Fairy Terrarium Re-Do for the New Year

Lily helped me groom and water and re-arrange the fairy house today.

We trimmed the pony tail plant and some of the other plants needed pruning.

Lily watered the soil and misted the plants and rocks to clean them.

She rearranged the fairies, the butterflies, the ladybug, the turtle

and the other accessories to her liking.

She liked the turtle in the small clay pot dish "pond".

It's wonderful for her to take an interest in the terrarium and the plants.

Miniature gardener!  She'll be 4 years old this month.

New Decorations for the Holidays

This year we decided to re-do our holiday decorations on the front porch.  Our granddaughter picked out a set of lighted presents in October at Home Depot.  That became the inspiration for a new look on the banister, the garage carriage lights and the urn.

The presents could not be seen on the teak bench so we brought up the wrought iron bistro table from the lower patio and put the lighted tree on the table too.  The garland included a copper bow and a copper-bellied bird in the center.  I added copper ribbon and gold balls to the tree.  We did not find a lighted star for the tree so we'll continue to look next year to complete the look.

In the urn, I added some greenery, a sparkly set of silver-gold fern, some white branches and red berries, and sprigs of gold and silver berries.  No lights, but when the sun hit it in the late afternoon, it sparkled brightly.  Next year, we'll add lights to it.

It did look nice the Christmas Eve with the luminaries

lining the street.

Inside, I made an arrangement of greens with Leah of It's So Ranunculus

in a class with some other florist "wannabes".

My arrangement 2016

It's great fun to share your interests with others of like mind.

The Culprits !

I took one of the chrysanthemums I was plant-sitting into the house for the past ten days.  I was surprised to find it yesterday a little droopy and discolored.

It's outside now and here is why--

It spit seeds all over the room!

I found the wall, woodwork, table and stools underneath,

and the floor covered with little black seeds.

The were also laying in sticky, green pollen 

which had to be washed as well as vacuumed.

The story gets better.

I just took a photo of one I found on the floor.

They are bugs!

Dead.

Not ticks. Squishy...

Yuck.

November Garden

The November garden hangs close to the house.  We've had frosts and even snow, but some hardy and protected plants keep going as evidenced below:

I've lost one complete planter on the deck but

the other keeps going.  The mums stuck 

in the middle are drooping after their full bloom.

Protected on the front porch, a couple pots 

keep blooming. They are keeping company 

with some chrysanthemums I'm plant-sitting.

(More on that story in the next blog posting.)

The matching mum sets off the red of 

a lonely pot of geranium blooms.

The holly near-by is going 

to be great this year!

But it seems to be on the wrong end of the stem...

Improper pruning, I suppose!

The herbs are looking pale

but I should have some for Turkey Day.

But I will have rosemary!

This clipping grew roots in water on the windowsill.

I just potted it in some soil.

A bit of green with

a screen still in place,

an empty deck

and oak trees still providing

some color.

Fairy Gardens at Florence Griswold Art Museum in Old Lyme

 I took my fairies to the Flo to see the Wee Faerie Village that appears there each October.  It was a lovely fall day to visit the grounds of the American Impressionist museum.  The magic happens on 11 acres located along the tidal Lieutenant River which flows into Long Island Sound.

We visited many lands and times.

This was home to Viking faeries.

Here under the spreading tree

was a Dutch faerie village.

Lily Fairy found an Celtic faerie harp

in an Irish faerie village.

We followed the map.

Who is the Wee Faerie in the corner?

Lily's favorite was based on the Taj Mahal in India.

She also liked Romania

and Hawaii.

Wee Faerie Vee liked lunch!

Barcelona was imaginative.

Especially the temple bells.

Machu  Picchu fairies?

We'll have to go back for Fairy Lily

to grow into these wings!

Spooky Garden at Elizabeth Park

I visited Elizabeth Park's Pond House restaurant Friday with a good friend.  We saw these spooky sights in the plantings surrounding the restaurant and pond.

Bare Bones Landscaping Company 

does good (?) work.

This scarecrow should take care of the crows--

and the sparrows and the chipmunks and the squirrels?!?

There is broom parking

if you're feeling a little witch-y!

And sunbathing if you're tired 

of gardening for the year...

It really was a beautiful and breezy fall day.

The wind blew the leaves like snow.

An omen of things to come?

Freeze Expected Tonight

I've got this crazy snapdragon

that is still growing.

It's about 4 feet high

and has bloomed all summer 

along this single stem.

It will probably look more like

the Chinese Peony

'Sarah Bernhardt'

which bowed to the last frost

over the weekend.

Bravo!

You've had an excellent season.