Leprechaun Encounter

We've been getting lots of rain here in Southern California so new things are blooming practically every time I turn around! This bright pink petunia stood out amidst white dianthus and greenery and I needed to take a picture. To my surprise, I also captured a few leprechauns in the background!

"Have I met you two before?" I asked, catching them by surprise.

"Who, us? Oh no, we're not here," said the one on the left.

"Yeah, us, we're not here," chimed the one on the right.

"Yes, I believe the one on the right is Clancy and on the left is Fagan" I assured them.

"Oh no, nothing to see here," said one, and the other parroted him as they both turned away, repeating the words in song. I guess I snuck up on them while they were trying to hide their gold. I didn't want any, just a little chat, but maybe next year. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I tried to sneak up on them a few times to see where they hid their gold.

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Forest Flame Lily of the Valley

Forest Flame Lily of the Valley

On the first of January I welcomed the new year and a new plant into my garden. I've had Lily of the Valley in my yard before but have not had luck with keeping it alive. I saw this plant during a trip to Home Depot and because it's meant to be a hearty bush, I wanted to give Lily of the Valley and second try. This particular flora is known as a year-round interest which means it's meant to live a long time and constantly change color and appearance. This will grow to be a large bush but I decided to put it in a container first. It will soon be too large to create a fairy container garden, but it will be put in the ground to make a lovely background for a section of my garden (I haven't decided fully where I want to put it yet). Unlike most container gardens that I start in a terra cotta pot, I purchased a self-watering plastic pot to try out. I've had one other experience with a self-watering container in the past, but the flowers I placed in it wound up getting root rot and I never used it again. I saw this pot at Home Depot and figured I'd give it another try, if only for a few months while the Forest Flame gets comfortable. 

Forest Flame Lily of the Valley, Viola and Alyssum were all purchased at Home Depot.

Because of my previous experience with the self-watering container, I decided to put some rocks in a coffee filter and place it at the bottom of the container in hopes of preventing my past mistake. My goal is to prevent the roots from resting at the bottom of the container, soaking up an excess amount of water (it's my assumption that the last container didn't drain properly). Also, because this is a heartier plant than the flowers that were placed in the first self-watering container, I assume it will have a better chance at survival. I also picked up Viola and Alyssum during my visit to Home Depot and decided to include them in the container. I'm hoping this arrangement will remain vibrant as I plan to enter it into a flower show in April (I'll keep you updated). 

The fuchsia stem and dainty bulbs were what caught my eye on this Forest Flame.

Jump forward 5 weeks to this morning when I took the following pictures. Can you believe this is the same plant!? Well, it is, I promise you (I made sure none of the fairies or gnomes were playing tricks on me).

The soft, pink bulbs have outgrown their color and many have begun to blossom. The stems are no longer fuchsia and blend better. The most alarming change is the protrusion of red leaves, standing out amongst the cluster of green leaves. The coloration is this Lily's name sake and in time more will spring up. I'm amazed by how quickly the changes happened. 

This fresh growth of red leaves are a deeper color and resembles a small flame.

These flowers are small and beautiful and perfect for a miniature fairy garden.

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"Bejeweled" Poinsettia

Here are some lovely pictures of my Poinsettia after a refreshing, winter rain. I love how the rain drops look the leaves.

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Magic in Full Bloom

This morning when I came out to my enchanted fairy garden I was greeted by a wonderful surprise. I discovered this magical mystery flower in full bloom. I do not recall planting a flower here and suspect that this is the clever doing of my fairies. These fairies are hard at work creating new things to make themselves at home in their garden.

My best guess at what sort of flower this is (thanks to a google image search) is Amaryllis belladonna