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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

compost and clematis

well, after a long, dangerously hot summer so far...
it's a pleasure, indeed, to have anything blooming, especially on its own accord.
right now, the sweet autumn clematis and cypress vine
are blooming their little heads off!

and i just love it!!
how adorable is this sweet smelling vine of little white clusters...
and i just love how it has scrambled along the chicken wire fence, which hides my
compost pile from the neighbors.

here is the other side of my compost pile...not bad looking either.
quite beautiful actually.

ahhh...
composting.
so easy to do.
good for the environment.
reduces landfill waste.
and a fantastic soil conditioner.


basically you add brown and green stuff into a pile and let it cook.
done.
that's it.

brown = carbon (fall leaves, shredded newspaper, small sticks...)
+
green =nitrogen (grass clippings, food scraps...)

2/3 brown + 1/3 green = the most ideal ratio

occasionally stirring and keeping moist is great,
but here's the deal folks...don't make a big deal over this!
quite frankly, i have better things to do than monkey around with a compost pile (apparently, i have been known to monkey around with monkey grass though...see previous 2 posts)
have you ever seen a forest floor? perfectly composted every year without measuring and stirring and all that fussing. my compost pile is... leaves and grass and garden waste, etc. thrown in a pile and basically left on its own for a year and every year i have wonderful, fluffy, sweet smelling compost.
the end.

this sweet autumn clematis showed up on its own, on the other side of my deck. so i coaxed it over onto the bench. i just love those little surprises in the garden!

this gem is growing in my friends back garden...in fact, i think she gave me my vine, or it may have been our other neighbor who gave it to me. i can't quite remember.......that's cool about us gardeners............we love to share.

my friend
is having a blog party called
where other bloggers are sharing ideas of how we can make small changes to better our world.
please check her out.
and here is a good site with more composting info for you, if you are interested
one thing you should never, EVER put into a compost pile is bermuda grass!!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

more monkey grass

after i took pictures of my monkey grass last week,

i cut some of the flowers and brought them inside to monkey around with (sorry, i couldn't help the play on words).

these same flowers have lasted pretty well, and just started to drop petals today.






















i hope you all have a wonderful week...

love,

E



my friend Z is having another Project Genesis blog party on wednesday.

this is a cool party, where you share something ...something that can make a change...it doesn't have to be monumental...just little tips or tricks to help the environment...god knows we need some

CHANGE.

won't you join Z and me?


Thursday, August 26, 2010

monkey grass

the Monkey Grass (Liriope) is putting on a purple show in my woodland garden right now.
i have used it to soften the border of these gardens with a lush frame,
and to visually LEAD the EYE around the graceful curves of the beds.
repeating this plant throughout, pulls the garden together and creates a restful feel.
a harmonious drift of calming color and texture.






paths bordered by monkey grass leave no doubt which way to tread...
and puts the traveler at ease...























my friends,
i hope you're weekend is a harmonious drift of calm...........
i am joining other bloggers exploring
repetition


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

last play of light

well, we finally have a slight relief from the heat and humidity here.

funny how, down to 90 degrees is a relief?

compared to 100...i'll take it!

after playing in the garden last evening and while hubby was away...

i finally hung some white curtain panels on my back porch.

i have been dying to do this, but was wishy washy about which type of curtain rod to use. i thought i might use a branch and clips, but i settled on twine and clothespins and i love the casual look, plus it will be easy to take them down for laundering.


enjoying the ever so slightly cooler evening

and admiring my new soft envelope of curtains

i played with my camera...

as the sun played its last,

light and shadow game

of the day.
































the last play of light



Thursday, August 19, 2010

celebrating pinky style!

pinky champagne
and...



pinky toes.


pinky flowers
and...


pinky nose.


more pinky champagne
and...


pinky glare.


pinky cheeks (hic)
and...



pinky hare.



pinky ribbon

in a whirl...


and

the prettiest in pink...

my baby girl!


happy 28th (gulp) birthday

to my darling daughter,


the day you were born, well...my life just got better and better. pinky swear.

love,

mommy









hooking up with other pink posts at Chania's blog here.




















Tuesday, August 17, 2010

prize from canada

last week i was thrilled to discover i had won a photo contest
hosted by Chania at Razamataz
and look at the prize i received in the mail, all the way from Canada!
a 1920's era Crown jar with glass lid, handmade soap in a little gauzy bag,
and a wonderfully soft old sugar grain sack!
tied with perky pink ribbon

i collect blue Ball jars, and this beauty with it's sparkly crown, will fit in just fine.


i have never seen this type of glass lid before






handmade soap from her shop


this grain sack is so dreamy soft in color and texture......

"SWEET"


Chania, thank you so very much for all my goodies.
how absotootly fun it was to receive a prize from Canada!
i love it all!!
starting this friday, Chania will be hosting a weekly
photo challenge
this weeks theme is
pink
i'll be joining this fun challenge for sure.
thank you again Chania.