Forget-me-not

tanyabond

I love forget-me-nots.

I have had these growing in my garden for quite a few years now.  Some years my garden looks like a sea of blue, other years there are only a few of these showing up. They seed and spread all on their own and I let them grow wherever they want to.

wavyshell

 I used to work with a lovely lady, who was a retired school teacher. So when she worked with me she was just doing that to keep busy. She had no need to work really.  She had not started teaching until she was in her fifties and I believe that she was the kind of teacher that every kid would have wanted to have. Eventually she had some health problems and ended up moving to another state to be closer to her niece. Anyway, she would write me notes and they almost always had pictures of forget-me-nots on them. So when my garden is in full bloom with these little unassuming flowers, memories of dear Madeline bloom also. I have not forgotten her.

gardenblooms

Here is a little info on these flowers and this is the site I got it from.

(there is a lot of information on other wildflowers too.

http://www.wildflowerinformation.org/default.asp

How the Forget-me-not got its name (Myosotis sp.)

This European perennial is one of the world’s most-loved wildflowers, and though the little clusters of sky blue flowers are wonderful, the romantic legend of how it got its name is ever better. The plant is a streamside species, so the setting makes sense. A medieval German knight is said to have been picnicking on the bank of the Danube with his lady love. He descended the bank to the water’s edge to gather some of the lovely blue flowers he saw there, but while he was near the water, tragedy struck. A “freshet” (flash flood) suddenly appeared and pulled the young man into the churning river. As he was literally swept away, he tossed the bouquet to his lady on the bank with the three now-famous words: “Forget me not!”

PanChupCrafts

sweetdejavu

This one I am showing for my daughter, she used to love MylittlePony, and well, this one has the right name.

ManateesToyBox

  

Have a delightful day….

(jj)

ROSES AND BANANAS

What do roses and bananas have to do with each other? Let me show you some pictures of my roses before and after they dined on banana peels.

                                                                           Before

                                                                              After
When I closed escrow on my house, it had been neglected all summer and the plants were about to just give up. It was the end of October by the time I was able to move in and the best we could do was water and trim up everything.

As soon as the weather began to warm, we began giving each rose bush a banana peel. You simply dig a shallow hole beside the roots big enough to put the peel in, cover it up with the soil, and let nature do the rest. You see, banana peels are loaded with potassium and roses love potassium. It's the easiest and fastest way I know to revive rose bushes.

Now, I love to look at my yard! It's an oasis in the middle of the desert landscaping (which I hate!). I really love it when a plan comes together. Now, back my gardening.

P.S. Since I took these pictures, the rose bushes burst into bloom and now all but one (there are seven) are literally heavy with roses.

I just had to share this, I'm so excited! It's so nice to have a yard again and to be able to garden.

pepper/Helmet Head

THE PAPER BLOSSOM

This flower was so fun and relaxing to make. I was able to work on it off and on, starting and stopping whenever I felt like it. It has been nicknamed "Linda's Blossom" in certain circles. LOL

You begin by cutting out about ten circles of various sizes, however, the more circles you use, the fuller the blossom. I used the craft scissors that make different edges, but you can also tear the edges if you want.

 I then sprayed each circle with water and used thin acrylic paint to color them, using two to four colors on each one.

After the circles dried, I edged them with black using a stamp pad. I find this a fast and easy way to paint the edges of most items.

The next step is to crumple the circles, don't be afraid, the smaller you wad them up the better they look. Smooth them out and stack them together. I started with the larger on the bottom and didn't line them up evenly but stacked them off-center. Using embroidery thread and a button, sew them together. Once finished, I crumpled the entire flower again, and smoothed it out slightly until I thought it looked right.

I then attached the blossom to a kraft paper gift bag.  There are so many fun things you can do with these paper flowers. I hope you have as much fun with them as I did.

pepper