New Growth

I was pretty excited today when I noticed new growth on a few of the succulent plants we got as a gift from Hancock Church.  

The sweet little garden has found a home in the "reading room" where it will get good afternoon light...especially this time of year when the sun is low in the southern sky.  Succulents love light.  I'm quite fond of the striped afternoon shadows from the blinds this time of day.

This was the view from my chair late this afternoon as I was uploading my photos....my succulents and I are going to enjoy the sunsets from the reading room.

And speaking of gardens....I did another stenciled watercolor experiment today.  This time I put this floral stencil on a watercolor block...so the paper stayed totally flat while I worked.  

I tried to be a little more careful to not have too much water in my paint....

and the irony is I almost wished it actually bled a little more.  That's why we experiment.

 

There's got to be something interesting I can do with it to embellish it a bit more.  I'll just have to do some more experimenting....and likely cut it up for cards.

Little Surprise

I found a nice little surprise when I was watering my plants yesterday....a beautiful fuzzy orange bloom on one of my succulents. And...two more on the way.

I lopped off the tops of most of the succulents I had outdoors and replanted them inside for the winter.  I didn't notice that this particular top had buds on it until after I cut it and I was worried it wouldn't bloom. But lo and behold it did!  I keep them in a sunny south window in the guest room...so they are mostly out of sight and I hadn't noticed it. What a nice surprise! 

In For the Winter

All the outside plants I want to save are potted up and in for the winter.

My house in Lexington is full of ferns and begonias but this succulent pot from South Portland is back in the dining room.  The crazy bloom stalks keep growing with new tiny flowers every inch or so. I've never seen anything like it before.







I'm excited that the plant in the front has several buds.  I kind of obsessed about this one last year photographing and celebrating every stage. The blooms are a bright orange and there are at least 3 coming. What fun!

How can I not get excited about this fuzzy little November gift!

Bloom Buddy

My very tall...not so spectacular succulent bloom now has a buddy...and it's equally unspectacular.  They border on being ridiculous....they actually make me chuckle. So until they turn brown and shrivel up....they stay.

Suspense

One little bud on the succulent plant in Maine just started to open this last weekend. It's been a slow process and the suspense is killing me. 

Meanwhile my rain lilies keep going strong.

Buds

My succulent pot on the deck in Maine is doing well....and one of the plants has a giant stalk of buds about to pop.  It looks like it's going to be pink...and I'm hoping it's a showstopper.

I love the ruffly pink edges of this one....the one that is about to bloom.

And...I continue to be quite fond of my yellow Baptisia...which is in full bloom in the rock garden.

Simple and Significant

Anybody a "Mad Men" fan?  Here's a quote from Don Draper. The "M" succulent planter photo came through my Tumblr feed and I put the little quote image together digitally.  

Last Picture....

....I promise.

But again...how could I resist? The succulent bloom was in its full glory when I got to Maine today. I'm so impressed with all that's going on in a very small space.  And the fun part is there's several more to come...but since it will be just more of the same I will celebrate quietly.

Still Beautiful!

The bloom was pretty much the same today but still very beautiful. I didn't notice the little bit of yellow on the ends before.  It will be fun to see it in a week when we come back!

You just have to enjoy the little things in life!!!

 

Bloom Progress....

I can't help myself...I had to share the succulent bloom today. I think it's just beautiful...nature is so amazing! And I love how it waited to bloom until we got up here.  A real joy!

Yesterday's photo....and yes...I will be reporting in tomorrow before we head back.

Gratitude

We are in Maine for Thanksgiving....and I was thrilled to find my succulent just starting to bloom! We had a wonderful family day complete with the moonrise over Willard beach.

In no way does this picture do it justice!  It was a mild evening for November...so it was lovely at the beach.

Little Surprises....

....tucked in the lawn and garden.

Last week I was greeted by these funny little mushrooms in Maine.

I did a little reading on line and found that it's a combination of moisture, shade, and organic material in the soil that promote mushroom growth. I know there are some old tree stumps rotting under the ground and this part of the yard is pretty shady these days...so I guess that explains it. 

According to this article, "most of the time, the fungi just stay hidden, breaking down organic material.  But, when the conditions are right, they burst forth, like desert flowers blooming after a rain." That makes it sound like such splendid "event."

Are they cute...or are they kind of strange and creepy? I vote strange and creepy.

"Desert flower" was an interesting description....because when I came up today... this is what they looked like...an actual bouquet of flowers. And just for the record...I raked them all up today...still a little creepy. 

And speaking of desert flower...the bud on the succulent has really shot up... I think it's going to be orange.

And there's another one just starting.

Speaking of Succulents...

...isn't this a sweet little painting?

It's watercolor and pen and ink...and was painted by my friend Connie! You can see some of her amazing work here.

Because she is in the middle of a move...Connie and I spent time going through her art and supplies. We came across this sweet little painting and I just melted. So guess who got to take it home?  I will find a little frame for it and hang it in a special spot.

Thanks Connie!  I love it!

Pretty soon I will share some of our progress in her new space.

Propagating Succulents

I love growing succulents! They are easy to care for and come in great colors and textures. A pot of succulents is perfect for the deck in Maine...because they can go weeks without water and they love the sun. They thrive on neglect!


But they do need to come in for the winter...so every year I make room inside for the succulents along with the ferns and begonias I can't bear to toss out. It saves me a lot of money in the spring.

I had several containers this summer....this one sat on a table on my back patio in Lexington. I added in one of my favorite tiny perennial grasses....that I just plunked in the ground for the winter. I will pot it back up in the spring.  But the succulents had to come inside.

This one was in Maine this year...and now has moved inside to the dining room. There are a couple of buds so I will wait to cut this one back.

This whole pot was propagated from last years plants!  They did well!

Over time the succulents can get a little leggy...but they are very easy to propagate.  I was doing it wrong until a few years ago when I came across this article on Pinterest. Now I know what to do.

To propagate I top off the plants and pull off the bottom leaves exposing the stem.  Then I let them sit for several days so the ends dry out.  I used to put them in the soil right away...but I learned that the ends need to callous over or they will draw up too much moisture.  Now I know why I used to have mixed results.  I let them dry for 3-5 days....checking the ends every few days.

Here are a few of them all potted up ready to root.  I just have to find a somewhat sunny window.

The "mother" stubs should grow new plants from the places where there were leaves.  After a few years they get thick and woody so sometimes you just have to let the "mother" go.  I generally have plenty of new plants from what I topped off. The picture below is from the article. Mine on the left should do the same thing.