green things

1.  It takes a remarkable amount of dirt to fill a pot.

bricks

I have joined a Ravelry sock knitting group.  Every two months, they have a "knit-along" - where people choose a pattern based on a theme, and attempt to complete a pair of socks in that pattern within the specified time frame.

seeds

I'm not particularly good at keeping plants alive.  Or at least, I'm not particularly good at getting them to thrive. I have had several plants over the years that survived (an African violet that never flowered after the ones it had when I got it died, though it stayed green for a few years... a handful of orchids that were similar... a couple kitchen herbs that made it a few months...).  Most of the time, I get a young plant, and forget to water it.  Or get some seeds or bulbs, and they sprout, and turn into seedlings... and then die from over or under watering.  I did have a number of plants in my aquariums that did pretty well, but mostly as long as I had the appropriate amount of lighting for them, they were fine - because if I didn't have enough water to keep them alive, there wouldn't've been enough water to keep the fish alive either. Plants are simply not as good at reminding you to feed them as cats are.

iris

What is there not to love about the iris?

I love the shape - with the central petals standing, the outside petals gracefully folding out.  The way some have smooth edges, and others ruffle.  The variety in sizes - from small and demure to huge riotous blooms.  The way the colors shade from the center of the flower toward the edges.  The slender buds.  The fuzzy yellow stamens. The fact that a lot of them are in my favorite shades of purple doesn't hurt - though they also come in a variety of beautiful blues and yellows and reddish tints as well.

G's mother, it turns out, has some gorgeous irises in her garden.  When my lack of garden grows up, it wants to have this many irises in it.  This may be difficult, given my history with plants, and given that currently, we only have a balcony... but I can dream.

(warning:  this post has a lot of pictures in it)