Monday, September 21, 2020

A Tropical Chinoiserie Halloween

Target Raffia Pumpkins

 I had a lovely weekend. I saw these Opal House raffia pumpkins online, and buzzed over to Target yesterday morning to get them before they sell out. So fun. They come in four colors and I got each plus multiples of the pink. I am waiting a couple more weeks to get real pumpkins for the front entrance - not sure how long they last with this heat and humidity. I have read that heat and humidity speed up the rotting process, and ideal temps are in the 50s, not the 80s. So I will enjoy these darling raffias ones inside for the time being.

And I bought some beautiful hydrangeas for my newest barnacle vase - now these vases are popping up everywhere. It's funny how once something is on your radar screen, they seem to be everywhere! Guess whereI found this huge navy blue one?

Hydrangeas in my newest barnacle vase from HG!!!

I planted a grouping of white African irises in the garden. Gardening here is so wonderful. African irises are quite beautiful but seriously easy to grow. And very water-wise of course since much of Africa is hot and arid. Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia had a wonderful water-wise garden in Alexandria and I learned a lot working on it.

African irises

Today I am working on my topiary alligator. I found the most stunning succulents for it. More on this later this week. Can you believe I found a succulent that is gray with pink - it's so pretty!

Echeveria Lola




17 comments:

  1. Watch out for your African iris. I live in Southern California and they can get enormous (they will burst containers). They seed so I find them growing in areas were I had not intended them to grow.

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  2. Love the pumpkins! Love the Iris! I can't wait to see your succulent alligator!

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  3. I’m also a fan of the African iris! They do very well here in Sarasota.
    Very excited about your succulent alligator, what a fun project! And what a glorious day we’re having so far, I love the breeze and lower humidity 😊

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    1. The weather yesterday was lovely - my sprinkler guy and gardeners were here and I spent much of the day in the garden.

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  4. Yes, pumpkins rot down here really fast especially if you carve them. If you carve them you only have a few days. Learned the hard way when we moved here. Also no live wreaths for your door, ever, unless you want dry dead things hanging there.

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    1. I should have specified, but I am talking about uncarved. I posted tips today.

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  5. I stopped using real pumpkins and real gourds shortly after moving here. It seems like they rotted almost instantly. I did set out real heirloom pumpkins around the garden as decoration last year in November when I had a public tour of my yard and they lasted quite awhile, but it was cooler by then.

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    1. Heirloom pumpkins do last longer and I have posted some tips today as well.

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  6. Have you seen those pumpkins painted in the chinoiserie style? They are beautiful. The first time I saw them was on Karolyn Stephenson's blog, The Relished Roost. She is a mural artist. Now, you can find them everywhere, although they are mass produced, not originals like Karolyn's

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    1. I was just about to write the same thing. They are beautiful but costly. The raffia are raffish and such fun!

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    2. Yes, the Chinoiserie pumpkins are everywhere nowadays. They don't do anything for me, but are very popular.

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  7. I eagerly await to hear your adventures making the succulent alligator. Hoping you will share where to purchase the frame and approximately how much it cost for all the materials/plants/moss. My green thumb needs to know! Thank you.

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    1. I will. I stuffed him yesterday and he is adorable.

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  8. Darling raffia pumpkins. We are also Floridians so when I use real ones outside I always place them on a big plate so if they rot I can easily discard them without the guts falling out all over. The less direct sun the better. I've heard you can wax them to last longer but haven't done it. I love those lilies and they bloom more profusely if I fertilize with a bloom booster. I bought and applied the bougainvillea fertilizer mentioned here & hoping it will work. And applied azalea fertilizer to our hibiscus to get them blooming after a long bloom drought. Pamela

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    1. I bought the hibiscus fertilizer and the bougainvillea fertilizer and they are both working well. I will use a bloom booster on the African lilies. I will get my pumpkins this week and try one of the techniques on them - vaseline sounds easy.

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