the whole universe is here in this garden

i just finished the embroidery on these gloves for a local customer who needed them personalized so as not to have them lost or mixed up among everyone else's gloves at the greenhouse where she works. we were out doing errands so we stopped by to pick the gloves up in person...it was so nice to actually meet a customer! the greenhouse was amazing with all kinds of organic and heirloom varieties so i took the opportunity to get a few odds and ends to round out our little balcony garden—little being the key word. i can't wait for the day when we'll have our own home and can have a big garden...maybe even some stone walls and wooden gate with a big clanky lock so i can pretend i'm mary lennox...

"just like in the story. it's like the whole universe is here in this garden."
—The Secret Garden

we definitely have more than last year now that we aren't right in the middle of the city (can you believe someone stole my plants off our stoop one year..who runs down the street with a big pot of geraniums?!). apart from our cacti and the geranium, i've got an italian heirloom tomato for general gobbling (because they are a bajillion times lovelier than grocery store ones), some romas for canning, a northern pickling cucumber, shallots, lavender, basil, rosemary, thyme, catnip, and spearmint. i still have a few of the plants indoors at night but hopefully by the end of may the danger of frost will be completely past. this will be my first year canning...my mom gave me her pressure cooker with the warning, "just don't blow yourself up katrina lynn." yeeeah, so stay tuned for that!

what are you planting this year?

prickly blossoms blooming today

we picked up this lovely little cactus around easter and while it's had it's little pink stubs for a while now, one of them has finally decided to open up to the world! they're such a bright spot in our living room only i wish i knew more about it as it did not come with any tag. i think it's what is generally referred to as a christmas cactus? i'm told they bloom twice a year and many folks put a lot of work into forcing the blooms, but this one is a little off with its timing obviously so it will bloom for us around easter and thanksgiving instead. that's ok, i guess it just fits in with all the other oddballs in this house :)


this little beauty is also in bloom right now. it's another little planter in the living room with several different cacti and succulents. i don't know much about these types of plants (i'd love to hear if you do!) but keep them in the house since they are so easy and bring a bit of color indoors.

p.s. the pot that the bigger cactus is in (below) was something i found on the side of the road recently that had been put out to the trash...i made john slam on the breaks and go back so i could see what that flash of pretty color was lying in the ditch all alone...turns out it was an antique chinese flower pot with handpainted peonies! and i'm OK with being sneered at for being dumpster diver if it means getting such lovely pieces for free, haha!