planting succulents in a pumpkin

October 23, 2012

seasonal succulents

I have taken a real interest in succulents recently. There are probably two big reasons for this. One is that I saw a photo of a succulent garden in a huge conch shell. I love shells, so the photo immediately caught my interest and got me excited to try and plant some succulents in shells. Second, a new Home Depot nearby carries a huge selection of succulents.

I actually had a really early love for succulents. The first plant I ever personally owned as a kid was a cactus plant I bought in Arizona when I visited Phoenix with my grandparents. My first magazine subscription wasn’t Teen Beat, but rather Arizona Highways because I adored the pages filled with photos of various desert plants across the backdrop of gorgeous sunsets! Although the varieties of succulents available here in New England aren’t the same as out West, Home Depot does have quite a large selection.

I read as much as I could find on the subject of succulent container gardens and also watched some videos on the subject. The cool thing about succulents is that they can be planted in virtually any type of container. I decided since it is October, I would try a pumpkin as my first container garden. Also, because I love the way white pumpkins mix with succulents.

Planting is pretty simple. The big difference from planting any other type of plant is that succulents require a fast draining soil. Instructions on creating an appropriate soil are easy to find, but it is actually more cost effective to just buy a prepared soil at Home Depot.

Most succulent container gardens use a top dressing – most often rocks. I would love to use sea glass in a future garden, but for the pumpkin I decide to use some reindeer moss and also decorate with some Spanish moss. I will probably use the sea glass idea for a terrarium when the pumpkin starts breaking down and I need to move the plants to a new container.

A photo of succulents planted in a white pumpkin.

Don’t they look great in the white pumpkin? Small white pumpkins planted with succulents would look great at individual place settings at the Thanksgiving table!

I hope you enjoyed succulent gardening in a white pumpkin!

Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie

7 comments

make the most of grocery store flowers

September 7, 2012

friday field trip

Today’s field trip is to the local Stop ‘n Shop to visit the floral department. I want to show you how easy it is to utilize the florist at your local grocery store. Why spend a lot at a traditional florist when you can buy flowers for giving at the grocery store for a more reasonable price. An added perk is that many grocery stores, like Stop ‘n Shop, are open 24 hours! You can pretty much buy a gift at any time of the day or night that fits into your schedule.

Use these five tips to make grocery store flowers work for you.

1. STICK WITH THE SAME COLOR OR VARIETY OF FLOWER. Instead of buying a bouquet that contains a mixture of colors and varieties of flowers, pick one color or one type of flower and stick with it. You will get much better visual impact for your budget.

2. CONSIDER A POTTED PLANT. Very often, potted plants in season are less expensive than cut flowers and look much better/healthier. Plus, the recipient has the added benefit of enjoying a permanent plant rather than a fleeting bouquet. Some grocery stores even sell potted herbs – a nice departure from a traditional flower if the recipient happens to be a foodie! Containers sold in the floral section are very reasonably priced and can be a great alternative to wrapping.

A potted plant is paired with a cute container that was priced at onlyl $4 in the Stop ‘n Shop floral department.

3. USE YOUR OWN FLOURISHES. I always use my own ribbon and tissue when preparing grocery store flowers for giving, rather than relying on the limited selection available at the grocery store. The gift not only looks prettier, but using your own touches helps give your gift a personal flair.

I used two potted plants and a basket from the floral department for a cost of less than $20 (and less than the price of a dozen roses). I added my own tissue paper and ribbon to complete the look and add my own personal touch.

4. MAKE THE MOST OF SPECIALS. If roses are $25 and a special on tulips makes them a quarter of the price…how much nicer to make a combined bouquet of four bunches of tulips! A potted orchid on sale may be less than a bouquet and more appropriate for the recipient. Be sure to check all the specials.

Shopping for cut flowers, two bunches of sunflowers on special were less than an assorted bouquet and provide much better visual appeal.

5. SHOP FOR ADD-ONS. With all the items available at the grocery store, there are many options available to you to add a little something to your gift, should the occasion or budget warrant it. What a great added feature of doing your flower shopping at the grocery store! A gift of engagement flowers can include a wedding magazine or some chocolates…flowers to welcome a new baby can include a bib or pacifier…just hop over to the appropriate aisle. At this time of year, a trip to the produce aisle can mean the purchase of a pumpkin to serve as a great seasonal container for your flowers. Perfect to house Halloween or Thanksgiving flowers for giving. (I love the white ones!) Grocery stores also sell gift certificates, so you can also easily tuck in a certificate for a cup of coffee or the latest music.

Whether you are shopping for yourself, or for a gift, remember these five tips when shopping for flowers in the grocery store.

Hope you enjoyed these tips for making the grocery store florist work for you. Why not pick out some flowers for your own home?

All the photos in this post were taken in the floral department at Stop ‘n Shop. Thanks for visiting, Jackie

1 comment

squash blossoms…farm to table

September 2, 2012

An easy do-it-yourself pictorial.

For the first time this year, I picked my own squash blossoms when I visited Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, CT. I happened to overhear someone asking directions to the appropriate field to pick them. I immediately got excited about the prospect of picking some myself. I have had fried squash blossoms in restaurants and really enjoyed them – even though I am not a big fried food lover. I decided to take the opportunity to try and cook some up myself.

I originally posted these photos on my facebook page, but have had many requests to put them on a blog post for those that don’t use facebook. So, here is how I prepared the squash blossoms…it was very easy and they were very delicious!

Easy! Hope you enjoyed these photos on preparing squash blossoms…farm to table!

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy your holiday weekend, Jackie

no comments

discovering a sunflower maze

August 31, 2012

Navigating through 350,000 sunflowers.

I have been to many corn mazes in my lifetime, but had never heard of a sunflower maze until last week. I certainly was intrigued by the idea of it. Imagine a field full of sunflowers…it just sounded so Provence. Not caring so much about the maze, but more about the sunflowers, I decided to make the trip to Middlefield, CT to check it out. It was my first trip to the 1,100 acre Lyman Orchards farm.

A photo of a sunflower at the Lyman Orchards sunflower maze in Middlefield, CT.

I had imagined a field of yellow. But, as I approached the field, I discovered that there were many varieties and colors of sunflowers that made up the maze. My favorites were not the yellows at all, but some of the varieties in the darker hues. They were all beautiful. It didn’t even bother me when I got so terribly lost in the maze… I was too busy taking in all the varieties of sunflowers and trying my darndest to avoid all the bees. (I felt lucky to only sustain one bite.)

A photo from the sunflower maze. The flowers are ‘sterile’ meaning there is no pollen…this discourages the bees from hanging around for very long.

I have included a very short piece of video at the end of the post that I took with my son’s GoPro camera, hoping to capture a little of the experience for you…needless to say, a very rookie job…what can

I say…it was my first attempt! It is very tough to take video without a viewfinder!

A photo of one of my favorite sunflowers at the sunflower maze. Lyman Orchards is the 12th oldest family-owned business in the U.S., operating since 1741 and currently run by the eighth generation!

My first visit to a sunflower maze was a wonderful experience. Please enjoy the photos of this truly lovely place.

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

2 comments

butterfly habitat

August 3, 2012

friday field trip

Do you like butterflies? I’m not a big fan. I could never understand the attraction. I never ‘got’ the ‘releasing them at the wedding thing’ or why someone would tattoo a drawing of one on their butt! Of course, if it were a shell or a starfish, I might understand ;)

Raising butterflies as a kid was solely an accident. I would capture a caterpillar in a jar…taking it out periodically to let it crawl up my arm. I would soon loose interest. Coming across the jar in the garage much later, I would find the caterpillar had transformed. Sometimes I would end up with a butterfly – most times, with a scary looking moth.

Even though the idea of visiting the Butterflies! exhibit at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia was met by me with lukewarm enthusiasm, I actually enjoyed it. Probably because the coolest butterfly in the habitat landed on me! The tropical garden that houses the Butterflies! exhibit is filled with colorful plants and a multitude of live butterflies from Central and South America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. There are an estimated 60 to 150 butterflies and 20 to 40 different species on any given day. Adult butterflies usually live one to two weeks (this I didn’t know) and the museum receives new butterflies from around the world each week. I honestly didn’t think any of my photos would come out since a misting of water was constant in the environment, creating a hazy look.

At first, I was really more interested in the plants than the butterflies. Instructions were given upon entering the (very hot and humid) habitat to ensure all the specimens were treated gently. All that enter are instructed to ask for assistance if a butterfly should land on your person, because a museum worker is required to remove it. I had to seek someone out to remove the one that planted itself on my hand.

It wasn’t until that one butterfly landed on me that I became interested in really looking at them…aren’t they attracted to sweet things? ;)

If you are ever in Philadelphia, check out The Academy of Natural Sciences. It is located at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway www.ansp.org

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

1 comment

oozing with inspiration

May 14, 2012

terrain’s opening

Since I have been anticipating the opening of Terrain in Connecticut for quite some time, I was thrilled to find out the official opening was scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend. I decided that would be a perfect treat on Mother’s Day morning – to visit the new store. Owned by Urban Outfitters, Terrain is a home and garden store, that up until this weekend, only existed in Glen Mills, PA. The store has that same hip vibe as Anthropologie (also owned by Urban Outfitters), but with a gardening aesthetic. An old car dealership in Westport, CT was transformed into a 16,000 square foot retail space, a restaurant with an outdoor patio, a coffee bar, and an outdoor nursery…Terrain.

Relief prints by Connecticut artist Bryan Nash Gill

It was hard to resist not calling in sick to work on Friday to attend the opening day of the store. I had been driving by occasionally during the construction process and was very excited to finally see the store completed. I could not wait to look around inside. Finally, I was able to check it out and I soon found out that I would not be disappointed.

Free sessions in container planting – this one was with herbs.

The store is oozing with inspiration. I especially love the beautiful hand blown glass terrariums by Vermont artisan Simon Pearce. They can be planted by one of the Terrain staff, tailor-made to the purchasers tastes… when I was there on Sunday, many were being created to bring home to a mom on her special day. I vowed to put a Terrain terrarium on my birthday wish list so I could someday put one on my desk at work. There would be no reason not to smile every morning with a work of art like that in your workspace.

The frame of a 1920’s green house is used in the decor.

The knowledge of the barista at the coffee bar was extremely impressive and I am sure the 7:30 am opening time will make it a popular spot for locals to make a quick stop before heading off to work. I didn’t take the time to sample the menu, but the café boasts a Food & Wine “Best New Chef” of 2011 on staff and provided both a visually interesting indoor seating area as well as seating on an outdoor patio.

Terrain’s website is: www.shopterrain.com

5 comments

happiness in white

May 9, 2012

joy in spring flowers

I love white. Checking out my gardens at this time of year brings me both happiness and sadness….happiness for the white, and, sadness for the white. I so adore all varieties of white flowers, but seeing them in bloom in my garden reminds me that my original plan to have all my gardens exclusively in white (a virgin garden), did not come to fruition. It just got so difficult to find white varieties that I eventually gave in to purchasing varieties in other colors. I still do my best to find all the white I can. And, when I get my annuals, I pick mostly white…the last few years I have been loving euporbia (diamond frost…the poinsettia relative) in my containers. I still mourn my white forsythia…one of my favorite ‘whites’, but apparently it just did not like my yard….