Blog | Rose Red & Lavender

Last night we had the pleasure of teaching not one but two classes at Etsy Labs.
Nestled in a converted factory building in Dumbo, Etsy Labs is a wonderful place full of crafting treasures. All the work is done on huge, over-sized wooden tables and the walls are lined with all sorts of scissors, brushes, glitter, glue, screen-printing materials and more. I love it. Lavender and I have taken classes there and we really enjoy them its a lot of fun.

We were joined by Britta Riley of Windowfarms , Just Food, and Compost for Brooklyn to talk about all things green and good.

SEED BOMBS!

We were invited to teach about Terrariums and Seed Bombs there. Those are two of my favorite things!

Seed bombs are made with clay, organic matter and seeds. They were invented by native Americans who lived in nomadic tribes. The seed bombs are a way to insure that the seed will have enough moisture and food to grow if gardens are planted and not tended to. By doing this, the tribes were able to plant gardens, travel and come back to reap the rewards. They are perfect for chucking into some piece of land where access may be prohibited.

The clay acts as a binder and as a source for water and moisture. Clay retains water very well and slowly releases it to the seeds and little plants. The organic matter, compost or worm castings, feed the seeds.

Seed bombs can be placed on the surface of a pot to grow or they can be put in a tree pit or chucked into a vacant piece of land. If sowing “in the wild” so to speak, please make sure that you use native plants and not invasive species. What a way to get your Guerilla Garden going

How to make Seed Bombs.

Ingredients

• 2 parts garden soil
• 1 part Clay powder
• Worm castings or compost
• Seeds
• Water
• Trust and Love

1. To make clay powder, purchase red sculpting clay from an art supply store, cut it very thinly with a wire and let dry. Pulverize with a mallet or a meat grinder. This is the hardest part. I think about urban blight and pretty flowers when I am pounding clay. Old boyfriends, annoying room mates or a mean boss may be some other sources for inspiration.
2. Mix the soil and the clay together and sprinkle some worm castings on top. If using compost, then omit the worm castings and replace the soil with compost.
3. Add enough water to form a ball and have the materials bind together. Very similar to making a pastry crust. Not too much water, not too little, just enough to get it to stick together, add a little at a time.
4. Roll about 5 seeds onto each ball. Just 5 . maybe even 3. Remember that each little seed has the potential to grow into a plant.
5. Let dry for a couple of days and enjoy. Trust that your seeds will grow, and Love the beautiful gardens that you create.

Terrariums!

Wow, wow and just wow.

We have been making terrariums for a few years now and I am still overwhelmed by how popular these are and continue to be.

I haven’t gotten the official count yet, but from my estimate, we taught about 150 people how to make them yesterday.

It was BYOC (bring your own container) and people showed up with everything from 1 gallon jugs  to little test tubes. We made moss terrariums yesterday, just to keep it simple.

Here is how you make a moss terrarium. I must have repeated these steps about 50 150 times yesterday so I know it pretty well.

How to make a Terrarium

Ingredients

• Clear Glass Container, with or without a lid
• Rocks
• Sheet moss or Sphagnum Moss
• Charcoal
• Peat Moss
• More moss and Decor

1. Add a layer of rocks on the bottom. Make sure that you use clean rocks that are scaled with your container.
2. Add a barrier layer of sheet moss or sphagnum moss
3. Add a thin layer of charcoal
4. Add a layer of peat moss…
5. OK. Now let the fun begin. You can plant this with moss, lichens, decor, mini plants, what have you. MOSS MOSS and More MOSS!

I saw all sorts of things from a lady that looked like a mermaid in a terrarium, I call her the TERMAID, to little figurines.

I brought in some mini slate slabs that people colored with pencils. Those were pretty cool.

As always, we are available for any of your terrarium questions.

Check out the fun action below.

ps. a certain film crew from a certain tv show that has the initials MSL was there documenting the whole event. Can’t wait to see the footage!

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My parents live in West Virginia, near the Maryland border. Their property sits on the site of an old tomato and melon farm. There was once a thriving tomato industry in their area but the local farmers could not compete with the big factory farms in California so they went out of business. Unfortunately, the farmers used chemical fertilizers which left the soil depleted of organic materials and nutrients and pretty poor. It has been siting fallow for about 20 years.

They said that nothing can grow there but offered to give me a small piece of land to try to grow something if I could, I saw it as a horticultural challenge.

I fell in love with lavender when I first visited the south of France and had the opportunity to visit lavender fields while it was in full bloom. My parents had seeded their property with wildflowers and registered their property as a wildflower farm and lavender seemed like a good fit. Lavender loves to be planted in well draining soil on a slope without many nutrients. It doesn’t need much maintenance, water, pest control or fertilizer and if planted correctly, can be maintained by mowing in between rows a couple of times a year. Turns out it loves it in the mountains of West Virginia where there are hot dry summers and lots of silty, rocky soil. It also tolerates being ignored by my parents. We planted a few thousand plants on mother’s day a few years ago and it has thrived.

While you spend the 4th chomping on hotdogs or fauxdawgs trying to keep cool, we spent the holiday weekends at our flower farm in West By God Virginia picking lavender from our fields in triple digit weather. Yea Haw! Our lavender is grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides and is perfect for use in your home or for cooking.

Here is a great recipe for Lavender Sorbet

Lavender Sorbet

The vodka in the recipe makes it very soft. It’s not the kind of iced dessert you scoop into an oversized waffle cone. It’s a slushy, uncooperative dish that, in small doses, will refresh your heat-addled senses. While this style of sorbet is similar to the palate cleansers served at high-end restaurants between courses, I like it as a mid-afternoon refresher on a scorching hot summer day.

Makes 4 very small servings

1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 heaping teaspoon fresh lavender flowers (food grade only*)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vodka
In a small sauce pan, dissolve sugar and water over medium heat.
Stir in lavender. Bring to a boil then quickly reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then strain lavender syrup through a fine sieve.
Stir in lemon juice and vodka.
If you have an ice cream maker, make the sorbet according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Otherwise, pour the syrup into a flat-bottomed glass dish, cover, and freeze until semi-solid. Break the sorbet up with a fork and freeze until solid. Place frozen sorbet in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Cover and refreeze until ready to serve.

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Seeds, seeds, seeds.

I love seeds. I really do. I like looking at the catalogs, reading all the descriptions, trying all the varieties, saving seeds, collecting seeds, trading seeds. I love talking to seed growers and getting all nerdy about all the different cultivators and reminiscing. When we say Brandywine, or Moon and Stars, Even Freckles and Deer Tounge, we smile, because we know what that means an we all have our favorites.

If you haven’t tried it, using seeds to start your garden can be very rewarding. There are so many varieties that just wouldn’t be available to you if you didn’t grow them yourself, even things that (gasp) would not be available at the Farmer’s market. I know, I know, they seem to have everything but there are some bizarro things out there, Purple, Conical Cauliflower?. Lettuce, radishes, and beans and sunflowers are very easy and if you are timid, I suggest you start with those.

We teach a few classes on how to start seeds. I am always proud when my students come back and show me pictures of what they grew. One of my very first students moved on to create his own Roof Top Seed company, I am so proud.

I personally have tried almost every method of seed starting and there are two that I will swear by, ok, three that I swear by. These are; winter sowing, jiffy pellets, and baby beds.

Seeds are a miracle and once water is added, the whole process of life begins. Have you watched your garden in the spring, and notice how bare the earth is, and suddenly, after a warm day, life pops up out of nowhere? Weeds, weeds, weeds and lots of them. No one mollycoddles these plants, no one sets up growlights or painstakingly cares for them and yet they grow. Whaddup with that? Sometimes you will notice that the seedlings look a little familiar and many times, healthier, but smaller versions of ones you started in your home weeks before. Those volunteer tomato plants, sunflowers, and herbs just pop up, all on their own. Get Out! These seeds rest in the ground all winter and when the time is right, for them, POP! I have noticed that the volunteer plants almost always catch up to the ones I started, and even out grow them, not fair.

There is a method called Winter Sowing. Basically, you take your seed starting kit, take out container, milk jug or what have you and you plant your seeds, water them, and place the whole thing outside, in the middle of winter, in the snow. When the time is right for those seeds to grow, they will, with no help from you, and they will thrive and be healthy. Just be sure to water them when the weather warms up. The cold kills any of the damp-off fungi, and also helps striate hard seed coats. This is the only way that I have been able to successfully grow Lupins and Columbine (both native plants) from seed. Funny enough, tomatoes, and peppers also do very well using this method. It may not be as much fun as starting them inside, but you will get good results.When the seedlings are large enough, you just move them to where you would like them to be in the garden.Yes, it is that easy. You don’t need to worry about planting charts, frost dates, grow lights….ect. They will grow when they are ready to, it almost takes all the fun out of it.

Jiffy pellets, I love, love, love them. Before I had a garden in the city, I had one in the country in upstate New York and I would grow my seedlings at home; first in a walkup in Alphabet City, and then in a real grown up’s apartment in Park Slope, even in the hatchback of my Saab, which was a terrific greenhouse, as well as a fun car.

Starting seeds can be messy and the fine seed starting mix can go everywhere. Filling the trays is a hassle and it always makes a mess. One year I discovered Jiffy 7′s and I was hooked. Jiffy’s are little disks of peat-moss that are flat, but when you add water, they pop up into little pots that are surrounded by netting. Storage is easy and they last forever.

Put three seeds in a little pot, cover with a clear lid and wait for your seeds to sprout. Take off the lid and watch your plants grow. When you transplant, move the pot into the soil, its that easy. Sometimes I rip off the little net, sometimes not. These pellets come in little mini greenhouses with 6, 12, 20 or 72 pellets. 72 will fit into a full tray, and they work great in combination with the plastic 6 packs that come with the 72 cell greenhouses. 72 plants! once you get started, you will want more, and more and more….

Other methods, peat pots, newspaper cups, the paper towel, ect…. never worked out that great for me and I always had watering issues, mold (especially with the newspaper cups) and general poor performance.

The last method that I like is similar to the winter gardening method but uses a cold frame instead of individual containers. You basically set up a small raised bed, about 2′ x 4′ and fill it with a light mixture of vermiculite and peat or coir with some sand. 3 parts peat or coir to one part sand and one part vermiculite. A 15g smartpot would also do well.

Plant your seeds, well spaced, in little rows, don’t forget to label them. When the plants are big enough, use a transplant trowel (skinny and thin) and move them to where you want them. If you like you can cover the box with plastic hoops or with an old window or piece of glass, creating a cold frame. Don’t forget to prop it open on sunny days or you will have an oven.

The backs of seed packets have lots of great information. Ignore most of the planting instructions, except for if it tells you to direct sow, some seedlings don’t like to be moved around much. Remember to always space your seeds, each seed has the potential of becoming a little plant. A pack of lettuce seed can have up to 400 seeds, so avoid at all costs, making a little furrow and sprinkling all the seeds in that furrow. Thinning is a waste of time, and a waste of seed, and it is damages the plants. Its always best to put 3 seeds in a spot, every few inches. One out of three is bound to grow.

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I love miniature plants, they are perfect for terrariums, or for that little spot on your desk.

They sort of remind me of the miniature horses much cooler and these aren’t so mean and they don’t bite.

Some of the plants like Baby’s Tears and Spike Moss are just naturally small, Others, like the mini horses, they are bred from big plants and made smaller. And look like teeny, tiny versions of their cousins.

Here are some of my favorites.

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August News, Big Sale!

It has been a long, hot summer. Time to sow your fall crops. These cool nights are reminding me that fall is just around the corner.

Did you know that now is the perfect time to sow seeds for those cold weather vegetables? Every time I go to my favorite restaurant in Greenpoint, the ones with the Knights, who’s name I can never pronounce, I think about fall crops. All those lovely cabbages, carrots, parsnips, beets, and turnips; they love cool weather and now is the time to sow your seeds. If you have a little spot where perhaps a zucchini didn’t make it (damn caterpillars) or a plant that is just limping along, yank it and sow some seed. Didn’t get around to planting a garden this year, don’t worry, you can sow these now. Varieties like dwarf kale, carrots, spinach and lettuce work great in containers, so don’t let a lack of an outdoor space stop you

Twig Terrariums!Crime

It Ain’t no crime to love terrariums, we do for sure. Twig is back in the house and will be teaching a workshop all about Terrariums. Featured at the Museum of Arts and Design, Twig has bought terrariums to a new level, and the girls are super sweet too. Come take their class and learn all about terrariums.

BYOC Terrariums. Have a special container that you love, want to learn a little more about DIY terrariums? Take our BYOC class and bring your own container.

BIG FAT SALE!
Yip-pie, it is our end of summer sale. Now that your sunburns have finally turned into tans, I know its time for a sale. All outdoor plants are 30% off, All gardening supplies, hoses, tools, are 50% off.. WHAAAT? We have to make room for fall plants, so buh-by, summer plants, buh-by, soaker hoses, buh-by and buh-by rakes, spades, and forks.

Give the Gift of Love. Dahlias and Celosia Locally grown flowers

Did you know that Flowers are a natural Aphrodisiac? They are, why do you think they have been gifted since ancient times? We all need a little love, right? So to help we are bringing back HAPPY FLOWER HOUR, so from now until Labor Day, we will be offering 30% off all fresh cut flowers, Thursday-Sunday from 5pm to 7pm. Our Flowers are Locally Grown, so you can skip the crowds at the Farmers Market and save your Weekend for other stuff, bow-chicka-bow-wow. If you want to be even more romantic, you can have one of our stunning bouquets delivered to your sweeties door. Call 718-486-3569 or Order On line for a single bouquet or up to a year’s worth of flowers, delivered to your sweet-heart once a month for up to a year.

Cool Places for your Air plants to Chill.

Air plants need homes too, and we have lots of cool globes, lanterns, and twig wreaths for your little friends to hang on. Don’t have any air plants? Don’t worry, we have plenty of those in stock too.

Great Minds? I like to think so and I was super excited when I saw my favorite pots featured on Design Sponge, My favorite design blog.

Great minds think alike? We have a full selection of beautiful Campo di Fiore pots with luscious live moss come and snag yours. Once planted, Campo de Fiori terracotta pots will begin the natural aging process, creating a varied surface texture of vibrant mosses along with naturally occurring colors that evoke the classic look of antiquity. We are proud to have them at our shop.

NEW HOUSEPLANTS!! We just got in a new shipment of crazy houseplants just for you. Lots of low light plants for that middle room in your railroad apartment, lots of tall plants for that double high window in your duplex. No green thumb? Don’t worry, we have a class just for you.Creeping Fig

GETTING MARRIED?

Have a friend who is tying the knot, jumping the broom, taking the plunge, well you get the picture. Our wedding flowers have been featured in New York Magazine, and on Merci Bride Kimberly will teach you the ins and outs of personal flowers, how to make your own corsages, bouquets, and boutonnieres. Look all fancy all the time.

Hope to see you in the shop soon!

Kimberly, Enrique, Lavender and Sweet William.

Rose Red & Lavender
653 Metropolitan Avenue
www.roseredandlavender.com

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We had a fun Terrarium class Thursday and wrecked all sorts of lightbulbs.

I was showing how to gut a lightbulb and managed to smash right through it. I think that made everyone feel a little better, and not so nervous about smashing theirs. No other bulbs were broken.
It never fails to amaze me how when people are given the same basic ingredients, they can come up with so many variations. Example, bulbs, moss, lichen and a figurine.
Look at the results.

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A few weeks ago I was chatting with some folks from Etsy about lightbulb terrariums. I love making them. There is a divine pleasure in breaking some glass, ripping the guts out of a lightbulb, and making something beautiful out of it. The folks at Etsy agreed and decided to make a video of the whole process.

Anyhow, here it is, I hope you enjoy it.

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I am so excited, yesterday I finished taping a how to for Etsy. I love teaching classes.
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We have been working a lot with terrariums over the past few years and I have scoured the globe for teeny, tiny plants.

One of the challenges of terrariums is finding plant material that can fit into it. Of course moss, air-plants and mini succulents are always an option, but sometimes you want something a little different.
We just got in a shipment of microscopic plants including, Prayer Plants, Begonias, Baby’s Tears, Wire Vine, Rabbits Foot Fern and Spike Moss. These look like the big guys but are much, much smaller.

Anyhow, the gang at Etsy came by and asked me to show their viewers how to make terrariums in unusual containers.

We managed to keep the power tools in the closet but did need to break out the goggles and gloves.

I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but lets just say that Thomas Edison would be proud.

If you want to make one of your own, we can supply you with all the parts or you can buy one of the handy kits that Twig Terrariums makes. The ladies at Twig make amazing terrariums, each one has a little narrative and they are quite beautiful, and are all works of art please stop by and take a look.

The kits they made up are great because they have everything you need and it is a terrific way to gift a terrarium to a loved one. Terrariums are notorious for not shipping well, and here in Brooklyn, we always hand deliver ours, not an option if your mom lives in the burbs.

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With all the popularity of terrariums, Bonsai trees seem like a natural fit and an extension of all things small.
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I fell in love with bonsai trees on a trip to China where I visited some ancient gardens in a city called Suzhou, near Shanghai.

Suzhou is famous for its beautiful gardens that date back to 1004AD! There are collections of bonsai trees that are over 100 years old.

Recently, we went on a trip to visit a Bonsai Master here in the US and came back with some delicious goodies. These miniature trees are works of art, and won’t break the bank.

Bonsai’s Rock

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We are fortunate to be located in a neighborhood where a lot of creative people live, in a city where a lot of creative people work.

Stylists shop our store all the time to buy props and flowers for photo shoots, music videos, and tv shows. I can say that we have been on the Martha Stewart Show, WE television, The Learning Channel, and Good Morning America even mouthwash commercials. We never get credit, but I see my little things sitting there and it makes me proud.

As glamorous as all that seems, our favorite creative types are our brides.

I really like to get to know someone and figure out exactly what they want and will love. That is the fun part of weddings.

Here are some pictures from a recent wedding we did at the Foundry. This is a beautiful venue in Long Island City, the staff there is terrific to work with and the setting is stunning. Its an old foundry located in a garden center. The original furnace and bowls are there, and it is an enormous brick building with a double high ceiling and exposed balcony.

There is also a stone courtyard and roof deck. My catering buddies love doing work at the Foundry because the kitchens are fully equipped and functional, they can actually cook in the kitchen rather than use the “kitchen” as a staging area for food cooked somewhere else.

Gillian, the bride, was great to work with and when she showed me a picture of her dress, I knew she came to the right place. I was extra happy with the results.

Gillian and Damien are a fun couple, they came to me with the usual requests, boutonnieres, corsages for their moms, a bridal bouquet, and something a little different, a best gal and brides-men.

The best gal was given a wrist corsage, when she tried it on as a headband, it looked great, the brides-men were given extra fancy boutonnieres, which they loved. Everyone was happy.

We used locally grown, seasonal flowers mixed with parrot tulips. The results were a surprise to me, as I didn’t know what flowers we were using specifically until I went to see what looked good in the market.

Working with whatever I find can be a challenge, but some of the best work I have done has come out of these journeys. Parrot tulips happened to be a favorite of Jillian’s and had appeared over and over in most of the pictures she showed me. I ordered those specifically from Holland so that I knew we would have them, everything else was left to chance.

As chance had it, what looked good were peonies, sweet peas, pitcher plants, lilies, and strawflowers.
I found a bunch of antique globes at a fleamarket and thought they would make great terrariums. The decals were peeling a bit and they had the right touch of whimsy, romance and urban decay.

We placed spike moss and lights inside. These were put on tables surrounded by moss and candles, the result was magical.

Thanks, Gillian, for sending us these wonderful photos of your special day. Hope to see you soon!

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