Monthly Archives: December 2009

Maclay Gardens

Posted by Lesley on December 28, 2009 1 comments

On our way back from Alford, my mom and I stopped in Tallahassee to visit Maclay Gardens.  Great stop – it’s less than five minutes off the highway and the property covers 28 acres.  It only cost us $6 for the day because we were visiting off-season.  The gardens are at their peak between January and April; that’s when the Maclays used to visit during the 1920′s, 30′s and 40′s.  We may have been early, but the ornamental magnolias still offered a show…

…with a cameo by a zebra butterfly.

Zebra Longwing is the official state butterfly of Florida, but this is the first one I’ve seen.  They must like the cooler weather.  It was in the 50′s – brrrr!  Wearing a jacket and looking up at masses of white moss hanging like icicles from the trees is as close to winter as it gets in Florida:

This is one of the secret gardens.  It holds every color of pansy you can imagine.

The gardeners cut out diamonds in the Creeping Fig to expose the brick underneath.  The diamonds line the inner wall that keeps the garden hidden.  It seems simple to do, and the effects are dramatic.

Uncle Sam’s Christmas Ornaments

Posted by Lesley on December 27, 2009 8 comments

Thanks to the uncles Christmas visit and their cooler, we’ve been enjoying fresh eggs all weekend.  Uncle Sam brought another treat courtesy of the chickens…

Chicken foot Christmas ornaments – bedazzled, of course!  For those of you thinking “This guy is sick” – you’re absolutely right about that but not when it comes to his girls.  From luxe accommodations to fresh spring water, these are among the most well cared for hens you’ll ever meet.  Here’s an example – this year’s Christmas card:

That’s Uncle Sam on the right with one of the girls – a Barred Rock, I believe.

This is the other ornament he made – a Grinch made out of okra.  He normally paints Santa, but the okra suits the Grinch’s pointy features much better.  In case you’re curious about the process, both the chicken feet and okra were placed in a dehydrator before being painted.

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Lesley on December 25, 2009 10 comments

I spent last week in Alford, FL with my mom.  Alford is a small town located deep in the woods of the Florida panhandle.  The roads are made of clay without a stop sign in sight.  We had a great time watching the birds and crafting.  We were feeling inspired by our surroundings and a blog post on Family Hiatus.  This is my Christmas wreath made with the local greenery.  The berries are courtesy of the endless Yaupon Holly trees.

This is what I started with.  The form only cost $3.17 at Walmart!  It’s an 18″ grapevine wreath.  It was so simple; I didn’t have to use glue or ties of any kind.  The leaves and twigs wound right into the wreath with no problems.

My mom made this candle holder out of pine cones and acorns.  The base is a piece of circular styrofoam spray painted brown.  She scraped out a small circle in the center to hold the candle then attached the pine cones and acorns with a hot glue gun.  It looks beautiful but may or may not be highly flammable.  To ensure a merry Christmas, do not light!

My Apologies

Posted by Lesley on December 14, 2009 3 comments

It’s been pointed out to me how terribly rude it is to leave you hanging.  I completely agree and am very sorry.  Lettuce Share is still active.  As soon as January hits, there will be garden stories galore.  But I just graduated, so give me a break!  The flattened bird on my last post was symbolic for the way I had been feeling under the stress of term papers and finals.  Like the bird, I’ve recovered and am free!

This time I’ll leave you with a prettier picture – my first Frangipani bloom of the year.  Frangipani, AKA Plumeria, are the flowers that Hawaiian leis are made from.