Fall is in full swing!
They're getting ever more creative with the planted (glued) pumpkins.
Last season, I bought one of these close to the holidays when they were practically giving them away and it lasted beautifully through spring when I planted the succulent contents in pots. Fun!
Iwas going to skip kale this year but they add color during fall and winter so I got three.
Aren't these bookends adorable? If my house wasn't already packed with stuff, these would have come home with me.
You called?
Who wouldn't like a spider this pretty?
Splish splash I was taking a bath.
Glass pumpkins.
This year' someone's added feathers to their velvet pumpkins. Interesting.
Velvet and sequin Indian Corn...Hmm.
If you want to see something really scary...
I'm delighted that the cacti and succulent fad shows no sign of fading and Watson's is carrying an increasing number of these cool plants.
The way the orange glochids on this opuntia catch the light is sweet!
Nepenthes ventricosa has cute little pitchers.
Dig the cool birdbaths.
Paperwhites and bare branches. Winter is just around the corner but for now, for the moment, let's enjoy the rich colors, spicy scents, and crisp days of autumn as long as we can.
What a lot of great ideas and objects. I want some velvet corn!
ReplyDeleteI bet you could make fabulous velvet corn.
DeleteThe potted pumpkins are great, but the price... holly cacti! I need to stop at a big nursery and soak up all the Halloween fun.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the prices are high but they're fabulous to look at and gather ideas to make some of your own.
DeleteOkay Mister...your garden is 1,000 times more beautiful and interesting than those manicured islands in that photo at the top of your post!!!
ReplyDeleteHmm, velvet mushrooms, I like of like them. No sequins, feathers or corn for me though.
The grass is always greener dontcha know. In the autumn, when plants are collapsing, leaf litter strewn about, it's easy to admire these pristine beds that remind me of summer.
DeleteIt's unbelievable that so many stores are putting out Christmas stuff before Halloween is even over. They'll be putting it out in June soon. I loved seeing all the Halloween stuff, especially the bejewelled spider.
ReplyDeleteThey must have been Boy Scouts (always be prepared.) I get it, though, as some people like to plan ahead, buy ornaments as gifts, design theme trees for fundraisers, etc. Plus, it's a tremendous amount of work to put out all that merchandise so getting a head start is a good idea. Plus, they start pulling it all down before Christmas is over on January 6. You need that spider!
DeleteWhat pumpkins, Peter! Different shapes, colors, varieties. It's a good idea to have pumpkin as a planter for succulents. To your previous post: Happy belated GBBD! I liked ceramic arrangements to your mother's vase!
ReplyDeleteAren't the pumpkin planters cool?
DeleteGlochids? I am impressed. You certainly do Halloween over there. I've never seen so much spooky stuff.
ReplyDeleteGlochids are the sweet-looking tufts of fir on opuntias that come of in your flesh and on your clothes when you brush them. More irritating than truly painful, they're numerous and difficult to find to remove with tweezers.
DeleteHalloween merchandise is a big thing here and there are even whole stores, open only for a couple of months, that sell only Halloween stuff. It wasn't this way when I was a kid but it's become more and more so.
You have far more fun with Halloween than we do. I had that opuntia once. Many years ago. Yet I can still feel those hairs in my fingers.
ReplyDeleteA sensation that one doesn't easily forget.
DeleteYou have incredible restraint. I know this because you didn't purchase those bookends. I don't need any and I want them too!. I do wish I had someplace to keep all those succulents and cacti for the winter. I would be known as the Spikey Lady. I also like those velvet mushrooms. What will they think of next?
ReplyDeleteJust when you think you've seen it all, they come up with something new.
DeleteWatsons looks like a pretty amazing nursery! I love the idea of turning pumpkins and gourds into succulent dish gardens. I want to know how to do this. I assume just add drainage hole and plant in the natural cavity after removing seeds? Also, I want that bejeweled spider!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great nursery! The pumpkins are left intact and the plants are glued on top. This way, the pumpkin lasts all winter long and the plants on top, being either dried things, berries, and dormant succulents (soil removed) can be kept fresh with just a spritz of water every once in a while. You can also use a pumpkin as a planter by scooping out the contents but they don't last long at all. Craft stores sell carvable artificial pumpkins and I've seen those used quite effectively as long-term planters (carve an opening in the top, add a drain hole.)
DeleteThe area in the first photo makes me green with envy too. Watson's has gone crazy with the succulent-topped pumpkins I see. Their prices are far better than those sold here, though. (There's a reason I resorted to decorating my own.)
ReplyDeleteHigher prices than these are hard to imagine. I have only bought pumpkin arrangements after Halloween when they're often discounted by 70% or more.
DeleteWatson's is always worth a visit, for a mix of beauty and fun, and great plant combination ideas.
ReplyDeleteVisiting a good garden center always lifts my spirits. This looks like a fine place for wandering and perusing the plants.
ReplyDelete