plants – everydaysparks

EverydaySparks, Herb Gardener

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Cate

Last year I was part of a group of bloggers who posted about Hope and what it meant to them. Amongst the pictures that I included in my post was a picture of my herb garden in its infancy – I had hope that the teeny tiny basil, parsley and coriander plants would grow into impressive market gardens. Well, the coriander got knocked over and eaten by a possum or bush rat or some other weasel-type character in a daring night-time raid on my balcony and that was the end of that.

But I am pleased to report that, largely due to the herb-sitting efforts of my lovely folks and sister-in-law Jo, I now have a basil tree and a parsley patch. I have even become the herb providore to my ancient neighbours – I may soon open a roadside stall, EverydayHerbs. Life on the land is very satisfying, so I wanted to share it with you – hopes and dreams can come true, my friends!

The way they were, back in the day... — The way they were, back in the day…

And I don’t actually really like coriander anyway, so HA HA HA to that thieving possum / bush rat / weasel.

Fashion Sparks, WWWhat?

Green sleeves

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Cate

The Ecouterre website is all devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design. And there are some very interesting things there. I tend to use the word ‘interesting’ a lot when I am not sure of the right word to use to properly articulate my thoughts. And so I present to you this interesting fashion innovation: Egle Cekanaviciute’s Plant-Filled Couture Doubles As Wearable Planters. Uh huh. There are so many puns that I could insert here, but I’ll limit it to one true thought: I wasn’t sure at first, but the idea is growing on me.

I have previously written about wearable planters as necklaces in the early days of this blog, here. So I’m not opposed to the idea. I mean, why shouldn’t we use our empty pockets and otherwise pointless jacket sleeves to grow plants?

Peckish on the bus? Break off some basil from the herb garden at your elbow, whip out the tomato slices in your shoe & the mozarella in your handbag – hello, Caprese salad on the go! Or if the person next to you in a meeting has not-so-fresh breath, you could offer them a mint leave from the patch at the back of your frock.

And every bride wants to look her best from all angles – why not have a bouquet at the front and an ivy plant climbing up your back? Not sure how you’d sit down or avoid birds and bugs getting up close and personal with you on your special day, but I just put the ideas out there – you can work out the details.

You can see more of the Lithuanian designer’s wares here. Just in time for planting bulbs if you’re in the southern hemisphere…keep an eye out for me around Sydney in a few months in my daffodil jacket and hyacinth trousers…

Arty sparks, Sparky gifts, WWWhat?

Baby love

Posted on March 30, 2012March 30, 2012 by Cate

I love New York – pretty much everything about it, in it, from it, around it. But I don’t know that I really love these Porcelain Baby doll head planter / candy dishes from Brooklyn designer, Danielle. They’re kind of creepy, in fact. And I don’t know that I could be friends with someone who has a garden full of these little baby heads. Although – and yes, I know I can be shallow – if they had a house full of these stuffed with candy, I would probably be ok with that.

And as much as I love fake pets, I’m not sure that fake babies hold quite the same appeal, although Danielle tries to tempt visitors to her site: Always wanted twins or triplets, or more?… You can be an “Octo-mom” (or octo-dad) too – get multiples!

If you’d like to stock up on baby heads, check out Danielle’s etsy store, reshapestudio.