Ryan & Samantha » Flowers

Ikebana

Ryan Corcoran — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:39:22 +0000

On Saturday I had the opportunity to learn Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arranging. This is way more than just putting flowers into a vase! There are detailed patterns of varying skill level, each one adding complexity. This is an old art form that dates back to the 1400s.

Tomoko has been going to a class for several years (and it shows!) and asked her teacher if I could join in for one lesson. We traveled to her teacher’s house, a beautiful and pristine traditional Japanese house. The teacher had a special room dedicated to this class, a lot like a sun room.

I chose a simple pattern to follow and the teacher (with Tomoko translating) guided me through the steps of how to measure out the length of branches and stems, the proper way to cut the stems, placement of flowers at specific angles, and filling out the arrangement. You can see the book on the table showing the pattern I followed.

As stressful as it seemed at first, between having the language barrier and never arranging flowers before, I thought this was very relaxing activity. It demanded your whole attention and really focused your thoughts on the plants and the patterns they made.

The teacher was such a gracious host and even sent me home with copies of the patterns and instructions so that I can do it again. The photo below shows my completed arrangement, as well as Tomoko and her daughter Ana making their beautiful arrangements. Thank you, Tomoko, for introducing me to an awsome new hobby!

Shh… nobody move!

Samantha Corcoran — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:02:00 +0000

I happened to look out the window this afternoon and saw what I thought was a grasshopper on one of the flowers. Grasshoppers have been turning my plant leaves into Swiss cheese, so I went outside to go squish it. Instead what I found was a praying mantis! I’m no National Geographic photographer, but I was able to get close enough to snap a few shots before it disappeared into the foliage. Although, after reading up on mantises I’m glad I didn’t get too close; they are predators, they will bite (no venom, thankfully), and while they eat mostly insects some of the larger mantises have been said to eat prey such as lizards, snakes, or rodents!

Click on the photo to enlarge–pretty cool!

Lunchtime in the Garden

Samantha Corcoran — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:58:00 +0000

I came home for lunch today and noticed a flurry of activity among the flowers. There were butterflies and bees surrounding the salvia, getting every last drop of nectar and pollen! As I was walking back into the house I noticed something white on top of a coneflower. Upon closer inspection it was a spider who had just caught a fly!

Free iris plants!

Samantha Corcoran — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:00:00 +0000

These are but a few of the many iris blooms that covered our front flower garden this spring. They started from 9 rhizomes that my mom gave me and now have multiplied several times over!

The crazy multiplying aside, these are the easiest and most fragrant plants that I’ve ever had.

This fall or next I’ll need to separate them. If you would like to have some free iris just comment here or send me an email and I’ll put you on the list.

Lake Rushwood

Ryan Corcoran — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:05:00 +0000

After raining most of the evening and almost the entire night, we awoke to see this sight in our backyard this morning. Our sump pump is still working virtually non-stop around the clock, emptying the basin about every 30 seconds. So far, no water in the basement!

I didn’t take this picture until a couple hours after we woke up. The water level has already receded some (though not much). Here’s another picture that shows off the original water depth:

I feel bad for Samantha, who, on her first day back from her 2-week work trip, decided to put down 20 bags of mulch over our newly prepped flower beds in the backyard. Almost all of that mulch is now floating away!

“The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.” – Psalms 29:10

Spring is coming!

Samantha Corcoran — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Compost Bin

Samantha Corcoran — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:25:00 +0000

When we started eating more raw food it didn’t occur to us that there would be waste from stalks and stems and peels. Eating fresh fruit every morning, salads at lunch and dinner, and snacks of fruits and veggies in between means way more kitchen waste than we’re used to. At first we threw it in the garbage can bound for the landfill. And then the guilt came. And then the bank statement came (which, one would think that produce would be cheaper than boxed “food” and meat, but it isn’t, which doesn’t make sense to me). Our solution to both these problems? We bought a compost bin! Every day or so we add leaves and kitchen waste, add some water and stir. By the time spring rolls around we will have enough compost to use in a small garden. We’re not quite sure where to place our proposed backyard garden, but we plan to grow things such as leafy greens, herbs, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and my favorite, watermelon. It’s a win-win!

Here is what I woke up to this morning:

Samantha Corcoran — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:08:00 +0000

A bloom unfolding!

Kill the Wabbit…

Samantha Corcoran — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:27:00 +0000

My little flower bed in front of the house has come back to life! The iris from Mom have buds, the salvia are bigger than ever, and the voracious little bunnies are back in full force. You can see in the background of the picture my chewed-down-to-the ground liriope (the grassy border plants). I will be buying bunny spray today…

Some flowers from our garden

Samantha Corcoran — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:07:00 +0000

I took a few pictures of some new blossoms this morning. I wish that I could transmit the wonderful smell of the flowers with the picture, but for now you’ll just have to imagine! The patterns on the flowers’ centers are really neat – just click on the picture to enlarge it.

Coneflower (Echinacea)

Honeysuckle (old-fashioned variety)

Daisy

Coreopsis