Cathedral of Junk

In an effort to comply with the “Keep Austin Weird” motto, we visited the Cathedral of Junk there – appropriately enough, on Easter Sunday. It rises, almost imperceptively from the street, from Vince Hanneman’s quiet backyard in a suburban neighborhood. Plants are creatively integrated.

Vince has been collecting stuff since the 1980s and has faced city ordinance violations and irate neighbors, but has managed to expand and maintain this crazy 80-ton structure, including it’s stained glass windows,

collections,

color themes,

inexplicable juxtapositions,

child-friendly climbability (hellooooo up there!)

and wabi-sabi strangeness.

The cathedral is open during daylight hours most days.

Come worship at the holy throne.

And leave your mark on the holy surfboard.

Apologies to my blogging friends that I haven't visited in weeks...my biggest work deadline of the year is looming! See you in June, if not before.

Flower Show Recap

Don't you love the color of these orchids?

The Garden Club of Nyack held it's 18th annual Flower Show on Saturday.  Both adult and child gardeners were able to enter in several horticulture and design categories, and for the first time this year, there was a photography division.  Last year, I really enjoyed clerking for Jeanne, who was the chief judge for the design division. This year, I clerked for the children's judges Joanne and Celia.  I also served as an entry clerk for both the children and adult divisions, helping the exhibitors categorize and display their entries. (I even worked up the courage to submit a few entries of my own this year - and have included them in this post.)

There were so many outstanding submissions this year - it was hard to pick a few favorites, and I was limited by a dead camera battery that forced me to take most of these photos on my phone.

The "invitational" category, which is unique every year, asked that the exhibitors create a place setting for a celebration.  I liked the more formal entries best- this one celebrating spring, and another for a garden wedding.  

There were lots of great entries in the children's divison.  Classrooms at Upper Nyack school, and my group of afterschool gardeners at Valley Cottage were among the groups submitting.

This was the entry from our class -- it won second place!

This class had their seeds "race" to the finish line!

More entries from the kindergarten classes.

I loved this pasta herb garden, planted in a colander, and mulched with real pasta!

This gorgeous and heartfelt tribute to a gardener who passed away won "Best in Show" in the children's  category. 

This colorful flower cart won the People's Choice award in the children's division.

Here's one of the recycled soda bottle planters we did in our afterschool gardening class.  The idea for this project came from Mike Lieberman's Urban Organic Gardener site.  It won a second place!

Another one of our group submissions, a gourd grown from seed in our school greenhouse, placed first. 

Richard's tribute to the people of Japan won "Best in Show" for the Adult Horticulture Division.  It was accented with handmade origami cranes.

Here's my little dish garden, which was inspired by my facebook friend Helen Yoest, who has been posting photos of some amazing creations from Moss and Stone Gardens. 

Unfortunately the handles prevented this from qualifying in the the miniature category, so it went into a separate division called "other plant designs," and won a second place.  (I also learned that some varieties of moss are endangered in New York State, and because of this, moss may not be allowed in future shows.) 

A spectacular succulent that we had some trouble identifying. 

Here's an unusual and creative egg arrangement that won a first in the miniature category.  I love the way edibles, including chili pepper and asparagus, were used in this arrangement.

I tried to duplicate last year's daffodil bouquet, but not all of the varieties I used then were in bloom yet, so I supplemented with pussy willow and forsythia.

It got a first place in the forced branches category.

Isn't this an amazing Christmas Cactus in bloom?  It comes from the owner of one of our favorite restaurants, the Golden Mushroom.

There was a good turnout for the photos.   I entered a photo of an allium in the first stages of bloom, and got an honorable mention.  Congrats to Phoebe Farrell, who took home a first place ribbon for her tulip photo in the children's photo division!

Don't miss the Garden Club of Nyack's plant sale on May 22!

An Alternative Tree

Inspired by some ideas in Bill McKibben’s book “Hundred Dollar Holiday,” we’re trying to scale back a little bit this year.  Much to the dismay of my kids, we started with the tree.  This meant breaking our regular tradition of cutting it down at a Christmas tree farm up in Warwick – a family event that usually ended up being an exhausting full day outing.  At first I tried to interest them in assembling some decorated branches – like these that I saw in Restoration Hardware.  I thought they were beautiful, but the kids were less than impressed. 

I thought about buying a small living tree, but they’re not inexpensive, I found.  Then one day when I was chasing chickens around in the backyard, trying to figure out why they don't have the sense to go back in their coop when a freezing wind is blowing, I saw this cedar and figured it was just about the right size - and price.   The S. man put on his red plaid.  

It’s not perfectly shaped.  I'd go as far as to call it Charlie Browny.

  

We do have a beautiful angel for the top to distract from the spindlyness.

Once the lights and ornaments are on it, it’s almost ready to pass for store-bought.  If you squint a little.  In the dark.

See also:
Christmas Tree Rejects

Bouquet of the Month: April

Noelle, over at "Ramblings from a Desert Garden" has started a bouquet meme. It took place earlier this week, so I'm a little late to the party, but here it is. I think I mentioned in my last post that I know nothing about flower arranging, but after following the lovely Judge Jeanne around the Flower Show, I got inspired.  We learned about spill, about fill, and about the "collared effect." I learned about the importance of balance and "pristine plant material."

Since I'm just as clueless about the varieties of daffodils that were in the mix my mom sent me last fall, I thought it would be a good excuse to showcase them and maybe do a little research into what we're now hosting here in our dirt.  Since these were a mix when they're planted, I don't know for sure -- these IDs are based on photos I've found in catalogs. Please correct me if you see any errors!

The bouquet doesn't include these, which I'm guessing are "Ice Follies" the earliest and most prolific ones. 

or these, that Karen identified as the "Sir Winston Churchills."

If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be these "Narcissus Geranium" because of their smell.  They are swoon worthy.

A "Pensioner"

"Merlin"

"Las Vegas"

"Apricot Whirl"

"Sorbet"

"Altruist"

"Passionale" perhaps?

Andromeda (pieris japonica)

A "Sungold" perennial tulip.  Also a gift from mom from a previous year.

Thanks for the flowers, Mom!!

My mom down in Tallahassee reads my blog but hasn't figured out how to comment yet.  So this is a thank you and a challenge to you, Mom, to try again.  I'm awarding you this virtual bouquet in faith and anticipation...love you!

In Praise of 70s Fixtures

The homeselling professionals are clear about it: “Up-to-date bathrooms and kitchens are important to home buyers, so if you do nothing else, at least splurge on updating your sinks and fixtures.”

I remember when we bought our house and the real estate agent told us “The first thing you’ll want to do is update these fixtures…”  Well, no. I wasn’t crazy about the fake blue and white marble formica, but there were other emergencies to attend to. Like the foil flowered wallpaper (which now I’m kinda wishing I hadn’t taken out!)

When we look at Victorian houses now, don’t we appreciate original details? We love the look of old stuff. Isn’t that why we replaced the handles on one of our sinks with some that look like they’re from a 1920’s barbershop?

My feeling is that unless something is toxic, there is no reason to rip it out of the wall, put it in an landfill, and replace it with something that’s going to use up more of the earth’s resources. Maybe it’s not necessary to rip cabinets out of your kitchen and put in new ones when you can refurbish the ones you have.

I may not have the most stylish shower handle, but it works just fine and has probably been here since the house was built in 1977. Now that we’re thinking about selling our house, we’re being told to do things like replace our wood windows with vinyl, cover up that horrible fake wood paneling in the basement, and find another sink that isn’t blue. We are just tacky, tacky, tacky, I’m afraid.


“Green," reclaimed or sustainable building products are all the rage, but the greenest action is not to use them at all. I do wonder if the houses with bamboo floors and windows you can clean from the inside will sell faster than mine.  Do you think it's at all possible that future generations will appreciate the brown tiles I’ve left in my shower, and the perfectly functional avocado colored sink in the laundry room?

Are you attached to any of your old fixtures?

If you’re getting rid of any old fixtures or building materials consider offering them on Freecycle, Freeshare (if you're in Rockland County) or to the Hudson Valley Materials Exchange before putting them on the curb!

How to Make a Pinecone Wreath

Warning: this is the non-Martha way to do it. You are welcome to go to her site and find the “right” way to do it, using lots more wire and sheets of moss. This is the shortcut method for people whose cookies will burn or children will bleed if they get too caught up in craft projects.


Supplies needed:
About 3 quarts of pinecones per wreath
12” grapevine wreath frame (from craft store)
Small decorative ornaments, picks or bulbs
Glue gun and glue sticks
Floral wire – about 12 inches

1) Get the kids out from in front of the TV and send them out into the backyard or neighborhood with some bags to collect pinecones (and don't let them back into the house until they're found!).   If there are no trees near you producing pinecones, you can probably get them at your local craft store or Oriental Trading. Get a variety if you can. If the squirrels haven't taken all the larger acorns, they’re nice too.

2) Inspect for bugs. Not a bad idea to rinse them off. Lots of ours had a nice frosting of sap on them. I like this because it smells wonderful, but it can make them a little sticky. (or if you're like me you can break out in little red bumps wherever the sap touches you.  Small price to pay for beauty.)

3) Lay out the cones on the wreath and decide on your layout. They look nice 2 or 3-deep in a braid-like pattern.

4) Using the hot glue gun, make two dime-sized globs of glue on the top and bottom of the pinecone. Apply them to the wreath one at a time. (Note: Older kids can do this, but make sure they’re instructed on how to use the glue gun. It’s very easy to get a burn from hot glue, or by touching the wrong spot on the gun. Emergency room visits can ruin your night.)

5) Apply glue to the base of the ornament or pick. Find the ugly or empty spots in between the pine cones and fill them in. Acorns can be added now, too.

6) Take the wire and twist it so that it loops at one end. Tie the other two ends around the wreath so that the loop is in the back. The loop can be used to hang the wreath from a nail. Or you can skip this step and just hang it from the grapevine.

Now it’s just a matter of waiting until some kid slams the door a little too hard, dislodging the wreath, so it comes crashing down, making it necessary for you to re-glue a large percentage of loose pinecones. Have fun!

If you’ve ever had a regretable craft project, you have to see the snarky and hilarious blog, Regretsy. Where do they find this stuff? (They’re probably outside taking a photo of my wreath right now!)