Thoughtfully Blended Hearts

Friday, April 24, 2009

Not quite the right weather…impatience…

Impatience…that’s where I am right now…ready for Nature’s color to envelope me in her arms…but, God is laughing at me now…it’s just not quite—there—not yet…

I found some pretties at Goodwill this week and was eager to photograph some outside “stuff” and I thought an outside dinner would be nice…it wasn’t nice weatherwise…it was warm but ever so windy…blew the geraniums off the plant, the tablecloth in every which direction, trash on my dishes so I settled for photographing….stuff…while I tried to do a little damage control of my environment…

…yep, there’s Zoe’s head…Nothing gets past that girl…ok, edit…

The wind blew the geranium bloom on the plates…so I’ll call it “natureplatescaping”…

…pretty cool, huh…except for one thing…that’s my reflection in the spoon…of all places…ok…"spoon portraiture”…may be on to “something” here…just not quite sure what…

…a little messy…but considering the spring winds…about as good as it’ll get…everything is from GW except my silverware and the lemons…

Pretty cute little basket for a couple of bucks and the aforementioned broken geranium bloom…

I got three of these chippy old plates for $1.99 and four of the clear salad plates (I think they’re Fostoria) for $2.99…

I love this stem…it is my favorite for a glass of wine…(inside where pieces of geraniums don’t fly into it)…aaahhhh composure and a zen-like feeling is trying to get my attention now…

I’m leaving you with this lovely geranium shot…and taking my glass inside for ….well you know…

Thanks for visiting and “enjoying” my ~~failed~~ rescheduled for later outdoor dinner party….

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Solomon’s Seal

Spring is “busting out all over”…come walk with me…around the yard…careful don’t step on Zoe…

Solomon’s Seal is an elegant plant that is Native to North America. The slender, arching stems have alternating lance-shaped leaves that are either green or tipped with white. The small, tubular white flowers dangle underneath the leaves. More mature plants tend to have more flowers and are a bit more showy. But it’s the plant form that makes Solomon’s Seal such an interesting plant. They are easy growers, but somewhat slow to become established. Solomon’s Seal is deer resistant.

The name "Solomon’s Seal" is taken from the shape of the scar on the rhizome where the stem attaches. In some species this scar takes the shape of two overlapped triangles, which is the symbol King Solomon, ruler of Israel from 961 to 931 BC, took to symbolize the union of body and soul. The plants have been used for a number of applications in herbal medicine.

Variegated Solomon’s Seal is easily grown in reasonably fertile soil in the shade garden. Plants benefit from the presence of some organic matter in the soil.
It also does well on the north side of a house if no shade trees are available. While quite tolerant of drought once established, the plants should be watered their first year after planting to ensure good establishment. It makes an excellent companion plant with Hosta and other shade perennials. Be patient with this beauty because it may take several years for the colony to form sufficient size to show the beauty the plant has to provide.