GARAGE SALE SATURDAY!

I have so much stuff in storage that I REALLY need to get rid of...My darling friend Todd with On Stage is opening his warehouse tomorrow from 11-3 for a HUGE warehouse sale of great and lightly used furniture. My stuff are the chairs pictured below. All leather chairs are $129 each and leather storage ottomans are $79 each. The stacking dining chairs are $35 each....come on down to 5769 NE COLUMBIA BLVD BLDG 5 - tomorrow, May 1 for some killer deals! 11 - 3 only!

Here is our new boardwalk and new planting area....

look for "after" pictures in a few weeks...once I have gathered all my plants and water feature components......I am so excited!!!!!

What does "cold hardy" really mean???

So Frenchy and I are remodeling our backyard and got part of the new deck, the boardwalk, actually, put in recently. The boardwalk now finishes off a new planting area that I am really excited about. I know where I am going with the plantings but was doing a little research on an Agave I really want to use and trying to get the real scoop on its cold hardiness. So I was on the website highcountrygardens.com, which I LOVE! They have great plants, great pre-made gardens, great plant combinations and are a wealth of information. As I was looking up info on a lovely little South African mountain succulent (nananthus transvaalensis) and a little link popped up on what cold hardy actually means. There are so many different ideas on what that actually means, but I thought this was the best answer I have seen, so I thought I would share. If you have a spare minute or twenty, you should really check out their site, it is well worth it!!!! Shop on!!! Here is their info.....

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Gardeners toss around the term “cold-hardy” like we know what we’re talking about. On the surface we do know that some plants can withstand frosts and long winters. But just what is it that these plants do to become cold-hardy?

Even the simplest description will take you back to high school chemistry.First, hardiness has everything to do with acclimation. Plants need to be exposed slowly to changing temperatures to make a safe transition from summer through fall and on to winter. Plants begin adapting during the photoperiod, when the day length shortens. Then when temperatures drop to 40 degrees F for several days, an even more powerful signal is given to plants to prepare for winter.

It’s these environmental cues that stimulate the physiological and biochemical changes that result in a greater tolerance for cold. And when considering what each plant manages to accomplish, you can’t help but respect all plants as tightly composed living systems.

The early metabolic changes that occur include producing higher concentrations of dissolved sugars, amino acids and other soluble organic molecules. Then within the cells a higher concentration of chemically-bound water begins. This helps with the elasticity of the protoplasm, which is what makes a plant remain resilient during freezing.

Outwardly, it’s during this stage that the fall colors appear. When a plant’s metabolism is altered, it breaks down the chlorophyll, which in turn makes the aspens turn yellow, the maples turn red, and the oaks change from green to golden orange. Autumns with more sunny days produce more colored leaves because the breakdown is slower.

What gives a plant the ability to withstand cold temperatures is the absorption of essential elements from the soil such as iron and zinc.

Finally, when plant tissues are first exposed to freezing temperatures, ice crystals physically form outside the cell membranes. The crystals grow larger as they pull water from the protoplasm. When temperatures warm back up, these crystals melt and release water back into the cells. This action re-hydrates the plant so it can resume metabolism. In frost-sensitive plants, the water does not enter back into the system, and the plant eventually dies.

Hardiness is a complex relationship of factors, something us normal gardeners really don’t need to understand. We can leave the details to the researchers. It just helps knowing some of the finer points that take place inside plants as they move into winter. It lets us appreciate them even more.

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Cold hardiness is a question that is often pondered here in the NW. Many a plant I have killed while in my zonal and temperature denial......I found this information helpful...I hope you do too!

CRAZY Prickly Pear.....

I was doing a little web research for a particular variety of Opuntia cactus, more commonly known as Prickly Pear and I came across the CRAZY photo of a chair that made its debut at the 2009 Milan Salone furniture exposition.... here is the info I found on it...

Prickly pair chairs designed by Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers will be on display in Milan next week in conjunction with Designersblock:

The chairs juxtapose Mexican and European aesthetic values, incorporating the formal design elements and quirks of both to create a cultural blend. They are frivolous and humorous yet simultaneously encourage reflection and acceptance. Shapes, materials, colours, textures and finishes collide in irreverent and playful harmony; the Prickly pair chairs are a statement against prejudice and preconceptions. The classical French oval chair originated in the Rococo period during the reign of Louis XV and has since been adopted throughout central Europe. Although now completely familiar, its form was radical at the time - considered over-decorated nonsense which dispensed with rectilinear styles in favour of more light-hearted asymmetric forms. Rococo's naturalistic and exuberant ornamentation mixed natural and artificial forms of all kinds, from plant motifs to representations of the grotesque. The Nopal cactus symbolizes Mexican heritage and national pride. According to legend, the Gods told the Aztecs to build Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) in the place they saw an eagle standing on a Nopal, devouring a snake. To this day, the image resides on the National Shield.

I LOVE IT! Two of my favorite things....cactus and chairs...PERFECT!

One of our client projects made it to the Kravet website this morning ...YIPPEE!!!!!

http://www.kfi.net/mkting/DS/kravet/designshare_kfi.htm

This is such a coup for designers! If you send Kravet your photos using their products, they will post it to their website for all to see. They get about 4500 hits per day - YIPPEE!!!!!

Sunday at Farmington Gardens

This is the lovely Miss Linda from Farmington Gardens. She let me
teach a class on container gardening yesterday through mindglo.com. We
had a great time and I love this nursery even more than I already
did!!! Here are a few pictures of the nursery yesterday. I totally
forgot to take pictures during the class. Duh!!!

Check out this page on OregonLive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2010/04/shifting_out_of_neutral_two_ho.html

The above article link is an article in today's Oregonian about a client project we have been working on for the last few months. The article is all about color - from none to lots! Thanks SO VERY MUCH to the darling Miss Bridget for allowing us to be part of her color story.....so exciting!!!

The very best part is that the first photo was actually the cover of the whole Home & Gardens section! YIPPEE!!!

This photo is of the dining room into the living room. Love the Hickory Chair Chinese fretwork dining chairs in a French Blue finish.. We used a Calvin Klein for Kravet Collections linen fabric with metallic peacock blue fibers running through it with a Kravet Couture multi-colored checkered silk for the welting. The killer chandelier is the Pagoda Chandelier by Currey and Co. Dear God, I love chinoiserie!!!!! Barbara Barry lamp on the buffet....

Again, from the dining room to the living room. We used Hickory Chair made to measure slipper chairs with a Kelly Wearstler herringbone patterned fabric. The small black table is by Mariette Hines-Gomez for Hickory chair. The sofa we had re-upholstered in a raspberry Metro Chenille - totally indestructible - by Duralee. The drapery fabric is a Laura Ashley ikat pattern for Kravet. You can't see it, but the fireplace to the right of the chair in the foreground we had re-tiled in a crema marfil marble in a 1 x 3 herringbone pattern to work with the chairs - lots of texture and pattern with a neutral color - just in case they change chair fabrics down the road...... The lamps on the altar table from Legend of Asia behind the sofa are black and gold metal tole painted chinoiserie by Currey and Co.

Upstairs guestroom....... The drapery fabric is Tea Blossom by Kravet - so beautiful. coral base with multi-color Asian inspired vases. Delightful! The wall color - which is truly amazing is Benjamin Moore Wasabi - part of the Affinity palette - it contrasts nicely with the curtains! It is a pity you can't see the dresser on the right - it is ivory lacquered in a slightly modern Chinese style with beautiful chow feet - by Bungalow 5.

all photos by Faith Cathcart / the Oregonian

This chair in the entry hall is an antique from the client's great grandmother - we covered it in a super colorful Jim Thomson linen-ish fabric which set the color palette for the whole ground floor of the house. This piece is really special! ...did I mention that I love Jim Thompson??

So thanks again to Miss Bridget - I am so happy!!!!!!

BACK IN PDX....

As much as I love to travel, I equally love to come home. Our little High Point Gang arrived back from last night full of new information and totally exhausted. It was an amazing market - people were finally shopping again and a few of our regular vendors said that it was their best show EVER! So happy! We spent 5 full days of staring at things - my favorite thing to do - trying to decide and then LOTS of purchasing for the shop for September delivery.

I have a lot of comments to attach to the pictures I have already posted and I am sure that I will get around to it eventually....so stay tuned!

I've got lots to show from Noir Trading, Design Legacy, Legend of Asia and Hickory Chair! So much great stuff!!!! Now it's off for a show and lots of coffee and then off to the shop!

Day 3. Photo ramblings of the High Point market.

Ok. Even though I just landed in Portland about half an hour ago, I am
just finishing up day 3. For some stoopid reason I was not able to
post to blogger yesterday or the day before. Anyhoo......one and a
half days to go in photo documentation. Bear with me.

Whew!!!

On our way home from High Point. Pictures to share later. It's quite
warm in Chicago. I could use a beer!

Sent from my iPhone

Color palette for my living room.

I'm going to order a new sectional.in orange velvet with olive welting.

Mariette Hines-Gomez.

Love this table.

Suzanne Kasler.....

Thomas had the day off from my stalkings. Poor Alexa.

Lucky me!!!

Alexa Hampton is a super rock star!!!

We went to a great lecture Sunday morning and it was sooooooo worth
getting up super early for. Alexa is a great speaker. So funny and
clever. What a great sense of style!!