Championing the makers, artists, and wanderers in all of us.
On our anniversary this year, we took Quijote for a picnic at The Farm at South Mountain.
We saw herbs in terra cotta pots on these stepped shelves that looked like little plant bleachers. Maybe they were cheering on the good weather!
I was skeptical about the palm tree on the Genoa travel poster and whether it could actually grow in a city that far north.
What I hadn’t realized is that Genoa is on the shores of Mediterranean — specifically, the Italian Riviera. This coastal region in Liguria also includes towns like Portofino and the Cinque Terre, and it has a climate warm enough to support palm trees, agaves, and sun-seeking tourists.
In fact, the Italian Riviera was already a tourist destination in 1884, when Claude Monet visited and painted scenes like the Palm Trees at Bordighera.
Now if the word “riviera” initially made you picture a river (same here), you weren’t completely wrong. The Italian word rivièra can actually refer to the shores of a river, lake, or, in this case, a sea.
Because there’s an Italian Riviera, English speakers called the Mediterranean coast on France’s side of the border the “French Riviera,” borrowing the Italian word again. Apparently, there’s also a (much) lesser-known English Riviera, which seems like a tourism-bureau invention.
And, yes, in Italy, you can just call the Italian Riviera the “Riviera.”
Photos via:
I’ll be linking up with Thursday Tree Love at Happiness and Food.
When we visited Boyce Thompson Arboretum last November, I spotted lots of patches of fall color – and not just in the trees!
Here are some shades of an Arizona autumn for you!
I think the fantastical plants I kept seeing around San Diego are called “dragon trees”.
On the way back from Coronado Beach, I noticed the playful-looking shadows they cast on the sidewalk. So, once again, I stopped in my tracks to take a photo of the ground.
Other photo favorites from July include a sunset in La Jolla (San Diego) and Quijote looking at the ocean.
Have you seen anything interesting on the sidewalk lately?
Part of the fun of container gardening is actually the containers themselves! There are lots of ways to form, fold, build, stitch, tie, repurpose, and personalize new homes for your plants.
Here are a twelve pots and planters that you can make!
Create a hanging garden in the Japanese kokedama style with low-light houseplants, moss, peat soil and bonsai soil. / via Design*Sponge
These little succulent pots are fashioned out of oven-baked clay. I think the small ones are super cute, but you could probably enlarge the plans if you wanted to make them for bigger plants. Tutorial and templates are on sayyes.com.
This would be a great way to put an herb garden in your kitchen without taking up counter space! / via Not Just a Housewife
You can also repurpose flea market finds, like kitchen items, by planting a small garden in them. This lettuce-filled colander could double as a centerpiece on an outdoor table. / via House of Hawthornes
With a few folds, you can make your own biodegradable pots for starting seedlings! I first saw these at Phoenix Chile Fest and later got to make my own at CraftHack.
Dress up any old can with some colorful fabric for a cheery place for a houseplant to live. / via Design*Sponge
This is actually carved from a coconut! There’s also another coconut planter project in the same post on the Jungalow.
This is a project that’s simple to make with a chic result! / via Fall for DIY
We actually have more of these IKEA Gorm shelf units than we are currently using, and I’d love to turn one into a planter or garden storage box. / via IKEA Hackers
These folded fabric covers are like coffee koozies for your plants! / via Sotak Handmade
A sign with your house numbers and a little planter is such a welcoming touch for an entryway! To keep costs down, you can use succulent cuttings and scrap wood. / via Shanty 2 Chic