the teeniest tiniest zinnia

The first Zinnia flower has bloomed and I can't help but be excited!  Another bloom from my Spring seedlings.  Hopefully there are more to come, in various colors and sizes, fingers crossed!

summer blooms

Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post, which means three things.  One, I'm throughly enjoying myself and taking full advantage of the beautiful summer weather. Two, I've lost a little motivation and momentum for jewelry making now that the weather is nice and three, things have been taking shape in the garden!

As a follow-up to my post on May 8,
"spring preparations for summer blooms" I am excited to inform you that my first flower has bloomed!  It has been a long, yet exciting few months, watching the seeds first sprout from a small cube of soil into a tall, lanky stem adorned with a burst of       colorful petals.  Although the flower is small and appears to be lacking a fifth petal, I was still very excited to its pop of color contrasting against the drab brown soil.  This picture was taken a few days ago, and since then, a few more buds have opened, revealing the tiniest little flowers.  

Lately instead of jewelry making or craft projects of other sorts, I have been spending that free time  keeping my little shabby yard looking as good as it can (among other things).  When I first moved into my apartment the "yard"well... wasn't.  I decided to take full advantage of having access to outdoor space and put in a little elbow grease so that I could reap the benefits of my labor.

The before pictures show you the space isn't large, but was completely neglected.  It's a small plot filled with rocks and moss, a dead peach tree and a whole lot of mud.  Its only redeeming qualities were that it is located at the end of a dead end street, has a large tree over shadowing it and had a few Daffodil and Crocus bulbs that managed to sprout despite the less than ideal conditions.

Two years and a lot of attention later, I've got a yard of grass and am taking full advantage of it.

It's perfect for BBQ's and summer parties.

These are the Pansies I planted in the spring, still looking vibrant and full when this was taken 

(on Memorial Day, hence the flag).  

At this point, they are still alive, but have gotten very tall and leggy and their color seems to be fading, so I replanted them (keep reading for more details on their new home).

My herb garden, with a nice array of my favorites.  Rosemary - Lemon Thyme - Basil - Chives - Parsley - Dill - Oregano & Mint.  I love having herbs in such close proximity to the kitchen, I think I've been adding a dash of them into just about everything I cook in the summer time.  

A two year old Azalea plant that I thought was dead, adorned in beautiful bright pink blooms just in time for my Memorial Day party.

More Pansies, a variety of different sizes and shades of purple and a pot full of orange blooms.

In preparation for a small 4th of July BBQ party I'm having today, I planted some new flowers.  Like I mentioned earlier, the pansies have lived a long life, but are beginning to look a little haggard at this point.  However, since they are still blooming, I didn't want to get rid of them, so I put my old grill to use.  If I wanted to be on trend, I would call that "adaptive reuse", where basically you use something that is unusable for it's original intent, for a new purpose.  I recently came across an interesting article about that such topic in the New York Times, which explained how old, unusable subway cars are being sunk into the ocean and are creating artificial reefs for sea life.  I found it quite fascinating and very responsible.  Anyway, I put my rusty old grill to use, by filling it with soil and planting the pansies in it.  I think it looks pretty cute and I feel like it turns that corner of my yard from the grill boneyard (where grills go to die) into a quirky, colorful little spot.  I took these pictures yesterday after I planted it.  I'd advise if you try this little project yourself, tie the lid, to hold it open so it wouldn't slam down in a storm and destroy the blooms.  Also, adding some rocks or gravel in the bottom of the fire box will help with drainage.  I also planted a Day Lily for some color and full foliage as well as new flowers to replace the pansies.  I decided to go with all varieties of flowers in various shades of white.

That's the update on the garden at the moment and I have a few new jewelry projects in the works.  I just started a new leather wrap bracelet (which makes a great beach activity, btw) and I am thinking up a plan for the African beads I bought in New York, I can't wait to wear them.  Check back in a few days to see photos of the Cosmo flowers, hopefully the buds that are out now, will begin to bloom!  

*~ Happy 4th of July ~*

The Day Lilies are a beautiful shade of orange that remind me of a creamsicle.