November 5, 2012 by Born To Organize

Pumpkin Postmortem

Though it was fun to grow over-sized pumpkins this year, they proved to be a challenge. Once they were in the house, they were far too heavy to move around. I had one on a table for a few weeks, before discovering moisture trapped below. Imagine my (unpleasant) surprise when the moisture created a breeding ground for mold on my bamboo table runner? Mike helped me move the behemoth to the hard floor where I kept my eye on it thereafter.

Carving super-sized pumpkins proved equally challenging. Only one of the four made it into a Jack-o-lantern. The walls were super thick, making fine work a challenge. Mike persevered and carved a lovely Cinderella carriage. With that, he hung up his carving tools for the season.

Comparative thickness of pumpkin rinds

Cinderella would be proud

Grow, harvest, carve and display

Today we filled the wheelbarrow with rotted pumpkins, and then dumped them in to the growing yard-waste pile. The City of San Jose has a wonderful composting program. They scoop up yard waste with a “lobster” claw and drop it into a special truck on trash day. They sell the compost to city dwellers the following year. It made me smile seeing a pile of discarded Jacks at the curb.

Jacks in a Heap

After that unceremonious farewell, we carted the remaining giants to the garden wall. They look lovely in the setting sun. Unless we have a substantial earthquake, I don’t anticipate moving them again!

November 4, 2012 by Born To Organize

Saving Seeds

This is the first year I’ve collected seeds (other than pumpkins) from my garden. In the past I purchased seed packets at local garden centers or online without giving it much thought. Since writing about my garden every day, I have a heightened awareness that plants and flowers are more than just a sum of their parts. Hanging out in the garden with a camera in tow, helps me notice the minutiae. It’s been fun!

4 O’clock Seeds and Glassine Envelope

I love the way the hard, dark seeds of the 4 O’clock flower appear at the tip of the spent bloom. They’re ready to tumble into the soil below to ensure their survival. They provide easy access for the birds as well, who can grab a seed on a fly by. Cosmo seeds are moon-shaped and brittle, sticking out like stars at the end of the cycle. With pumpkins, of course, the seeds hide within. If we didn’t carve them, they would eventually rot in the soil, self-seeding for the following year.

Assorted Pumpkin Seeds

Cosmo Seeds

I’ve allowed plants and flowers to go to seed longer than in the past, subverting my natural urge to tidy things up. Gardens are a messy business. I’m getting better at going with the flow.

Taking a few seeds and leaving the rest for the birds feels like the right thing to do. When the cycle is truly complete, I can compost the remains.

Indexing Seeds

Earlier this year I bought a system for storing seeds from The SeedKeeper. It’s a shoebox-sized bin with alphabetical dividers and other goodies, including glassine envelopes for labeling and storing your own seeds. It’s such a simple thing, but somehow having it at the ready in my bottom kitchen drawer, makes it easy to store and retrieve seeds. I pulled it out today and started storing and labeling the remaining pumpkin seeds. Since I’m letting go of the seed organization on the plant, I can indulge my organizational side once I bring them indoors.

Seed Keeper Deluxe

Are you a seed saver? Do you trade with fellow gardeners in your community?

The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies. -Gertrude Jekyll

October 31, 2012 by Born To Organize

Happy Halloween!!!

Our temperatures finally dropped to a cool 60 degrees ( 16 C), and the skies are cloudy and menacing. The changes in weather lend an air of authenticity to All Hallows’ Eve. I’m happy for it.

If you celebrate Halloween, I wish you a happy haunting, sumptuous (zero-calorie) goodies, and spooky Jack o’ lantern to light the way.

I’ve had great fun growing, harvesting and displaying our pumpkins. It’s been interesting peering inside the pumpkins that grew all summer long. I enjoy seeing what’s been growing inside. One set of seeds has an orange/brown tinge with a white stripe around the edges. The others are white, but vary in size. It’s also been interesting to see the undeveloped seeds. They’re pale and thin, instead of plump like the others.

I’ve enjoyed counting down with you throughout the month. In case you missed a few, here is the entire collection. Happy Halloween!!!

October 30, 2012 by Born To Organize

Pumpkins with Personality: Jack O’Lantern’s

Carving pumpkins has been slow-going today. The best laid plans of mice and men. Our resident carver is also the chief technology officer around here, so he’s been trouble shooting internet problems all day. We had a power outage this morning, followed by two internet fails. The horrors!

After much research and a few choice words for Comcast, we are up and running…temporarily. He’s back to carving and I’m keyboarding as fast as I can before the internet connection hiccups again.

First up, Mike’s carving the outline of a Halloween greeting card, one we sent to family down south. He photocopied the die cut card, then enlarged it into a template. I don’t know where he gets the patience.

Here’s an example of my carving skills. I’m afraid of sharp knives and I lack the patience. What I wanted to do was create a tiny fairy garden in the center of this pumpkin, but since it will rot in a few days, I settled for this corny little thing. It’s back-lit with an upended, battery-operated tea light. (Mike’s so clever).

A circle, a toothpick and a paper cat.

Enough said.

My younger son carved one of the leftover mini pumpkins from our weekend party. Isn’t it cute?

It’s 10:30 at night, so the rest of the carving will have to wait till tomorrow. How about you? Are you ready for Halloween?

Flight 1031

Halloween Countdown

Snail Hotel Pumpkin

I will be sad to say goodbye to the Snail Hotel. Those snails did an impressive job “carving” both the front and VIP entrance. They left town at the first sign of rain. Although the stem fell off when I brought it indoors, I was impressed with the way this pumpkin held together. These seeds are definitely going into the Seed Keeper for next year.

October 29, 2012 by Born To Organize

Pumpkins to Jack O’Lanterns

Tomorrow’s the big day. My husband, Mike, our resident pumpkin carver is taking the afternoon off to create magic. By noon he’ll be up to his elbows in pumpkin flesh, meticulously carving Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween. He has his work cut out for him. We had an impressive harvest this year, ten pumpkins in all. I love the way the house smells once he guts the pumpkins. It takes me back to the excitement of my childhood Halloween.

Our 4 Great Pumpkins

Each year Mike carves a few of his past favorites, in addition to trying something new. Last year he carved a few small pumpkins to look like computer emoticons. They were so unexpected. When my son was small, he asked his dad to carve Max, the bunny from Rosemary Wells Max and Ruby series. He pulled it off beautifully.

Max and Ruby Pumpkin

One of his personal favorites is Deadly Diva. She gets plenty of comments from passersby, so he’s carved her more than once.

Deadly Diva, a favorite since 2006

Halloween is a big deal on our suburban block. We average 150 children at our door. I’m on my feet for nearly three hours non-stop handing out candy. My youngest son heads out with his dad and some friends for his own candy haul. It’s a night of mystery and fun, followed by the realities of a regular school and work day. Just like Cinderella, we all turned back into mortals by November 1^st.

Cat Pumpkin

The After Pumpkin

While Mike is carving, I gather and rinse the seeds, then spread them out on wax paper to dry. I store them in a labeled lunch bag for planting the following year. We roasted pumpkin seeds in the oven as kids, but for some reason that tradition didn’t survive. We have more fun planting the seeds the following year.

Now that my compost bins are under way, I’ll be able to turn the discarded rinds into rich compost for next year. You’ve gotta love the cycle of life.

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.

~The Quote Garden, Author Unknown

Halloween Countdown

Costume Accessories Pumpkin

October 28, 2012 by Born To Organize

Hostess Gift: A Praying Mantis

We hosted our 8th annual Halloween party this afternoon. Mother Nature graced us with a clear, warm, spectacular day. My sister and I enjoyed donning our costumes and posing for photos on the garden deck. My sister dressed as The Corpse Bride from the animated Tim Burton film of the same name. I made a dress to emulate artist and greeting card designer, Bela Pillar. Our friends came and went all afternoon. We had a blast.

Corpse Bride and Papyrus Greeting Card

One of the first guests to arrive lives just a few houses over. Bobbie and his son came bearing an awesome hostess gift: a full-grown praying mantis (mantid). They spotted it on the walk over and knew how much I would appreciate it. Awesome!

We all gathered around the plant to watch the mantid in motion. He was quite active, and at one point swiveled his triangular head and looked directly at us, before turning back and reaching up to the next set of leaves. I could have watched him all day.

Mantis (or mantid) can live up to a year, shedding their skin several times as they grow. This one is fully grown, probably about six inches long (15 cm). These pious bugs are great for the garden, since they dine on unwanted insects and bugs. You can buy praying mantis egg sacks at local nurseries to organically control bug infestations.

Once the party guests went home, and the house was back in order, I went outside in the dark with a flashlight hoping to spot him. Instead I saw a katydid sitting on a flower, wondering why on earth I was snooping around in the bushes after dark.

Perhaps she had a point. I’ll check back tomorrow and I’ll let you know.

Halloween Countdown

Charlotte’s Pumpkin

October 20, 2012 by Born To Organize

Croptoberfest: Plenty of Laughs, No Beer

The clever folks at Creative Memories came up with the signature event, Croptoberfest, hosted annually by CM consultants. We “crop” in October, a term used by scrapbook enthusiasts to describe the process of creating personal photo albums and scrapbooks.

Not to be confused with Oktoberfest, the 16-day festival celebrating beer in Munich, Croptoberfest brings hobbyists together to pursue their craft. Much like gardeners sharing collective wisdom, scrappers are a generous bunch. We fill a small conference room at a local hotel, where we share ideas as well as tools. Seeds of friendship are sown; nurtured relationships grow. The rhythm of a new season flows into the next.

Created with Creative Memories Storybook Creator Digital Software

Throughout October, I’ve featured a pumpkin a day on my blog as part of my Halloween countdown. Today’s signature pumpkin is brought to you by the creative spirit in the room. Thanks to everyone who willingly and graciously joined in the fun. The pumpkin will soon return back to the earth, but for now it illustrates our joy and camaraderie.

Special thanks to our hosts for the day: Inger Murdock, Karen Phillips, Pam Peters, and Mary Elizabeth Tait and for creating a relaxing and memorable event.

Halloween Countdown

Signature Pumpkin (Part I)

Signature Pumpkin (Part II)

October 18, 2012 by Born To Organize

Garden Tools: The Dirty Dozen

The Dirty Dozen

I made some progress towards the garden clean-up today, though not as much as I would have liked. I gathered the “dirty dozen” of garden tools and made a mental assessment of the work ahead. My husband, handyman extraordinaire, gave me some quick tips on removing rust using steel wool. If you’re wondering the difference between #000 and #0000, just ask!

I pounded the cushions together to loosen the dust, and brought them indoors for a quick wipe-down. I had to run outside to tether the inflatable spider before it broke loose from the yard and put the fear of arachnids in someone down the street. Then I was out the door for appointments for the rest of the day.

Costume Update

I’ve enjoyed dusting off the old sewing machine this week and putting it to use. This year I’m dressing up for a few Halloween parties as a Bella Pilar greeting card. Her designs are fun and whimsical.

I pieced together a crinoline using two “maternity panels” from a fabric store and adding tulle from an old costume. Today I finished sewing the skirt and made headway on the top. I’m making a pattern as I go along, so fitting it has been a challenge. I’ve been dreaming of my own dressmaker’s form, but it’s hard to justify that expense given the minimal use it would get.

Just a few finishing touches and the costume will be ready to wear.

Halloween Countdown

Princess Pumpkin

October 16, 2012 by Born To Organize

Birdhouse Gourd: Free Fall Averted

I took a field trip with my husband to the side yard on Monday. He hadn’t seen our birdhouse gourd in a week so I was happy to show it off. The added girth was indeed impressive, but he was also concerned that the weight would snap the vine. His concerns were well founded. We lost a pumpkin this summer in the same way. One day it was hanging from the trellis; the next day the weight snapped the vine and dropped the pumpkin to the ground.

birdhouse gourd with tape measure

birdhouse gourd perspective with orange tree

Above: A bit of perspective. The raspberries and oranges look tiny next to the gourd.
Left: measuring up.

As if on cue, when I checked on Birdhouse Gorgeous today it hung nearly six inches lower on the trellis. Further, the vine was putting weight on the phone wires under the eaves. I had to leave for a meeting, but couldn’t face returning home to a smashed gourd. I needed a way to support it without hindering its growth. Did they sell gourd hammocks, and if so, where would I find one on short notice?

My quick fix? A few pieces of garden twine and a color-coordinating mesh shopping bag. It took less than five minutes to rig and it solved both problems. The bag supports the weight of the gourd while at the same time allowing air to circulate. The twine lifts the vine up and away from the phone lines. I can’t write my blog without an internet connection! Crisis averted. The vine is now free to grow about its business.

Mesh grocery bag

It’s in the bag

Halloween Countdown

Vampire Pumpkin

I raided my son’s dress-up box for this week’s Halloween countdown. In the meantime, snails continue to “carve” the Snail Hotel.

October 14, 2012 by Born To Organize

Transforming the Garden: Mad for Inflatables

We’re used to seeing cars slow down in front of our house this time of year. Either the driver is smiling, because they love Halloween as much as we do, or they’re shaking their heads thinking “those people are over the top!”

My youngest son has been a fan of inflatables for as long as I can remember. He used to spend hours at the computer during the winter months, bookmarking page after page of inflatable decorations. He printed his favorites, and pasted them in a book. Every year we visit a local “parking lot patch” where he gleefully enjoys the enormous inflatable slides, bounce houses and the occasional obstacle course. One year he received fifty dollars for Christmas from one of his uncles, enough to buy a holiday inflatable at 50% off. And so it began.

Inflatable spider with moving head and his trusty kitty side-kick

My son saves his allowance and the occasional cash gift and “invests” in his inflatable treasures. Each inflatable has a story to go with it. The monstrous cat purchased at a discontinued price, hidden in the back yard until Halloween night so he could surprise everyone. The creepy spider, bought online with an annoying whistle whenever it turns its head. Finally, the pièce de résistance, the inflatable archway, complete with ghosts and tombstones. By the time we saw it in a party store they were sold out. The store agreed to sell us the floor model for, you guessed it, half off. I paid for half, he paid the rest.

Through wind and sleet and Halloween decor, the mail carrier still delivers

My way of decorating before having children was more subtle. I would put out a pumpkin or two, a few fall plants and call it a day. Not any more. As my son ages, he wants everything a little scarier. By Halloween night we’ll have a spider with a moveable head, the enormous cat and the lighted entryway. He’ll stretch spider webbing from shrub to tree and my husband will add lights to the awning. The webbing catches falling Magnolia leaves, that twist and turn in the wind. We toss plastic spiders at the web for a naturalized effect and by October 31st we’re looking downright spooky.