Moss y Mas

Bright green moss has to be one of my favorite plants in the world-- it just always looks so 'secret garden' to me. Most of the moss I see in Texas is that nasty, gray curly stuff that my Dad would put on his head (he's bald) and pretend he had a full head of wiry, curly hair. Love that man. Anyways, what I love about this particular green moss is that it gorgeous, but you can grow it any way you want!

Here's a recipe for moss graffiti:

1 can of beer
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Several clumps garden moss

You will also need a plastic container (with lid),
a blender and a paintbrush
_________________________________________________

To begin the recipe, first of all gather together several clumps of moss (moss can usually be found in moist, shady places) and crumble them into a blender. Then add the beer and sugar and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Now pour the mixture into a plastic container.

Find a suitable damp and shady wall on to which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design onto the wall (either free-hand or using a stencil). If possible try to return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to re-couperate into a whole rooted plant – maintaining your chosen design before eventually colonizing the whole area.

From storiesfromspace.co.uk

Hill Country Respresent.

[Illustration from Rudat's blog]
I've been really getting into this Moleskine business. I'm trying to force myself to draw something new every day.. I'll post those soon. For now, I want everyone to check out Susan Rudat's blog and see her illustrations. I noticed her amazing work on skineart.com and she happens to be living in Wimberly, Texas. The Hill Country is evident in a lot of her work. My favorites are the ones that involve the river and knotty trees-- definitely what I miss most about that San Marcos.

Here's my own photo from Hamilton Pool in Austin, Texas from a few weeks ago...

Plant Thereapy

Call me a nerd, but I was soo excited when I received a terrarium for my birthday. A couple months ago I saw something about the terrariums at the Ace Hotel lobby in Portland (ALL of its interiors are amazing).I'm out of town just about every weekend so I've had some trouble just keeping my mint leaves watered and alive, so this is perfect. I can't wait to add to it.. Thanks Chelsey :)

Shangri La Gardens

Yesterday we got up early and went to the Shangri La Gardens in Orange, Texas. Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is the first project in Texas and the 50th project in the world to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum Certification for LEED®-NC, which verifies that the design and construction of Shangri La reached the highest green building and performance measures.

Orange is a small town that hasn't seen much growth over the past 25 years, so it was cool to see such a beautiful, new garden with modern Green facilities. All of the buildings were so attractive.

I couldn't possibly post all the pictures I took.. with my cameraphone. I swear, I'm getting a decent camera soon. Anyway, these are just a few of the pictures. All the pictures of orchids and other flowers I took didn't do the plants justice so they're getting left out all together.

Pitcher plant-- holds water and catches bugs.

Everything about the garden is green.. it recycles rainwater, uses wood and brick from Hurricaine Rita, uses solar energy, etc. I asked one nice, old man who worked there what he did if he saw snakes and he said he won't kill them because there's "too many tree-huggers 'round here."

We spent about three hours walking around the 252-acre tract and admiring the plants, birds, flowers and butterflies. Sunshine and Lemon pie!



These bottle trees were cool, something I might try when it's house time.

From wikipedia:

Glass "bottle trees" orginated in Northern Africa during a period when superstitious people believed that a genii or imp could be captured in a glass bottle. Legend had it that empty glass bottles placed outside the home could "capture" roving (usually evil) spirits at night, and the spirit would be destroyed the next day in the sunshine. This practice was taken to Europe and North America by African slaves. While Europeans adapted them into hollow glass spheres known as "witch balls" the practice of hanging bottles in trees became widespread in the Southern states of North America, where they continue to be used today as colorful garden ornaments.