Drying Gourds for Crafts!

Bottle Gourds: Freshly harvested green gourds are pictured in the front and 2010-11's crop is in the back.

When I am not farming or gardening  I like to make crafts as you well know, but I especially like to craft with gourds. I've been making and selling gourd art for over a decade now and over the past 5 years I've been sharing my knowledge and experience in this unique art form through writing and videos. This blog is not going to be an exception to that either! :) This is a great time of year to show you the first step in making gourd art – drying out the gourds. Many, many people come up to me and say they grew some gourds this year and now they don’t know what to do with them. I want to answer that question here.

Pinteresting Tuesday: Winter Wreaths

I will post my Pinterest boards with crafts and gardening ideas that caught my eye. Just click on the widget below and browse through the inspiration!


Credit: Iris collage by Carroll Woods. Her Flickr art group is: dumpsterdiversanonymous.

Photo Friday: Using Rocks in the Garden

I wanted to show you how I incorporate rocks of all sizes into my garden and what better way than with lots of photos!

My small flower garden is situated in a lush woods under the canopy of two great white oaks. It’s rather a difficult spot to garden due to the shade and lack of water (the trees soak up a lot!), but also because it is right on a rather steep hill. It’s such a beautiful spot overlooking a large lake that I didn’t mind dealing with the difficulties.

—

One of the first things I did was build dry stack rock walls to brace the soil back and create level garden plots. I made a couple large retaining walls and a couple small ones. I was lucky to have

Craft Project: How to Make Miniature Wreath Ornaments with Canning Jar Lids

Gardener's Bookshelf - Gift giving ideas

I don't know a gardener who doesn't appreciate adding another book to their gardening shelf. So, I decided to choose a couple of my favorites from my collection and share with you why they would make great gifts for each of the flower buds on your Christmas list.

Bloom Where You're Planted

A few thoughtful words to start your day (or end your day depending on how you see the photo, a sunrise or sunset :).

Bloom Where You're Planted

I find interpreting quotes rather a fun exercise because even though the author may not have meant it to be taken in such a way, it just means that words store wisdom for those who seek it. Needless to say, the Bible is a bunch of words, but each person who picks it up will find wisdom and inspiration specifically for them, it is an "endless" book even though it has a beginning and end.

Profile of a Plant: Pulmonaria or Lungwort

Quick facts about Pulmonaria:

Common names: Lungwort, Bethlehem Sage, Jerusalem Cowslip

Scientific Name: Pulmonaria (pull-moe-NAIR-ee-uh) from the Borage family

Species: P. officinalis (common lungwort), P. augustifolia (blue lungwort), P. longifolia (long-leaved lungwort), P. rubra (red lungwort), P. saccharata (spotted lungwort).

Zones: 3-7 (zone 8 if planted in a cooler microclimate)

Size: 9-18”  high and forming clumps just as wide.

Propagation: Very easy to divide in early spring or fall. Seeds may be collected in early summer and planted right away or saved for next year.

Time of Bloom: Throughout spring

Craft Project: How to Make a White Birch Wreath

Craft Project: How to Make a Jingle Bells Windchime

Garden Magazine Reviews - My Top 5

I don't know about you but I like to have at least one subscription to some gardening magazine, especially for those winter blue days. Magazines are the perfect pick-me up especially when I can have a stroll through someone's blooming garden. Ideas from other gardeners abound in magazines and you'll find me jotting down ideas for next spring as I flip through the pages. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite publications and perhaps someone on your list will be getting a gift subscription this Christmas. :)