Blog Posts

Pretty in Pink

6/26/2023

The month of June was all about the pinks in the garden! So many varieties - from pale pink, lavender pink, candy pink, to the most vibrant neon pink.

Hardy Geranium sanguineum Var. striatum 'Bloody Cranesbill'
I've been picking and pressing these flowers and leaves for eco-printing later this summer. The more I pick the more they bloom. As they dry they turn to purple. I love the palmately lobed leaves that are more narrow and pointed than other perennial geraniums.

Penstomen digitalis 'Pocahontas'
The bees and hummingbirds just love the tubular shaped flowers and I love the lavender pink flowers and burgundy stems and leaves.

Dianthius gratianopolitanus 'Cheddar Pink'
This is then paler of the two dianthus plants I have. The other one is so vibrant I have yet to get a decent photo of it. They both have lovely sage green foliage. I just deadheaded these and they will bloom again this summer.

Aguilegia canadensis 'Pink Lanterns'
Columbine reseeds so easily that I find new plants popping up in different areas of the garden every year. I fell in love with this flower while on a trip to Colorado where saw them every time we went out walking. Look at those cute and whimsical seeds pods!

Cranesbill, Perennial Geranium
Such pale delicate flowers with the perkiest little spiky seed pods. The leaves are semi evergreen and are one of my favorite leaves for eco-printing.

Spiraea japonica 'Neon Flash'
I planted this spiraea 2 years ago and it seems very happy in it's new home. Last year it was just getting settled in and had only a few flower bunches. It's grown quite a bit since then and has so many more flowers this year that I felt it was okay to pick and press a few to try for eco-printing.

Kalmia latifolia 'Ostbo Red'
My 15 year old mountain laurel is a very special pink as it is Connecticut's state flower. The flower shape is so unusual and I think the bud is just as pretty as the open flower. When I purchased this plant the label said it was the variety 'Raspberry Glow' but I think it was mislabeled. After some research and comparing of photos it looks much more like the variety 'Ostbo Red'. Doesn't it make you think of candy?

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Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - May

5/31/2023

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New Sketchbook Collage colors for the month of May.

Week 1 - Felt like I was doing a little paper mending with this stitch today which reminds me I have a pair of jeans that could use a little mending 🧵🪡

Week 2 - I was a bit sad when I left the spring greens and yellows I was using for my April concertina sketchbook but . . . The peach and orange are so bright and cheery that they are making me just as happy 🧡

Week 3 - Spent some time trying to duplicate one of the background papers. I used it in the first and second panels this month and then somehow misplaced what I had left. It's the paper with the embedded cut threads. Might have worked a little better if I had used shorter thinner threads but it will have to do for now.

Week 4

Week 5 - Do you ever look at the lint you peel off the dryer filter?

It's usually gray and pretty boring but one time I got this pretty peach color with lots of little thread bits embedded. That was so many years ago that I don't remember what I had in the wash that day but I'm glad I saved it the lint. Just one of those oddball things you know you'll use someday : )
You can see peeks of it in each panel of May's concertina sketchbook.

Collages using up the scraps left from May's concertina sketchbook.

You can read more about see these monthly concertina sketchbooks and how they got started here.

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The whites take center stage

5/21/2023

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Have you been enjoying all the May flowers?

I sure have. Even though I see the changes of color in my garden every year I still get surprised by how each color seems to have its own time to stand out. Early spring always starts with a flood of sunny yellow from the daffodils and forsythia. Summer moves into the hot and bright oranges.

I’ve been outside doing a little weeding and prepping so I can plant my veggies this week. As I walked around, I saw pops of white everywhere. White flowers are certainly taking center stage in my garden right now.

I saw my first hummingbird of the year along with a butterfly and a bunch of bees enjoying the blossoms on this white azalea. I look forward to this shrub blooming each year. The flowers have a special glow, especially towards the end of the day.

5 reasons to have white flowers in your garden

The color white is known for its sense of peace and hope. Having white flowers in the garden can offer a feeling of tranquility.
White flowers reflect light which makes them great for brightening up shady areas of the garden. Their brightness makes them stand out and are especially lovely in the evening.
Even though white flowers don't have bright pigments, they still attract pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Just like painting a room white to give an illusion of space, white flowers can be used to make smaller gardens appear more airy and expansive.
White flowers create a neutral backdrop, working well with other colors you may want in your garden.

Balansae - from the hyacinth family

Candytuft

Mrs. Bateman Clematis

Blueberry blossoms

Tiarella

"The white flowers of spring
are the dreams of winter."
- Khalil Gibran

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Monday Concertina Sketchbook Collage - April

4/26/2023

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Even before I had finished my collages for March I started a collection of papers in the colors I wanted to use for April. With spring in the air, the greens were calling out to me.

Can you see some of the repurposed papers I used in this pile? The chartreuse paper with the white fan like design near the bottom left was a surprise find. It's the inside of a Taylor's brand lemon and ginger tea box. So bright and cheerful. I also used small strips of their teabag wrappers that have a little gold trim. You can see that paper more clearly in the very last collage in this post.

The really bright yellowy green strip at the top left is cardstock packaging a friend gave me. Also mixed into the pile are pieces from a tissue box, an envelope liner and an Allegro's brand tea box and tea wrapper.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Below is the finished four panel concertina. It's been so much fun working with all the different varieties of green this month. Each week I looked from my green and yellow paper covered table to the outside. There I saw more green and yellow as the garden is starting to come back to life. There is definitely a magical feel in the air this time of year.

Here are a few collages made from the scraps I have left at the end of April.

You can read more about see these monthly concertina sketchbooks and how they got started here.

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Daffodil Joys in Spring

4/18/2023

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If it's spring in your part of the world I bet like me,
you're enjoying all the new growth and beauty the season has to offer.

I don't know what flower signals the arrival of spring more than the daffodil.
They bring such joy to my garden each year with their bright, cheerful blooms.

I'm enjoying them even more than usual this year.
If I'm inside I find myself stopping at the windows and pausing for a moment to admire their beauty.

When I go for walks in the neighborhood I enjoy seeing so many different varieties.
I knew there were many but Google just told me that there are over 26,000 varieties of daffodils!

For the past 6 years I've taken this same photo of my backyard from an upstairs window. It's one of those spring scenes of yellow that catches my eye every morning before I go downstairs. You can see that over the years it varies as to what is in bloom with what. For the 3rd year in a row I managed to capture the moment when the dogwood tree has just started blooming, the daffodils are breathing their last breath and the forsythia is still going strong.