Color Inspiration for the Marbled Parrot Feathers

With the garden bloomin' and rich in color, I thought it would be fun to show you some of my inspiration for the color combinations I use. Most all of these flowers are grown from seed and reside in big pots scattered amongst the garden flowers.  The rest are perennials.

Such a beautiful color combo!

The honeysuckle vine~perfect hummingbird attractor

a new kind of sunflower~one of Burpee's Hybrids

cockatoo feathers are a perfect white canvas

a color combination that heralds Springtime

One of the new kinds of zinnias seeds I tried this year, very easy to grow
from seed and flowers show dual shades of coral

this marbled cockatoo feather reflects the colors of the
natural Moluccan cockatoo head feathers

 

Marblin' Momma's Corner Garden

I have been concentrating my energies in the garden for the last few months. I usually focus on physical labor when I have decisions to make or am doing unnecessary mental acrobatics and obsessing about stuff that should be kicked to the curb (so to speak) So I will show you why I planted an elaborate garden in the first place. Beauty aside, I wanted to plant greenery so I could use it in my papermaking endeavors and originally I did do that. I started making paper because of my printing press and all that beautiful metal type. As Hubby uncovers my print shop in the garage, I will then start making paper once again, and will return to where I started (if I can remember!!)

Japanese paper with seeds, long fiber

Western paper, cotton, with boiled and dyed zinnia petals
 

• I cooked the petals of zinnias, marigolds, any interesting seeds for just a few minutes. Then, I used fiber dyes to put color back into the petals and seeds. There is variation on what absorbs the dye and how. The Japanese paper has tons of color, long fiber floating through it and texture, while the western paper is smooth cotton fiber and has lots of zinnia petals.

The Corner Garden~Mind of Its Own

This year, the weather has been different (from last year and the year before). Very cool nights, somewhat cool days, lots of rain, infestations of different types of worms, bugs~now I spied a few japanese beetles. I am out there with my machete, bug begone, and mosquito netting! The pictures will give you an idea, the difference between one month ago and now. It looks as if most of the flowers are going to bloom at once, rather than take their turns as in years past.

More green than flounce

How did I end up with almost all yellow zinnias in my pots? I think it is likely
that our grazing nocturnal animals ate all the coral ones

a touch of pink

The corner garden is now dark and mysterious

I use the petals of zinnias as an addition to my handmade paper

You may think this is kudzu. Almost. It is a trumpet vine that I hack all
the way down every year because it hasn't bloomed and now
after 7 years, it is going to produce hopefully more than one flower.