Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

loofah display of affection


one success of 2021 was that I was finally able to grow some luffas loofahs .... a gourd no less....and that I came upon the osage orange by eye by color and form by relationship to the place to the land... and now can find the osage orange trees by smell such a particular flowery odor adore....in the hills of central virginia....with all its ghosts...this strange beauty with no goal waves her flag so loudly and I recognize genius fall in love 
 

Monday, August 19, 2019

Acindathera Gladioli

Acidanthera Gladioli

flowers

I'm growing a big flower garden this summer. Some are for drying and incorporating into artwork, some are experimental flowers I have never grown before and some are old friends-Zinnias I'm talking to you! Biennials, Perrenials, annuals, apple trees, oh pears galore, white peaches, plums, cherries! ssshhhh.
Working on my little cabin or is it a cottage (?) has been such fun alongside growing flowers, being close to my Appleby family and making a big compost pile. Virginia is for flower lovers 





Thursday, January 4, 2018

SOTOL


S O T O L

not Yucca but also in the Lily family
Sotol leaves are more ribbon like
and their shaft of flowers more delicate, less 'big ass bell shaped'
the Sotol quite like growing on the black lava landscape
of the Valley of Fire
near Carrizozo New Mexico
(where MoMaZozo hosts an artist residency)
The core of the Sotol is roasted and fermented into moonshine called Sotol 
and I sure would love to try it.

 

Monday, October 30, 2017

compost palette....needs more browns

its a nerdy gardeners joke ok?  this compost pile, while totally admirable, needs more carbon e.g. leaves, straw, sticks, bark, or as gardeners call them, 'browns'

Friday, June 2, 2017

Pseudobombax elipticum

as the sultry spring bursts into the dripping summer the last of the Pseudo Bombax peel back in the night blooming for the morning and falling in the path of the Key West tourist who picks her up and discards a block later or perhaps in this artists dream presses the flower into their notebook or journal and to preserve the sweet memory....Pseudobombax elipticum reveal themselves unfolding like a banana peeling itself- oh joy- oh complete ridiculous Dr Suess-ian world, I stand by with my wonder and my picket sign that says simply 'CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL'

Saturday, May 27, 2017

compost pile

compost pile update .....collards, confetti and flowers from the ultimate Bombax tree

Thursday, December 1, 2016

mountains for maimi


mountains for miami,  living growing arugula, basil, radish and chia on towels with mirror, plexiglass and gravity fed watering system created from the recycling bin and braided thrift store dresses, 8x8x8 feet, 2010

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Jimson Weed in gardens gone wild in Brooklyn


sometime in the early 2000's
i brought soil and plants i dug up from my family's place in virginia to my street garden on leonard and meserole in brooklyn. strangely, there are two such cross sections.
i loved that garden and it was prolific, all flowers, being in the brown zone and all.
when i left one year, and it just grew wild, it came up full of jimson weed. datura. by the studio door. 
yes datura by the door
datura by the door
datura door
daturadoor
datura por su amor
datura tura dor
hallucinogenic
wild moon flower 
by the door

Monday, August 10, 2015

banana flower in Colombia

prettiest pink       unfurling       flowers        to fruit       exquisite 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Aloe light

The Botanicas in Colombia have remedies for various illnesses as well as plant charms for dreams, hopes and desires. These plant liasons also posses the powers of poetry as the light emanates from an aloe....

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Monday, May 27, 2013

Homegrown Kale Salad all year long

Kale salad...blessed with no freezes in sub-tropical key west, we can grow Kale year round. In fact one Kale plant can grow for years. Another perk of key west - Kale in the summer! I love a Kale salad with a simple lemon, apple cider vinegar, dijon and a fine olive oil dressing...with a bit of goat cheese...every day. feeling great!

food gardening in a boat...florida keys style with tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, papayas and a ladder to pick them with...love


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Wild Tamarind

The most sweet smelling flowering tree of key west...a Wild Tamarind or Lysiloma latisiliquum...the smell knocks your socks off as you ride/walk and inevitably stop by

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

plant sculpture

mirror pedestal vase and boca raton ikebana plant pruning bouquet with color photograph and swimming video with florida avocado plant

Sunday, February 24, 2013


february 24 2013 in key west harvesting bountiful arugulas, kales, chards, mizuna, tatsoi, dill, parsley, cilantro...the best salads for me and my friends!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

baby poinciana, observed

one of my talented photography students honing in on the beauty of a baby Royal Poinciana.... here is to the future!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

compost compositions and friends

vegetables...collecting the scraps...recycling...piles...transforming...biological magic...into more nourishment...black gold futures...
It's really quite elegant.

Friday, May 25, 2012

red mangrove in bloom!

amazing to see the red mangroves bloom... and in/under saltwater! I am blown away by natures designs once again...

Friday, March 9, 2012

african sausage tree

oh man. this tree rocks my world. eventually some of the candelabras of flowers will turn into a large seed pod that looks like a big old sausage. I love a tree with a good sense of humor.