Celebrating My 5th Etsy Anniversary with a Giveaway

I will be giving away this, Harvest Moon Wind Chime
on December 7, 2011
~ Wouldn’t this just brighten up your moon garden ~

My Copper & Stained Glass Harvest Moon ~
I sculpted copper into a frame of a moon and embellished it with copper swirls and clear faceted acrylic beads.
Hanging from the copper moon are 3 circles of amber stained glass.
A large black acrylic flat tube bead with a amber glass bead hang from the bottom of the moon.
The glass is strung together using amber glass beads.
A swirled copper hook is attached at the top & is ready to enhance your home or moon garden.
The total hanging measurement is 9-1/2 inches long and 6 inches at its widest point.
Exposed to the elements the copper will patina into a dark tone.
I hand cut the glass, sanded it to perfection, and then drill them.
My name is etched in the glass.
Copyright c 2006-2011 Julie DeGroot
Thank you for the interest in my art.
Have a great day,
Julie

All you need to do is simply:
#1 ~ Visit my gardens in my Etsy shop.
See if there is something you like ~
*Add it to your Favorites on Etsy & Post the name of the piece here*
Thank you for stopping by!
JewelsInTheGarden.etsy.com
~ Optional ~ *For extra chances to win* If you do have an interest in my art and would like to support my work, Share the Love, it would be very much appreciated!

Include these extra chances to win in the, *Same Post Altogether*
#2 ~ A Follower of my blog
#3 ~ A Fan of me on my facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewels-In-The-Garden/122250003658
#4 ~ Add Jewels In The Garden to your "Circle" on Etsy
#5 ~ Add Jewels In The Garden to your "Favorites" on Etsy

Open to the US and Canada. First Class Shipping included.
The contest ends midnight December 6
The Winner will be chosen at random on December 7 and will be contacted and announced here on my blog.
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Wishing you all a Wonderful Holiday Season ~
Good Luck to all!
Julie ~ Jewels In The Garden, formerly, "gardenjewels"

~ A Celebration SALE is also going on in my Etsy Shop ~

The Lotus experiment.........continued

Part one -
http://jewelsinthegarden.blogspot.com/2011/07/lotus-experiment.html

Here's an update on my experiment over the summer, growing a lotus from a seed.
I had placed the 8 lotus sprouts in pots in different places, 5 went in my pond and two on my deck in a tub.
Well it turns out, the ones placed in the pond had a ever so slight trickle of water near them from a nearby water fall and in less than a week, the 5 baby lotus plants here did not survive :(
They definitely must be placed in STILL water.
Out of the two plants I placed in the tub on my deck, one perished ? and one flourished!

Here it is in late August ~



It even had a resident frog all summer long :)



The plant that survived ended up with 12 floating leaves and 5 standing leaves.
They were a Gorgeous blue/green. Such a cool leaf, totally waterproof, any droplet of water on them would just roll right off.

.... Late October now.... getting frost here in New York, so I needed to decide weather to bring it into the basement or place in the bog that was ready. After much research, others have been successful leaving them out in my zone, so I decided I would be planting it right in the bog.
We lifted the pot out and to my surprise there were shoots of roots up to 15 inches long that found their way out of the 4 holes in the bottom of the pot. The plant was totally root bound. Now I see how they can become evasive in a pond.



I decided to cut the pot as to try not to disturb the plant in any way.
(My husband so nicely did this part for me).



The bog I created is 18 inches deep filled with a mixture of soil and peat moss. I left 3 inches of room on the top for water to sit. It took the two of us to plant it with our arms totally immersed in mud. Had a lot of fun with it!

My finished Bog ~



So far so good. It loves it there!
Even in these cold temps down to 40 degrees, new shoots were emerging in the last two weeks. Fingers crossed.





I am counting the days till spring :)
to be continued.........................................

The Lotus Experiment...............

I just love the art of water gardening, always looking and experimenting with new ways to enhance mine. I have always had my favorite, water lilies growing there, but I always dreamed of having a lotus plant in my garden. The local nursery's stock was just not an option $, so I thought I would try to germinate and grow my own from seed.

First I cut the seeds out of their pod

Then I scarified each seed by sanding the outer shell until I could see the cream colored flesh inside.

Placed the seeds in a small bowl of water, at a depth to just slightly cover them, changing the water 3 times a day. After 3 days, the seeds looked larger from the absorption of water. About 5 days later, I noticed a crack in some of the seeds. The next day some revealed a stout green shoot emerging.

Within a weeks time, they grew very fast, still keeping them just below the water line, With the seed staying at the bottom they stand straight up ever reaching for the top of the water, I used a large vase for this part and yes kept changing the water 3 times a day.


At this stage I decided to plant them.

Ordinary dirt even clay based is fine for lotus. Think about where they grow naturally, in muck and mud of a still water pond. I used 8 inch round flower pots, place a plastic grocery bag at the bottom (to keep the roots in the pot) and some rocks to hold the bag down, then filled each flower pot with the soil & clay mixture. I made a hole in the center and gently placed the seed in. Firmed the soil around it and placed a thin layer of pea gravel on top of the soil, to keep the seed from floating out of the pot and to keep the dirt in.

I submerged the pots into a large black tub, (the kind you find at outdoor parties used for ice & drinks).
Lotus plants need very warm water to grow and at least 6 hours of sunshine and must be grown in still water. So for now I have them on my deck, until that is I finish the bog they will be placed in next year

Success! My first leaf appeared about a week later, very exciting!

However the mosquitoes were also loving this still water tub. So I used a tiny piece of a mosquito dunk to control this.
Refreshing the water from time to time, I will keep these growing in this tub for the summer & fall, for they will not produce any flowers until next year (hopefully!) only leaves for now. I will bring them in when the weather turns here in New York & place them in the basement in water for them to become dormant (at a temp of at least 55 degrees). Never dead head the leaves of a lotus, for they keep feeding the tuber. I will experiment with one and lower it to the lowest point in my pond where the fish hibernate to see if it can survive a winter here.

Next spring they will be placed in the bog to grow.

This is the bog I am working on. I dug the hole level to the surrounding soil of the garden, quite the workout! I will be filling it partially with a peat moss and soil mixture. In the picture you see a straight black liner leading to the bog. This is the drainage from 2 gutters on our house that will feed the bog as it rains. Here in the country, with well water, we have to conserve, so I thought this would be the best solution for that.

My last picture of them, taken just the other day, at 12 weeks old, So far so good! My baby lotus nursery :)

I am already looking forward to next spring :)
to be continued..................

http://jewelsinthegarden.blogspot.com/2011/10/lotus-experimentcontinued.html

~Winner of my Summer Solstice Giveaway ~

I would like to thank everyone for visiting my Etsy Shop, and to welcome all of my new friends following my blog and on facebook.

Thank you all for your kind words and lovely compliments on my work. They are Very Much Appreciated :)

I am pleased to announce, The winner of my Summer Solstice Giveaway is

MaryLee ~ Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated!

More giveaways to come ~

Hope you all have a Wonderful Summer!

Julie

Fairy House Festival ~

Create an inviting home and Welcome a fairy into your garden! Crafting a fairy house is easy, just look to Mother Nature for your supplies. Construct them out of all natural elements, bark, moss, grasses, twigs, stones, feathers, nuts, dried flowers, etc...... take a hike into the woods to find your materials, a fun afternoon in itself!

Reconnect your children with nature, get them outdoors enjoying the natural world. It is a good way to encourage your children to appreciate and respect Mother Earth and our environment.

My Daughter, Granddaughter and myself created a fairy house for an event this past weekend held at Art Park in Lewiston, NY.

"A Fairy House Festival"

It was a Beautiful Sunny Day for the affair!
The welcome sign post led you to fun and excitement in every direction. Sweet little fairy houses were scattered under the trees throughtout the woods. Created by so many talented children and their families. Music and Merriment filled the air, along with story telling on a magic carpet under the trees.


Fairy dancers performed and fluttered in the sunshine ~


Face painting, arts and crafts for the children to enjoy! We had a Grand time!



Our entry was a Fairy Nursery. So Very Sweet!

It consisted of sticks we collected and turned into a tree. Tiny gourds strung from the tree swaying gently in the breeze. These gourds held our new born fairy babies, wrapped in leaves.

A nurse fairy sat in the tree to watch over and take care of the baby fairies.

She consisted of a hickory nut head with hair made from the blossoms of an oak tree and an acorn top hat. Her dress of dried flower petals and wings of a dried lily pod. She sits in the tree rocking a baby fairy.

On the forest floor sat a tiny house made of sticks, leaves and moss. A feather bed inside to change the little ones and a comfy mushroom chair to sit in.

Moss covered the ground floor, with a path of pebbles that lead you through the garden to a cozy camfire, to sit a spell, tell stories, rock the babies and sing to them. (Complete with marshmallows on a stick to munch upon)

Introduce your children to the wonderful, rewarding and magical art of a fairy garden. Get them outdoors and enjoying nature ~

Help them create their own special space to experiment with plants and garden art. Where they can sit and play, plant flowers, read stores, decorate with their own garden art and let their inagination run wild. Keeping them busy every year tending and adding to it. Bringing them hours of enjoyment, accomplishment and respect for Mother Earth!

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies"...Sir James Matthews Barrie (1860-1937)

In Celebration of The Summer Solstice ~ Giveaway

I will be giving away this Stained Glass Moon Ornament, "Moon Shine", June 21, 2011, The First Day of Summer

Sorry this giveaway has ended

~ Wouldn't this Moon shine nicely in your Moon Garden ~

All you need to do is simply

#1 ~ Visit my gardens in my etsy shop

See if there is something you like, then post the name of the piece here.

Thanks for stopping by!

http://gardenjewels.etsy.com/

For extra chances to win ~ Please ~ include in the "same post altogether" that you are.

#2 ~ A follower of my blog

#3~ A Fan of me on my facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewels-In-The-Garden/122250003658

Open to the US and Canada, First Class Shipping included.

The contest ends midnight June 20

The winner will be chosen at random on June 21 and will be contacted and announced here on my blog.
Good Luck to all and hoping you have a Beautiful Summer! Julie

~ Winner of my Earth Day Giveaway ~

" A Tribute to Mother Nature "

I would like to thank everyone for visiting my Etsy shop,
and to welcome all of my new friends following my blog and on facebook.
Thank you all for your kind words and lovely compliments on my work.
They are very much appreciated :)

I am pleased to announce,
The winner for my Earth Day giveaway,
" A Tribute to Mother Nature " is

AbstractRose ~ Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who participated!
More giveaways to come ~

Make Everyday Earth Day :)
Julie

Earth Day Tribute to Mother Nature ~ Giveaway ~

Sorry this Giveaway has ended

April 22 marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day. A movement started by U.S. Senator, Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin in 1969. His idea was for a "National Environment Teach-In", a day set aside to stimulate awareness of the crisis state of our environment. The following spring, April 22, 1970, was dubbed, the first "Earth Day". A celebration of our Beautiful Mother Earth and the awareness of the environmental impact we all have on our world.

Just think about it....... what we do everyday affects our water, our forests, our air, our land and pretty much, just about everything.

Take action to reduce your footprint on our earth.

Educate yourself

Grow a organic Garden and/or Buy from your local farmers market

Plant a tree

Recycle ~ Reuse ~ Use less

Start a Compost

Be a smart consumer ~ Teach others

Do it for yourself, your children, your grandchildren and for all the generations to come.

Let's keep our world Beautiful! Make everyday Earth Day :)

Inspiring words spoken by so many

"We are not the owners of the land, We are the caretakers for Mother Earth"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Earth Day Giveaway ~ In Celebration of Earth Day,

I will be giving away this Wind Chime on April 22 Mother Nature Forest ~ She enters the forest without touching a blade of grass ~

At the top of this chime is a piece of organic brown Salvaged Vintage glass, that I've hand painted with the Kanji symbol for Mother Nature.

The chimes consist of ~ 2 pieces of opaque green glass and a piece of clear glass textured with fern leaves, which I've hand painted the words: ~ She enters the forest without touching a blade of grass ~ It's fun to see if someone can answer the riddle of "who she is?".

At the bottom are organic looking amber, black and tan glass beads. The chimes are strung together using different shapes, sizes of amber, black and tan glass beadsA ring is created at the top & ready for you to enjoy in your home or garden

All you need to do is simply:

#1 ~ Visit my gardens in my etsy shop. See if there is something you like, then post the name of the piece here. Thank you for stopping by!

http://gardenjewels.etsy.com/.

For extra chances to win ~ Please ~ include in the *same post altogether* that you are,

#2 ~ A Follower of my blog

#3 ~ A Fan of me on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewels-In-The-Garden/122250003658

Open to US & Canada ~ First Class Shipping included.

The contest ends midnight April 21The Winner will be chosen at random on April 22 and will be contacted and announced here on my blog.

Good Luck to all!

Julie

~ Make Everyday Earth Day ~

Spring at last!!

We were so excited to see this pair of Wood Ducks swimming in our pond! I hope they nest close by ~ How Fun!

Wood Ducks pair up on their wintering grounds.

Then the female leads the drake back to the region where she was hatched or to the area where she nested the year before.

She lays 10 to 15 creamy white eggs in a tree hollow or a large woodpecker hole as high as 50 feet from the ground.

We have an abondance of Affiliated Woodpeckers in our woods.

So there are many places for them to nest!

Happy Spring!

My Garden

It's where I go to free my mind, refresh my body and calm my spirit. Where I find myself seeking enlightenment and a place I find inspiration. I've sculpted the earth into a place I hold very dear to me. A viewing point for nature's beauty. ~ Peace & Tranquility ~

It embraces me when I enter it. The growing gifts from family, friends and my travels greet me and I smile. Each having a story, a place, a person within it. Gathering stones and pebbles found on adventures through the woods, creeks and places I've visited, scattering them among the plants. A reflective pond with waterfalls sets in the background, my husband and I dug by hand that summer long ago. Filled with love and my koi, patiently awaiting to be gazed upon. Tucked away niches to meditate in, as I search for contentment.

One of my favorite places, a tranquil Japanese teahouse my talented husband and son built me for Mothers' Day. It welcomes me to sit for a spell at days end. Wonderful memories, natures' beauty, and my art surround me and comfort me there. Bringing me reflections of color, movement and sounds to sooth my soul.

~ "The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration." ~ Claude Monet ~

The Forest Floor

~ The Forest Floor ~

Mosaic Fairy Door Woodland Scene ~ Sculpture

This whimsical 3D mosic is sure to brighten up any home or fairy garden

I have to say I smiled the whole time I was creating it :)

~ My Etsy Shop ~

Jewels In The Garden

“Enchanted worlds still exist because the child within us never dies.

The doorways may be more obscure, but we can still seek them out.

There are still noble adventures to undertake.

There are still trees that speak and caverns that lead to nether realms. There will always be faeries and elves within nature because they will always be dancing within our hearts.”

~Ted Andrews~

Summer Solstice Celebration Sale

Happy Summer Everyone ~

Come sit and relax a bit in my gardens ~

I'm having a SALE in my Etsy shop ~
http://www.etsy.com/shop/gardenjewels

Thanks for stopping by ~ Enjoy your Summer!

Happy Spring Everyone! ~ SALE ~

Take a walk through my gardens ~

I'm having a SALE in my Etsy shop ~

http://www.etsy.com/shop/gardenjewels

Thanks for stopping by!

The Season of "The Gathering"

Autumn to me is the earth preparing for it's long winter slumber. Preparing to start the circle of life yet again. With Autumn comes my birthday, to me a new beginning. I am so inspired by the beauty and vibrate explosion of color that surround me.
I smell the cool crisp sweet scented air and that distinct aroma of rotting leaves, ever falling from the trees, creating a blanket onto the earth for cover & mulch for Spring's new growth. Natures carpet becomes alive with dancing whirling leaves as the winds begin to blow more intense, scattering the seeds of life about.

I meander through my gardens planting and gathering. Time to collect my wind chimes and garden art and bring them to safety.

I anticipate the glorious arrival of the Harvest and Hunters' Moons, as they greet me and envelop the night sky.
Autumn to me is the Season of The Gathering. In the skies, birds flock to begin their journeys together. In the forests, wildlife herd up once again. In the water, my Koi group at the deepest depths of my pond to start their hibernation. On the land, we gather together to harvest our crops, game and seeds. Gathering in kitchens and pantries canning, baking and freezing.

Autumn to me, it is a Season of Celebration, as we gather together at tables with family and friends. Grateful and Thankful for them and for natures bounty, The Harvest.

"Winter is an etching, Spring a watercolor, Summer an oil painting and Autumn a mosaic of them all."......Stanley Horowitz