Foliage Friday - Poinsettia

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy Foliage Friday! Great to have ya here!

Ready for a Foliage Friday update? I hope so! Here is your friendly plant post, where I talk about a plant I love and hopefully convince you to either plant it or just be more knowledgeable about it.

Plant: Poinsettia, Eurphorbia pulcherima

Poinsettia plant

Why: At Ball, employes are able to purchase poinsettia plants for the holidays. Upon asking my mom if she was interested in some, we both realized we didn't know too much about plant care or what they prefer. What a perfect topic for a Foliage Friday post! So here comes some information on a popular holiday plant.

Landscape/Plant info: The bright parts of the plant that we think are flowers, are really just brightly colored bracts. They turn to the color we recognize (red, white, pink) after spending at least 12 hours for 5 days in a row in the dark. The poinsettia prefers a lot of light during the cool part of the day to have the brightest color, so a solid light source is important after the color is established. But if you can avoid sun during the hot part of the day, it would be better. Typically the poinsettia is an indoor plant, don't let it get exposed to temperatures under 50 degrees. If you want to continue the plant's longevity after the first season, you need to put the plant in the dark for around 2 months along with some light watering. Be sure not to let it sit in water, that can cause rot, etc.

Red, pink, and white colored poinsettias

See these green/yellow parts of the plant? THAT is actually the flower... not the red leaves!

 Other uses: Other than a delightful holiday plant, there are no other "uses" persay.

Fun facts: The poinsettia is native to Central America and Mexico. It was named for Joel Roberts Poinsett who introduced it to the United States.  While the poinsettia is irritating to the skin and stomach, it is not as toxic as their reputation leads people to believe. If sap from the plant gets into an eye, it can cause blindness for a small period of time. December 12th is National Poinsettia Day.

Check out this article for some information about how to keep your poinsettia for more than one season.

Information and pictures from: http://urbanext.illinois.edu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia, http://gardening.about.com

Top 10... errr 8

Remember my post about the places I want to visit? I thought it would be fun to do a "Top 10" post from time to time about random subjects. If you want to revisit my Places I Want to Visit, go here! And if you happened to have read that post, you'll notice I could only come up with 8 places. So I am going to do Top 8 lists. :)

Soooo, let's see. Today's Top 8 is....

Things I want to do this winter:

1. Go ice skating - Can you believe I have never been ice skating? It's true, never once. I'd like to try it some time! Although I can probably predict some injuries from that haha.

2. Build a snowman - I don't so it's think I'll ever outgrow building a snowman. They are just too cute. :) No one could guess that my parents have a 23 year old living with them. Ha.

3. Go to the Walnut Room - I've never been to the Walnut Room downtown, either. It would be so fun to check it out. Chicago in winter is so beautiful!

4. Make college scrapbook - I keep putting off all these scrapbooks that I want to get done...  so it's about time I get cracking on them! I have 3 in mind right now, so I am eager to at least get one done this season. It will be good to have a project to work on after Christmas cards are sent out.

5. Go Christmas shopping with a friend - I absolutely love Christmas shopping... but it is usually a lot more fun when you do it with a friend! The past couple of years, I have shopped alone because I lived alone or was the only person not working during the day. Hopefully this year will be different.... (if I don't happen to buy a lot of in online!)

6. Have a movie night with some girly friends - I haven't had a movie night in a long time, it would be fun to watch a chick-flick with some friends and eat chocolate. Yum! I'm definitely not having enough girl nights.

7. Do a holiday project found on pinterest - I pinned a million things I wanted to do for fall on pinterest.... and I didn't do any of them.  :( So I want to do at least one of the projects I found for winter!

8. Go to Kriskindlemarket - I loved going in high school with my friends. Warm treats, cool vendors, and cute crafts. I'd love to go back this year and see how it has changed!

There is my winter list of fun. What do you want to do this winter? Do you want to join me with any of these?

Foliage Friday - Japanese Spicebush

Happy Friday! Look, my second post in a row. I didn't forget this time. :)

Ready for a Foliage Friday update? I hope so! Here is your friendly plant post, where I talk about a plant I love and hopefully convince you to either plant it or just be more knowledgeable about it.

Plant: Lindera obtusiloba, Japanese spicebush

Why: This one is for you, Erin! While I was in New York, Erin and I went to the New York Botanic Gardens and came across a spicebush. I remembered from my undergraduate class that the stems of the spicebush smell citrusy when you scratch them, so I asked Erin to smell it. She was amazed that I remembered such a random fact and how pretty it smelled. So I told her I'd write about it sometime for her. :)

Me with the spicebush we saw in New York!

Landscape info: In mid-April, the spicebush flowers greenish yellow flowers and has some obvious fruit that ranges from red to black. In summer, the foliage is bright green and turns yellow in the fall. It does best in an environment that has full sun tpart shade. I did read that it does better in USDA zone 5. If your winter gets very cold, you may want to cover it with a tarp to keep it safe from severe elements. It can grow about 10 feet tall if left unpruned.

A close up of the yellow flowers of the spicebush

The yellow foliage of the spicebush in fall. Beautiful!

Other uses: I would assume that you could crush the leaves and/or twigs for an aromatic potpourri!


Fun facts: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Great way to get some pretty creatures to your yard! Almost all of the features of this bush are easy to overlook because they are so small, but if you take some time to notice them, they are very endearing!

The spicebush in New York again!

Information and pictures from:  http://www.backyardgardener.com, http://www.tripleoaks.com, http://stevesplantsandrants.blogspot.com

Thanks for tuning in for another week of Foliage Friday! :)

Off to the Big Apple

For whatever reason, Erin and I started planning my second New York trip right after my first one ended. We talked about doing the things we didn't have time for and redoing some of the things we did the first time. Suddenly, the joking planning turned into the real thing! I researched and booked my own flight and flew out to see Erin one last time on October 13th for the weekend. It was AMAZING! Erin is such a wonderful host and I got to do so many new things again this time!

Please enjoy the photo journey of my trip!

This luggage check ticket symbolizes my travels to the Bronx. Aka - everything that could go wrong, did. First, my flight was delayed 45 minutes leaving Chicago because of rain in New York. And then my bag was checked at the gate because the flight was full and there was no overhead space left. Then, when I landed, I went to get on a bus through Queens to Harlem. Except the I realized the bus doesn't take dollars, only quarters... and guess who didn't have quarters? This girl! So I ran to a metro machine and got a card, just in time to catch the bus. Oh, it's not over yet. THEN, I managed to miss the stop I was supposed to get off at in Harlem. When I realized it, I jumped off and booked it 6 blocks through Harlem back to the Metro North to ride to the Bronx. Luckily, nothing went wrong with the train ride to the Bronx and I met Erin outside! Whew!

After my epic traveling experience, I told Erin that I needed a drink. She had the perfect place to go! We went to Michaelangelos right down from her apartment and enjoyed a small pizza and some delicious wine! We took this picture in front of $10,00 alcohol. No pressure not to fall into it!

 

We spent the night talking and catching up and planning our weekend. The next morning we went to Polombos, my new favorite place, to have their wonderful eggels. Even though it took the waiters awhile to get our order right.... it was SO worth it!

After our wonderful breakfast, we went over to the Botanic Gardens. This was one of the things we wanted to be sure to do together this time. It was raining, but we were determined!

There was a conservatory and we spend a bunch of time in there looking at their feature exhibit - the mums! This is Erin enjoying some huge ones!

I taught Erin all about peppers and capsicum.

This is a shot entering the mum display. Amazing color!

Erin heard that lily pad garden was in full bloom so we definitely decided to check it out. It was beautiful and filled with gorgeous lilies!

I came up with the genius idea to take a picture with my auto timer function with Erin across the lily pond

Before starting our day, we decided to take a picture in our new pose. Did you know this is in? Haha.

We went to the garment district to find some lace that matches the lace on Erin's mom's wedding dress. It was a very daunting task!

We found a place that had a whole upstairs full of lace. We found some possibilities!

We stopped in Central Park to enjoy some of the fall colors but were disappointed to see none. :( So instead we bought a waffle from a cart vendor and enjoyed it while doing a crossword. Love!

THIS is my ultimate favorite picture of us now. So adorable. <3

Between Central Park and this picture, we played around in Manhattan, pretended we were really rich, pretended we wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter, and found this sushi place. Then we enjoyed some AMAZING sushi in Manhattan. So so worth it!

After sushi we went to see one of Erin's classmates sing at a bar in Manhattan. She is from South Africa and did an amazing job. We enjoyed some mango martinis during the night. Yum yum!

What did you think of my recent trip to New York? Keep an eye on Erin's blog to see her rendition and her pictures of the trip!

Foliage Friday - Blanket flower

Haaaaaapy Friday! Did you miss me the past THREE WEEKS? Yikes, I certainly owe you... but I'm not sure how to make it up to you! We'll go ahead and start with a post that is on time. :)


Ready for a Foliage Friday update? I hope so! Here is your friendly plant post, where I talk about a plant I love and hopefully convince you to either plant it or just be more knowledgeable about it.

Plant: Gaillardia, blanket flower

A cluster of Gaillardia, so pretty!

Why: At my new job, I am working with a variety of landscape plants and one of them is the blanket flower. It's ironic because this summer when my mom and I went to the garden center, she came across a blanket flower and immediately wanted to buy it. We added it to our backyard to give it a go. I love it because of the colors! Red, orange, and yellow! Who knew 5 months later I would be working for a company who is trying to develop the plant further? Awesome. :)

Landscape info: The blanket flower is a perennial plant and is from the sunflower family. The face of the flower resembles a tiny sunflower. It is native to North and South America. They grow from 1.5 to 2 feet tall and the bright flowers bloom in summer time. They grow the best in full sun and under dry (and sometimes harsh) conditions. Look, a plant you don't have to water very often! I even read that they will even grow and bloom along a sandy seashore! That would lead me to assume the soil you plant this flower in does not need to be very fertile.  Overall, it is rather short lived and won't be a long lasting perennial. I would guess 2-4 seasons.

Can you sort of see the sunflower resemblance?

Other uses: I couldn't find anything for an "other uses"!

Fun facts: The common name, blanket flower, refers to the flower's resemblance to brightly patterned blankets made by native Americans. There are more than two dozen known species of Gaillardia.  And I happen to be working on a few those right now. ;-)

Here is a variety of Gaillardia, with flouted petals. Love it!

An all red variety!

 Information and pictures from: www.wildflowerinformation.org, http://easywildflowers.com

 There is my first Foliage Friday for a few weeks... featuring a flower I work with daily! Who knows what other varieties you'll see in the near feature. ;)

End of the season

Did you notice the chill in the air? Fall is here and winter is just around the corner! While I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer, I am actually excited for the change in the season and for the holidays to start. I was really able to enjoy summer this year between my job and extra activities at Stephanie's, unlike previous years. So I was pretty satisfied. :)

Speaking of my job... if you recall from before, I worked for the Forest Preserve this summer. It was amazing and I totally loved it! See the post here. However, it was only seasonal and was due to end in November. In September, I reluctantly started the job search. I wanted to wait as long as I could because I loved my job so much and didn't want to leave. But alas, I had to start.

I applied to a handful of places one night and just plowed through them. It was not fun! I don't enjoy job searching, but I knew I needed to get started so I wasn't unemployed for the holidays! After a few weeks, I received three phone calls to schedule interviews. How exciting!

For one job, I had to take a typing test to be considered. Needless to say, I rocked it and was moved to the next stage of the interview process. For another job, I had to schedule and attend a 4 hour interview. And for the third, I immediately turned it down because it was only part-time.

And (drum roll) I was offered the job that I attended a four hour interview for! YAY! Job offers are exciting!!! After some consideration, I accepted the job and started on October 17th. I'm starting my third week this week. I am currently working for Ball Horticultural. Have you heard of it? Check out their website here.

 It's basically awesome! Here are a few things Ball is known for:

The wave petunia. Ball created it!

Fiesta Double Impatiens

Dazzler Impatiens

I work with a breeder and carry out pollinations that she wants to see in order to create or fine tune a plant. We could be working on the color, the habit, or a combination of the two. I spend many hours a week pollinating plants based on my breeder's decisions. I personally am working on 2 groups of petunias and helping another technician with Gaillardia (see upcoming Foliage Friday). It's really interesting and I have A TON left to learn.

I want to share everything I'm doing and what colors and shades and stuff we're working on, but I signed a confidentiality agreement and I'm not 100% sure what I'm allowed to say and not! So I'm going to stay on the safe side and not blabber too much. :)

Here goes another adventure!!! What do you think? Do you have any questions?