Witch Hazel Tree

Found a witch hazel tree at Waterloo Gardens. Here is a picture with a yard stick to help determine its height.

Accessories Purchases

Went to Flower Warehouse today and picked up some things to fill up the accessory glass containers.

In other words, I got some accessories for the accessories.

 

Artichokes. They are kinda weird looking and might be a good item to fill up the "head".

 

Creepy candles.

The bottoms come off and they use 2 AA batteries per candle. The flame is pretty weak but flickers a little.





Small dried oranges. Another odd item to fill up the larger glass containers.




 

Pumpinos. Never heard of these things before, but they look colorful and might be a good item to fill up a large glass container.

Spice Rack

For the spice rack (10 jars), I got the following herbal teas:

Dandelion root
Peppermint
Raspberry leaf
Valerian root
elder flower
nettle
Calendula flower
Hops
Sage
Camomile

Schedule

Here are some dates to keep in mind.

Nov 17: dress rehearsal at carla's


Jan 16: meet in philly to communicate final decisions to philly folk.
             Title
             Intent statement
             Set up mulch and dirt



Feb 27 1-5: Set up in philly for display

Link to Plant List 

            https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnLwlF8H7_1SdG5oLWxiTnh1d3A3OFNaMzdPaXlFOWc#gid=0

Deck Measurements

It is an area 12 ft. by 16 ft. by 1 ft. deep.

The deck in one corner is 8 ft. by 12 ft. by 2 ft. height with a 4 foot border around the front  and side of the deck.

Items to Put in Glass Accessories

Some ideas included filling the glass containers with rose buds, petals or hips to look like the makings of tea or some other herbal mixture.

Here's what I have now from the garden. These are all dried. I can go to a craft store soon and get some potpourri mixtures or some bulk amounts of dried lavender or rose buds.

rose petals



small lavender wreaths and dark red dried rose

Plant Ideas

Theme is "Brilliant!"

Category is "bubble and squeak"

Plants for early spring, a moonlight garden, something magical. Although we could have some flowers such as pansies, and red, blue, and yellow primroses,and maybe some pale yellow tulips, we could also perk up the garden by using plants that have pale and variegated leaves. For the moment, we are also looking at plants that can be used for tea, or at least those that are edible. Possibly include plants not edible but considered medicinal: hellebore, foxglove, primrose.

Rose hips, pansies, juniper, camelia, non-spring flowering in pots.

I went to Waterloo gardens to see what herbs they might still have, and I came home with these.




Oregano with bright lime green leaves,  and lemon thyme (smells great!) with silver-edged leaves.


 

Lavender with silvery foliage.





I also found some small witch hazel trees, if we still wanted something taller for the entry. The nursery guy said they naturally bloom in early spring, and would be almost ready to bloom naturally in early March at the time of the show.

If we wanted some, we should be able to store them outside all winter and they should still bloom after being inside for only a couple days.


The nursery guy said the best types were Arnold's Promise and Diane. Niether of them were blooming at the nursery, and the one blooming in the picture above is a little sparse because it should not be blooming now.

Accessories

Some ideas included cloche with mushrooms, owl, chalkboard, tripod for caldron, fountain (there will be electric)


Here are some of the accessories we have so far.

Other Deck Entries

first place














2nd place










3rd Place












4th place