In SEASON...

So I special ordered this book from the library...it was worth the wait. Love at first sight. Amazing photography. Recipes in order by month of actual appearance in the garden. Oh yeah and the recipes actually sound amazing. I've already caused the purchase of a few. I like sharing happiness.

Close examination....

Plant Science was spent exploring the world of flowers.
So very much amazing detail in such a minute package.
Someday I will have the macro lens to show the texture on these petals, each one is an amazing work of art.
Petunias...you can play along at home all you need is a small hand lens to examine these beauties.

Checking on our potatoes was on the list of to dos at the greenhouse today. Each girl planted and named two potatoes a piece. On the way through Miss Abigail was harvesting sunflower sprouts. She let the girls try one a piece. The sprouts taste like sunflower seeds except crisp and juicy not dry and crunchy. They were a hit with both Sydney and Paige who kept sneaking a few more when I wasn't looking. We will be buying our own seeds to sprout at home.

Sydney with the, "They all say I should try this but well should I really?" look.
Finally the potatoes!!! If I remember correctly and I will verify this with Miss Sydney when she's awake.... Sydney's potatoes were the only "babies" that had sprouted, much pride in having your potato start growing first!
Sydney and Paige holding sprouts, they love those sprouts, along with a potato from another pot that had already begun establishing roots. The big trick here was letting Paige observe the roots while not letting her mangle the poor plant.
We spent the rest of the afternoon scanning an old scrapbook. Which was a collection of newspaper articles about the Pioneer Garden. Very interesting and now both girls have a marketable job skill....they are professional document scanners.

Watering...

Lots of fun in the greenhouse today. Sophia and Paige were quite busy watching Josue work his magic. Paige with her hands on her hips, one pant leg down and wet and a rain boot showing on the other too cute. Paige loves Sophia but doesn't exactly get how to play well with others. She spent a lot of time hiding or not sharing. We will be working on these skills, that's what parenting is all about.Paige set the hose against the pot and then turned around to show off her watering skills. This pot holds "her banana tree" which she checks daily for it's progress. The pot is nice and deep and the girls loved watching the water disappear almost as quickly as they filled the planter.

ZZ plant...

This was my first encounter with this quirky plant, a smallish little sprout about two inches high. I loved how tightly wrapped the leaves were. Three weeks later we have this amazing display. The plants Latin name is Zamioculcas zamiifolia here is a wikipedia link.

Potential...

A few photos from my weekly greenhouse photo shoot. I wish I could convey the warmth and springishness that's in the air.
I needed a little perspective here, insert Paige in photo. She loved when I showed her the "baby leaf." Tiny fingers, tiny leaves unfurling. I love the potential in this photo.
Coleus 'Finger Paint' - imagine this peeking out of a your border.
These droplets are from the humid air collecting on the green house ceiling and falling into the pots strategically massed on the floor. See no water going to waste here.
I know Barberry....thorny, too much trouble, the bane of my dad's front flower bed... but the color is so perfect and these little flowers bursting open are absolute happiness. I will find out the cultivar but as of now it's just Barberry - Berberis ?.
More leaves rapidly unfurling...can't wait to see what they will look like on Tuesday. So hopefully this post made your winter day a little brighter. Really, spring is coming soon.

A day in the life of Miss Kate...

Kate had an assignment to hpotograph a day in her life.

Alarm clock which she doen't wake up to usually it's her dad alarm that evicts her from her cozy spot.

If she could eat sausage everyday she would but since I'm no

t able to provide copious ammounts of pork products, she'll settle for Pineapple.

Backpack every girl needs a bag. This bag is full to overflowing.

Paige, being herself and Bella along for the ride.These are Kate's "smallish people" at least they are both cooperating for the photo shoot.

On leaves and stems...

The best part about Plant Science is being able to look through a microscope and see what you are learning first hand. Why is a slide so much more amazing than the almost identical photo in a textbook? I have way too much fun, in class. The reason I love to teach is to see one person "get it." Becky McCann is having much success with me. I finally understand and remember, for the moment, the parts of a flower, which went over my head in Master Gardener class. I just want to come home and show the Rapplings everything. Really, would you want to listen to your mom talk about plants again? So here's my post so that Kate will actually "listen to me." Pictures speak a thousand words, right?

I won't bore you with all the details. This is what I was able to see in class on Friday.

Why would this information be important? Learning how plants grow and transport food will ultimately help me understand each plants needs, what diseases they are effected by, etc., etc., etc. I'll bet you've even experimented with this whole vascular bundle science stuff....

I used to do this "experiment" with Aunt Pearl and Uncle Clyde. Although they weren't actually my Aunt and Uncle, just the coolest elderly neighbors my parents lived by on the East Side. They would have me cut lots and lots of Queen Anne's lace and fill ball jars with water, then let me play with the food coloring. Sweet summer memories, little me thinking that they knew magical things. Food coloring spreading through the water and up into the flowers = magic. Magical experiences for children make life so much sweeter. First you need white flowers, vases, water, and food coloring. Mix food coloring into the water each vase can be a new color. Cut off the end of each stem under water to prevent air from entering the stem. Put each flower into a vase and wait for the flower to absorb the water.

Then you wait as the flower gives off water through it's petals it will need to replace it with water from the vase. Tada! Beautiful hand dyed flowers.

If you have a hypodermic needle and some dye and way to much time on your hands to experiment you can try this. Me, I'm sticking with food coloring and Queen Anne's Lace. Tomorrow, I'll be going to buy some white flowers to let the girls experiment at home. These photos aren't mine but belong to this blog. Thanks for all of her hard work and beautiful photos.

Link to the post with these hypodermically created blooms. I'll be posting the Rapplings creations soon. Until then have fun playing with food coloring.

Sometimes....

My first word art that I felt like going public with. I promise blog updating to be done this weekend but for now just a little bit of happiness.

For all of my crafty and or gardening friends. This is my plant art journal.

Supplies needed:

small spiral notebook(unlined)

seed catalogs

scissors

glue stick (Yes, I did just recommend using a glue stick.)

pen (any color)

Front cover

Hydrangeas...

Coral Bells or Heuchera...

Back cover.

Yes I've got it divided into sections. I also have my original journal of home ideas but it's not nearly as fun as plant material in February. This is my way of saving all the things I love in a small space. Someday when I want to try something new, here's my own little notebook of horticultural happiness.

Colorful valentine creations....

Meant to let the Rapplings create these last year for gifts but time appears to have flown and it is already Valentine's Day again.
These sweet little creations are the remmants of left over crayons melted at 275 degrees for 10 minutes. You can use any silicone mold but since we're celebrating friends we love I went in search of hearts, love the scalloped edges. The girls loved breaking up all the crayons into smallish pieces and deciding which colors to put into each cupcake holder. Happiness all with leftover crayons and four dollars worth of cupcake holders.