Think about it: a plant with polka dots, how could you NOT love it?
Here’s my prettypretty Polka Dot Begonia in her prettypretty seashell pot! Simple pleasures bring joy for this simple girl, I confess.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
I’ve been lusting for this Polka Dot Angel Wing Begonia (Maculata ‘Wightii’) for a long time and finally found one in the clearance section at the nursery.
The check out employee told me there was literally nothing wrong with the plant but it was stressed out and should be repotted which was pretty awesome. (I can relate as I’m a little stressed out and wish all it took was to be repotted in new soil to fix me, too…)
When young, the Polka Dot Begonia is a beautiful tabletop houseplant. As it gets older, with good care, it becomes a beautiful floor plant, reaching four feet tall or more.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
While its variegated leaves are the main reason to grow it, polka dot begonia can also show off clusters of small white flowers on and off throughout the year if it gets enough light.
Propagating Polka Dot Begonias (Begonia maculata) is best achieved via stem cuttings placed in water. Cut a healthy stem just below a node (leaf joint), remove lower leaves, and place it in water for four to six weeks until roots reach about 2 inches, then pot in airy, fast-draining soil.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Fingers crossed that I won’t love this one to death like I’ve done to other specimen plants.
With news of ships blown up during an illegal faux war to manipulate financial markets, a deranged fraud of a prez, skyrocketing prices, future uncertainty, there’s sanity in the simplicity of a flower that persists against all odds.
When I first noticed it, I tried to gently pry up this volunteer zinnia from between the crack in my driveway to plant in a better location, but I would have destroyed it, so there was nothing else to do but leave it where it grew. The roots are strong, much more so than I thought.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
I’ve watered it, watching and waiting, and it just bloomed, one single, brave flower.
My plan is to wait until the flower dies and forms seeds so I’ll continue to plant resilience, grit, tenacity, and determination.
A while back a neighbor was tossing out a few orchid plants that she thought were dead or dying. I rescued them, gave them love, and patiently waited.
I’ve been rewarded with not one, but two of them throwing spikes and blooming at the same time!
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Best of all, they’re one of the few flowers that don’t trigger my allergies!
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Slightly different shades of fuchsia bring joy.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
I don’t know why anyone would discard an orchid; they’re not that difficult to maintain and there’s immense satisfaction when they rebloom.
I found an obscure poem about orchids by José Santos Chocano, written in the 1920s:
The Orchids
Freaks of bright crystal, airy beauties fair, Whose enigmatic forms amaze the eye— Crowns fit to deck Apollo’s brows on high, Adornments meet for halls of splendor rare! They spring from knots in tree-trunks, rising there In sweet gradation; winding wondrously, They twist their serpent stems, and far and nigh Hang overhead like wingless birds in air.
Lonely, like pensive heads, all fetterless. Lofty and free they bloom; by no dull chain Their flowers to any tyrant root are bound; Because they too, at war with pettiness, Desire to live, like souls that know no stain, Without one touch of contact with the ground.
I really wish you could close your eyes and inhale the fragrance of these freesias. Our weather’s been hot here in SoCal and all the flowers bloomed at the same time.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Isn’t that vase adorable? I found it at a thrift shop and it’s one of my favorite things.
This is another post in my continual quest to NOT allow current events to cause mental and emotional distress. I don’t actively ignore the news; instead, I’m trying to manage my visceral reactivity, if that makes sense.
I didn’t get good pics of March’s full blood moon, but look who I discovered on the deck this morning! He didn’t look too perky so I put him near a flower and hope he rallies…
The White-lined Sphinx Moth, Hyles lineata, is a common “hawk moth” (Family Sphingidae) and gigantic at almost four inches! I’ve seen them around here on very rare occasions but have mistaken them for hummingbirds because they’re so big.
Hummingbird moths are excellent, beneficial pollinators, especially for night-blooming flowers, helping gardens and ecosystems thrive, though their caterpillar stage might munch on host plants like tomatoes, a minor trade-off for their adult benefits. They are harmless to humans, mimic hummingbirds, and are crucial for plant reproduction, making them a positive addition to any pollinator-friendly yard.
Hummingbird moth symbolism often centers on luck, transformation, peace, prosperity, and longevity, appearing as a messenger for change or a sign to look closer at life’s illusions, blending butterfly themes (change) with hummingbird traits (joy, flexibility) as they are mimics of hummingbirds and symbolize a spiritual connection to nature’s deeper messages and joyful living.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Lao Tzu
Leaf Loss / Bare Bones / Blue Sky
This ash tree started out forty years ago in a five-gallon pot as a housewarming gift. As soon as the leaves begin to drop–in just a day or two– the branches will become bare and I’ll have a LOT of raking to do.
“Simplicity is the final achievement. Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” Coco Chanel
Abscission is the reason why leaves fall. Scientists believe that a reduction in sunlight leads to the reduction of chlorophyll in the leaf due to a reduction in photosynthesis and this may trigger the abscission of leaves. The actual process occurs when the weaker cells near the petiole are pushed off by the stronger cells beneath them.
That’s a lot for my brain to process and right now all I want to do is quietly savor the stark, elegantly naked branches.
She felt vaguely upset and unsettled. She was suddenly tired of outworn dreams. And in the garden the petals of the last red rose were scattered by a sudden little wind. Summer was over — it was Autumn.
“She felt vaguely upset and unsettled. She was suddenly tired of outworn dreams. And in the garden the petals of the last red rose were scattered by a sudden little wind. Summer was over — it was Autumn.” L.M. Montgomery
Rainbow Valley is the seventh book in the chronology of the Anne of Green Gables series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Photos by Enchanted Seashells.
In the corner of the garden close to the back gate, I found a wing that belonged to a Monarch butterfly. Poor tattered little one, colors dull and listless; I carefully picked her up to bring inside the house to spend eternity resting in a pretty box of similar treasures.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
When I went back outside to finish a yard clean-up project, I had a visitor — this magnificent Monarch who stayed still long enough to spread her wings for a picture, vibrant and alive:
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
It’s a blueblue sky circle of life day here in SoCal.
With all the powerful planetary energies at play right now and everything else in this country that almost too horrible to even think about, it seems like a great time to get grounded, to literally get back to what’s simple and healing — and that’s where you’ll find me, in the garden planting seeds of serenity (and flowers).
A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy. – Luis Barragan
Is there anything better than homemade apple butter?
Apple butter is not a single invention by one person, but rather a preservation method with roots in medieval Europe. It originated in Germany and the Netherlands, with monasteries in those areas using it to preserve their apple harvest.
The Pennsylvania Dutch, who are actually of German origin, later brought the practice to North America, particularly to Pennsylvania, and it then spread throughout Appalachia and the American South.
This is how they used to make apple butter! It was a slow, laborious process.
My mom and I made apple butter every year. We’d get a bushel of apples and spend a fun day working together.
Cooking apple butter typically takes eight to twelve hours in a slow cooker on low heat. This long, slow cooking process allows the apples to break down, caramelize, and develop the rich, sweet flavor characteristic of apple butter.
Here’s my easy recipe. Even though it’s easy ingredient-wise, it’s going to take a long time for the apples to cook down, so be patient, otherwise, you’ll end up with a lot of applesauce.
Ingredients:
🍎 Apples, a lot of apples. I used the ones from my tree so I know they’re organic and free of any pesticides.
🍎 Cinnamon…I add a massive amount of cinnamon because that’s how we like it, so add as much or as little as your taste dictates.
🍎 Water
🍎 That’s all you need, except this time toward the end of cooking, I tasted the concoction and added two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and three tablespoons of sugar because my apples were VERY tart. (ACV brings out the sweetness, too.)
First, core and cut the apples into medium size pieces or chop them smaller, whatever you feel like doing is fine. No need to peel.
I started the cooking process on the stovetop, rather than in the crockpot, because I had too many apples to fit and I needed to wait until they cooked down before transferring. This is when you add water, about 1/2 cup to one cup depending on the amount of apples you have.
Add cinnamon.
Cook over medium heat for about an hour, stirring ever so often so the bottom doesn’t burn. I used a potato masher to make sure the apples were all getting softened.
When it looks like applesauce, carefully spoon into a blender and zap until smooth.
After that, transfer it into the crock pot and cook on high for four hours. Stir every once in a while.
After that initial four hours, turn the crockpot on low for twelve hours to cook overnight. Keep the crockpot top cracked open or condensation will form and drip into the pot and make the apple butter too watery.
If you like it super smooth and creamy like we do, blend it one final time.
And this is the finished product, so good you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. It looks like chocolate, doesn’t it? YUM!
While it’s still warm, I store some in glass canning jars in the refrigerator to eat right away, and freeze the rest.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 