While on one of my frequent visits to the garden center, I found this amazing perennial.  I have been buying Peruvian Lilies, in the form of bouquets, for several years now.  They are a very inexpensive way to have fresh cut flowers in your home and even better, the longevity of the blooms just can’t be beat.  A bouquet is around $5 and will last several weeks, which can’t be said for most cut flowers.  My only difficulty is in deciding what color to buy, as they come in so many unique color waves, such as white, golden yellow, orange, to apricot, pink, red, purple and lavender.

I was so excited to have my very own plant and one that will keep blooming continuously.  I don’t know if I’ll have the nerve to cut from my own plant, especially when they make such a beautiful statement, in my backyard.  Look for this blooming beauty at Lowe’s.  They had many color selections, to choose from.

Blue Butterfly Delphiniums

Here’s another perennial that caught my eye and made its way home, with me.  Seldom can you find a true blue flower, especially one with so many blooms.  The blue is so deep that from a distance, it looks as if you’re seeing it with 3D glasses on.  Perennials appeal to me for the obvious reason, they come back!  They fulfill my one and done philosophy, which is buy once, enjoy forever.  I did have these plants, in the ground, but found that they didn’t want to stand up, on their own.  Imagine how beautiful a few sprigs of these blue flowers would be in a bouquet.  I’ll have to try that and report back.

Pink Dianthus

Here’s my pink dianthus, which is growing at an astounding rate.  I don’t think I can do the math on how big it’s grown, in one season.  This plant came from one of the 6-packs you buy at the garden center.  My Mom bought a few for her garden and when I mentioned that I liked them, she gifted me with an entire 6 pack.  Three light pink and 3 fushia pink.

Did you know you’re never supposed to say, “thank you,” when you receive a plant, from someone?  It’s considered bad luck and will surely cause the plant to die.  Sure it’s superstitious and silly even but I catch myself each time a thank you is trying to sleep between my lips.  It goes against my Southern upbringing, to not shout out several thank yous, for such a gift, but I refrain.  After all, the plant doesn’t deserve to die, just because you insist on being polite.

]]> http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/perennial-power/feed/ 5 quinntessentiallyme IMG_0868 IMG_0881 IMG_0895 http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/peony-passion/ http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/peony-passion/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 20:57:59 +0000 quinntessentiallyme http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/?p=1392 ]]>

The white Peonies above are a testament to the longevity of these beauties.  The blooms in the photo were cut from a plant that my Great Grandmother had in her garden, making this plant over 100 years old.  My Mom was given cuttings from my Grandmother’s plant, where she lovingly grew it for years in Tennessee.

It’s been 4 years but I recall vividly the day my aunts drove to town, to help my Mother carefully dig up these peonies, along with many other plants that they had so lovingly shared with each other.  It was a dreadfully cold and wet day, which had me thinking that surely they would leave well enough alone.  They didn’t and proceeded to work in the cold rain until the plants were safely in new pots, ready for their trip west.  The peonies were placed in my garden, along with a beautiful bleeding heart plant, from my Aunt Charlotte’s garden.  A gift from one sister, to another and it was then that I understood the true love for gardening.  It isn’t enough to love it, you must share it.

These pink peonies are from a plant that I bought locally, just 3 years ago.  The story for this peony plant is just beginning, but I hope that someday, it will have a place in one of my children’s gardens and will have produced not just beautiful, fragrant blooms but a rich story, to go along with it.

The blooms start out as tiny little balls, no bigger than a quarter but looks can be deceiving because in less than 24 hours, they can blossom to the size of a dinner salad plate!

They are a very ancient flower and have a long history.  The peony is named after Paeon, a student of Asclepius, which was the Greek God of medicine and healing. It is said that Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, so Zeus stepped in and saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

Peonies tend to attract ants to the flower buds, so it’s a good idea to look each bloom over, gently blowing off the ants.  I forgot to do this with my first cuttings and found myself having lunch with a fleeing army of ants, across my breakfast table.  For every ant you see, there are three that you don’t, so beware.

My Mother, along with her sisters all swear that the ants help with the blooming of the peonies.  I’ve now read plenty to the contrary but since I’ve learned most of my gardening, at the hands of these special women, I’m going to defer to their expertise and leave the ants alone, until its time to bring the blooms in, for my enjoyment.

I added a few new sempervivums to his tail.  I can’t wait for the plants to start filling in.He looks so great with the new furniture.

Here’s my new hooty friend.

The succulents have been outside for about a week now and all are doing very well.

The top of the pot is filled with stonecrop.  This is an excellent ground cover, as well.  Sempervivums, aka hen and chicks are filling the smaller holes, along with a little bit of sedum burrito, in the top, right hole.

Lowe’s had smaller strawberry pots, filled with succulents for around $15.  It’s a great way to get started with succulents.

Here’s just a few of my smaller succulent plants.  I have them displayed on a baker’s rack outside.

As the plants mature, they can be transplanted into larger pots.

Most of these cuttings are from my existing succulent plants.  I think these would make perfect little gifts, for when someone drops by and gets  the urge to start their own succulent addiction.  One remains empty, awaiting a cutting.
As you can see, I started with 12 small terra cotta pots for a total of $5 and a can of spray paint.  I used a neutral colored spray paint so that they would match, where ever I placed them.  I always wondered what those tiny pots were for, now I know.

I’m very happy with the results.  Talk about going green!  Reclaimed a pot, painted it green and added plants that need very little water.

Echeveria (back/left), Sedum Burrito (right), Sempervivum (front/left), Echeveria (front/middle)

Here’s what I did.  I cleaned the dirt off and then used spray paint primer.  This step is quick and easy and shouldn’t be skipped.  The primer dries almost instantly and seals it so that once painted, it looks like the pot has been glazed.  In the past, when I painted terra cotta, the paint soaked in, leaving a dull and unfinished look.

Rust-Oleum products are excellent and I really like the ultra cover 2x coverage.  It really does require only one coat.  To get the splatter effect I sprayed the pot a solid color, then used complimentary and contrasting colors, to get the effect I wanted.  If you lightly squeeze down on the nozzle, you will get a splatter instead of a solid spray.  It’s easy and fun.

A few tips on spray paint.

1.  Use a mask!  Ventilation is very important.  Due to wind issues I sprayed inside our garage on several occasions, but with the garage door up.  I still used a mask.  This stuff is toxic, so take this precaution.

2.  Use rubber gloves unless you don’t mind getting out the mineral spirits, for clean up.  I like to use medical rubber gloves because they fit tightly and can be tossed afterwards.

]]> http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/terra-cotta-pottery-transformed/feed/ 5 quinntessentiallyme IMG_0761 IMG_0762 IMG_0619 spray paint http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/wild-wilderness-drive-thru-safari/ http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/wild-wilderness-drive-thru-safari/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:26:19 +0000 quinntessentiallyme http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/?p=1309 ]]> On Easter Sunday, we took a drive to the Wild Wilderness Drive Thru Safari, in Gentry, Arkansas.  Along for the ride was Mr. Q, our littlest Q, My Mom and myself and oh what a grand time we had.  Little Q is on her way to graduating from college with a degree in Photography and Art History and needed to shoot some photos for a major project, so we tagged along and made it a family affair.

We arrived around 11am and started our 4 to 5 mile safari drive.  In the past they allowed you to place peanuts on the hood of your car so the monkeys could jump up, eat them and entertain you.  Evidently, that is no longer permissible, neither is having your windows rolled down.  Where’s the fun in that?  None.  So I broke the rules and rolled down the windows.  My Mom did a little monkey hopping in her seat, when an ostrich wanted to take a closer look, inside the car.  

The picture is a little fuzzy but you’ll have to excuse me, I had my arm sticking up through the sun roof, with this sweet fella only inches from me.  One of his buddies came around to my side of the car, for a little one to one.

You’re thinking, “Didn’t she say she had her windows down?”  I did but everyone kept yelling for me to roll it up.  Kinda had to agree, because these guys spit and have enormous tongues.  I wasn’t in the mood for a spit shine camel facial.
Look, Bambi’s alive and well and  living in Arkansas.

How magical are Zebras?
So polite of her to come over for a personal meet and greet.

What is that you ask?  It’s a Zonkey!  No joke.  Seems they like to mix it up a bit with donkeys and zebras and this is what you get.  Wikipedia says:  ”Zonkey” is not the technically correct name for such a cross. The most commonly accepted terms are zebrinny, zebrula, and zedonk.  I’ll let you decide.

It might not look intimidating until its eye level with you and pecking on the glass.  The Ostriches were always trailing behind the car and the first to come around.

As we drove through, all the animals stopped and posed for us.  It was amazing.

“Does my head make my butt look big?”

He’s still staring at me.  It’s freaking me out a little.

Your nobody until you’ve been ignored by a cat.
Gophers = giggling.  These little fur balls were very friendly.  They surrounded the car like it was a car jacking.

Once you’ve made it through the park, you then get to walk through all the petting areas and feed the various animals.  The sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys and  baby goats, all love the corn.  You hold it in the palm of your hand, while they lick and nibble it off.  Not gonna lie, this wigged me out a bit, so I started tossing it to them, but that didn’t work like I intended.  This particular sheep is gonna find a pretty tasty corn treat, on his back, a little later in the day.  That or he’s gonna get a bite on the rump, from one of his barnyard buddies.

Three Billy Goats Gruff.  They have learned the art of the fence buffet.

Impressive beard but I’d say something to management about the whole tag in the ear deal.  Poor 781 can’t take a decent pic without that showing up.

This is Chloe but don’t be fooled, she isn’t drinking.  She’s knocking that water bottle off, for the 15th time, so that some human on the outside, can replace it for her.  This same monkey was let out of her cage where she proceeded to steal everything in sight, including a pair of pink pliers, from her handler.  She entertained me well as she ran atop her cage and attempted to learn how to use them.

A little diapered monkey.

As my luck would have it, my camera battery died right when I was getting to my favorites, the monkeys, as well as the baby black bear.  I’ll borrow Little Q’s photos and post the rest of the monkey business.

]]> http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/wild-wilderness-drive-thru-safari/feed/ 6 quinntessentiallyme IMG_0672 IMG_0682 IMG_0657 IMG_0666 IMG_0668 IMG_0735 IMG_0648 IMG_0681 IMG_0709 IMG_0708 IMG_0687 IMG_0714 IMG_0726 IMG_0730 IMG_0732 IMG_0749 IMG_0752 http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/politicians-vs-the-people/ http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/politicians-vs-the-people/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:45:19 +0000 quinntessentiallyme http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/?p=1301 ]]> Healthcare Reform, what an oxymoron, if ever I’ve heard one.  When has the government ever been successful at reform?  Do you know why people still talk about the $750 hammer?  Because the government has no oversight and worse, they don’t actually care whether it’s a small amount of money or a trillion freaking dollars, like ObamaCare, they just want THEIR program to pass.

The stupidity of the government to think that socializing health care is the answer to everyone having healthcare is not only stupid but arrogant, with a trillion dollar power trip to go with it.  Healthcare should be available to everyone and it is to 85% of the population but that leaves 15% without it, so work the problem, right?  Wrong!  There are other issues, like insurance companies dropping individuals with pre-existing conditions and many other serious issues to address but talk about complete overkill.  Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.  Only a politician(s) could take a math problem of 85% working with 15% failure and come up with a solution of throwing out the entire problem and putting in place a sure fire failure!

The people: We all need healthcare and we need the insurance companies to play fair, what can you do for us?

Politicians: Let’s see, so you’re saying 85% have it, 15% want it and you want issues like pre-existing illnesses to be allowed, right?

The people: Yes, you’ve got it.  We need the other 15% to have health insurance.  Oh and could you keep the rates from constantly going up, with less coverage and the insurance companies from making such ridiculous profits, at our expense?

Politicians:  Yes, I think I know just what to do!  Let’s take the 85% system that is working and throw it out completely and start completely over!

The people: Uh…….. I don’t think that makes much sense, wouldn’t it be easier to fix just the 15% that is broken, then to start all over?

The Politicians: No, because you see, we’re going to take over the ENTIRE system and let the government fix it, for you.

The people: Holy Crap!!!!  No!  Wait!  That’s not what we said or what we want!  Stop!

The politicians: Too late!  This will get our guy elected.  This will allow more government into the lives of each individual on U.S. soil!  It’s what we’ve always wanted.  It’s Christmas, 365 days of the year.

The people: But the government doesn’t know how to run a business.  Let’s talk about this, please.  I mean social security is broke, medicaid just had more cuts, medicare is a mess, welfare has crippled its people, instead of helping them, the military isn’t paid well and their healthcare is deplorable.  Not to mention the post office, DMV, IRS and well, just trying to get a passport, in this country, takes months.  No offense, but I’m pretty sure every one of those programs have failed or are failing and have costs billions more than they ever should have, so I think National healthcare is a huge mistake.

The politicians: Trust us, we can do anything!

The people: Hello???  Hello???  Is anyone there?  Uh, we weren’t finished talking.  Hello???

I thought I’d share one of my new found favorites, the Pentas Lanceolata, from the Rubiaceae family.  Common names are Pentas, Star Flower or Star Cluster and they come in shades of red, white, lavender, purple and shades of pink.  Some are two-toned.  The plants have dark green, lance-shaped, somewhat furry and deeply veined leaves providing a backdrop for prolific clusters of never-ending, five-pedaled flowers. The best part, there is no need to deadhead these beauties, they self-deadhead, unlike geraniums and portulaca that need quite a bit of attention, to remain attractive throughout the summer.

This deep red was my choice last year and it was quite a stand out.  I had two containers and the larger of the two really grew quickly and had me wishing I had bought more.  The only negative is that the dreaded hornworm love these plants.  I will be watching closely this year for the hawk-like moths that lay larvae that turn into these nasty prehistoric looking creatures.

This pink is so lovely.

The Pentas attraction is not just its beauty but that it loves full sun and blooms best that way.  Pentas are an annual unless you live in a zone that has very mild winters, so keep that in mind, if you’re planning to use these flowers, in the ground.

In anticipation of the series, I watched the making of The Pacific, along with short clips of the actual soldiers that fought in the war and the actors that would be portraying them.  The series is based on three of these real life soldiers, two of which wrote books about their experiences, with the third soldier leaving volumes of historical documentation behind due to his heroic efforts, leading him to be one of the most decorated war heroes, of all time.  It isn’t often that a movie or mini series will so closely be based on real life events, without the need to fill in the gaps or added embellishment.  These men fought an unknown enemy, in an unknown land that also threatened their lives as much as their human foes did.

As I watched and learned about these men, it made me wonder about our current day war heroes and who they might be.  How long will it be before we are reading their accounts and acts of heroism?  To me, each man or woman that joins the military and fights for our country whether behind a desk or on the front line, is a hero, period.  Our military of today looks to the past and sees how their brothers and sisters fought to protect this country and I believe that is why they do so, as well.  Here is just three, from their brotherhood.

John Basilone – He was the only enlisted marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor, in World War II.  He was an expert with machine guns and managed to hold off approximately 3,000 Japanese soldiers, during the battle of Guatalcanal.  His unit of 15 fought for 48 hours, eventually being reduced to only two men. Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He repaired another machine-gun and personally manned it, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived.

Even more amazing is that as his celebrity grew, he didn’t change and never held himself above his men.  When he was asked to go stateside to sell war bonds, being told that it was as important as being on the front line, he did so but eventually he rejoined his fellow marines, in the fighting.

Robert Leckie – Leckie was a writer before the war but enlisted the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  He served as a scout and a machine gunner in the 1st Marine devision.  He participated in every major 1st Marine Division campaign except Okinawa.  After the war he returned to his career as a writer and wrote his first book and best seller, Helmet for my Pillow.  He would go on to write over 40 books in his life time, on American war history.

In April 2007, it was announced that Leckie’s war memoirs, Helmet for my Pillow, would form the basis for the HBO series.

Eugene B. Sledge – Sledge had a heart murmur that kept him from joining at the same time his friend Sidney Phillips, who is also portrayed in the movie.  He would later join but as an enlisted marine, so that he would not miss out on the real fighting.  He was a mortarman and fought in the battle of Peleliu and Okinawa.  Soldiers were not allowed to keep accounts of the war efforts so he wrote notes on what happened in his pocket-sized New Testament.  After the war he compiled his experiences into the book, With the Old Breed, which was also chosen as the basis for the series.

After the first one hour episode, I’m already in awe of these  brave men and what they faced.  Even more, what they eventually went on to accomplish, after such a life altering event.  These men knew they were fighting for a true cause and they did so, knowing that it would probably be the cause, of their own lives.

Pfc Eugene B. Sledge played by Joe Mazzello

Pfc Robert Leckie played by James Badge Dale

Sgt. John Basilone played by Jon Seda

]]> http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/hbos-mini-series-the-pacific/feed/ 2 quinntessentiallyme Pacific 180px-BasiloneUSMC 200px-Leckie Sledge PX00107_91-300x219 james-badge-dale-jacob-pitts-2-david-james The-Pacific-on-HBO-4-550x365 http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/succulents-and-companion-plants/ http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/succulents-and-companion-plants/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:04:58 +0000 quinntessentiallyme http://quinntessentiallyme.wordpress.com/?p=1265 ]]> It took a couple of weeks but all my succulent and companion plants have been potted and placed in various rooms, throughout my house, awaiting the time where it’s warm enough for them to live and thrive outside.  It wasn’t an easy achievement, to garden indoors, nor would I want to attempt such a feat again.  My only outdoor activity was to bring in soil, as I ran out and even that was an endeavor, considering I had to put on a coat to do so, each time.  It was a success however, so it was worth it, in the end.  Here are a few of my succulents and companion plants.

Sansavieria trifasciata – Mother in Law Tongue, aka Snake Plant

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (pink flowered plant)

Kalanchoe Tomentosa cv – Chocolate Soldier (left side:  succulent with small brown dots, along the margins)

Lithops species – Stone Face (front and center)

Senecio radicans glauca – Strings of Bananas

Aloe Vera

Climbing Aloe (front and to the right)

Anacampseros rufescens (left and front)

Bromeliad – This is sold as an indoor plant but can be moved outdoors, when the temperatures rise about 50 degrees.

Tall Spiral Mother in law Tongue

Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi variegated – scalloped edged leaves (behind M-I-L tongue)

Climbing Aloe (left)

Crassula Fallwood – flat coin like green leaves (front and middle)

Senecio – mini blue chalk fingers (right)

Adromischus cristatus – Kim Lime Pie (right of M-I-L tongue)

Elephant Ear House Plant – The leaves are leathery and beautiful and should look great along with the potted succulents.

Top:  Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi

Echeveria – Wooly Rose

Sedum Burrito

Middle:  Haworthia

Living Stones

Graptopetalum

Bottom:  Echeveria

Pony Tail Palm

Aeonium Zwartkop (front)

Portulacaria afra (left)

Jade Plant (right)

Cordylines – Spiked plant (back)

Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana – flowering

Jade Plant

Sedum

Echeveria – Blue Rose (front)

Graptopetalum (left)

Cordylines spiked plant (back)

Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana (front)

Cordylines House plant

Now that I’ve bought all the succulents in town, along with an impressive amount of pottery, I thought I better get to the business of planting.  I’ve done a few but the above photo is my first larger scale pot of succulents.  There will be a great deal more, to follow.  I started with a few chards of broken pottery, in the base of the pot, a layer of sand, then a mixture of a cactus soil and peat moss soil mixture.  I then just chose my plants according to size, shape and what I thought looked nice, in the pot.

Here’s a top view.  I used a topdressing of decorative pea pebbles, which can be bought at Walmart, Home Depot or your local garden center.  Topdressings really set these plants off well and I’m learning that the sky’s the limit on what you can use.  Below is a black and white photo that I’ve numbered to show each individual plant and its name.

1.  Ripple Jade

2.  Echeveria perle Von Nurnberg

3.  Echeveria – Black Prince

4.  Sedum

5.  Zanzibar Aloe

6.  Silver Dollar Jade

7.  Graptopetalum

8.  E. T. Fingers – Jade (Crassula Argentea)

9.  Echeveria Dondo

Here’s another beauty called Silver Coral Senecio Scaposus.  I chose dark brown flat marbles for a topdressing, to mirror the dark brown, at the bottom of the glazed pot.  The Silver Coral looks great in this pot and brings out the glazed silvery-green, in the pot.

Sedum praeltum cristata, sedum and Kalanchoe luciae, aka flippin’ flapjacks

Rainbow Bush – Portulacaria afra variegata

This is fast becoming a favorite of mine and I think it’s because each time I see it in a book, it’s full and overflowing, which is what I’m expecting it to do, for me.  The pot is just a little large but surely won’t be for long.

http://www.justpottingbenches.com/

Lately I’ve been buying pots and plants at an alarming rate, all of which are sitting in various areas inside and outside my home.  This weekend gave me an exceptional day of sunshine and warmth and I quickly made use of it, by starting the potting process.  I was instantly stalled in that process by a lack of space because all my spaces were covered with all my new pots.  In the past that wouldn’t have mattered, I would have just squatted right there, started planting and moved the pot to its new location.  It’s not an ideal process because it leaves behind a mess and by the second or third pot, my knees are protesting.

I decided I needed a potting bench and I had just the perfect location for it.  I had forgotten that I had planned for a potting bench, a few years ago, but since I stayed with my squat and pot method, I never put that plan into action.  It’s now necessary if I’m to keep my back and knees in shape through this spring season of planting.  Considering how many pots I bought and how many I already own, this is absolutely necessary.

I started researching and found out quickly that there are many potting benches to choose from and here are a few.  The potting bench, in the photo above looks really nice, complete with drawers and a compartment for your soil, plus a shelf for your smaller projects.

There are also potting bench plans that you can purchase, for those do it yourself types.  Here’s a photo of one and I must say, it looks like the Mercedes of potting benches.  You can click here, for the plans to this potting bench.

The only real issue was that I didn’t really want to mess with having to buy a potting bench, get it home and then build it.  Buying it was the biggest issue because that money could be used to feed my pot addiction, so instead I’ve decided to make use of something I already have, which is one of my guy’s work benches.  It’s currently in the pool building, being used for all things pool related.  Had it not been behind all the pool equipment it would have made an appearance this weekend.  I plan to trick out my work bench and make it into a lovely potting bench.  If I succeed, I’ll post photos of my new ride.  Happy Potting.

Photos:  Google Images

First photo information, visit:  http://www.justpottingbneches.com/

For the potting bench plans, in the second photo, visit:  http://www.charlesandhudson.com/archives/outdoors/gardening/2008/08/

Here’s how he looked before I got ahold of him.  His wrought iron daisies just weren’t cutting it for me so I did some cutting of my own.  I took cuttings from my new succulent plants and brought my lizard to life.

It was quite simple and fun.  Here’s how I did it.

I bought sphagnum moss and florist wire, along with Louie, the lizard.  I flipped him over and started filling him with the sphagnum moss.  I wet the moss, which helped keep it in place.  Succulent plants grow quite well in sphagnum which allows you to think outside the box, or in this case, the pots.  Here’s what he looked like, once I added the moss.

I then took the florist wire and criss-crossed back and forth, to keep the moss in place.  Although, there is a no photo of it, I added a layer of weed barrier, on top of the moss, prior to adding the wire, to keep everything in place.  I think the wire would have done the trick but over time, the moss might lose some of its cohesion, thus the addition of the weed barrier.  You could also use mesh, which I didn’t have on hand but will be looking for, when I go to the garden center this week.

I took cuttings of:  sempervivum (hen and chicks), echeveria and crassula ovuta, which is part of the jade plant family.  I plan to add more succulents to Louie’s tail and head.  I can’t wait to see how he’ll look, over time.  Another bonus is that as Louie grows, his form will need to be kept compact, which means I will take cuttings that can be used elsewhere.  That’s what I love about succulents, a few cuttings from your own plants, create new plants which can be used for gifts or just new arrangements, in your own home.

These particular succulents lends themselves quite well to this type of design and will root themselves within a month or so.  I plan to hang Louie, once the cuttings have rooted, which should look great, against the stone, of our house.  The moss will need to be watered about once a week, in the summer and once a month, in the winter, depending on where it is located.

I found myself thinking back to last spring when I was buying plants to fill the pots and more pots to fill the ever increasing plants and well…………you get the picture.  I have to say though, if you’re going to have an addiction to something, plants and pottery are the way to go.  You can’t hurt anyone, they aren’t that expensive and they provide beauty, year around.  OK, technically they provide back breaking work, when all the pots have to find a winter home but the hubs doesn’t seem to mind…….at least not too much.

This year, these new pots are going to be home to my other addiction, which is succulent plants.  I am busy these days with learning all I can about succulents and trust me when I say, there is a great deal to learn.  When I enter a nursery, I can pretty much identify everything and know what it is, where it will grow and what issues it may have, such as pest and diseases but succulents are new to me.  So new that I bought a book, to teach myself everything I need to know and now I know I need to know, a LOT more.

One of the first things about succulents is, they go by their latin names and many don’t even have common names, so I’m learning latin now too.  I’m also learning that these plants are being cultivated and hybridized at such a rate that for every plant name I learn and can identify, two others pop up that have been crossed to make entirely new plants, with entirely new latin names.  My newest addiction is not going to mastered, any time soon.