The Butterfly Garden

There's not much I feel good about in the garden by the time mid-August arrives. But in early spring, I put in the vague beginnings of a butterfly garden directly in front of our big living room window, including a last minute blitz of zinnia seed scatterings. The other plants in place include two butterfly bushes, a caryopteris, a Russian sage and a few roses.

When the unrelenting heat left us wilting and needing some midday shade, I set up an indoor viewing spot for our butterfly garden. I tracked down a photo identification chart of Virginia butterflies and we now spend our time looking up who visits and learning the new names. A hummingbird also regularly visits, but strangely enough, Corey is the only one who sees it. I tease him that it must be his soul animal.

It looks like the butterflies love the really, really huge varieties of zinnias. Smaller butterflies, like fritillaries, appreciate the Thumbelina zinnias - but they can handle the smaller landing pads.

Thrift store butterfly wings were a well-timed, completely unplanned score. I'm unsure of the variety of this butterfly, but have learned that it likes chocolate and Dr. Seuss.

DIY :: Dyeing Onesies with Plant Dyes

This project was so unbelievably easy and free of all scary typical dye issues that I feel particularly satisfied that these onesies are being recycled and worn against the precious skin of our toddler. Stains around the neckline were promptly covered up and re-introduced the onesie back into the rotation.

During my late summer experiments, I used sassafras leaves, coreopsis blooms (each results in a yellow) and *old* daylily blossoms (which create a pale purple dye). The fabric 'fixer' was a vinegar:water bath (if you are doing food or berries - there is a different fixer). The dyeing process was just to simmer the plant goods in water for an hour and then add the fabric for however long you want - depending on the amount of saturation you need. You can fix the fabric and simmer the dye in two different pots at the same time - to keep things efficient. Which makes it an easy naptime project. A more comprehensive list of possible plants is here, along with specifics and how-tos.

The onesie pictured above was dyed with the sassafras and coreopsis combined - resulting in a muted soft yellow that is meant for baby wear. Autumn botanicals that can be used for dyes are juniper berries, pokeweed berries, acorns, sassafras leaves, wild grapes, sumac leaves (and fruit) and marigolds.

Sweet September Salad

(Nasturtiums)

+

(Container-grown lettuce)

=

A September flower petal salad. What a treat!

Fun with Calendula :: A Salve and A Scrub

Calendula, calendula. Nature's answer for my fickle, fair skin. The herb garden is offering up a ton of these golden flowers as-of-late. So I am steeping them in olive oil to make the simple calendula salve. One mason jar for me and another for a friend.

I am going to make a little extra calendula oil to add to my homemade facial scrub. This recipe is The Stuff and has saved me the pretty penny that I used to drop on Kiehl's products. It really exfoliates, but the honey and the oil moisturize, too.

Here's the recipe:

Mix the following:

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tblsp. calendula olive oil
1 tblsp. honey

Scrub gently into skin and leave on a few minutes. Rinse.

Eat Your Edibles. Flowers, That Is.

Sunflower petals are bittersweet and can be used in salads.

A potential garden coaching client got in touch with me about growing edible flowers. Which reminded me about this great list that I came across during my mid-winter garden reading.

Here are details on each (taste-wise) and when you can start them from seed or buy them as transplants.

Bachelor's Buttons (Mild and sweet - Salads and desserts) - Early spring from seed.

Calendula (Tangy, slightly bitter - Baked goods, rice dishes) - Early spring from seed. Or, you can find transplants at the farmers' market and nurseries.

Dianthus (Mild clove - Garnish for vegetables, fruit salads, cold drinks) - Buy as a transplant now.

Marigold (Spicy and citrus-y - Salad garnish) - Very easy from seed right now or as a transplant.

Nasturtium (Spicy and peppery - Stuff flowers with soft cheese (yum!)) - Very easy from seed right now.

Salvia (Slightly sweet - Add leaves to soups and cooked greens) - Buy as a transplant now.

Hyacinth bean (Bean-like - Use in soups, sandwiches and salads) - Very easy from seed now. Only use edible flowers from the Ruby Moon variety.

Squash blossoms (Sweet and savory - Fry 'em up) - Start your summer squash plants in early May from seed.

Sunflowers (Bittersweet - Salads) - Start from seed in early May.

Violas (Wintergreen - Dessert and salads garnishes and decorations) - Buy as transplants now.

Also, this season's issue of The Herb Quarterly has a fantastic section on meals with edible flowers. I have the candied violet vanilla cake dancing around in my head as a possible experiment. It's always nice to have a cake dancing around in one's head, I must say.

Etsy Love :: Resin-Encased Petal Jewels

Look-it these bits of loveliness from Etsy seller rosalera. Years ago, I bought pale blue glass earrings that had pressed flowers in them - they were a constant staple until one broke this past spring. So imagine my delight to see an artist on Etsy creating new things with pressed flowers. I'll take one of each, please.

Fairy Bouquet

Ephemerals and johnny-jump-ups from our gardens.

Snippets of New Momma Gardening Endeavors

My new life hit me literally overnight. I went from being a pod and a vessel to a food source. A master laundress. A mama.

So, my gardening these days comes by piece meal. Which, I thought would frustrate me. Instead, the slower pace has been an eye-opener. Splicing up my gardening time and projects into little moments that I find intriguing - with the time to look at more of the details. Close up. Before they disappear and I am called away from them.

My commitment to growing easy cutting flowers has not faultered. My inability to say no and limit seed purchasing has no end, however. As of today, I have seven varieties of zinnia seed packets. More probably to follow. I'm planting - Apricot Blush, All Summer Cutting Mix, Giant Flowered Mix, Exquisite, State Fair Mixed Colors, Fruit Smoothie and Granny's Bouquet.

Flower and fern pressings from this past fall. Watching one too many Victorian-set BBC programs has me framing my ferns! An obsession with tea and crumpets to follow.

Bulbs in containers. It was my first year trying this and I am thrilled to pieces ('Thrilled to pieces?!' When did I start saying things like that?! Egads. Must be another side effect of the BBC addiction.) My absolute favorite tulip color totally does my blue pottery justice. I keep peeking out our back door to gaze and gander at them.

She's Crafty - Flower Presses

Last week, I splurged for a $10 flower press. I harvested the remaining stalwarts of our fan flowers and some bits of ferns for my first test. The pansies that are out and about in people's gardens right now would also be lovely when dried.

This is a great end-of-the-season project and a nice foil to the heavier work that lies before me - labor-intensive cleaning up of the garden.

I'm not even sure how I may use these flowers - the little kid in me just wants to see how they turn out. How they are preserved.

I also found this microwave drier and press on-line. Flowers can be dried within minutes. Nifty!

My One Track Mind

As of late, I have been finding it especially satisfying to clump my cut flowers into groups of similar colors.

A little control in a chaotic world, perhaps?

Satisfying, none-the-less. It is flower arranging that works for my linear brain. Maybe yours, too.

Recipe: Simple Calendula Salve

I learned about this salve during my visit to Innisfree in June - for their herb workshop. It is my first herbal creation (outside of brewing tea) and has encouraged me to feel confident enough to make many more in the future. Calendula is especially soothing for my skin. And, I added chamomile essential oil - another skin calmer. You can create salves with all sorts of herbs - comfrey, lavender . . .

Expanding, itchy belly? Dry skin? Bug bites, rashes, skin irritations? Bring. It. On.

Pluck calendula flowers and put them in olive oil - in a jar with some cheesecloth over the top. Set in the sun for about two weeks. You will end up with this beautiful honey colored oil.

Strain the oil into a pot. Preferably something non-reactive. Compost your flowers.

Then, add a cube of beeswax to the oil. Heat slowly on medium-low. Until the beeswax has melted.

Pour the mixture back into your jar. Add essential oils, if you like. And that is it. It will harden into a salve within a few hours.

Gosh, I feel like I'm forgetting something. But, it really is *that* simple. Really!

Cut Flowers Short Cut

I'm not much for flower arranging. I really wish I was.

I gleaned this idea years ago from my mom. I think it has roots in Martha Stewart Living (audible gasp!). Anyway, it helps your flowers sit in an orderly fashion. It may, just may, even appear as if you gave more than 30 seconds thought to the whole process. Sshhhhh. Nobody needs to know.


Just make a tic-tac-toe board with four pieces of tape over the top of your 'vase.' This will set you up with sturdy supports for your flowers. The rest is up to you and your creative prowess.