Thursday, November 12, 2015

Sunny Centerpiece on a Gloomy Day


Greetings, from Finch Rest!






Wow- we went from having perfect weather to
windy cold and very blustery in a flash!

It was mid 70s few days ago, then turned quickly to mid 50s,
and last night rained and rained,
and now it is dark, wet, and cool out there.










It is sooooo gloomy I thought I would cheer myself up
(and hopefully you as well)
sharing my sunny yellow mums that my daughter gave me!



  





At the end of fall last year Katie bought
 a very sad & dying mum plant
 for only $1.99.

As much as her older sister wants to rescue dogs,
THIS daughter always wants to rescue plants.....
and they both do quite well with their respective saves, actually!

Katie had the perfect place to plant her "spent" mum
 at her last house,  so when they moved she dug it up
 and re-planted it at their little cottage.

And it did so well in its new home!









And did it ever GROW- it is HUGE!
It's the biggest mum bush that I have ever seen.)

Anyway, she had to cut it back a great deal
because it was encroaching on their driveway-
so she made herself, her sister and me each 
a nice bouquet from the cuttings!










Just to give you an idea how healthy this plant is?
These cuttings from it I have had for nearly a month!

And they haven't even come close to browning yet!


*Hint to remember to help keep your cut flowers fresher longer:

Put your cut flowers in your fridge at night,
and change your water daily!

I have said it before and it is worth repeating-
it really really works!











I am also showing you finally a little favor she gave all of us
at her Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party -
red and multi-colored popcorn she and Jeff grew
themselves in their new garden!











It pops very nicely and the kernels are so tender
one can even eat them!

The planting was such a success they're going to
plant lots more next year.

We've offered up some of our land if they want more
gardening room, too, as we have a few acres in back
and they live in the city.











Here is the pic I took yesterday of my neighbor's stunning
 Red Maple tree - I knew the wind was coming and
the leaves would all fall off....took this pic
in the nick of time, too - the tree is bare now!









Anyway, I know looking at my sunny yellow mums
sure brightens my outlook on such a
 grey dark damp blustery day.











Time to put the kettle on for tea, and settle in with a good book.

I may even light our first fire of the season!









As always, thank you for your visit!



~Michele



24 comments:

  1. WOW beautiful Mums. Your daughter sure has a green thumb. Love the picture of the Red Maple Tree, it's stunning. I had to turn on my furnace yesterday as it got a little chilly in the house. I am so thankful that we are having cooler weather. Guess you guys are getting ready to start solder weather. I remember when I loved in Ohio, up by Lake Erie. We got the lake effect with lots of snow and really cold weather. That's why I move to sunny CA.
    Hopefully the sun will shine for you tomorrow, but a cup of tea and a good book sure sounds great.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Mary

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  2. We are forecast wind and rain for this evening and tomorrow, so tea and a good book sounds so good. Your daughter certainly has a way with plants, the pot mum looks amazing. A great tip for keeping the flowers so fresh I must give that a try.

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  3. I love mums this time of the year. Our weather is strange too. It is so warm and windy today and that means the temperature will be going down this weekend.

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  4. Beautiful mums, Michele. How nice of your daughter to share. Our weather was quite gloomy this morning but now the sun is shining brightly. I see I need to get going on my procrastination on the window washing! ♥

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  5. Got the fire going here, too, Michele. It is a cold, rainy, dreary day here,t oo. That mum is fantastic. I can't believe how long it has lasted! You dd did good with that one!
    Cute little popcorn treat!
    Hope you have a good night- now go get that fire going! xo Diana

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  6. What lovely mums...mine aren't doing all that well...the yellows are turning brown..not sure why. I repotted them into larger pots, water them and feed them every 2 weeks...hmmm...
    Beautiful neighbors tree...

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  7. Beautiful pictures and flowers - and popcorn. I'm a little puzzled by the photo after the popcorn in a jar. I've read and reread the blog to see if I could figure it out - but maybe I'm just easily confused. LOL Lovely post. and great ideas for keeping flowers fresh.

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  8. Well, you sure cheered me up! It's quite gloomy here too. You must enjoy your daughter's gardening and love of plants and flowers.
    Nice to visit, as always.

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  9. I love the flowers! I'm horrible with plants, and my husband is the one who can keep them alive. I don't have fresh flowers around often, but I'll have to remember your tip for the holidays. :)

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  10. The mums are beautiful and sure can brighten a gloomy day. Great rescue!! The maple tree is just stunning; most of our leaves are down from wind and rain so we've been racking and burning plus dealing with boxes, etc from the move.

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  11. The mums are beautiful, and so is the popcorn. How great is that that they harvest their own kernels to pop? It's a good thing that you took a picture of the tree before all the leaves disappeared. Hope you have a cozy weekend with a nice fire, your book and a pot of tea.

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  12. Amazing dear Michele that you have a bouquet of mums lasting that long. They are a gorgeous sunny yellow colour to brighten your dreary day. We have our fireplace (gas) on most evenings and it sure is cozy.
    I pulled out my winter/Christmas decor yesterday and had a heart warming moment when I unwrapped the miniature 'Cup of Christmas Tea' set you gifted me last year. It is sitting on my tea cart.
    Have a good weekend!

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  13. What a cheerful post! A great way to start the day. Many thanks. We don't get many changing leaves in So. CA, so your picture of your neighbor's tree is greatly appreciated! Enjoy your book and tea: sounds like a cozy scene! Rosie @ The Magic Hutch

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  14. It does seem cruel to have the wind take the leaves at the height of their beauty! Oh my! That mum bouquet is marvelous! (Most mums are not perennials so your daughter was blessd to rescue the right kind.) I remember your trick for keeping flowers longer! A good one it is, too!

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  15. Very nice pictures, and yes, I know how fast the trees bare here in Chicagoland. Wind and more wind, thanks for the lovely post, Sandi

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  16. Thank you for sharing the beautiful colors of fall! Your neighbor's tree is amazing, and how lucky you are to be able to have those beautiful mums that your daughter rescued! It is finally starting to get cold (under 60) here in Georgia, and we've had so much rain knocking off any remaining leaves, the fall color has almost all disappeared, so I'm especially grateful for the lovely glimpses of it here today!

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  17. What beautiful mum, Michele! So sweet of your daughter to share them with you. I've often put flowers in the frig at night and change the water daily, it does work! How fun to grow your own popcorn, it seems like they have a real gift for growing! Many blessings, Cindy

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  18. Your daughters sound so sweet! Animals and flowers are 2 of my favorites. I had no idea mums would come back each year. Your daughter needs to share her awesome tips on your blog!!!

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  19. Your daughters sound so sweet! Animals and flowers are 2 of my favorites. I had no idea mums would come back each year. Your daughter needs to share her awesome tips on your blog!!!

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  20. Beautiful. I love mums! Thanks for joining Home Sweet Home!

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  21. Your bright yellow mums definitely cheered me up. I love the idea that your daughter rescues plants!

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  22. Your daughters are thoughtful and your photos are always so lovely. What cheery flowers mums are! And thanks for sharing your next post.

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  23. A wonderful burst of color on a gloomy day.
    Amalia
    xo

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