HO
ME
Reflections
In my opinion, your home is most lovely when it reflects you!
You don’t have to be an artist to have a creative life!
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This is my place to explore inspiration. To see how I might foster creativity in my life. This is where I want to live in the TODAY of my world with a thankful heart. I'm looking for some step by step “how to’s” and some out of the box challenges to help my brain wake up to my Creative Me!
No pretense or unattainable stuff here. No comparisons with anyone else.
And if you want to come along, I'm happy to have you.
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“I HOPE THAT MY HOME WILL ALWAYS BE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE ENTER AS AN HONORED GUESTS AND LEAVE LIKE FAMILY.”
Come
HOME
TO
FLOWERS
I am NOT a gardener.
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In fact, I didn't even care too much about flowers one way or the other until I got married and some latent hormonal nesting instinct woke up from some deep hidden cave somewhere.
We had to cutest little chalet in the woods and we naively built raised beds and planted what felt like our life savings into seeds and bedding plants... which the deer, slugs and other furry friends loved. I watched a bunny eat my border of alyssum one bunch per morning. I love woodland creatures, but I literally stood maybe 5 feet from Agnes, a deer I had named. She ate all the stuff the books promised she'd hate. I was weeding and she came to inspect. I looked at her and said, "STOP eating my flowers! Don't you read the books!?" She (true story) leaned over and snagged a whole mouthful of Bunny's alyssum and looked at me as if to say, "Got any more snacks?" I sighed and went to find my husband. He could tell I was discouraged and waited. "What?" he asked. I sighed and said, "Our deer are illiterate."
So all I can offer you is
How to have flowers when you're horrible with flowers
A: Have "Switch out" pots
I forget to water flowers sometimes... so rather than repotting my purchases, I bring home sizes that fit inside my pots. That way, I can switch them out - um - when needed. I do try to give them a chance outside by planting them in my back beds and wishing them well. We get enough rain that some flowers have been so thankful, they revived! (And I'm especially grateful that my neighbors are more gifted than I am as I look out the window!)
B: Plant Perennials that hate to be fussed over
Sheesh. I even had to look up how to spell perennial. The deer truly do leave peonies alone! And so do I! Ours were planted 12 years ago and are just about to open as I write this!
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I clipped a branch that the rain had beaten down just to see if it would force bloom. Force blooming is just the gardening term for cutting off a branch of a flowering bush or tree when the buds are there. You bring it inside and put it in water...and watch to see if it will bloom.
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I was curious. The buds were so pretty anyway, I thought, "Why not?"
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And she's blooming today!
C: Fake it
So yeah. I have orchids because, again, they like to be left alone. But after they bloomed, they looked like crooked sticks in a row. And I think they were getting fried in the window, now that the sun has come to our valley. I put them up on my great Aunt Lizzie's wardrobe to get them out of the way while I placed the geraniums in a happy row. Then I realized they looked so much happier all cozied up. The green is actually eye level rather than the dormant stalks. And, lucky for them, they actually like it and are growing again. So while each plant may not be an eye catcher, together they give depth to the paintings. (This works with any collection, by the way. Little pitchers, unlit candles, etc.).
