air and water

oh, how i love my air plants. oh, how i slowly torture them all to death. i've never quite gotten the hang of their watering schedule, but i can't keep myself from trying. those whirligigs of green give me such a little thrill. and while i have a new crop of victims (one in bloom and one with a wee pup burgeoning from it's base) i also have a new experiment... marimo! a ball of living moss that grows underwater. for all intents and purposes it looks an awful lot like i tossed a pom pon in a jar of water, but i've found that during the day they (there are actually three, you can see the two little ones in the last picture) float and bob and move around the jar. since air plants and i don't quite see eye to eye, perhaps my underwater baubles will prove more amenable. persevere!

xo. r

green

most of the little cuttings from this project were ready for rehoming. and although i have a very long to do list waiting for me, i decided getting my hands dirty for a bit was just more necessary. sometimes procrastinating makes me feel worse. but not today. not one bit.

there is dirt all over the kitchen counter. and the measuring spoons. and possibly on the floor.

trailing plants were rearranged, so instead of getting trapped in the fridge door, they can now get tangled into baskets. there are plants drying in the bathtub and sitting all over the table for some afternoon sun. and a whole row of new little pots filled with little succulent collections.

a year or so ago i threw some overgrown stalks of some unknown plant into a vase of water. they started to grow little root hairs so i left them. a year later, they've grown a whole mass of roots and these. they must be boy plants.

now, everything has to find a sunny spot. and get a little drink of water. and the floors need to be swept. and then i'll probably have to have a look at that to do list. sigh.

xo. r

string & sing

inspired, obsessed, utterly distracted by these kokedama - japanese string gardens.

i found a tutorial that looks fairly simple (here)

but i think i'm fair out of room to potter and play.

ferns. grass. a tiny trailing vine. a little fairy kingdom.

someday...

in the meantime, there are tons of beautiful pictures to peruse at stringgardens.com

and we can plan and plot our imaginary world together. 

(i should perhaps confess i'm having trouble keeping a ball of moss alive in a closed terrarium.

hopefully i'll have that sorted out by the time i attempt a kokedama.)

and speaking of obsessed...

these two songs by daughter are haunting me.

string & sing. there is so much to be excited about today.

xo. r

watering

say maybe you drag home a hose winder from the flea.
say maybe your husband looks at you sideways for bringing home such a big, odd... thing.
and while you're cringing and busy explaining, "well, it's for the shop, really"
he says ever so quietly... "we could plumb it into the house, you know."
"oh? outside by the farm pump?"
"no, inside."
perplexed look from me.
"you know, for all the plants you want in the front windows."
and you fall in love all over again.


xo. r


ps. i can't wait for the front windows. and all the plants. because i've already filled up every sunny space in this house.
even in front of cupboard doors.

out of doors

one thing i will surely miss when we move from this neighborhood of thickly clustered little houses, is the hours spent wandering the sidewalks, looking at all the different houses, wondering who is inside.
i'm an avid house peeker. i love to look for the story. the impeccable couple with a neatly manicured lawn and well mannered shrubs. the young fellow who adds a new layer to his garden every year, his yard is a riot of color. or the brambly and wild fairy houses with lights and lanterns and little surprises peeking out of the porch and among the waving beds. it's those houses i love the most. they have such an approachable friendly face.

it will be different in the new neighborhood. there are wide woods between all the houses, and far fewer houses to gawk at. the neighbors are more neighborly. they walk their dogs down the street, occasionally followed by a neighborhood cat. they share neighborhood chores, like trimming back the bridge over the creek that separates us from the main road, and plowing the snow from the driveways in the winter.

i find myself looking forward to the outdoor life at our new home. patrick's picking out seeds for the garden. i'm stashing away camp beds for afternoon naps on the covered porch. and while i have no great aspirations for an overly landscaped place, i do suspect there will be pots of flowers clustered everywhere and little groups of seating every so often, in case a neighbor comes by for a chat.

sharing a few images of inspiration for our out of doors. wild & wonderful.

xo. r

bloooooom

forget organizing your bookshelves by color.
the cool kids organize their gardens by color.
this year, all my gardens are brown.
and crunchy.


xo. r

projects

a few things i've been working on this week...

first, a new nursery for succulent cuttings.

the little buggers grow so well from a simple cutting and it's such an economical way to get a big variety going. i ordered a big batch of cuttings from san pedro cactus, and i'm pretty sure they sent a few extras. i popped them all in a vintage chicken feeder (in fast draining cactus soil, of course) and so far they seem happy as a sea of clams.

all of our windows are already filled with my little houseplant obsession, but i'm thinking ahead to the new house... more windows means more plants!

also, i've started on a funny little bird for a custom order, a quail!

i'm using some of my favorite fabric for the under feathers. it's salvaged from the lining of an old fur stole and both sides of the fabric are incredible. the "wrong" side is silvery blue, the "right" side is copper with pale blue feathering. just perfect for the quail chest. each little feather gets stitched on with a million little stitches. layered from bottom to top, just like mother nature.

isn't this a sweet little find on the lining? a custom monogram. so lovely.

i'll share more photos of the quail when he really starts to take shape.
bird is the word.

xo. r

vintage green

i may not be much of a gardener...
there are few plants that live up to my expectations of being organized looking at all points of the spring & summer. and even fewer that survive my willy nilly garden tending.

but houseplants are a completely different matter.
they crowd almost every sunny window and i find myself fussing over them nearly daily.
the green, the shapes, the geometry and alien spirals... i absolutely love it.

(a recently acquired string of buttons is waiting for repotting on the kitchen windowsill. it's a freaking square plant! square! patrick failed to see why an exclamation point was necessary. boys.)

whoops, small digression there. anyways...
no doubt, some of my favorite vintage finds are the ones that hold & display plants in all their lovely glory. these pieces are all in the shop now. and i must admit, they may be much harder to put in the shop once the new house is up and we have space for all these plant holding lovelies. but for now, they're up for grabs.

images linked!

xo. r


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ps. hope you all had a lovely weekend, even with the wacky weather all over the country. mine involved a pickaxe, a ton of soaking wet clay-heavy dirt, a blister, and a chainsaw. also, a delicious and peaceful breakfast out, and an early morning wander through the local flea. guess which part of the weekend was better? i kid, the hard work makes me laugh and makes me feel whole. city living is just not my cup of tea. so much nicer where all you hear is the wind blowing and the birds calling.

jellyfish

quite taken with these little air plant jellyfish by petit beast.
a little sea urchin shell, a little air plant, a whole lot of sweet.

i do have a few sea urchin shells around here and an air plant or two that died with grace and valor
and still managed to keep there tentacley shape (if not their soft green color).
perhaps i shall find a small corner for their reincarnation.

you clever thing, petit beast, you clever thing.

xo. r


------------------------------

on a side note, i'm hoping for a much more productive week.
last week i found myself a bit distracted and out of it. unable to concentrate much the whole week long.
is it the moon? distractions by ersatz jellyfish? do you have weeks like this?

( within )

converted into houses

by far, my favorite blog technology

is linkwithin, which lets me hop & bop between posts in a blog.

a few curious clicks and i found myself here

on lauren's lovely blog, dear golden

i do love houseplants.

ever so much more than outdoor plants.

such interesting shapes, and the occasional delight of a bloom or two.

patrick is very patient with me when i come waltzing into the room

to share a wee bud or new growth.

i could definitely be at home in this space.

right. at. home.

and you could come visit any time...

xo. r

( soil and water )

connecticut kitchen garden

some people make gardening look like a dreamy piece of heaven.

they're liars.

some of them even have the audacity to look like they're enjoying themselves.

i survived the swarms of bees on the sedum.

luckily, they were too busy feasting to notice me staking up their supper.

or whatever they do with all that pollen.

i wasn't sure if the bushes were overgrown or just lush & abundant.

i did some pruning.

now they're lopsided and probably still overgrown.

the japanese maple looks like it's giving me the middle finger.

someday i hope to get the hang of gardening.

maybe even learn to enjoy it.

but right now, i have to go get the dirt out of my unmentionables.

xo. r

( pottering )

i love sunny mornings,

when the sun slants in

waking you bright and early.

and there's no desire to stay in bed

but arise and potter slowly around in the warmth.

i'd like to potter around

in these beautiful potting sheds.

i really would.

{ old man travels }

{ toast }

i think the one that speaks to me the most

is the one with the old man.

the simple white washed walls, the stone floor.

it's a beautiful place.

i usually do my potting on the kitchen counter.

i don't know where normal people do these things,

if they don't have a potting shed or bench to their name.

speaking of which,

there's a small repotting project a'waiting...

{ most of the images are uncredited. if you know the source, please share! }

( grey and green )

it is a thunder god spring.

heavy thunderstorms at night

lead to dark, grey mornings

but then open to stunning, sunny afternoons.

and the winter wisps

are turning to riotous mounds of green

steaming in the damp air.

it makes me think of

of summers lived out doors.

hammocks hung from trees

sleeping porches

secret hideaways in the woods

plants seeping out of every nook & cranny

garden tools to pull out & put away

and a place to rinse off at the end of a hot day

al fresco is a lifestyle

not just a dining option

it's just around the corner, aren't you excited?

( fall part two )

ah the bounty of autumn

i do "heart" thee

here's what's happening in our little house

{ new shoes are tippety tapping through the halls }

{ the lights and shadows are changing every day }

{ bump's grumpy... something about chilly mornings & messy leaves }

{ and pine cones make perfect picture holders }

what are your fall traditions? autumnal celebrations?