My Mossy Summer Garden........

This may be one that only I will like. I have always liked to see moss growing on things. I think it is interesting and sometimes very pretty.  This summer has been a good moss growing year. 

My favorite moss covered place is this old bench, sheltered in place near the huge camphor tree stump. The whole semi-private area is a favorite of mine.

The pine cone has been wedged here for many months.  The resurrection fern has been slowly growing here this summer, also.

I decided to dislodge the cone and place it on the seat.  Here is where it will stay until a squirrel or some act of nature moves it. Do any of you get used to some insignificant thing such as this and want it to stay as is?

On the base of the big stump.

The same area showing resurrection fern too.

A moss-covered exposed root situated in the dry creek bed.

For the first time, I have moss growing on the edges of some stepping stones along the path......

.....and, on the base of a big palm tree.  The leaves here are part of a milkweed plant, also a free range wanderer.....

.....on a pile of storm debris, along with air-plants and lichen.....

.....another root.....

.....on another tree.  I am telling you, folks, it is all over the place in the mostly shady areas.....

Full or empty, turned over or upright, I find clay pots to be decorative especially if they turn a nice shade of green.

The big clump of whatever it is, in the little rock garden is covered with moss. It sometimes looks more green than it does right now.

I noticed the big pot beside the clump as a choice for this post too.  I really like the green on it.  It (and the other pot) probably cannot be rightfully called moss but the look is similar.

So, there you have it, my mossy summer garden.  You couldn't know how glad I am to get to that last sentence. I had this whole post finished and when I posted it something went wrong and it was all messed up. Words over pictures, etc. Now, I am holding my breath until I publish this version! With all the time I have spent, I am hoping someone besides me likes it!

My Garden Journal/Scrapbook........

With our summer heat and hungry mosquitoes, I have been gardening less but that doesn't mean I am not thinking about it.  It's a good time to do some garden journaling. I love doing scrapbook journals.  I have several finished books and my latest is this........

........three ring binder.  I somehow got stalled and had not finished a page since last Spring - 2013.  This week I completed several pages and thought you might like to see them. They will be better viewed if you can use a monitor rather than a small I-pad.

  

This is not the first page in the book but the first one I did this week.  I am not trying to fill in the weeks I missed but, just starting with the present time.  Because my activity outside is less in this season, the journaling is more general. The silver spade above was a card from a dear friend. I just loved it and knew it would be on a page sometime.

Before going on to the next page I want to show you some supplies. I have three of these boxes filled with graphics, etc that I have collected over the years. And, this is an important factor to doing this type of journaling - having lots of things already available to choose from. These have come from many places, many years of old calenders, booklets, pads, magazines, stickers, Michael's dollar bins, cards, scrapbook supplies and others.

This is off the subject but I want to bring your attention to the little glass bubble on the rose pad.  A few years back, I scattered several of these in different unexposed places throughout the house where I would run across them at unexpected times. The reason? To trigger a reminder for me to remember and think about how God puts splashes of joy in my life and to be appreciative! I was surprised when this one came in sight. 

There is not much I can say about how to go about doing a page other than choose one thing and then start building  from there. I pay attention to themes, colors, sizes and shapes.  The blank pages for all of this book are made from card stock, sized and holes punched by hand.  This one has twelve added pieces which I glued down with rubber cement, my adhesive of choice. If you have extra glue showing where it shouldn't be, let it dry and then you can rub it off with your finger. Actually, I see four more pieces, I forgot to count the rhinestone sparkles that I added to the flower centers. The flowers were made with a rubber stamp. I may still take the strip of paper with the words off  (one reason for using the type glue I mentioned) and redo it in a neater way. It would be the third try.

One of the three storage boxes is filled with little paper pads which I find very useful to add design to the pages and also makes my written lines stay neater. When writing on a blank page I first draw straight lines using a ruler and erase them with a soft eraser after I put the words. The watch and big ribbon piece was cut from decorative scrapbook paper.

Six added pieces on this one.

The individual pages can vary greatly but I always coordinate the two pages on any opening.  I forgot to erase the lines before photographing this one.

Nine pieces plus the picture on this one. I enjoy cutting paper which gives me a lot more choices of sizes and shapes.

I often make a pocket with one of the pieces I use and then use those to stick other pieces inside of to save.  Remember to put glue only around the two sides and bottom to leave the middle open. This one will hold a few photographs of my butterflies which is the theme of this opening.  I know I am saying more than some of you care to know but, I am hoping I might inspire someone to start a journal/scrapbook.

I have a graphics board on Pinterest and I printed this big butterfly onto cardstock  from there.  I didn't expect him to be so big but it worked out to be one of my favorite pages. You will notice words written around the shape of the butterfly - another thing I love to see and do. The little butterfly in the corner was made with a stamp. Learning to overlap some things (like the lady with the flower) is a secret to a good look. Yes, I did cut out those tiny gardeners.

I simply love these two little dreaming gardeners!  I don't remember where they came from but, I cut them out this week and knew they needed to have something to sit on. I looked down on the table and saw the little cardstock rectangle lying on the table - trimmed it down a little and glued it down and sat them up there! They look like they paused to sit on a wall, wearing their little flower-pot hats and just dreaming away! The black piece with "Dream" on it was in my box ready to stick on the wall.

Another one with a pocket and writing around the shape. Six pieces on this one.

I saw this arrow shape somewhere on an ad or something and made this one from black cardstock. I just now saw an extra word  in the writing above the arrow. Not to worry, I will find a tiny flower sticker, or maybe a tiny bird egg picture (I have some) and glue it over the extra word.

As you may have guessed, I enjoy my scrapbooks almost as much as the garden!

This post is long and since you are still with me, I thank you and hope you might be inspired to start collecting, cutting, gluing, writing and truly enjoy your own journaling. Any local friends are welcome to come do your first pages at my house, using my supplies.

Butterflies and a Few Others.......

 I often look out the window and see something flying, grab the camera and out I go........

This time it was this Queen butterfly

Here she is enjoying the red salvia.

Occasionally I spot one of my favorites, the large yellow swallowtail.  I don't see this one as much since the purple lantana has died out. This almond aloysia tree attracts many flying creatures.

A Monarch  

Love the Spicebush Swallowtail, too. 

I find the Zebra Longwing among the most difficult to photograph.

They are like hummingbirds in that they will not be still long enough to get a good picture.

Now, these dragonflies are a different story - they find the tip of a pinnacle and relax. I usually have plenty of time to get close to them. They remind me of tiny airplanes. I wonder if the Wright brothers got inspiration from these.

I love their transparent wings.

I have a good shot at many of these every day.

YES, I see YOU too. He is my buddy

Ummmm!

I never get tired of watching her.

My Summer Jungle......

........I seldom show or even take long shot pictures of my yard. Because of the lack of depth perception with pictures, what I see in person and what I see on pictures is so different.  But, with this post you will see mostly across-the-yard pictures.  The back yard in particular has almost taken on a rain forest jungle look even though it still has structure and about everything is a plant that belongs.

What you don't see in this one is the path between the big agapanthus in the front and the purple blooming tibouchina.

This one and the next will be about the only close-up pictures.

This bush which was supposed to be a dwarf, by the way, sort of makes up for us in central Florida not being able to grow clematis.  Although this is not a vine, the flowers remind me of some of the clematis vines. 

Moving on a little farther into the backyard.

We just walked to the back side of the last picture.

The area where you see all the air potato vines on the trees, (it's all over the place, really) is my neighbor's property.  I don't allow that vine to grow on mine. The State of Florida doesn't want it growing either.

In the foreground here you see native petunia plants. The next time I get my weed whacker out these will get leveled down a bit.

A female cardinal just joined our tour. And I also see a very healthy air potato vine growing on the big tree which will get yanked down as soon as I finish this post!

Looking back across the yard in the opposite direction  where my yard borders the backdoor neighbor's. You see assorted ground covers and trees.

In closer to the house.

 This is a good place for a variety of ferns, bromeliads and some other shade plants. The morning sun comes in here.  Again, what you cannot see here between the fern behind the little wheelbarrow with the green ball and the giant fern to the right is a path which goes down a slight incline to ........

.....a huge old camphor tree stump which is trying to grow another tree.  I also have two containers of  Christmas cactus nesting on top.

Back up from the little side path.

This bed is wide and  you don't see many of the plants that are here. There is more jungle up at the next corner but I will stop here. I have already kept you too long.

~~~~~

As always I really appreciate you looking. Without you there would be no real reason to do the blog.