Oulu

A little bar I love in Williamsburg, Oulu, on N. 4th street... The facade is an extensive greenwall! I'll be by next year to take some shots of how it takes winter.







Dwell did an article on it after it was installed & they have the facts:
The succulents are planted in 35 or so panels of soil, each less than three inches thick, which are screwed to the wall. A hidden watering system gives them a steady spritz. A living wall can easily be planted on a residential façade, Marni says, at a cost of about $50 a square foot. Interior walls are roughly $30 more per square foot because they contain tropical plants, which are more expensive.

bits and pieces

My niece, Ava, makes us wonder what holidays were before she was around! She is two and the most beautiful little cherub! One evening after work I was walking in Manhattan and happened to pass a toy store displaying the "Inchworm" in the window... I was jolted back (not going to say how many years) to my early childhood when I had an inchworm, and it turns out that this is some sort of revival toy! I went in and it said for ages 2-5 so I got it for Ava... Carrying it home on a crowded evening subway garnered many amused looks!

Needless to say, it was a huge hit! What can I say - I understand a child's mind...



Kevin reminded me that there were no shots of the love shack on my Dad's property, so here it is! And yes, we had a beautifully white Christmas! That is "the bench" knee deep in snow to the left.



This is a little nest Ben and I came across in a little tree outside of the Sherborn Inn, one of our favorite (and the only one in such a small town) watering holes. We love the micro brews on draft, bar stools on casters and big screen tv that shows sports (ok, ok, he loves the sports, I ask annoying questions about the sports!)

Another great bench

I don't know exactly why I obsess over garden benches, but I do...




This one is in front of the love shack, is rotting and missing an arm and is absolutely divine!

Nature walks in Vermont

My Dad and stepmom just built a new home in Woodstock Vermont. It's in the middle of nowhere and will be a land trust as soon as he cons one of his neighbors into letting him buy a couple more acres. We have always taken extensive family hikes, walks, adventures, so of couse, Ben and I were taken on an intensive exploration of the property line (and a lot in between).

We found a bunch of these mushrooms growing on rotting tree stumps - my guess is "Coral" Clavariaceae mushroom family. Danger: some are edible, some are NOT!


The above fern is a mini! growing out of the steps of the "Love Shack" on the property (it's an old hunting/camping structure with a heart shaped window in the door). I don't know exact species on this one... however...

Below is a killer stand of Maiden Hair Fern "Adiantim pictatum" I love I love I love this fern.





Above: Actaea pachypoda (Doll's-eyes, White Baneberry) finding these undisturbed native colonies is like pirate booty!


Someone (Ben!) knocked some lichen off a log, so I decided to transplant it somewhere else in the woods... I do not know if this is really something that can be done by simply placing the lichen on another stump... But I'd like to think it is that way! Grow lichen grow!

Happy Winter Solstice!

In my pagen heart I am all for celebrating the days getting longer! YAY! Darkness at 4:30 can be a bit much... It's also that amazing sense that everything is constantly changing and that's just how it is - and I love that - no control. The only constant is change.

"the sun rules the day,
and the moon rules the night,
and the stars bring light to the darkness"
Something I borrowed from Luke from Miss Lulu's myspace page...



Invierno (winter), 1573 
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 
Musee du Louvre

"Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year. It is from this point that the days begin slowly to become longer and longer. The sun is at its most southeastern point over the Tropic of Capricorn in the northern hemisphere and has no apparent northward or southward motion. In the time of the ancient tribes this was a time of celebration, for it meant the turning point of winter and the eventual return of spring."

Snow in the garden

Sorry I've been so slow to write lately... work and life have been taking their tolls. I am looking forward to my last week of work until March, my company goes on unemployment and those of us who have been busting our asses get to travel, indulge, get some sleep...! I had taken everything down in the garden except for this echinacea who would just not stop blooming!



We do a lot of evergreen arrangements this time of year so our clients have something to look at other than pots of dirt and bare branches! These boughs are sprayed with an anti-dessicant to keep them from drying out.