Seeds, Seeds, Seeds

Today was the perfect day for getting some seeds started. It couldn't decide if it was going to rain or not, so it was great weather for mixing up some starter mix and filling those tiny little pockets with seeds of promised plants to come......burgundy okra (nasty vegetable in my mind, but beautiful flowers), cup-and-saucer vine, Japanese eggplant, bush basil, nicotiana, and ambrosia were planted today. The mignonette and artichokes have already sprouted, as have Mary's Thai chiles. It's cold and windy outside right now, but at least these tiny little seeds give me hope that summer is coming!

Succulent Containers at SEFS

This is the last of the photos from last week's Southeastern Flower Show, unrelated to the others. It is a collection of succulents that I thought was just beautifully displayed. Interestingly enough, it was on the edge of a huge garden designed by Home Depot, and appeared to be almost an afterthought....this was the most inspirational part of the display! Definitely something I'm going to play with this summer!

A Few More from SEFS

Here are a few (not good) photos of Kathy Walton's work at the Southeastern Flower Show last week. Kathy is an incredibly talented metal artist who works mostly with recycled goods; she's agreed to do a pretty big piece of art for a giant blank wall on my house, so I'm way excited about that!

Not only does Kathy do metal art, but she's also an accomplished plant person. Her wheelbarrow was a winner at the Show, as was another arrangement she had done with underwater plants.

Hopefully you'll get an idea of how good her work is if you blow the pictures up to see more detail. If not, you'll have to search her out at another show to see for yourself!

The Fern Goddess

Here are a couple of shots from the Fern Ridge Farms display at the Southeastern Flower Show. Eleanor didn't have a retail booth this year, but did this beautiful display in the "Discovery" (AKA Educational) area of the show.

We are all still mourning the fact that Eleanor moved her operation from Georgia to Cedar Bluff, AL, late last year. Fortunately, she still makes lots of trips to north Georgia for her adoring groupies! In my mind there is nobody better if you're looking for ferns......even worth the drive from Atlanta to Alabama!

If you are not familiar with Eleanor, check her out!

The Non-Potting Shed

While I spent the afternoon mangling my arthritic hands (slamming empty wine bottles down into the ground), Chuck spent his afternoon working on the tin roof of my new "Not Potting Shed." It's still very much a work in progress, but it's starting to take shape, and the windows and door have been located (in the backroom of the local antique store).

If you blow up the middle picture and see the slight scowl (and WTF look) on Chuck's face, it's because that's the moment when I asked, "You remembered my terra cotta birds need to sit on the ridge of the roof, right?"......how easily he forgets that fashion comes before function!

99 Bottles of Wine in the Ground...99 Bottles of Wine.....

I finally got started on the wine bottle borders in the Stepchild Garden this afternoon, after spending the first half of the day at the Big House. It's not looking like much at the moment, but I'm loving the way it's turning out. (I probably should have hosed off some of the mud before I photographed, huh?) The added treat was how awesome the bottles looked as sun was starting to set on that part of the garden! 85 in the ground, only about 900 or so more to go!

The Lady in Red

This is a piece done for the Southeastern Flower Show by artist Tom Chambers. This second photo is part of the board that explains how it was done. The piece was bigger-than-life, and mounted on an 8 x 8 platform covered with moss. The perfect finishing touch was the pair of shoes off in the corner, made of the same twigs. I have such huge admiration for people with this sort of talent. I can usually conceptualize some cool stuff, but could never execute it this well. Thank goodness for people like Tom!