Want to see me screw up on camera? The real video of the Briar Patch Christmas Open House will follow in a few days but for now——-Flowergardengirl Commercial Bloopers coming at you and more proof she needs a new camera. This is not the quality my old camera would have produced and I’ll have to go back and reshoot a great deal of these shots on a different camera. Some of the problem was that we were shooting too late. I intended on shooting earlier in the day but the displays weren’t quite ready so I’ll probably go back tomorrow and hope the bright lights will capture the shots better. But you can enjoy the commercial making process and see just how easy it is to flub it all up–alot of times. Then you bring it back home and it gets even worse when you transfer it to the computer screen.

I use Imovie, Garage Band, Beatsuite( Music), and a lot more programs all mixed to make my podcast and present it to the customer. They either have me turn it in to the tv station or I do it for them. Usually it’s best I do it for them cause the station will have questions and need a few tweaks.

I usually do still shot podcasting which is much easier than live shots. You can see some of my still shot podcasts on my sidebar. Scroll down to the list of Vopod videos and choose the beautiful rudbekia ‘Chim Chiminee’ . So this live shot stuff is very time consuming and nerve wracking. But I am a fun loving person and thought you might like to see what I think of the throw-aways after I cut them out of the final scene.

ok, here is the camera I want!

Amazon Wish List Link I went as far as to write the folks of Canon and ask them to send me a camera. Then I went and got all sentimental tonight about my old Kodak.

I was at the Christmas open house for The Briar Patch garden center doing my thing and videoing for their site and mine. It just didn’t feel right. I had borrowed my son’s camera cause you know–my camera is broken.

The garden center was beautiful and I’ll post about the festivities very soon. But honestly, the digital quality is not what you are used to seeing on my blog. It’s not going to be the ah ha Flowergardengirl you’ve all been loving these past two years. It just isn’t going to be pretty again until me and Kodak marry back up.

I want a Kodak. It’s a great camera. I had a Z612 before and it was awesome. I like the video quality and this Z1015Is is suppose to be even better sound and digital quality. I’m going to wait on it. I’m a patient kind of person really. I’ve even got to put some projects on hold to I get it but that’s Ok cause you know… good things are worth the wait. I am a perfectionist on these sorts of projects in case you haven’t noticed.

So that is where I am right now. I’ll be posting plenty of stuff till I get my new camera–I suppose I’ve got several thousand pictures stored on my computer that will last me a lifetime—but there was this herb farm I wanted to go interview—and there was a new vineyard to go see next week—-and there was that wreath I was gonna make on the December 6th—and my front porch was going to be just gorgeous for Christmas—but I suppose it will just have to wait huh?

Some of you wonder why I don’t just go out and buy it….well, honestly–don’t feel sorry for me—I spent my allowance on the guest room. I’d been wanting a new bed, new bedspread, and stuff for that room for 20 years. I also needed area rugs for the new house—-and so got those too. Well Mr D isn’t made of money and you just have to say no at some point or you keep on spending money. Right?

Well life is funny sometimes~~~ so I decided to tell you how funny. And I’m telling you life has checks and balances and you gotta live by the rules of karma, love, prayer, golden rules, love, health, etc~~~ I believe we need to be extra good to one another. Life has been good and hard on me at times and right now it is really good. I could afford to go right out and buy the darn thing. But I didn’t budget for it and I’ve spent too much lately. Losing a camera is a nusiance and aggravating but my kids are healthy and Mr D has an awesome well paying job. I’m struggling with it being a want verses a need. My blog is a hobby and a joy but not a living. I love ya’ll but you’ll not perish if I don’t post. I suppose. Maybe get sick?

So here is what is funny/not so funny~~~you have to be careful when you decide to have a fundraiser or be a do gooder or become a preacher or feed the world or help anyone=====cause===like they say==do not pray for patience or trials will certainly come your way………so for certain…..soon as I started Operation Christmas Child…….funny things started happening and I’ll not give you the details….but it has been a series of camera breaking episodes that has just about equaled what we’ve raised for charity. And it’s been my experience that it will happen every time cause I’ve done this before…..

So……I shall wait this camera thing out……I shall weather this…..because it is not the end of the world….it is a nuisance and that is all. More than ever though…I have really found out that I loved my Kodak. So I’m getting another sometime.  Ya’ll just have to be patient with me. Right, we are being patient right?

‘Miss Ruby’ is my new favorite 2010 Proven Winners Color Choice shrub this week. I’m trialing it in my garden and it hasn’t stopped blooming since May. The blooms have been a deep magenta pink that makes me giddy every time I look at it which matches how I’m feeling tonight.

Below is a stock photo from Proven Winners and this is true to color. I think they have this paired with ‘Limelight’ hydrangea but it could be ‘Incrediball’.

Proven Winners sent me this plant in the Spring and I was excited about the color and its butterfly attracting qualities. I had the same idea and originally had it paired with ‘White Dome’ hydrangeas.

I moved the ‘White Dome’ to the back beds because it was just too hot out front for them and replaced them with ‘Incrediball’ hydrangeas also by Proven Winners and I’ve written about them HERE.  You can image the car wrecks that are going to happen when those two beauties collide next summer.

The reason I’m so giddy is cause I found a local herb farm called, Mills Garden Herb Farm.  I’m over the top excited about them cause they offer cooking, crafting, and medicinal herb classes. I told ya’ll I wanted to learn wildcrafting and this certainly is a form of it. My first class is wreath making. If you get a chance. Browse on down the main page and meet Madge and her dogs. You know I’ll go over and do an interview so you can see more!! I promise. You know it makes me giddy. I’m nuts about this sort of thing.

My very good friend Kevin Campbell who owns Campbell Family Nursery is the one who directed me to the herb farm. Kevin knows everything. His nursery has been in his family forever. He’s like me..been around since the early 1700’s. I’m going to interview him for you too. He just bought a whole bunch of land moved the entire nursery and has a grand story to tell. You should read some of the stories he has on his blog! Talk about folklore……..he can really tell it. Finding Plant Treasures

I’ve got one of the pure Campbell bloodline Japanese  maples growing in my backyard! So if I tell you that I like a plant and share it with you—-folks I don’t do it lightly—I do it from my heart and because I know it’s got a good bloodline and I trust who it came from. I trust Proven Winners Plants cause I grow them in my own garden.

From the Proven Winners Site: ‘Miss Ruby’ buddleia x

Growing Tips
Prefers well-drained, moist, fertile soils but can tolerate drought once established. Prefers medium moisture. Prune in late fall or early spring. In Northern states, this plant will die back to the ground though the roots are hardy. In the South, cut back as needed. To encourage reblooming, remove old spent blooms. Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees and shrubs. Follow the label for recommended rate of application.

Exposure
Full sun

Height
48-60″

Spacing
36-48″

Hardy Temp
-20°F (-29°C)

Uses
Excellent for use in perennial beds, wildlife gardens and mixed borders.

Features
Brilliant rich pink summer blooms unlike any other variety. Prune back in late winter/early spring. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Fragrant. Deer resistant.

A beautiful spectacular autumn day~~ big hugs and slobbery kisses from~~ Flowergardengirl

As you see on this government building in Wilmington, North Carolina~~~there are two state flags, that of the United States of America and North Carolina. You can see that the porch ceiling has been properly painted Haint blue which is traditional and scares the ghosts or spirits away. Wouldn’t be a Southern porch without Haint blue. Wouldn’t be the South without a proper salute to Veteran’s Day.

Not a generation in my family has missed serving including me. It wasn’t a hard decision for me to enlist. I’d pretty much been tending to myself for the better part of 15 years of my 16 years in the South. I wasn’t much scared of what was out there. Yes, I enlisted at 16.

Of course I didn’t know the military was going to fit me with a pair of steel toed combat boots. Had I known that, I might of chose to stay home and inherit my father’s furniture business and moonshine habit. Maybe even get better at shifting a 454 and tuning a carburetor back when distributors were attributed to cars and liquor.

In 1976, the Women’s Liberation Movement decided women could fill every shoe a man could including combat boots. Since I had been raised by 3 mechanically gifted  brothers and one moonshine wealthy father~~~ I passed a mechanic Air Force entrance exam with my eyes shut and nose powdered.

But wait~~ just a long paused hound dog minute, the coon is up a tree a long time and nobody realized women have small feet. Here we stood ready to work on generators and airplanes around all this dangerous equipment and hangar shop doors that would slice your toes off before you could blink. So –orders were quickly made and…….somebody made a killing off making little steel toed combat boots and I got me a size 4 mens.

They were cute. They were a spectacle on the flight-line. They were not dainty. They got the job done. By gosh they made a plane fly and they made the engines roar and they made the flag wave and they made the mission go forth—and God Bless America !!!!!! They Made Me Who I am Today~~~~ FREE

HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY

Jo called on a warm afternoon and ask me what kind of  weather South Dakota had in December. I said freezing cold and no way your little almost freezing self could survive. Fast forward several months later and here sits several thousand boxes filled with even more shoeboxes sitting on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

And here is the little 5′1″ North Carolinian warm-blooded mammal who arrived with the boxes to deliver them to the little kids for Operation Christmas Child for the 2008 Christmas season. Isn’t she cute? Imagine if she hadn’t talked to her best friend who had spent 4 years in North Dakota  with her husband who was stationed at Minot, AFB. Just imagine? That best friend who she talked to would be me.

We garden bloggers are doing Operation Christmas Child because I was inspired by my best friend Jo. She went to South Dakota last year and handed out little shoeboxes to kids so they could have a Christmas. You can follow link 1 HERE to give. Link TWO HERE where we do part 1 of the shopping. And  the last giving day will be November 20th so as of today there is still time to give. The turn in date is November 23rd.

I told the fool little freezing thing that she was gong to see temps like she’d never imagined.

and to this she got off the plane and stared right at the Weather Channel bulletin. It was like about 70 degrees back home in NC.

She called me and thanked me profusely for the tip about long johns and that speech about scarves.

I did tell her that she would see some of the most beautifully painted landscapes she’d ever seen. Soon the 18 wheelers arrived and the big tent went up. It was filled to overflowing. The big boxes were filled with shoeboxes. The shoeboxes were filled with treasures that had been donated by folks just like you.

The boxes were all stored in the tent which is located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The building on the left is where they cooked and had some bathrooms and a small storage area. They were suppose to sleep in the tent—but bitter cold was certainly not going to allow for that.

The schools and such where the shoeboxes were to be delivered for redistribution where scattered about the area. The boxes had to transported from this central location.

Jo had been putting boxes together for the better part of 19 years for the little kids. On many occasions she had taken her own kids on shopping trips to buy items that would be placed inside the boxes. They all loved this ritual and this year she had volunteered to go on a mission trip to deliver the boxes to the children. She didn’t know the frozen North would be her destination. I think she was hoping for Hawaii.

She didn’t know if she’d be spending the Operation Christmas Child gift giving week in Australia or some foreign land or here on the homeland. Looks like South Dakota is it and one of the stops was this sweet school. But it could just as easily been right in your backyard. Look around you—-there are so many in need. Operation Christmas Child does not pick religion or color—-they give to everyone. This happens to be on a reservations but it could be in the Appalachians or in the Amazons.

And here is Jo on the left below giving out a shoebox—-I was so happy for her.

And giving is the sweetest gift of all~~~~~ Please give to our Operation Christmas Child

——>>>>>>>GO HERE and read the first post and see how to give!!! Look at the link or at my sidebar for names of those who have already given. On the link above you can grab the widget and help me spread the word. I want to help the children. Won’t you help me too? Please?

Pictures from this weekend showing the cart is filled with fun treasures for the little kid’s boxes for our Garden Blogger’s Operation Christmas Child.<—–Follow the link and you can sign up like many of your friends who are listed on the link and on my sidebar under the widget for Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child ———>

(so sorry for some of the picture quality as I dropped my camera and damaged the shutter while shopping.)

Several weeks ago, Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child kicked off. Proven Winners Plants is our sponsor and they have graciously started us off with $300.  The money donated is being used to buy items that will fill a shoe box. The shoe boxes will be given to children all over the world through the Samaritan’s Purse Ministries.

My best friend, Jo, has been doing these boxes for 20 years.  This past weekend she came up to visit me and we took the first 500 dollars that you donated and went to Walmart. Everyone at Walmart got in the action. The workers were pointing us to all the sales wanting to know about the project.

The department heads were showing where the good deals were. I wish you all could of been there. Your dollars were multiplied. Plus Jo is like the queen of Walmart shoppers. She can turn a dollar in to 10.

The shoppers were eyeing our cart asking if we were shopping for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child–so I would hand them one of my business cards for my blog–and tell them about you garden bloggers–and then tell them about our mission. Operation Christmas Child is a big story in our part of the South so most people know about it.

We got each child a little Christmas stocking and it will be filled with candy and put in the little shoe box. Anyone want to just pull right up here and cry with me. Ya’ll figured out yet I’m an emotional mess by now shopping for all these precious kids? Anyone figure out to send your kid to my door for fundraisers?

Jo’s husband is the pastor of a Methodist church and the ladies of the church are helping to put the boxes together for us. The tops and bottoms of the boxes have to be wrapped individually so this will be a huge help. You all are still giving so there is no telling how many boxes this could be when all is said and done–thank you to the ladies of the church for your help!!!!

To give you the big picture—Each shoe box is pre-wrapped and stuffed with the items we are buying and marked boy or girl and the age of the items inside. We bought for all age groups so no one would be left out. Today–we bought enough stuff for approximately 20 boxes. Course—you all aren’t done giving right?

( oh gosh, so sorry that is bad–my sweet Kodak Z612 was so awesome. I’m gonna miss it. I met the nicest lady to take this picture. She’ll be disappointed it turned out like this. She was coming by to see the project.)

When we got to the check-out line…..we got in multiple conversations with people who just had to know the whole story about the garden bloggers. They were helping us look for items we particularly wanted such as Tinkerbell chapstick. I didn’t want the little girls to have regular old ugly chapstick. I wanted the kids all over the world to have what every little kid in every home wants.

We got miniture coloring books, crayons, stencils, bead kits, calculators, designer t-shirts( they roll up easily), socks, candy, match box cars, Rubix cubes, matrix puzzles, powder, toothbursh, hairbrush, dolls, toy motorcycles, Legos, plastic dress up dolls, Tyco push trucks, felt landscapes, Nerf balls, high bounce balls–and the list goes on.

We aren’t done giving folks!!!!!!!!!! Keep on giving till November 20th!!!!! I can keep on if you can!!!

We’ve raised $710 toward our $2,000 goal. The first annual Garden Blogger’s Operation Christmas Child will end on November 20th but shopping started this past Thursday and will go all the way to the 21st and we’ll turn the boxes in to Samaritan’s Purse ministries on November 23. There is still plenty of time to give

Tomorrow’s update is my friend’s trip to South Dakota where some of the Operation Christmas Child boxes where given out last year. That will help you visualize some of the giving process.

If you want to give right now and read the first post go HERE to OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Donations with your credit card are taken at Flowergardengirl.org

Incredible is all you can say about ‘Snow Princess’ Lobularia hybrid sweet alyssum. I grew it in containers and in the ground this summer and watching the never ending display of fluffy white blooms was absolutely satisfying. I thought you might like to see the photos from the Proven Winners site. Please enjoy!

You’ve all seen my gardens so let’s go look at some others around the Proven Winners’ world. All photos are used with permission from PW. You may not use these pictures without written consent from Proven Winners Plants.

Unlike most alyssums that fizzle out in the southern heat, ‘Snow Princess’ held up beyond measure. She’s on my list now appearing on a page at the top of my blog—-called***FGG’s FAV Annuals which is under construction.

This is one of the most stunning landscapes I’ve seen don’t you think? Bravo Proven Winners. I can name all their NEW VARIETIES in there? Can you? I see—Yep, I’ve grown everything in the picture above and it will look like that–now if I could just remember to put it together in that order!!

We had a frost last night which certainly took out most of my surviving annuals but ‘Snow Princess’ lobularia greeted me this morning still going strong. I just had to tell you about it. Girlfriends gotta share you know. And as promised, I told you I’d get the word out about the 2010’s before the nurseries finished ordering them so you could put your request in. Go tell them you want ‘Snow Princess”

This plant is very thirsty and hungry. You might need to water it twice a day. It will recover from a dry spell but I’d keep it on the moist side. I’d feed it once a week and give it plenty of pot room. I’m betting the one in the head above got a weak feeding every time it was watered and was probably watered at least twice a day if not hooked up to a slow drip system.

Good luck with your ‘Snow Princess’ . She sure looks worth it huh?

Take a look at the new 2010 outrageous annual that is going to take seasonal gardeners to another level. Lots a wow coming at you with ‘Pretty Much Picasso’. He’s a Proven Winners Plants variety of course. Don’t be shocked when I tell you that my order totals 40! That’s right…..

I ask The Briar Patch last week how many they were ordering and they said–oh about 100. I said well I’m taking 40 of them for my clients and so Candy said—-well ok!….I guess we better get more—I said well I’m guessing you best cause it’s gonna sell like hot cakes—do you hear private nursery owners!!! I’m going to promote the socks off this one. I love it!!!!!!

I’m going to use it in pots with other taller plants that I’ll introduce over the coming days which are also new 2010 varieties. Two are new Ipomoes and one is a new papyrus. Such exciting things going on. So much to tell about that I might not get it all in before Spring planting. Goodness!

And in my garden one of the most important features would be that DEER do not eat them! I did not recieve one of these to trial in my garden this year but I’ve trialed so many PW petunias that it’s just a no brainer on this. I’m sold on the color. I’m guessing they will cost around $5 each for a 5″ pot which some people stroke over but out of that I get a healthy 3+ foot plant from May-November with proper soil prep and feeding schedule. You don’t have to removed spent blooms. I can’t find a better deal than that. My six packs won’t do that.

Proven Winner Cultivars are super athlete plants. They must be planted in good soil and they are heavy feeders needing weekly or bi-monthly liquid food and slow release is what I recommend. That was very evident this summer when my neighbor didn’t follow my instructions and the exact same plants as were in my garden grew to half the height and width.

Also, I’ve sold him on the idea of adopting my garden soil prep habits which you can read about HERE. <——If you follow my soil routine…..you’ll rarely have pest and disease problems and you’ll have beautiful plants. It’s that mushroom compost that’s the best ingredient.

In the picture above is the ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea cultivar by Proven Winners Plants. I am obsessive about hydrangea cultivars. This hydrangea will grow in zones 3-9 and keeps this color all summer long. It will take one summer for the stems to gain the strength needed to hold blooms if purchased in the small 5″ containers that I received—but that is how I get them from Proven Winners. They are a gift and then of course—I rave about them.

I was growing Proven Winners in my gardens 5 years before Proven Winners contacted me so don’t go saying she only grows them cause they give them to her. I actually started growing Proven Winners plants because I worked at this—> nursery

The above photo is from a commercial I did for them and shows you some of my work from my podcasting services. I worked for this nursery from 1999 to last year off and on. Fantastic hard working people and they grow Proven Winners Plants from plugs to retail size. So I became a fan and knowledge guru of the product long before PW found my blog.

These are my old gardens. Mr D and I layed that stonework. Wish I had it now. Loved this house to pieces. But do not miss 3 stories! This is at Christmastime Now you didn’t think I was going to get through a post without humor did you?

Now PW and I are glad to call each other friends and I’m nuts about their hydrangea cultivars. Man do they do well in my gardens. I drive by my former home that I just moved from last year— cry at those I left behind. But hey—I’m starting over at the new place and have just as many but they are babies so you’ll have to see the little ones for now—and oh, ahh–at the blooms.

I never get tired of taking pictures of the ‘Limelight’ hydrangea. This was taken a month ago I think. Ok ya’ll , watch Shirley’s video and at the end of the video is one of my signature container pieces that I rarely show people online. I’ve also put it on my About page if you want to see it close up.

See Flowergardengirl on GWR or go to my sidebar and it’s the first video of the day.

About the Show
Hi Friends, recently my friend Shirley Bovshow of Garden World Report and Eden Makers Blog ask me what plant or plants I have an obsession about and clearly—— it was hydrangea cultivars. You can see some of my choices and you’ll recognize our other gardening friends as you watch the show—Plantanistas! Thank you Shirley and I had a blast working with you!

Two different shots of the arrangement I did for Garden World Report:

When Flowergardengirl was considering the colors for Copper Top Cottage she thought of her favorite colors of fall and paired them~~~with ~~ this of all things–

~~ a rotating egg~~The above image actually spins on her computer and was created in Gimp using photos from the scenes from her back yard but WordPress will not allow that application and too bad for you~~~~Autumn is her favorite time of year. The image above allows her to look at the colors against the teal from every angle. Teal is the color of her Copper Top Cottage.

Soon the lace curtains will go up and all the treasures she’s been gathering for 50 years will purposefully be placed in every nook and cranny of her little shed. As I’m reading this back to her she’s saying this is getting way too quaint like and intense so and I should lighten the mood a bit. She says that although there’s a cute quiet side to her , she’s also a riot and that sometimes she wears her Tuesday underwear on Friday.

Copper Top Cottage will be filled with hopes of rows to hoe and gardeners to know. There will be a comfy reading chair by the stained glass window that was purchased at a salvage yard and always a red geranium in one of the windows which has nothing at all to do with the colors she has carefully planned for the space. But red  geraniums were her grandmother’s favorite and so it shall be.

The paint selection for the outside is in the  Natural Splendor line called Biltmore Estate: She’s loving the name  which is~~~‘Hidden Spring’  by Olympic Paint and is talked about in an article she wrote about HERE. One of her favorite color palettes is that of teal, deep peachy orange, and deep golden burnt umber. You can only find that in her back yard during Autumn . Right! Or does this happen in your yard too?

And she never buys a plant without considering it’s aged beauty. And she would never marry a man without considering his retirement plan.

Alaska nasturtiums are considered a bit hard to grow but they do well  in her front beds as there has never been any grown in her back beds. They love this time of year. They like the cool weather  unlike most nasturtiums which would rather see long hot sunny days I suppose~~ do you suppose?. Flowergardengirl likes the speckled leaves of the Alaska variety. She likes any speckled leaves.

Today is the first day of November and it’s so gloriously chilly. Flowergardengirl’s home is filled with biscuit breezes and the aroma of a roast in the oven. Would you like to see the leaves that have fallen and her roast in the oven? And will you please watch her later on tonight at Garden World Report. She’d appreciate it. Here she is now just before the show at her home in NC~~~~

I fist met Gail while I was trespassing on her front lawn and taking pictures of her flaming red tulips. You may remember that I wrote about it HERE. She caught me on her way out to check her mail and I’m so very glad she did. Now we’ve struck up a friendship.  She has one of those personalities that you want to hold dear to your heart and not let go.

( You do not have permission to copy these pictures for any use.)

As you can see, Gail Morris is an incredibly talented lady. Sometimes, she likes to paint my flowers( those aren’t mine above) and often uses them as models for some of her paintings. I love that she does. Big hugs Gail.

Gail  is a native North Carolinian just like myself and I’d like to take you with me to her canvas where she colors North Carolina from her home located just across the street from mine. I’m the lucky one. It turns out Gail is a very gifted painter. And….her husband’s parents were long time friends with my family for as long as the smoke trails from chimney peak to chimney peak.

Gail has two sons and two grandchildren. She has always loved art and at the age of six she painted porcelain pieces under the tutelage of an aunt. Her parents encouraged her artistic talent and enrolled her in art classes at the Reynolda House and the Arts Council.

Her First juried piece was in the first grade…She won first place with a drawing of a little pig-tailed girl in a swing.

Gail attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro ,majoring in business. Her job was wife and mother until she began working at Wake Forest University Health Sciences in the Departmento fo Neurosurgery and retired in December of 2007 after 28 years of service.

Shortly before retirement, she enrolled in art classes at Salem College and studied with Vicky Verano and has continued to study with other local artist such as Judy Meyler, Molly Davis, Sean Dye, Patty Bailey Sheets, Sharon Grubbs, Frank Rowland and many more. ( webpages added by flowergardengirl.wordpress.com and not the responsibility of Gail Morris. should there be a need for adjustments or any corrections please contact me via the information provided on this website. Thank you~ Anna~ and a warm welcome to my website if you have arrived by one of these links!)

Gail Morris is a member of the Muddy River Art Association and the Associated Artists of Winston Salem. She paints landscapes, figures, still life, home and pet portraits.

GAIL M. MORRIS
ARTIST STATEMENT

Simply stated, I LOVE to paint! Art is a pure joy for me. To express myself in color, light and shadow, brightness and contrast, brings me a deep sense of satisfaction. Capturing special memories of place, person, or a beloved pet brings a unique pleasure to others and is very rewarding to me.

Each time I begin a new canvas is an adventure – from the initial sketch to the finished painting. It begins as an empty canvas, a puzzle beckoning to be solved – the brush in my hand, feeling the flow of the paint and seeing colors mingle, observing light and shadows forming on the canvas make my paintings personal. Becoming totally immersed in my painting with no sense of time passing by makes me feel that part of my soul is being expressed in my paintings. This is deeply satisfying.

~~~~~~~~If you would like to contact Gail, please use the contact button at the top of my blog, your comment will not appear publicly. It will go directly to my inbox. I will forward the message to her. ~~~~~~

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! )

Every year, little children all over the globe wish for their holiday to be brightened with a gift of happiness and a message of kindness. Little children just want to know that every thing is going to be ok. They want to play and laugh. That’s all. It’s so simple.

Will you help me show the generous hearts of garden bloggers? I’ve never known a more giving bunch and feel in my heart that you will give beyond measure. Will you help me by donating a few dollars toward items that can fit in a shoebox and together our treasures will add up to a lot. I’m going to do the work and all you have to do is the giving.

Proven Winners Plants who already extend a generous hand to many causes has graciously agreed to sponser this event and donated $300 to get us started. Thank you Proven Winners.

The beautiful hanging basket that I have chosen for our Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child widget is a Superbena Coral Red which I thought  appropriately  represented our giving hearts don’t you think? It’s new for 2010.

Don’t forget to get your widget to display proudly on your blog to show you gave and to advertise to others to come and give too.

You are giving to a very worthy cause. It is the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child headquartered out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Every year they collect shoeboxes filled with items appropriate for little boys and girls and then deliver them to needy children all over the globe. It is a massive operation and not one penny goes to waste.

I have assured every measure of accountability for you and me. You will click on the link I have provided which will take you to my flowergardengirl.org site. You do not have to wait for that page to load. Click on the donate button. You can donate by credit card or paypal. You do not have to open a paypal account.

Donate HERE <—OPEN AND CHOOSE DONATE FOR CREDIT CARD

Your donation is like if you dropped money in a container some place as you entered a place of business. I can not offer a tax deductable receipt. You will get an email confirmation of your donation from paypal but you do not have to sign up for a paypal account. You will also get a receipt from your credit card company. You and I will both get an email notification of the transaction but I will not get any of your credit card information.  I will only get notification of the amount you donated.

I will keep up with all the monies donated until the cut off date of my choosing which is: Nov. 20th and any money received after that date will be donated to the Samaritan’s Purse site for next year’s Operation Christmas Child.

Money collected on November 20th will be used to purchase items for the shoeboxes for the Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child. The event will be photographed and/or podcasted with the event reported about on my blog soon thereafter. My best friend and I will make up the shoeboxes and deliver them to the drop off location for Operation Christmas Child in Charlotte, North Carolina before the cutoff date of November 23.

Last year my best friend was part of the final destination of the shoeboxes and she said it was one of the most emotional things she’s ever done. She went to a reservation in South Dakota and handed them out and the people were very appreciative. So this year she ask me if I wanted to do just one box because she was going to collect some for her church where her husband is a pastor. So I got to thinking about her experience and I thought—you know, I know a lot of giving people—and I thought about you! I hope you will give—I hope you will give a lot!!!

A daily total of the monies received for Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child will be displayed on a Widget at the top this blog at the end of the of the 24 hr day.

Thank you all and let’s show the world that we are the most generous of givers!

Our garden world would not be what it is without the support of Stuart and his efforts over at Blotanical.com. If you have not joined then I encourage you to do so. Most of my visitors come from there and I would not be the blogger I am today without his success. Thank you Stuart. He has the best garden blogging forum on the internet!

Give HERE THEN CHOOSE DONATE.  you do not have to wait for the page to load just choose the donate button

Should you choose to pay by check:

Flowergardengirl

PO Box 267

Clemmons, NC 27012

Please leave a comment here to show your support for this event. And again thank you so much to Proven Winners Plants and should any other plant organization or company desire to participate, I will include your name on my sidebar under the daily total widget for the duration of the campaign. Thank you all for participating.

Proven Winners Facebook Page

Flowergardengirl

Copy and paste the code below to show this widget on your blog.

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My blog is on hold until I get $2,000 for Operation Christmas Child

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http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll211/flowergardengirl/PWLogoFinal.jpg

You can follow the pr0gress at the top of the sidebar

Contributors Listed Here and On My Sidbar

Karen @ From Paradise to Plan B

Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings

Cindy @ My Corner of Katy

Katie @ Garden of Words

Jan @ Thanks for 2 Day

Diana @ Sharing Nature’s Garden

Rebecca Sweet @ Gossip In The Garden

Shirley Bovshow @ Eden Makers Blog

Carol @ May Dreams Gardens

Gail @ Clay and Limestone

Kylee @ Our Little Acre

Catherine @ A Gardener in Progress

Leslie @ Growing A Garden In Davis

Pat@ Common Weeder

Mary Ann@ Idaho Gardener

Rosalie @ Prairie Rose Garden

Julie @ My English Country Garden

Karen @ Karen Eileen Designs

This is just real ya’ll so listen up—She’s 51? I get that a lot and it’s nice to hear it ask as a question. I know some of how you look is in how you act but a lot is in the daily care of your skin. I got the best advice of my life 30 years ago from a very harsh and abrasive dermatologist. I could hug his neck today but at the time I wanted to hand him over to my three big brothers.

He had me under one of those examining lights and was criticizing all 20 years of my life in the sun. I was told to wear sunscreen and then given the list I’ve included below for you. It was the way he delivered the message that I didn’t like. He acted like I was out to destroy my skin on purpose. So I suppose at 20, I was. Wish I could remember who he was. Funny that I took him seriously huh?

Thank you for all the nice kudos about my family in the previous post. They read my blog and very much appreciate your kind words. Now to the good stuff you tuned in to hear.

It’s easy. Learn these habits:

1. Never EVER—sleep on anything but your back. Period. That’s right, for 30 years, I’ve been sleeping on my back so that I would not create crease marks on my cheeks or nose.

2. Never go to bed with make-up on. Use a buff pad to gently wash your face with Dr. Bronners soap both AM and PM and immediately follow with witch hazel to close the pores. Do it religiously. I probably have only missed a hand full of days in all these years.

3. As for the make-up, I use a liner on the outer edges and bottom of my eyes. It’s a bit worn off in the picture above and usually is more sharp but you get the idea. I wear a mineral make-up base close to my skin tone. But in the pic above, I wasn’t wearing any base and was actually wearing Mac mineral eye shadow in a rose shade on my cheeks. Yes, you can use a powder eye shadow on your cheeks and it’s less expensive than buying a whole compact of the cheek product. I don’t have any eye shadow on and don’t normally wear any.

4. Find a lipstick of lip gloss you like. I don’t have a favorite. I try to make it favor whatever I’m wearing.

5. I always wear perfume. Always! I wear Jessica McClintock most days. If Mr. D is taking me out, I wear Very Sexy by Victoria Secret.

6. My favorite body lotion is Jergens original.

Hair: It’s time to color it again. My natural shade is dark brown and you can see how much grey is coming in. I really like Clairol Perfect 10 nice ‘n easy in the color 6 light brown chocolate shake —of course. I color every 6 to 10 weeks.

I do want to give the Benefit Cosmetics Line a try. Looks so darn cute. May have to try that Benetint Jean and Jane have an adorable story and the makeup personality sure fits mine doesn’t it ya’ll.

Allright, it’s time for a peak at what’s happening inside Copper Top Cottage—-come on….oh, I am not 5 months pregnant and do not know why I look like that. Maybe it’s those dang cookies this week.

This is his mischievous look and I know he’s up to something. I’m a really good read when it comes to faces and he’s very expressive. In fact, he talks with expressions which use to frustrate me but now I’ve got it licked which frustrates him when he’s trying to hide something. Or….totally delights him like above when he’s playing around. I’m such a flirt.

This past weekend my kids came home and and ran us poor old folks to our grave. They have loads of energy. Our kids are 29, 27, and a daughter-in-law 25 who is perfect in every way. Mr. D and I have been married since 1978 and we feel determined to continue. I would love to show you the close I shot of my dil but her protective husband says I can’t so here are my brawny sons with their mom.

I’m gonna teach you in one post how to stay married and in love. Why? Cause I can. I’ve done it and here it is 1:20 am on October 20th of 2009 and Mr D is still alive. I can hear him snoring. I’ve always gotten along pretty good with him and really good with him at least twice so here is proof….

Cooking might be the way to stay married for some and it’s done a whole heaps for my marriage. I can mend a lot of evil deeds with fried chicken. But calories wear off and just like a figure, it only last till the next meal. My oldest brother had 3 good looking wives and owes them a lot of money. As far as I know they could all cook. So cooking is not the answer for every man so what is?? But here are some cookies I fixed tonight and Mr. D had several. They are pumpkin spice with maple sugar icing.

and this is my favorite cookbook,

So how do you stay married? Has mine seen nothing but lip locks and blissful contentedness? Well no. It sure isn’t cause Mr. D can cook, Lord no. He burns an empty pan. His idea of sustainable means making sure we don’t run out of microwavable potatoes. He got through college on baked potatoes and Mac ‘N’ Cheese. I look like a genius in the kitchen.

So here it is—Confidence. I do not think there is anyone in this world smarter than my husband. I admire his work ethics. More importantly, he knows that I know that.

We can struggle with finances, love, kids, jobs, family and so on….but if you give your spouse a feeling of confidence, then they will almost always become that person in the marriage.

And it will carry over to your children. You will make a lot of mistakes cause I sure have. Your kids forgive you. I’m awfully proud of my children and I’ve captured them in a few photos I’d like to share. I homeschooled both my kids for a good many years and it was fun. They went to a local school from about 8th grade up after we retired from the Air Force and settled to this area.

Here they both are, The first is my oldest at his work.He’s an engineer and builds wastewater and freshwater treatment plants. He specializes in concrete structures. He graduated from NCSU School of Engineering.

In the picture above, he’s measuring the water level in this tank. This is a new tank and they are getting ready to test the stir tubes. This was a pretty big job up in Virginia.

He looks like his father. Here he is showing his dad some drawings he did.

and below is my youngest.

He looks like momma.

In the picture below, my youngest son is shooting a commercial for a contest that he and his brother entered. It’s for Doritos.( They won’t let me show you pictures until after it’s been aired on the Doritos site) They did it last year too. My youngest son is going to school full time at UNCG to be a script writer and producer. He loves working with the camera and looks like a pro I think–don’t you?. He goes to school full time and then he also has a full time job as a medical transcriptionist for our local hospital. Both my kids are very busy. Like I said, I would show you this son’s wife but he won’t let me and I understand cause she’s so dang pretty.

And so—–give your family confidence. It’s the very best gift.

I’ve got a big announcement at the end of this post!!!

First you need to know!!!!! Garden World Report is up and running and I’m there receiving my award at blotanical.com for best blog design and best NC blog. I was on the chat board live last night but you can go Here and see the show. It’s up 24/7. Please go check it out and leave a message saying you stopped by. Shirley Bovshow is the brain child behind this online gardening television. It’s exciting and you’ll be in the know about what’s new in the dirt. Shirley’s website is at Eden Makers Blog

We’ve lived all over the United States but I was born and raised in North Carolina. So when my husband retired from the Air Force in 1994 he ask me where I wanted to live and I said home to the Autumn colors of the Appalachian South.

I want to be home where raindrops fill the birdbath and our red Cardinal will come calling.

I want to go home where the muscadines grow and limbs swing low and the people talk slow.

I could visit my favorite nurseries and decorate my garden with pansies and colors of the season. I like it when I can celebrate all 4 seasons but Autumn is my favorite. No other place celebrates Autumn like North Carolina in my opinion.

I can grow Teddy Bear Sunflowers like this one that grew in my garden last season. I will grow it again next year.

I can put —–Arugula and ornamental cabbages like the ones displayed on the nursery tables at The Briar Patch Garden Center in Advance NC.—-in my winter containers.

While I was visiting that little shop–A nicely arranged mantel  —-gave me some Autumn decorating inspiration——-

Look what caught my eye—- this little feeder just wishing to come and live at———

Copper Top Cottage, my little shed, which I am proud to announce!!!!!!- passed inspections this week!!!!!!! So—-I’ll be moving my stuff in the first of next week and decorating my long awaited dream of owning a gardening shed/elegant hideaway. There will be a party!!!!! When Mr. D ask where I wanted to move when we retired, I said—My North Carolina cause I pictured my little Copper Top Cottage in the woods at the end of property all fixed up with mums and such and so it will be. Stay tuned.

To see the building of my shed—-visit past post HERE. Cause not gonna show ya the finished product yet.

Copper Top Cottage is finished and the big reveal will be next week—stay tuned!!!!

And Mrs. Frog sat Thumbelina down on a lily pad right in the middle of the pond.

When you arrive at the lily pad pond and see how enormous the lily pads are–well–you feel small. You probably feel like Thumbelina. Your mouth gapes open and no one says a word. The guide is still talking but you’ve stopped listening. All your senses have gone to focusing on what’s in front of you. Unless it’s a normal part of your day to gaze at gigantic lily pads then you are ogling over such a spectacle as these. I mean look at the picture. How many of you have even read this far?

So I was wondering what poor Thumbelina thought when Mrs. Frog sat her upon the lily pad and told her she must stay there until she agreed to marry her ugly son. Apparently, the fish sided with Thumbelina cause they had seen frog boy many times. Mrs. Frog had kidnapped poor Thumbelina and hoped she would marry the poor boy.

Do you know how Thumbelina was born? Was she born in the lily pad?

The fish began to eat the roots that held the lily pad in place. Once the lily pad was free, it drifted on down the stream. Do any of you know the rest of the story? Shame on you if you don’t. And more importantly–do your children know?

Thumbelina is a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson. It was published in 1835 and was not well received at the time. Thumbelina was almost forced in to marriage not once but twice. First to a frog and second to a mole. She rescued a bird and then the bird rescued her. The bird carried her away to her prince. The bird then flew to the windowsill of Hans Christian Anderson and tweeted to him while the fairy tales were being written.

What’s not so obvious above is the illustrator’s name which is Thomas Vilhelm Pedersen. He was the first to illustrate Anderson’s fairy tales. Anderson’s tales had been published prior to Vilhelm’s works but were made much more popular as they were added. Today the two are inseparable. They are part of an original 5 volume book with 125 illustrations.  Vilhelm died at age 39 but his work has made the lily pad more famous than any other artist.

Here you see the giant lily pads at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Raleigh, North Carolina? Do you think of Vilhelm’s Thumbelina when you see a lily pad?

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.

If you take your Woolly Worm to any of the numerous and popular Woolly Worm festivals ( Banner Elk, NC) around the country this weekend, be prepared to have them rigorously tested for drugs. That is according to last years policy at the Banner Elk, NC event recorded on MTN News. They’ll not have any race entries addicted to drugs.

You’ll also need to have a good set of lungs if entering them in the upstring race. A good puff will encourage them to climb higher and travel more rapidly assuring you the first place trophy. That’s quite the honor if you live in my neck of the woods.

Our woolly worms predict the weather with an 80 percent accuracy. My caterpillar which was captured on my camera just today is telling us that it will be a semi harsh winter. I’m excited about that cause NC has been in a long period of no snow or very little. Last year we had one beautiful big snow in March but that was it.

Joe Bastardi of the weather channel is backing up the woolly worm’s prediction. Joe says the mid-Atlantic states are in for a rough ride as we finish out a fading El Niño. Joe has some interesting predictions for this winter and he’s got an even better track record than our worm.

There are 13 segments on the caterpillars body correlating to the 13 weeks of winter. The size of the light brown middle ring is the determiner.

A large light brownish red area indicates a mild winter but I’m seeing a bit more black this year. The more black you see the harsher the winter. Since the brown can extend to the very ends–my picture above is showing more black than is normal.

My father taught me this little bit of folklore and he learned it from his grandfather who was a farmer. Woolly worms appear in June and then again in Autumn. No one pays much attention in June but when Autumn rolls around it’s big news cause we want to know what the winter will be like.

The woolly worm is the moth Isabella tiger,Pyrrharctia isabella. The larva stage of the moth is called the woolly worm or woolly bear if you live in the northern states. I’m a southern gal so it’s woolly worm to me.

Here is the adult moth Isabella tiger from Wiki:

These are some pretty interesting little guys in the caterpillar stage. They are self-medicating insects meaning they eat alkaloid-laden plants which help them fend off parasitic fly larvae.

The moth larva survive the winter in their caterpillar from by producing a cryoprotectant in their tissues. Meaning—they produce antifreeze kinda like pansies do to keep from freezing.

In the Spring, they devour all the grass and weeds they can find and then pupate into an adult moth who will live through the summer.

The setae or bristles of the caterpillar are not poisonous but can cause dermatitis in some people. Setae are their protective shield against predators who find the prickliness undesirable. They will ball up their body when in danger.

It’s a beautiful Autumn day here in NC today–take a look out my front door.

How to care for woolly worms should you want one as a pet