Showing posts with label plants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plants. Show all posts

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Hostas


dscn2022
Originally uploaded by runawaypenguin
My apologies for the total silence over the last however-many days, I've been dealing with figuring out a new city, getting a job, and finding an apartment. As you can imagine, time for knitting (and blogging) has been virtually nonexistent. I've made significant progress on all three counts, but I expect updates to be fairly infrequent for a while.

One of the last things I did at home was help with a major installation of plants at my parents' house, following a design I submitted for class in the fall semester. This is a shot of one of the plantings, and I can't wait to see what it looks like when the hostas are established enough to be divided. Before this project I was never a fan of hostas, but once I started looking through the catalog at Bridgewood Gardens I was hooked. I love watering these guys, I felt like I could see them getting stronger every day. If the only thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "hosta" is a boring green plant next to somebody's driveway, take a look over at the Bridgewood Gardens website. You might be surprised.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Bulbs again!


DSCN1356
Originally uploaded by runawaypenguin
The knitting hasn't totally ceased, but it's small and it's a surprise, so this will have to do for now.

(study study study)

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Smith College Bulb Show


DSCN1320
Originally uploaded by runawaypenguin
The annual bulb show opened last Friday night, and one of my housemates arranged for us to have a sneak preview earlier in the afternoon. It's certainly a lot easier taking photographs when you aren't in a constant (though slow moving) stream of people. It was even possible to turn around and go against the flow of traffic. I know that somewhere in the bulb show are about a dozen pots that I planted myself, but I didn't take note of which species I was putting in, so the prospects of finding any are pretty slim.

I've been back a few times since, and it's amazing how much the flowers have opened in only a few short days. They're keeping the temperature on the chilly side so they bloom for as long as possible, but there's only so much you can do against the march of time. I'd like to go back and take more pictures, just to compare, but I'm worried about the traffic issue. Historically, during the two weeks the show is open between 20,000 and 25,000 people visit the Botanic Garden. It certainly hasn't felt as crowded as it sounds, but it takes maneuvering.

During Horticulture lab yesterday we spent a few minutes soaking up the colors and scents and I was right in front of a girl about 8 years old taking pictures of flowers. She turned to her mom and said something like the following: "I like taking pictures. I'm going to use these so I can decide what to put in my wedding bouquet." A number of older visitors thought this was charming, but her mother was not amused. I don't think I would be either.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Alouette progress

I'm nearly done with the first repeat of the stripe pattern, which means I'm done with a bit more than 1/10th of the sweater. It seems so much smaller when I think of it that way. So far there haven't been any major mistakes. Two rows into the first color change I realized that four rows earlier I skipped a yarn over right in the middle. I went back to fix it, and then I realized I had used the wrong color when I switched. It looks much better with the brown, the lavender was kind of blah.

I'm taking a class on Landscape Plants & Issues, and for my field guide I've been taking pictures of lots of the plants on campus. Here is one of my favorites:
This is a picture of Liriope spicata, which is used as a groundcover. It is a bulb, and remains green for most of the year. It gets ratty for a few weeks at the end of the winter, but when new growth begins it arches out from the center and covers old growth. It shouldn't be mowed and it is easy to rake. It spreads by lateral rhizomes and tolerates shade to sun as long as it isn't dry.

Knitting may be slow around these parts for a while, so there will probably be a few more plant updates.