Sherbert Peonies

I found this bouquet of pink peonies at Trader Joes. These are my favorite types of peonies because of their different shades of pink per blossom.

Peach Roses

My friend and I have always said we don't like roses. They are too common. One day, she told me a rose in her garden made her start to like roses. I thought she was being to lenient and not standing by her beliefs! But then a forgotten peach rose bush in my backyard showed me how wrong I've been and how special roses can be! I think its the color (I'm currently in an orange phase) and the sheer size of the blossoms.




Each blossom is larger than my fist!

It's like staring into a work of art.

Tokyo Rail Dish Set

Every once in a while, a friend gets you something that is just perfectly you! I was super happy when I opened a package and found this super cute dish set that lists different subway rail lines in Tokyo. It brought back so many memories of being in my favorite city of all time. I love the simple style, the colors and the nostalgia it brings every time I look at it.

Drawer Set

I finally realized what people love in antique shopping. Its finding that one thing that is just so unique and special and makes you happy every time you look at it. That's how I felt when I found this wooden drawer set (hurray for white!) with porcelin drawers. Each drawer has a different pattern. Of course, this isn't an antique though, and I didn't pay antique prices for it, so its all the love with none of the guilt!

Cherry Blossom Placemats

I'm a huge cherrly blossom fan, so when I found these placemats at BB&B for only $2.99 each, I bought a whole set!



There's a different pattern on the back. Two looks for the price of one!

Pink Arrangement

I received the prettiest pink arrangement for my birthday! This pink roses, carnations, and alstromeria arrangment came in a pink vase with a pink pearl bracelet.


The carnations actually have playful stripes of hot pink. It reminds me of an ice cream parlor!

Airplant

This was a suprising early birthday present from Cindy! It is an ultra sleek and cute airplant that is placed inside a glass container. Airplants absorb water on their leaves so you actually mist it to water it. Distilled water is preferred so that there is no mineral build up in the glass. I love this! And it is always such a joy to look at!

Magnet Container

March 2010. I bought this magnetic plant container in taiwan. I love the little tea pot shape! The magnet is super strong and there is actually drainage built in! Looking forward to finding a nice tiny succulant to plant in it.


April 2010. With a succulent donation from Cindy (thank you!) I've planted something into the magnetic container! This hen and chick succulent is the perfect size for this plant. It is so cute, and the inner pot even has drainage!

Swinging Succulents

This is a cute way to display tiny plants! I found it at a night market in Taiwan. The center piece actually swings! I will probably repaint it white or sage though when I have time. It was actually pretty hard to get these tiny hens and chicks succulents into the mini pots. I ended up just throwing dirt on top of them, using a popsicle stick to settle the dirt around them, and then using a small make up brush to dust off the dirt on the leaves. I'm hoping they will stay this size! Credit again to Cindy for the plant donation!

Teal Pot

I found this teal pot which I totally love! You can't tell from the picture, but its got an iridescent coat of paint on it and shines in the sun. It is pictured here with some mint, which will be great to use on some desserts. Part of the fun of container gardening is defintiely scoring some cool containers!

Magnetic Kiss

These are two magnets that stick to each other and let you hold phots and notes. I thought they were so cute, especially the little spout of water on the tops of their heads!

Japanese Lanterns

I ordered some japanese lanterns from Brecks.com. These are fiery red blossoms that look like paper lanterns and make beautiful dried flowers. I've never seen the actual bulbs for these, which turned out not to be bulbs at all. When I opened the package, I thought Brecks had jipped me and left only dried sticks. But upon closer inspection, these "sticks" have roots.


This stick root is the most promising. It actually has some growth already. I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed. I was a little confused on how to plant them, and decided on a vertical orientation with the top of the sticks protruding from the soil so I know where they are.


My fury garden helper, Iopius.

Peony Planting

I planted two peony roots this weekend. One is my favorite, light pink Sarah Bernhardt, and the other, a magenta Felix Crousse. I have pictures of the shoots below, which were actually very different looking, considering they are both peonies. Wish me luck! It is possible to grow them in containers, but I'm more concerned about how they'll adapt to the SoCal weather. I read online though, that to simulate a cold winter, you can water them with ice cubes, so I may give that a try if we have a warm winter. According to Grandma, April 15 is Peony season in China. I don't know if I'll have any blooms by April of next year (highly doubt actually), but hopefully sometime!

Shoots planted on February 28, 2010.



First sprout on March 19!

Ok, I won't pretend to have waited patiently for a month to see some evidence that the peony was doing ok. I actually dug up the root, at the risk of shocking it, to see if there was any growth. I was really relieved to see that it was growing! But that relief came at the surprise of seeing the plant break the surface. Either way, welcome, peony!

As of April 4, 2010.
The peony now looks like a mini-tree. Its been like this now for about a week or two and hasn't really changed much. It needs to get a LOT bigger than this before it can produce or support the giant peony blossoms. Hurry up, little plant, April 2011 is just around the corner!

Rannunculus from Carlsbad

Went to The Flower Fields located in Carlsbad this past weekend and scored my favorite! A rannunculus blossom that has a light pink edge that goes to white with a sage center. So gorgeous! Best part? The $1.99 price!

Lavendar

I picked some lavendar from my bush this weekend. Had to do it before the gardener trimmed all the blooms off. I placed them in different containers throughout the house.




I actually have two different breeds growing side by side.


Here's the bush. I know the gardener is going to trim it!


(Update 4/8/10) I am so over lavendar! These cut blossoms that I brought into the house ended up being invested with catepillar eggs! After a few days, I found 5-6 catepillars emerging from the blossom. It was quite unpleasant and is going to make me think twice next time I bring cut flowers into the house. yikes!

Water Lilies

It's time to expand my container garden to water plants. Home Depot is filled with bulbs and roots for purchase and I picked up two varieties of water lilies (each $9.95). One is a deep fushia blossom, the other is a delicate white-pink blossom. I'll be honest, the chance I will actually get them to flower is going to be rare. I'm just hoping for some healthy foliage to start with. I'm starting them off at 3 inches below water, which I read will help the leaves grow quickly. I did some more research, and unfortunately though, these two breeds will most likely require 12 inches of water depth! I'm trying to imagine how big of a pot I will have to get to achieve that. The lilies come with netted bottoms to help them stand and protect them from koi if you plant them with fish.

First "planted", or should I say submerged on February 26, 2010.


Straight out of the container.


Submerged at 3 inches.


After just 1 week the leaves reach the surface!



After 2 weeks, more leaves are on their way!


After less than a month, they've already outgrown the pot. I've moved them into a temporary home (one of those giant plastic containers). When mature, they'll need to be submerged 12 inches below the surface! I already notice little worms swimming around the water. Guess I will have to get some gold fish to control the problem. This is turning out to be a pretty big endeavor!


As of March 19, one snail and two goldfish later, the water lilies have developed their own eco system! Unfortunately, that means an algae outbreak which is why its got that greenish soup look. The two goldfish can be seen in the top left hand corner. The two plants are definitely different breeds as you can see from the shape and size of the leaves.

Orchids for Grandma

I bought these orchids for Grandma from Trader Joe's. They've grown incredibly--a stem of buds blossomed into a huge stem of orchids, so heavy, they have to be supported by rods.

Ranunculus

Here is a ranunculs blossom from my garden. It looks so lovely in a plain glass vase! I am always reminded of why they are my favorite flowers.