Snowberry Flower Arrangements

frost on snowberries #1429, originally uploaded by Nemo's great uncle.

Snowberries also known as Symphoricarpos or Coral Berry is related to Viburnum. I have always loved these clusters of white, pink and even light green balls. The plant are native to Canada and grow well in the northern United States.

If you are lucky enough to grow them in your backyard or have them imported through a nursery, you might try making this lovely flower arrangement designed by Stef Adriaenssens.

What you need:
glass crystals
3 stems Eucharis
some Snowberrie
1 plate
glue
3 water glass test tubes
glue

Directions:

1. Glue the water filled glass test tubes in a triangular arrangement towards the center
2. Glue the glass crystals to the bowl and around the test tubes
3. Cut and arrange the Eucharis in the tubes
4. Glue the Snowberries between the crystals

The lovely arrangement below is by Geert Pattyn.

All images unless otherwise noted courtesy of Fleur Creative




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Bird Friendly Berries

Waxwing eats berries, originally uploaded by hegtor

Shrubs that are covered in red berries are not only lovely to look at, but they also are an important food source for birds. The birds are attracted to the vibrant colors of the berries, many of which are relished by song birds such as the white-breasted nuthatch.

Crab Apple in Ice Storm, originally uploaded by Chris in KC.


Crabapples are grown as ornamental trees and have beautiful pink or red flowering buds that later change into lovely red berries. Many fruiting shrubs, like crab apple, winterberry, native holly, hawthorne, service berry are members of the rose family.

Deciduous Holly, originally uploaded by vallencrawford.

Deciduous Holly comes in red and orange color.

Winter Fruit, originally uploaded by f824fps68.

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Purple Power

Photo courtesy of Wohnen und Garten

I associate fall with orange and red hues and just loved seeing these purple color combinations, which I spotted in various magazines. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

I could just drag my easel in front of this and start painting. What a beautiful still life it would make!

Photo Courtesy of Nature's Garden

I have not seen the Purple Martin in my yard, but I read that they make their nests from dried weeds and then line the cup with green leaves. Who knew the Puple Martin is a decorator?

Photo Courtesy of Nature's Garden

The Geranium 'Reflection'can be purchased as a seed and and includes blue, white, pink and of course purple flowers that bloom in large proportions. They bloom early to midsummer and prefer full sun.








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How to grow Brussel Sprouts

©Photo by Enzie Shahmiri

When I brought this huge stalk of Brussel Sprouts into the kitchen there was an overall "wau"! Everyone always sees these little sprouts picked and cleaned, never really thinking about exactly how they grow in nature. Brussels sprouts were grown as early as the 1200s in what is now Belgium.

Plants grow from seeds in seed beds or greenhouses, and are transplanted to growing fields, then making their way to your local nursery where they are sold usually in six packs. They require about 90 days to mature so it's best to plant them in either spring or early fall, when temperature are not too hot or too cold. Brussels sprouts are related to cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi. They contain a good amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre.

I found this wonderful video that explains how to grow this vegetable:



I will be posting recipes of dishes made with Brussel Sprouts to my Sur La Table Cuisine blog.

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Quick Burst of Color with Cabbage

cabbage, originally uploaded by hans s.

After a long summer season my yard looks rather tired. I have started to look for a quick burst of color through the use of cabbage. Cabbage has such interesting texture and colors and since they tend to be fairly large make for a wonderful color enhancement for a fall garden. The violets are great against the oranges of Marigold. In containers cabbage makes an interesting display when paired with trailing ivy.

Frosty cabbage, originally uploaded by stubaby49.

Cabbage can be grown from seeds, but I prefer to buy mine from the local garden center. Cabbage plants tolerate light frost, but watch out for white flies.

Cabbage Flower, originally uploaded by mickeyjohnson.

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Bulbs by Anna Pavord

Fall is the right time to plant bulbs to get a beautiful showy display of colors in the Spring. Anna Pavord, best know for her book "The Tulip" has written a new book called "Bulb" which is a wonderful guide to planting bulbs.

The book starts with an interesting introduction explaining what makes bulbs different from other kinds of plants. Then it talks about origin, their history and the different types of bulbs available today. Best of all are the photos ~  real eye candy !







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Eco Smart Weeding

Dandelion, originally uploaded by misu / Mikhail Palinchak.

I could swear I am living in a bad episode of Disney's ' The Soccer's Apprentice' . The more I pull weeds and hoe the ground, the more the  weeds seem to spring up! Week after week, like a good gardener, I can be found in the garden pulling them, yet I seem to be loosing the battle. Things have turned rather comical as I can be observed wrestling with the more stubborn ones, slipping and sliding and falling backwards in this game of tug of war. Micky ~ Now I know how you felt!

Image courtesy of Film Reference

You see weed roots come in all sizes from those that are shallow, to those that are deep under the soil determined on a secret home invasion. Pesky weeds are all abundant in my yard such as Ivies, Dandelion, Thistle Honeysuckle- yes you heard me right that last one smells great, but has become a foe of this household. We speak it's name in a low hiss with disgust!

Weeds - Monochrome #1, originally uploaded by imago2007 (signed off temporarily).

So what is one to do? Well the 1st line of defense seems to buy excellent tools. The sturdier the better, like my favorite the dandelion digger, which looks like a notched screwdriver and is made to penetrate the soil and remove weed roots from deep in the ground. It does a great job with the smaller weeds, but not the really deep rooted ones.

So the 2nd line of defense had to be considered. I don't really like industrial strength weed killers, and was so thrilled to be introduced to the Eco Smart Organic Weed Killer. The line is safe to be used around children and pets and is eco friendly. This is always a big concern for me since my Yorkie is a teacup, always running around where I am gardening and second, since I also plant veggies in between my flower beds.

By using essential plant oils formulas have been developed that allowed Eco Smart to create a 100% safe pesticide line.

The company makes other eco friendly products as well, from Garden fungicide to Insect Repellent

If you like to learn more about how to combat the enemies of your garden make sure to visit The Eco smart Blog

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Eco Smart

Flower Power for Overcast Days

I love this flower design poncho by Reisenthel! Reisenthel is this German company that makes the collapsible Carrybags and now they have introduced a poncho that fits into a tiny little bag that you can easily carry along while you are out and about.

I usually head for the nursery early in the morning and in the fall when it's foggy and wet, s.th like this is sure to keep me dry and leave my hands free.

The poncho has not made it to the US yet, but Amazon carries other products by this Reisenthel. I have added this item to my wish list -



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Indian Summer

An Indian Summer is a time when between October and early November, temperatures rise and the garden is bathed in sun and caressed in warm autumn breezes. At times temperatures can be just like in summer and here in southern California bulbs get tricked into thinking that it's time to bloom again.

INDIAN SUMMER.
These are the days when birds come back,
A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.
These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, --
A blue and gold mistake.
Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,
Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!
Oh, sacrament of summer days,
Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,
Thy sacred emblems to partake,
Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!


Edited by two of her friends:
MABEL LOOMIS TODD & T.W. HIGGINSON
by Emily Dickinson
(1830-1886)

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Blue Jarrahdale

green_pumpkins, originally uploaded by kathyrose97229.

I am not sure if this beauty belongs to the Blue Jarrahdale variety and weather this is a pumpkin or a squash or both. I just love the way they look and how nicely they lend themselves to decorating.

Image from Martha Stewart Living 2008


Image from Martha Stewart Living 2008

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