Mossy Goodness
Trash to Treasure
This large glass bowl had pine cones in it that were probably over thirty years old. We picked the pine cones out of the yard when we were kids and my Grandmother had it in her apartment for all those decades since we gave it to her. When she died I took it with fond memories and kept it pine cones and all. Last weekend I finally pitched the pine cones (surprisingly they were still intact), cleaned the bowl (it needed a thorough soaking and put it in the “donate/yard sale” pile. I kept looking at it and looking at it…… I really did not need it, but I thought it could be useful for something creative & fun.
I made my own biosphere….
All the plants and moss came right from the yard. Buddha seems to be happy in there with all the moss and I think he might have a few earthworm friends in there too. It is outside on the patio in the shade and appears to be thriving since I spray it down twice a day with water. Not sure what I am going to do with it come winter…. might have to take it into the office (ee-gads I already have too much plantlife there).
Visualizing a Greener World
Our new friend is watching over the flower bed and bringing warm, loving and nurturing energy to the gardens. I am always anxious this time of year to get my fingers in the cool fresh spring soil. I am beginning to calculate my first trip to the nursery— this year definitely ornamental grasses. Those really tall ones that bloom deep red, almost black. I am also hoping to save for a weeping pine or dwarf japanese maple, hhhuuuummmm where would it go? I visualize more peonies and maybe even some dahlias (although they need to get dug up and stored before each winter in this zone). We have also been talking about planting some bamboo, though many varieties are highly invasive (bad – not what we want) so I can at least start to research what is practical for us here in New England.
We are expecting 10 white pine saplings in the mail soon from the Arbor Day Foundation - http://www.arborday.org/ – Did you know that when you become a member of the Arbor Day Foundation they send you ten free trees? Really! And you even get to choose from a wide variety of trees – flowering or evergreen. We all seem to be talking about and trying to be more environmentally conscious these days, call it being “green” or “reducing your carbon footprint”, what better way of being “green” than getting outside, nurturing the earth and planting some more trees! Happy gardening everybody!
