2/28/2010

And what's not to love.....

At least that's what Randy Andy thinks... I moved him out from the girls and he is MOST unhappy...stomping around, bawling and braying, and ramming his head into everything... But when I get close to the fence he runs to get his chin nuzzled and his ears scratched and he just melts when I coo that he's my big, wonderful, handsome stud muffin...



But I have no illusions about this lovey routine because I know he's a terrible bully and I NEVER turn my back on him and I always carry a crook when I have to enter his pasture... He's big, strong, and dangerous even when he doesn't mean to be. He can push me over just by leaning into me for a backrub.The last two days he's always trying to climb the gate or ram his way through it... As soon as I do a little fence repair I will move him even farther away from the girls.

Funny thing though, the girls aren't missing him a bit. ..much to his chagrin.


Puppy #8 and I had a dream

The breeder sent new pictures this morning including this picture of puppy #8 (aka Morris) at 4 weeks. She doesn't allow visitors until they are 6 weeks of age and they have had all their shots. He's looking pretty special to me...

Like many people who dream often and in color, I often resolve problems in my dreams... I love it when I know my brain is awake even when I'm not... I had been mulling over the ideas I wanted for the Alliance Quilt contest and wasn't happy with any of them....then at about 5am yesterday I dreamt the perfect solution... I awoke and jumped right out of bed and started making sketches. I haven't read the fine print but I imagine I will have to keep the progress secret until the judging...The deadline is May 31.... I can take it to Alaska with me mid-May and do all the finishing handwork there. It is funny because I had started with a central element I wanted to build around and in my dream I took that element away entirely and it all fell together.....

2/26/2010

Ode to Daffodils

I thought I was finished with this but realized as I see it I have yet to put the spider on the web... But other than that it is done... I did a LOT of experimenting with the block.... the cross stitching, the alcohol inks on the sun button and all the stumpwork. The garden hat came out better than I could have hoped since I was making it up as I went along (see post below). The little heart by the sun on the upper right came from Cathy's impressive stash.. along with a yellow button from her grandfather.... momentos of a great visit.

Daffodils are my favorite flower in the garden and I have hundreds....singles, doubles, miniatures, ruffled ones, and all shades of white, yellow, and gold. I love them because they love me... Deer don't eat the blooms, gophers don't eat the bulbs, they're winter hardy and they like a dry dormant period in the summer... my dream flower.... And if daffodils had wings, they'd be goldfinches....right???

There'll be a bonnet upon it!!!

Cathy K. recommended that I blog how I made the little garden hat for the daffodil block... First, on felt I stitched a tiny gold braid in a flat circle about 3/4 in. Sorry the first picture is a little blurry.







Next I turned it over and stitched a button, actually 2 button one on top of the other......then I trimmed the felt away and using the buttons as a form I stitched the braid down for the sides of the crown



Then I took another piece of felt and stitched the same braid in a larger circle and then cut it out and then attached the "button" crown and a little flower and ribbon... If you click on the hat and enlarge it you can see quite clearly how I stitched it.. The hat is 3-D because the 2 buttons are still inside the crown!!!



I was able to finish the daffodil block while staying at Cathy's house... I'll post it soon.


Cathy and I did a LOT of serious stitching...along with having a lot of fun plus shopping at thrift stores, antique stores, a needlework shop and a bead shop.... plus a Home Decor fabic shop. I will write an entire post on Cathy sewing studio and her organizational skills... It was all great fun and just what I needed

2/22/2010

Were you about to ask the udder question?



Well the answer is yes!! Everyone is pregnant and one look at the udders confirm it... I could tell better how close they are if they would let me lift their tail for a peek to see if they are dilating.... Not their favorite invasion of their private parts...and any woman can share their feelings... But I'm expecting lambs in about a week or so... Since I'm out of town for a few days, HWCH will panic if it happens while I'm gone... Definitely time to move the rams off to themselves...

Thank heavens we saved the wine!!!!

Joys of living in a 104-year-old house....We have this grungy dungeon that is an old fashioned cellar with a trap door to access it.... For 9 months a year ground water seeps into it and has to be continually pumped. My HWCH refers to it as his wine cellar (which sounds rather cool)... We hadn't noticed the sump pump wasn't working until he went to get some wine for the party on Sunday... It was about 14" deep and lapping at the old fruit jar shelves and his precious stash...


And this morning I am on a jet plane at 5am for a special treat to myself from me!!!!

Thank you for all the kind words about Cobi's nest....All the comments made my day and my week and even the month!!!!!

Romantic Nest


Cobi wanted a romantic theme on her stumpwork RR block so I set out to make a "romantic" nest.. I wanted loose-woven, soft colors with beads etc.... It's not cut out yet of course but you get the idea what it will look like when it and the bird are attached... I am so pleased with the separate wing.... Whatta ya think Cobi???

2/21/2010

New from Old

Allie mentioned a quilt contest at the alliance for American Quilts... http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/projects/galleries/New%20from%20Old%20Quilt%20Contest/guidelines/

The theme is "new from old" and I'm thinking I might give it a try... I've never entered a competition because they are usually a short lead time to work something up. But the deadline here is May 31 and I might make this if I start right away...

I had been wanting to do something again with my grandmother's photo and my granddaughter's picture.... to bridge the generations.....The original of my grandmother is full length and will have to rescan it but it is a nice picture to span a 100 years...





So yesterday I found this picture of lovely granddaughter Madison. I loved the pose and attitude but there was a young man in the picture... so I've just started to erase him.... My brain is going into overdrive on this one... The picture of Madison is wallet size

and wish I had a larger one to get better resolution..
But I love the juxtaposition of poses and color.











2/20/2010

And now the nest!

The little bird is pretty much done and ready to cut out... I'll do a little more fill it when I applique it on the block... I added a little white and light blue and am still undecided on doing any darker blue shading... I think it suits the block as it is....

But now on to the nest... I done nests with all kinds of threads, velour, ribbons and beads... I want this one to be a little looser than I usually do nests so I dyed the felt with Adirondack Alcohol Inks.....and I dyed some cotton perle thread #3 to match... I will stitch in some beads and charms... I will do the same procedure....tight chain stitch around the perimeter and then fill in and cut out... Before I can put the nest on the block I will have to do some stumpwork branches...

I find myself repeating myself on some subjects.....but once again... Adirondack Alcohol Inks are the greatest for any surface...porous or not. And some genius named the colors. You have to love colors named stonewashed, pesto, sunset, cranberry, or lettuce...They all have names that nails their exact colors... I love that...

Deepak Chopra success - #1 son


My friend Kerry and her daughter went to see Deepak Chopra recently and I chuckled at her comments... When my oldest son turned 49 he decided if he were going to live a long time he had to make major changes in his lifestyle. He was overweight, under a lot of stress, smoked cigars and drank too much.. Even though he worked very hard physically in the summer, it wasn't the right kind of exercise and he was sedentary in the winter.... Frankly I thought he was a walking heart attack waiting to happen

You can see in the picture on the left (next to me and my big fish) that he was a very big guy.... 2 1/2 years later on the right he has completely changed his entire life. He lost 70 pounds, quit the cigars, has become an expert on nutrition, does yoga and exercises and only has the occasional glass of wine...

Last fall he ran his first marathon and now is training for a triathlon.... I am so proud of his tenacity and achievement but honestly a conversation with him is a monologue on nutrition... Since he does all the cooking in the winter, his sweet wife has adjusted to this diet... Unfortunately, try as he might he has not been able to convert his overweight mother..... The minute he said "You must give up butter on and in everything", my response was "WHAT? NO BUTTER???"

2/18/2010

Oh No!...Not another bird on felt!!!!


The good news is that this time it will go on a new tutorial page and I won't have to keep explaining it over and over..... This bird is for my dear friend Cobi's block and will end up in the Netherlands after traveling from the US to Australia and Canada...
I used a firm high quality felt in a neutral color or a color that blends.... I either sketch or trace the bird on the felt.
Then very first step is to outline it in a VERY TIGHT chain stitch...for two reasons. 1. Felt has a tendency to stretch and you don't want your robin turning into an eagle.... 2. The tight chain stitch defines the edge nicely and you can weave all outer stitches into it and it makes cutting it out later very tidy indeed..
After I finish the chain-stitch outline I add some "contour guidelines" I have a tendency to focus so hard on my fill-in stitches that they wander off in all directions... Following the guidelines give the body of bird or animal shape and also provides the "grain" or direction of the fur or feathers....
The I begin filling in with long and short stitches in the base colors... I keep the stitches rather irregular in length because it gives a feathery look... The "contour guidelines" are incorporated into the stitching and become invisible... I am about to start the tail and use guidelines there also.... Since this is on a stumpwork round robin I am doing the wing separate (as shown) and will attach it at the end so the vignette has even more dimension.
Now I will finish the tail and use some white, light blue and darker blue to do some shading.... Just like painting...



2/17/2010

The Quilts

Only the inside of the quilts are wool... They are incredibly heavy and must have been very warm in the winter... I opened one end of a quilt to photograph the batting. It is homemade wool batting with the wool secured between two layers of cheesecloth... I suppose they are of historical value just to show the batting...

When I arrived she had them all bagged up ready to pop into my car....
All are very old and definitely for utilitarian home use. They were given to me by an elderly lady whose mother-in-law made them on a farm near Freeman, WA.. She is going to send me names and dates for the woman.. She was going to throw them away and I couldn't bear the thought of something so old going into the trash... Please give me some input....

Quilt #1 is full bed size and machine pieced but not quilted.. This quilt is quite subtle and pretty and has a wide border.


Quilt #2 is also full bed size and is a triangle pattern on the top and mismatched patching on the back...

There is a third small smaller quilt with no piecing....








Responses to heart necklace queries

I'm delighted to receive so many positive responses and e-mails about my heart necklace and I would also be delighted for anyone and everyone to use the idea... in fact any idea in my blog...

To answer Laurie...it is not heavy as the hearts are small.... most being 3/4" or less...

2/16/2010

Mystery of missing eggs...

My chickens had just started laying again after going through their molt and then suddenly there were no eggs in the nesting boxes day after day... I finally decided they must be eating them which they can do...

But when I couldn't find a chicken yesterday but I could hear her, I followed her low chatter until I found her sitting on a mountain of eggs in a dark corner of the roost house... I found another pile in a thicket... I think they're getting broody..with spring and all... So I put wire on the underside of the roost to keep them from there and covered the nesting boxes with heavy black fabric and starting today... nobody gets let out to free range for bugs until they have produced MY eggs...

I was really glad to find the piles of eggs as without being fertilized they would have rotted and attracted skunks and raccoons. I have no live rooster but there is a picture of a very handsome rooster on the wall of their inner pen...maybe I should take it down as it may be getting the girls overly excited.... They are loving this unseasonably warm weather and scratching up a storm... Our new dog Molly thinks the chickens are in her keep and follows them all over the garden when they are running loose...standing guard....

2/14/2010

You 've Got to Have Hearts


Happy Valentine....
This is my favorite necklace. I started it several years ago and each year around this time of year I add a few more hearts... The red heart on the upper left was my son's from boy scout stuff about 40 years ago.
I'm very superstitious about this necklace and do indeed believe it gives me "heart" and wear it when I need special or extra strength. I'm always watching for hearts in my thrift store trips.......

2/12/2010

Avian Podiatry and more on leather

Avian podiatry......diagnosis and treatment of bird foot disorders... After considering options and responses I've decided just to forget the feet on nuthatch. I am only fascinated with it's feet because when this little bird LOOKS like it is walking down the tree trunk , it is actually sidestepping down...which I find that remarkable...
But Robin and others mentioned using wire for the feet and I think that is an exciting solution and by the time I finish the series of 12 birds I'm sure I'll use that suggestion...
And more on leather... Since I am still looking for my bag of metal sun buttons for my daffodil block, I decided to do some other suns. On the left I painted a cheap plastic button and the right is a polymer sun....both painted with alcohol inks and glued to leather... When I did the masks I painted the leather with acrylic paints and it worked great. This morning I painted the leather with alcohol inks and the leather absorbed all the color and is very washed out...so I will finish them with acrylics later today. Need to do more detail on faces after they're sealed and then I will put an antique wash on them...

Going to give it another try...

This is Cobi's block for the Stumpwork RR that is just beginning....She wanted a romantic theme which is evident in the lovely fabrics she has chosen... I LOVE being first on this block because I get to choose the circles first.... Sorry other stitchers.....

Had this little card that I used as an inspiration piece for a block I did for Ati but was unhappy with the results. I vowed to try this again using different techniques and now I get a chance on Cobi's stumpwork block...I would be perfect for stumpwork with all the flowers, leaves, nests and bird... I really like doing little vignettes and this little nest scene will fit perfectly in the circle...



On Ati's I painted some of the background, beaded the bird and used SRE for the flowers. This time I will do it all in stumpwork...First it is better than it photographed but even still I was most unhappy with it and other than tearing it off there was nothing I could do to make it better.

The choice I'm making today is threads....most crucial...rayon or silk.... Cobi is my stumpwork resource person and I'm waiting on some feedback from her before I make my final decision. At this point I plan to use some silk perle thread I bought in Colorado and they are definitely in my comfort zone.... all the way.... After the wild colors of Wendy's block, some romantic muted tones will be soothing.

2/10/2010

March Nuthatch for BJP

I'm posting everything I can find today as my mouse keeps freezing and I had to restart the computer 4 times to get it to work... Will try to get another mouse when I go to post office tomorrow....if not ..enjoy 3 posts in one day...... a new record.
I'm really focusing on getting more texture in my bead embroidery and the bark on this tree was fun. I just kept layering and weaving lots of colors and several kinds of beads and I'm happy with it except the feet of the nuthatch got lost and I'm not sure what to do about that??? Maybe Robin can give me some advice...
I did not like the green beads I had so a stop at the bead store fixed that.... I love all these "foresty" colors of green for the background... I seem to have a inner sense when I'm close to $50 as that is usually near my total bill. and it's such a little bag....

Progress on daffodil block

Things are at a standstill on this block.. I was busy with the Bead Journal Project and Wendy's block and now I want to get started on Cobi's stumpwork block... I've given up trying for another daff under the silkie and will put a straw hat there.. So I will finish off around the silkie, add lots of bees, and maybe some miracle will happen and I will find my little bag of sun buttons...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I'll get going on it again as soon as I finish my beaded nuthatch.....

Off to Finland and Ritva

This is Wendy's carnival block in the encrusted RR and will go off to Ritva in the morning... It is encrusted except for the blank green spot in upper right-hand corner... How did that happen?????

2/09/2010

Puppy #8


Received a lead this morning on a brand new batch of corgi pups...eyes still closed... At this point this little guy is labled puppy #8 but I'm thinking that it certainly looks like a "Morris" to me.... Is he cute or what??? I will be checking out the breeder as soon as possible. I am definitely ready for a puppy now...

2/08/2010

Notice the buttons

In the process of sorting through boxes and boxes of photos looking for garden photos for the BJP, I'm finding all kinds of things I'd forgotten about. This photo of HWCH and myself is one of them....

In the fall of 1998 I saw a tiny ad in the newspaper for a guided group tour to China. It was $999 a person for 9 days and included airfare RT from Seattle, all transportation in China, visits to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, all hotels and all meals.. We went in January and this was the best travel bargain of our lives. We were the only ones signed up for January (and it was a bit cold) so we had a van, a driver and a guide just for us.. And because we were the only ones there was extra time so we got to see lots of extra stuff. We were flown from Beijing to Shanghai but the rest of the itinerary was cross country in the mini-van...
Also because this was going to be a total language barrier I made buttons of myself and granddaughters and my dog and wore them on my coat....hoping they would be an point of interest to Chinese women. And they were as many times a woman would point to the buttons in understanding and give me a big smile or ask questions through our guide. I wore picture buttons traveling on all trips thereafter.

Walking on the Great Wall was one of my life's ambition and it was so overwhelming. You can see that there weren't many tourists in January and the ones that were there were Chinese.

Venetian Carnival Theme

WOW just as I'm finishing up Wendy's carnival mask RR block I get a newsletter from Alpha Stamps and the theme is Venetian Carnival with a wealth of ideas... I love the little rhinestone at the corner of the eye and the bells on this mask... Why didn't I think of that..????
They are even having a carnival mask swap and a carnival fan swap... I love their newsletter as it is always packed with the neatest stuff and things that are applicable to CQ..http://www.alphastamps.com/blog/?p=541

I still think carnival would be a fun RR theme next winter...especially for those who love bright colors and bling!!!! But after I say that....On Alpha Stamps they did some masks and fans with muted antique colors and they were stunning...

2/07/2010

"Good food or clean house...take your pick but not both"

I was in bed sulking this morning...I need to clean house and I hate, hate, hate house cleaning... It is such a waste of time doing the same things over and over and over and over and over...and even worse on a farm when everything is tracked in....... I added "cleaning lady" to my list of favorite word pairs although it cooler to say "my woman who comes in" as some people we know say. HWCH has set up two parties here on the next two weekends and I will feel compelled to at least make an effort to clean...

All of our really good friends know they have a choice when they come here... "Good food or clean house...take your pick but not both" Luckily they always choose "good food" and if they chose "clean house" they wouldn't be a good friend anymore. It's not so much the work, as I love physical work, but it's doing the same work over and over. I have a fantasy of "my woman who comes in" on Thursdays to clean for the weekend and comes back again on Monday to straighten up after guests. I would settle for even the Thursday bit.

I admit to "faux cleaning " ... I put the vacuum in the middle of the room, window cleaner and paper towels on the window sill and furniture polish in an obvious spot.... It really gives the impression of an industrious housekeeper. HWCH is really good about kitchen cleanup after big parties and will do windows and he never, never complains about the dust and clutter......probably because he knows what I'd say!!!

Oh well enough whining! I must do some stitching and think about the whole cleaning issue later... Maybe I'll win the lottery....
p.s. after I wrote this whining post at 6:20 am, my DH got up about an hour later and cleaned the kitchen sparkling clean without any prompting.....who needs a cleaning lady??? Of course I made his mom's sour cream rolls again.... This being nice may have it's rewards......

2/06/2010

Wendy's RR Carnival Block Progress

I really wanted to capture the carnival spirit on this block and have the masks done. The polymer jester is just pinned on as there is something going in the empty space next to his head and I don't want to try to stitch around him....

I know, I know.....it doesn't look very encrusted yet. But there are a couple of fans, noisemakers and ribbons on the masks to add but I should finish it this weekend.

What I learned working on the three leather masks? I didn't need to couch and then trim. I could have trimmed to size and then couched. Leather is very forgiving when working over seams. It is a absolute dream to paint on. I will move my little leather stash into my CQ stash and keep an eye out for more fine leather.... definitely a keeper as a technique. (See posts from 2 days ago)

I also used the technique I learned from Robin Atkins for attaching a cabochon by making "bead stacks" and lacing them together... It's great and will use it a lot. Would be great for the little mirrors, odd shaped stones. etc. also This would be a great demo for the retreat..

2/04/2010

Responses to questions....

I do intend to list all the plants that survived my "tough love" approach to gardening. But will do it at the end of the installments as the larger picture emerges. You will be quite surprised at some of them.

The sculpted head of my garden good witch is quite small... maybe 3-3 1/2".... I must add I saved a photos of Susan's foliage fashions ( http://plays-with-needles.blogspot.com/2010/01/abundance-reprisal.html )which tweaked an idea for my garden good witch...

Masks using leather

Some of you will remember when I was working on the Gypsy Rose block I finally settled on leather for the tambourine and how I happy I was at the ease of working with it and how appropriate it was for the tambourine.I have collected very soft leather for making shoes for my dolls and have a lot of colors so I wanted to do at least one mask in leather but have done three.

I am not going to trim them until I have them couched to the block with gold cording... But the leather is a dream to paint, holds a shape, and extremely easy to sew.
You can see one is a very soiled white glove but most of the glove had lovely useable soft leather... Definitely something to keep in mind when I'm doing the stumpwork... The red leather has a lovely texture and will be beaded after it is attached and faux feathers added to it...These have been fun.

2/02/2010

Garden Good Witch

Time and again after I started the bird garden things happened that either subtly or dramatically change my course and my life.. They were things that were not anticipated, foreseen, planned or even hoped for by me... Events that fell from the sky in front of me and if I didn't pay attention, hit me in the head..... It was really kinda spooky... Friends suggested I had a gardening angel...but it definitely didn't feel like heavenly intervention and I couldn't envision a sprightly garden fairy or a ethereal garden spirit at work for me.

My guiding force was shrewd, wise, cunning and had a warped sense of humor so I finally decided that I had a Garden Good Witch..

When I was making dolls I sculpted her head as I envisioned her. Unfortunately I stopped making dolls just before I would have started on her body... I do keep her head sitting around where I can see it and often imagine how I would costume her..... I don't often ask you questions, but can you see her as a good witch as I described her?????
The very last doll I worked on was one of my favorites and had the theme "Arsenic and Old Lace"...all she needs is shoes and her head glued on but she has been sitting like that for years. It was the costuming, not so much the making of the dolls, that I enjoyed.

Off to be Gerry Good Wife today and play duplicate bridge with HWCH and have Lamb Shanks with White Beans in the slow cooker for supper... Remember all those darling little lambs from last spring?..............well organic grass-fed yum yum!!

Wendy's RR Block

I made a start on Wendy's RR block and have the seams mostly done. I will add more to them after the motifs are done. The first thing I did is get out my "Lauri B" threads....wild and joyful colors... The color in photo is a bit flat but the color adjustment tool in PS is not working this morning. In fact my whole computer has been wonky....
To use the mask theme I'm adding four Venetian carnival masks and have been pondering how to make them. I'm thinking I will make one from polymer (probably a jester), one from leather and one from gold lame and one on felt.
I could spend the rest of the day doing this but I need to fill other roles today... domestic goddess, keeper of the treasury, and farm manager... In short I have to clean house, wash clothes, pay bills and feed the animals....

2/01/2010

Installment Two - "The New Plan"

Installment 2
"The New Plan"

To make a new plan I had to assess what I had that was positive…. and it was heavy clay soil which holds lots of moisture when wet but also dries to cement… so mulching was an absolute. Low volume drip systems were just coming on the market, which meant I could use water at night when it wasn’t needed in the house. Long-term water supply, even with drip, wasn’t feasible so once a plant was established, it was do-or-die… This also meant I couldn’t become attached to any plant…if it lived – great!.. If it died – plant something else! “Love what loves me” became my plant mantra!!! And most importantly, this garden was going to have to go “wild” at some point.

Plants had to be hardy to zone 4/5, drought tolerant and natives…not hybrids. They had to be very small plants, preferably 6-18” seedlings. I also needed to learn to propagate plants from ones that were a success. I began with trees and shrubs because they take longer to grow. Everything planted had to provide habitat for birds…. either dense cover or fruit, seed heads, etc.. Most anything available at conventional nurseries would require copious amounts of water to get established…so I began a search of classifieds in garden magazines for sources for native plant seedlings.

I found several small ones which I used. But a marvelous thing happened changing my life even more and turned a search into a treasure trove. I discovered a tiny ad for a new nursery, ForestFarm. A young couple, Ray and Peg Prag, started a native plant mail-order business in hopes of providing income while living in the mountains of Oregon... The first catalog was only about 50 pages (no pictures) and teeny, tiny type. But it was packed with exactly the plants I needed and I became one of their best customers. Not only did they have what I needed, it was inexpensive…about $2.25-$2.75 a plant so if a plant died I wasn’t out of a lot of money. But the best thing, absolute icing on the cake, was the fact they sold their plants in paper-like biodegradable tublings… I am happy to report that their business became a huge success and they are now online with pictures!!! http://www.forestfarm.com/ In addition to their online site, their printed catalog is available and includes thousands of plants and once you master their abbreviations it is a superb reference source.. And they still sell their plants in biodegradeable tublings….. Hooray for ForestFarm!!!!!

Now I had to step out into my future garden and begin… and that was overwhelming…so much space and so much nothing! Watch for next installment…”Let the Mulching Begin”


Addendum for scrapbook:

Here's a good example of gone wild....On the left is an old wagon and near the wheel is a shrub getting established. The picture was taken in 1984.... The picture on the right was about 20 years later taken from the other side of the wagon. It has "gone wild" and believe it or not the wagon is still there...barely visible.. The purple plant in the front is perovskia...another plant that loves me...drought tolerant and ignored by both deer and gophers...

Following are two excellent examples of "Love what loves me" are:
Hellebores foetidus -It's very name, foetidus, means stinking. You don't see it often in gardens because it isn't very showy but it loves me... It likes heavy clay soil, is not eaten by either deer or gophers, and self seeds and spread, had lovely foliage and is evergreen. It thrives in sun or shade and is fabulous in bouquets of daffodils... You can buy hybrid varieties but they just aren't as tough...


Hardy geraniums are another plant that adores me. Again the bloom is often not showy but the foliage is exquisite. They thrive in my garden in sun or shade and I let them spread everywhere. And as a bonus they are available in all colors and sizes and are not bothered by deer or gophers. When I do find plants that love me I search out as many of them as I can because most plants do NOT love me..
Seed heads of both these plants are not a favorite with the birds but if it is a hard winter and food supplies are getting exhausted, the birds do eat them eagerly. Pyracantha berries are another example of a "back-up" food source in my garden....


Do go to http://www.forestfarm.com/ and click on "About Us" and read about Ray and Peg Prag. If you love plants and gardening you will love their story and their nursery.
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