Stag Horn Fern Workshop

It's been a while since I took part in any of the fantastic workshops offered by Utsuwa Floral Design in San Francisco so I decided it was time to get back into it.

Last Friday I took part in a mounted Stag Horn Fern workshop. Remember those incredibly retro looking ferns everyone seemed to have hanging off their walls in the 70s and 80s? Well, they're back in all their retro splendour. And we now have one to hang in our apartment.

One completed mounted stag horn fern

Like most of the workshops that I've attended at Utsuwa Floral Design, this project is actually relatively easy once you the know materials to use and how to put it all together.

Here's a look at the workshop...

Growing Wheatgrass for Easter

Today Ava and I planted wheatgrass for Easter.

Planting wheatgrass for Easter

Hanging Rabbit Foot Fern workshop

Last week I attended another workshop at Utsuwa Floral Design in San Francisco's Japantown.

This time the project was a Hanging Rabbit Foot Fern; a small fern, the roots and soil of which are wrapped in a moss ball.

This project was relatively quick and simple. After removing the fern from its pot a wire post is poked through the middle. This forms the hanger for the completed project. Moss is then placed on the bottom to hold in moisture. Sheet moss is then wrapped around the roots and soil, covering it all and shaped to form a ball.

The materials: fern, moss, monofilament fishing line and wire

A little gardening

When you live in an apartment with no outdoor space of your own planting a garden becomes a little tricky. Our apartment building has beautiful shared garden areas so we're surrounded by greenery but we do miss being able to grow our own veggies, herbs and ornamental plants.

Today we decided to start a few little gardening projects:  Grow A Tree and Eggling Crack & Grow.

First let's take a look at the Grow A Tree...

Ok, so as the name would suggest this isn't exactly a "little" gardening project. Especially considering that we're growing Giant Sequoias and Coast Redwoods - two of the largest trees in California! Of course, they start out little but eventually our trees will be too big for our apartment and we'll have to plant them in the ground somewhere. Maybe by then we'll be living in a house with a backyard - fingers crossed.

Our Grow A Tree kits