Sunday Flowers

I hope you are all having a good weekend. Does it feel like fall where you are? It was pretty cold Saturday morning, but, wonder of wonders, the coastal clouds and fog dissipated before noon and we had a beautiful sunny day, complete with blue skies. (Why do we say "skies"? We only have the one) The photo above is of a succulent, but I have no idea what kind. Ideas? It is the only photo in today's Sunday Flowers that is of an actual flower, but I hope you'll forgive that and enjoy anyway.

Below is one of my Aeonium succulents that I got from Nadia. This one was a cutting and is still quite small, but they get to be several feet tall if they're happy where they are planted. I love having this one in my planter for a contrasting color.
I just couldn't resist showing you this cute little pepper! I have some larger ones, but they're not nearly as cute, so no picture of them yet. The pepper at least used to be a flower...

Seedlings and flowers and facebook, oh my!

Look! I've got Forget-Me-Nots blooming in my vertical garden! I was super excited when I saw them, because not only are they pretty, but they are proof that the idea works. yay! Other things are growing, too. These are Nasturiums, more Forget-Me-Nots, and some Rosemary. Also growing are Basil, Poppies, Marigolds, and Spinach.

As for flowers, when my parents were visiting, one of our outings was to the Flower Fields, which is where lots and lots and lots of Ranunculus are grown for their seeds, bulbs, and cut flowers. They closed for the season after Mother's Day, but if you're in the area next spring, they are definitely worth a vist. Nadia over at Nadia Knows Gardens did a very thorough post about her visit if you'd like to read more. I just took a pretty picture!

Finally, I now have a real Facebook url so that it's much easier to find me and become a fan. facebook.com/ShortandSweets Once you're a fan, you'll receive updates, extra info, and a link to new blog posts.

Vegan Veggie Pot Pie

I don't know about you, but I have a weakness for bakeware. It's kind of a problem because everywhere I shop I see dishes I want and imagine things I can make in them. I'm pretty good at resisting the siren call, especially for things that only make one dish or take up a lot of room. However, the other week I found myself with a gift card at a discount home store and found this pretty pie dish that called out to be set on the counter with delicious smelling steam rising from it. So I bought it. And a cookbook.
But I didn't get so many other things!

Vertical Garden

Over the past few months, the landscaping outside of my apartment has been torn out and replaced. Unfortunately, this included taking out a couple of big trees that provided wonderful shade from the morning sun. This was especially key in the hot, intensely sunny summer months. Curtains help, but I know that blocking the sun before it hits the glass is crucial to keeping the apartment cool. As I previously mentioned, I had a grand vertical garden plan that I started seeds for awhile back. Today I'm showing you what I did and how easily you can do it. Read on!

Updates and a new way to search Etsy

OK, first the bad news. That recipe I posted a link to in this post because it sounded good? NOT good. I made it last night and promptly poured it down the drain. Which is something I don't do. like, ever. It tasted ucky and adding things didn't help enough. That's why there's no picture of it on here today. So now you know- don't try it at home, folks!

Now, good news! I have little spinach sprouting already! yay. Hopefully more things will follow.
Also, on HowAboutOrange, another blog, Jess posted about a new way to search on Etsy. it's fantastic because you can see a billion results at once instead of a measly 33. Check it out here!

Spring is coming! Seeds and more

Last night and today I got my seeds started! I have a grand vertical garden plan, so hopefully these babies will sprout and grow strong and not too big. The lavender seeds I talked about in this post didn't do anything. nada. I'm not blaming the seeds (yet), but instead the fact that the day I planted them kicked off 8 days of rain. So they didn't get sun. This is my theory. I just started some more, and hopefully they will sprout. Then I can make yummy things like Lavender Extract. mmmm sounds yummy. (if it works, some of you can probably anticipate Christmas presents). On a related note, if you love gardens and gardening, check out Nadia Knows Gardens for a pretty and informative blog by my classmate.
This lovely Ranunculus was $1 this weekend and I couldn't resist! This area is somewhat known for them, mostly because of The Flower Fields, which are gorgeous in the springtime. You should visit if you get a chance!

And, finally, on a side note, I am very interested in trying out this recipe from Martha Stewart. It looks and sounds scrumptious!

Planning Ahead

it does happen sometimes.

I just planted my lavender seeds that I got. I figured out last week that I wanted to bake some things with flowers in them for flavoring and color and overall coolness. To bake with flowers, they really need to be organic since I don't think most people (myself included) would want to eat miracle-gro or pesticides. In a handy coincidence, I got a rose plant for Christmas that's waking up on the patio in a planter full of organic soil. Regular garden stores (or super stores) don't sell lavender seeds, I discovered, just plants that are definitely not organic. So I went online and found "French Perfume" seeds at Shepherd Seeds as suggested by a helpful garden center guy. They are sitting in their organic soil on my kitchen windowsill. Hopefully waking up from hibernation soon!