Arrangements: Moss

On Saturday we had some pictures taken.  Our intention was to reflect Red's (aka my daughter Scarlett) first birthday, but they are more accurately for the 11 month mark.  We live in Portland, where winters are pretty mild, but in the last few years we have gotten some pretty dramatic cold fronts that snap everything into winter.  This year is a great example, with lows expected in the high teens and the highs in the high 20's this week, we are experiencing a crazy snap that is getting some of the local old timers talking about the '50's.  To put it in perspective, there are a great many plants that haven't even gotten their Fall color.  Last year in this very week, I was installing (with the help of the amazing wonderful Jaylene Walter and co) a front yard design for a client (somewhere around 36 weeks pregnant, yes) in short sleeves and rain boots.  All of this weather history has a purpose, I was thinking that we were going to be taking pictures outside.

Luckily Emily of Emily G Photography thinks we have plenty of light in our 1914 Craftsman house.  That creates a whole other thought, "oh boy, that means I really need to get the house ready!"  Like many, even in rooms that no one really pays that much attention to, I look at and see things that I'd rather not share.  Such is the case with some paint in the bathroom of all places.  Last year we did some renovating in baby preparation, and we used zero VOC paint, which was good but bad.  It's soft, just in case you didn't know that.  It doesn't harden, so you can damage it easily.  My remedy for that, plants.  It's the landscape designer in me, or the visual artist, or the crafty sewist, or maybe just the matron of the house, whatever!

I had gathered some moss together on a recent outing and have been thinking that I should make a terrarium with it.  That hadn't really happened yet, so I gathered together some Japanese pots that I have, put a gravel filled bowl in the bottom with some water (to create humidity) and covered them with rocks (which I love - love, love, love ROCKS) and arranged the moss.  Together with a Staghorn Fern that lives in the bathroom, I created an arrangement that hides what I don't like to look at.  I'll be very honest, I don't mind talking about it, but I don't like looking at it!  In fact, if I had put some thought into it, I would have held off on cutting the fern back so it was bigger, but again, I thought we'd be shooting outside, remember!

A few other things to get ready: if it's going to feel like Christmas outside, bring on Christmas inside!  Our house is a whopping 780 sq. ft.  Yep, not even exaggerating.  We have 2 larger dogs to top it off, so we usually try to have a small living Christmas tree if a tree at all.  Instead we really like bringing in garland and using it for window valances.  This is usually where the ornaments go too!  This year we are leaving for the East Coast right after Scarlett's birthday, so we are just doing lights and a few select decorations.