Monday, June 18, 2012

peppermint crepe myrtle

my peppermint crepe myrtle has bloomed for the first time in 20 years. it is a miniature and always gives green leaves but has never before bloomed. it really doesn't get enough sun so i was very pleasantly surprised with the blooms.

peppermint crepe myrtle

and the shoots of the desert willow tree, that have come up from the ground after the tree was cut down due to it splitting right down the middle, is giving beautiful blooms this year. it's a bit wild...more like a bush than a tree but i love it.

desert willow

UPDATE ON BLUE AND WHITE DRESS MAKEOVER:
well...i crocheted a blue edge on the collar...added some length at the hem with an eyelet underlay...patched up the openings on either side where there were spaces since the original style was slit and slightly opened on the sides...and before i got ready to change all the buttons to give it a bit of color going down the front, i decided i'd better try this on and see how it looks. it is still way too big on the top and is quite uncomfortable ( i knew there was a reason i stopped wearing dresses). so i have decided to cut it up and make it into a bag. my challenge is to use all the areas that i embellished in the bag so that all that work will have been worthwhile, although i did enjoy the process.
here's a picture just showing some of the additions i made since my last post.

reworked dress will now be cut up and reworked into a bag

14 comments:

henrietta (aka ani aka zani) said...

well, i'm excited to see those blooms. they are just lovely. what a lovely thing to see when you look out your window. the color is beautiful. i think re-purposing the cloth is grand, really. (maybe you can slip those white gloves into the bag. cheers from a very hot chicago...

Peggy said...

Gorgeous blooms -- the peppermint crepe myrtle gives me hope with my 10-year-old wisteria that still hasn't bloomed. This dress is truly a transformative piece.

Nat Palaskas said...

Because the peppermint crepe myrtle only flower once in 20 years. You have got to eco dye some of the flowers. It will be exciting to see what it will do. It's getting better with the dress. A bag would be cute too - Enjoy Nat

Ms. said...

You amaze me again--after all that work--forging on to re-purposing! Wow. The embellishments will make a fine bag for sure--but, it takes guts to realize things--like the dress is uncomfortable! I wear dresses and skirts but really comfortable, loose ones, and with shorts underneath, especially in Summer for the breeze. Most of the time I'm in pants or yoga togs.

Nice about the surprise bloom--and the desert willow too. Maybe they liked all the dry heat.

This is the last day I'll be on the computer for a week, though blog posts will drop in while I'm gone (three I think)...so be well and so long for a week.

Rachel said...

Isn't it wonderful that your desert willow has regenerated itself!

Anita said...

Beautiful garden you have! Nice bloom,you must be very happy to see them after such a long time.
Redesigning again! Wow!I think a bag is a great idea.

Karen said...

love that name, 'peppermint crepe myrtle'....and it has such a pretty flower. A bag? Why not, it's a good idea. Better to get some use from the piece.

Nancy said...

Well, my hand flew up to my mouth in amazement...dress turns to bag! I so admire your persistence and creative determination :)
The peppermint crepe myrtle is grand in its ruffled glory! I have never seen one before, nor the desert willow, which is beautiful as well. I love the unexpected in the garden!

neki desu said...

oh sorry to hear that you're turning it into a bag. it was such a cute dress.guess you'll turn it into a cute bag :)

blandina said...

You surprised me and made me laugh, there is really no limit to our imagination, to the instinct that we HAVE to make things right.
Good for you Deanna, I am curious to see where inspiration will take you next.

Anonymous said...

smart to abandon the dress if it isn't looking promising... you'll have lots of stripes leftover to play with, too! the bloom of the crepe myrtle makes me wonder about climate change... it's been such a strange spring here.

Mo'a said...

I have never seen or heard of a peppermint crepe myrtle...or a desert willow.Their blossoms are beautiful.
I was showing it to my husband and we agreed that our next garden trip must be to the south. He is right now on his computer doing research.

Tree Service New York said...

Your desert willow looks gorgeous!

-Carlos Hernandez

handstories said...

& onward you go!
hooray for the plants carrying onward too!

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