Tag: geranium

Project – Flower Pounding/Geranium Notecard

On By TimelessladyIn Projects10 Comments

Over the years I have often used vibrant flowers and leaves for flower pounding. Flower Pounding is the art of transferring the color of flowers and foliage by pounding with a hammer or other heavy object. How to Pound Flowers

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Yesterday in my post I included a quick tip about the staining power of geranium petals. This fact reminded me of flower pounding, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to make use of the brilliant flowers and “pound” some blossoms.

Now pounding with a hammer is fine if you are using fabric. When my grandsons and I pounded flowers onto paper with a hammer, dents and dings from the blows marred the surface. I decided to try a gentler approach this time, and using steady pressure, rolled the flowers onto the paper with a small rolling pin. (The larger variety will work fine too)

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I found using a rolling pin was a much better choice for transferring the flower color to paper.
(Warning: Please don’t use a rolling pin you use in cooking and baking. If you don’t have an extra for crafting, use a brayer, a glass, anything round that can be rolled over a surface. Some plants are poisonous and using a rolling pin that is used in food preparation could allow toxins to contaminate the wood.)

LIST OF POISONOUS FLOWERS

ROLLING FLOWERS
1. Place flowers in chosen design on paper face down, add foliage if desired, white or pastel paper works best.
2. Cover flowers with a thin piece of paper, taking care not to move flowers.
3. Applying steady pressure, roll the pin over the flowers, up and down, several times. Don’t be surprised if you see color bleeding through the top sheet.
4. Separate sheets of paper. Bits of flower will cling to both sides. Pick away what you can without marring the pattern. Allow anything stuck fast to dry, and then try to gently remove with a small soft brush.
(Sometimes bits of flowers or foliage will be stuck like glue, no worries, it adds a bit of texture and interest to the card)

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I substituted asparagus fern for the geranium leaves.

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I added a few lines with a gold-tipped pen and threaded a wire-edged ribbon through the top.

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“Voila'” A unique and inexpensive tag for a gift bag.

Perspective, Plants & Quick Tip – Delightful Dilemma/Geraniums

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective, PlantsLeave a comment

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I have a delightful dilemma for this coming gardening year. Do I keep my geraniums indoors or let them have a grand vacation outdoors? This would not be a question in past years. Previously, I have stored my geraniums in the winter with bare roots boxed and in a cool place. They often live in this dormant state, but they don’t thrive as they have done this year.

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In the summer of 2014 I grew all my geraniums in pots and decided against pulling them out of the soil for storing. I saved the plants by growing them over the winter in my sunniest window.

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One of the geraniums has reached amazing heights, and I don’t want to cut it back, but I know if placed outdoors the summer winds and storms will certainly knock it over. And there you have my delightful dilemma, do I take all of the plants outdoors, or do I keep the best ones inside and maintain their pristine condition? Hmmmmm….maybe I will split them up and take note of the results for next year. Updates will follow.

Quick Tip: When your geraniums bloom indoors they will eventually lose all their flower petals. Be very careful not to vacuum these with the vacuum flush to the floor. The geraniums will stain your carpet and the color is hard to remove. I know this from experience of course! 😦 Walking on one accidentally will have the same effect.

Planting – Garden Goings-On/Seeds and Sprouts

On By TimelessladyIn PlantingLeave a comment

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Poppy Seeds are sprouting in my winter sown containers. (gallon milk cartons) Poppies are always one of the first seeds to sprout when winter sown. This is absolutely, at least for me, the best way to sow and grow poppies.

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Here is a picture of me, probably two summers ago, beside my near five foot bread seed poppies. If you look to the right of my shoulder you can see the big poppy buds ready to burst into bloom. These poppies were sown with the winter sowing method and grew in my Square Foot Gardens, one plant to a square. Here’s a link to the blog of Mel Bartholomew, the creator of the Square Foot Garden Method. Square Foot Gardening

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My winter sown crop of seeds are sown now. I have found that for a few the soil has begun to dry out a bit. I have needed to place them in a pan of water to enable them to wick up a bit of moisture. You can find a post on winter sowing here: Winter-sown seeds.

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The coleus seeds I sowed with my small seed sowing method have sprouted and because they are well-spaced out have not developed any fungal or damping-off disease. They are a bit leggy, but when I repot them separately in a few weeks, I will cover some of the leggy stem with soil. They should begin to develop color within a week or two.

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The Martha Washington Geranium I over-wintered with bare roots is leafing out nicely.

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The green onions I rerooted and potted up are growing terrific stems. I just used a few cut up into beautiful green rings in a Cheesy Potato recipe. The original post on how I regrow the bottoms of the onions can be found here: Regrowing Green Onion Stems

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Most of my seeds, except for larger varieties such as zinnias and four o’clocks, have been sown into plastic containers. I use recycled grocery containers for most of my seed sowing.

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Parsley, always rather slow-growing for me in the house, has been repotted into separate pots. It will be moved into the garden very soon. Parsley is cold tolerant and after hardening off for a few nights, will probably grow fine in the herb or square foot gardens.

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Spider babies, rooting in water, are doing well and will soon be combined in a hanging basket for the patio. The new spider plants will join the mother and sister plants rooted up in previous years. My collection keeps expanding. Spider plants are one of the best houseplants for filtering toxins and impurities out of the air. Happy Gardening!

Pleasures – The Stowaway

On By TimelessladyIn Pleasures1 Comment

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Now usually this little guy on a geranium blossom would cause me to inspect the whole plant for any of his brother and sister cabbage worms. But…this guy somehow survived very cold temperatures and stowed-away on my plant when I brought it indoors. So instead of this post being categorized as problem-solving, it is titled “Pleasures.”

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It gave me quite a chuckle when I began watering my geranium and caught sight of the small caterpillar. I will let him live out his lifespan on the geranium. Maybe he will spin a cocoon and overwinter, or maybe even hatch in the house. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a butterfly or moth flying in the house, taking us by surprise.

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He hasn’t done much damage at all, just a few small holes and some missing geranium florets. Happy feasting little bug! 🙂

Plants – Geraniums Reborn

On By TimelessladyIn Plants3 Comments

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These geraniums might look like something headed for the compost heap, but take a second look. Do you see the green leaves? This is new growth sprouting from what seemed dead and gone. In the Fall of the year I pulled my geraniums from the ground, shook of excess dirt from the roots, and placed them inside this basin. I put them in a corner of my garage and pretty much forgot about them. This week I noticed they were sending out new growth so I brought them inside and potted them up. I’ll update their progress in a few weeks. More information on saving geraniums in this way can be found here: Over-wintering geranium plants.