Tag: my posts

Sister’s Rose of Sharon dramatically pruned down to size. Broke the 1/3rd rule here (I think I took off over half, the highest branches were up to the eavestrough) but it needed the reduction for various reasons, + Rose of Sharons are rather vigorous so I think it will grow back just fine. Kind of wish I brought some additional equipment, a sketchbook, or had some other people’s shrubbery to work on cause now I have nothing much else I can do while in the city (guess I could do a cold walk in the park but idk).

Also wish i brought my wallet so i could grab something to eat rn lol, I’m famished.

Photographed April 29th 2018

Badly photoshopped (or technically fireaplaca’d but w/e) ideas/brainstorms for my now empty canvas of a shadowbox (cleaning it out of gross jarred insects was so overdue). Thinking fruitiforms to make most of the space while following a botanical theme. In order with pros/cons of each organizational idea;

Picea (Spruce) Species

  • Pros– Very easy to acquire said fruitiforms. Very clean and easy to dry.
  • Cons– Least decorative/interesting, the majority of Picea save for P. abies cones are very small so detract from such a large shadowbox display without adding multiples to balance it out.

Pinus (Pine) Species

  • Pros– Moderately to very decorative, moderately easy to acquire.
  • Cons– Very few species acquirable in the locality outside of P. sylvesteris, P. nigra, and P. strobus (last being actually moderately tricky to acquire intact cones of though trees are common) so not a lot of variety for the display. P. strobus cones while decorative are also quite messy. Most Pinus species’ open cones are much too wide to easily fit into the box.

Magnolia Species

Pros– Very variable fruitiforms making for a very unique/exotic display. The rarity of such of a display of species would be worth getting smug about.

Cons– Difficult to acquire (majority only accessible via distant arboretums & botanical gardens). Depending on species the fleshiness of fruitiforms (M. macrophylla in particular) may be very difficult to dry. Seeds which could make the display even prettier both difficult to dry as well as too valuable to leave in a shadowbox when they could be cleaned/sown instead.

Mixed Species

  • Pros– Can cherry pick for most decorative/dryable species of each group.
  • Cons– Thematically chaotic/miscellaneous in a negative way. This is a bigger deal to me than it sounds.

Taking a pretty strong lean on having a Magnolia/Pine based display. What do you guys think? Anyone leaning to one of these themes more than others or do any of you have ideas for an entirely different fruitiform/herbaria theme for such a shadowbox?

Christmas Greetings from the December blooming Schlumbergeras
Photographed December 7th, 10th, & 13th, 2017

Merr Christmas. Even one of my tiny little Schlumbergera seedlings is blooming this month for the occasion! Gotta say though that the Schlumbergera x buckleyi is killing it for standing out this year though, even if the flowers are smaller than the rest!