I was recently asked to create a floral arrangement as a Thank You to a business who works with companies to build and market their brands. So what choice did I have but to create something that matched THEIR brand. Considering the environment that the arrangement will eventually be placed in should be a factor in the color and style of the final arrangement. ~ kf.
What is a WoollyPocket??
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Woolly Pocket was founded in 2008 by brothers Miguel & Rodney Nelson. …out of a personal need for a simple, DIY-consumer friendly system for gardening vertically, not yet available on the market. …they invented the breathable Woolly Pockets with internal moisture control that are made from recycled plastic bottles in USA. Now, the Nelson brothers are turning the gardening industry down side up. And the Woolly Pocket family is also helping millions of students learn nutrition and gardening through their Woolly School Garden program by creating a living garden classroom for students K–12.”
I have seen them for sale and have wanted a space to use them. Currently living with out the garden space of my dreams I have decided to bring it inside, and plan on placing them in my bathroom as well as master bedroom. Stay tuned for
my progress as I continue my 2012 plans!
The images are just a few examples of how you can use them as well as the full description of how they are made.
Happy Growing! kf.
Perfect for any area indoors or outdoors where moisture protection and water conservation is desired.
1. HANGS SIMPLY Wally has easy fasteners and anchors that work on masonry, drywall, sheetrock, wood and metal walls. Hardware included.
2. SMART WATERING Water Wally’s back panel (the tongue) with a wine bottle or a long spout watering can. Wally’s tongue wicks water down directly to the roots. This conserves water and promotes plant health.
3. AUTOMATIC WATERING For larger installations, insert optional drip irrigation behind Wally’s tongue.
4. PROTECTS WALLS Military-grade moisture barrier ensures that your walls stay dry.
5. SELF WATERING Reservoir allows tongue to continue wicking water to the roots.
6. STRONG, HEALTHY ROOTS Breathable felt allows moisture to evaporate and allows plants to air prune.
7. ECO-FRIENDLY Made from 100% recycled plastic bottles (PET).
Happy Growing! kf.
The below information was originally provided by Claire Thompson via grist.
After reading the article, which sparked a glimmer of hope in the federal food stamp program, I felt the information and links appealing and inspiring enough to share here in its entirety.
“A few years ago, back when she still had a job in the natural-foods industry, “my kids only got the best in terms of food,” said Corbyn Hightower, a mother of three who now lives outside Sacramento. Then, she said, “we lost everything, and we really started having to compromise.”
Hightower signed up for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. When she looked through the information pamphlet she received, she found out that SNAP benefits can be used to buy seeds and plants, not just food. So she went to Whole Foods, bought some seeds, and planted a garden of salad greens. “It was one of the things I could do that made me feel like my kids weren’t going to have to let go of [eating well],” she said.
Unlike Hightower, most SNAP recipients are not aware of this alternative use for their electronic benefit transfer (EBT). “I’m really proactive about obtaining information, so maybe that helped,” she said. “I’m not the typical EBT customer, although I’m sure there are a lot more like me now — people who always shopped at the perimeter of the stores and bought organic.”
This detail of our federal food-stamp program flies under the radar of many people active in food-justice and urban-farming circles, too. Daniel Bowman Simon, a graduate student and garden advocate, didn’t know of the provision until 2008, when someone mentioned it to him during a chance encounter at a farmers market.
“The more people I talked to who thought it was a good idea but didn’t know about it themselves, the more I thought, well, somebody’s got to start a project to make sure that people on food stamps get this information,” Simon said. Earlier this year, he founded the nonprofit SNAP Gardens to spread the word about this oft-overlooked aspect of the SNAP program, which was added as an amendment to the Food Stamps Act in 1973 by Sen. James Allen (D-Ala.).
Simon pointed out that 46 million Americans use food stamps (nearly 15 percent of the U.S. population), so “just raising that awareness alone is a huge undertaking.”
SNAP Gardens prints cheerful posters in several languages advising SNAP recipients that they can use their benefits for seeds. Simon said he’s gotten requests for the posters from farmers markets in 24 states and Washington, D.C. (While it’s becoming more common knowledge that EBT can be used to purchase food at farmers markets, many vendors are still unaware that they work for seeds and plants, too.) The posters are also designed to be displayed in local SNAP offices, community centers, or public housing locations. SNAP is a federal program, but administered locally, Simon explained, so local governments have more power to spread the word about different ways it can be used.
As an organic enthusiast but inexperienced gardener, Hightower admitted her first few seasons were hard. “[Gardening] takes luck and a lot more knowledge than I went into it with,” she said. “I know other people who use SNAP and they live in apartments or are working two jobs. [Gardening with SNAP benefits] is not everything it’s cracked up to be.”
Simon acknowledged this. “Seeds and plants alone don’t make a garden,” he said. “It takes time, it takes skills, it takes land. How do you connect people to resources to make [gardening] a choice that has real potential?”
An online resource called SNAP-Ed Connection offers training and education materials for SNAP providers who want to give would-be gardeners more guidance and support. But “not many states are doing much in the way of gardening education for SNAP recipients,” Simon said. He gets inquiries from master gardeners interested in working with food stamp recipients in their communities, and if the ground-up progression of the urban farming movement so far is any indication, that kind of grassroots, volunteer-powered education may be a better way to get EBT users started gardening than waiting on government offices to provide training.
With the help of a $1,000 microgrant from Awesome Food, SNAP Gardens will start working with The Dinner Garden – which sends out free starter packs of seeds by request — to set up a telephone hotline with gardening information. (Simon said that Dinner Garden founder Holly Hirshberg didn’t know about using SNAP benefits for seeds until he told her.) Part of the grant will also pay to include a flyer about using EBT for seeds with every packet The Dinner Garden sends out, with the assumption that many of those requesting free seeds might also be eligible for SNAP.
Hightower said her garden doesn’t offset her grocery budget dramatically — it produces maybe five dollars’ worth of salad greens a week. But using her SNAP benefits to garden is worth it for other reasons. “It makes me feel good, like I’m holding onto my values,” she said. “My kids know that going out and picking your greens is normal; it’s part of our family’s culture. Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean you can’t have this for yourself.”
via Oh, SNAP! Grow gardens with food stamps | Grist.
Officially the holidays are over and your probably “not eating this” or “only a bite of that” but the reality of our uber-social lives is that most of us will either entertain at our homes this weekend, be invited somewhere for a party or simply meet friends for a congratulatory meal. And as Ms Emily Post says we should always bring something for the host (and put out the best for our guests…). Well I have found, and am now ready to share, what will now be your house chocolates and signature hostess gift.
Viktoria Richards Chocolates are more that just a pretty face. The most beautiful chocolates you will ever see are also some of the tastiest treats you will ever have.
“At Viktoria Richards Chocolates we introduce our customers to the traditional methods of chocolate making. By traditional, we mean, chocolates that are prepared daily, in small hand-made batches, with no preservatives. Our chocolates are created using only the finest French and Belgian chocolate, freshest creams, nuts, and fruits.”
Although based in the Tampa Bay Metro area VR Chocolates will ship anywhere. ANYWHERE. They will also work with businesses to creat gifts for your clients, even placing your logo on the perfect little squares.
Victoria and her husband Richard work non-stop marketing and producing these wonderfully appealing morsels. {I did drag her out for a coffee this week. And look forward to many more coffee chats in the future.} Visiting the shop is totally worth it, however, if you are in the Tampa Bay area you will find them in various boutiques and shops scattered throughout the area. Including but not limited to: Napa Flair, CRU Cellars, Te Bella Tea Shop, FIG, Eds Fine Wines
Pretty + Tasty = An Appealing Plan
Added to my 2012 book list!! LOVE the chickens! and Gardens!!
“Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape, and chicken lovers often shy away from gardening for the same reason. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! Fresh eggs aren’t the only benefit — chickens can actually help your garden grow and thrive, even as your garden does the same for your chickens.
In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom covers everything a gardener needs to know, including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.
For anyone who wants a fabulous garden where colorful chickens happily roam, Free-Range Chicken Gardens is the guide that will bring the dream home to roost”
via Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard from Timber Press.
I have it good. I admit it. Every Sunday my husband brings me the NY Times and coffee in bed. I love it and I know I am super lucky. Well this past weekend there was a section missing…well not just a section..MY favorite Sunday section. The Sunday Styles section. One of the main reasons I get the Sunday paper. But ok. Things happen, I am sure it is somewhere. I move on and read the other sections planning to ask later where it may have gone. Then this morning, heading in the office where the new carpet and painting project is in full effect, needing to do some touch ups, I found it. On the make-shift cardboard drop cloth, MY section had been used as a line marker for the texture spray. The new Calvin Klein Home full page back page ad that I had clearly never seen before covered in hard white spray. I actually had to just laugh. In every home project there is usually a sacrifice and for the office the New York Times Style section took the hit. Sorry Nicki & Calvin. {p.s. ~ don’t even get me started on the whole textured wall thing}
Needless to say, not so appealing ~ kf
I LOVE everything at terrain {an unbeliveable garden & home shop in Glenside, PA. They are also planning on a second shop in Westport, CT in 2012} and pretty much want to just live there full-time. I receive their twitter updates, facebook posts and company emails. I usually dreamily look at them wondering how I can recreate the product or look for my home, but this was different and definitely in-line with my January 2012 “new beginning / grow” feeling.
They have brought in a line of products by MORIHATA International Ltd. Co., {a Japanese design /culture / lifestyle producer and distribution company located in Philadelphia, PA}, which made me stop and add to my cart and buy it right away. The entire Binchotan Charcoal collection includes towel, pumice stones, facial soap, and more. The claim is “Binchotan charcoal is believed to have a multitude of beneficial effects. Whether used dry or wet to absorb chemicals in tap water, enhance blood circulation in a hot bath, stimulate healthy soil in the garden, or balance negative ions in your home, Binchotan charcoals are a natural way to boost overall wellness.” I am starting with the charcoal sticks bag to see how it goes. I will be waiting for my package in the mail and looking forward to my first energizing bath!
The below information is a combination of details from both their sites.
“Kishu Binchotan is known for the best quality charcoal for purifying water and air. Binchotan charcoal is activated through an extremely high burning temperature and rapid cooling process. Because of the micro cavities walls, Binchotan absorbs chlorine and other chemicals from tap water while releasing natural minerals into it. Binchotan has an alkaline effect (PH Level 8 – 8.5), it soften and improve the overall taste of water. Bichotan can be re-use it up to around 3 months. It can be recycled it by breaking it small pieces place into your plant soil for creating micro water and air cavities in the soil.
Best Uses for Binchotan
1. To purify drinking water, add 1/4 pound of Binchotan to a pitcher of tap water. The charcoal will help release ions to increase the water’s pH, release natural minerals, and absorb chemicals.
2. Add Binchotan to a pot of cooking rice to emit infrared rays that will help retain the taste of the rice, absorb any chlorine in the water, and release natural minerals.
3. For a purifying bath, add approximately one pound of Binchotan to hot bathwater. Infrared rays emitted by the charcoal will help enhance blood circulation and keep the body warm and relaxed long after the bath.
4. Keep dry Binchotan by electrical appliances like the television, microwave, computer, or mobile phone, to help block harmful electromagnetic waves.
5. Kept dry in various spots around your home, Binchotan charcoal will help balance the charged ions in your environment to freshen and purify the air around you.
6. To keep closets, drawers, and refrigerators fresh from odor, dampness, and mold, a stick of dry Binchotan can be kept inside to absorb bacteria and unpleasant scents.
7. Once your Binchotan has reached the end of its indoor use, improve soil health by recycling it in the garden. Mix broken pieces of charcoal into new soil, or apply it over a garden bed to improve the movement of air and water through the soil. This transformation will help increase microbial activity, alkalize the soil, and reinforce trace elements; creating an optimal environment for healthy plants.”
Wish me luck! ~ kf
The house is still mostly decorated for the holidays so I figured this would be a great time to open my home to a local networking group I am a part of to kick off 2012.
My holiday bulbs are right at their peak so incorporating them into my tablescape was a no brainer.
The Paperwhites had gotten so tall that I needed to use a branch cutting to encourage the taller stems to remain upright. The Red Amarylis’s strong stem only needed the support of it’s fellow stalk to be stable and secure in a tall glass cylinder it has been growing in for about 4 weeks.
Each guests was bringing something to add to the potluck celebration so the buffet area needed to accommodate everyone’s platter. As the host I was providing the plates, serveware, etc.. I also provided cheese and charcuterie boards for the 17 expected guests. As most cheese and hard meats taste better at room temperature I was able to set the table the morning of and then place my platters out 1 hour prior, allowing me time to get ready and be prepared for their arrival. This is an easy and impressive display for any gathering you are hosting.
Cheese Board: Point Reyes Blue Cheese, Aged Dutch Gouda, Goat Brie Cheese, Raspberries, Blackberries, Grapes, Kumquats, Lesley Stowe Raincoast Crips Cranberry Crackers {LOVE THESE}& Sliced Baguette
Charcuterie Board: Prosciutto, Soppressetta, Capicola
Additional: Rosemary Breadsticks, Assorted Olives
Now that’s Appealing Entertaining! ~ KF
As mentioned in previous post my last visit to NYC I was determined to add to my list of favorite experiences, to do this I picked up a book by Allan Ishac called New York’s 50 best Places to Find Peace and Quiet (available at many bookstore in the NYC area or online).
Tudor City Greens is located First Ave. and Tudor City Place at 42nd Street, you have to climb 40 steps from 42nd Street which makes the first glimpse all that more anticipated. The there two portions of the “Greens” on each elevated side of 42nd. I arrived in winter but the peacefulness was just as noticeable perhaps even more so.
I loved all the seating available and can just imagine all the visitors reading and enjoying a cup of coffee on a summer day. I plan on returning in the spring to see all the plants and buds blooming. However if you are a gardener or artist of any kind you can appreciate all the organic shapes the dried flowers created against the city buildings.
The Gardens are maintained by local groups and volunteers. In fact there was someone in the shed and I actually waited to see if I would have the opportunity to thank the person working hard that evening doing a fall cleaning. But alas no one came out and I it was getting pretty dark. Time to head back. {If interested you may donate to the group and join their mailing list for updates on the official site.}
Ishac mentions in the book he can be found on the bench in the back under the Magnolia tree…he wasn’t there the day I visited..perhaps next time we can share the peace and quiet of this lovely green space.
