My friend let my kids and I come pick peaches from her yard again this year. So many peaches. We sorted and washed, and laid them out to dry on the counter and covered them with mesh to keep the bugs off.
Photo description: peaches on paper towels covered with tulle fabric
I peeled the peaches with a peeler (blanching is frustrating and hot), and sliced them off the stone by cutting wedges and popping them off as I cut. The sliced peaches went into freezer bags for future use. I boiled the skins and obtained a beautifully colored liquid.
We shared some peaches with the chickens, who loved them so much that I needed to put out one for each chicken so there weren’t squabbles.
I absolutely love our Gregg’s Mist flower in the front flower bed. We walk out the front door and there are almost always butterflies flitting about, but the plants were starting to encroach onto the sidewalk.
Photo description: Gregg’s mist flower in the flower bed on the left, almost taking up half the side walk in places, Sophie the cat sniffing the grass
I didn’t want to trim the plants back because the healthiest growth was near the sidewalk, so I found some green wire push-in fence and installed it along the sidewalk. What a difference!
Photo description: Sidewalk clear and Gregg’s mist flower containedPhoto description: Gregg’s mist flower and oxalis (and some stubborn grass) behind an almost invisible wire fence
I like that the fence is inconspicuous. I really like that as the plants continue to grow, I can just tuck them back inside the fence and not have to cut them.
My husband spotted something unusual coming up out of our crossvine, inverted pitcher-like purple flowers that were very different than the crossvine’s peachy-orange vessel flowers. The iNaturalist app gave us the category “clematis and leather flowers”. Searching leatherflowers, the purple leather flower, Clematis pitcheri, was a visual match. We certainly didn’t plant it, but it is quite welcome!
Photo description: two purple leather flowers coming up between crossvine leaves
For those curious, the flower is quite robust, and the curling tips feel very much like leather (as a leather worker, I feel confident in that assessment.) I did not dissect a bloom, but if it continues to do well and produces more than just three flowers, that will be a future project.
I cleaned and washed the terrarium a third time. When rebuilding this round, the chunk of wood that kept sprouting mold was not included in the build. Instead I turned to our backyard, which is mostly clay and marvelous to sculpt. I put a layer of glass pebbles down in the base, added some activated charcoal, then put down a compacted layer of dried sphagnum moss. I used the top part of a champagne flute (the bottom broke off rather jagged, but it went down into the moss, so no danger of cuts) as a form, basically a glass tube in the middle that would be a “pot” for my jewel orchid to ensure it had room to grow and didn’t get soaked, as I tend to overwater.
Photo description: Bags of rocks and stones on the left, the base of the terrarium showing the glass pebble and charcoal base layer covered with sphagnum moss, and the top of a champagne flute on the right, all on a outdoor cast aluminum table
I gathered clay soil from different areas in the backyard, where wild moss was already growing, and built it up around the glass tube. I found my stash of labradorite pebbles, some of which I tumbled, some were raw, and added the smooth stones as steps, and the rough rocks as “boulders” in the sculpture. I then used a spatula to gather small sheets of moss from different areas in the backyard, trying to find different looks, and laid them over the clay base.
Photo description: moss sculpture in progress outside on the patio table with labradorite, moonstone, and stone mushrooms on a moss covered clay form with a hole in the center held open by the glass tube formerly known as a champagne flute
I really enjoyed this build. The clay soil was easy to work with because we have had a very wet spring, and the moss molded well against the clay. I made a spiral staircase because I like spirals. I filled the center tube with sphagnum moss and put the jewel orchid at the top. I found small plants in the yard in the shade that I tucked between sheets of moss as well.
Photo description: moved the build inside, out of the sunlight, this shows the opposite side with a labradorite “boulder” sticking out of the mossy hillPhoto description: another side of the mossarium hill showing one of the labradorite stepping stones showing a blue schiller effectPhoto description: my favorite view, straight down from above the mossarium build showing the sculpted spiral Photo description: not a great photo of the complete mossarium with lid, I need to get out my polarizing filter and good camera to combat the glass glare with the terrarium lid in place, mister to the right, which is an old eye glass cleaning bottle, and left over bags of stone on the left
I’m hoping that the third time is the charm on this mossarium. It was a fun build.
After boiling and baking my gnarled wood that I wanted to use in my terrarium, and washing the base and all the stones, I tried setting it up again. I visited a local vintage store and picked up some interesting stones, including tiny crystal mushrooms. Mushrooms!
Photo description: wood hardscape in a terrarium base with pebbles underneath and festooned with stone mushroom and frog carvings, tumbled stone, and crystal shards.
I kept the moisture to a minimum, setting the base with dry decorative rocks and glass pebbles, and using glue dots to adhere the carvings and stones. The only moisture came from the sphagnum moss that I tucked into the two hollows in the wood where I wanted to keep plants. I even braved the shipping and ordered a jewel orchid (I used points, so am not counting the cost of that towards the project). I let the moss sit for a few days to test for mold growth. My orchid arrived earlier than expected, and when I went to mount it, I discovered mold in the hollows. Dang it.
Photo description: close up of a hollow in the wood line with white mold.
I disassembled the terrarium, again, and set the wood out to dry. It is a neat chunk of wood, but clearly not suitable for terrarium life. (I’ve read that a dilute solution of bleach could sanitize wood, but I don’t keep bleach in the house because of our aerobic treatment system.) I washed everything, again, and set it out to dry.
I can’t give up on the terrarium idea, I now have a tiny baby plant that needs nurturing. Ah, but don’t worry, I have another idea. We’ll see if the third time works.
Critters and Craft 