Garden: Pre-Spring, 2016

On February 19th, this became the wettest Winter on record for the Seattle area and we still have another week or so to go before the recording period closes.  Not particularly surprising, as this Winter seemed to be even wetter and drearier than usual.  I've been pretty satisfied, this year, with my garden design decision to forgo "Winter interest".   Nope.  I'm not going to traipse around the garden--with rain dripping off my nose or down my neck, compacting already sodden soil--to inspect early bloomers and colored sticks.  I built my garden to use while the weather is nice and I can enjoy gardening activities.  Duh!  

I'm satisfied to ignore the garden completely for three or four months until Spring Fever starts bubbling.  I'm not yet feeling it, but I guess that the garden IS.  So today I had to get out there and spend a few hours cleaning up and cutting back. My efforts came a bit too late for some of the plants.  Among the grasses, Calamagrostis brachytricha and Melica uniflora were already well-sprouted and I was unable to trim out all of the spent foliage.  Well, I guess I could have if I were patient enough, but I am not.  And the (many) Anemones were already producing new growth, making it a little more tedious to selectively prune out the old stems.  I pruned down a large Nandina, so we'll see how that re-sprouts.  And I pruned the hardy fuchsias and the grapes.  I've got more to do, but the yard waste bin is full, plus one more large bag, and it started to rain so I called it quits.  

Here are some photos from the day...

Pre-Spring view of the front garden.  I tidied-up and sprinkled on some new compost/mulch.

The sweet and diminutive Melica may be trying for world domination, I don't know...

These must be Allium nigrum?  I've never before had alliums come back strongly or multiply like this.

Around back, I think this planting combo has performed well--tricyrtis, western sword ferns, and alpine strawberries.  The grassy plant is Carex tumulicola.

On the opposite side of our back door, we have Nandina, Triceyrtis, a yellow Hellebore, and Saxifraga primuloides.

Eeewwww.  The back yard still needs to be tidied.  Isn't that nasty?  The Brunnera have recently put out some new growth--I'll have to be careful when I am tidying around them.  Next year, I think I'll tidy in Fall.  I've been trying to garden "more naturally", but this is just gross and unnecessary.

Something pretty (or at least interesting) to purge the last picture from our minds--these are lichen (Cladonia) fruiting bodies.

Garden: First of the New Year

Despite the ongoing non-Winter which has confounded our gardening calendar here in the Pacific Northwest, I still feel like it is too early to declare that Spring is on its way.  Sure, a few early risers are beginning to stir and that necessitates getting out there to clear last year's sodden and rotting foliage, but I'm not yet feeling the burbling and bubbling of Spring Fever.  We've had a couple of sunny days here and there with temperatures approaching 60 degrees, but we've also had a lot of cold grey drizzle.  So far, the sum total of my time spent outside is the amount of time it takes to scurry from my front door to my car and back.

Nevertheless, this Sunday (right before the Big Game), I ventured out to Swanson's Nursery.  A visit there is always rewarding--they keep the nursery well-stocked year 'round and they always feature dynamic and interesting container plantings.  A few things caught my eye, and I thought I'd share them here:

The first is this large pot.  It's one of those newer, fiber-cement style pots.  I worry about the longevity of these because I have two in my garden that showed serious wear and tear over the course of just one year.  (The cement wore off with exposure to the elements and the fibers inside are quite visible.)  I'm attracted to the pattern, which reminds me of aggregate or scored/textured concrete.  Remember Cleve West's Chelsea Garden 2011 with the big, textured columns?  I guess I like that kind of texture/pattern.

Big pot.

There was also this very sweet Hellebore, Helleborus niger "HGC Jacob", which seemed unusually delicate and pretty--reminiscent of Anemone coronaria, or a Wood Anemone.  See how they have it styled--with a colorful Heuchera and black mondo grass?--very Pacific Northwest.

Helleborus niger "HGC Jacob".

And, finally, this huge (for retail, anyway) Edgeworthia chrysantha which seemed to be a bargain at $135.00.  Maybe they grow a lot faster than I think they do?  It was full of blooms and smelled very sweet.

Edgeworthia chrysantha

In fact, there were a lot of scented plants available.  My son and I went 'round the nursery sniffing various daphnes, sarcococca, witch hazels, and Viburnum bodnantense.  I'd like to include more of these scented late-winter bloomers in my garden.  And I will...once it warms up a bit and I declare that Spring has "sprung".

Garden: Alder Tree, How do I Loathe Thee

The alder tree.  The hated, loathed, cursed, vilified, (and ultimately tolerated because it is not my tree), alder tree.  It is planted near the south-west corner of our property.  And, although its roots may be lodged in our neighbor's soil, its canopy leans more and more over our yard each year.  Our neighbor has spoken of his plans to remove this tree, but other life events have interfered with his plans and, truth be told, gardening tasks fall low (very, very low) on his priority list.  So, why do I hate this tree so much?  Well, it drops stuff on my yard ALL YEAR LONG.

Alder trash (mostly Alder) collects in the deep, cupped leaves of the Darmera peltata.

In Spring, it covers EVERYTHING with a haze of yellow pollen, and then fallen catkins.  *And the seedlings!!!!  Kris reminded me about the seedlings this tree produces--every seed seems to germinate. *

Spring's catkins caught in my little Enkianthus tree.

In Summer, it begins to drop green leaves--these can be seen as a benefit because they add nitrogen back to the soil, but I still see the leaf litter as a net negative.

A recent picture of dropped green leaves and catkins--these must have been produced for next Spring?

In Late Summer and Fall, it drops leaves, cones, and branchlets.

Cones--stuck in the Enkianthus.

Leaf litter--none of it from trees growing on my property--and alder cones and a fallen alder branchlet.

Tree litter smothering the Acorus.

The worst thing about the Alder leaves is that they fall continuously throughout the late Summer, Fall, and into Winter.  I can go out one week and rake up four yard-waste-bags worth of leaves and then go out and do the same thing in another week or two, and again after that--it's Sisyphean.  Oh for a Ginkgo tree and its habit of dropping ALL of its leaves in a single day.

All these photos were taken on an overcast and rainy day a couple of weeks ago.  It's been super-dark, cold, and rainy for the longest time and I haven't been outside to do any gardening or photography--not that there's anything I wish to document, anyway.  Lots of squishiness and rot out there...not too much beauty--even for someone who is trying valiantly to see "beauty in the Winter silhouettes of dying perennials".

I'm definitely looking forward to the Solstice and the slow return to longer days!  

Arts & Crafts: Halloween 2015 Round-Up

Well--it's that time of year again: Time for the Halloween costume post. I really enjoy Halloween. It is the holiday most conducive to letting the "craft monkey" out of its cage. I love to craft, but I don't like "crafty" things. And my appreciation of fine craftsmanship does not allow me to appreciate and display the items I make. But Halloween is different. My crafting skills are the equal of this holiday and I appreciate the challenges presented by each new costume. This year, Zachary wanted to be a Jawa. When he told me this he said, "Mom--I'm giving you a really easy costume this year. You'd better do a really, really good job on it." He was ready to micro-manage every costume element, but he was especially concerned about having an accurate Blaster weapon. 

Here's how I built a Jawa for Halloween 2015:

Jawa costume 2015. Including Jawa boots that I did not write about--they were simply an old pair of sneakers that I covered in strips of frayed robe fabric and heavily weathered and distressed.

Elements of the costume were: Robe and Hood, Mask, Bandolier, Blaster-Holster, Shoes, Gloves (a ready-made item), and Blaster weapon. Although I'd planned to complete the costume elements in order of their discipline (fabric/sewing, leatherwork, hot-glue/plastic/fabrication, etc. ) I was eager to see how I'd do with the bandolier, so I started out with the that piece even though I knew I'd have to come back to leathercraft when I tackled the holster at the end of the process.

A deep dive during the research phase of the project acquainted me with the arbiters of all things

Jawa--the 501st Legion: Vader's Fist.   They publish a costume reference guide and maintain a procedure for certifying your accurately constructed costume. I quote from their website: 

Bandoliers--for 501st approval:

• At least one bandolier is worn.
• Acceptable versions of the bandolier consist of Swedish, British, NZ, Australian, Canadian, and German.
• The bandoliers may be purchased originals or accurately fabricated reproductions.
• Bandoliers are of brown/black leather or similar looking material.
• The bandolier(s) are aged and weathered. 
• All metal pieces are dull, worn and scuffed.
• The metal pieces do not appear new or shiny or have a shine to them.
• More than one bandolier may be worn at he same time.
• Acceptable configurations include:
• One bandolier across the shoulder to the waist.
• Two crossed over the chest to the waist.
• One across the chest and one around the waist.
• Two crossed over the chest and one around the waist.

I based the bandolier on the British P-1903 bandolier which was used in WWI and WWII. I made a few changes though, so I'm not sure that the 501st would agree to certify the final product. Also, I used our old and worn out cowhide rug as a leather source and the hair-on component isn't historically accurate although I'm sure real Jawas would not have cared.

Making the template for the bandolier.

I used leather from our worn-out cowhide rug to make all the leather parts for the costume. 

I weathered the leather by sanding it and by staining/coloring it with repeated coats of liquid shoe polish, acrylic paint, more shoe polish, india ink...you name it--if it adhered and created a good effect, I used it. I enjoyed experimenting with the different effects that could be achieved by varying the order of application of the same materials. I sprayed the finished items with a light coat of sandstone/fleck stone paint and smooshed that into the crevices and dusted it on the top surfaces where I thought real dust might have accumulated. This step really enhanced the stitched areas.

Jawa mask and nearly-completed bandolier. I continued to add more weathering to the leather parts. 

The mask began as an inexpensive hockey mask. I used epoxy to mount the eyes (made from those little coin-op candy containers) to the cheeks. Then, because the eyes looked as if they were on stalks protruding from the cheeks, I built up a layer of spray-on insulating foam and carved it to shape on the lower face. This step also allowed me to minimize the shape/prominence of the nose, which wasn't a feature of the Jawa's face. I painted the whole thing black, covered the eyes and ventilation holes with black scrim, and covered the rest of the mask with cloth grip tape. I finished-up by drilling holes into the backs of the eyes and mounting yellow LED lights so the eyes will really glow. To intensify this effect, I sanded the insides of the candy cups to diffuse the light and I painted the insides of the lids with chrome paint to reflect as much light as possible. Finally, I glued the candy cups to their lids and trimmed the edges with scraps of frayed fabric. I didn't invent the basic concept--a tutorial can be found here.


The hood and robe were easily sewn. The hood was lined in black flannel and I reinforced the front edge with sewn-in boning and a small triangle of stiff interfacing that I affixed with fabric glue between the lining and the hood fabric. I probably could have omitted the interfacing--enough stiffness would have been provided by the boning alone and I think the drape of the hood might have been improved without the added stiffener in the "brim-area". For the robe, I'd taken general construction notes from the internet but I still had to make sizing guesstimates and create the pattern myself. Cutting into the fabric was a leap of faith. Luckily it worked out. The fabric was brown monk's cloth that I purchased online. I washed/preshrunk it several times before laying out the pattern and cutting it. After sewing, I distressed the fabric by fraying the edges and by applying swipes and spatters of various acrylic paints in shades of terra cotta and tan. 

It's hard to see in the photograph, but I cut well into the fabric to make large, irregular frayed areas and I added layers of spattered and smeared acrylic paint in shades of terra cotta and tan to suggest dirt. I added the most "dirt" to the inside edges of the bottom of the robe and the forearms and backs of the sleeves--areas where soil would naturally accumulate the most.

Then I moved on to making the Blaster weapon. For guidance, I must have looked at a hundreds of Googled images and dredged through tens of forum threads. There are serious Star Wars nerds out there who are obsessed with tracking down every exact, authentic component that went into making the original movie props. I wanted accuracy but, reluctantly, I decided that I'd have to be satisfied with achieving the general effect. Achieving authentic, movie-prop accuracy appeared to be a daunting (and expensive) task. 

Completed Jawa Blaster weapon.

I made the majority of the Blaster with PVC plumbing parts, craft foam "foamies", a plastic drinking glass, miscellaneous hardware, and a bit of plastic needlepoint mesh. One of the best parts was a piece of plastic that I cut from an air-freshener canister.

Component parts of the Blaster including PVC plumbing parts and a plastic drinking glass. 

The air freshener lid mounted inside the Blaster muzzle. 

To create the Blaster's stock, I laminated together two thin sheets of styrofoam and carved the shape. After I got the shape right, I coated it with 5-minute epoxy to harden the surface and impart strength.

Carving the shape of the stock from a piece of styrofoam.

Close-up of the connection between stock and barrel. 

I worried about how I would attach the heavy-ish barrel assembly to the lightweight styrofoam stock. In the end, I opted to pull out some of the styrofoam from inside the stock and fill the shell with additional 5-minute epoxy. Then I drilled holes from top to bottom through the epoxy-reinforced area and used threaded rod to attach the two elements. I decorated the threaded rod (and provided the gap that was called for in the design) by threading various washers and knurled nuts and other things onto the rod. It held up on Halloween and is still in one piece--success!

Close-up of Blaster weapon--a lot of junky bits and pieces contributed to this build. 

I painted the Blaster with multiple coats of flat-black paint, silver metallic, dustings of terra-cotta and beige pastel dust that I sealed with flat polyurethane, and sandstone/fleck stone paint. Painting is the fun part--paint magically transforms everything.

Last of all (once I had a completed Blaster weapon to measure) I made the holster. 

Close-up of the holster showing the effect imparted by the fleck stone paint. 

I really liked the faux stone paint which was labeled "Krylon-Stone-Fine Texture-limestone". It was different than I'd thought it would be. I was expecting a "Hammerite" type of finish but the paint (it was aerosol) came out more like granular stone dust in a clear binder. When I applied a light coat to the fabrics, it looked just like a thin layer of dust. And when I applied it to the hard surfaces, I was able to smoosh it around and wipe it into the crevices. I was a bit surprised at first, but I ended up really liking this product. That's the fun of crafting--hypothesizing about what might work, trying new things, and learning about new techniques and products.

Jawa Costume--Halloween 2015

And that's Halloween 2015--Jawa costume. It was a big hit during Halloween trick-or-treating. Lots of people asked Zachary to pose so they could take selfies with him. One guy gave him the whole candy bowl. That's become the mark of success--someone has to say, "Wow! That's the best costume I'll see all year. Here, you deserve ALL the candy!" And, lucky for me, that happened this year. Glowing with his trick-or-treating success, Zachary was feeling generous and awarded me an A+ on his costume. A few days later, though, and he's already down-graded me to "an A- or even a B". That's how it goes in this family. :-(

Garden: Today's Photo(s)

It's that lurid time of year again, when the bright rose flowerheads of Sedum "Autumn Joy" compete for attention with the orange and yellow tones of autumnal foliage.  It's my least favorite time to view the sedums.  Although, I don't know why I blame them so exclusively--the hydrangeas present sunset leaves and raspberry bloom on the same plant.  It's probably a result of density/concentration of color.

(I took these photos in the evening with loooong exposures to gather enough light--they look dusky because it was!)

Front yard--photo taken front the sidewalk at the southeast corner of my garden.  Several of my neighbors have decorated their homes for Halloween so, even though it seems premature to me, I joined in and got out my Halloween banner.

In the foreground, the newly planted portion of the rockery features darker purple foliage and dense, low-growing plants. 

Front garden--photo taken from the walkway looking south.  The muted tones of the Eutrochium are much more appealing to me than the brighter sedum blooms.  Come mid-winter, though, I'll appreciate the structure and the burnished russet color provided by the dried sedum stems.

Hydrangea "Bombshell"--sunny, midday photo