THOUGHT PATTERNS

Wicked Plants at the Conservatory of Flowers

A short while ago Terry and I went to see Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues and Assassins Exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers in SF. It was absolutely amazing! I've got a tone of photos to share. I was sooooo thrilled that they allowed cameras inside (I was initially hiding mine under a scarf, and what a relief it was when I saw everybody snapping away! :) I'll accompany them with the text taken from the Conservatory of flowers website.

And here is this lovely/wicked place...

"Paralysis, strangulation, derangement – these are just a few of the misdeeds of the plant kingdom as chronicled by award-winning author Amy Stewart in her 2009 New York Times Bestseller, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities."

"And now, something wicked this way comes. It’s mayhem under glass, as the Conservatory of Flowers transforms its Special Exhibits Gallery into an eerie Victorian garden full of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations." 

"Building on the fascinating plant portraits in Stewart’s book, the Conservatory introduces visitors to living examples of dozens of infamous plants that have left their mark on history and claimed many an unfortunate victim."

"As visitors enter the exhibition, they find themselves in a mysterious, untended yard behind a ramshackle old Victorian home."

"Peeking through the window, it’s clear that a crime has just taken place. A man is slumped over on a table, a goblet in his lifeless hand, as the lady of the house flees in the background."

"Crows caw, and a rusty gate creaks. In the overgrown garden, moss covered statues rise up out of an unruly thicket of alluring plants." 

"Beautiful flowers and glistening berries bewitch the eye, but consider yourself warned – these plants have names like deadly nightshade, poison hemlock and white snakeroot. Here lurk some of the greatest killers of all time."

"The exhibition features over 30 species of wicked plants from those with famously scandalous histories to those that grow “innocently” in millions of gardens and homes today. Visitors can enjoy corresponding excerpts from Stewart’s book full of bloodcurdling tales and fascinating facts on signs throughout the gallery."

The exhibit is on till October 11, so if you find yourselves in San Francisco, I highly recommend you go. Find more info here: Conservatory of Flowers.

And some more shots of other rooms like the Water Room, the Victorian Potted Plants Room, etc... in the beautiful Conservatory of Flowers (my favorite place right now!)...

I was most impressed by the glass ceilings and ceilling fans. :) My dream is to have a small rooftop conservatory of our own!

Hope you didn't mind me going crazy with the photos. I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would compensate!

xoxoxo

{All photos Tina Tarnoff}

On Dior's New look and our kitchen becoming a greenhouse

My husband is working on his new book which is partly set in the 1940s. I've been doing some research for him on clothing (gladly!) and found some hilarious details about the upheaval Dior's New Look caused when it was first premiered in the U.S.

 

 

(About the New Look: In 1947 Christian Dior presented a fashion look with a fitted jacket with a nipped in waist and full calf length skirt.  It was a dramatic change from wartime austerity styles. After the rationing of fabric during the Second World War, Dior's lavish use of material was a bold and shocking stroke.  His style used yards and yards of fabric. Approximately 10 yards was used for early styles.   Later Dior used up to 80 yards (WHAT!) for newer refinements that eliminated bulk at the waist. The New Look and new approach to fashion was a major post war turning point in Fashion History.)

 

 

 

 

The fashion and news world were absolutely delighted and head over heals in love with Dior's line, but, not everybody shared their enthusiasm...

 

"Christian Dior himself encountered negative reactions to the New Look later in 1947. On his first American trip, he was promptly whisked away from a Chicago train station as 'embattled housewives brandishing placards bearing the words: "Down with the New Look," "Burn Monsieur Dior," "Christian Dior Go Home" advanced'.

 

Chicago was not unique. In Louisville, 1,265 women believed that the New Look was not only impractical but also anti-feminist, and signed an anti-Dior petition as members of The Little Below the Knee Club. In Oildale, California, Mrs Louise Horn gave a timely demonstration of the dangers lurking in the New Look. As she alighted from a bus, her new long, full skirt caught in the door. The bus started up and she had to run a block alongside it before she was freed. In Georgia, a group of outraged men formed the League of Broke Husbands, hoping to get '30,000 American husbands to hold that hemline'." {source}

Haha. "Burn Monsieur Dior"?! 

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We have officially turned our kitchen into a greenhouse. All of our plants had to be taken in because our house is undergoing a major paint job. And, I'm kind of liking being overwhelmed by green...

 

 

 

 

Luckily, we have three big windows in the kitchen, so the plants are getting plenty of light. We might consider keeping them here through the winter.

 

(Hurray! said the plants in unison)

 

xoxoxo

 

{Dior's New look images via Glamourdaze, Showstudio, 1000fragrances}

On fern and Victorian button shoes

My fern finally dried and pressed nicely and was ready to be popped into a frame...

To press fern: I placed the leaves in between two sheets of wax paper before pressing them with several heavy books. That way it was easier to straighten the leaves and put them in place - they kept curling on me. I just used a knife which I slid in between the wax sheets and uncurled the fern leaf and then pressed that part with a heavy book before it curled again. It sounds more of a pain than it really was. :) After about 10 days the leaves were pretty dry and flattened nicely. For framing I used vanilla colored art paper and affixed the leaves with some museum putty (just a few bits of that here and there to keep it in place and from sliding down.)

The structure of the leaves is so striking isn't it?

I'm even thinking of getting some mixed fern for our porch. But, I have no idea if it would grow in pots (I suppose it would.) Still, I like the idea of having a compact jungle right in front of our kitchen window.

Fern Paradise in Chiang Mai - see more incredible photos here.

Hey, I just found a bunch of fern in pots {via}...

... and some Bali Fern Batik fabric...

Me love fern.

Fern aside for a moment, I've been on the lookout for a pair of antique Victorian child button shoes. (I find myself quite sentimental over these Oliver Twist kind of wearables.) And as always didn't care (nor could I afford) to spend a lot. I finally found this wee fellow and I'm very pleased about it....

It's perfectly torn and worn and quite solitary, missing its right pair. It found itself a cozy spot on our bookshelf.

xoxoxo

Porch garden loveliness

Our lemon tree is finally blooming...

The flowers smell wonderful and the lemons are getting yellow.

I think we will have a taste of our first lemon soon.

A hummingbird started visited the tree several times a day. It's about the same color as these leaves and it makes the most wonderful chirping sound. I tried photographing it but it's too fast for me.

Our porch garden is looking really lovely. We got a few more succulents and they are absolutely thriving.

I love greeting the plants first thing in the morning while waiting for the water for coffee to boil. They make me feel very serene.

Even the Indian rubber plant in the back is looking much better. It had almost no leaves when I found it, dried out and ready to give up. Here is a peek at our garden two months ago.

And the sky... the sky was just amazing that day I was taking photos. It looked like The Simpsons opening sequence. Don't you think?

xoxoxo

An echeveria that could

This is our echeveria succulent two months ago - we named it Mr. Crinkle...

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Meet Mr. Crinkle today...

Reaching for the stars. 

Some serious "Jack and the beanstalk" action going there. We think it's going to bloom eventually. It was amazing just witnessing it growing taller and taller and shifting and straightening - always in search for the sun. Fascinating.

The whole porch garden is looking pretty swell. Will post some photos soon!

Have a great day.

xoxoxo

Fern

I'm very fond of botanical prints, and would love to have a whole bunch of them framed on the wall (I would love to have a whole bunch of other stuff on our walls, too, like plates, portraits, old movie adds... I think we need more walls! Also, has anyone noticed that wall arrangement is what I talk most about on this blog? Hm. I think I need to expand my range of topics.)

The other day I got myself some real fern - which I am nerdily pressing at the moment - which made me think in return that I would prefer to have a wall of real, dried, pressed plants, rather than botanical prints, so now I'm on a lookout for some fine specimens to press and frame. Another in a line of projects which will or will not be completed. The list is getting longer.

Here are some fine examples of framed plants or prints, found on Martha Stewart and Design Sponge...

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Wonderful.

Here's my beautiful fern...

I love the back, with the tiny spores (or suction cups, as I like to call them.)

I'm not planning on using that paper as a background, although it looks pretty good. I think I will use a tea stained paper as a background for my fern. (Now, how does one tea-stain one's paper? Another project?) I do love this brown stripped paper so much though and if I let myself I would pretty much use it for everything. Decoupaging, lining drawers... I already used it to cover a trunk I found on the street, and last week, whilst experiencing a cold medicine induced hyperactivity I used it to decoupage a pot.

(Yes, if you look closely you will notice a foot sticking out of the pot. I am a collector of body parts, doll body parts, to be precise. And what better place to stick one into than a pot. {I am aware that the plant is not looking its best, but I'm working on improving its health.}) 

Now we have a matching trunk-pot, which is not really what I was looking for but can be tolerated. As long as it stays at those two in one room.

Where was I... fern.

I think I remember from elementary school how fern is a plant that's been around since prehistoric times. Correct me if I'm wrong. It was perhaps picked, dried and pressed by lady dinosaurs, too.

Happy weekend to you.

xoxoxo 

Lemon tree and growing succulent family

Hello!

My past several days were a bit of a blur and jumble of errands & work, desire to clean the house but having no time or energy, finally seeing the movie Gaslight which I wanted to see for a while, lots of fog and feeling cold, coffee at a local cafe, lots of walking up and down our San Francisco hills, craving chocolate and sun, and more work. And all I wanted to do is garden! So, today I indeed did. Here are a few snapshots from our corner of the world...

Assessing our porch and getting ready to do some repotting. Daydreaming of getting some roses in pots. I'm on a mission to save this tall bare plant. It's an Indian rubber plant that our neighbors left outside half dead when they moved. It was completely dried up with just a few leaves left. I'm happy to say that there is a lot of activity there now. See all of those red leaves coming out? It's supposed to be covered in leaves when it's healthy. I'll keep you updated on the progress. :)

We went to the garden center in search of roses in pots and we learned that it's best to get roses in January or February so that you can watch them grow and blossom. So, instead we got a Meyer lemon tree!! Huzzah! There'll be lots of lemon baking.

Transferring succulents to larger pots so that the babies have room to grow. The curly echeveria in the background is the newest addition to our succulent family.

Tidier porch with room to walk. I wish we had room for a small table and a couple of chairs. It would be nice to have our morning coffee here.

And here is our lemon tree!!

(Terry kept singing this funny song: "Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat..." which was very funny and every time he sang it made me want to go outside and hug the lemon tree. Although, he didn't quite get the words right and kept singing "and the lemon fruit so sweet" which made me suspicious and had me saying "that can't be right!" So I had to google the right words. )

I love this huge heavy blue pot. It's just perfect for the tree. We actually found it on the street while driving somewhere. I made Terry stop so that I could snatch it. I love street finds.

And it already has a little lemon growing.

 

Succulent family. I love these little guys.

Downstairs, in front of our door. This is a little courtyard we share with our neighbors. I love this fence railing. 

After a long day of gardening, treats. A glass of red wine, tree ripe peaches and freshly baked vegan chocolate cupcakes.

Tired. Off to bed. Nighty-night.

Street plants on Green & Greenwich

I've been noticing people decorating their house fronts with an abundance of potted plants. It makes me smile every time I see such a house front. Whether they do it because they're running out of space indoors, or because they just feel like it, I'm all for it. It looks quirky and pretty.

Here are a couple of my favorites...

...street plants on Green Street...

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Street plants of Greenwich Street...

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Lovely!

xoxoxo

Succulent Terrariums

We have several of these ceiling hooks in our apartment...

 

... for hanging plants? I suppose, I have no idea what else one would do with them. They haven't been put to use yet. But I just saw these incredibly cute hanging succulent terrariums...

I'm just in love with them.

The plants look almost alien, don't they?

Floating away in their little spaceships.

This one in particular. It's called Baby Toes Succulent. Hah!

They would look just lovely hanging near the window.

They can be found at Monkeys Always Look shop on Etsy. (Love the shop name!)

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxoxo