Feel the rhythm of the butterfly wings, Monarch on Fur Balls

While composing the music for this piece, I tried to give you the viewer and listener— a feel for just who these dainty little characters really are. They are Mexican of course. They migrate from Mexico to Canada and we here in NC are right in their path. Lucky for me I grew Monkey Balls this year and they just love it. You can search my sidebar for Fur Balls and you’ll get all kinds of good info.

Do you feel the butterfly wings beating? Do you feel the grace and Mexican flavor in this arrangement I put together for you? I took the photos in August or September and they laid eggs which hatched and the caterpillars munched nicely then flew beautifully on their way as Monarchs. I was very proud of the whole process.

Created on a MacBook Pro using IMovie, Garage Band, Iphoto, Itunes and then uploaded to Youtube

‘Limelight’ Hydrangea study repost

This is the repost of my podcast on the ‘Limelight’ hydrangea study. For those who didn’t see earlier post, I’m having to repost my youtube videos as they were stripped of the audios and I’m repairing them here to my blog and at youtube…sorry for the double posting. Even though I’m rebuilding a new blog, this one will remain active because a lot of school children and others link to this blog for things just like this ‘Limelight’ video. I use to teach school and in particular biology—so I know how finding stuff like this can be—so I’m gonna reload for these folks. So just ignore me as I fix a few things here and there.

The new blog, Decorate A Garden is coming along nicely. Working fast to get it done for you and me.

Red Geraniums blooming in December and Superwoman

I can’t believe it’s December 1st and I’ve got geraniums blooming. I’ve also got gaillardia, ‘Snow Princess’ alyssum, daisies, ‘Quick Fire’ hydrangeas, pansies, verbena, ‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia and a few others. This Saturday should take care of that as the first snowfall is expected. I ask Mr. D to surprise me with some good hot chocolate–I like surprises.

I am working hard on the new blog, Decorate A Garden.  Our new home is looking comfy. I can’t wait to show it to you. It is still looking like Spring before I can get it done. I spent all day today just learning page color gradients.

That means taking a background color and making it go from light to dark from any point on the page. I placed a jpeg over that and adjusted the weight of the jpeg so it would load faster. And…that took all day—for one page. I probably would be done by now if I wasn’t trying to make it so pretty or if I wasn’t such an idea person. It almost drives me nuts.

Every now and then I take a break from designing and make categories. Since I’m moving blog post one by one from this blog—I’ve decided to made a category just for hydrangeas–just for the new house—, and be more specific and do sub categories which means inventory as you go. Very time consuming but a wealth of information for school children and those looking for pictures which is my goal.

Kathy at Cold Climate Gardening gave me an excellent idea for my new garden clothing line which will come along some time in 2010-11. I was asking how I should display the clothes on my new blog–and she came up with a brilliant idea—now you’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.  I’ve known Kathy for quite awhile now. I’ve nicknamed her Superwoman. She can do most anything from cooking to website design.

She’s one of the first garden bloggers–EVER– but she’s so much more too. She is a genuine person and a joy to talk with. She’s perhaps the most helpful person I’ve ever met and has a very large family of equally smart children. When she doesn’t know an answer to something about the garden, cooking, the computer, or life–she’ll turn to one of her children and they’ll know right away—it’s just amazing how much she adds to our blog world on a daily basis and you probably don’t know it.

Please do stop by her blog and visit one of her many topics. See what books she has recommended or what plants she’s talking about today. I love everything about her. I’ve never seen her when she wasn’t wearing her Superwoman cape!

The Seed Pods Of Gymphocarpus Physocarpus

This is a riot of activity. I’ve done many a post about this Monkey Balls or Fur Balls plant that continues to drive curious folks to my blog. Some have even emailed me for seeds. At first, I was sending them over to Thompson and Morgan where I had purchased them but after reading a bit about them I’m hesitant.

I have reported they are poisonous to humans and animals. And in the same report I’ve given links to the medicinal value. But more recently it’s been brought to my attention that they are not welcome in our plains region because the range animals will eat them. So I have chosen to gather the seed pods and discontinue their lineage. Farewell my friends. I enjoyed the journey.

And what have I been up to——–!!!!!! The fans of Flowergardengirl can****** Watch me Sunday night on a show called ‘The Plantanista’—at  Garden World Report It always airs West Coast Time on Sunday evening around 9ish  so I usually watch it on Monday. Ya’ll tune in November 1st with Shirley Bovshow the host.  I’m talking about a certain garden thing I have an obsession about. Shirley Bovshow from Eden Makers Blog is the host and she’s always been my buddy. She’s really making a go of this online TV and ironing out the technical details. Last week was an interesting show about the Gen Y’ers.

( It is looking—hopefully—like we are on our way to reaching goal for our Operation Christmas Child for Garden Bloggers so please head over and give!!!! Thank you to everyone who is posting the widget! )

Ever thought of putting Fur Balls in an arrangement?

I did. I thought about putting my asclepias Fur Balls or Monkey Balls plant in an Autumn arrangement. I did it for Carol at May Dreams Gardens. She’s having her Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day of course. She host this event the 15th of each month and everyone is invited to showcase what’s blooming in the current garden.

For me, I’m harvesting the blooms, seed pods, and leafy colors to make Autumn arrangements. I thought you all might like to see what else can be done with my Fur Balls plant besides feed the Monarch butterflies.

You can use the search feature on my blog for asclepias and read more. I have featured them in several post.

This sunday around 9pm Pacific Coast Time, Shirley Bovshow at Eden Makers Blog is featuring many of the blotanical award winners on Garden World Report. Carol and I will be on there for certain. Hope you will tune in.

The Limelight is fading

Autumn is coming to this Limelight hydrangea.

Usually this hydrangea will turn a deep dark pink but this one is just a year old and our weather was very cool all summer. That probably has something to do with it’s lack of Autumn color. I still think it’s beautiful.

But look here—-there are a few tinges of pink…….it’s cause this bloom isn’t laying so close to the ground like the others. I look forward to seeing it next year. Do you have Autumn pictures of the Limelight? I’d love to see them. Post about it and I’ll link to it.

Invincibelle Hydrangea 2010

Proven Winners Plants A pink ‘Annabelle’ has come on the garden scene and is introduced by Proven Winners Plants. I am growing them and they bloom from Spring through frost. When the plant is young the blooms overwhelm the plant a bit but as the plant matures it grows into itself. The stems get strong and blooms are produced on the plant for several months. In my zone 7 garden the ‘Invincibelle’ hydrangea blooms in full sun untill frost. It has been blooming since I planted it in May. The blooms are huge and very showy. The photos in the post are from the new media information I recieved from Proven Winners. Wish I could take credit and aren’t they grand? I’m proud to tell you this ‘Invincibelle’ is a North Carolina native. Dr. Tom Ranney at the Mountain Hortaculture Crop Research and Development Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and his talented students have brought us this repeat blooming hydrangea.

Richard Olsen, a graduate student, was hiking in the Appalachian mountains and discovered a pink lace cap. He brought a cutting back to the center where a team of students under the direction of Dr. Ranney grew this beautiful new variety. Proven Winners has teamed with the Breast Research Foundation on a campaign to help find the cure for breast cancer. For every plant sold, a dollar is donated to the cause.

The invincible spirit of this reblooming hydrangea is a reminder for us to continually hope and donate so a cure for this disease can be found. You all know I love Proven Winners Plants and this week I had the privilege of meeting Danielle Ernest and Janice Limbaugh from that company. Danielle, the public relations person for Proven Winners, discovered my blog about two years ago and contacted me about trialing the new cultivars and then writing about them. I had been growing their plants for the previous 5 years so I jumped at the chance.

This is me( after a day in the 100 humidity of a hot Sept. NC) and Danielle at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I was thrilled to finally meet the person behind all the phone and email conversations. Thank you Danielle and Janice for the nice PW gifts and plants over the years. I have and will continue to enjoy my journey with Proven Winners. This photo is a bit empty looking and I would love to showcase how pretty it was with the pink market bags and ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea—-but people flocked to this site and wiped them clean. In fact, they were gone on both days within the first hour we were allowed on the floor. Everyone was carrying around a pink market bag.

To see how this booth was created and color choices made—visit Helen @ Gardening with Confidence. From flee markets to paint selection—-this is how it came together! HERE This booth was spectacular when the pink bags filled with the ‘Invincibelle’ hydrangeas were added.

Going to the Garden Writer’s Symposium in Raleigh NC

I’m going to be gone this week. I’ll be home on Sunday and if my house catches on fire–please put it out. Mr D will be here but I’m at the Garden Writer’s Symposium in Raleigh, NC. I am looking forward to meeting up with vendors, writers, bloggers, friends, and publishers. I promise to write about it when I get home. Maybe I’ll have a chance to check in and blog about the happenings. I am taking my camera and the computer but not sure how much time I’ll have.

I’m looking forward to learning about what’s important in the gardening world. I’ll be attending seminars on container gardening for the home and business, propagation rules, what is the future of gardening, and so much more. I’ll have mounds of information to share with you when I return.

See ya soon!

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