Everything's Coming Up Roses....and Weeds..Oh No!

I love flowers....... they just don't grow very well here. It gets really hot for one thing so it's very discouraging. Having a flower garden must be genetic. My grandfather grew prize winning roses and my mum loved to spend time in the garden. Every time she planted something she admonished it to "grow with love". I'm not quite so diplomatic. I tell my plants to grow, or else! Sometimes they surprise me and become a joy to behold, for a few days anyway.

I approach gardening with a mixture of fear and trepidation. This is Texas and there are things that lurk in the undergrowth just waiting for an unsuspecting hand to invade their territory. We didn't have things like snakes and brown recluse spiders where I grew up. I literally quake at the thought of discovering either one as I pull weeds from the flower beds, so, I stomp around quite a bit, wear long sleeves and long pants the bottoms of which I tuck into the top of my socks. You never know where a sneaky little spider might end up without the appropriate precautions.

I love to take photos, so a lot of them are of flowers in my garden, wild flowers, everywhere and anywhere. Many of them are still in iPhoto, but I also print a lot of them onto ink jet transparency sheets to use when I make a card. The language of flowers is international and sending a card with a flower on it is a wonderful way to say "Thank You", "Hello", "Get Better Soon", "Congratulations" or "I Love You", etc. You get the picture. The photos can be used just as they are, or sentiments can be easily added in Photoshop, or Word. My biggest challenge is weeding out the best ones..... I love them all, good or bad.

I usually attach the transparency to the front of a card with brads, but I've also used adhesive ink jet transparency sheets and attached the photos to glass. They also look great printed on vellum. Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)