Portland Flower Show & Auction!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the Portland Flower Show and Auction for the University of Maine, Cooperative Extension. Growing up in the tri-state area (NJ) I visited the Philadelphia Flower show every year, and when The Man and I moved to Maine I so missed my yearly trek to Philly … then I realized Portland  had its own own Flower Show!

I adore all the life-sized exhibits – I just want to walk into the showcases and read a book!

And all the landscapes are labeled so it is easy to track down my new favorite (and old standby) plant varieties!

And they feature many sculptures created by Maine artisans!

And I get so many ideas for new stonework and hardscaping projects (for The Man naturally)!

This was one of my particular favorite exhibits! A small woodcutter’s cottage in the woods, delphiniums and a to-die-for fence made of birch trees!

And it wouldn’t be an introduction to spring without some major tulip love!

And at the end of the flower show, the University of Maine’s, Cooperative Extension runs a plant auction to benefit its Cumberland County Master Gardeners! The plant material is donated by the exhibitors, then auctioned off to the highest bidder! There are some super great deals to be had!

So now that spring has technically arrived, the weather is warming up, and the bulbs are beginning to bloom let me wish a Happy Spring to you!

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Hurricane Irene’s Visit to Maine

The Day Before the Hurricane Arrived:

The fog was so thick.

I may be a little late on the blogging about Hurricane Irene’s Visit to Maine, but that’s because I’ve been busy working on my new collection of Botanical Prints!  I am so excited to share them once the entire collection is ready.

The ducks were in packs (or is it herds? or is it called something else?) preparing together.

The Morning of the Storm I made my husband take me out to catch a few photos:

It was dark and wet … but I LOVED it!

I brought a plastic bag to cover my camera, but I still had to wipe down my lens a few dozen times.

And the sea was definitely talking!

And the Day After the Storm was … Beautiful!

What a clear day!

The surfers were out in mass trying to catch the great waves.

Can you see the two surfers on the left waiting for a big one?

Look at all that green water … and you know what green water means?!

Even though the hurricane was down graded to a tropical storm by the time it reached us here in Maine, the ocean was certainly rolling!

The waves crashing at Two Lights.

Isn’t it amazing that after such dark days that within hours of the storm leaving, the sky is clear as a bell?!

I hope everyone stayed safe and dry and got a chance to go out and take in the beauty after the storm!

~

Hurricane Irene’s Visit to Maine

I may be a little late on the blogging about Hurricane Irene’s Visit to Maine, but that’s because I’ve been busy working on my new collection of Botanical Prints!  I am so excited to share them once the entire collection is ready.

But enough of that for now, I was going to let my Irene pictures hang out on my hard drive, but decided they were just too cool not to share!

So today’s blog is more of a slideshow of images, starting with …

The Day Before the Hurricane Arrived:

The fog was so thick.

The ducks were in packs (or is it herds? or is it called something else?) preparing together.

The Morning of the Storm I made my husband take me out to catch a few photos:

It was dark and wet … but I LOVED it!

I brought a plastic bag to cover my camera, but I still had to wipe down my lens a few dozen times.

And the sea was definitely talking!

And the Day After the Storm was … Beautiful!

What a clear day!

The surfers were out in mass trying to catch the great waves.

Can you see the two surfers on the left waiting for a big one?

Look at all that green water … and you know what green water means?!

Even though the hurricane was down graded to a tropical storm by the time it reached us here in Maine, the ocean was certainly rolling!

The waves crashing at Two Lights.

Isn’t it amazing that after such dark days that within hours of the storm leaving, the sky is clear as a bell?!

I hope everyone stayed safe and dry and got a chance to go out and take in the beauty after the storm!

~

Running, Running, Running!

I think I took too much time smelling the roses, or Bougainvillea as the case may be …

Since returning from my Key West Vacation, I have been running around trying to get everything ready for my first wholesale show! (The New England Products Trade Show) 

I have been preparing for a while, but there always seems like there is something more to do. 

I'm still putting the finishing touches on my booth and adding more prints and products for display. The people at Lowes have been seeing so much of me lately …

And even though my stretcher bars arrived weeks ago, they have been taunting me from their opened box. We both know I had to start putting them together before I stretch and wrap my canvas, but there was always so much other work to be done!

Here's the first few I put together – it was much easier than I thought it would be. I am so excited to wrap my canvases now! I will be introducing canvas gallery wraps in the shop on Saturday! There will be some other completely new goodies there too! I can't wait to share them with you, and the only reason I have actually waited is that I was too busy over the last two weeks to spill!

As I've been working, printing and preparing for the show, my dog and cat have been underfoot. I think they think they are management … that it is their job to keep me on task.

And here my kitty is reminding me that there are also some household tasks that require my attention, the laundry has been waiting for my attention for a some time! I personally think they should just be happy I've been remembering to feed them!

Also, in addition to all this craziness of my upcoming show, I have been working on giving my website and shop a facelift. I've already changed its overall appearance, but I'm adding some fun new features (hopefully they will be done by the end of the week), including a rotating photograph slider on the homepage and a completely new page: Ask the Horticulturist! I'm very excited about these new changes, and hopefully they'll be done soon, but since I do all my own website work it may take a bit longer.

Oh! And did I mention the hubby and I are looking to move! We've been looking around a lot lately, but we're looking at something new this Tuesday and I think this could be it!  Check back and I'll share some photos of the house we are looking at! 

Happy Monday!

Growing Narcissus Bulbs … Makes Me Feel Like Spring!

I tend to get a bit 'SAD' in the winter (I know, kind of strange being I chose to live in Maine) so I like to make my home feel more springlike by growing bulbs, paperwhites mostly. 

Narcissus papyraceus, known more commonly as Paperwhites, is a sub-species of Narcissus tazetta. These bulbs need water, sunlight and 2-3 inches of rooting medium. Paperwhites are the easiest type of narcissus to force since they do not require a chilling period.

Growing Narcissus is so easy to do! I use bowls, vases, baskets (with a protective insert of course!) or anything that I find that looks particularly pretty as my pot. You can use marbles, small outdoor rocks, pebbles, sea glass or anything that will support the root system of the bulb for the planting media. I use fishtank pebbles for the potting mixture, which you can buy in bulk quite inexpensively. The planting media doesn't have to be a soil mixture since paperwhites grown indoors don't require any nutrients, and are usually discarded after the blooms die off.

So fill your container with your rooting media of choice (fishtank pebbles in my case), and place your bulbs with the roots face-down in the pebbles so that the top 1 inch of each bulb is above the soil line. You can plant them singularly, tightly in a bunch, or spaced further apart in the same container. Then add enough water to keep the base of the bulb moist (so that the container is approximately ³/₄ full), without soaking the entire bulb. If the whole bulb is immersed in water – it will rot.

Narcissus' water should be checked daily to keep the roots moist. The bulbs like to be kept on the cooler side (lets say 65^oF), and once they start to develop roots, move them to a sunny window. You can check the root development by gently tugging on the bulb, and once you get some resistance,you know your bulb has rooted itself in the potting mix.

Once your paperwhites bloom (in approximately 3-6 weeks) move them to a location with diffuse light – it will help your blooms last longer! If you want a longer display, plant your bulbs in waves (every 2 weeks) so you will have staggered arrangement. And be sure to store the remaining bulbs in a dark place, at room temperature where they get some air circulation if possible. Once the plant has flowered, you can plant in the ground for the following year if you are frost-free, otherwise add it to your compost pile since paperwhites can only be forced once.

Since these bulbs are easy to grow, the main complaint I hear with paperwhite narcissus is … they are top-heavy and fall over when they bloom!  As a remedy, you can stake them using some small bamboo dowels & garden twine.  

^{(I am loving the soft focus optic on my new lensbaby)}

Also, there is a trick for the bulb-savy gardener to grow your paperwhites shorter so that they do not topple over – alcohol! Cornell University's Flower Bulb Research Program discovered this while doing a study on Pickling your Paperwhites (also called 'Ginning Up Paperwhites That Don’t Flop Over' and 'Using Alcohol to Reduce Growth of Paperwhite Narcissus'). If you water your bulbs with a diluted alcohol solution your plants will be ¹/₃ to ¹/₂ the normal height but retain their flower size and bloom period! Amazing – I know!

To grow stunted paperwhites, pot and water as normal until the green shoot is 1-2" tall. Then pour off the water and replace with a 4-6% alcohol solution.

You can use rubbing alcohol or any hard liquor (but not wine or beer since their sugar content is too high)to create this mixture. Be sure the alcohol content is less than 10%, otherwise it results in severe growth problems (Proof and percentage are different – be sure not to confuse the two). If you need to calculate the alcohol percentage, divide the proof in half.  For example, an 80 proof vodka is 40% alcohol. Convert alcohol to a 5% watering solution by using following the chart: 

• 10% Alcohol = 1 Part Water to 1 Part Alcohol
• 15% Alcohol = 2 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol 
• 20% Alcohol = 3 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol 
• 25% Alcohol = 4 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol 
• 30% Alcohol = 5 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol 
• 35% Alcohol = 6 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol 
• 40% Alcohol = 7 Parts Water to 1 Part Alcohol

Try this tip, and you will find that your paperwhites to be just as stately & gorgeous, but less leggy and top-heavy!

Spring cannot come fast enough for me, and while planting my bulbs has given me a sense on life on this snowy, winter day, I still had to pick up something pretty & in bloom while grocery shopping!

Wishing you a bit of Spring & sunshine!

P.S. I love my boxwood wreath from Fiachre (in Portland) so much that I am drying it & keeping it up in my house while adding some beach-like ornaments! 

Peony, Paeonia…. a true classic!

Who doesn't love Peonies?  Really?!  They are just too beautiful – its a very well known fact. 

I went to Whole Food the other day and fell in love with these Gorgeous Girls. And while I only went in for some vitamins… I came home with THREE bunches of flowers!  I just couldn't wait to get those babies home & photograph them!  I planted 8 peony rootstocks in front of my house two weeks ago, but they're just starting to sprout, so there isn't much going on with them.

I was going to do some shots in front of my back window, but the wonderful weather beckoned (yes – it literally beckoned) me outside.  And then I realized I needed a table, so I carted one out.  Then I realized it looked kinda silly just a vase on the table … so I took more stuff out.  

After about 5 trips I had a lovely pile of pretty things I swiped from all over my house and battled the pesky wind (which kept knocking everything over – my poor girls were quite weather-beaten by the end) to get some shots.  Here's a few that I will be making into prints.

I simply love peonies.  Doesn't everyone?!

Wind Gone Awry

Have you ever had a fully planned day, but then something unforeseen happens – and NOTHING gets done or goes according to plan?  Well, that was my day today. 

I had all these plans to get some work done on the computer, clean-up some beds on the sides of my house, make a healthy meal (okay not so healthy, but oh-so-tasty!) and follow up with a bunch of phone calls for work.  Well…none of that happened.  

It was mid-morning here and I was just gearing myself up (have I mentioned that I am NOT a morning person) for my day doing some work when my lights, computer and anything electrical flickers …. and goes OUT!  At first I think everything will come back… I was so disappointed when I realized that this was not what was going to happen.  After sitting around for about an hour and a half (un-showered as yet mind you!) I call the power company and talked to a recording, which informed me very politely that they knew about the outage & that power would come back "soon".  Apparently we had very strong winds all day which took out some power lines in over 5 towns.  So I have this beautiful day but I can't do any work outside since  the wind is blowing so hard (the debris would go everywhere!); I could take some photos but can't upload my files to the computer, can't do my phone calls since I have cordless phones (again the electricity thing), my cell is dying & most of my calls were to be to businesses in the same towns; AND I have an electric stove, so no delicious dinner.  

After speaking with my mom (who so kindly pointed out to me that I could turn on the portable generator if I knew how to operate it … this was not the time for that discussion) I packed some things and went to her house to borrow her shower.  

And once I was clean again (which greatly improved my attitude!) we decided to go out and buy some more seeds (a girl can never have enough!).  So I bought some corriander, dill, garlic chives, more oregano & thyme and some extra basil seeds (I know I'll plant it all before the summer finishes).  I love to grow my own herbs & vegetables and also buy fresh ones at local farm markets throughout the spring, summer and fall!

I particularly love going to Johnny's Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine – you can even tour their research farm! Even kids love it!

So even though the day didn't turn out as I had hoped, it wound up okay (even good – hey, anytime I get to shop for more seeds is a good day) in the end.  

As for this weekend I'll have to add the side bed clean-up to my already too-long list.  Hopefully we will get our soil delivered for the kitchen garden so we can put up the fence and created some raised beds, plant some more seeds.  Then we will be planting more hostas (a variety) along the front path to our door, some clematis (Jackmanii), Sarah Burnhart peony crowns (oh this is one of my FAVORITE plants!) and some groundcovers, which we are still undecided about which to go with (ivy or pachysandra). 

Do you have any ideas about DURABLE groundcovers that will get partial sun/shade?