defensive gardener who figures out clever ways to outsmart the squirrels.

Kickoff: A free kick that puts the ball into play.

Kickoff: Also referred to as ‘Spring.’

Punt: A kick made when a player drops the ball and kicks it while it falls toward his foot.

Punt: A kick made when a gardener drops a packet of seeds and tries desperately to keep them from hitting the ground.

Return: The act of receiving a kick or punt and running toward the opponent’s goal line with the intent of scoring or gaining significant yardage.

Return: The act of returning to the garden center again and again because you simply can’t help yourself.

Sack: When a defensive player tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage.

Sack: A great place to store and dry last year’s seeds.

Snap: The action in which the ball is hiked (tossed between the legs) by the center to the quarterback, to the holder on a kick attempt, or to the punter.

Snap: The sound a gardener’s neck makes, when she realizes that what she just brushed off her shoulder has six furry legs. A snap may also warrant a trip to the chiropractor.

Touchdown: A score, worth six points, that occurs when a player in possession of the ball crosses the plane of the opponent’s goal line, or when a player catches the ball while in the opponent’s end zone, or when a defensive player recovers a loose ball in the opponent’s end zone.

Touchdown: When you brush your hand across the surface of a ‘lambs ear‘ it’s like touching down.

January 23, 2013 by Born To Organize

Daffodils, Pomegranates and Wordsworth

I was feeling a little blue yesterday, so what better way to bring cheer than flowers. Yellow flowers really brighten a room, especially in the middle of January. Further, nothing says “spring is coming!” like daffodils.

The small potted bulbs were an impulse purchase, but I bought them without remorse. (Okay I’m a bit remorseful that I left a Weight Watchers meeting and bought dark chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds, but it was the daffodils I went in for.) I lost weight so why wouldn’t I celebrate with a bit of heart-healthy dark chocolate?

I digress.

Daffodils (narcissus) originated in Spain and Portugal, though it was Holland that perfected the bulb trade. According to American Meadows “over nine billion flower bulbs are produced each year in Holland, and about 7 billion of them are exported, for an export value of three-quarters of a billion dollars. According to the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center, the USA is the biggest importer of Dutch bulbs.”

I guess I’m not the only flower-lover making impulse purchases! William Wordsworth says it best:

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Daffodils, by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

December 30, 2012 by Born To Organize

Dusting and Polishing the House Plants

The days have been cold and dry most of this week. With our central heating running more than usual, the house plants needed some extra TLC.

Dusting and polishing are never high on my to-do list, but I made an exception for the plants. Just like nick-knacks, the broader the leaf, the greater the dust. I use a damp, micro-fiber cloth for the taller plants, wiping the leaves when possible. The Ficus don’t seem to collect much dust, so a gentle tap to the branches loosens what’s there.

The small plants in the kitchen window are the easiest to revive. I set them in the sink for a thorough soak, giving the leaves a quick, warm-water rinse while I’m at it. Even the saucers got a nice cleaning.

Kitchen windows are such a great place for houseplants. They enjoy the natural humidity of an active kitchen, and they rarely dry out with a water faucet just inches away. I generally have a small planter with kitty grass for KT and if we’re motivated, we try growing from an avocado pit.

It’s amazing how well some houseplants do living in cramped pots, with dry air and sometimes dryer soil. This coffee plant, below thrived in the kitchen for many years, sitting on top of the fridge. After remodeling, we had to relocate the plant to another room. It’s still quite healthy, producing these lovely shiny leaves.

Here’s what we have growing indoors:

Freshly “polished” leaves

Fiddle-leaf Fig

Dracaena

Kitchen Counter Collection

The current windowsill collection includes three “Christmas Cactus,” a small yellow rose and an as yet unidentified bulb. I must have picked it up from the garden and had it stored in a kitchen drawer with my seed keeper. It started sprouting, so I popped into a plastic martini glass, leftover from my Halloween costume. Crazy, eh?

Martini with a twist?

‘Sunrise Cactus’ gorgeous, even when not in bloom

Christmas Cactus Bloom

Do you have anything growing on your window sill?

December 27, 2012 by Born To Organize

Garden Social: If Only Squirrels Had Facebook

My favorite part of the holiday season is all the visiting. Friends stop by or invite you out for lunch or drinks. Calendars fill with parties and Facebook is abuzz with everyone’s photos. It’s that wonderful social connection that makes us human.

Today, the sun came out and I noticed the socializing spilled over into the garden. I couldn’t make out all the conversations but the body language was pretty clear. We humans aren’t the only ones socializing. Wouldn’t it be great to have one of those Universal Translators from Star Trek so you could understand what the birds and four-legged critters had to say?

Three different squirrels raced around the pine tree, then disappeared into the neighbor’s yard for another peanut. It was hard to keep up. At times they appeared to be chasing each other, but it wasn’t always clear. There was very little squirrel chatter and trust me, when they have something to say, it spills forth loud and clear. It was near impossible to capture the activity, and I’m wondering now why I didn’t take a video clip. I ended up with lots of shots of empty tree trunks.

Squirrel hide…

…and seek

Hummingbirds don’t seem to mind the rain, so we’ve seen them visiting the feeders all week. It was more pleasant taking pictures, however, on a clear day. A pair of hummers seemed to dance midair, less a courtship than a race to the feeder.

Hummers dancing

Our neighbor Roger stopped by with his adorable pooch, Freckles. Will you look at that face? Freckles had a few choice “words” for Mouse the neighborhood cat who also came over for a snack. Mouse is awfully brave most of the time, but he cleared the deck for Freckles.

Freckles, why are you licking your lips?

Oh no! Not that dog again!

Garden snails were playing hide and seek under the strawberry plants and a tiny slug figured out the best hiding place ever: inside a peanut shell, dropped through the hole of a garden pot.

Hide and seek in a peanut shell

As kids we too loved to play hide-and-seek or chase for hours. We stayed out in the cold, teeth chattering. We didn’t want to risk going home for a coat, only to be called in for the night. They say play is the work of children. I would like to add that the garden is the playground for all creatures.

I’m off to see if one of those squirrels left a Facebook status update.

December 23, 2012 by Born To Organize

Harvesting the Gourds: I Grew a Pair

It’s pouring today. (I love it). Good thing I cleaned the garden box when I did. After a midweek frost, the birdhouse gourd vines shriveled up. I cut down the last of them and brought the pair of gourds indoors for drying.

Tidied Garden

I have a good giggle whenever I pass them. They look exactly like a pair of bowling pins.

Lindy keeps an eye on the “bowling pins.”

Earlier in the year, one of the vines grew up and over the telephone line. Eventually one of the two large gourds took hold, putting weight on the lines. I came up with a quick fix using garden twine and a mesh bag, pictured below.

birdhouse gourd in the bag

It worked really well, allowing the gourd to grow unhampered and at the same time it kept my internet up and running. I have my priorities.

What I didn’t expect was the honeycomb pattern the bag left on the gourd. It’s not imprinted but rather faded from the lack of sun. Isn’t that interesting?

Honeycomb Patterned Gourd

Now we wait. While the gourds are drying, I’ll be dreaming of a way to decorate each one. Here are a few ideas:

Debbie Almond: Birdsmiths

Linseed Oil finish from Fun In The Making

Natural Finish (from my ever changing garden)

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

November 18, 2012 by Born To Organize

Butterfly Sips from the Nectar Bar

I spotted this little lovely on the pansies this morning as I was sweeping the walkway. What a striking contrast against the purple flowers.

Initially, I thought it was a moth, but upon reading, it has the characteristics of a butterfly. I’ve seen butterflies alight before, but this is the first time I saw one drink nectar from the flower. How charming!

It’s a pleasure sweeping and raking pine needles after a storm, at least until the blisters form. Everything smells of nature’s musk. There is nothing quite like it. Do you think my little visitor agrees?

PJ’s Nectar Bar at The PyjamaGardener

November 13, 2012 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Yurt: Blue Fescue to the Rescue

As the temperatures drop, my thoughts turned to winterizing the fairy garden. Garden fairies need shelter from the biting wind and cold. Enter Blue Fescue to the rescue in the form of a living yurt.

Winter Fairy Garden Materials

Blue Fescue Yurt

According to Wikipedia, “a yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.” This adaption of the thirteenth century dwelling continues to live in the earth

I planted five small ‘plugs’ of Blue Fescue tufted ornamental grass, then gathered the tops of them together in one bunch. I wrapped and knotted the Fescue with a long strand of tall grass. A welcoming bunch of clover hangs just above the entrance.

A welcoming bunch of clover

The yurt stays cozy with a downy-soft and fragrant lavender carpet, well suited to a fairy’s needs. Just outside the yurt are a pair of chairs and a lantern to light the way.

Birthday chairs and a lantern to light the way

A tall, orange umbrella offers shelter on rainy days. A petal-soft “lamb’s ear” is the perfect place for a pair of cats to curl up for a nap just below.

Orange Shelter
It looks *and* smells good

Come and sit a spell and enjoy the subtle fragrance of Allium, lavender and orange

Please be sure to spread the word. Garden fairies welcome!

Resources:

Blue Fescue, available at most garden centers
Wood Mini Spools by Maya Road
Mini Lantern by Tim Holtz idea-ology
From the garden: baby tears, lavender, clover, lamb’s ear, orange (hollowed out by a rat) and Allium