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Sculpture with Spirit

| Flower Roberts

Ann Norton’s Sculpture Gardens at West Palm Beach, Florida was full of rare plants and huge sculpture,

but was never overwhelming or cluttered.  I need that skill.

Each large piece was carefully placed in its own palm grove alcove

to be discovered and experienced separately.

Ann Norton’s huge ‘Gateway’ pieces were formed from handmade brick. They were engineering marvels.

Gateway 4
Gateway 5

These two peices were made of bricks from North Carolina.

I especially loved the huge Horizontal piece in its own canal.  It’s bricks are from Mexico.  I love art that can be interpreted in many ways.  Ann Norton’s artwork left room for the imagination.

The ‘Seven Beings’ grouping of giant human figures could have been from the ancient past or the distant future.  They were not intimidating despite their size.

I loved how “someone” was looking at you no matter where you were standing.

Ann Norton ‘Seven Beings’

They stood silently in their own alley of palms. The individuals were slightly separated, so that each could be considered on its own as well as part of the “family/tribe.”

Each Being’s pose seemed to send some message through body language. I should have taken more photos of these. They were worth studying.

Ann Norton ‘Seven Beings’

Her former studio was open to be examined. I always find the workspace of others fascinating and inspiring.

Ann Norton Studio

In addition to her sculpture, there was a visiting exhibit of fabulous work by Israeli-American artist Boaz Vaadia and two hundred and fifty rare palms and cycads.

No, I will not be posting all 250 of them.  You wish!

Stay tuned.  Those are coming next.  The Florida blog blitz will continue.

FLOWER in Florida

 

We Are Real!

| Flower Roberts

Have you ever wondered if the bloggers that you follow are real people?

Well,  I have proof that both the Shrub Queen and the Flower are both real.

WE MET IN PERSON!

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I went on a trip to Florida with Mr. Flower. I sent Shrub Queen a message.

I was going to be staying near her location.

She came and picked me up.

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We spent a lovely day at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.

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That post will follow.

For now you can rest easy in knowing the Shrub Queen and the FLOWER are not robots.

The real FLOWER.

What’s so Great about Grass?

| Flower Roberts

We may need to rethink this fescue fetish we have here in America.

Who needs grass when you can have your own meadow and eat it too?

Bright yellow Dandelions and greens mixed with a tiny purple blooming mint named Gill-over-the-ground and violets.  Why that’s a giant salad. When is the last time you’ve eaten grass?

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Not only is it lovely, but Goldfinches eat the dandelion seeds too.  Recognize that yellow?

 

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Now you tell me how a lawn of nothing but green could beat this?

Birds and Blooms.   Just what I love.

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FLOWER

Cedar-apple Rust

| Flower Roberts

I am so glad I happened to have my camera during a trip to the dump.

As I was tossing recycle items into the bins, I spied orange gooey blobs on the surrounding cedar trees.

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(Honey you finish up here, the Flower is on a mission.)

I had not seen these orange galls/telia in about thirty years.

These are caused by a fungus, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginiana.

The fungus uses two host trees.

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The red cedar shown here is one type and the other type of host is apple trees.

The galls turn from a brownish ball to a mass of orange tentacles after a rain in the spring.

 

These galls/telia release spores which catch the wind and may find their way back to nearby apples trees to cause a rust on their leaves.

You never know when you may need your camera.  Always looking for a story.

FLOWER

 

The Art of Ditch Digging

| Flower Roberts

If you have used the term “ditch digging” to mean unskilled labor,

my guess is that you have never dug a ditch.

It is an art that has taken me years of mistakes to improve.  Notice I did not say “master.”

After seeing these photos, I spotted several glitches in my ditches which must be corrected.

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There are so many factors involved in a good ditch.

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The soil, the slope, the curves, the height and the amount of water.

I start with my small shovel an then fine tune with my long handled trowel.

(If you do not have one of these, stop reading and go get one now.)

It gives you torque that you never get with a standard- handled trowel.

Removed weeds go in a bucket after knocking off the dirt and worms back into the bed.

Next, comes removing all loose dirt by hand.  Roots are cut out with clippers.

A quick spray with a hose turns our good old Carolina red clay into a sun-baked brick wall.

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Turns need to be dug deep on the outside, like a meandering river.

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All trench ends need a deep basin filled with stone to stop the water and hold it.

River rock turns lovely colors when wet.

The fairy garden required a moat due to constant flooding.

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(Nobody wants to mess with a flooded out fairy.)

There is one last requirement, the ditches must be perfectly bunny-sized.

Not too deep, not too wide.

I had trouble getting my work done because they kept lying in them.

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Lastly,  about the photo of my tool ensemble, notice the snow disk?

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This is what I sit on as I scoot around in the yard.

Sorry. You can’t get one of these now.

But next winter,  remember ‘The Art of Ditch Digging’ while you are shoveling snow.

FLOW

If I were a fairy..

| Flower Roberts

If I were a fairy, I would live in a big oak tree.

I would have a slate patio to have parties on.

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I would have a garden full of tiny flowers like…

EpimediumIMG_7905

JessopIMG_7884

Little Lantern ColumbineIMG_7894

Fire Spinner DelospermaIMG_7903

Salvia nemorosa, ‘New Dimension Rose’IMG_7866

Sagina subulata, Irish mossIMG_7879

Wild fernsIMG_7880

with moss and lichens and lovely rocks for my friends to sit on.IMG_7870

I would have an urn full of Lily of the valley and violet blooms.IMG_7872

I would leave out a basket of treasures for children to find.IMG_7867

I would have a bowl full of cool water for my tiny, thirsty friends.IMG_7874

I would have a whirly-gig with the colors of the rainbow to spin in the breeze.IMG_7871

I would have a gazing ball with the colors of the Earth, so I could dream of all the places I have not been…yet.IMG_7865

If I were a fairy, I’d live here.

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Wouldn’t you?

FLOWER

My Daddy’s Little Airport

| Flower Roberts

I have previously shared photos of my daddy making one of his model planes.

https://floweralley.org/category/my-daddy/

Now, you get to see the results of years of work.

He has a tiny “airport” in his basement.

We have hung up most of his planes.

Mr. Flower and I did a photo shoot using a poster of a cloud as the backdrop.

Sometimes Mr. Flowers fingers appear in the sky. The flash from my camera adds a sunny touch.

We spent hours on a snowy day, positioning and repositioning the poster and the ladders.

It was a big production to get it all right without disturbing a plane.

We had to pen the bunnies up for this. As you can imagine, they were no help during the photo  shoot.

I did stop to take several dozen photos of them, too. I will share only one here.

Maybe two.

My daddy supplied the names of each plane.

The first one shown is one that he painted to be a replica of the plane he and his dad owned in the 1950’s.

Papaw’s Piper Supercub
P5I Mustang
Piper Super Cub
Super Marine Spitfire
TBF Avenger
P51 Mustang Redtails
JU 87B STUKA
Submarine Spitfire
Navy Attack Squadron VA-145 (?)
B17 Flying Fortress
F6F Hellcat Grumman
PT 17 Pilot Trainer
P47 Thunderbolt
Messerschmitt BF109
F4U-4 Corsair
P38 Lightning
Mitsubishi Zero
Super Sinbad Sail Plane

He wrote that this plane is his “favorite today.”

It was given to him by David Dunn in 1961.

P51 Mustang
Super Marine Spitfire
Super Sinbad Sail Plane

There are more here and there, but we will stop here.

Unless you’d like to see more bunny photos…

FLOWER

Too Many Toads

| Flower Roberts

As I was walking my morning rounds on Thursday to inspect the gardens,

I spied two toads locked in an embrace on the rocks outside the pond.

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Now I am no amphibian copulation expert, but I do know the fertilization is external and therefore requires water.

Was this a rehearsal? A practice session before entering the pond?

I took photos of the entranced toad couple and went about by business as they went about theirs.

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Many hours later, I walked back by the pond. They were still there.

The top toad, who we will call Mr. Backpack looked dry and maybe a little sunburned. (or was it afterglow?)

Mrs. Squeeze( the bigger, bottom toad) had turned a bit, but was still on the same rock as hours before.

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I began to wonder if we had a defective toad population.

Did they not know that this activity should be done in liquid?

By this time I was regularly checking the toads out of irritation rather than concern. Must I do everything? Can’t anyone do anything right without my help?

Must I lead a horny toad to water?

As I was weeding that afternoon I pulled up a clump of weeds with what I thought was a bulb attached.

When I pushed the “bulb” back down onto the ground, it smooshed and wiggled…another toad.

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Even after dark, the two aforementioned toads remained on the rocks. I should have dropped them into the pond,  but as a biologist, I did not want to aid and abet defective genes entering the pool. (No pun intended.)

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Finally, about nine PM, I spotted a pair of toads in a wrestling match in the lily box. I am yelling a blow-by-blow to my grown son and the neighborhood.

“She threw him off. He tried to get back on. She kicked him in the head. She kicked him again.”

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I suddenly stopped. Really? Another toad? By the pond on the rocks.  Were these even the same toads? Mr. Backpack looked too light colored.  Was it another Squeeze on the rocks or another Backpack?  I was thinking there were too many toads in our yard.

Here a toad, there a toad, everywhere a toad or two.

As I was walking past the carport to the weed pile, I saw a familiar silouette under my car.

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No worries.

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There will be more toads.

FLOWER

Egg Deco Steps

| Flower Roberts

Choose napkins with images and patterns that will fit onto your eggs.  My friends and I look for lovely napkins year-round. (We also decorate Christmas balls.)

Peel off the back 2 ply sheets of each napkin. You may want to cut up pieces before you get glue on your hands.IMG_7371

If a stick can be stuck into the egg, it is easier to handle. If not, I balance them on plastic cups with the bottoms removed.

Use foam sponges to cover part of the egg with Mod Podge glue. I use Matte finish for subtle colored napkins and Gloss finish for bright ones.

Place a piece of napkin on the glue covered spot.  Smooth it down with your finger or your brush. Cover the piece with more glue.

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Continue this method slightly overlapping each piece. I usually work on four to six eggs at a time, so that I can rotate working on different ones as others dry.

Let the completed eggs dry. Then cover with another thin layer of glue. If there is a hole where the stick went in, now is the time to cover it with a small scrap of napkin.

Glitter can be sprinkled on lightly at this point if desired.  I use more glitter if I hate how the egg looks.  (Think of it as egg “make-up.”)

Let completed eggs thoroughly dry before spraying them with a sealant. I use either a spray with a matte(flat) finish or a spray with a gloss finish. Spray eggs outside because the sealant stinks for several hours until completely dry. Spray in a bent up foil pan so the eggs won’t roll around.  The sealant sometimes reacts with plate surfaces, so foil is best.

I try to buy my eggs just before Easter, while they are marked down and use them the following year in my workshops.

I like wooden eggs, but my favorites are the foam ones covered with a plastic coating of various pastel colors with brown spots. Do not buy dark colored eggs.

I like using various sizes of eggs also.

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This is a very enjoyable hobby, especially if a group of friends does it together.  I enjoy watching people get hooked on it.  Young artist are especially inspiring to observe.

Once you have the supplies, you can do it year after year and share your creations.

I gave my trainer one of my favorite eggs today.  She really liked it.  She deserved a solid gold egg. Thanks Ronda!

P.S.  Get ready for a FLOWER blitz. No, I do not mean blooms. I mentally write while I drive and garden. Since I have done a lot of driving and gardening this week, I have many thoughts to share.

My next post will be on WAITING, because Good Friday is a hard day for me. Please don’t send a sermon. I taught Sunday school and raised two children in the church, so I have had to explain “shepherds killing Jesus” over and over. This was the words the young children used. Everyone in robes was a shepherd.

Another post in the works is entitled “From Now On, NO!   Ladies this is for you. I have been making a NO list. I have acquired many responsibilities that are getting ditched.  These tasks are in my way. I will be purging my list. Look out friends and family. Flower is taking back her power.

Be inspired or irritated.  Your choice.

Flow