January 1, 2013 by Born To Organize

Kitty-corner

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, kitty-corner means

“in a diagonal or oblique position” <the house stood kitty–corner across the square>

Silly me! All this time I thought it meant the garden corner where kitties congregate.

Our kitty corner saw a lot of activity this week. One morning, a stunning Siamese cat appeared, staying just long enough for a picture. I’ve not seen her before but what a lovely. She has a chocolate-brown face and brilliant blue eyes. I wonder what she’s looking at?

Handsome Kitty Drops By

An hour later our neighbor’s cat showed up in the same spot. Kitty should be on the other side of her own cat fencing. She’s found a way to escape the yard, but they never see her do it so they don’t know how. We keep hoping we’ll discover her escape route. So far, no luck. She’s got that “I’m not supposed to be here” look on her face, doesn’t she?

Flash Looking Sheepish

Flash on the Move

There she goes.

In the inside corner pocket of the garden, Beijing likes to drape herself on both sides of the door. She keeps her torso outside for maximum sun, while resting her head on the threshold. This sends a less than subtle message to the resident felines that they’ll have to go around.

Beijing Warms Up

Lindy and Beijing taking sun (Sorry, Lindy, this corner’s taken)

We love our garden’s kitty-corners. Perhaps I should send a note to Merriam Webster to suggest an additional dictionary entry: where cats congregate. What do you think?

September 1, 2012 by Born To Organize

Double Dentate: The Shape of Leaves to Come

Flowers and fruit are the garden darlings, but where would they be without leaves? As a seed set roots, tiny leaves quickly follow, the building blocks of things to come. Leaves are:

“a plant’s principal organ of photosynthesis, the process by which sunlight is used to form foods from carbon dioxide and water. Leaves also help in the process of transpiration, or the loss of water vapor from a plant.”

The shape of a leaf, known as the leaf margin, helps to determine the type of plant. Leaf margins, or edges, include dentate, double dentate, crenate, ciliante, entire and lobate. I traveled the garden with my camera this week, so I could get up close and personal with the powerhouse leaf.

The Shape of Leaves to Come

I enjoyed studying the different leaves in my garden, viewed with a more observant eye. Each plant has leaves that are fully formed, but it was also fun to observe the shape of leaves to come. Some leaves stack in pairs, in alternating patterns, while others climb up the plants stem. My garden favorites:

Inky Leaf Coleus: Lobed

Dwarf Lemon: Entire Leaf

Scented Geranium Leaf: Dentate (or Serate)

Star Jasmin Leaf: Lobate

Clover Leaves: Entire

Resources:

Online Encyclopedia
Merriam-Webster Visual Online Dictionary
EnchantedLearning.com. I love this site. When my boys were small, I subscribed to this site. They have great downloads for teachers and parents.

June 7, 2012 by Born To Organize

Blooming Thursday: Kinder + Garden

According to Merriam-Webster, bloom can mean “to produce or yield flowers.” It also means “to mature into achievement of one’s potential.”

Last night my soon-to-be 12 year-old asked if I liked HTML. I said that I did. He wanted to create this beautiful lettering for my blog using one of his favorite sites. He was also careful to point out that it wasn’t completely original, giving credit where credit was due. I love it!

• • • • • Gardening Nirvana • • • • •

His integrity, thoughtfulness, creativity and wonderful imagination bring me such joy. It occurred to me today as I was photographing the blooms in my garden, that my children are blooming as well, blossoming really into two terrific young men.

That’s a lot of blooming on Thursday!

Oh yeah…the garden blooms: