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Thumbelina Leigh Lavender
July 2015

My Thumbelina Leigh Lavender is still holding strong despite a complete change in appearance over the past three years.  Read somewhere that lavenders only last a handful of years as potted plants, which may be true, but I have seen some planted-in-the-ground varieties flourish for over a decade now!  Thumbelina Leigh is a hybrid, only introduced in 2003, making it a newbie in the lavender world--but it is gorgeous, compact, and deliciously fragrant once established.

To compare, the following photo is of my TLL in March of this year (note the older growth stems to the left):

March 2015

Basically, my lavender photo from July 2015 (first photo) shows all new growth--the sprigs on the left-hand side visible in the above photo taken this spring are now long gone, had died earlier this summer.  Who knew lavender plants could basically die off--and then sprout up again.  Has anyone had this issue with growing lavenders?

A 2012 throwback photo of the same plant after purchase from the nursery:

May 2012
Newly purchased and re-potted

I hope that my TLL will flourish again, and have high hopes that it will.  If this occurs, I will list more buds for sale in my shop, for there have been a few inquiries about them as of late.

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P.S. My shop is almost at 800 sales!  As a gesture of thanks, I will include a free gift per purchase for orders through #800.  Also, if you are in the US, do not forget to apply the coupon code FREESHIPPING at checkout for free shipping on orders over $15.  Thanks again for all your support, and enjoy!

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender
March 2015

Remember my dear Thumbelina Leigh Lavender purchased back in 2012?  It's still alive!  This variety supposedly lasts for five years only, so I am hoping it makes it well beyond that.  So far, it has been hanging on after a few rough patches.  Last year, half of the plant somehow died, while the other half continued to live on.  I did not post about my Thumbelina Leight at all last year mainly because I was embarrassed by its half-alive state.  Currently, I see it more as a miraculous natural occurrence.

With the onset of spring, my plant has developed some buds although it has not yet fully grown back.  I will try to post newer photos here to show its progress.

Read my first Thumbelina Leigh post here.

Lately: Fun Stuff

Been having lots of fun lately reading new things, seeing new things, putting interesting scraps together to make random-yet-neat things.  A bit of color there, strips of paper here...lots of stamping, letter by letter.

The above EmeraldCut tags were created using random book page scraps, gold dot washi tape, teal ink, and my trusty modern Art Deco font stamps.  They will go to new homes with sold book page goods from my shop.  (A variation of this design can seen here.)

Another exciting development...

My Thumbelina Leigh Lavender plant is blooming again, quite grandly.  Beautifully, even.  A bunch of buds will be listed for sale once they dry.  They're so intoxicatingly fragrant--keep your eyes peeled for their listing in a month or so.

Sorry for all the icky hand photos, but that's something else I'm working on: more dynamic photo layouts!  Can you tell in the second image?

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To close, the sentiment expressed in this witty blog just about sums up how I feel about things right now...to a tee.  I'm sure glad that I'm not the only one who is feeling this way!

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender: June 2013

Lately

How have you been lately?  Been outside pretty often since the spring bug hit us with 65-degree weather.  I'm not too hot on spring/summer-like weather, as I am constantly searching for rain, but I love growth, and boy did plants grow this past week.  From shriveled leaves and spindly offshoots shot forth curvaceous, thick foliage: the sun-seeking nooks and crannies especially made for quite a show.  Colors quickly brightened and expanded, reaching for a greater height and depth...

And look, my Thumbelina Leigh Lavender is beginning to bud!

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Sometimes I amaze myself at how frequently I derive pleasure from the natural world, including its stilling wordlessness.  As of late, mere thoughts have collected significance, leaving in its wake a profound impact that had spilled into days and weeks; and now months.  It is this sense of wide-eyed, thought-heavy wonder that I leave you until my next post...

For the Naturalist

Pendant: my own creation
Bottle: vitrifiedstudio

Decided to create a pendant for a loved one from our Thumbelina Leigh Lavender plant.  Picked a worthy bud off the stem, carefully placed it between the pages of a notebook, and stacked two books on top to make sure the bud was indeed pressed.  There the bit o' plant was left for nearly two months.  Took the plant out, added raw brass findings and a non-toxic, resin-like material to the mix and out came the above piece.  Not waterproof, but nevertheless beautiful and quite gift-able.

Apart from the placement of the pressed lavender, the most difficult part of this project is how to "cure" the faux-resin used--it requires either direct sunlight or UV light to cure.  Because wintertime sunlight is not strong enough to "set" the resin-like surface (I tried it), the pendant is currently setting by sitting directly under a fluorescent light bulb.  Still, the price one pays for non-toxic, scentless resin is well worth the wait.

If you have the time and energy, this is a delightfully fun springtime activity--I can only imagine how lovely a pendant would look with spring flowers as the focal point!

Lavender in Autumn

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender, mid-November 2012

Top view

Is it strange to have one stem with a handful of buds? 
This plant has grown in leaps and bounds since my distressed post from few months ago.

Update: Thumbelina Leigh Lavender

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender in Mid-Spring 2012

Earlier this year, my husband and I purchased a Thumbelina Leigh Lavender plant.  This plant, which lives up to its long (albeit bitty) name, has been with us for nearly two seasons now and is still quite small and flowerless--even after we transplanted it into a larger pot in late spring.  There is a sad, sad reason to why the plant continues to be such a small fry: in early-to-mid summer (I've forgotten the exact date), I ended up over-pruning the poor thing, leaving it a skeletal mish mash of uneven-height stems.  Thought I may have killed the thing as I, in horror, watched the flowers shrivel up and fall, and the plant (sans flowers) become stouter.

Hence no blog posts or photos over the last few months--well, besides this post from July (notice the stubbiness!), until now...

This week, three little buds have made an appearance.  Tiny and delicate they may be, but I have high hopes for them.  And I am so elated that the plant's alive and thriving.  If it blooms in fall, like it's supposed to (Thumbelina Leighs bloom twice a year, once in spring and once in fall), I will post a celebratory photo...or two. 

Until then, happy autumn!

Week in Photos

I couldn't part with the accompanying captions, so this post's arrangement is in both photo and word.

Found this snippet from one of my copies of Jane Eyre today, which strangely describes my previous post sentiment.  Weirdness, indeed, for someone of an apprehensive stock.

Tried to create a new blog banner...

...but to no avail.

Attempting to grow a bitty spider plant in a vintage milk glass ramekin (I was told that this would be simple, but please wish me luck!).

Purchased and received a sweet little creamer from the lovely StayARThomeMom; added my dried autumn leaf (showcased here) and mini lavender bouquet, which undoubtedly makes the display all the more autumn-y and the home more homey.

And that concludes my last week of August.

Hope you have a beautiful week...

Quote

Hi, you may have noticed that my Etsy shop is on vacation until 7/20, without actually being in full vacation mode (where my entire shop would be temporarily closed).  This is my thinking: since my month-long Christmas in July Sale is in full swing, it truly wouldn't be fair to temporarily close up shop for a week and have the sale last for only three weeks.  Since there are only four full weeks this month.  You know?

 In the meantime, away from computer, I go, but not before I conclude this post with a quote that has deeply resonated with me about the intricacies of creation and interpretation, how one could never truly stand for the other:

"Works of art are complex events; their true complexity is revealed in criticism and its attempt to circumscribe the boundaries of art.  Criticism idealizes representation and consequently distances the viewer from actuality.  This is evident in the way marginalized discourse has been used to reduce complex experiences to overarching themes that relieve us of the responsibility of having to deal with the works themselves."

-Charles Gaines, from The Theater of Refusal: Black Art and Mainstream Criticism

If you are wondering what those bare-looking stalks are in the photo, they from are my Thumbelina Leigh Lavender plant.  Without the identifiably aromatic lavender buds!  Oh, the lengths I will go to for an interesting photo.

The Spring Time Blahs

Hello.  I've been feeling a little blah lately, doubting my writing capabilities in addition to wondering if the general economy will better itself anytime soon.  I have noticed that some people have found intensely fulfilling and/or well-paying jobs, while others are too emotionally downtrodden to muster up the courage to apply.  Personally, I know someone, a college graduate, who applied to 20+ job openings over the past few years, and had only a handful of companies reply back.

Flagrant frustration, I tell you--borderline insanity, which is why I believe that there must always be an intricate balance between the outside world and one's own inner sanctuary from the proverbial storm.  I find solace in a moralistic novel; some Rachael Yamagata, a stroll in the yard.

This spring, I have found myself gravitating towards the backyard garden to renew the spirit.  Instead of hunkering down near the computer to edit, I walk outside (probably a bad idea, but sometimes one needs a break!).  I steady myself by the manzanitas, one of which is growing a tiny apple; by the Thumbelina Leigh Lavender I breathe in deeply the aromatic calm of scent.  Instead of wracking my brain for the correct word or analysis, calmness overtakes me when I am in the thick of nature.  Overwhelmed, I am not.  And for that, I am grateful.

Thumbelina Leigh Lavender

We visited a local, independently-owned garden center/nursery this week in search for a pretty dwarf shrub, called the Thumbelina Leigh Lavender.  I was intrigued by its diminutive size (it only grows about 12" tall and 12" wide), as well as its deliciously fragrant, nearly continuous blooming nature.  However, this petite beauty requires full sun, which canceled out my initial pull for it to be an indoor plant: I could not bear to see it sitting behind a window, bathing only in filtered sunlight.  So after purchase, we transplanted the lavender shrub into a large terra cotta pot and placed it conveniently in a sunny area of our yard, where it basks in the gentle warmth of the spring sun. 

This compact plant puts a little pep in my step, 

setting in motion those olfactory and ocular nerves.

Happy Mother's Day to the mamas!