Succulent Wreath

It seems ungrateful to complain about the perfect weather we are having...daytime temperatures in the 70's, sunshine, stunning fall colors and beautiful autumnal light*, so I won't. 

We had so much rain last year that towns flooded and roads and bridges practically floated away, so we should be able to make it through this winter with less than normal rainfall. It would have been handy if it had rained when the county was once again threatened by wildfires, the power was shut off and many of us were evacuated, but now that threat has passed, for now, and I plan enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts (and isn't worrying us about fire, flood, landslides and famine)

I started the day by negotiating my way out of the garage, past the roofers' big truck which graces a spot just outside the bedroom window, and down the driveway. Last year I met a lovely woman named Kim Pearson, introduced by my friend Tobi. She took us to a vineyard in the Sonoma Valley which had just been pruned and taught us how to select canes the right length and flexibility and fashion them into wreaths...not as easy as she made it look, nut great fun.

Today Kim was at Quarryhill, a twenty five acre garden of rare Asian plants where I have a membership, teaching a class on how to decorate the wreath with live succulents and other found objects. I signed Dana up too, and although we had a miscommunication about when it was to start, she got there eventually and, along with twenty other ladies (and one gentleman) we wire wrapped our wreaths in moss, poked holes in it, filled the holes with glue, and stuck in succulents. If we mist them with water once in awhile and don't hang them in the blazing sunshine they might last a year. If they don't, we can just pull out the dead ones and cut and glue another one in it's place.

It was perfect weather in the garden and we all poked and picked, glued and chatted for a couple of hours. We went home with a lovely wreath, and a lot of enthusiasm for decorating everything in sight with succulents. They were very nice about letting Dana stay and finish her wreath since she got a late start, and while she was doing that, I learned all about how to prune my unruly Sango Kaku Japanese maple from Kim who is also a Master Gardener.

It was a lot of fun and a good fund raiser for Quarryhill which must be covered with a cloak of protection, because the Nun's fire, which threatened our neighborhood in 2017, burned right up to the boundary fence and stopped. There must be some sort of blessing on the place.

The afternoon has passed pleasantly and I am now going to pick the glue out from under my fingernails before going to the neighbors' for dinner.

*Dana took the picture in extras of the Mayacamas Mountains with Sonoma Valley vineyards at their feet