This Years New Idea 2023

 I probably should have posted this new idea sooner, as it is now almost October again and the likelihood I will be able to find more stems long enough to make more large wands is somewhat slim.  I am still weaving lavender wands, 2500 so far this season!  I aim to hit a grand total of 25,000 wands soon.  Of course breaking my wrist during the pandemic set me back a ways on that goal.  And then the drought in California.

  But we had plenty of rain last winter and the lavender soaked it all up.  I was able to make more large wands than usual.  Almost all of them are in the purples though, as those colors are the best sellers.  The demand for purples is so high that it wasn't until mid-August that I was able to start making all of the other colors and the new idea you see here.

  At first I was just thinking red, white, and blue and thought the blue looked best when it was first.  Then I realized that is the French flag, not the USA flag.  So of course I then had to make them in the red, white, and blue sequence.

  If you want a set, you've got about a week before it will be impossible to make more until next July of 2024!

New Idea For 2022

 Every year I try out a new idea to see if people will be interested.  Sometimes I am certain that people are going to love something as much as I do.  Like when I made lavender filled sock dolls with embroidered faces and crocheted lace caps.  I loved making those!  But the internet is all about the search, and if people do not know something exists, then they do not search for it and the item never shows up for them.

So I wound up giving most of those away.  And sadly, the same thing happened when I made lavender filled pendants by making tiny lavender wands and adding charms to turn them into necklaces.  Like the sockdolls, everyone who saw them in person loved them.  But also like the sockdolls, no one knew they existed so they didn't search for them.

Ah, the downside of only selling on e-commerce platforms.  Selling in person or in "brick and mortar" shops is very expensive and time consuming.  The commision on selling in a gift shop people can walk into is only 40%.  If an artist or craftsperson or maker spends too much time marketing or trying to drum up interest, then they lose.  They lose time they could be making more items or art.  And if they factor that time into the cost of their items, no one would be able to afford to buy said items.

Okay, riff over.

This years new idea was inspired by the drought here in California.  In a normal year, using over 45,000 stems of fresh lavender, I can make over 3,000 lavender wands.  Of which about 150 will be the huge size (over 14" long) and about 500 will be the large size (12" long).  This year I was only able to make 19 huge wands and about 95 large wands!!  Even though we irrigated and fed the lavender bushes, the bushes "knew" there was no water in the surrounding soil and cut back on the length of the stems they grew.  The result of which the majority of the stems are not even long enough to make a small wand (8" long).  

To make even a small eight inch wand, the stem has to be at least ten inches long.

What to do!?

Well, if I wrap the stems, then I can use nice fat flower buds on short stems and add them to a few of the stems which are long enough.

What do you think??

The cool thing about wrapping the stems like this is that the wrap can be different colors and in the case of the ivory ribbon, the ribbon used to tie the bow on the end can by any color I want.

Last, but certainly not least, I made some lavender wands in honor of the Ukrainian army and how hard they are fighting to protect their country.  I just haven't figured out a way to get them to them that feels legit.  I want them to be able to give them to their loved ones or to the people they meet when they free up a town.  I will let you know if I find a way.  Shipping directly to Ukraine is far too expensive for me right now.  I am hoping to be able to mail them to a legit non-profit that has people going there and can take them with them.  

Is It Summer Yet?

 The new crop of lavender is growing really fast this year!  It is only the end of May 2022 and a few flowers have already opened and there is a wonderful blue/lavender blush to all the long stems.  Hinting at the coming blooms. 

  I think I might be able to begin making new wands at least a week or more sooner than the usual last week of June!

  Meanwhile, for those who need some lavender right now, I would be happy to send you a set of my Jacquard ribboned large wands as I still have a few left.  Visit my Pedricks on Etsy shop and take a look at all of the beautiful Jacquard ribbons I use.  Many are vintage, so I can only make one or two of each one.  Write me there if you are interested in stocking your gift shop and we can discuss a discount.

Am I The Only One Who Had Covid-19 Fuz Brain?

 I cannot believe I forgot about this new color last fall, it's called Regal Purple and I wound up finding this ribbon when my normal supplier of double sided satin ribbon kept sending me Plum Purple everytime I ordered regular Purple.  So I went in search of a different supplier.  This ribbon costs me four times as much, but at least they have the colors I need!

Working On New Website Banner

     I have been thinking a great deal about how I want to go forward this year.  The goal has always been to have a three fold year.  With fuchsias in the spring, lavender in the summer, and art in the winter.  So I've been doing a bit of art and today I was trying to decide which piece to incorporate into the new banner which would reflect my revamped goals of Fuchsias, Art, and Lavender.

     What do you think?

   There was something about the flicker that made me pick him.  But I reminded myself that I can always change it again!

Winter Bloomers

Here it is February 2021 and these winter warriors are still blooming out in the cold of zond 9b.

If All Goes Well, Fuchsias Will Be The Focus This Year

  

     If all goes well, then this just might be the year that I am able to finally get all of my fuchsia stock growing well enough to make and grow cuttings from all of them.  For the last ten years, all I've been able to do is pretty much just try to keep them alive while I worked jobs and grew lavender to raise funds for the fuchsias. 

    Selling lavender has proved to be a huge waste of time now that all e-commerce sites have become all about what thousands are searching for and one of a kind or unusual items few people know about are lost completely.  I have had to waste far too much time trying to get my lavender wands noticed.  So much time that in the end, I don't make any money on it.  In fact I lose money after all of the fees, shipping, advertising, etc.

    I do love growing lavender and using it to make all sorts of things.  But practically everyone with a lavender bush or two sells lavender sachets.  Which is why I have always made a practice of just giving them away along with every invoice.  

    So from now on, I will make a few lavender wands in the summer, as it is something I hope to continue to be able to do way past my retirement when that day comes.  I have always hoped my lavender wands would be established enough by then that I could depend on them for a bit of extra income by then.

    The focus this year must be growing blooming perennials such as fuchsias.  I do love fuchsias and it has always been my hope to preserve as many of the upright heirloom hybrids as possible.  

    Meanwhile, I do hope that the lavender will sell itself somehow and redeem itself by paying off the funds invested in that effort and maybe even help fund growing the fuchsias.

    The fuchsia shown above is 'Annabel' and is in full bloom right now in mid-January of 2021.  She is benefiting from the radiant heat of one of the windows here and I can see her from my desk.  Along with about 15 other varieties I have put on a shelf high enough to be even with the window.

    And of course this also means I get to watch the hummingbirds up close while I am working on my computer!  Even a Ruby Crowned Kinglet has come by to look under each leaf for insects.

    All of the streptocarpus are doing well too and I hope to begin making cuttings of the ones I chose to keep as stock plants.

Christmas and Holidays Sale! 40% Off All Lavender Pendants

I had a wonderful time creating all of these handmade lavender filled pendants from the lavender I grew, but since they are a unique item, they are not something that has sold well on the internet.  Internet sales are driven by what people are searching for.  

And they don't search for what they do not know exists.

Each one of these is filled with dried lavender flowers woven into these tiny baskets with double-sided satin ribbon.  There are about ten of them which I made in multiplies of five, but most of them are each one of a kind.  They can be worn as pendants, hung in a window, or like the one I made for myself, hung in your car.

If  you visit my Etsy shop, you will see that all of the individual ones are on sale.

If you would like to stock your brick and mortar shop with a few of these for the holidays, then I have a listing there that gives you 55% off for sets of 5 of your choosing.  Write me via Etsy if you are interested because there are some listings I would need to renew if you want to see them all.

Last but not least, some people who've purchased some of my Wholesale Gift Sets know that they get a surprise in their package!  A free one of my bookmarks made the same way as the pendants, or sometimes even a pendant.

Please help me move these guys, if they are not up your alley, then maybe you know someone who would like them.  The lavender inside will last for many years.  I even seen a photo of a lavender wand with the caption that it still smelled like lavender after 40 years!

Pink Sunshine

 Icy white with a bit of raspberry drizzle, right!?

Harlequin Streptocarpus Cape Primrose

I confess that the ones with purples and blues in them are my favorites.

 

Purple Blanket Stitch Streptocarpus

Isn't it cool how the colors in so many flowers highlight their veins?  One person remarked that the edges of this one looked like it had been blanket stitched.

 

I Have Realized Almost All Have Seven Stripes

As I attempt to tell them apart and not post the same one twice, I have come to realize that all visible throat patterns have a pattern of seven.  Two, three, two.

Bear in mind as I post these, that I need to decide which ones to keep and then propagate from leaf cuttings.  Breaking my wrist in July was a huge set back, because there are hundreds of itty bitty ones that have been waiting all summer for me to tease them apart and transplant them.  At the moment, it is so hot, they'd fry from the shock.  I hope to begin soon though.  As room in the greenhouse for the winter will be a premium and who gets to stay and who has to make it outdoors remains to be seen.  

And not forgetting the fuchsia cuttings!

  I really like this one!

 

Blooming in the Sunshine

This beauty has sunlight on her petals because I really do grow them outdoors where they get morning and or late afternoon sun. 

These Streptocarpus Have an Awesome Color Range

 Until I grew them from seed, even I had no idea what an incredible range of colors they can come in.  From whites and yellows to the deepest purples.  I don't think there is a color I haven't seen!

One After Another

 Even I have been amazed at the range of colors and patterns which have been opening up all year from the microscopic seed I sowed in May of 2019.

And again, all of these can also be found on Instagram under various hashtags such as #floweringshadeplants  💜😀

Saturday Morning Blue on White

 I submitted this one to be the cover for a groups cover photo, but they went with a marbled purple.  I have never really been into the marbled look...  But I do like this!

Blue Sunshine

 Don't forget that all of these have already also been posted to Instagram under the hashtags for #streptocarpus #capeprimrose #gesnariads #floweringshadeplants #floweringhouse plants etc.  And almost all of the photos I take are of the ones growing outdoors where they either get a bit of morning sun or late afternoon sun.

They are ALL my favorites!

One Long Summer and Now It Is Fall

 I haven't posted in a long time again.  I need to write a book!  Besides all of us worldwide coping with a pandemic, I fell and broke my wrist right after my lavender began to bloom.  That may not sound like much, but if you put one hand on your other forearm and then wiggle the fingers of the hand of that forearm, you will feel all the muscles and tendons moving in your arm because all of that action goes through your wrist.

So when you break your wrist, you can't use your hand for a long time.  It takes months just to be able to make a fist again.  Which meant that for the first time ever, I had to watch my lavender crop bloom and then turn brown as I could not weave.

Meanwhile, the streptocarpus kept blooming and delighting me with new flowers non-stop!  They even made it through record heat waves with barely any damage to their leaves or flowers.  Since my goal is to re-introduce them as outdoor blooming shade plants, I had planted as many as I could into one gallon pots and they are all out in the morning sunshine everyday.  

Now I hope to select more to pot up and keep as stock plants.  It is going to be SO difficult to decide which ones to keep for making leaf cuttings.  And it is going to take time to figure out which ones look too much like ones that are already named, which names have already been taken, etc. 

I have been posting all the new flowers to Instragram on a weekly basis.  I have sort of taken over the hashtag for floweringshadeplants, not so much the hastag for floweringhouseplants but they are there as well as the one for streptocarpus and capeprimrose.  I hope you'll take a look.

And if you are an aficionado of streptocarpus and think any of my posts look like a named variety you are familiar with, please let me know!

Although I shall be tempted to declare many favorites as I go along, it really is hard to decide.

Cape Primrose Streptocarpus Gesnariads Are Showing Colors

Just a quick update on the the new colors that are showing up in the streptocarpus that have begun to bloom.  Here are a pink and a purple.  There is another one opening up that is going to be a deep maroon red and another one that is going to be a very pale pink.

I am going to keep the ones that are showing colors so I can make cuttings from the leaves and be able to offer baby streps with known colors in the future.  This is so exciting, I have waited so long to see this species of gesneriaceae bloom again like they once did under my cherry trees.

Look out!  These are going to be the new outdoor shade flowering rock stars.

Streptocarpus Are Doing Great!

   So far so good!  The greenhouse is NOT heated and although I had wanted to heat it for some of the other plants I am over-wintering in it, I am kind of glad that it doesn't have any heat.
   Why?  Because I want the streptocarpus to be weather hardy.  Just like the upright fuchsias I had hoped to be growing in there instead, I want my plants to be strong enough to endure outdoor conditions. 
  Most flowering plants you see in the garden centers this time of year have been grown in heated greenhouses and then thrown out into the cold of the garden centers they are shipped to.  Most nurseries are not concerned if those plants survive or not because they figure you'll just come back for more sooner.
  That is one reason why they have begun to market fuchsias as "annuals" when in fact, they can live for over 100 years.  If you toss them out every year, they make more money that way.
  But I digress...
  It does get down into the high 30's here and can also freeze at times.  So it is still possible I might see damage.  But so far so good!  I even spotted one that had put out a flower spike yesterday when I was filling orders for the west coast states.  So I brought it in and planted it up with a few others.
  And I bought insulated protective sleeves for shipping the plants.  So far, everyone has been very pleased with the plants on arrival.  Maybe, just maybe, Streptocarpus just might be the means by which I can afford to finally salvage my struggling upright fuchsia collection.
  A girl can hope.  It's been over 8 years now since I made the mistake of moving the nursery here and had all of the stock freeze to ground level and then had the deer mow them down when they tried to come back up.  Then it took a few years to afford to be able to build a deer proof enclosure and move the survivors into it.  Meanwhile, with no income from the nursery, it was necessary to work many jobs and put a lot of time into the lavender instead.
  I can't wait to see all the colors and forms these Streptocarpus will be!
  They look great growing under big upright fuchsias!