September 2023 In The Garden: Still Savoring

I’m grateful for all these late-season flowers. Not just for me, but for my garden visitors, too. Bees. Butterflies. I still see hummingbirds every day, zooming from flower to flower.

gardenAnne ButeraSeptember 23, 2023garden, autumn garden, garden planning Comments

7 Plants I'm Not Growing in My Garden This Year and 4 I'm On the Fence About

It’s hard for me to believe the days were sunny and warm and my flowers were blooming only a week ago.

gardenAnne ButeraApril 22, 2023gardening, plants I'm not growing in my garden, garden planning, winter garden planning, deciding what to grow, garden experiments, snow in April, April in the Garden, April in the Garden in Wisconsin, garden vlog, art vlog, art and garden vlog Comments

20 Garden Favorites: The Best Projects, Plants and Ideas from My 2022 Garden

When I’m planning my garden for the year I always like to consider my garden from the year before.

gardenAnne ButeraMarch 25, 2023gardening, garden planning, assessing the garden, garden favorites, best plants in my garden, my favorite plants in my garden, favorite garden projects, garden projects Comments

February Garden Tasks: Dreaming, Planning, Doing

When I woke up on Wednesday the temperature was 43. The warmest we’ve seen this year. On my morning walk I didn’t need a hat. Chickadees and cardinals sang their delight at the taste of spring in the air.

The next day it was more than 30 degrees colder.

Surviving Winter: 11 Ways I Bring More Joy and Warmth into Cold Days

Wednesday morning I woke up and checked the temperature. Negative 19 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of negative thirty-two. It was our second day in a row of bitter cold.

Winter Joy: How to Choose and Order Seeds for a Successful Garden

The wind shrieks a puff of snow off the roof and as I step outside the storm door shatters an icicle onto the stairs.

gardenAnne ButeraJanuary 29, 2021gardening, garden planning, ordering seeds, how to choose and order seeds, growing a successful garden, seed sowing plan, seeds, garden plans, deciding what to grow, seed companies, favorite mail order seed companies, favorite online seed companies, favorite seed catalogs Comments

Around Here Lately: Living a Holistically Creative Life

Back in January I wrote a list of intentions for the year. First in my journal. Then in my sketchbook. And again on a separate piece of paper that I hung in my studio. The very first intention on the list: “Live a holistically creative life”.

creativity, fabric, blogging, joy, life, seasons, houseplantsAnne ButeraFebruary 14, 2020blogging, blogging is not dead, creating community, creative projects, carving out time for creativity, creativity, affirming your creativity, valentine's day, intentions, holistic creativity, sewing, sewing projects, handmade clothing, inspiration, Butterick 6024, crochet, crochet garments, crochet shawl, Kathryn Dawn, 3 Button Textured Cardigan, South Bay Shawlette, Ravelry, Pinterest, crochet projects, seeds, seed starting, garden planning, ordering seeds, winter, skillshare, Skillshare classes, sketchbook class on Skillshare, winter sketchbook, Explore Winter in Your Botanical Sketchbook, bald eagles, nature, beauty, beauty in nature, Spoonflower, spoonflower, Spoonflower contest, spoonflower fabric, Spoonflower Design Challenge, spoonflower fabric designer, spoonflower wallpaper, watercolor, watercolor painting, poinsettia, watercolor poinsettia, botanical art, botanical watercolor, houseplants, houseplant portraits, what's happening in my studio, joy, do, word of the year, creative energy Comments

Planning Your Year, a Resource Round-Up (and Some Honest Thoughts)

We’re already more than half-way into January. How have things been going for you so far?

growing inspiration: nasturtiums

About this time of year when the garden is at its height I begin making notes for next year. What I want to grow more of. What I forgot to grow. What I’d like to try. Today I’m sharing the first of a series of posts about some of my favorite plants to grow (and paint). I’d love for you to join in and share some of your favorites, too.

garden, fabric, joy, inspiration, artAnne ButeraAugust 9, 2019nasturtiums, watercolor, watercolor process, watercolor painting, anne butera, garden planning, garden inspiration, gardening, growing plants from seed, gardening on a budget, gardening on a tight budget, growing nasturtiums, fabric design, fabric, growing inspiration, inspiration from the garden, about me, budget friendly gardening, how to grow nasturtiums, edible flowers, cottage gardens, creating a cottage garden, my favorite flowers, favorite flowers, nasturtium varieties, nasturtium fabric, nasturtium paintings, where i find inspiration, where does inspiration come from, Spoonflower, spoonflower fabric, spoonflower fabric designer, spoonflower garment sewing, mindfulness practice, mindfulness, observing nature, slowing down Comments

The End of the Season in the Garden -- Reviewing and Planning for Next Year

We’ve been having cold nights for a while now. We’ve even had snow. Except for a few hardy growers, my garden is finished for the year.

At the end of the season (and in truth, even during the season) I’m looking forward to next year’s garden.

garden, art, creativityAnne ButeraOctober 26, 2018gardening, reviewing the garden, end of the season garden review, garden planning, garden flowers, zinnias, nasturtiums, cut and come again zinnias, dahlias, artist's garden, garden assessment, planning for next year Comments

notes from the studio