Florali

homegrown sweetpeas

 

they have become the belle of the ball this party season...

 

I planted them last September, just after labor day ~ covered the seeds with compost, then chicken wire to keep the birds away; poured dishes of beer to keep the slugs away, and within weeks I had pea seedlings.  I gave them birch branches to climb on, which they thought about all winter, then come spring they made a go for it.  Now they stand 10 feet from the ground and have even grown taller than our porch railing.

 

 

Their sublime fragrance and subtle form can't help but lure passer's by.

 

Keep on pickin and they'll keep on givin.

seed cats, roses and pumpkin seeds to give away

It's been raining pretty much non-stop for the last week in the Bay Area ~ until today.  The glorious sun has revealed Mt. Diablo covered in snow...yes, it's been cold, too.  Rainy days are perfect for pouring through all the seed catalogues that've been flooding the mailbox recently.  The pretty drawings in John Scheeper's catalogue inspired me to turn it into a recycled rose...

and on the subject of seeds...

AUTUMN MOON PUMPKIN SEEDS TO GIVE AWAY

Last fall one of the new pumpkins we had in the shop from fantastic pumpkin grower Teri, was a large flat whitey called Autumn Moon - you can go here to see it.  I saved its seeds and now have plenty to share. If you'd like some, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Florali, 2345 Boulevard Circle, Walnut Creek, California 94595

I'll send you a little packet by return mail.

glory in the morning

 

 

The morning glory was a rare treasure in sixteenth-century Japan. One man had filled his garden with morning glories, through great care and cultivation. The Taiko heard of the magnificent garden and asked to be invited for morning tea. When the Taiko arrived,  he saw that the ground of the garden had been leveled and covered with pebbles and sand. Enraged, he entered the tea room. There on the tokonoma, the place of honor, lay a single morning glory. The most splendid of all that had been in the garden.The garden had revealed to his guest the meaning of Flower Sacrifice.

from On Flowers