winter is over!

winter is o-v-e-r, despite the fact that it is snowing lightly, the ground is frozen and we have had wind gusts over 50 mph today. the fact is, it is 33 degrees: above freezing, and that is this winter's last hooray: yeah! how do i know? i saw daffodils leaves arising from the soil under a tree where the snow has melted. 

united states botanical garden

here is a quick shot while driving past the united states botanical garden earlier this week. the botanical garden is a great place to visit in dc this time of year because it is so warm and very humid inside due to the orchid show: great for soothing winter's dry skin and blistered spirit here on the snowbound east coast. i heart those crazy-huge greenhouses!

ambiente planters

ambiente 2010, the largest international fair of consumer goods was held in frankfurt the week before last- i just forgot about it because i was buried in snow. i picked some of my favorites from the slide show on contemporist, and not surprisingly, they all have to do with gardening and plants!

how to own your own private island

need to get away but short on funds? bring your own private island to you...from etsy seller monocotoleydon. 

seeds for the new year

i was at the hardware store when i saw the rack of seeds: the weather has been so hopeless foul that i actually think i forgot about spring! the snow has finally melted down enough for me to find the seed starting supplies i had left near the back door. now i need to sort my seeds, order new ones, plant the seeds and organize and catalog everything on the master gardener app

my brother and i designed for

the iphone and itouch. 

blue canary night light

i love birds, so when i spied this adorable blue canary night light, i just had to have it. 

how to make a cocoon

ask designer mans salomonsen who created one to store fruits and vegetables and grow herbs.

via contemporist.

clean burning coal

doesnt matter how cold it gets: clean burning coal powers through...killing the bay.

digging out

the big dig continued all day. we have received a total of 45" since last weekend's blizzard, phase 1. three vehicles have been dug out: the old white pick up truck is stll parked in the neighbor's driveway, covered in snow; the motorcycle trailer appears to have collapsed under the snow's weight. our street finally saw a county plow at about 5:00pm today.

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winter garden shows

Ok, i am sick of talking about, looking at and thinking about snow: we got another 15" today! of course i am thinking of gardening. when will i see a snow crocus? i usually see them now. what about some much needed inspiration? indoors? yes! here is a list of upcoming garden shows: hope one is in your area.

•ORCHID SPECTACULAR: through March 14, Belmont, NC 

•THE CONNECTICUT FLOWER and GARDEN SHOW: FEB 18-21
•THE RHODE ISLAND SPRING FLOWER and GARDEN SHOW: Feb.18-21, providence, RI
•AKRON HOME and FLOWER SHOW: FEB 26-28
•PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW: Feb. 28-March 7
•SOUTHERN SPRING HOME and GARDEN SHOW: March 3-7, Charlotte, NC
•EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FLOWER and GARDEN FESTIVAL: March 3–May 16, 
•CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS FLOWER SHOW: MARCH 5-7, worcester, ma
•CHICAGO FLOWER and; GARDEN SHOW: march 6-14, navy pier
•BOSTON FLOWER and GARDEN SHOW: march 24-28

•THE CINCINNATI 21st ANNUAL FLOWER SHOW: april 17-25 
•PIEDMONT PLANT AND FLOWER FESTIVAL: April 29-May 2, Greenville, SC.
•CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW: May 25-29, Chelsea, London, England. 

how to create colorful gardens

one of my favorite blogs is colourlovers: they cover all things color-related and host a social-network for color-enthusiasts. today colourlovers did a wonderful post on visual sources for creating colorful gardens, including photos, links, books and gardeners to follow on twitter. great inspiration during this bleak time here in maryland. 

blizzard 2010

we are still so buried here! and 18 more inches of snow are forecast for tomorrow: ugh! my garden arbor over the gate is actually twisted from the weight of the snow: need to knock that stuff off tomorrow morning. no worries, though: the mister went to safeway, giant , whole foods and finally costco to ensure we had it all, considering the impending doom. I carry on in the studio, as usual.

snowed in by the blizzard of 2010

well: the blizzard is over, but we got 30 inches here in kensington!

this week's blizzard

well, its here! the monster blizzard of 2010 started at about noon today...it took a while to stick, but we have about a foot now, right before midnight. the previous snowstorms have knocked over three of my 'sky-rocket' junipers. before the heavy snow started today i tied them back and propped them up, hoping to save them from being buried under the two feet of heavy, wet snow predicted to fall before it's all over.

snow on the chesapeake

6 inches of snow saturday...6 more yesterday...12-24 predicted for the weekend:

i feel like i live in antartica!

it can be pretty, though.

this lovely photo sent from my girl, roseanne, she lives down on the chester river and has never seen snow so close to the water's edge.