This is why I love my job! (Part 1)

I fell off the blogosphere this week from utter exhaustion.  I spent the entire week installing two landscapes that I have been preparing for about a month.  Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to finding two fountains for my clients.  I found the cutest little nursery in the Heights of Houston.  They specialize in fountains and I'm going to post some awesome photos I took there in my next post.  Wednesday I started the first install which was a blank slate backyard except for one small bed the homeowner had just put in.  This was a fun install because the homeowner wanted a butterfly sanctuary.  (If you know me even a little, I'm slightly in love with butterflies, so this was right up my ally!)  We installed a small fountain off their patio, and installed three beds along the fence line.  I can't wait to go back and take pictures six months from now when everything has filled in.

This is looking across her yard with the house directly to my left.

The sun glared this photo, but this is the pottery fountain we installed.  I planted Dwarf Mondo grass around the base.

This is the electrical box we covered.  There is a Confederate Rose in the very back that will grow above the fence and flower beautifully next Fall.  Other plants in this bed: Plumbago, Knockout Rose, Butterfly Iris, Foxtail Fern, and 'Purple Lady' Iresine.

This is the middle bed.  I put Mexican Flame Vine on the arbor with a Savannah Holly next to that for balance.  Other plants are: Milkweed, Euryops, Dwarf Bottlebrush, Candy Corn Cuphea, and Porterweed.  The homeowner is going to put a small bench or birdbath under the arbor.

This is the third bed which has a Bottlebrush tree in the center, along with a Sweet Almond Verbena for scent.  I repeated some of the plants from the other beds in this bed for balance and color.

We wanted to cover her fence line, so we planted Confederate Jasmine between the three beds.  This will give her green space without the beds to weed and mulch.  Like I said, I can't wait to go back in six months and take pictures again after everything has filled in and grown up.  Also, I really want the owners to put a rock border along the bed lines.  I think they will after they put in the rock border in their front yard.  For now though, this job is done!  I'm very pleased with the results.

The second Job I installed will be posted in Part 2, so keep reading...

To a Better Day!

I mentioned yesterday in my Ft. Hood blog that I took some photos of butterflies to clear my head.  Here they are!

I found these American Painted Lady butterflies covering the 'Anne Marie' Lantana.  I think they have beautiful markings!

Usually these tiny butterflies are so fast I can't ever seem to get a picture of them, but this male Fiery Skipper below was posing nicely for me.

This is my catch of the day!  A Hummingbird Moth!  I've been hoping to get a picture of one of these for awhile now, and I just happened to walk by and see his wings going a mile a minute.  I tried looking up the Hummingbird Moth online, and I'm only finding the Clearwing species with the little yellow lines across his back.  This moth doesn't appear to have clear wings, but then again he was beating them so fast, I could be wrong!  I'm still not sure if it really is a Clearwing or not, but he sure is a nice add to my photo collection anyway!

Ahhh, there's nothing like a few winged friends to put a smile on your face!

Ft. Hood, Texas

I know my blog is focused on gardening and my crazy life with all my boys, but I can't seem to get Ft. Hood out of my mind today.  I've been somber all day. I have walked the gardens at work to take pictures of the butterflies just to get my mind off all the people who were killed yesterday, but even that isn't helping.  I just have a hard time believing a soldier could do such a horrible act to another group of soldiers. Ft. Hood holds a special place in my heart. My husband was stationed there while he served in the Army. I have more friends than I can count who have either been permanently stationed there, or have done training there at some point in their Army career. I absolutely love Ft. Hood.

I have visited many military bases, and none compare to Ft. Hood.  The base is in one of the most beautiful parts of Texas, and the grounds are immaculate.   The sense of pride that emanates from the soldiers there is like no other.  You can't go to Ft. Hood and not feel safe and proud to be an American.  I used to visit my husband there before we started dating.  This was just after 9/11 and the sense of duty and honor for the USA was written across every soldier.  I was proud, honored, and thankful towards the men and women I met there.  I knew with them serving here and over seas, my family here was safe.

I'm angry that lives have been taken from innocent people who have given selfless service to their country.  I am outraged at certain public officials (that I won't name because I don't want to start a political debate...which really isn't like me.  I LOVE politics, but this is my gardening blog, so I'll leave it out.)  I'm angry that this guy could slip under the radar and wreck this much havoc on such a wonderful community.  I'm wondering how many more people are out there still flying low on the radar?  When are we going to wake up and see?  How many more people have to die?  How many more on U.S. soil?

I guess I'm done with my non-gardening banter.  Not sure it really helped with my frustration, but what else can I do?  I'll leave with a grateful THANK YOU to all my friends and other men and women who serve, or have served, in the military.  Your service is appreciated and I honor your selflessness!  God bless you!  And God bless the families of the victims yesterday.  My prayers go out to them!

I've been hammered with the Honest Scrap Award!

I recently joined the gardening blog site, Blotanical, and have met many other bloggers across the country/world who love plants.  I really enjoy reading what others have to say about their gardens, even if I can't grow what they do because we live in different climates.  I love reading about others joy and love for their gardens.  I've only been on the site for a week or two, but have already found many favorites and others have "faved" me too.  One blog, The Violet Fern, caught my eye from the beginning and I quickly made it a fav for its wonderful content and ideas.  This morning, I wake up to an email from by blog comments and find that I have been hammered with the "Honest Scrap" award by her.  It's a fun little blog post award that helps other get to know a bit more about you.  So, here goes!

According to other posts the Honest Scrap Award "rules" are: 

(Remember RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.)

1. Brag about the award.
2. Include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger.
3. Choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.
5. List at least ten honest things about yourself. (TEN?!?)

The honor is all mine! (Is that bragging for rule #1?)

1.  I'm slightly very in love with the color Purple.  It's soothing yet stimulating all at once!  Its been my favorite color my whole life.  If I didn't live in a house full of males, I'd prolly paint every room in a different shade of purple, plum, or lavender. (okay...maybe not that far, but I REALLY love purple!)

2.  I'm not only a gardener, but also a florist.  My first real job was working in a floral shop.  I was taken under the wing of an amazing woman and learned so much from her.  I branched out into silks and dried, where I started my own business working with an interior designer.  Together, we install interior Christmas decor and floral arrangements for her clients.  I also still do weddings for people I know.

3.  I named my business "Madblooms" for two reasons. 1) I love creating floral arrangements that were "Outside the box" or a little wild and crazy. and 2) I do my best work when I'm mad, angry or frustrated.  Creativity is my stress outlet.  I've found that gardening gives me the same stress relief...there's nothing better than the satisfaction of pulling weeds out of your garden when you've had a bad day!

4.  I've known my husband since we were in Junior High.  He said he was going to marry me after a date we had in High School.  (I thought, "Yeah right!")  A few separate roads traveled later, our paths crossed again in 2004. We got married in June 2006, and have been happy ever since.  Together, we have 5 boys.  I have 1 from a previous relationship, he has 3, and our 1 and only attempt at a girl turned out to be another boy.  What-a-ya-do?

photo via Laughlin Photography

5.  I owe my love of plants to my grandmothers, Alice and Marie.  Both had beautiful gardens and as a child, I picked up their love and passion for their plants.  I miss them both dearly!

6.  I take my camera everywhere I go.  I'm in love with my camera!

7.  My dream job is to work at the Houston Zoo designing/ taking care of the plants on the grounds.  My other dream job is to work at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX taking care of their rain forest pyramid and grounds.

8.  I love Martha Stewart.  I think she's done a lot for the floral/garden industry.  And if I had all the time in the world, and the kids were perfect angels, and my husband went on a permanent hunting/fishing trip, my house would look a lot like hers!  (None of the above things will ever happen, so my house will probably never look like hers.)  A girl can dream though!

9.  I HATE cooking!  Baking is great.  Crock pots are my friend.  Stove tops stress me out.  Seriously though, food just defeats me with the whole wifely duty thing.  I just don't find the joy in spending HOURS in the kitchen cooking to have it gone in MINUTES!  Thank God I married a man who can cook.  I'd prolly starve otherwise!

10.  I love chocolate!  My favorite in Dove milk chocolate.  Second to that is Hershey's with Almonds.

Okay, 10 things about me down.  7 blogs of great content and design coming right up!

1. Offshoots - because I like her advice on plant care.
   
2. Empty Nest Gardens and Quilts - because I love the photos of the Dale Chihuly art she has posted.  (I'm a huge fan after seeing one of his displays in Ohio a few years ago!)
3. Liz and the Professor - because I'm jealous of all the tropicals they post.
4. Kapachino - because she needs a post for NaBloPoMo.
5. Terrafarmer - because it's neat to see plants from around the world.
   
6. Jeans Garden - for her kind greeting when I joined Blotanical!  She has a neat blog!
7. ??? I'm breaking this rule.  I'm not going to be the crazy plant lady and stalk down someone I haven't even spoken to online, and everyone else I know has a family blog with kiddos that I don't think they want completely public, or they have already done this blog post.  So, 6 it is!

This was fun!  Thanks again to Violet Fern for awarding me!

Cassia

I was walking the nursery this morning and couldn't help but be in awe of this Fall bloomer, Cassia.  The yellow flowers cover this plant in bright color when most other flowering trees are starting to lose their leaves for winter.  The golden flowers are sure to bring butterflies, bees and birds to your landscape.  This tall shrub/short tree reaches 10-12 ft in Houston and is evergreen to 25 degrees F.  The leaves are finely textured and give the tree an airy look when blowing in the wind.  Large seed pods form after the flowers are done blooming and can be sown after they have dried on the plant. (Although, I tried starting seeds of this variety last winter but didn't have any luck with germination.)  Luckily a friend of mine dug one of her volunteer Cassia's up from her house and gave me one!  After the transplanting, mine hasn't bloomed this season.  At least I get to enjoy the ones at work!  If you have a sunny spot in your garden, this is a must!

By the way, can you tell from the picture how beautiful the weather is here?  Beautiful blue skies, no humidity, cool mornings, warm days, and did I mention the no humidity?!  I just love fall weather.  It's days like this I am so glad I work outside!

This plant made my day!  How 'bout yours?

Currently In November

Current Book(s): I am reading The Time Traveler's Wife which I am about half way through with.  I like it a lot so far.

Current Playlist: This hasn't changed for three months now (sad, i know!)  I am still in the middle of Laurell K Hamilton's, A Kiss of Shadow's, on audio book.  Great story so far!  I wish I had more time to listen to it.  I'm determined to either finish the audio book or finish reading it this month!

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: The Halloween candy has been calling my name all day long!  I don't even want to know how many pieces I've had today!

Current Color:  I'm still feeling this Pumpkin color for Fall's arrival.

 

Current Drink:  Chai Tea! It's de-lish and it has that perfect Fall flavor!

Current Food: It's November, which means Thanksgiving is around the corner!  I can't wait for the turkey and dressing!

Current Favorite Show: I'm still enjoying Dancing with the Stars!  

Current Wishlist: I'd still like to buy a new laptop since mine fried.  (I have a feeling this will stay on the list for awhile!)

Current Needs: a million dollars?! 

Current Triumphs: I crossed off two more items on my 101 in 1001 list and began two more this week.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: This hasn't changed since last month either:  The suburban's fuel pump is going out.  I'm never really sure if it's going to start when I leave for work in the morning....and I'll add, trying to leave work to go home! ---> GEEZ!!!!

Current Celebrity Crush: The cast of New Moon which is coming out this month!

Current Indulgence:  Did I mention that Halloween candy?

Current #1 Blessing: My new niece, Faith!  Mommy and baby are doing well!

Current Slang or Saying: hmmm...I dunno on this one.  Oh wait, maybe "dunno" will work!

Current Outfit: Its been raining a lot lately, and I got tired of coming home with muddy shoes after work.  So I bought some rubber boots from Academy.  I think they are fabulous!  They're perfect for the eclectic gardener!

Current Excitement: I just hid my first Geocache today! 

Current Mood: Chipper!

Current Link: Blotanical.com :  I've found many great gardening blogs on here and am loving the site!

Happy November!

89) Leave a Geocache (check!)

I'm on a roll this week with my 101 in 1001 list!  Earlier this week I scattered Bluebonnet seeds at my farm, and  today I left a Geocache for others to find.  For those who haven't read my other blog on geocaching, I'll briefly explain the adventure "sport."  Geocaching is a treasure hunting game where people place caches in a location then post the GPS coordinates online so others can locate it too.  I came across this idea while making my 101 in 1001 list, and knew right away it was something my boys would love to do as a family activity.  I was extremely surprised to find so many caches hidden so close to home.  We've gone on many nature walks around our town and really have had a great time with this "sport."  I've wanted to leave one of my own, so my husband bought me an ammo can so we could hide our cache.

A lot of the caches have themes for the contents inside.  For example, we have found a cache named "What are Little Boys Made of?" which was filled with toys for boys.  Another cache is for the state quarters.  People can drop and exchange different quarters to complete their collection.  There are many others, but you get the idea.  My husband came up with the idea to make a food related cache.  As you can imagine, placing food inside the cache would be a very bad idea since it will be in the woods, so instead we decided to leave some of our favorite recipes inside for others to take and exchange.  We placed 5 recipes, a log book for people to sign, some blank note cards for people to write their recipes down, and two pens inside the ammo can.  We debated where to leave the cache, but finally decided on Telge Park which is right next to our house.

The trails through Telge Park

The recipes we put inside

Telge Park is next to Cypress Creek which runs through our town, and we love to walk along its banks through the nature trails there.  My husband goes fishing about once a week on the creek and knows the land like the back of his hand.  We parked at Telge Park and started walking through the trails to find a good hiding spot.  After a good hike, we found a really tall Pine tree just off the trail to hide the ammo can behind.  We covered it up with sticks and leaves, and then started pinpointing the GPS coordinates so I could post them to the Geocaching website.  We got the coordinates, I snapped a few photos, and off we went.

The tall Pine tree

Hidden under leaves and sticks

Saved co-ordinates in our GPS

I just got done posting the cache online, and am awaiting approval from the webmaster for the post to clear.  I named the cache "The Dinner Bell" since it is food related.  I can't wait to see how many people find it!  This is such a fun adventure seeking game.  I get a kick out of it every time we find one.  I highly recommend parents with boys take their kids out for this (Girls too, but the boys would really like it!).  It's a great family activity that is free, and you get to explore your local surroundings.  What are you waiting for? Go try it!