An old friend finds a new home in the garden

Last summer we finally hacked down the rotted willow tree in our yard.  The willow was decrepid.  Willows don't do well in dry California.  The only reason I think it was planted by the insane tropical gardener who previously owned our home was to feed the gynormous philadendron. (savage gardening anyone?) In any case it had rust so out it went. Unfortunately this left a gaping hole into our neighbor's yard.  Who, though very nice, opted for the low maintenance basketball court in their yard instead of any greenery.

We, being bonsai folks and tree fanatics in general, agonized over finding the "perfect tree".  We toyed with the idea of a green japanese maple, but we wanted something larger than an ornamental.  Everything local was grafted and the price of a decent (more than a foot tall) tree was insane.

Then around rolls spring and one of our favorite bonsais starts to leaf.  We've had this elm for over 12 years.  It somehow survived our crazy anti-bonsai Weimairaner who liked to pull trees from their pots.  The form is lovely and Mr. has trained it's roots over a big rock.  And the light goes on.  We love this tree so giving it a forever home (OK I know that's sappy) actually meant something powerful to us.

I was a little concerned as we haven't trimmed this guys roots in a long time.  And sure enough it was root bound but the roots weren't strangling the tree so I think it'll do fine.

And here it is in place.

And as a bonus for all you savage gardeners.  Here's a closeup of the bloom on the philadendron who is still devouring the remainder of the willow stump.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've found Roast Chicken is the gift that keeps on giving.  First night you get roast chicken.  Next day you have chicken sandwiches or perhaps chicken burritos.  From there the possibilities are somewhat endless.  Well on my third day of roast chicken my true love I give to thee.  Chicken tortilla soup.

Ingredients
1 roasted chicken (picked over is fine there's still plenty of meat)
2 quarts of water
1 chopped onion
2-3 minced heads of garlic
1 can chopped tomatoes (if you can fire roasted with chilis even better)
1 teaspoon chili flakes (more or less depending upon how hot you like it)
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups frozen chopped okra
1 cup frozen corn
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 handful rice.

Put the whole chicken carcass in a dutch oven or stew pot. I roast my chicken stuffed with lemon and I'll even toss the lemon in. Cover with water and heat till boiling.  Keep at low boil for 45 minutes or until water resembles broth instead of water.

Remove chicken and set aside broth.  Allow chicken to cool then pull any remaining meat off .  Add meat to broth.  Add remaining ingredients except rice and return to a low boil for approximately 10 minutes.  Add rice and allow to cook for at least another 20 minutes.  This keeps fine (maybe even gets better) on the stove if you keep the heat low.  Salt and pepper to taste and serve in a bowl over tortilla chips.  Garnish with avocado slices or a dollop of sour cream.

Felt Planters

Hello my name is Christl and I'm addicted to felt.  This is well known among family and friends, who collect stories and send me pictures of anything felt related.  A friend who had attended Stitches West called me up to tell me about some felt flower pot cozies she had seen.  Seeing as I am also an avid gardener, this got my wheels turning.

Access to felt was absolutely not a problem for me.  I sell felt (or technically fulled) accessories at Fiberpuppy.  I have all kinds of failed projects lying around.  I fondly refer to them as my Chernobyl collection.  Flower pots on the other hand are in short supply at my house.  My husband is a plant hoarder

Every container is in use as a holding cell for some bit of greenery he could not bear to part with.

Then it occurred to me that there is really no reason to even use a pot.  The felt actually retains water making it an ideal planter.  I wasn't 100% sure this would work so we started small, using succulents which tend to tolerate small containers.

We added dirt, then the plants and finished with lava rock.  We then soaked them in a bucket of water.  Look they actually float.

The felted containers I had were kind of odd shapes and didn't really want to stand up on their own.  I tried propping them up against other plants.

Then the second brilliant part of the plan emerged.  I should hang them on the fence.  Not only did this keep the plants upright, it created vertical planting space.

So we'll see how these plants fare, before I go whole hog creating planting installments all over the fence.  But I'm thinking I could be on to something wonderful.

February Garden

I've decided to tempt all you folks in colder climes with a few sneak peeks at what is going on in the garden.  We've been starting veggies under the cold frame and have actually harvested some lettuce.  Unfortunately, snails or slugs have been eating some of the new shoots but I over planted so it looks like some will make it.

There are also a number of things blooming.

Our beautiful Magnolia tree is in full bloom.  It has such a delicious odor and keeps blooming for near 3 weeks.  The creamy flowers against the dark green foliage is dreamy.

Our potted Aeonium is just about to pop.  The flowers on these succulents are just so unique.

This grows like a weed here.  It has wandered in through a neighbors yard.  I believe it is crocosmia, but I wouldn't swear to it since I never planted it.  The hummingbirds LOVE this so I let it be.

We've got a couple of these Echeveria planted in pots.  They are just starting to go into full glory.

And finally the Nicotiana I planted last year has overwintered and really never stopped blooming.  I keep meaning to pull this up but just when I'm about to hack it down I'll spy a luscious deep red bloom.

Building a Cold Frame

We've had a pretty mild winter here in Northern California with only about 2 inches of rain in January.  So we've been itching to get into the garden.  Unfortunately with our sloping lot, the yard is a cold dark place during the winter.  We thought we'd do something about it and decided to build a cold frame for the raised beds.



Our idea was to cover half the bed with a removable frame that could also be placed over the compost in the summer to speed decomposition with a little heat.


The materials were fairly inexpensive.  Some (fir I believe) strapping, brackets, screws, staples and a painters plastic drop cloth.

Well I've got to say the results have been a huge success.  Our lettuce (Grand Rapids) sprouted and we even harvested our first head yesterday.  Is it really February?  I even became bold enough to plant tomato seeds (Roma and Stupice) in front, after I placed a Thermometer inside the frame and it showed the temp at 82 degrees.  Perhaps that was wishful thinking, but if I fail I've only lost the cost of a few seeds.

Craft Fair Display

Last year being my first doing fairs, I didn't put much thought into my display.  I grabbed some cubes at my local recyclery to hang scarves off of and placed a bunch of plate display holders on my table to show my purses.  That didn't turn out so well.  The cubes basically blocked my line of vision to customers.  I had a crook in my neck from trying to peer around the dang thing.  The plate displays tipped over so many times so as to be useless.

This year I was determined to get it right.  I did some research to see other craft displays.  Etsy's blog had some decent general information about varying height etc. Unfortunately, I sell felted items which, while not heavy, are bulky so the table top cutesy vintage thingys which may be fine for earrings were never going to work for me.  I pored over the flickr show me your booth group and it came to me.

I decided upon a clothes line between two hat racks.  I didn't have hat racks so no problem I figured I'd build them out of 2 posts and a number of 1/2 inch dowels.  I basically just used a 1/2 inch paddle bit to drill holes for the dowels.  The nice thing is the dowels come out so I don't have to transport these as monster sculptures.  If I did this again, I'd only drill the holes perpendicular as getting the angles the same on the others was a pain.

Once I had the coat rack part set, I had to figure out how to secure them sufficiently to support a clothesline.  I was a bit stumped and wandered around Ace Hardware looking for a way to clamp the pole to my table. Let me tell you some of those clamps are very expensive.  I finally decided to use 2 christmas tree stands, which I filled with rocks.  For extra support I used bungee cords to secure the poles to the table.

Et voila.

Beautiful Furniture

I have always wanted to make furniture.  I’m especially taken by furniture that takes it to the next level turning everyday useful items into works of art.  It’s what I try to do with my fiber creations.  As I have little to no woodworking ability I am forced to admire rather than create.

Here’s a secret you may not know.  Etsy (yes Etsy) is not just a place to find hipster t-shirts and fabulous earrings but a home to some absolutely fantastic furniture.  I thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

Check out this amazing rocking bed by Joe Manus of ShinerInternational.  If babies get rocked to sleep in cradles why not an adult version.

 This highback chair from Mateo Panzica of Lazarus Handplane screams steampunk to me. Although containing all kinds of industrial elements it is softened by the padded leather back.

 

This is an amazingly clever and green idea by Ruffhouse Arts.  These couches are made from old bathtubs.

This solid cherry credenza by Object Society reminds me of televisions from the 50's.

I am entranced by the lines on this endtable by Reed Handsuld.  It's kind of minimalist yet swirly all at the same time.