Whimsical Planter and Brush Strokes Viola

Today I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to my readers who have stayed with me, in spite of my infrequent posts this past year. At present, I am working daily on getting my garden planted and weeded. We have had precious few days of sunshine as of yet, so when the weather settles the temps will likely soar. This seems to be a typical spring pattern for us here in our river valley. Notice how green our mountain is, in the below photo!

This old baby buggy frame was given to me by my sweet friend, Catherine a few years ago. I have used it with several combinations of flowers and containers, but this year has got to be my all time favorite! I made the wooden box to grow wheat grass in, for a Bridal shower. The mellow, weathered wood just seems to fit the old buggy. It is planted with Brush Strokes Viola, started from seed in January.

Here are some of their lovely faces, up close.

They are aptly named, as they really do look like they have been painted by an artist's brush!

There are both bold colors and some softer ones, like this yellow and lavender mix.

Another pot of Brush Strokes Viola, in an old iron planter on my porch, with Denim blue pansies as a backdrop.

A lovely flower from the above pot.....just look those stunning colors!



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Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.

~Lou Erickson

Pansy Love

Dear husband brought me home some flowers recently. Not the kind you put in a vase, or plant in the ground...... but these lovely little pansies!

Pansies are one of my favorite Spring flowers, so he scored big with these LOVE stamps!

It makes me want to sit down and write someone, just so I can affix one of these little sweeties to the envelope. :-)

And here is the real thing. Historic Mix Pansies I started from seed, around the first of the year, have been blooming now for several weeks. I couldn't resist adding a few to this small vintage green glass bottle. I liked the results! I can never go back to those huge floppy pansies sold at the nurseries and big box stores. These heirloom pansies are smaller, more delicate in size and coloring. Way back in the 1800's they were called "tufted pansies.' I love their various colors and shadings....and since they are open pollinated there can be some nice surprises. This particular one is lavender with a darker face, washed with a bronze cast. Best of all....seeds can be saved to start again next year!



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In Victorian times, certain flowers had specific meanings. In the language of Flowers, Pansies stood for loving thoughts.

"I pray, what flowers are these? The pansy this, O, that's for lover's thoughts"

~ George Chapman

Farewell, Favorite Garden Shoes

It was a sad day in September when my favorite garden shoes came to the end of their long and useful life. I've owned these flip flops (we used to call them thongs back then) since the seventies! They came along with me when I packed up and moved to Idaho in 1978.

They sat in my closet for many years, and I started seriously wearing them around 1990. If you do the math.....that is nearly 20 years of use!! They were the cheap old firm rubber kind, having nylon straps with a piece of leather sewed unto it. I probably paid a dollar or two for them. I had worn them so long, they had actually formed to my feet....similar to a pair of expensive Birkenstocks. (Which, BTW, I also wear, and have been through several pairs while still wearing these flip flops!) These were soooo comfy to slip on, as I headed out to work in the garden on a summer day. As you can see in the above photo, the toe strap of the left shoe finally gave out, and just below it is the fatal wound that finally brought them to their end.





Look at the bottom of these shoes!! They are worn down to the third stripe of color, the light blue.... completely worn through the black and the medium blue color layers. Here you can see, from the bottom, the fatal wound.... caused by using the shovel while wearing said shoes, a move I now regret, as it shortened their lifespan by who knows how long?

A side view shows just how worn these babies were.... the layers were dinged up, separated and worn down. Not pretty, but as comfortable as an old friend. Farewell, favorite garden shoes....you will be missed!

Shown above are the 'new kids on the block'....a pair of Tevas I forked over 20 bucks for, to replace my old favorites. I chose the ones with a small blue stripe on the side, in memory of the the old pair. I could tell right away that these are not going to last long! They feel soft and mushy on the feet, and just make me miss my old ones all the more. Guess I'll head on over to Ebay where...maybe, just maybe...someone might be selling a pair of sweet vintage seventies flip flops, in black with blue stripes!

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Old friends are best. King James used to call for his old shoes; they were the easiest for his feet.

~John Seldon

Summer Memories

We were blessed last week with a visit from dear daughter and our two grandchildren. I just have to share this photo that my daughter took of three year old Annabelle, standing in the doorway of our house. In the foreground is a pot of Salmon-colored Alaska Nasturtiums, tucked under the porch to escape the summer heat and blooming anew...now that the nights are cooler.

Something about this picture just tugs at my heart. Maybe it's the lingering sweetness of an entire day Annabelle was able to spend with Nana. Or those bare feet...and the memory of her contagious laughter as she ran away when sprayed with the hose, as I was watering the flower garden. Or when we removed her wet dress, and she quietly sneaked herself into the five gallon bucket of water without me seeing, and my surprise at looking over and seeing only her head peeking out! Or her delight in eating one after another of my Super Sweet cherry tomatoes and mini bell peppers, fresh from the garden. Or maybe it's that bittersweet feeling one gets when summer is waning and you know these warm sweet summer days will soon be drawing to an end. I guess maybe it is all those feelings, and so many more that this photo evokes in me, and why it so squeezes this Grandma heart of mine.



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"Those gasps of astonishment, those shrieks of pleasure, those sighs of delight, lost long ago when your children grew wise and wordly ~ are suddenly given back to you by your grandchildren. What seems to be the same small hands clutch yours, dragging you from one excitement to another."

Author unknown

Pretty Posies...

It has been a very cool and cloudy March here this year, with lower temps and fewer sunny days than is typical for the month. My daffodils are in the bud stage, but seem to be in a holding pattern....perhaps waiting for some sunshine before they venture to open their cheerful yellow petals. So yesterday, when a little friend dropped by this bouquet, it really brightened my day!

At first I thought that these were real flowers....until I was close enough to see the pipe cleaner 'stems'.

They are made from tissue paper! I think this is either a Daisy or Cosmos.

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And here you may recognize Narcissus Poeticus or Poet's Daffodil. There were also 3 yellow Daffodils in the jar and a couple of Carnations.

When I asked how long it took her to made the flowers, she replied that it didn't take long....except for these Irises, which took the longest. They do look pretty detailed, don't they?

It was delightful and nostalgic to receive these Pretty Paper Posies from my sweet little friend. It made me miss my own 'little girl', now grown with a daughter of her own. I had forgotten just how special it feels to be the recipient of such a simple gift....whether it be a handful of dandelions from the pudgy hand of a toddler, or a bouquet such as this, which represents the time and love it took the giver to create. Thank you , Rebecca Joy!

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If you or a little person you know would like to try making these,
the instructions can be found in the book"Tissue Paper Flowers".

Good Advice

I received an exclusive email offer today from one of my favorite catalogs, Charley's Greenhouse & Garden, and they were offering T-shirts for sale with these messages....

Love the bright red color of this one!

....Great advice, no?


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This was a day brightener for me. Just wanted to share it with any of my garden blogger friends who might be having a case of the winter blues! :-)