Sunday, April 15, 2012
Happy Easter Ever After Photos
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Happy Easter Ever After
Its nice to be back in touch after our busy season here in SW Florida. Easter marks the end of our Winter season and the beginning of our Summer calm....which is nice as well. [Image][Image] Online, I found an unusual idea for arrangement to make for the Easter table center piece out of pasta. Yes, the slanted ziti inserted into floral foam formed the 'vase' if you will, for the flowers. The sparkly grass brought up the wow factor a bit, the glass eggs held the grass in place and then the colorful eggs just made it scream Spring! The pasta offered so much texture and the colorful grass gave it a mysterious, hidden side. You would never have known it was pasta unless you looked at very it closely. Below I am showing both photos, the table presentation with the orchids and spring flowers and the other image is at midnight with the 'pasta vase' tossed in the garbage( note the foil tin under it from the Easter ham.) The good news is I did not have to clean the vase! Spring continues to amaze me with this years wonderful Phalenopsis orchids that are in bloom in my trees! Each year around the start of the rainy season, I add a few more orchids of all types and attach them with pantyhose to my different trees. Its always so exciting to see them coming into bloom. In this photo alone, I have 5 in bloom now and 3 more coming into flower. They dangle dangerously out to the side of the trees. I see they could use a Botanistix support stake but I have yet to figure how to attach it to the tree. Its on my to do list! Botanistix orchid support stakes are now being carried in 3 retail stores in Naples and 1 in Sarasota. Recently, I was asked to design some 'Lamp Decor' by Naples Lamp Shop (my newest retailer.) I am enjoying the contrast from orchids to lamps. Sometimes we just need to freshen the look of the lamp by adding a pretty, decorated tassel and it seems new again! Soon, I will begin doing finials for this company as well. Its nice to be able to keep it all fresh & interesting for me. I will be keeping you posted and I love hearing from you as well. The quote I would live to leave with you is so true for all gardeners. "Gardens are a form of autobiography" Until next time, Christi  |
Monday, October 24, 2011
Italian Fall and Orchid's Care
Hi,
Happy Fall to you!
Italy was wonderful. Rome was bustling and enjoyable as any major city but the jewel was our Umbrian home. We toured daily and returned to our home late afternoon to enjoy the day's most recent wine purchases on the beautiful patio overlooking the hills of Umbria. Whats not to love? I think vacations out of our wonderful country really increase the appreciation of everything American upon the return. There is nothing like coming home and our country, even with all of its challenges, is very special.
I have been hearing from alot of you about the state of your orchids and what to do with them.
Those in the North have brought the orchids inside for sure now. When I was in NJ, I let mine winter on cookie sheets with pebbles thinly spread out and the pots on top of the pebbles with water beneath to create moisture. This became most important from Jan through March. Of course, checking for white fly and other bugs is a continual thing up North in the winter. Hopefully, the Phalenopsis have set their buds by the cool weather you have already experienced..whether you left them outside or left a window nearby open for them- they need that cool, even here in Florida to set the bud to eventually bloom. You should be enjoying a late winter's bloom if it all went as planned- don't be afraid to use a little bloom booster. However, your fertilizer schedule is much less than what is below for those in Florida.
Those of us here in Florida are quite spoiled when it comes to our preparation to get the orchids to bloom. They have spent the entire summer outside enjoying the humidity and frequent downpours nature had to offer. Now that we have cooled off, our Phalenopsis are setting their blooms and I am starting their bloom booster, 1/2 strength, 3-4 x month. Sounds like alot, but really all of the care I give them, is this time of year and if I miss a week, its not as though they are not going to bloom. If I did nothing, they would just bloom later in the season.
I am treating the orchids I attached to my palm trees(by panty hose) as well. I cup my hands under the roots and try to moisten them. Most of them have attached themselves to the trees after our wet summer. Attached to the tree or in a pot, they all like a little libation to make them become something special.
While I was fertilizing this weekend, I came upon a very long, thin, textured thing behind some shrubs. I quickly decided it was a snakeskin! My husband has repeatedly offered to have me take a look the ones he finds in the garden...no thanks. Apparently, they like to find a tight, shrubbish area so they can disrobe, so to speak, and move on. Creepy! That is the one advantage I can find to living in a high rise- no snakes!
"A weed is merely a plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered" Ralph Waldo Emerson
Until next time...Christi
Happy Fall to you!
Italy was wonderful. Rome was bustling and enjoyable as any major city but the jewel was our Umbrian home. We toured daily and returned to our home late afternoon to enjoy the day's most recent wine purchases on the beautiful patio overlooking the hills of Umbria. Whats not to love? I think vacations out of our wonderful country really increase the appreciation of everything American upon the return. There is nothing like coming home and our country, even with all of its challenges, is very special.
I have been hearing from alot of you about the state of your orchids and what to do with them.
Those in the North have brought the orchids inside for sure now. When I was in NJ, I let mine winter on cookie sheets with pebbles thinly spread out and the pots on top of the pebbles with water beneath to create moisture. This became most important from Jan through March. Of course, checking for white fly and other bugs is a continual thing up North in the winter. Hopefully, the Phalenopsis have set their buds by the cool weather you have already experienced..whether you left them outside or left a window nearby open for them- they need that cool, even here in Florida to set the bud to eventually bloom. You should be enjoying a late winter's bloom if it all went as planned- don't be afraid to use a little bloom booster. However, your fertilizer schedule is much less than what is below for those in Florida.
Those of us here in Florida are quite spoiled when it comes to our preparation to get the orchids to bloom. They have spent the entire summer outside enjoying the humidity and frequent downpours nature had to offer. Now that we have cooled off, our Phalenopsis are setting their blooms and I am starting their bloom booster, 1/2 strength, 3-4 x month. Sounds like alot, but really all of the care I give them, is this time of year and if I miss a week, its not as though they are not going to bloom. If I did nothing, they would just bloom later in the season.
I am treating the orchids I attached to my palm trees(by panty hose) as well. I cup my hands under the roots and try to moisten them. Most of them have attached themselves to the trees after our wet summer. Attached to the tree or in a pot, they all like a little libation to make them become something special.
"A weed is merely a plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered" Ralph Waldo Emerson
Until next time...Christi
Monday, September 19, 2011
carrots, garlic & snakes
Hi,
I enjoyed summer so much. I was in NY for the Gift show sourcing all kinds of unusual things for my Botanistix. Of course, I made it to the Union Square Farmers Market, a personal favorite of mine for many years. Look at the beautiful table of carrots! Staying in a hotel, I barley bought anything except wonderful garlic. I bought 6 fabulous heads and I am enjoying them immensely, clove by clove. At a $1.75/head, they are worth every penny. There is such a difference with really fresh garlic. The cloves actually drip on my cutting board. Amazing.
How beautiful is this carrot display? There is such a great vibe at a good market. People are relaxed. They are trying to decide which piece of fruit is the one that will end up in their kitchen. At that moment, its a very important decision. You can hear couples saying, "no, I think this one is better." If you love selection and find food in quantity as pretty as art, the Union Square Markets area must see on a trip to Manhattan... and feel free to bring me some garlic!
I will be in Italy this month and I have already sourced the location of the markets. I will attend multiples, I am sure...photos to follow!
I had a surprise the other day on a relaxing Saturday as I brought the newspapers in and was on the phone with my husband who was out of town. I reached my front door area and from one of my large pots jumped a baby black snake! And there he was flailing in front of me on my beautiful doormat! I am screaming into the phone and my heart is beating like crazy! Every time I moved, he moved, so creepy. Of course, After I got inside I had to photograph him- see him on the right side 1/2 way up? Admittedly, he looks small, but he moved about 8" each time just by propelling his body forward. He was in my planter that I had just trimmed back the week before! I had my hands all over it...scary. Welcome to Florida!
I have also been enjoying the quiet before the storm here in Naples. The quiet is of course is summer and the storm is the return of the snowbirds. Our town becomes a 10- 15 minute town- you can get anywhere in 15 minutes here in summer- not so during the season. The same is true with restaurants and no reservations. However, after all of the quiet, we look forward to the hubbub of season. Its already mid Sept and I see more out of town license plates. Soon, it will be buzzing here.
My dendrobium orchids that I have planted on my trees ( with pantyhose to attach them) are really in full regalia. This photo does not do it justice. So, I am getting beautiful color from the house. Love it!
Its not perfect living anywhere. I really do hate snakes, cannot even look at them on TV. HOWEVER,
my little guy, and his mother ( oh, God, where is she?) really do eat alot of our Florida critters, or so I am told. I am going with that. That glass is 1/2 full!
Anyone who loves their garden can relate to the following quote.
How beautiful is this carrot display? There is such a great vibe at a good market. People are relaxed. They are trying to decide which piece of fruit is the one that will end up in their kitchen. At that moment, its a very important decision. You can hear couples saying, "no, I think this one is better." If you love selection and find food in quantity as pretty as art, the Union Square Markets area must see on a trip to Manhattan... and feel free to bring me some garlic!
I will be in Italy this month and I have already sourced the location of the markets. I will attend multiples, I am sure...photos to follow!
I had a surprise the other day on a relaxing Saturday as I brought the newspapers in and was on the phone with my husband who was out of town. I reached my front door area and from one of my large pots jumped a baby black snake! And there he was flailing in front of me on my beautiful doormat! I am screaming into the phone and my heart is beating like crazy! Every time I moved, he moved, so creepy. Of course, After I got inside I had to photograph him- see him on the right side 1/2 way up? Admittedly, he looks small, but he moved about 8" each time just by propelling his body forward. He was in my planter that I had just trimmed back the week before! I had my hands all over it...scary. Welcome to Florida!
I have also been enjoying the quiet before the storm here in Naples. The quiet is of course is summer and the storm is the return of the snowbirds. Our town becomes a 10- 15 minute town- you can get anywhere in 15 minutes here in summer- not so during the season. The same is true with restaurants and no reservations. However, after all of the quiet, we look forward to the hubbub of season. Its already mid Sept and I see more out of town license plates. Soon, it will be buzzing here.
Its not perfect living anywhere. I really do hate snakes, cannot even look at them on TV. HOWEVER,
my little guy, and his mother ( oh, God, where is she?) really do eat alot of our Florida critters, or so I am told. I am going with that. That glass is 1/2 full!
Anyone who loves their garden can relate to the following quote.
until next time...ChristiHalf the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897 (Thanks, Jessica)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Today, I panty- hosed ( with blue no less, who gave me those?) 3 more Dendrobiums orchids to my trees in hopes of seeing some very pretty blossoms in the Fall. Its always a conundrum on the best tree to choose. Light, sun and access to sprinkler system is the key to longterm success. Since the sun is always moving it sounds easier than it sometimes is. More to follow. Onto food! Last night I made "Connie's white clam sauce" for friends here. Quite wonderful. I can say that because no matter how many times I make the dish, it is always Connie's recipe, so she gets the compliments! Other friends brought a great gazpacho ( a version of Ina's recipe) and an baby arrugala & heirloom tomato salad. For dessert I did chocolate covered frozen
summer times. Great gardening quote... You can bury alot of troubles digging in the dirt....Isn't that the truth! Enjoy the last half of summer and all of its wonderful fruits, tomatoes, corn & flowers |
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Oh that little vase.....
I am that person who sees the perfect blossom in the garden and wants to put it immediately in the kitchen. In NJ, I had to have the fragrance of the roses, the texture of the peonies or the hydrangea and the arrangement needed to greet me personally, each time I came into the kitchen. Fast forward to now, I have many choices of flowers, but few have the real "fragrance" I just spoke of. However, in exchange for giving the fragrance up, I now have flowers 12 months of the year. Not a bad trade, even for flower addicted me.
I recently discovered, I am a small vase collector. I have them is all shapes, sizes, colors & heights. It is my favorite gift to give as a hostess gift. I guarantee the gift I give, is also one I own, in my overstuffed closet. When I am out of town, it is such a special and easy trinket to pick up. Many of my vases have a story attached to them, which I also love. Most times it takes me back to where ever I traveled to or with and I love that aspect of collecting. When we were in Venice I was on Venetian glass overload. However, the morning we were leaving, I decided to buy one of the thousands on the street I had been seeing for days. Of course now, I am so happy I chose to buy it, as I use it so frequently. The vase is between a deep eggplant and a purple shade. The colors of whatever flowers I put in there just pop.
When I replant orchids, which I recently did, I end up with many single stalks of orchids. They last so long as a cut flower. In my kitchen, I have a large area in front of the sink which is always graced with something...an orchid plant or fresh stalks of something from outside or the market. I think it distracts me from the activity at hand- literally! Last weekend I was trimming a flowering potted plant and as I was finished, I could not throw the flowering pieces away. So, for 4 days I had a great arrangement on my outdoor table. It smiled at me each time I passed by.
Each summer in NJ, I planted mint of some kind. Inevitably, the plant went wild overpowering all others, much like a ground cover. I started using it as a 'filler' green to my small arrangements that I picked from my yard. FYI, mint in the house smells amazingly fresh. Its perfect in a small vase all by itself....and that bright green just makes you smile.
I have been researching gardening quotes and some of them are quite funny and thought provoking. So each week I plan to have quote to share with you. If you have a great one, please share it.
"In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death." ~ Sam Llewelyn So true!
I recently discovered, I am a small vase collector. I have them is all shapes, sizes, colors & heights. It is my favorite gift to give as a hostess gift. I guarantee the gift I give, is also one I own, in my overstuffed closet. When I am out of town, it is such a special and easy trinket to pick up. Many of my vases have a story attached to them, which I also love. Most times it takes me back to where ever I traveled to or with and I love that aspect of collecting. When we were in Venice I was on Venetian glass overload. However, the morning we were leaving, I decided to buy one of the thousands on the street I had been seeing for days. Of course now, I am so happy I chose to buy it, as I use it so frequently. The vase is between a deep eggplant and a purple shade. The colors of whatever flowers I put in there just pop.
When I replant orchids, which I recently did, I end up with many single stalks of orchids. They last so long as a cut flower. In my kitchen, I have a large area in front of the sink which is always graced with something...an orchid plant or fresh stalks of something from outside or the market. I think it distracts me from the activity at hand- literally! Last weekend I was trimming a flowering potted plant and as I was finished, I could not throw the flowering pieces away. So, for 4 days I had a great arrangement on my outdoor table. It smiled at me each time I passed by.
Each summer in NJ, I planted mint of some kind. Inevitably, the plant went wild overpowering all others, much like a ground cover. I started using it as a 'filler' green to my small arrangements that I picked from my yard. FYI, mint in the house smells amazingly fresh. Its perfect in a small vase all by itself....and that bright green just makes you smile.
I have been researching gardening quotes and some of them are quite funny and thought provoking. So each week I plan to have quote to share with you. If you have a great one, please share it.
"In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death." ~ Sam Llewelyn So true!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Happy Summer!
Due to our heat, we cannot grow French Tarragon here, which I love. We get something called Mexican Tarragon which is similar but different. Its like comparing the up north grass which is so soft, to the Florida grass which is..so, not soft. I am going to try to plant it anyway in the ground here as I did the rosemary. I will learn to like it, exactly like I did dark chocolate. Which I now love! Our landscaper was surprised to know the rosemary has lasted 4 years in the ground and it needs to be cut back regularly. I suppose the lesson here is if something flourishes, its happy, so we should try to embrace it.
Someone just gave me a cutting from a lemon grass plant. I have been letting it establish itself in the ground. I haven't used any yet, but I am told its wonderful in soups. Do any of you use it?
Since the subject is herbs, I have to share with you a great friend's gift for me this year. Herb shears. When you cut, its as though you are using 5 pairs of scissors at once They chiffonade basil beautifully. That is the only herb I have now, basil. It cannot be summer with out basil!
Recently, I have been a shut-in. Just me and the computer working on the final details of the new Botanistix website. I hope to be live next week so I can go back to doing what I love, not just writing about it. I will let you know soon.
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