A Talavera Lizard and Voodoo Pot

My voodoo plant finally has a new home. I found a Talavera pot with an exotic look appropriate for this unusual plant, and I have placed it in the front garden near the blue bench. 

Talavera is a classic form of Mexican pottery. Artists hand paint native floral and animal motifs onto a white glazed background. The colorful ceramics are still produced using techniques introduced to Mexico by Spanish guild artisans in the sixteenth century. In Spain the same type of pottery is called 'Majolica'.

I also have a Talavera lizard. It has lived for several years in a moss encrusted concrete planter. Talavera is a good way to add a dash of color to a garden. I wouldn't use a lot of it, but a piece here and there is just right.

The voodoo plant is looking a little stressed. An unknown critter recently uprooted the tuber from its plastic pot and left it lying on the ground. It was saved by a rainstorm which kept it moist until I found it later that day, wilted but alive. I hope the new pot will offer better protection!

View From My Blue Bench

It started with a hummingbird feeder, a hand blown glass orb on sale at a discount store for less than six dollars. I felt a glow of satisfaction as I paid for my bargain, then headed toward Myers Plants and Pottery. I wanted a new shepherds hook so I could hang the feeder near the patio table.

Pulling into the nursery's parking lot, I braced myself for the task at hand. Myers is to an obsessed gardener what a Ghirardelli factory is to a chocoholic, but I thought I would be okay. I knew where the shepherds hooks were, and I already had my bird feeder. I could resist temptation.

There were many new plants and garden ornaments since my last visit to Myers, and the place was a festival of colors. My heart thumped faster and my feet slowed. 

"Did you see the list of what we have on sale?" A sweet nursery worker greeted me. 

"No, no. I'm here to get a shepherds hook."

"Hostas are half price," she smiled. I'm a regular, and she knows me.

"Half price?" I gulped and my feet turned toward the hostas.

No, no! You go get that shepherds hook. You can come back another day to look at hostas.

My feet reluctantly turned in the other direction. I was going to be good. 

Then I halted in my tracks, gaping at a blue metal bench. A rush of desire obliterated all thoughts of hostas and shepherds hooks. My tongue hung out of my open mouth and my arms stretched toward the bench as its magnetic force drew me in. I stroked the cerulean colored enamel and then sat down.

"I love it!" I said aloud.

In a flash the sweet nursery worker was beside me. "It's very sturdy, and it's on sale."

"Sale?" I gasped. I was sinking, and I knew it.

No, no, no!

Somehow, I forced myself away from the blue bench. In a daze I found a shepherds hook, paid for it, and then drove home. I stumbled out of the car.

What have I done? It's the only blue one they have, and it's on sale!

"Lou," I called to my husband when I entered the house. "Myers has a blue bench, and I really, really want it!" Then I shamelessly reminded him of my upcoming birthday.

So, here is my new blue bench!I put it in the front garden, and I can imagine how beautiful it will look against the fall colors of Japanese maples and dogwoods. I can see myself in the spring time, admiring the daffodils from my blue bench, and how pleasant will be the smell of nearby dianthus and roses!

Meanwhile, it's hot August, and there's not much blooming in the front garden, except for a few pots of heat stressed annuals. The blue bench adds a splash of cool color, just when it's needed. I sat for a long time, admiring the view and snapping photos of what I see, sitting on my blue bench:

By the way, the new hummingbird feeder is hanging on the shepherds hook but so far has failed to attract any hummingbirds. They seem to prefer the gaudy plastic ones I already had.