Showing posts with label Garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden. Show all posts
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Moss Dragon
I have spent the past few weeks making the daily announcement, as I head out the door, "I'm going to go water the dragon". Dragon care has been pretty labor intensive.
The dragon started out as a project for DIY.org, so that Blaze could complete his biology badge.
This is the video we used as directions for growing moss on a wall:
First, we had to go out moss hunting.
Then, assemble the ingredients:
Mmmmm! Moss smoothie.
By the way, make sure there are no tiny pebbles mixed in with the moss before blending. Also, it's not very easy to clean out of the blender afterwards, but it can be done.
I drew an outline of the dragon on the wall, using chalk.
Painting the moss mixture onto the wall wasn't working very well for us, so we ended up using our fingers to apply it.
Every day, sometimes twice a day, the dragon was misted. At first this was Blaze's job, but like may other childhood pets, it soon became mom's job.
And then...the war began.
If something grows in Florida, something eats it, maybe more than one something. Millipedes, centipedes, and snails turn out to be the enemy of intentional moss growth.
These are the worst!
They are big enough that I could hear one eating the moss. I'm pretty sure that if they were left to devour the entire dragon, they would continue to grow until they rivaled the sandworms from Dune in size.
The "worms", as we've been calling them, caused so much damage that we had to head back out into the woods to find more moss and start all over again, but I was determined not to let them win, loudly announcing to my family, "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY WORMS!"
After the new layer of moss was added, the toddler and I started planting seeds and plants in the neglected flowerbed under the dragon. We planted marigold and nasturtium seeds and transplanted a sweet potato plant and some yellow mums. She even tried to plant herself.
It still requires a lot of vigilance, but the dragon is beginning to grow.
The dragon started out as a project for DIY.org, so that Blaze could complete his biology badge.
This is the video we used as directions for growing moss on a wall:
First, we had to go out moss hunting.
Then, assemble the ingredients:
Mmmmm! Moss smoothie.
By the way, make sure there are no tiny pebbles mixed in with the moss before blending. Also, it's not very easy to clean out of the blender afterwards, but it can be done.
I drew an outline of the dragon on the wall, using chalk.
Painting the moss mixture onto the wall wasn't working very well for us, so we ended up using our fingers to apply it.
Every day, sometimes twice a day, the dragon was misted. At first this was Blaze's job, but like may other childhood pets, it soon became mom's job.
And then...the war began.
If something grows in Florida, something eats it, maybe more than one something. Millipedes, centipedes, and snails turn out to be the enemy of intentional moss growth.
These are the worst!
They are big enough that I could hear one eating the moss. I'm pretty sure that if they were left to devour the entire dragon, they would continue to grow until they rivaled the sandworms from Dune in size.
The "worms", as we've been calling them, caused so much damage that we had to head back out into the woods to find more moss and start all over again, but I was determined not to let them win, loudly announcing to my family, "I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY WORMS!"
After the new layer of moss was added, the toddler and I started planting seeds and plants in the neglected flowerbed under the dragon. We planted marigold and nasturtium seeds and transplanted a sweet potato plant and some yellow mums. She even tried to plant herself.
It still requires a lot of vigilance, but the dragon is beginning to grow.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Maclay Gardens State Park
This afternoon, Blaze and I visited Maclay Gardens State Park for the first time.
The house was closed. It's only open Jan. through April. March and April are also the peek flower viewing times in the gardens.
There is also a little swimming beach, which is included in the entrance fee, so we make go back and take advantage of that during the summer.
The house was closed. It's only open Jan. through April. March and April are also the peek flower viewing times in the gardens.
There is also a little swimming beach, which is included in the entrance fee, so we make go back and take advantage of that during the summer.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
Happy first day of Spring!
Yesterday, there was no school. It was the end of the third semester teachers' work day, but thankfully I didn't have to go into work. I had spent all weekend sick with the flu and was finally feeling better, so we went out to the botanical gardens to get some fresh air and sunshine.
Yesterday, there was no school. It was the end of the third semester teachers' work day, but thankfully I didn't have to go into work. I had spent all weekend sick with the flu and was finally feeling better, so we went out to the botanical gardens to get some fresh air and sunshine.
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Crafty Crow
