A Pair of Pots

Just a little something something for a business downtown. The client wanted 'fresh' and architectural' for a morning sun/afternoon shade store front condition. She picked out the pots and made my afternoon when I was given free reign of the nursery.

Plant List:
Juncus effusus (Rush) a nice blue-green one, very straight and structured.
Asplenium bulbiferum (Mother Fern) lacy and bright green, provided much of the body for the planting.
Ipomea batatas (Bronze Sweet Potato Vine) a dark purplish trailer, good foil to the other plants.
Satureja douglasii (Yerba Buena) great shade/part sun loving native to Northern California. Has a minty/medicinal scent and sweet little white flowers. Also a good trailer.
Echeveria 'Afterglow' (Succulent) my focal point. This is a beautiful gray-purple that seems to have a magenta glow, good form and provided the "flower" for the planting.

Moss Lampshades

So the other day I was at work, reorganizing a display for hanging baskets and the only way I could fit them all was to hang some upside down. I loved the shape and suddenly had a fantasy about stringing them with some bare light bulbs (preferably Edison, just to be a bit snooty) and using a collection of them as a chandelier. How cool would it be to sitting at dinner, outside, under the stars and these lamps?  So me, being a bit nerdy, thought it'd be kind of cool to do a mock up in Photoshop... and this is what was produced (for any potential employers, this is a rather crude example of my photoshop skills).

I really want to see this carried out, now I only need a place for installation. 

Fort Mason Garden Creatures

As promised, more of my continuing series of amazing garden creatures. This time from the Fort Mason Community Garden in SF.

Yay for Friday!

Thought this was a perfect image for a Friday. Hope you have a great weekend!

Day Trip

This time to Fort Mason Community Garden. I've never been to Fort Mason, I've been around, but I played tag-a-long on Mr. C's trip to the Nautical Museum (can we say super cool Cartography!) and then the library that was closed, but conveniently located across the street from the Friends of the SF Library Bookstore...you should go. BUT, the community garden was definitely the highlight for me, Mr. C practiced his patience.

As you can tell, I am continuing my obsession with Dahlias and this Garden had an amazing assortment. There is definitely more to come from this excursion, including a fabulous collection of Garden Creatures. How can that not make you happy?

ps- I love the use of the old tree stump as a succulent planter!

P is for Anemone?

Pulsatilla vulgaris formerly Anemone pulsatilla, common name Pasque Flower


This image is of the seed pod that comes out later in the Spring after the flowers have gone. The flowers themselves are as showy as the seed pods (though don't look quite as alien) and emerge as an early sign of Spring, providing the name Pasque as associated with Easter.  After doing a little research on this species, I am more inclined towards the seed bud than the actual flower itself though both are attractive. The plants themselves stay pretty low, about 6", with the seed pods reaching up to 18". 

P is also for Poppies

...all the different types and another of my favorites.

Most, if not all, varieties are charactized by graceful and slender stems with delicate petals, some feathered like Papavar and some more ruffled like Eschscholzia (aka California Poppy and the state flower of the Golden State). In all, the common name Poppy is applied to eleven different varietals in the family Papaveraceae.

From Left: Papavar, Romneya coulteri, Eschscholzia californica, and Papavar varietals (sorry, didn't get the exact species for all of them).