The first seeds of spring...

when I had the farm in Lakebay in the early '90s, by the first day of Spring...... the heirloom tomatoes, the weird bell peppers and the hot and mild peppers were sprouted in the greenhouse, and growing  strong .... 6" tall was about the average, and often strong growers like the Brandywines could easily be almost a foot. Also by now, I'd transplanted almost everything into 4" pots for selling at the first Farmer's Mkt in May.
After people got past the idea that I was crazy, with my black flowers, green flowers, and weird tomatoes....my homegrown tomato best sellers were Black Krim, Mr. Stripey, and Yellow Cherry.

Black Krim pic is from http://luckymoonfarm.blogspot.com/

Mr Stripey pic is from http://www.tagawagardens.com/tgg_kids_kitty.htm

Yellow cherry pic from http://www.landrethseeds.com/

How did I find all these weird seeds before Google? There is this very quaint place in every city...it's called the Library!
fer instance...
Landreth Seeds is Americas Oldest Seed House established in 1784....they supplied seeds to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the Bonaparte family.

"Our founders introduced into the United States some of the most beloved flowers and vegetables known today including the Zinnia, the white potato, various tomatoes, and our own Bloomsdale Spinach. We have become the oldest seed house in America because we are passionate in our quest for excellence in quality, service and innovation."

Since I don't know how long I'm gonna be in this house, I'm gonna plant seeds and a few summer bulbs like gladiolas, and lilies...hardy things that can take neglect. This turn of events does cut down on the truly weird....but not much. When the weather gets a bit warmer, I'll plant some odds in the big pots I scored last fall.
The seed racks are still really full, so I'll probably buy a few Territorial Seeds, a pot or 2 of  black Mondo grass, and a lot of  Hume Seeds.

I should have started the Sweet pea seeds in January...but it's not too late for them
The most heat-resistant varieties are Old Spice which are so so so Fragrant! and I like the little Super Snoops too. I soak my seeds for a day to get them ready for the rainy Northwest.....no really, it helps them crack the shell and get growing. I am famous, however, for having 15 tin cans of soaking pea seeds with the packet clothespinned to the edges, scattered all over the house........these are perfect for the Official Washington State Fence...Cyclone..
Sweet Peas need a very rich soil...this is the time to use a lot of that compost. Fish meal, bone meal, egg shells, and a few alfalfa pellets...but I avoid most nitrogen-heavy fertilizers...I want something like 0-20-20. Don't forget the Slug bait!

pic from http://www.laobserved.com/malibu/2009/05/sweet_peas.php

 ..... Of course ...bunches of Alyssum. It really does smell like Honey! The white is most fragrant but I love shades of purple...so I mix and match.
Then Night Scented stock and the other fragrant charmers  will be planted near the doors and the windows that open on a warm day.......the flower bed under the living room window, the kitchen windows, and my sewing room...the  Regular old Stock..... and tiny Mignonette. I think I'll put some in a few pots, mixed with other summer faves, and then on warm days and evenings, I can place them under the windows and enjoy the fragrance as it wafts in the breezes....and bring a pot inside for the night....

My faves are weird....but fragrant is also very much at the top of my What to plant list!

Those are my first choices for planting seeds directly in garden beds here at the Tiny House. This weekend, the first of Spring 2011, I'll mow the lawn (electrically) and get my flower beds ready.
These days, until I settle down in a bigger house again, I'll let someone else grow the heirloom tomato and pepper starts I like. I'll go to the Farmer's Mkt or a local nursery to get the heirloom plants....they're widely available finally and Huzzaaah!

Then the old stand-bys..Calendula, poppies, bachelor buttons, larkspur and forget-me-not...these pics are from Hume Seeds. I know once these are planted, I'll pop in some sprouts of Nigella, Canterbury Bells, Salpiglossis....and then in April, the nasturtium seeds......both the climbing and the little bushes....the Variegated Alaska series are a fave...with its splotchy variegated leaves....if it's weird...it's mine!


The sentimental favorites.......Bachelor buttons......

Forget Me Nots which only need planting .....once....you won't forget them...they do go wild.

And Dorothy Gale's nemesis....Poppies! Papavar somniferum paeoniflorum.
 Poppies from seed....Shirley...California poppies, Eschscholzia ...the red Flanders Field poppy....

pic from http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/7212
Van Gogh Poppy Flowers, article on the theft in Egypt in 2010 from Bloomberg news.


oh and later in May....the daisies, the cosmos, the zinnias, and the sunflowers! the sunflowers!
Let the Gardens begin!

It was a pretty garden....

 the tiny garden on Broadway last spring, March 2010.





My my my...Industrious little daffs......went from this on February 23.......to.......



This on March 1 !!



The pansies and the primroses are spritely !



I adore how this little daff is folded......so much like a butterfly emerging from a coccoon..


Most of the daffs are King Alfred type, but there are a few renegades mixed in.....I wish I'd have planted a bag or 3 or 7 of Poet's Narcissus...they are my favorites of the Narcissus.......I adore the teeny minis also........




So....Before I retell the story of Narcissus....
All things in my funkomavintage....are on sale until March 23.

Sale! 15THANKS coupon code at checkout

Sale! 15THANKS coupon code...15% off because it's SPRING !
--------------------...15% off because it's SPRING !
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Clicky here....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>........................
Narcissus flowers are named for the son of the River God, Cephissus and Leiriope, a nymph, in Greek mythology.........This boy Narcissus was a hawt babe according to legend. A prophet told Leiriope her son would live long and prosper if he avoided ever seeing himself in a reflection.
The boy had many women and men (this is a Greek legend) fall in love with him as he grew up into a man, but he chose none of them for a lover.

A nymph, Echo, who had her own curse to deal with, goddess Hera made poor Echo repeat again the last words she heard said to her.......loved Narcissus. But he did not have eyes for her!
Ameinias, another hopeful lover was also rejected by the handsome Narcissus, and Ameinias killed himself. Just before taking his life he asked for the gods to punish the sexy beast Narcissus.
The gods then set Narcissus to gaze on his loveliness in a clear pond......He fell in love with himself!
When he went to touch the beautiful image, he fell in and drowned......or he killed himself also....we're not too clear on that.
The gods thought the tragedy (this is a Greek legend) ought to be commemorated......and so named the lovely yellow late winter flower.......Narcissus.
Let this be a lesson to you Pretty People....Love one another....and don't be stuck-up!

Here's a Poet's Narcissus.....

and clicky here for another sassy sweet blog post about Narcissus.......

Sale ! It's Spring ! Everything in the Etsy shop..

Sale! 15THANKS coupon code...15% off because it's SPRING ! Everything in the Etsy shop...Everything....

American classics, Quality, and Style

 when deciding what to buy for my shop, I always focus on simple, classic, well-designed, and high quality.... this really is what I have in mind with every thing I offer.........

1951 Saddle Shoes on college kids, Life Magazine archive

These days, buying something well-made, that will last, and can then be passed on, if we haven't worn it out, is what funkoma vintage is about.
While my personal style is West Coast, country, California, beach and sailboat, Cowgirl, farm and orchard....I am not so parochial that I ignore all the beauty from ...oh, lets say, Harris Tweed from Scotland, and indigo wax resist batik from Cote d'Ivorie.

I choose items that are fun, well-made, with a great sense of confidence. I live the Vintage Life, and resolutely believe that re-using is important....and vintage is simply better made and meant to last. It's real value for your money.
Authentically handmade by a real person is a joy! The ultimate luxury is an item handcrafted by a person who lives free. 

An American company, Bass, makes the classic loafer, the penny loafer....
"Penny loafer evolved into a symbol of “cool”. In fact, celebrity James Dean was spotted wearing a pair of Weejuns!
 In late 1960's Bass introduces Sunjuns, the soon to be essential summer sandal.
Michael Jackson wore black Bass Weejuns "
 Bass has a new collection, made in a 3rd world factory (booo!) that combine cute calico floral prints with the classic saddle shoe.

Look at the beautiful sole...stitched, with both leather and rubber. Those little hand-written numbers mean this pair was bought at Nordstroms.And, inside it's edged with blue and green preppy Bass satin ribbon...

 A cute pair of vintage 80s calico Mary Janes....based on 80s Doc Martens.

 Above is a pair of Bass Weejuns, and below, a pair of Dexter (another American company) tassel loafers.

I'd always like to encourage all of us to Stake Our Claim on classics, the traditionals, the rustics, the heritages that are usually worn by the capitalists. Those grads of Ivy Leagues, the Rhodes scholars of Oxford, and such. Those kind of people are the opposite of artists and visionaries, unless your vision is nothing but making money off of the working class, and returning nothing.
When we buy well-made, when we buy things that last, we are Being Green in the easiest way. If you can keep and love a pair of shoes for 15 years instead of 15 minutes, you have Not made years of pollution.
Simple, eh!
and what style are these guys wearing.....I rest my case......



Most of what we consider American classic clothes isn't American inventions...but styles based on clothes from the Mother Country...or fashion from Paris when it was the fancy-schmancy decider of All Things Fashion...and maybe all things style.

 But of course, Levi's are an All American invention. True. Levi Strauss started making workwear pants from blue denim instead of off-white canvas, and with the addition of metal rivets at stress points, that Jacob Davis thought of and showed the technique to Mr. Strauss....well the blue denim jeans with rivets is a classic American invention.

From Britian we get the Trench Coat, from Burberry's and from Aquascutum. We get the standard button down oxford cloth shirt... .from England.  Double breasted styles of fastening your jacket closed...yeah, originated from the English Navy's reefer jacket or, better known,  the Pea Coat.

Brown leather rustic Cowboy boots....

Even those boots we call Cowboy...are influenced by the vaqueros of cattle-herding Spain to Argentina's  pampas plains cow herders from about 300 years ago or so.....
Military styles....based on the classics from other countries. I could go on bursting your bubbles for ever in this manner!

 Cowboy Poetry Time in Elko, Nevada!

Next post....More information on my philosophy about why I prefer buying new things from a 1st world, and why new imports are so awful.

Vintage Schwinn Bicycle Time

The days are longer, the days are even getting a bit warmer...it's time to get the bicycle out and go for a ride....
Saddle shoes by Bass, good ol' classic! These are made in Maine, and in other American factories.

A sweet pair of wingtip 2 strap Mary Janes...

Worn with a classic pair of vintage Levis denim jeans........

A great vintage shirt....

maybe a vintage 50s sweater if it gets cold.....

I took a picture of my 30s Schwinn bicycle and turned it into a little picture and made some fabric pins using vintage fabric and little bits of lace...Each one is handmade by me ...mostly all sewn by hand...but all handmade...

(I moved the little lace trimmed one to my funkomavintage shop)