Sunday, 16 November 2014

Watercolor workshop, Part II

The second day of the workshop was yesterday, separated in time because of a family illness, happily on the mend.Frankly, I didn't mind having some space between two intensive days of practicing technique learning... Still recovering from an unaccustomed cold, I didn't really feel that well,...

nature journaling, watercolors

Watercolor workshop Part I

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Several weeks ago, I did the first day of a two day workshop, taught by a gifted artist (Elizabeth Ellison). Our studies that day were mountains and grassland, with learning different techniques and color theory. I've enjoyed tip-toeing back into art through watercolors, which I hadn't really...

Friday, 14 November 2014

beans, peas, radish, scarlet runner, seed saving, seeds

Saving Seeds

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Okay Kids, so this time of year is great. "GREAT?" you may say. Zach please explain. The upside is that you get to start you collecting for next year's seeds. If you have a particular type of non-Hybrid plant that you just can't live without and want next year...why not save some seeds from it. This...

Thursday, 13 November 2014

fall color, natural gardening

The fall colors keep coming...

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Even in the mountains, there are still plenty of yellow and reds illuminating the landscapes.In the Piedmont this morning, I felt like I was saying good-bye to fall color, but maybe not, even as the arctic cold front (and wind) descends this weekend.oak-leaf hydrangeagingko, sassafras, viburnum, and...

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

fall color, gingkos, natural gardening

Gingkos: with and without leaves

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After the coming weekend's fall blast of cold air, unusual for mid-November, we won't have much fall color left. I'm thinking the wind will bring down all of the yellow, orange, and red maple leaves, and probably most of the oak leaves, too. A touchstone of our seasonal lives in the Eastern US...

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

ginkgo, ginkgo in fall, natural gardening

Ginkgos

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In the mountains of Western North Carolina, the late October snow brought down all of the ginkgo leaves, before they'd turned their characteristic luminous yellow.In the piedmont of South Carolina, the leaves are starting to turn right now. The smaller of the two trees in the garden where I used...

Monday, 10 November 2014