Wednesday, March 23, 2011

{adoring white marigolds}





I've fallen for marigolds...a flower that was once on my
'never plant' list.......
(I'm not a fan of orange flowers~especially ones that have more of an
'odor' rather than a 'scent')
now, since I've discovered the white marigold...they're at the top of my list.
I purchased a seed packet of 'Snowman Hybrids'




and was quite surprised when I opened it to find about 15 seeds inside! My plan was to plant a living white fence around my vegetable garden...I'm going to need alot more seed packets!
Aren't marigolds one of the prolific seeders, making their seeds quite inexpensive?







Apparently only the orange variety...the ones school children
sow in styrofoam cups in the classroom.
A little research led me to some interesting White Marigold history,
and perhaps the reason for the costly seeds.

Seems it took 56 years to find the right recipe mix to produce a white marigold.
In 1954, after many unsuccessful years,
David Burpee, (son of the founder, W. Atlee Burpee),
offered a prize of $10,000 to home gardeners
to help the professional breeders.


David Burpee in a feild of marigolds.

(image via horthistoira.com)



More than 8,000 gardeners answered the
challenge and sent in their seeds each year.

Alice Vonk of Sully, Iowa, started her first garden when she was 11-years old,
the same year that David Burpee started his search for the white marigold.
When the contest was announced, she sent in her seeds for testing.
For 21 years, she continued sending seeds, hoping she had the winning mixture.

The Burpee Company had spent more than $250,000 on researching
and testing the seeds which had been sent in during the years they ran the contest.
As the years dragged on, finding a mix for the white marigold seemed almost
impossible. So it was with great appreciation that Burpee finally awarded the prize
to Alice Vonk in September, 1975.



Alice and David Burpee

image via flickr



Her years of perseverance had paid off;
she had found the right mix of seeds.
Today, 36 years later, the 2 ½ inch-across white marigold developed by Vonk,
named Snowball, may be found every January
in the Burpee catalogue, as well as a few other white varities they've since developed.
Thank you Alice...I have a new appreciation for these valuable little seeds!
As for my living white fence around my vegetable garden?...it may be a little spacey!



Linking up with Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday!
And Tracie at Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Flora Thursday!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Spring Cleaning ~ my studio





I'm a firm believer in spring cleaning~ as long as it begins in my studio ~
some of you may remember this photo~ my studio last fall ~

I have since let in the sunshine ~ let there be light!~



Come on in.... I'll show you around!

{these are just some of the photos I took,

there are more to see if you click on the"my studio" link in my header}

Starting in the corner where I keep my tripod, under the cover of a vintage suede and fur trimmed coat~ the photo is blurry because, well....my tripod is under there! I got it out for the rest of my photos...


my design board


My "love banner" made by Carla... fits perfectly on my vintage suitcases. They have been great for storing magazines & catalogs.

The door to our living room...

new door ~ old hardware


A chippy white frame...framed vintage alphabet and two vintage hooks to hold the 'gathering bags' ~ each with a label...

one gathers items that need to go back to the workshop ~ the other gathers things that need to go upstairs ~ always trying to keep the clutter down!


This three sided corner was tricky to make work for storage ~ I created shelves then skirted the bottom to conceal my filing cabinets. You probably recognize this as the area where I take my photos of signs.

The shelves are filled with items I love to see... vintage art supplies and art books, a vintage Ball canning jar holds my grandmother's oil paints... and a photo of my mom~ she looks like she really didn't enjoy having her photo taken that day~ I love the pouty look on her :)



A few of my vintage gardening books & my Paris charm ~ created by Lulu ~draped over my favorite vase ~ patiently waiting for this year's lilacs....soon.

moving right....

my world clocks ~ still ticking away ~ but I added a chalkboard that I made for jotting down important stuff... like....

(guess where Hannah wants to go this weekend?)


I'm still searching for the perfect vintage cabinet to house this techy stuff but until I find one this thrift store table with very sexy legs is working nicely.


moving to the right... the painting table...

I added my favorite quote to the wall ....



to the right of my table... my vintage metal card files. I gave them some white paint to brighten them up. They hold all my paints and then some....

each with it's own label.




I'm really falling for printers blocks lately ~ I've acquired #'s 4 & 3's ... my kids numbers on their jerseys in various sports :)



I think the 'springyest' thing I did was paint my chest robins egg blue ~ I'm just loving having this color in here!

hangtags ready to go

vintage framed print, The man and his flock....

also falling for vintage office supplies these days... love them!


and last, my vintage mail box ~ it holds my shipping labels, keeping them handy.

There...spring cleaning is done!

{what about the rest of the house? what house??}

Hope everyone is enjoying some spring weather and freshening up!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Morning in the Garden...

***this is a repost from early last summer***we'll rename it
'a trip down memory lane'
linking up with Tracie from
Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Flora Thursday ~ enjoy!
here we go....
Some early Monday morning garden shots...
my perfect place to enjoy a cup of coffee...
loving the symetry...not perfect but sooo close!

radishes just about ready to harvest and red leaf lettuce...

the cucumber trellis...my personal little Eiffel Tower!



my best gal...I think she's finally found her happy place!


The one thing "bad days" have over "good days," is that they're completely optional.
Have a 'good day' everyone!!
·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ paula

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I'm still here & what do you think of these....?

I'm still here!!!
still on the 'right side of the grass' as my comedian father likes to say!

Just been busy, busy with this that and the other...{all a good busy tho}....
This morning on my way out for an early errand
my heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw these in the front yard....

Tulips!

...up and at 'em ....

I didn't even know they were awake!!

Have I been so busy I missed the daffodils and crocus'?

Spring is so close ...I can feel it!

Here's something I picked up at the flea market a ways back. I got about ten of them for

*cheap cheap*


I've been pondering what to do with them for quite some time now.

They are some sort of doors to an old chest, really neat hinge marks left in them and a glass viewing window. The lady who sold them to me thought they were part of an old apothecary chest but she wasn't sure. Shall I paint them with neat typography in black, maybe some gold?? Turn them back into a reproduction chest??

...I can't decide!!

Thought I'd ask some of the most creative people I know...what do you think?