CHEZ FIFI

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE....................................

WOULDN'T IT BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A WHOLE DAY OFF AND LINGER IN THE GARDEN? FOR MOST OF US IT IS BUT A DREAM, ESPECIALLY FOR YOU, POOR BABIES, STILL SNOWBOUND. I WENT OUT EARLY THIS MORNING TO SNAP A FEW PHOTOS TO SEND YOU A "LITTLE GARDEN FOR YOUR MIND" TO HELP YOU WAIT FOR YOUR OWN TO BLOOM AGAIN.

IN VIEW OF THE STILL UNRESOLVED "RATTLE SNAKE ISSUE", I HAD TO FIRST PUT ON MY BOOTS...HMMM...AQUA OR PINK??? DECIDED ON THE PINK PAIR ...................

                        

.......THE TICOMANTHE VINE IS WRAPPING ITSELF AROUND ANYHTING IT CAN FIND INCLUDING UNDER THE CABANA OVERHANG...................................

.........................AND THE JASMINE KEEPS SPREADING.................................

....THE SIDE DOOR AND THE FRONT FENCE ARE ALSO COMING INTO THEIR OWN.....

THIS HUGE ROSE BUSH, IN THE BACKYARD, IS BURSTING WITH CLUSTERS OF TINY ROSES THAT LOOK LIKE CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND ARE HIGHLY FRAGRANT................

....AND THE DOUBLE IMPATIENCES LOOK LIKE ROSES

                  

I KNOW IT'S WAS A QUICK TOUR BUT IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO GET BACK IN THE HOUSE AND GET TO WORK......................................BUT I WILL DO IT AGAIN, SOON.

                   

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I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I FOUND A SET OF 4 GLASSES AT ROSS. OF COURSE I HAD TO HAVE THEM.................LOOK AT THE CROWN ................AND THE SET WAS ONLY $7.99....

            

............pretty and practical. Perfect for indulging your "inner queen" .................

Lastly, a friend gave me this sweet little lamb............................................

                    

...........the kitties have adopted him (her?).............................................

I still have a lot of emails to answer....just be patient.....I will get around to them, soon.....RIGHT NOW I AM SWAMPED!

                        

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO FIFI

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WHAT'S IN A NAME....................

...................... I have received a lot of emails asking for the name of the "Mystery Vine" on the photo below............................

                   

.................today, I (FINALLY) remembered to call the nursery where I bought it. Here you go: it's called TICOMANTHE. Voila!

.........................SWEET DREAMS...................................

                  

XOXO FIFI**************************************************************

LIFE'S LESSONS................

.................yesterday was traumatic because my PC crashed. When you stop to think about all the REALLY traumatic events people encounter--serious illnesses, loss of a loved one, divorce, unemployment, foreclosures, children in the army and the daily anguish the parents have to deal with..............-- you KNOW my problem didn't come close to compare to these tragedies. It made me realize that my whole life is in my computers. In a weird way it's a form of life support. Unplug them and I am in limbo. How ridiculous! yes, of course, all my work is in them and my livelihood depends on my work, BUT when your life becomes so totally wrapped up in your work there is something wrong. Especially since that kind of loss could have easily been avoided if I had taken the time to back up everything on the exterior drive I bought 2 months ago but never took the time to use! How dumb can I be???

Well, luckily, they were able to fix the problem AND  backup everything on the external drive.

The point is that, so often, problems could be avoided if we (at least me) would take the steps necessary to prevent them. Another example is changing the oil in the car regularly.......here is one more instance when I got very lucky as I only changed the oil once in the 3 years I have had my car............and I did it because, one day, it started to over heat......it could have cost me a new engine................but my excuse has always been "I am too busy...."

I have learned my lesson. I can't let my work consume me anymore. I have to make room for other things and not put myself in stressful situations that can be so simply avoided. What a dweeb!

So, today, I took a deep breath and went strolling around the garden. Look how beautifully it's thriving! Imagine if I took the time to tend to it. Well, starting tomorrow, I will. Hope you can do the same.

There is a vine (I don't know the name) that has gorgeous clusters of trumpet-like flowers. It's a strange looking woody vine and before the flowers open, ugly little black pods come out, then they swell into bigger green pods.............................................

 

...............and keep growing until they burst into this bright pink trumpets..........

         

.............pretty soon the fence will be covered with them...............

The bougainvilleas are at their best.....................................

 

............The morning glories and the white orchid tree (it's called "the poor man's orchids)have began to pop...................................

.........the Queen's Wreath (known as Florida wisteria) is following suit...........

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.........and, pretty soon, this bank rose bush is going to be covered with these fragrant beauties......................

                

Really, what's a computer compare to all this natural beauty? It's time to take time...........

This little interlude reminded me of a shoot I did with my friend Gary Sweetman. It was a birthday party and all the little girls were dressed as fairies...........oh, to be that young and that cute ....................................these are a few of Gary's proofs....

...............and in honor of Easter, here is another photo that was taken for a Christmas shoot but I had set the cutest bunny and a darling little bear in the child's stocking.............why not?

                      

...................        HAPPY EASTER from an old hen (moi)....................................xoxoxoxo

                     

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IN THE GARDEN

The garden has grown a lot since I bought the house. Actually, it has gone from bare to beautiful. It has also witnessed many trials and errors and various phases but has remained true to my original plan, which was to create little "rooms." After so many years I have learned what grows and what cannot survive the intense Florida summer and the lack of a true winter. Some plants need the cold northern months in order to bloom again in the spring. Others, like peonie, Lily of the Valley or lilac simply can't take the tropical heat and humidity. Any wise man would tell you to go with the flow. Meaning you should only grow native plants, hence saving money, time and the heartbreak of seeing your favorite flowers wilt away. While it's an accurate statement, I have discovered that some "forbidden" plants will do fine at least through August. For instance, if they are planted in a spot where they get the morning sun but are sheltered from it in the afternoon hollyhocks will thrive. Same is true of morning glories. Fortunately we do have a lot of local beauties: white, peach and yellow angel trumpets, many hues of bougainvillea, yellow and pink fragrant frangipani, scented moon flowers, velvety white magnolia, night-blooming cereus-a cactus with flowers with a heady perfume and many more.

Here are a few photos of the transformation and the on-going changes.

 

ABOVE: Before from the back deck to the backyard.

Below: After

Little statues rest under the angel trumpets. Birdhouses nestle in the rosemary.

The dill has grown very tall. The glass cloche protects new seedlings from hungry birds and squirrels.

The garden is home to many other things like this old enamel heart from a French graveyard and the chandelier (one of many) hanging from a limb. But it's also home to many creatures big and small.

These three frogs are permanent residents. My princes???????

The baby owl and the Great Leopard moth have come and gone. The little owl was at my door steps one morning. He let me pick him up. I put him in a basket way up in a tree so the cats would get him. I fed him for 2 weeks (sardines and steak....) and, I guess, when he felt strong enough he flew away. He was beautiful and so soft....

The moon flowers are like huge morning glories but they are white, smell delicious and open only at night.

     

As its name indicates the night-blooming Cereus opens at night. This beautiful flowers grow on twisted prickly stems that wrap themselves up oak and palm trees. The bud begins as a tiny fuzzy growth on the stem and expands to a long neck with tightly closed petals. Come night time it bursts open to reveal a magnificent scented flower. Each stem has several flowers and when they open together under the glow of the moon they are like hundreds of white fireworks. The flowers only last one night but there are many new ones popping up every night in May and June.

 

                              

The garden is a lovely restful place. just ask Fluffy!

    

SEEDS OF THE FUTURE

Share the Pleasure, Share the Rewards

Saving seeds from favorite flowers is easy. Of course you can just wait for the right time and harvest them any old way but here is a pretty and colorful way to save seeds on windy days. Tie little bags (the see-through fabric type from craft stores) around the flower's head. When the seeds are ready to fall they will be securely contained.

                              

Seed saving is an economical as well as a lovely way to share favorite plants with fellow gardeners. Some families still pass them on from one generation to the next as they might jewelry or other precious belongings. Make the gift even more special by creating you very own seed packets. Here is how

     

To make the front of the packet:

*Take a photo of the plant in bloom

*Scan the photo and save in "documents"

*Type the name of the plant in the center of the page

*Insert photo from "documents" and size it to the desire proportions

* Print on plain or glossy paper

To make the back

*On a new page type the planting instructions

To Assemble

*Leaving enough paper to glue both pages together cut both pages to the size of any store-bought seed pack. Glue with regular paper glue. Leave top open

*Insert seeds, fold and glue the top of packet

Tips for a gift

For a very special gift, gather several pakcets in a basket with a small garden tool, gardening book or live plant.

                                  

LESSONS FROM THE GARDEN

     

A garden is a spontaneous feast for all the senses. It beg s to be touched, caressed even. It coaxes the eye with colors and shapes. Its seductive perfumes stir up desires and emotions. Its music is that of the rustling wind, the songbird and rain drops. In the garden we become one with the earth.

To garden is to rediscover our deep affinities with nature. The gestures are akin to those of a passionate love affair: brushing against fuzzy leaves, caressing satiny rose petals, rubbing fragrant herbs between fingers, gently grasping an apple, tenderly cupping a pear, stroking a downy peach, coddling a delicate new bloom. It is impossible to garden without reveling in the rich texture of the earth, squeezing it, letting run against the skin, crumbling it between fingers, breathing its familiar scent. Smooth or rough, cushy or prickly, flowers, leaves, grass and trees awaken a multitude of tactile sensations as does brushing one’s cheek against the powder-puff-like softness of a magnolia blossom or burying a curious nose in the fluffiness of open milkweed pods. And there is the gentle touch of the zephyr, the very soul of the garden, weaving an invisible but intimate connection between the garden and the gardener.

    

Light and scents change not only with each season but from dawn to dusk as well. And colors and shapes follow. Spring is crystalline; summer, glaring. In the fall, the glow is that of subdued amber. Winter is pearly and hazy. In the early morning hours, dew drops bejeweled leaves and flowers with gleaming luster. On a partially cloudy day, isolated shafts of sunlight create unexpectedly radiant cameos.

Freshly mowed grass is evocative of spring while the unmistakable, warm and earthy smell, which follows a rain shower, speaks of summer. The wafting smoke of burning leaves announces the arrival of autumn, and winter air is filled with the crisp and tangy aroma of damp bark and evergreens. When, after months of hibernation, flowers burst in a rainbow of colors, the subtle fragrances of orange blossom, sweet alyssum and petunia begin to slowly imbue the air. As heat intensifies the headier aromas of honeysuckle, jasmine and roses prevail. Flowering tobacco, angel trumpet, night blooming jasmine, night-scented stock and tea olive are but a few of the wondrous night-bloomers casting their exquisite, musky, sweet and sensuous spell in hot summer eves.

 

   

The garden is an harmonious symphony of hums, drones, buzzes, whistles, rustles, burbles, gurgles, rattling and sifting.

From the sweet and clear chorus of dawn to the muffled flapping of dusk, it is alive with sounds. Songbirds welcome the new day with a multitude of happy chords. Bees buzz, butterflies flutter, hummingbirds whirr, evening moths thud and owls hoot, and, in the depth of night, the nightingale vocalizes. Under the power of the winds, trees moan, bamboos clank, tall grasses whisper and leaves rustle. Chimes jingle like little carillons or toll like a cathedral’s bells.

Water plops, flips, drizzles, patters, splashes, spurts, streams or cascades. The gentle babble of a fountain, the splashing of birds bathing, even the whoosh of a sprinkler are music to the ear.

The clicking of shears, the clank of a steel spade, the hum of a lawnmower, the squeaking of a wheelbarrow, the rhythmic sound of a rake drawn across the ground, the crunch of footsteps on a gravel path are the sounds of the gardener bounding with nature.