Late Summer

A few photos from a late summer arranging gig yesterday with Chickadee Hill Flowers. I love Emily's big arrangements. She always manages a shape you thought impossible to build with flowers. Every piece of material she applies is done with deliberate attention and starts with a thoughtful framework of greenery. At a glance it feels like you are experiencing something that fell from the most secret garden plot and right into the vase - if you you knew how much observance and experience it takes to create a piece so beautiful.

I got to make a large wreath with Darcy. We used Queen Anne's Lace, four different types of Eucalyptus, some blushing Sedum, Spruce branches, and spent Astilbe flower seed heads. It's great to create something with someone else. If you are carrying a heavy fridge with another person, you are not going to skimp on your efforts, but rather lift hard and consider your partner at every step! I grow so much when I work with other people.

The airy cabin space where we installed the large arrangement and wreath sat on a beautiful point of private land by the ocean. The water was a translucent milky green, a perfect swimming spot.

Home Garden

↑ Private

I love the time of year when the lilacs leave thick mats of fallen blooms on the ground. This spring carpet is a fine luxury. I leave the irises as their blooms fall away - their stalks and molting brown petals are so enchanting. The night I took these photos was heavy with the damp - it was low tide and I could smell the wet seaweed on the beach all the way down the block.

No Flex Zone

Wintertime is setting in. I dance for exercise - keep the heat at 58°F. My houseplants typically go into a state of dormancy due to brief daylight hours, low temps, and lack of humidity. Some whitefly came in with the colocasia (aka black magic elephant's ear, pictured right) and I've been treating the outbreak with Safer Soap. If you love the smell of powdered doughnuts and hate toxic chemicals, Safer Soap is the organic plant pest treatment for you.