Boring But True

It's not officially summer until the houseplants can be set out.

Sky View

Houseplants spending the summer outside. All my cooling racks are rusting from being used as drainage/ circulation. These guys really take a hit in winter because the air is so dry from the wood stove. They're loving the way-higher-than-average rainfall and humidity this year.

Last Year's Orchid

I got it to bloom once, but now it just looks sick. I reckon it's too dry in here in winter.

Just Barney and Orchid

This one's been blooming for four months straight.

Happy Mail

Here's the awesome vase my brother sent me from Utah (the blue and beige one). Ignore the grossness to the left- that's my little compost bin. I've been looking for something better to use, honest! For now, just imagine it feeding flowers once it's out of my kitchen. The other two vases are houseplant cuttings. And the lotion is just lotion. Just so you know.

Oooh looky!

Got one today- a variegated abutilon, aka flowering maple. It's a flowering houseplant. Never too soon to plan for winter color, ya know.

Flowers Indoors Too

The giant Amaryllis is blooming again, bigger and better than ever. If you go outside, it seems like it's looking out the window at you- kinda feed-me-Seymour-ish! The smaller one on the left is getting ready to bloom too.

RushRushRush!

Our party is tonight... the wreaths aren't made, the driveway isn't plowed, the food shopping isn't done, the drink station isn't set up, and on and on. But ya know what? My mister is getting home early, Dad is coming to help and it's all gonna come together. Besides, the Christmas cactus looks lovely!

We're having Winter House to celebrate the season. It just so happens that it coincides with the Winter Solstice- 1:08 am EST, so I reckon we'll be having a bonfire in addition to slot car racing in the kitchen and a wreath-making station in the bathroom!

Remember When I Said I Was Going to Play in the Dirt?

Morning, kids! Look what we have here- Paperwhite kits for sale!

What's available: Little kits (one bulb per pot) $10

Larger kits (3 bulbs per pot) $20

What you get: Clear, very simple instructions and a cluster of lovely, fragrant little flowers about 5 weeks after you start watering them.

Bonus: They come securely packaged in a 6" square box with ribbon and a name tag. One less gift to buy and wrap!

To order: Just shoot us an e-mail (brokenbarn@gmail.com) and tell me how many/ what size. We accept Paypal, USPS money orders, cold hard cash and/ or heavy labor in trade.

They're a great gift for gardeners, but I think anyone can appreciate flowers blooming in the house in the dead of winter! If you click on the "paperwhites" tag at the end of this post, you'll see a picture of mine in bloom.

I Got My Boots- Woohoo!

Good morning, kids! Yesterday was a banner day at the Barn for several reasons. First of all, my new boots came via FedEx first thing in the morning. I wasn't even dressed yet, but I was so excited that I put them on with my pajamas! So much awesome (see pic).

After that, I shipped a lovely apple pie direct to NYC. Can ya stand it? People in the Big Apple have every food imaginable right at their fingertips, and yet they want OUR pie! This is the first time we've attempted shipping. Our gracious customer agreed to take pix when it arrives so we can make sure it survived intact. I have a good feeling about this and foresee more shipping in the future.

What's everyone up to today? I'm gonna spend the day catching up on things, wrapping goodies, visiting and scoring a bathroom scale- so does anyone out there have one you aren't using? If so, I want it for calculating postage! Think of it as a treasure hunt. Whoever gives me one gets a prize! (And no, the prize will not be a massive $30 pie- sorry. The prize is little, but big fun!)

That's all for now, kids. Take joy, as Tasha Tudor would say. If you don't know who she is, she's so worth a Google!

PS: By the by, that beautiful plant on the table is my Walking Iris. She's supposed to bloom in January or February. Gotta have the flowers! And those are catalpa seed pods in the vase. I'm gonna grow me a tree come springtime :)

Flowers For All of You! (Well, cyber flowers, anyway)

These are for all of you that clicked on us or sent us on to friends yesterday- thank you! We got over 60 hits and two pie orders- you guys rock!

That arrangement was made entirely from flowers that grow here on the farm- nice, huh? In addition to those, we planted over 150 bulbs this fall and loads of other perennials, so spring is gonna be really exciting! We also got our first seed catalogs this past week. I have my eye on the $150 lady slippers.

I know- it's Christmas time, and I'm getting way ahead of myself, but kids, I love flowers. Besides, we do have 2 Christmas cacti in bloom, plus I plan to get poinsettias and mistletoe soon.

Okay, my coffee's kickin' in. Time to start my day.

Thanks for clicking!

PS: Props to my mister for his mad photo skillz!