Greenwich Open House Tour

The Greenwich Christmas Open House Tour was this Sunday, 12/9, and despite rainy weather, there were brave souls who came out to get in the Holiday spirit. Here are a few samplings of what I had for sale at my shop.

For a different Holiday look

Fun & Festive pomegrante in vintage enamel pot with red trim

Vintage skates with original socks and bag

Striking Holiday arrangement

Paperwhites

 

"Nir" Paperwhite Narcissus"

Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs are a Holiday favorite and I plant them every year in honor and memory of my Gram. This year I also have them for sale in bundles of 3 for $5.00 at the Greater Bridgeton Amish Market at Marlboro Market's booth. Come see us! The variety is "Nir" which are very large with wonderful dark brown skins - Perfect for a hostess or teacher gift

 

 

 

 I planted bulbs in some very cool containers with birch branches and grapevine as tents to help hold the stems as they grow. One way to help keep the stems a bit shorter as they grow is to water the bulbs with a mix of one part 70% rubbing alcohol to 10 or 11 parts water. Begin this mix one week after planting them in soil or stones.

 

What to do with your tin cans after the thanksgiving feast.

 

 

 This is the project we did for the Paperwhite Narcissus class that I taught. What a fun night! Everyone's turned out just a bit different & I love that! Thank you to my students for making this such an enjoyable success.

                                                                                    

                             
                            Another creation done at the Market with Kale and Cranberries

It's not too soon to be planning for the Christmas centerpiece

"Not Your Round Mound Holiday Centerpiece"

Porch Party: "Not Your Round Mound Holiday Centerpiece"

 

All of the people at my recent Porch Party did a fab job on their "Not your round mound holiday centerpieces"  I hope they had as much fun as I did! It still amazes me to see how everyone starts with the "same" materials and ends up with very uunique creations!! Good job, everyone! 

This includes hydrangea, flowering kale, limes, ornamental peppers, liriope, sedum autumn joy, and is tented with grapevine. What a fun, festive holiday centerpiece!

Greenwich Craft Faire

 

2012 Greenwich Craft Faire 

Here I am in my tent for the 2012 Greenwich Craft Faire. Many artisan's dressed in colonial attire - I wore my  "tea-burning renegade" look. I was very blessed to have wonderful neighbors - The potter & a beekeeper with honey for sale! And how lucky were we to have two beautiful days of sun (although the clouds threatened to rain, it never came!). After the show on Sunday, we helped "shut down" the Bait Box for the season, as per tradition. Many thanks to the organizers of the show for all of their hard work to help make it a success!

Here's a close up of our display - Many thanks to my hubby for all of his hard work and "visuals" assistance.

Another angle showing some of the "smaller" wreaths available

It's time for fall harvest!

My herb rack come in handy!

 

So does this ladder!

Non Pickles Mason Jar

There are still spaces available for the 9/11 Porch Party with Pam where we will learn "how-to" do a hand-tied bouquet similar to these below. The cost is $25, it is from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm with light refreshments. You MUST pre-register at pam@fireflygardens.com

 

These bouquets of garden florals in a ball jar are all at the Marlboro Market's Floral Booth this week at the Greater Bridgeton Amish Market! All of these florals came from my gardens!Check it out!

 

3 bouquets using a variety of flroals including sunflowers, mint, sedums and a country mix 

 

 

2 Bouquets with zinnias and celosias in vibrant yellows and oranges and celosia, salvia artemisia, tansy and solidago in a yellow and blue arrangement  (see details in pix below)

 

3 bouquets in mixed zinnias

 

A different view of the gold and orange bouquet 

 

Another view of teh yellow, blue and white bouquet  

 

Stop by the Amish Market and say Hi!

Grand Opening at Marlboro Market's Floral Booth of the Greater Bridgeton Area Amish Market

 

At the Floral Booth of Marlboro Market

Demos were done throughout the day of the Greater Bridgeton Area Amish Market

 

I used an old bedspring, a glass vase and some brown paper to create the "Art Deco" type 

arrangement below

 

 A beautiful vintage Flow Blue tureene found at Three Greys in Bridgeton provided the inspiration for this arrangement which is mostly blue, white and yellow with some unexpected peppers!

I used a medley of Cottage Flowers (as harvested straight from my gardens) for this happy design and then caged it with grapevine for a rustic country style look.

Who knew that Pyrex is now "vintage"? Done with old-fashioned flowers, the recipient gets to re-use the conatiner!

I demo'ed how I put these together with kid's shoes found at Yard Sales and Thrift Shops, some GREAT succulents, a bit of burlap and some sheet moss.   

These are customers' favs and they "walk" right out the door!

Living the Country Life

On Wed., 8/8/12, there was the possibility of going to the Salem County Fair with my hubby, so I was like a human derecheo all day, virtually whirling around trying to "get it all done", making it possible for a little "downtime". Among a thousand other things, getting it all done included cutting fresh flowers and arranging shoes with succulents for the Amish Market on Thursday (where I also work!), tagging wreaths, and taking my Libby to the dock so she could be a dock dog that day, like all others. (It's one of her fav things to do, and mine too!)

You play, you pay. And we did. For those who have had the pleasure of going, the Salem County Fair, in South Jersey is the quintessential real deal of Country Faires. No carney, no rides, just pure 100%  country living at it's best. Amongst many other moments of fun, we saw friends and neighbors, stopped at the horse barns, petted some cows, the loudspeaker announced an upcoming quilt turning while we were in line for comfort food, we watched some of the much-attended tractor pull (both kiddie and adult!), cheered at a pig race, ate ice cream, visited the agricultural related vendors, listedned to country music by a local group, ooohhhhed and aaahhhed over baby bunnies, and we were home by 9:00 PM in time to watch the much anticipated Olympics beach volleyball showdown!

Libby as the dock dog, by Apparition, our sailboat!

I nestled into my spot on the couch, with my Libby by my side, petting her head and glad to be home enjoying one of life's finest moments. As the volleys started across the net, my Libby jumped from her spot, ran to the TV and virtually tried to catch the ball on the screen! As the ball disappeared from view on either side of the television, she would look in that direction, cock her head and then look at me as if to say "Mommy, where did it go? I want to play with it, too!". Then, the ball would come into play again and she would "follow" it across the screen, again trying to catch it with her mouth and again be confused as to where did that ball go to? I was doubled over laughing at this point, and in my own little world, in my fine country life, my Libby won her gold that night, just for me!  

Tuscany Florals

I recently had the opportunity to do the floral displays for a Tuscany Dinner Party hosted by a very dear friend. The only request that she had was that no two arrangements be exactly alike, but that they all blend well together.  We used her linens and dinnerware as inpiration.

I both purchased flowers from some wonderful farm markets nearby in Down Jersey, and I harvested some from my own gardens. 



Note the artichoke used inthis blue and white design



I used sunflowers in most designs to carry through the Tuscany theme
  



The red hot pokers were a huge success!

An overall view of the "finished" room. From all reposrt, the flowers were much appreciated and a big hit - so was the party!  

How to do Herbs in a Vintage Cheese Box

HOW TO do Herbs in a Vintage Cheese Box

This makes a fun and unique gift for a special person in yuor life. I had these at my Mother's Day Open House and this could easily be a Dad's Day gift, as well. They are fun to do, too!Please note, for optimum plant care, please do not leave the herbs in the cheese box for an extended period of time. Plant them into your herb garden and ENJOY!  

First, gather your materials. You will need:

Assorted Herb Plants

Cheese Boxes

Soil - I chose one with some perlite in it for drainage 

Gloves (if desired - I don't desire for this project!)

Small Stones

Plastic Bags

Burlap

Scissors 

Sheet Moss

Grapevine

Here's my herb plants!

 Vintage Cheese boxes - You can find these at flea markets, yard sales, antique stores, Gram's barn...I find that anything over $5.00 I leave it for the next person

At this point I cut burplap for all of the boxes I am doing - it's easier to do it all at once! Cut the burlap just a bit larger than the cheese box - you want it to hang over the edge a couple of inches. 

I then cut a double layer of plastic (in this case, a trash bag) to fit inside of the cheese box on top of the layer of burlap. I do thi sso when you water the plants, there is less likelihood of water seeping through. But, be careful and be smart. Don't take chances and water final product where there is no furniture that will be ruined!

Line the plastic with a layer of stones for drainage for the plant's care and consideration.

Pick the herbs that you want to plant together and remove them carefully from their pots, by pushing up from the bottom and gently squeezing the pot together. Don't just grab the plant and yank, or you might lose some roots. Shown here are sage (left) dill (middle) and sweet marjoram(right). What a wonderful smell combo!

 Spread the roots out a bit by placing your thumb at the top of the plants and your fingers at the bottom of the plant and separating the roots by pulling your fingers apart (GENTLY!). Add some soil around each plant. Don't worry too much if the soil gets on the  burlap. This is not an exact science! Make sure all three plants are firmly tamped down with soil around them so there are no air pockets

This is where you fold your burlap over the plastic to hide the plastic from sight. I like some of the burlap to show and you can "tuck" it in around the cheese box. It stays put pretty well. 

Cover the soil with sheet moss. 

 Make sure all the soil is covered. This is mainly done for aesthetics.

If your cheese box is tall enough, you can leave the plants in their respective containers and tuck in the burlap around them. In this case, we have basil, parsley and rosemary, respectively from left to right. All favs of mine! As mentioed above, for optimum plant care, the herbs will thrive and flourish if NOT left in these containers for an extended amount of time. Plant them in your garden and enjoy!

 I like to "finish" the container with a "tent" of grapevine. Libby "helped" me gather these vines from the hedgerow. (Libby wanted to chew them, but she had fun!)

Start with one flexible vine and anchor it in one corner and loop it to the far opposite corner. This is a bit of trial and error to get the lengths as you want them, but remember this is supposed to be fun and noone is grading you. So don't stress it if you break a few or have to re-cut a couple of times

 Here i sthe first arch looped from one corner to the opposite far corner

 Easy Peezy, add the second loop over the first again, starting in a corner not yet used and going to the other far opposite corner, not yet used. I "tie" it off where they meet (which is not always n the middle) with a bit of twine. Not shown here, but it's a good idea to identify the plants in the container with some kind of label. I used chalk on craft stix painted with chalk paint.      

ENJOY (but only for a little bit, then plant them in your garden!)