image by (wildly talented) Brian Ferry

Elijah and I are back, well, almost. My heart and head are still lingering over in Iceland. The glaciers, snow-covered fjords, lagoons, heated swimming pools and waterslides, furry Icelandic horses, the northern lights, the silence, the darkness, the grandness, waterfalls. The list can go on.

I trust that you too had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well? Happy December 1st. Sorry if this post is a bit all over the place. I feel like I kind of am too. 

Plants Annonymous

newly purchased flowering lemon verbena plant + flowers

the vendor said this is an African... and before he could finish i already had purchased it

this is why i went to the mart in the first place, not for plants

discovered pink lace (on the left)  too and am really swooning over it

coffee + english muffin prepared by elijah for me, my bfast of champions on busy flower mornings

 Confessions:

I counted our plants the other day while watering them and realized that we have 26 in our home alone, not including our garden in the back. This is what it looks like on paper:

26 plants + 5 cats + 1 dog + 1 fish 

(I'm not even including 4 week old Chamomile in the cat tally--mine and V.v.'s recent forage on a morning walk two weeks ago. I know, I know. . . more on her later)

I realized something yesterday morning while I was at the mart looking to source flowers for a very special event happening this weekend. I have felt this sensation in the past whenever I am around nurseries, gardens, fields, heck even Home Depot. I get completely drawn into the flora world. My mind gets distracted with the slightest glimpse of any green friend. I get pulled into them, linger over them, touch their little leaves. My heart starts to pound and I am sure that my pupils dilate. My hands might even start to sweat a little and it is almost as though I am on a hunt and my prey is finally in plain sight ready for me to pounce.  I truly feel a rush. Then it's over and I am at complete peace, usually with my new green friend sitting in the car in the passengers seat or if on the larger side then in the back seat.  It is only a matter of time from the hunt that it is placed in a pot, watered thoroughly and placed in what I think is the perfect spot for it in terms of light. I introduce it to all the other plants by placing the new plant in between the others in the tub during weekly waterings. I tell them all to say hello and to make our new green friend feel welcomed as a new member of the family. Have I told you too much? I don't believe that I have ever written a post like this before. I just wanted to you let in. I might have a slight addiction to plants. 

So yesterday, as I was trying my best to breeze through the nurseries at the mart to get to more flowers (why I was there in the first place mind you), a flowering lemon verbena entered my plane of vision. I stopped. My heart's beat started to feel stronger. I started to imagine it sitting pretty in my garden. We need this flowering herb I told myself! I don't have one and I can make tea with it and Elijah can use it for his drink botany and . . . and . . . ! Before I knew it, I was in the car with all my flowers + a newly purchased and stunning flowering lemon verbena plant and a tree. I picked up the phone immediately while making my way back home. Hello, Elijah, I did it again. . .

How many plants do you have?

I need your eyes

these are 35mm 

Can you give me three words to describe what you feel/see/think when you see these images? It can be any three words, good or bad. I'd like  to see what you see. Thank you.

Hope you're having a great week so far.

2 Things:

pic. 1

pic. 2

Firstly, my dear friend Claire sent pic. 1 my way right at that precise moment when I needed a little lifting and boy am I glad that she did---> this beautiful weaving of flowers and leaves and branches set off explosions in both my heart and mind! See it here.

and

The really lovely and exquisitely well read Wilder Quarterly also has an equally divine site that posts such inspired and wildly posts. Have you visited it? Go and get your fill! Now is the perfect time to dry your summer herbs, and why not make a garland of it and set it up in your living room while they dry? Do you know how good it will smell and how your walls will thank you for the instant lift? I love this!

more Thierry Boutemy inspiration...

pretty inspiring stuff...

Sweet. All from this inspiring well.

Picnic on my Table!

When I saw this picture it's what I really wanted to recreate for Green Feast. Sadly, it was not in the budget for a 192 ft. table! HA! But one of these days, when I have my own backyard, I'm going to have a summer's feast and this is what my table will look like: a pile of dirt down the center of the entire table and a bunch of wildflowers planted along! I can't wait*

The pressed palm leaves in the background create the space, don't you think? Really neat idea. It'd be really cool to have a giant white wall covered in those giant palm leaves. Saving this idea.

(Images from W magazine)

Let 'Em Hang!

I'm still in the hanging mode! Found this Smith&Hawken bird feeder at Target and quickly thought of putting a beautiful senecio rowleyanus (string-of-pearls plant) in it and voila! Now hanging in my kitchen, it looks beautiful and so the thoughts of a hanging garden continue forth! What do you think?

(I put the plant in a lil' plastic condiment container that I recycled so that all you see when you look into it is the actual overflowing 'peas' and the soil--it blends in with the surrounding teak nicely)*

Gypsy Flowers

Sorry I' ve been a bit away this past week. Had to meet a major deadline for a project I was working on and was busy busy BUSY (who isn't around this time of year, huh?)! But I have a bunch of exciting things to post and some creative ideas to throw your way! So without any further delay, I am happy to share this fantastic editorial featured in V magazine and featuring the lovely Ms. Moss. The gypsy lifestyle is all about 'wild' and to incorporate that with wildflowers would be a very cool theme. Think: gypsy wedding/ceremony? Pretty unconventional and very lovely. Makes me think of lots of pretty colors, horses, willow-y fields, a hodgepodge of pretty fabrics, hats & feathers, and of course, wild flowers. Gypsy is going to be on the forefront of my mind for inspiration & ideas this coming up year...

What do you think?