gray light

Some phone shots I took of green growing this morning in my apartment as large snowflakes are falling outside my window. I noticed as I was watering my plants, the sunlight has become cold and gray signifying the start of winter. My amaryllis bulbs are still sprouting towards the gray light though. Once the bulbs sprout a little more, my girls and I will pot them up as teacher gifts for the holidays again this year.

I love my macrame planter above from Chris at etsy shop macrame design. There are so many to choose from and great prices too. I paired it with a ceramic planter I made in college and its now one of my favorite corners in my apartment. I'm tempted to get another for my bedroom soon!

plants: 1-frittonia  2-pothos 3-snake plant 4- dracaena warneckii 5- amaryllis bulbs

New in shop: Hand tied eucalyptus wreath

New in the shop! A hand tied wreath of dried eucalyptus, fragrant and simple. Just in time for the perfect holiday gift at $25, it can be sent directly to the recipient with a card message. This wreath can also be used for wedding or holiday decor or all year round in your home.  Hand tied eucalyptus wreath for sale here.

sandy and local ways to help

photo by a friend and talented nj photographer casey mcdaniel

Sandy caused a lot of havoc on the state of New Jersey and surrounding areas. I am so grateful we only had to deal with long power outages, no school and gas rationing when others have lost so much. My heart goes out to them.
My husband has been able to help out on weekends in hard hit areas with clean up through our church's volunteer organization, Mormon Helping Hands. They are in need of volunteers to help in the hard hit areas. No need to be a Latter Day Saint to help out, they just need lots of hands to help those who have lost so much. There have been plenty of donations for Sandy but not enough actual work on the ground. If you live in my area contact me for details at my email flowersofthesun at gmail  or if you live in the tri state/ nyc area, follow their facebook page for more details on when and where to help. They will be organizing volunteers for many weeks to come.

a video of what they are doing to help here.

fall container gardens

a few fall containers from this season! We had a lot of fun experimenting with different mediums this year including eucalyptus and sedum. I love the simplicity of autumn and the fact that there are limited plants available that do well in the cold. 

 Photos taken from my instagram, floresdelsol.

found friday: sara barnes

Gorgeous mixed media horticultural art by Sara Barnes. "One semester at art school made me realize that I wasn't that great of a draftsman, so I looked to cubism, surrealism, and especially Matisse's cut outs to understand that they are not governed by the normal conventions... I make up the rules that exist in the world of my collages." These pieces are intricately made and I find them intriguing and inspiring.  Purchase and see her work at by some damn art here.
via miss moss. 

i'm a sucker for a succulent.

Photos from my iPhone.

autumn wildflowers

I didn't mean for our playdate at the reservation to end in collecting wildflowers, but it did. On the way there we kept passing patches and clusters of goldenrod along the roadside. I love goldenrod, it reminds me of the patches of wildflowers in the fields by my home growing up in western new york. As I was pushing one of my daughters on the swing, I saw bountiful amounts of it not far off. With a 14 month on my hip and two wee excited girlies in tow, we picked wildflowers, which might look like weeds to anyone else, but quite an afternoon treasure to us.

fall container gardens in new jersey

The first day of autumn is here on saturday! I am ready to pack away my sandals and pull out my boots. I'm tired of my hair frizzy from humidity, I am ready for fall! That means so are my container plantings. My friend Julie and I design container gardens in northern new jersey, specifically Short Hills and the surrounding areas. Can't wait to show you some more soon!
If you are local, contact me at flowersofthesun {at} gmail {dot} com for more info.
-Christina

my little container gardens

 

 

My plants have been neglected for a few weeks now, leaving them to fend for themselves and apparently that's what they did. These are my little container gardens at the beginning of summer and now at the end. It is interesting to see how some plants survive the hot heat and thrive while others die and are taken over by their neighbors. My favorite is that bottom bird feeder that is made out of a mix of left over plants from the season.

 It is so nice that the mornings are cool and crisp now. That means that mums and kale are at the stores and it is time once again for fall plantings. To get a jump start on autumn, here is an old post I did on fall container garden plant choices. 

-christina

found friday: jeremy miranda

I know i have featured him before, Jeremy Miranda, but I just can't help it! I am inspired by so many of his paintings. A few more short weeks and fall will be here. I love harvest time.

new in shop: field harvest

two new designs in the shop. They are relaxed and organic with a hint of autumn tones. Field harvest and a smaller version, petite field harvest.
they are composed of preserved eucalyptus, dried ammobium, craspedia (billy buttons, billy balls), bits of brown preserved maidenhair fern and preserved white roses which are so soft to the touch.
visit them in my shop here and here!

moments notice

i love having a great camera in my pocket... er phone... to take photos of the things that inspire me at a moments notice. I'll share with you the latest:

-creeping fig by my feet at the greenhouse,

-colorful coleus outside the bagel shop on a saturday morning

-rose hips on an evening walk with my little family

-two new designs i made months ago . i swear i will list them for sale one of these lazy summer days

- and double flowered perennial sunflowers growing in my neighbors front yard. they are about 7 feet tall. *reminder, i need to plant these gorgeous flowers!