All posts tagged: garden

hello dah-ling.

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Some major flower crown inspiration here! I’ve been wanting to visit the dahlia farms in Petaluma. I didn’t have the opportunity to go this season, but I did get to visit the dahlias in Golden Gate Park. This garden is near the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers and is maintained by the Dahlia Society of California. It’s a small garden but packed with so many varieties of dahlias! Apparently, dahlias come in a range of sizes from 2 inches in diameter to over 10 inches! Some, I didn’t recognize to be dahlias. They are all so different! Lucky me, they were in full bloom on my visit (first weekend in October). I later learned that dahlias are the official flower of San Francisco, so it seemed fitting to go see the San Francisco dahlia garden first (before Petaluma). Are you a dahlia fan? What’s your favorite variety? Mine is all. 🙂

go big!

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What happens when you haven’t created with your hands in over four months and you sign up for your first in person creative workshop in over a year and a half? You get super excited and create a larger than life wreath, question if it will fit in the car to take home after class, and wonder if it will even fit your regular sized front door. Seriously, I thought my 2019 winter wreath was gigantic. I didn’t think I could create something even larger! Abby Dale of Craft + Work taught this wreath making class in the Royal Bee Yarn Company‘s recently renovated garden space. Abby has taken some of my felt workshops at Craft + Work; it was so fun to take a class that she was leading! She provided lots of guidance, inspo, and encouragement throughout class. Abby brought a huge spread of foliage – milkweed, sage, rosemary, magnolia leaves, eucalyptus, succulents… – some from the San Francisco Flower Mart and others from her garden. You really couldn’t go wrong selecting foliage …

annie’s.

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One day I’ll have a garden of my own. For now I have a patio with potted plants and places like Annie’s Annuals and Perennials to enjoy. This was my first time at the nursery, and I almost didn’t make it in time. I was the last person allowed in ten minutes before closing. It wasn’t enough time to explore the whole nursery, but it was plenty of time to be in awe of the plant varieties they carry and take lots of pictures. The nursery is large and packed with so many different kinds of plants that there’s a guidebook! It’s like the Disneyland of nurseries. I feel like I could learn a lot about flowering plants from hanging out in the nursery and talking to the staff. Each plant has an info card with care tips and photos of the blooms, too. I love me a good info card, and I will stop to read all of them. I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to make any good plant decisions in my …

garden wreaths.

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I designed a special wreath project for the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek and it launches on Saturday! I taught my felt succulent garden class as a pre-recorded, self-paced workshop with the Garden back in May and the Program Coordinator Alice loved the idea of hosting a wreath workshop with both succulents and florals inspired by the flowers that bloom in the garden. Since in-person events are still on hiatus, we planned for this second class to be a pre-record, self-paced workshop, too. The wreaths feature a variety of generic succulents plus two flowers inspired by Eriocephalus africanus (white with black center) and Baileya multiradiata (yellow). I prepared kits with a 10-inch grapevine wreath, felt in a succulent palette and floral colors, templates, and step by step instructions. Plus, a video tutorial! If we were to hold the class in person we would have set up in the event center patio. But crafting in the comfort of your home in pajamas is also fun! I loved creating this special project for the Garden! PS …

tiny pots.

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Sometimes I see a craft supply and I’m like I have no idea what I’m going to make with this, but I need to make something with this and then I buy it. Sometimes I buy three of it. This time around I spotted tiny pots and I made tiny macrame plant holders! For this project you will need: tiny pots, non-stretchy cord, scissors, and plants. I used handmade felt flowers, but you can use real plants, too. Cut three pieces of cord three feet in length. Fold all three pieces in half and tie an overhand knot. Pull on each individual string to tighten the knot. You should have six strands. Next, we’ll work with cord pairs. Tie an overhand knot with each cord pair at least five inches down from the initial knot. Then tie an overhand knot with the right cord from the first pair and the left cord from the second pair, another with the right cord from the second pair and the left cord from the third pair, and another …

the other rbg.

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My “craft fame” brought me to this hidden gem: the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek! I was invited to teach a crafty workshop in the garden this spring so I came for a tour of the workshop space. If the weather is good I’ll be teaching out on the patio with garden views; if it’s cold we’ll set up indoors in the new event space. After my crafty workshop tour, I got to explore the garden! It is a beauty! The Bancroft family owned over 400 acres of Walnut Creek. The property was a fruit farm in the late 1800s and was passed down for generations. Eventually, the family sold much of the land and the last of the fruit trees were cut down. Philip Bancroft, Jr, encouraged his wife Ruth to take over the land with her plant collection. Apparently, she owned so many potted plants – she was an original plant lady! The garden now sits on 3.5 acres, and their original family home still sits on the property (you can see …

gardens of DC.

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I went on a work trip to Washington DC and I made sure to go exploring every chance I got! This was my first time back since my junior year of high school. I remember visiting places I had learned about in history class. This time, at the top of my list were gardens and art museums/installations! Behold, the gardens of DC. United States Botanic Garden. The U.S. Botanic Garden spans a section of the National Mall. I was so excited to be there, the lobby folks gave us additional coloring books and orchid-gami sheets for enthusiasm! 🙂 There were different gardens to explore – desert plants, medicinal plants, the tropics, and my favorite – the edible garden! They also had an exhibit featuring gardens around the United States. My favorite was the Tucson Botanical Gardens display with the blue walls. Community Garden at Woodrow Wilson Plaza. We stumbled upon a community garden while exploring town. For part of the year they hold Friday Farmers Markets in the space. We spotted giant okra. Enid A. …

sunnylands.

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Yay! I finally made my way to Sunnylands! I had never heard of Sunnylands until my colleague who lives and works nearby told me about it. I was super intrigued. It’s free to visit the grounds. If you’re feeling extra, you can also go on a guided tour of the garden and house. There’s a cafe, and a gift shop with the cutest desert mod birdhouses. But I was there to get my cactus fix! Seriously, why are groups of cacti so amazing to look at? Sunnylands is perfectly manicured and they’ve got plenty of desert plants to enjoy. On my visit it was a perfect 75 degrees (ok fine, that was really hot for me, but the shade was lovely!). I had a snack with my friends, we strolled, and I watercolored. Even though there were people around, it was a tranquil place. It just felt so peaceful and welcoming. This was my last visit to the Coachella Valley for work (for now!) but if I’m ever back in the area I definitely want …

cactus pricklies.

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Back in the desert! A quick work trip to the Palm Springs area means I get to do a little exploring. I stumbled upon Moller’s Garden Center  where cactus dreams come true. Moller’s has lots of plant varieties, but I was in the market for a cactus to bring home to my parents. I am obsessed with cacti right now (I blame Moorten). They don’t fair too well in the Bay Area (where I live); my parents, though live in a warm and dry climate – perfect for cacti! I got these lil nuggets. One turns purple in the winter! You can see it here turning back to green… I also found out the furry fuzzy soft looking dots on these cacti are not cute and fluffy at all. I rammed my hand into the purple one while trying to stop the cart and all those little pricklies, though they looked like fur on my knuckles, were painful to remove. I still have spikes in my hand that were too small to remove; it’s been over …

planter party.

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Free Home Depot workshop? I’m in! Home Depot has monthly DIH or do it herself workshops. The workshops are made for beginners, and they walk you through a simple home project. This month we made wall planters. The DIH workshops are generally taught in demo fashion and you have to purchase supplies and make your project at home. But tonight we got hands on access and got to take home what we made for free. Score! Our instructor cut the wood for us and we sanded and stained, and attached all the hardware. This was probably dangerous, but I totally used power tools while wearing sandals! 😛 With the right tools and space, this is a super easy project. I’m not a big fan of the sawdust (it’s messy and I don’t want to breathe it in), but I did enjoy the staining part (just like painting!). Tahdah! Now, what plant to use and where to hang? Home Depot might be my Third Thursday hangout from now on…