Garden Flower Bouquet + Tips

I made a flower bouquet from my Aunt Anna's gardens!  Just thought I'd share the turnout with you.  It's quite a crowded bouquet, but I just loved all the flowers and I was simply too excited that my aunt was encouraging me to pick them.
Some tips she gave me:

• Change the water daily to help extend the freshness of the flowers (ice cubes are nice too)
• Put the vase in a sink filled with water overnight so that any bugs in the flowers (like earwigs) will crawl out and (unfortunately) drown - rather than seeing them roam your home
• Pick some leaves/foliage to help fill up the bouquet - very nice for bouquets consisting of only one or two types of flowers

Trek and Travel #3

I finally got around to photographing the Wild Birds Unlimited sanctuary garden!  I feel so accomplished - I've been hoping to get myself back over here so I could do that.  Here are the photos:

The entrance, with a fun snake metal art on top of the entryway,

The front of the accompanying bird and garden store.

A pretty garden.

Signs with directions and rules!

Entering the garden.

When you turn left from the entrance.  I snapped a photo and then turned right in this photo sequence though!

I think it's like a pictogram: Luther rocks!  Luther is the name of the fluffy shop cat (whom I unfortunately forgot to take a photo of!)

A little fountain spewing from a rock, which you can see when you turn right from the entrance.

The majestic waterfall pond area!  I got a bigger and better photo this time.

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A different angle of the waterfall and pond area.

A better view of the pond.

Going towards the back of the garden.

The row of roses here are SO fragrant when they are in full bloom!  They're wilting away now, as this summer has been unusually cloudy and chilly.  You get a pretty view of the bay as well.

Big shady tree - perfect for hot summer days.

The roses coming towards the end of their bloom.

The entrance back towards the waterfall and pond.

This is what you see when you pass by to walk back to the waterfall and pond.

The waterfall pond has an additional mini-waterfall and pond.

Fun little figures among the shrubs and undergrowth.

I don't know what this is called, but it was tall and bright!  This is literally eye-level for me (I am 5'1").

A shaded seating area that has a view of the bay.

Long pinecone charm!

I wish I knew the name of this flower.  It was so bright and pretty.

Another angle.

Bright blooms by the entrance!

Creepy looking tin can fish art!  The rust and gaping mouths are what creeps me out.

Almost forgot to include the second compass near the waterfall.

A swinging bench by the entrance.

Decorative rocks!

Wild Birds Unlimited sign by the entrance.  They need to do a little trimming so the whole sign can be read, but I rather like the growth.

This was such a lovely visit.  They sell plants, bird feed, lots of bird feeders, and other decorative gardening objects.  I want to visit this place one more time when it's sunny before I leave for college next month!

Mini Succulent Gardens + Cactus

So I got a fun, cheap little planter from a Rite Aid for the majority of my succulents, and stuck the others into the bird bath.  I'm thinking I'm going to move those bird bath suckers into a big matching planter of their own to take with me to college.  I'll want to get some native shallow-rooted plants for the bird bath so my parents don't have to do too much maintenance while I'm away at college!  I think I'll get a small matching planter for the cactus too so it'll be a cute little desert plant family!  I will post updated photos once I get those new planters and such.  Enjoy the photos!

The tall stalk from the planter.

A close-up on the succulents gathered in the new planter.

The whole thing, minus the top of the stalk!  My college roommate/best friend and I have named this planter Siam.

A pretty close-up on Siam.

The cactus.  The little bud opens up from time to time and the open flower used to be brighter.  I can't tell if it needs something or if it needs less of something or what!

The succulents in the bird bath.

The bird bath seems empty.  I want to move them into a new planter already.

The bird bath garden is a good idea, but I just don't think succulents outdoors in the Pacific Northwest is a good idea long-term.  I do want the bird bath to remain a mini-garden though!

Weekend in Bremerton, Washington (Part II)

Sunday was a lovely morning, too short of course.  I had another morning jog before breakfast for a half hour.  We had breakfast with my cousin Kandace (I'm really young in my family - she is in her 30s).  I got to read outdoors for a good while, and then we visited an open house at a place my aunt and uncle were interested in.  It's a good location and a nice-looking neighborhood.  The basement creeps me out a little bit, but it's a nice size and it had a lot of natural light flowing into the rooms.  Before it was time to get going on home, we visited the Bremerton City Nursery to look at their succulents.  My aunt got me seven new ones, two sacks of cacti soil, and an air plant.  She also gave me an old birdbath of hers that leaks, so that I can have a place for the new plants.  I'm thinking she just wanted to get rid of the birdbath, but it works for me!  My dad is going to make sure the stem of the birdbath is cemented to the base so it doesn't tilt from the plants' weight.  Then he is going to drill some more holes in the birdbath so there's better drainage for the plants.
Before we got home however, my aunt had us stop by this Wild Birds Unlimited sanctuary that is very near my house.  It's been near my house for years and years, but I never thought to stop by.  I sure wish I had done so earlier because the place is beautiful!  My aunt also picked up some bird feed while we were there, so we were not complete loiterers.
All right now, here is the rest of my post in iPhone 5S photos.  I promise to start taking and posting pictures with my DSLR for the next posts!

Blurry outfit of the day, sorry!  My sister wanted the mirror and I was rushing.  Nordstrom scarf, Buckle tank top and belt, Forever 21 cardigan, and Miss Me jeans.

Vivid blooms at the Bremerton City Nursery!

The front entrance to the Bremerton City Nursery.

Beautiful waterfall and pond at the Wildlife Sanctuary at the Wild Birds Unlimited in Gardiner, Washington.

Wildlife Sanctuary entrance!  So charming.

Their cute little welcome sign.

They keep a cat in the shop!  It's a big, fluffy ginger cat named Luther, and he has his own Facebook!

A cute little air plant from the Bremerton City Nursery.

SEVEN new succulent plants!  An early birthday present courtesy of my beloved Aunt Anna.

My air plant and my lantern from World Market in happy matrimony.  I think I am going to name my air plant Thaddeus.

The succulents are (figuratively) dying to be in their birdbath!  When it's finished, I will make a post about it.

Well, this concludes my weekend in Bremerton, Washington.  It was a weekend very well spent and I can't wait to start planting those new succulents.  Hope you enjoyed!