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finally tracked down a positive identification i think it s a wabash the photo and description at white flower farm really cinched it here s what it says a look of tailored elegance is the gift this heirloom iris brings to the bed or border wabash was first introduced in 1936 and became a favorite bearded iris of the 1940s and 50s when the sweetly fragrant blossoms open in june it s easy to understand why the crisp white of the standards the smaller erect petals poses a striking contrast to the reddish purple of the pendulous falls which are finished round the edge with a fine pale piping so i ve got an heirloom iris and i didn t even know it 12 comments labels iris week seven corsages and boutonnieres click on image to view larger today was week 7 in my floral design class and we were introduced to the intricate world of corsage and boutonniere construction i had no idea that something which is so small and seemingly simple has so much handwork involved in its creation it was a fascinating day of instruction i now understand why florists charge what they do for corsages and boutonnieres i also have an all new appreciation for anyone doing the flowers for a large wedding click on image to view larger the other thing that i didn t know until today is that corsages and boutonnieres can be done 2 3 days before the event they keep very well as long as they are in a fridge away from fruits and vegetables which give off ethylene gas that will wilt any flowers in proximity to the produce it s a great bit of information to know don t you think and now you know why supermarket flowers always seem a bit sad if the floral department is right by the produce 12 comments labels floral design a new bearded iris on sunday i went out to stroll around the gardens as i always do after church and discovered that a new bearded iris has bloomed at the base of the olive tree the depth of the purple enchants me like you wouldn t believe i think this is from some rhizomes that a neighbor gave me when she was dividing hers it s never bloomed before so i was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful colors does anyone know the name of this variety so i can call it by its proper name rose nostalgia collection 2009 2010 18 month calendars are now available 14 comments labels iris a branch full of sunshine for the past couple of days my afternoons have been spent staring at bright white railings and decking as i ve painted and caulked the seams of our almost completed deck i promise as post with photos as soon as it s done the bright white deck is up against our little buttercream yellow house the light reflects off of both in a brilliant way i ve had to slather on spf 50 sunscreen every day before heading out because if i didn t i d be burnt to a crisp in less than an hour the breeze has kept the sun from being too oppressively warm up until today which began a stint of hotter days that may take us into the low 90 s over the weekend as i ve been out soaking up all this warmth and sun i have been reminded that some of you just had a good deal of snow dumped on you and some of you have been under rainy skies i don t take my sunshine for granted i know it is a blessing through this photo of our lemons i wish to send a branch full of sunshine to all of you that are desperately longing for it 13 comments labels lemons sunshine red gerberas i deemed today an in the garden day because i had to fill up the green cans before tomorrow s pick up i also had to do some painting and caulking on the almost completed deck i finally ran out of things to put in the green cans when does that ever happen and my finger was sore from spreading caulk along the seams of boards so i came inside and managed to sneak in some studio time as the sun was going down it was such a glorious spring day to be outside working that i wanted to somehow capture how it felt in an art piece so i took a photograph that i shot of the cute red gerberas in the workshop windowbox and turned it into a digital painting with photoshop and a couple of fun textures and i liked the finished result so much that i ve made it available in notecards at the dusting in pearls online store not bad for an in the garden day now i can go collapse on the sofa and nurse my slight twinge of a headache while hubby cooks us a late dinner texture credits warm daydream by swimmingintheether flat stone from my own collection of textures 9 comments labels cards dusting in pearls gerberas photoshop red a new discovery i received an email from my mother today it was one of those that you forward on to everyone you think would care it contained a link to the breast cancer site where all i had to do was click the big pink button and my simple click made sponsor money available to fund free mammograms for women i can click once a day so easy so simple so important instead of forwarding an email i thought it would be more fun to write about it here because along with the clicking button i discovered that there is a wonderful online store with lots of fun goodies mostly pink every purchase from the store helps fund mammograms for women in need pretty cool so help me go shopping for only 6 00 i could buy a set of nellie s dryerballs to soften my loads of laundry naturally and look they re pink and my favorite shade of pink too for 14 95 i could get this adorably pink indoor potting set isn t this just too cute did you see that they re pink but then there are this wonderful deluxe garden pruners for 12 95 that would look so pink and chic out in the garden or in my floral design tool bag there s that pink again looks like i ve some decisions to make any suggestions 7 comments labels breast cancer garden pink hepburn esque chic the sun went missing last week and we had rain rain meant i couldn t paint the railings of the deck and the contractors couldn t work on anything either so i ended up with unexpected studio time on my hands i was able to get some more pieces done and posted on dusting in pearls over the past year i ve had a few designs near and dear to my heart that seemed like they belonged together in a collection but i d been fumbling around for a collection name with hubby s help last week i was finally able to name the collection hepburn esque chic that just seemed to fit hubby has a particular love for fancy kitty fancy kitty is loosely based on a combination of features from lucy and thomasina so that s probably why lucy above left thomasina above right fancy kitty below see any resemblance 5 comments labels dusting in pearls fancy kitty kitties lucy thomasina easter reflections orange blossoms on the navel orange tree easter sunday 2009 today on easter sunday i feel the need to post when i normally don t post on sunday i ve had much to ponder and reflect upon since palm sunday last week i went back to what i wrote last easter and realized how so much can change in just one year s time so very much and yet there are some things that never change the things that matter i wrote last year my garden inspires me to think of those things that matter in the whole eternal scheme of things it never ceases to amaze me how trees plants and earth do that maybe that is why so many of us are drawn to the garden to the earth and the soil under our feet maybe it is because while we are physically planting sowing and tilling we also find ourselves planting sowing and tilling within our hearts and souls we are finding a place for ourselves to grow last year just before easter i had finished planting our olive tree this year i have just finished reading a wonderful book by carol drinkwater entitled the olive farm over the past year i ve watched the little olive tree that i put into the ground olive trees grow slowly they don t produce fruit until they are seven to ten years old i ve pruned my little olive already for this year i am shaping her to become the queen of the garden her shape must be started now so that as she grows into her life s purpose her form is already there i ve thought about how much i am like an olive tree being pruned for a larger purpose that seems so far away in the future i feel so small and so unfit but the master s hand knows best he prunes and shapes me to fit my purpose garlic chives in bloom easter sunday 2009 easter always draws my mind back to the olive tree last year i reflected on the planting of our olive tree there is something about planting an olive that is meaningful spiritual and deeply symbolic the garden of gethsemane where christ spent the night before his crucifixion had olive trees in it the name gethsemane literally means olive oil press christ spent those agonizing night time hours being pressed emotionally mentally and physically until he bled from the pours of his skin he was the only perfect and sinless person that had or will ever walk the earth he was like a harvest of perfect olives used to produce the best and finest extra virgin olive oil the oil that is prized because it is from the first press christ s experience in gethsemane was the first press in so many ways that atonement that christ performed that night produced the finest and most precious gift that mankind could ever receive an atonement for our sins our pains our sorrows and our iniquities as i tamped down the earth around our own olive tree all of these thoughts ran through my mind i felt moved to offer a prayer after the planting was over to ask that the olive tree would thrive prosper and fulfill the measure of its creation here in our garden as i closed the prayer with tear filled eyes i felt a closeness to my savior it was a fitting way to begin the week preceding easter as i have hauled each wheelbarrow full of gravel and placed it into the trenches that are now paths that run around and by the olive tree s planter i realized how much that part of the garden is beginning to look like the way i have always envisioned gethsemane looks even though i ve never seen it in person over and over i have had the words of a song going through my head as i have worked i walked today where jesus walked and today as i completed the last of the path that hides the main trench i sat down to take a last look before the light in the spring sky faded too much for me to see again the words ran through my head southwest corner of rosehaven cottage s gardens easter sunday 2009 and as i walked through the garden taking photographs to capture the beauty of this easter sunday i was struck again by very similar thoughts and this despite the fact that there has been so much progress and change in that space again there are some things that are constant and unchanging for instance the changing of the seasons that i wrote about last year whether one is christian or not the season of spring is full of hope and renewal even my friends in the southern hemisphere are celebrating a time where nature is getting ready for renewal by shedding the old rose hedge on southern fenceline of rosehaven cottage s gardens easter sunday 2009 i think about the gifts that god has given us in nature reminders of him and the bigger picture even the seasons are a reminder to us of a larger principle there is so much in my life that i wish to shed and be rid of often daily that just happens because this is life each sunday i find such peace renewing myself with his help i have learned that he doesn t care how many times i may stumble or fall he cares whether i ask for his help in picking myself up to try again it is a process of shedding and renewal that repeats around us in nature and it is a process of shedding and renewal that i can repeat within my own heart it is this that i am deeply thankful for this wonderful easter sunday pacific coast native iris growing at the pond s edge easter sunday 2009 18 comments labels easter inspiration spirituality i m officially a muddy booter click image to view larger jen at muddy boot dreams features a fellow blogger on friday s each blogger she showcases becomes part of a wonderful group known as the muddy booters i am honored and humbled to have been chosen to be the latest addition to the muddy booters i feel so honored to be one of them that i wanted to dedicate my recent photographic art piece entitled lilac nostalgia to jen as a huge hug and thank you thank you jen the above art is available on greeting cards click here for more info 10 comments labels lilacs muddy boot dreams the abraham darby has bloomed click here to view large i used the wonderful texture from swimmingintheether s collection the abraham darby a david austen rose has bloomed for the first time this year i m always intrigued by its ruffly petals that remind me of an old painting so i tried my hand at making the photograph look more like a painting in photoshop by using a texture erasing the texture strategically and then adding in highlights sparingly 16 comments labels photoshop rose roses what a difference a day and many friends makes okay let s just say it like it is yesterday was a real downer as i wrote yesterday s post the rain was pouring outside in torrential waves we even had thunder and lightning which we rarely have seriously i can specifically count the times and years we ve experienced thunder and lightning that s how rare it is as the storm raged outside i was sitting here in my studio writing the post with a storm of a different kind raging inside me and i was feeling pretty uncomfortable about writing about it so openly in the post as i was in the middle of the post the kitties at the windows started chattering and staring intently up and out the window the tell tale sign that a bird is sitting under the eaves usually one of the nesting sparrows i quietly leaned to my right so i could see what they were seeing to my surprise it wasn t a sparrow but a sweet tiny rufous hummingbird trying to escape the torrential downpour it looked so tiny so small so alone and bedraggled not its normal perky effervescent self it looked about how i felt i had the wherewithal to snap some shots through the rain speckled window shortly after publishing my post so many wonderful comments and emails came pouring in that lifted me and my spirits like the pathetic wet hummingbird under our home s protective eaves i had found shelter and comfort in the protection of your friendship and like the hummingbird i had to take some chances in order to find it i had to be willing to stop flitting about in the emotional storm i was feeling sit down and be still for a moment this experience has brought to mind again what a rich blessing this world of blogging is to so many of us it is this wonderful community of individuals that has once again lifted me from my awful izing and self doubt to trust my instincts be true to myself and not let criticism paralyze me if i had been fortunate enough to have all of you 15 and 20 years ago when i was a newly trained artist full of promise but barraged by criticism i probably wouldn t have abandoned my creative passions as i di...